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EmilyTheNerd- Unicornraccoons sound wonderful. Imagine this little fluffy thing with a giant horn. :)

Love ya!- AcademicGirl

Matthew's POV

I trust Tess. Without a doubt. So I take her by the hand and lead her to the secret library. We go to the north corridor and run up the stairwell. I hold open the door and Tess walks in. Then I take her by the hand again and stand in front of the giant painting that covers up the entryway. I find the little button on the side of the frame, and the painting swings open. Then I find the little keypad and enter the password: 07041776. Dad says it's the date that the United States of America was freed from Great Britain. Only a handful people know about the day the Declaration of Independence was signed so it's the perfect password.

All through this, Tess stays in a silent state of awe and shock. I help Tess in the door that doesn't reach all the way to the floor. When we enter, only then does she gasp. I remember the library quite fondly. It's windowless and books are scattered all over the table. There's the computer on the desk and I show it to Tess.

She looks interested but she looks more anxious than excited. "What's wrong?" I ask.

She bites her lip then sits on the ground. "Matt, I need to tell you something. Are you sure this room is safe?"

"No one knows the code except for the royal family."

"But what if there are spies?" She chews the inside of her lip.

"Love, you can tell me anything." I beckon her over and I set her on my lap. She looks tired and defeated. She puts her head on my shoulder and she whispers in my ear.

"You know that rebel guard? His name is Luke. Do you know him?"

Luke is here? And he's a guard?! My hands curl into fists, wanting to pummel his face. "Oh yeah," I say angrily. "I know him, all right."

"Yeah, well, he lead me to the leader of the Northern rebels. They told me that they want to destroy the caste system. They told me to find the secret library and give them diaries belonging to Gregory Illea."

"And you were actually considering helping them?" I ask incredulously.

"Yes, but you have to understand. G told me that he would kill everyone I love, including you, if I didn't do what he said. And I can't let you die." I suddenly feel a warm tear on my cheek, and it's not mine. I cradle Tess in my arms and pull her closer to me.

We stay silent as I try to absorb this information. Tess adds, "He said that the rebels want the old America back, both the country and the woman. G said that during the Selection with your father, Queen America had a philanthropy project idea that involved destroying the castes. Do you know anything about that?"

I try to think of Mom before she got married to Dad. Maybe she was a carefree, rebellious girl. But I shake my head.

"We have to find out what to do with these books, though," I say. Then I snap my fingers. "What if we just give them a fake diary?"

Tess tilts her head. "What do you mean?"

"Well, what if we get a blank book and write some things in there. I'm a master at forgery, and I'm sure your creativity will tell me what to write."

Then I am relieved when I see her smile. "That's brilliant!"

We stand up and walk to the desk. In a drawer, we find a blank journal (how convenient). I get one of Gregory Illea's journals and look at his handwriting. I dip the old feather quill in ink and start to write.

Tess's POV

What Matthew writes is absolute baloney. It makes no sense whatsoever. I mean, in one entry Gregory Illea supposedly raised ducks for a living. It's outrageous and we're having a lot of fun writing the lies, but for some entries we have to make it slightly related to the country. Wouldn't want the rebels to get suspicious, now would we?

He finishes the last sentence in a flourish and he hands it to me. "Tess," he says as he stands up. "We have to tell my parents about this."

"I know. I just don't know if we can trust them," I reply hesitantly.

"What do you mean we can't trust them? They're my parents!" he cries outrageously.

"I didn't mean it like that. I meant that I don't know if we can trust them not to do anything about it. If they act too openly about this, I could lose my family." I look down at the ground so Matt won't see my glassy eyes. "I could lose you."

The air in the room changes. It seems charged now with electricity and secrets. I love Matthew. I know that now for sure. Every moment I've spent with him gives me butterflies in my stomach.

Matt puts his finger under my chin and tilts my head up. Then he kisses me softly. I don't know how many times we've kissed, and if we did at all, I want to remember. I want the memories to return so bad that it aches in the very core of my being. As Matt kisses me one last time, I see a picture of waterfalls in my brain.

"Love, I have to tell my mother. She's involved in this as much as you are." He says it softly like if he speaks past a certain volume I would shatter like glass.

I nod and put my arms around his waist. "I'll go with you."

Matthew's POV

Oh my goodness.

I didn't realize how much I wanted to kiss Tess again. But the tension returns as we run to Mom's office. When we burst in, a look of surprise passes her face.

"Matthew, Tess, what is it?" she asks, her question laced with concern. Tess urgently tells her what the situation is and Mom stands up. Then she goes to a shelf where there is a black case. She sits in front of her television and pops the disk in the movie player. The three of us all sit on the couch and watch.

"These are all the footage takenduring your father's Selection," she says. It sounds like Mom is only addressing me but she looks at both Tess and me when she says it. Mom must be eager to have Tess as a daughter-in-law.

We all watch attentively. It's not hard to spot my mom when they've all arrived at the palace. Her hair is still a voluminous blaze of red and the simple dress she is wearing makes her stand out. She's still so beautiful. She fast forwards to about the middle of the footage. It's the Illea Capital Report for sure. Mom stands in front of an easel with a confident look on her face.

Then the thing she utters after a few seconds rings in my brain, word after word: I think we should eliminate the castes.

Just like that. The words hung like humid air after a good rain shower. Except this was a storm. Okay, my mother is a brilliant woman. But that is not how you approach things like this, especially since she wasn't the princess yet. Her whole presentation is bold and daring, but it's a disaster waiting to happen. I see an angry Grandpa Clarkson shouting at the cameramen to point their equipment to the ground. And the screen goes blank and Mom hits pause.

"This is what the rebels meant they wanted the old America back in terms of the woman. They're wondering why I haven't pulled through yet." She leans back in her seat. "I wanted so badly for this unfair system to be gone for good. But when I got the position, I didn't know how difficult it would be to actually eliminate them. Talking about destroying them was one thing. Doing the job was a whole different situation."

Tess is listening like Mom's words are straight from the Bible. Her body's all rigid and stiff with this new knowledge. "No matter what, please stay strong, my darlings. Your plan of giving them the fake diaries is genius, but it's only a matter of time before they figure out what's going on." I can only nod.

I exit the office with a new weight on my shoulders. When I look at Tess, the weight is on hers too. Her shoulders physically droop as if the weight could be felt. "Hey," I say. I embrace her and she takes a deep breath. "We'll get through this. Don't worry."

I sure hope so. If we can't pull this off, it might be off with my head.

Okay, I don't know why, but this chapter seems EXTREMELY long. And they don't even do a lot of stuff. Tell me whatcha think about dis. Thank you!