Hey guys! I know it's been awhile since I updated but school's keeping me really busy and it'll probably be like this all year so don't expect another update anytime soon, just know that I'm not abandoning this story. It just might take a while for me to finish.

Thanks to all of my amazing reviewers though who helped inspire me to get this chapter out: LadyAnj, Ashley Jackson, XOStarbrightXO, Demigod18, morethanjustastory, Cookiedoodles168, LeaGirlWriter22, and ApolloSerenity. Your support means so much to me, guys. I know I say that every time but it's SO true!

Just a heads up so you're not confused, this chapter is happening at the same time from three different POVs. It also has the scene that Lea requested when she won the contest with her awesome cover! Hopefully I did her character justice because her cover is great. Hope you like it, Lea!

...

"Alright," Juliet instructed as she watched her group spread out through the gardens, "we'll have to have a tent set up just in case the weather's bad and I was thinking that could go here," she vaguely gestured to an open spot on the lawn.

"Great," Priya said, making a note on her clipboard, "a tent would be perfect for the lights we have planned and it would look so pretty and golden all lit up."

"Golden is exactly what we're going for," Juliet smiled.

"And what about having balloons?" Tristyn put in, "We could either get gold balloons or get clear ones and put some glitter in them."

"That sounds cool. What do you think, Blaise?" Priya asked, trying to include the recluse in their group.

Blaise turned her calculating gaze to Priya, "Do you really think I care about these decorations? I'm just waiting for this party to be over."

"Well you're a part of this committee so you need to pull your weight," Priya informed her, her hands on her hips, "so which is it: clear or gold?"

"Clear," Blaise said without emotion.

"Great," Priya smiled sweetly and wrote it down on her board while Blaise glowered at her.

Juliet, trying to keep the peace said, "What about flowers?"

"Well it's in the gardens, so do we really need many flowers?" Tris asked.

"Maybe just a few," Juliet compromised, "like in the centerpieces."

"Definitely," Priya approved, "roses are always classic and maybe even some zinnias just because of the birthday girl."

"And of course most of the decorations have to be gold."

"Naturally," Shevonne called from across the garden where she was working with the rest of the guest committee.

A few girls laughed at her joke but Juliet asked, "What are you guys doing here?"

Normally she wouldn't have minded the other girls being out, but they only had two days to get their decorations figured out and today was the only time they could be outside without raising suspicions. They were already short one person since Cosmina was on a date. The guest committee really didn't need to be outside, and they were ruining Juliet's planning. Tristyn and Vivian were already locked in a conversation and it looked like Elody was about to come to talk with Priya.

Priya saw the exasperation on Juliet's face and tried to console her, "It'll be fine. I've already ordered several things and there's not too much else. I've had to plan bigger things with less time, this party will be fine."

Juliet wasn't convinced though, "Just take a short break, okay? Then we can work some more?" She took the clipboard and papers from Priya's hands.

"Alright," Priya promised before turning to Elody.

Juliet turned away, pressing a hand to her head trying to stop an incoming headache from listening to Taylor and Sage spat while Blaise egged them on.

Nowhere was quiet and Juliet was so distracted. Finally, she turned down one of the quiet garden paths and walked a ways before sitting down on a cool stone bench.

Even if the other girls didn't want to plan, Juliet was going to make sure the party was perfect for her best friend. She skimmed through the papers Priya had given her, looking through table decorations, light arrangements, seating charts and much more. It was all more work than Juliet had thought, but she wasn't going to let that stop her.

She felt her head throb again and pinched the bridge of her nose, hoping to quell the pain.

"Are you alright?"

Juliet jumped at the voice, sending her papers scattering. She scrambled to pick them up before the wind could send them everywhere. Not that anyone else would care if they were gone.

The reason for her startle also helped her pick up papers and placed them gently in her hands before backing up and standing a respectful distance away.

Juliet finally realized who had helped her and felt her cheeks warm in an involuntary blush.

"Hi," she said, smiling brightly and looking into his hazel eyes.

"Uh, hi," Ryan said, sheepishly scratching his head and refusing to meet her gaze. Juliet noticed the space between them and she longed for him to close it, but he remained several feet away.

They spoke at the same time.

"What are you-" Juliet started.

"I'm sorry-" Ryan said.

Juliet laughed and Ryan cracked a smile, "You first."

Juliet's blush deepened as she asked, "So what are you doing out here?"

"Oh, you know, shirking my duties, being the family disappointment, the usual. I'm actually glad I ran I to you though. I wanted to apologize."

"For?" As far as Juliet could recall, he hadn't done anything wrong, other than yell at Matthew when he'd come to help during Natalie's party.

"For how I acted at Nat's party. I wasn't in my right mind, but even so there's no excuse for what I did. I put you in danger- you could have been charged for treason- and I kissed you even though I know you're here for Brandon. I'm sorry."

"Oh," Juliet tried not to let her disappointment show on her face. So he hadn't enjoyed kissing her. He only looked at it as a drunken mistake. Which is what it was, Juliet had just fooled herself into thinking there could have been more to it. She blinked away tears, not knowing where they were coming from. She shouldn't be upset over Ryan, he'd hardly even looked at her since the Selection started, but she was sad nonetheless.

Her attempts at concealing her feelings were unsuccessful and Ryan saw her tears, "It's nothing about you," he reassured her, "I was wrong in what I did. You're here for Brandon and not me so I should have respected that. I mean, we're four years apart and that's enough where I shouldn't have acted how I did. I feel like I took advantage of you and I'm sorry."

Juliet nodded, still miserable but she wanted him to get his facts straight, "We're three years apart, not four."

"What? Juliet, we're four years apart. I'm twenty one and you're only seventeen."

"Eighteen," she insisted "I'm eighteen."

"I looked at your form, you're seventeen."

"I was seventeen when I entered the Selection but I'm eighteen now. My birthday was two days ago."

"Oh," Ryan didn't know what to say but eventually he asked, "if you just had a birthday then why isn't this party for you too?"

"Because," Juliet explained, "Zinnia is my best friend here. She's been excited about her birthday for weeks. This is her day and I can't take that away from her. A party's just not as big of a deal to me as it is to her. My maids baked me a cake and we had a small celebration, that was all I really needed," she smiled as she said it, perfectly content with her choice.

"Alright," Ryan had nothing to say after that.

"I should probably get back to the others, we need to finish planning." Juliet said.

"I'll take you," he offered her his arm and escorted her back to where all the other girls were still talking.

As Juliet was about to suggest they start work again, a shrill blare interrupted her.

The girls all screamed, covering their ears against the unholy shrieking. Only Ryan looked unfazed. His grip on Juliet's arm tightened.

"Rebels," he told her.

It seemed like Blaise understood the situation, Vivian was frozen in shock, Taylor was screaming and all the other girls looked totally confused.

"Everybody, inside," Ryan ordered.

Some of the girls started toward Ryan while others seemed not to have heard him. Juliet began walking towards them to start herding girls inside. Blaise saw her coming and turned the opposite way, sprinting toward the large forest and taking the petrified Vivi with her. Sage knew how great Blaise's survival instincts were and took after her.

"Wait," Juliet called chasing after them, "You're going the wrong way!" She turned to Tristyn and Taylor, "Help me."

All three girls tried to catch Blaise and Sage but it was no use.

As Juliet took another step she felt her ankle twist beneath her. With a scream she fell to the ground. When she tried to stand her ankle buckled again. There was no way she could walk. She was trapped outside in the middle of a rebel attack. Taylor and Tristyn, oblivious to her peril, continued to chase Blaise and Sage and soon they were out of sight.

Juliet wanted to start crying. She was utterly alone and terrified. She tried to crawl away from the path but even that proved too much for her in her state. So instead of doing anything, she curled up in a ball and waited.

She didn't wait as long as she thought she'd have to. All too soon she heard footsteps coming her way. She slowly opened one eye and could have cried from relief when she saw who it was.

Standing in front of her was Ryan, Priya right by his side.

"Juliet!" He called, rushing to her, "Come on, we need to go."

"I can't," she whispered.

Ryan tried to pull her to her feet but stopped when he saw the obvious pain on her face.

"What is it?" He asked with a soft voice.

Juliet pointed to her ankle and watched as Ryan's eyes widened.

"Is it bad?" She asked.

"Nah," he lied, "it's fine." He then proceeded to examine it but stopped when she recoiled in pain.

"We need to go," Priya reminded them, "we'll look at your ankle later."

Ryan nodded and without a second thought scooped Juliet up into his arms. She gasped and grabbed at him, trying not to fall. She didn't need to worry though because his hold was strong and she was secure.

Her ankle was throbbing as Ryan carried her inside. Juliet buried her face into his chest and tried to block out the pain. She heard doors open and slam and felt the change the minute they stepped into the air conditioned palace.

Ryan raced through the halls and soon Juliet was greeted by the musty smell of the tunnels and she let herself relax, knowing they were safe.

Juliet heard the other girls all gasp as Ryan burst into the safe room but she couldn't muster up enough energy to open her eyes or speak to them. Ryan gently lowered her onto one of the hard cots.

As Juliet drifted off, she mustered up enough energy to pry her eyes open for one second. She expected to see the chaos of the safe room but instead she saw Ryan's bright hazel eyes, filled with concern, staring down at her. His presence anchored her and as she fell into unconsciousness it was with the knowledge that everything would be okay when she woke up.

...

"Would you leave me alone?" Aria demanded, trying to push past Logan as she left the kitchen.

"I'm just trying to do my job," he informed her as he followed her movements with the camera, "we need before footage from the party and that's what I'm getting."

"Well do it somewhere else, I'm busy," Aria pushed him win her shoulder so that she could leave. She'd spent the past few hours in the kitchen working on the food for Zinnia's party with the rest of the committee- Kadence, Miami, and Aurora. They would eat dinner beforehand so all the girls really had to plan were the snacks and, of course, the cake. Since Miami was a waitress and had the most experience working with food and vendors she'd taken charge and the girls had the menu pretty much planned out. The kitchen knew what they wanted and they'd have it ready by Saturday. The other girls had all left but Aria had been struck by inspiration for a few finishing touches on Zinnia's dress and had to write them down before she forgot. Kadence had tried to wait for her but Aria had waved her off and told her to go.

Just as Aria was finishing her drawing though, Logan had walked through the door.

"Yeah, you look real busy," Logan told her sarcastically, gesturing to her sketchbook.

Aria rolled her eyes and stepped around him, entering the hallway. Logan followed.

"For your information, I am busy. I don't have time to deal with idiots like you."

"I guess when you're busy you're not very happy," Logan told her.

"Sorry, did I hurt you're feelings when I called you stupid? I thought you already knew."

"Okay, Aria," Logan stopped her, "I get that you don't like me, but I'm just trying to do my job you don't need to be rude about it."

Aria knew he was right but she wasn't going to admit it so instead she turned and continued down the hall. But before she'd taken two steps she was interrupted by a loud siren.

She'd only heard the sound once before in her life but instantly she knew what it was. She froze mid-step in the hallway, Logan walking into her back.

While the rebel alarm caused Aria to panic, it had the opposite affect on Logan. He was spurred to action and grabbed her hand, dragging her down the hallway.

"In here," he opened a hidden room and shoved Aria in before she could protest.

The room was a third the size of the royal safe room and much barer. There were no cots, only a small sink and a bench barely big enough for three people.

"Great," Aria said sarcastically, looking around the dim room, "this is just perfect."

"At least we're safe," Logan countered, plopping down on the bench and carefully turning off his camera.

Gingerly Aria sat down on the other end of the bench and pulled her legs up against her chest, her long skirt keeping her modest. She cradled her sketchbook in her lap and opened it up to Zinnia's dress. Absently she began working on the details, humming to herself. She needed the dress to be finished that night so that she could give it to Zinnia's maids to begin sewing it.

She critically eyed her design and added a few more embellishments. She was so focused on her work that she didn't notice Logan had scooted down the bench and was watching her draw over her shoulder.

"That looks really good," he told her.

Aria jumped, "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"It's not considered sneaking when we're the only two people here and I didn't try to make it a secret."

"Well whatever it is, it's annoying," Aria slid from the bench onto the cold ground and tried to focus on her drawing again but it was impossible with Logan watching her the whole time.

After what felt like forever but had really only been a few minutes, Aria threw down her sketchbook in exasperation.

"Do you have to be so close?" she demanded.

"Well where would you rather have me sit?" Logan countered, "In case you haven't noticed, there isn't much space in here."

"We shouldn't even be here in the first place!" Aria exploded, "I should be with the other Selected in the royal safe room and you should be. . . wherever you're supposed to be."

"I suppose that's my thanks for saving your worthless butt from the rebels?"

"You're right," Aria said sarcastically, "thank you so much for bringing me to this tiny safe room so that I could be stuck with you for who knows how long."

Logan jumped up, suddenly angry, "You are impossible, you know that?"

Aria smiled sweetly at him, "Being impossible is one of my best qualities."

Logan shook his head at her and muttered to himself, loud enough for her to hear, "Don't know why I even bother trying," then turned to her, "And I don't know why you're complaining. Yeah, we're stuck, but at least you have good company. I'm trapped with a nitwit."

Aria's tone could have frozen ice, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Logan insisted.

Aria turned a glare on him, "Why don't you just go to the door and see if it's safe to leave yet. I don't know if I can stand being in here with you for another minute."

"Works for me," Logan spat as he turned toward the door, but when he reached the handle his face paled.

"What?" Aria asked, panic in her voice.

Sheepishly Logan turned to her, "You wouldn't happen to have a key to this door, would you?"

"Please tell me you're joking."

"Nope."

"So we're actually stuck? For how long? What if they can't find us?" Aria's questions came with increasing panic and she began to hyperventilate.

Logan was at her side in an instant, "It's going to be okay, Aria. You're one of the Selected girls, they're not going to forget about you, they'll find us."

"How do you know?" she whispered, brown eyes full of fear.

"The palace has some of the best security on the planet, they know where all of the safe rooms are, and they'll check every room until we're found. Trust me," his green eyes were full of concern for her and she could see that he meant every word he had said. Slowly, Aria nodded.

Gently, Logan helped her off the stone ground and back onto the bench, handing her the discarded sketchbook, and sitting down next to her as a comforting presence.

"Thanks," Aria told him sincerely.

In return Logan grinned a crooked smile at her and leaned back against the wall. It was going to be a long wait.

…

"No, Brandon," Cosmina giggled from beneath her helmet, "not like that."

Brandon pulled the helmet off his face, his hair sticky with sweat as he did so, "I honestly have no idea how you do this," his blue eyes were full of admiration as he told her, "it's impossible."

A rosy blush crept up Cosmina's pale cheeks at his praise. She was thankful he couldn't see it because of the thick fencing helmet that obscured her features.

"It's not really that hard," she said modestly, "and I've been doing it since I was little."

"I'm serious, Cosmina, fencing is difficult and you're incredibly talented at it, don't downplay your skills."

She felt her cheeks heat up again, "Thanks. Do you want to try again?"

For the past hour Cosmina had been attempting to teach Brandon the basics of fencing. Some people, like Brandon, were naturally athletic so sports came easily to them. Most people could figure out fencing pretty easily, or at least know that the pointy part was supposed to face the enemy and not yourself; however, it seemed for all his skills, Brandon had not inherited the Schreave fencing gene. He was struggling with the most basic of strikes, didn't ever know where to step, and had fallen twice in the bulky fencing suit. Cosmina had to try hard not to laugh at him. He was trying and that's what counted. He had kept his promise and taken her fencing since she couldn't do it at the palace. And while her skills were by no means improving from sparring with Brandon, Cosmina felt herself smiling more than she had in a very long time.

"Let's go," Brandon told her, "I think I'm starting to get the hang of it."

Cosmina had to disagree, it had taken him the whole hour to figure out how to put his helmet back on without getting it backwards, but his enthusiasm was adorable and she couldn't say no.

She watched as Brandon put his helmet back on and got into his stance. She let him come to her and easily parried his strike. The force of her strike caught him off guard and he nearly toppled over but he caught himself and came at her with more force than before, going past her defenses and landing a strike on the middle of her chest.

"I did it!" he exclaimed, looking at Cosmina for approval. Before she got the chance to say anything though, he realized something, "Wait a minute. That was too easy. Did you let me touch you?"

Cosmina's silence was enough of an answer for Brandon. His shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Come on, Brandon, it's okay. I am a professional fencer, if you were able to beat me than that would make you one of the best fencers on the planet your first time doing it, and that's not going to happen. But maybe if you practice, then someday when I'm sick or maybe blindfolded, you might be able to beat me."

"You're so encouraging," he said with a grin.

She smiled back, "I know. Now this time when you come at me, keep your guard up. You can't be so focused on your attack that you forget to defend yourself. And you always go to your left, maybe try changing it up a bit to confuse me."

"I still don't think that would be enough to beat you," Brandon teased.

"Probably not," Cosmina admitted, "but it can't hurt."

Brandon walked to the other side of the mat and got into a ready position, his features obscured by the mask. Cosmina had to remind herself that Brandon was under there, not some nameless opponent. She had to go easy on him.

Just as Cosmina saw Brandon prepare to attack again, a guard rushed over to him and began to talk in hushed tones.

Cosmina couldn't make out Brandon's reaction because of the mask, but there was a feeling of dread in her stomach that she couldn't dispatch.

As soon as the guard left, Brandon yanked off his helmet and dropped his sword, racing over to Cosmina. She knew instantly that something was wrong.

Brandon grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the door and outside, to the car that was waiting for them.

"What's wrong?" Cosmina asked, stopping before she got into the car.

Brandon had already slid inside but he scooted over so that he could look at her, "There's been an attack at the palace. We need to go to a secure location until it's over and then we'll go back to the palace."

Cosmina got into the car and sat next to him before asking her next question, "How bad is it?"

Brandon simply shook his head, too overcome to speak. Finally, he met her gaze, "I don't know," he admitted, "but it's not good. Six girls are missing."

"Six?" Cosmina breathed. With only twenty girls still at the palace that was over a fourth of them unaccounted for, "Do you think-"

Brandon cut her off before she could finish, "I don't know, but I hope they're all okay."

"Me too," Cosmina said, thinking of her friends.

Without another word Brandon reached over and grabbed Cosmina's hand, holding it tight. Cosmina squeezed back, needing the reassurance just as much as he did.

The rest of the ride passed in silence, both of them dreading the news that awaited them at the palace but also desperate to know what was going on.

When the car stopped Brandon squeezed Cosmina's hand one last time before letting it go and stepping out of the car to face whatever was awaiting him.

...

Okay so the party should be within the next two chapters. There's a poll up on my profile where you guys can vote on whose POV you want it to be from so make sure you do that. Also don't forget to leave me a review. Tell me which POV was your favorite this chapter and just any thoughts you have. Reviews make me want to write more so if you review it'll help me get the next chapter out faster.

Thanks for sticking with me all of you. You're all amazing!

~Jen