Viktor ran his hands through his hair and he walked towards Julchen's door. Finally, after two months, he had gone on a date or two with every girl. Julchen was last because, to be frank, he was a little scared of her. Out of all the Selected girls, Julchen was the only one who knew five different types of martial arts, dance, gymnastics, and wasn't fazed by gunfire and was willing to shoot back.

The only other girl that gave him this feeling was Ashley, but he just assumed it was because she had chosen to go to the gun range for their second date.

Viktor knocked on the door, and fully expected maids to open the door and reveal Julchen in a gorgeous dress, like nearly every other girl had.

Instead, Julchen opened the door waved goodbye to her maids and bowed to Viktor. Instead of some sort of sundress, the albino girl wore a very crisp uniform, that looked very much like a guard's riding uniform.

"Your Highness."

"Lady Julchen, how many times must I tell you to call me Viktor?"

"How many times must I say, I'm not a lady."

Viktor smiled and offered his arm to her. Julchen took it and they walked down the halls and down into to the horse field.

-XXX-

As Viktor watched Julchen sit on the fence and feed apples to the horses, he realized that he could see Julchen be by his side for the rest of his life. She was strong, tough, and unafraid to speak her mind, all good things to have in a queen. She was also kind, loving, and very sweet, if her friendship with Alexia said anything.

"Jules," Viktor started, "Why does the entire palace know you so well? Because its not just the maids and the guards, its the bulters, the cooks and even my parent too. And you haven't even talked to my parents, have you?"

She laughed, "Viktor, I lived in the palaceforof my life. My vatter works here, he trains the guards and part of the army."

"Why have I never seen you before now?"

"Oh you have." Julchen smiled, "When you where younger and a bratty prince. I remember punching you in the stomach, and feeling pleased."

Viktor winced, "I was a brat as a kid."

"Oh, very much yes. Bratty, spoiled, rude."

"Sh." He cut her off, "Let's have that remain a secret between us, yes?"

"Ja." Julchen stroked the horse's face, "Viktor, answer me honestly, is there a Selected girl that you would protect with everything you have?"

Viktor paused, thinking, "Koli, probably. She needs to be protected. Why?"

"Love is an interesting emotion. Its easy to fake, but hard to exist." Julchen smiled sadly, "When you truely love someone, you'll do anything for them. Even break your own heart, just to see them happy. You'll be willing to go through the most painful things, just to see them alive. It may not be love at first sight, true love's kiss, or any of those fairytale things. Its real, its wonderful, but its so incredibly painful." She lifts a hand a brush a few tears from her cheeks.

Viktor placed his hand on hers and looked into her eyes, "You've been in love." Julchen nodded.

"He's dead now. Gone forever. But his name was W-" She froze as her comlink beeped.

"Angel, do you copy?"

"10-4."

"Do you have eyes on Mocking Bird?"

"Eyes on Mocking Bird."

"Get to the safe room."

"10-4. Angel out."

Viktor looked at Julchen confused. "What just-"

"No time, Your Highness. Follow me." She grabbed his wrist and bolted. Viktor swore he was going to fall over. The albino was just so fast.

They finally stopped a wall and Julchen lifted up her comlink. A small blue light scanned it and the wall opened, revealing a large room full of the Selected girls.

She lifted her wrist again, "Mocking Bird safe. Angel, ready for instruction."

"Stay there. Find a gun. Protect the girls."

"Yes sir."

Julchen bowed and slipped into the mess of girls.

Evangeline and Perla both draped themselves over him, saying how scared they were.

"What is happening?" Viktor asked, not understand.

"Rebels are attacking. Went through a side door. Julchen used hidden passage ways to get you here." Alexia offhandedly said. Compared to the other girls, most of who where crying or screaming, the short girl was utterly calm. Her glasses where sliding down her nose and she went back to the text book she was reading.

Viktor kindly pulled Evangeline and Perla off him and went around the room, checking the other girls to see if they were okay.

Elaine was panicking, but telling everyone else not to panic. Alyssa sitting next Alexia and the began a discussion. Lumaria was sitting beside Luna and talking with the fan. Samantha gripping Nova's hand as tightly as she could. Chiara was sleeping. Melody and Ashley where trailing behind Julchen, who was lapping the room, speaking into her comlink.

Viktor looked around for his sister hoping she was there. Finally he spotted her. Nathaly was shaking and curled up in Ambrosia's lap. The strawberry blonde wrapped her arms around the princess and tried too comforter.

He sighed and tapped Daniella on the shoulder. The martial artist bowed to him in greeting. "Dani, have you seen Koli?"

"Over there." The girl gestured towards a corner of the room.

Viktor thanked her and walked over. He expected Koli to have some sort of panic attack or be scared. Instead she was simply drawing on a sheet of paper. He quietly looked over his shoulder, again expecting something normal.

Koli had drawn a gruesome battle scene. Both sides were young children, bleeding and dirty, with very little clothes, revealing their very obvious ribs. Dead children laid in the ground, bleeding and twisted into inhuman shapes. One child lay dead in mid scream, while another was face-down, revealing a torn up and bleeding back.

"She was whipped. He was shot." Koli's green eyes met Viktor's blue. "I call it Forced Silence." He held back a shiver. Before he thought that no teenager's eyes could look like the soldier's he was forced to visit. But Koli's matched them perfectly. Deep and full of knowledge, yet empty. Emotionless, yet flashing with stubbornness. Dark and hiding demons, but held so much hope and light.

"And this," She flipped to a new picture. This one was a large group of people at a festival. They were partying, laughing, and smiling, "This is titled The Uncaring."

Viktor shuddered as he recognized his family of four in the mass of people. 'What has this girl endured? What has she gone through?'

Koli gave a small smile and flipped back to Forced Silence. "You've lived in a palace all your life. You wouldn't understand."

"Then help me."

She looked over at a few of the girls, "One or two of these will tell ya what its like to be forced to skip three or four meals in a row. But none of dem will tell you what its like to not eat real food for two and a half weeks. None of dem know what its like to survive on dirt, bugs, and muddy water. Dey don't know de feeling of accepting dat you might die in the next 'our. Dey don't know what its like to run forever. Or de terror dat fills you when you watch your best friend die. Or de ability ta sleep through screams, gunshots, and crashes. Or what its like to bleed to death in de snow."

Koli looked at her thin hands. "But go ask dem. I'm not dat important."