CHAPTER 23

Family day

The word seemed to circle around Luke's brain for the next day. Historically speaking, it was a chance for the prince or princess to meet their possible future in-laws. There was usually some type of picnic or party, depending on the weather. There were always cameras present, to capture the moment of each introduction.

However, everyone who ever held a selection knew that it was much more than that. Family day signified that you were nearing the end of the selection, that the final engagement ceremony would be soon. That the country would soon have a new addition to the royal family.

No, that couldn't be right.

Luke couldn't be that close to the end of his selection. It just wasn't possible. He silently counted the girls off on his fingers.

Eight.

That's how many were left.

It was shocking really, he was supposed to eliminate only five more girls before he picked his wife. His forever partner. And that would be the end of the selection. Luke would be married. He would live happily ever after. He would have as many children as possible (Though that wasn't strictly required, extended members of the royal family were supposed to provide as many possible children to be married off.) That's it. The end.

It was far too early in the morning for those types of unsettling thoughts though. He needed to focus on something else, something entirely different from his future wedding and children.

Luke vaguely recalled the family day during Farrah's selection. Some of her suitors younger siblings had come and he had played with a boy and girl about his age. Though, looking back, their brother had probably told them to in order to make a good impression on Farrah.

The gentlemen of Farrah's selection were forever trying to get close with Luke in hopes of gaining favor with his older sister. They would play ball with him or volunteer to hang out, or essentially babysit him. There was one boy, Vincent or Victor or something who would always put together puzzles with Luke. They once completed a 700-piece puzzle of a basket of puppies.

Last Luke had heard he landed a major role in a live-action adaptation of a classic animated movie. Farrah and Max had been invited to the premiere, they chose not to attend. Something about it being bad press to go to the movie premier of what was essentially her ex-boyfriend.

Still, all of the selected's efforts, the puzzle-boy especially were in vain.

They really thought Farrah would choose her husband based on who her little brother was fond of, or wanted to be his new brother-in-law.

Ha. As if she would ever take Luke's preferences into consideration.

"Lucas." His father's voice echoed through Luke's bedroom, it was far too early for whatever silly thing his dad wanted. "I need to speak to you."

Huh.

That was odd. Bennet never used Luke's full name, not even when he was mad. Something must have gone seriously wrong in order for him to actually say the word Lucas.

"Dad?" Luke said groggily. "What time is it?"

"Early. I need you to get up Lucas." Bennet said. Luke finally opened his eyes, looking at his father. He was already dressed in a somber grey suit, his hand massaging his temple. He looked as if something upsetting had happened.

"Is everything okay?" Luke asked quickly, sitting up in bed.

Bennet sighed deeply. "I don't quite understand it, but something very bad has come to light. Your sister will explain."

"Dad, you're scaring me." Luke said smally. "Did someone die?"

Bennet's stone-hard face softened. "No, no nothing like that. It's just...rather unsettling. Believe me, everything will be fine. Now I need you to get up."

"Right." Luke said quickly, scrambling out of bed. Relief filled his body. Though he couldn't imagine what had happened, it couldn't be anything that bad. He made his way over to the large closet in his room, opening it's mirrored doors.

"Wear a suit Luke. Not any of your silly sweatshirts." Bennet called from across the room.

"Okay." Luke called back. He took a dark gray suit off the hanger and slipped it on, tying a blue tie around his neck. He didn't bother combing or gelling his hair, it seemed like whatever had happened needed his attention now.

Bennet looked over Luke appraisingly and must have accepted what he saw because he gave a brisk nod. "Let's go." He said quickly, opening the door.

His hand rested on Luke's shoulder as they made their way to Farrah's office. Luke glanced at his father nervously, he hadn't seen him this tense since he stepped down from the throne. Luke knew that Bennet looked imposing and stern, and when it came to matters of state, he was sharp and calculated in his movements. Still, he had never been that way with Luke though, and whatever had happened clearly disturbed him enough to forget that this was his son, not another one of his ex-subjects.

"I'm firing the head of security." Farrah announced as a way of greeting when they walked in.

"Maybe the province service manager for Kent too, while you're at it." Max's tone was light, but as he read over a file in his hand, it was clear that he at least thought that there was some need for a new province service manager.

"Why are you firing people?" Luke asked, confused.

Farrah shook her head, before indicating the seat in front of her desk. "Sit." She said simply, her voice tight with barely constrained fury.

Luke complied quickly. "My question still stands. Why are you firing people?"

Farrah ran a hand over the top of her head, smoothing down any flyaway pieces of hair that might have escaped from her tight ponytail. Her maid had done a simple job on her makeup, probably trying to be as quick as possible. She was wearing a dark red blouse and a pair of dark pants, a gold necklace and matching bracelet completing the look.

"So?" Luke hedged, taking the risk of his sister losing it. "What's going on?"

"I don't know whose idiocy led to this disaster, but when I find out…" She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Bennet had gone to sit on a couch to the side of her desk. "Your selected from Kent, Ophelia Jordan, you remember her right?" Farrah asked.

"Of course." Luke scoffed.

"We reviewed her file in order to invite her family to the palace. As it turns out, she didn't have any family listed. That was then run by the most recent census, and you know what my assistant found?" Farrah asked, challengingly.

"No."

"There was no record of Ophelia Jordan, a three from Kent. In fact, the only Ophelia Jordan listed was an eight who had previously committed identity fraud, pretending to be a five." Farrah said, throwing a disgusted look at the file Max had placed down on the desk.

So?

That was what was getting Farrah so upset? Luke didn't even get what she was implying. She and Bennet were this worked up over Ophelia being an orphan? It didn't sound like that bad a thing.

Unless there was something he was missing.

"I don't get it." Luke said, his face scrunched in concentration. What was she getting at? "Maybe she didn't fill out the census." Luke suggested.

"You never were too quick on the uptake." Farrah grumbled.

"Farrah, be nice." Bennet said warningly.

"Right. Wake up Luke, this girl is not a three. She's not a elementary school teacher. Hell, she's not even a five. She's a criminal, who somehow got past the country's best security and found her way into the selection." Farrah practically spat out the words, her lips pressed together into a hard line.

Luke didn't know what to say to that. There was absolutely no way that what Farrah was saying could be true. Forget managing to get past the mandatory background checks and identification, but Ophelia had to be a three. She had shown him how to play the piano, she was great at the violin. Surely no mere eight would have those skills.

Besides, forget the numbers and castes, this was Ophelia they were talking about. The girl who had tried to show him a magic trick. She was sweet and nice and everyone's friend. It was hard to couple these images in his head. Ophelia the music teacher and Ophelia the…

The illegitimate girl in his selection.

The girl, who would most probably be prosecuted to the full extent of the law for not only daring to change her caste without filing an appeal or getting it approved, but who entered the selection. Who sat under the roof of the royalty of Illéa, lying to each and every one of them about who she was and where she came from.

The young woman who dared to defy Farrah and the rules she had set in place .

Luke was no idiot, as much as his sister liked to call him one. He knew the consequences for this. For breaking the caste system. He had seen a few cases like this over the years. It was anywhere from five years to life in prison, and coupled with the fact that she was apparently a repeat offender, it wasn't looking good.

And it wasn't some Province prosecutor who would be going after her this time.

It would be his father and Farrah. There wouldn't be a fair trial, Farrah would get whatever outcome she wanted from the judge. She was the Queen for God's sake. Luke wasn't entirely sure she would even give Ophelia a trial. She seemed pretty mad.

"A-are you sure?" Luke asked. He hated the way his voice sounded, quiet and confused. As if he couldn't handle what was going on.

"Yes. It is repulsive that this...lady even made it past the preliminary checks, but the evidence is all there. You can look at the records yourself if you want." Bennet offered, his face was akin to Farrah's, irritation at the situation clear on his face. Max was more controlled. He was obviously displeased as well, but he didn't seem as angry as the rest of them.

"It's okay. I don't need to see them." Luke said, his mind whirling. It didn't make any sense, who would she do this? As Luke's thoughts continued, an overbearing feeling filled his body, whipping out anything else he was feeling.

Betrayal.

That's what this was. She has lied to him about who she was and what she had gone through. She had tried to paint a fake image of herself. If he had chosen her, when would she tell him? At the wedding? During the honeymoon? After they've been married for years and years?

Or would she never tell him?

Would she let the charade continue until their deaths, and then no one would ever know. She would hide this from the man she might've married.

"Well, now that we're all in agreement about what happened, I need to...move forward with this." Farrah said, clapping her hands to break the silence in the room.

"What does that even mean?" Luke asked.

Farrah sighed, rolling her eyes, before opening the door to her office. "Officer Jhaveri, can you go fetch Lady Ophelia from her room and escort her back here. Make sure she doesn't dally getting up." Farrah said to the guard, poking her head out the door.

"Of course, Your Majesty." Came the guard's reply.

Luke heard his boots thudding as he walked away from the office to go get Ophelia. After his footsteps had faded, the office was in complete silence. No one seemed to want to say anything until Ophelia arrived. Luke took the time to actually look at his sister. Her blouse wasn't form-fitting, and perhaps he was imagining it, but Luke personally thought her stomach looked a bit larger than usual.

He probably was imagining it. Farrah hadn't mentioned how far along she was, but surely if she was beginning to show some magazine company would have picked up on it. Instead there were almost no rumors circulating, despite the usual When do you think? ones.

The return of the guard's heavy footsteps against the marble floor was accompanied by the sound of smaller, delicate ones.

Ophelia.

Luke briefly wondered what was going through her head right now. Surely she must've put two and two together and figured out what this summons meant. She must be so scared right now. Luke couldn't blame her. Talk about your life falling apart right in front of your eyes.

"Your Majesties." The guard said, bowing as he opened the door. Ophelia was standing slightly to his left, her brown hair had been put into a plain little bun, and she wore a modest blue dress. She hadn't bothered with jewelry or makeup, evidently the guard had rushed her.

"Thank you Jhaveri." Farrah said to the guard. She turned her attention to Ophelia who was practically quivering with fear. "Ophelia, would you like to come in?" She asked. Ophelia nodded mutely, bobbing a curtsy. She sat in the chair next to Luke, facing Farrah's desk. The guard shut the door, and Ophelia watched it close. She looked sad to see the guard go, now she was alone with four members of the royal family.

"So, Ophelia do you know why you're here?" Farrah asked, sitting down behind her desk.

"No." She said quietly.

"Really? Not any idea at all? You don't even want to take a guess?"

"No, Your Majesty. I don't know why I'm here." Ophelia said, her gaze fixated on the floor.

"I find that hard to believe." Farrah said, smiling slightly. Max looked like he wanted to say something, but obviously thought the better of it, keeping his mouth shut. "You don't recall getting a job as a teacher, a profession in what was clearly not your caste without filing for a caste transfer?"

"I'm...I'm a three." Ophelia said, clearly unsure of herself. Luke felt a momentary rush of pity for her.

"No, you're not. The only record of Ophelia Bea Jordan is an eight who's parents died and somehow managed to evade the foster system. So why don't you save us both the trouble and enlighten me to what happened to lead to this...unfortunate mix-up." Farrah chose her words carefully, and the effect on Ophelia was almost instantaneous. Her face crumpled in sadness and she looked like she was about to start crying.

"You-you don't understand." Ophelia said, practically whimpering. "I had to do something. I couldn't go into the foster system. No one would want me. I just couldn't do it. I did what I needed to survive on my own. Without help from the government." Ophelia was crying by the end of her speech, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. Luke had the sudden urge to comfort her, but Farrah plowed on in her interrogation of the girl.

"And so instead of entering the foster system, which would have placed you in a household that could provide for you, you lied. It says you previously pretended to be a five, care to elaborate?" Farrah asked. Luke knew well enough that Ophelia shouldn't be talking without a lawyer present, the less she said the better. He wasn't going to say anything though. He didn't need anyone to be angry at him.

"I got a second-hand violin." Ophelia said quietly. "I practiced hard as I could for years and I got really good at it, I started playing at parties and functions and the like. The authorities caught on, and they weren't happy. I was still a kid, so they didn't actually send me to jail, but they wanted to make an example of me. They...they whipped me."

Luke felt his eyebrows raise at that. They did what? There was absolutely no way... That was horrible, unthinkable. Luke couldn't fathom a situation where someone would actually whip another person as punishment. Corporal punishment was oulawed over seventy-five years ago, and for a good reason. There was no need to torture people, to harm them. Why would anyone do that? To Ophelia, especially.

She must've been a little girl when that happened.

Farrah's expression mirrored Luke's. "They whipped you?" She asked, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"Yes."

"When was this?" Farrah asked, grabbing a piece of paper.

"About five years ago." Ophelia said quietly.

"Hendrickson would have been the chief." Max told Farrah in a hushed voice. She nodded, scribbling something down on the paper.

"Absolute morons." Farrah muttered. "I don't know who in their right mind put that fool in charge of a police force."

"His grandfather actually. He was the chief before him" Max informed her.

"All that doesn't change the fact that you lied about who you were, you essentially committed identity fraud." Bennet said to Ophelia. His face betrayed no emotion towards the girl crying before him. "How did you do it?"

"I sewed my own clothes and found fake papers that said I was a three. There's a huge industry for it in Kent. People never questioned me that much, they never looked too hard at the papers." Ophelia looked up, her face shining with tears. "I don't know how I got into the selection. I didn't even think about what I was risking by entering. I just wanted to be able to come to the palace, to see Angeles." She finished, sniffling a bit.

Luke knew he should say something, anything really. He shouldn't be sitting there, mute, allowing this to go on. The thing was, as much as he liked Ophelia, as much as he empathized with what had happened to her and understood that she needed to do something, changing her caste was the best way out, he felt as if she had broken his trust.

It was a ridiculous thought really, he didn't even know her that well.

She should have told him. He wouldn't have judged her, he wouldn't have reported her. He could have actually helped. Instead, she lied to him like everyone else. And now here she was, facing the consequences of her own actions.

As scorned as Luke was though, he couldn't let her be punished for it. He still cared for her. Ophelia didn't belong in prison.

She just didn't.

"So you risked all that for a paid vacation?" Farrah asked in disbelief.

"I guess it sounds kind of stupid." Ophelia said, attempting a smile. Luke smiled back, but he was the only one to do so. Farrah crossed her arms, Bennet continued glaring at her, and Max shook his head slowly.

"Yes it does." Was all Farrah said in response.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room, heavy and weighing on everyone in that room. Luke didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say. He had to do something though. "Can we go now?" He asked hopefully.

"No Lucas." Bennet said, looking at his son.

"Right." Farrah took a deep breath, steeling herself. " Ophelia Jordan of Kent, you are guilty of the crimes of fraud, identity theft, and possession of counterfeit documents. Your sentence will be decided in the Angeles courtroom. You have the right to a lawyer. You will wait in your room till further instruction. I would suggest getting some rest." Farrah said coolly.

Ophelia nodded, apparently unable to speak.

Farrah opened her door, beckoning the guard stationed outside in. "Officer, take her back to her room and watch over her until further notice. No one is to be let in." Farrah glanced at Ophelia before looking back to the guard. "There is no need for handcuffs."

"Farrah, do you really think-" Bennet started, before Farrah cut him off.

"She's not a war traitor Daddy. She's not dangerous. There is no reason for her to be placed in restraints." Farrah replied quickly. Luke felt an unlikely thankfulness for his sister. At least she wasn't being cruel about this.

Bennet clearly didn't agree with his daughter, but he didn't say anything further. Instead he sighed, massaging his temple. Farrah flicked her hand at the pair, and the guard and Ophelia left the room. He wasn't restraining her in any way, but it still must be humiliating to have a guard escort you back to your room, or essentially, your cell.

"I'm gonna go." Luke said, pointing his thumb at the door. Bennet nodded, and Luke quickly escaped, thankful to be out of the tense environment. He never wanted to go through anything like that again. It was funny really, yesterday he had thought of how many illegal hobbies his selected had, guess he better add another one to the list.

Pretending to be a different caste.

That certainly trumped street races. What unlucky twist of fate had ended with him having all these ladies in his selection. An adrenaline junkie, a communist activist, a professional gambler, and two girls who had evaded the foster system. At least Laena didn't lie about her caste after that.

Luke was so lost in his thoughts he barely noticed Sable approaching him, her dark was set in loose curls and she wore flats to combat her height. He didn't actually realize she was there till she tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to flinch in surprise.

"Oh, Sable, how are you?" He asked distractedly.

"I'm good, thank you. I think the better question is how Ophelia is doing?" Sable asked nonchalantly. Ophelia? How could she know.

Funny. He was always asking himself how Sable knew things. First the trip to Spain, and now this? It was getting to be somewhat of a pattern.

"What do you mean?" He asked, trying to see what she knew before he gave anything away.

"I saw that guard escorting her back to her room. I suppose you found out about her...let's say, caste?" Sable asked.

"What about it?"

"You don't have to act like that Luke. I know she isn't actually a three. I knew since she started telling me about her profession, and then I did some internet searches on it, accessed the reports from a few censuses and the birth records that the hospitals keep. It was clear that Ophelia was lying. There was absolutely no record of her being a three until a few years ago." Sable said calmly, as if she hadn't just pulled a whole Detective Sable move.

Luke couldn't exactly believe what he was hearing. She was this thorough? Maybe they should hire her as the replacement for the head of security that Farrah was firing.

"That's...wow. How did you even think to look up those records?" Luke asked, impressed.

"It takes a con artist to know a con artist." Sable hummed, smiling slightly.

What?

"I'm sorry?" Luke asked, wrinkling his brow in confusion.

Sable chuckled at Luke's expression. "Luke, I'm a gambler. What do you think my job entails?"

"Gambling?" Luke said, his voice unsure.

"You're adorable." Sable said, laughing harder now. "Well, I'm not going to be the one who explains the world of gambling to you. I'll save that for your parents." Sable shook her head. Luke, however, was still clueless about what she meant. Sable obviously wasn't going to tell him, but he had more important things to focus on right now. Like what Sable wanted to do about Ophelia.

"So...I guess you know about Ophelia. What do you think I should do?" Luke asked desperately, looking for someone to give him advice on what to say to make this horrible situation just a little bit better.

"Well, I guess you must be mad at her." Sable started.

"I...I think I am. I don't really know." Luke said breathlessly.

"Are you mad enough to let her get sent to jail though?" Sable questioned. "Do you really want her to spend the rest of her life in a prison cell? Do you honestly think she deserves that, do you think that she should be treated like a criminal?"

"She..She broke that law. That...that's not right." Luke stammered.

"Be that as it may, she's still Ophelia. She's the same person she was before, regardless of her caste, or lack thereof. You can't pretend that knowing this about her changed her personality, changed who she is as a person. Now, I'm asking again, do you think she should go to jail?" Sable asked.

Luke suddenly had the feeling that he was being lectured by a professor from Harvard or a school of the sort. "No." He said simply.

"Good. I didn't think so." Sable said, smiling. "I knew you were a decent person despite all those crowns and fancy clothes."

"Gee thanks." Luke said he wasn't entirely sure if it was a complement or not, but he decided to ignore it.

" So you want Sable to be cleared of all charges. Good. Listen to me very carefully, this is what you need to do. Your family cares a lot about appearances, your sister in particular. She wouldn't want the news of this going public. It would make her administration look like fools." Sable said.

"Okay...where is this going?" Luke asked.

"I'm getting there. Remind her of what this would look like if the media found out. Then, suggest that instead of pressing charges, you destroy all the records of Ophelia the eight and replace them with doctored records of Ophelia the three. It shouldn't be that hard. It would save face and allow for Ophelia to go on with her life." Sable explained.

"That's really smart. You're sure she'll go for it though?" Luke asked. It was a great plan, even Luke had to admit, Sable was really good at this. Maybe they really should hire her as head of security, she'd do much better than whatever fool let Ophelia past.

"Of course she will. I haven't known the Queen for long, but I can tell that she values saving face above prosecuting a young girl. It might be unpleasant, but it would be far better than letting the country know what had truly happened." Sable said, shrugging.

"That all sounds absurdly simple." Luke said in surprise. "I can't believe you came up with that."

"Hey, I can have my strokes of genius. All you need to do is pull this off. I really don't think Her Majesty will appreciate me getting involved in this. I mean, I don't even think your mother knows." Sable smiled as she talked, obviously basking in the glory of her plan.

"Don't worry." Luke said jovially. "I'm sure I can do it. How hard can it be? You gave me step-by-step instructions."

"I know. I'm not saying that you have to keep her in the selection after this if you don't want to, but it's better than her ending up in prison. She's one of my closest friends. She doesn't deserve that, not if I can help it." Sable said, her face set in grim determination.

"I have a proposition for you." Luke said, opening the door to Farrah's office. Thank God Bennet had left, there was no way he'd be amicable today what Luke was about to suggest. Farrah and Max however, well there was hope for them yet.

"Do tell." Farrah said, amused. "I swear, if this is you trying to get me to build a pool."

"Don't worry, it's not." Luke said quickly. "It's about the situation with Ophelia."

Farrah's expression darkened, and she bit her lower lip. Max shot him a confused look. "What is there to talk about?" He asked. "There's not much to be done about it…" His voice trailed off at the end. He clearly didn't like the outcome any more than Luke did. Max might have been a three before the selection, but that didn't mean he was oblivious to how the lower castes struggled. He probably went to school with them, and saw the less fortunate every day.

Actually, Luke didn't really know if he went to school with them. He had never thought to ask before now.

"Look, she broke the rules." Luke started. "I know that. What she did was illegal, it was wrong of her. I'm not trying to dispute that"

"Where are you going with this?" Farrah asked.

"Yes, Ophelia committed a crime, but think about how it will look on you when this debacle reaches the paper. People will think that your administration is weak, lazy, full of unprofessional slackers. Is that really what you want?"

"It will show people not to mess with the caste system. It will show people the consequences if you try what Ophelia did." Farrah said hotly.

This was going downhill fast. He needed to do something to salvage this, get the conversation back on track.

Think, Luke, Think!

"How do you know? It will also show people that she got away with it for what, four years?" Luke found his footing and ploughed on, much more sure of where he was going with this. "Do you really think upon reading that people will decide not to do it? Or will they say Hey, that's an idea. Your country will be flooded with pretenders, all because one silly little girl had to be taken to court. Is it really worth it?"

Luke saw Farrah frown as she considered his, well Sable's scenario. It obviously hadn't dawned on her that this was a possibility. It must be a blow to someone who thought that she had the world figured out.

"And what do you propose I do instead?" Farrah asked, scoffing. "Do nothing and hope no one looks too closely into her backstory?"

"I have a different idea for you. Get rid of any record of Ophelia. Birth certificates, census reports, school records for heaven's sake. Anything. Replace them with false ones that say she is a three. It shouldn't be that hard, no one will question them." Luke said.

"That's...that's illegal! It's against the laws, my own laws. I can't do that." Farrah said quickly, her morals obviously getting the best of her.

"So is whipping somebody. Do you really want that to get out? If this gets dragged through court, it's inevitable." Luke challenged.

"The chief will be dealt with. I...I can't just excuse this." Farrah said her words tense and full of...uncertainty?

That was something Luke had never heard before.

"Why? What do you value more? Exacting justice on a young girl, ruining her life, or saving face?" Luke asked.

"Luke, that's enough." Max said finally.

"No, no. I want to hear her answer." Luke said, gesturing towards her sister. "So, what will it be? What's the final verdict?"

Farrah's cheeks were flushed a dark red in anger. The look she shot Luke was downright scary. Luke gulped, taking an instinctive step back. "Let me make something clear, I don't make it a practice of negotiating with criminals, something I've had to do more than once during the course of your selection." Oh right, Laena. "However, you make some...fair points. For quite possibly the first time in your life, you're right. You are absolutely correct."

Wait, he was?

Oh thank God. Sable's plan had actually worked. Luke had doubted it for a second, but somehow she was right.

"Thank you." Luke said, smiling at her. He turned and started to leave, but Farrah's words halted him as he was about to open the door to leave the room.

"Do you think I like it?"

"What?" Luke asked, confusion on his face. What did she even mean?

"Do you think I enjoy my job?" Farrah let out a high pitched laugh. "Do you honestly think I like having to punish criminals who broke petty laws, or who did it for their family or to protect a loved one? Do you think I want to send officers to break up protests for causes I support? For causes, that if I could, I would be protesting for too?"

Luke had never actually thought of whether Farrah liked doing the things she did. He assumed that she must, why else would she be so willing to do it? It had never dawned on him that she might feel guilty about what she had to do on a daily basis.

"I don't know." Luke said quietly.

"For your information, I don't. I don't like that. Someone has to take on those aspects of the job though, and that someone is me. Without it, the country would descend into madness, a lawless land. And so I do it. I feel bad, sure, but I do it." Farrah glared at him, a sad sort of smile playing on her lips.

"I never really thought about it before." Luke whispered.

Farrah nodded, looking at him. "Well, think about that. Next time you want me to bend one of the rules for your own benefit, think about that."

"Ladies." Luke announced, walking into the womens room. All of them were seated there, all of them except for Ophelia that is. Luke supposed that she was still being held in her room until Farrah felt that she could see her around the palace without stabbing her with a fork or something.

Sable, who was seated on an overstuffed couch met his eyes. She gave him a look that clearly said Did it work? In response, Luke gave a brief nod, just a small jerk of his head. The relief was palpable on Sable's face, and she leaned back with a self-satisfied smile on her face. Luke should really tell Ophelia that it was Sable who she should be thanking, not him. Left to his own devices, Luke never would have come up with any scheme as grand or as foolproof as Sable's. She really was an evil genius sometimes, for better or for worse.

"Well, I'm not sure if any of you heard through the palace grapevine, but I should hope not." Luke said, letting out a small chuckle. "Sorry, that was a joke. Or an attempt at one, at least. Uh, your families will be visiting next week." Luke said quickly.

"You're joking." Sydney said, excitedly.

"Nope. The second half of my statement actually wasn't a joke. My...parents" That was a lie. "Thought it was time for family day, they wanted to meet the wonderful people who raised you." Luke finished brightly.

It was almost as if the atmosphere in the room changed. A smile lit over the face of every single girl in the room. Samantha turned excitedly to Esme, and Quinn whispered something to Faye. Luke supposed that some of them must be homesick, after all, this might have been their first time away from home for an extended period of time. All of the girls were all beaming, filled with joy. .

Almost every girl that was.

Laena was the only exception. Instead of smiling like all the other girls, a worried expression settled on her face. She started fidgeting with a few strands of her white-blond hair as she started at the floor.

He better talk to her.

"Hey Laena." He said quietly. "Do you want to talk somewhere private?" He asked. She nodded mutely. Luke grabbed her elbow, leading her to a secluded section of chairs in the corner. Luke watched Laena sit down, before he sat down himself. "What's bothering you?" He asked.

"My brother, the one I told you about." Laena said quietly. Oh. That was the boy with leukemia. The one who she had requested Luke's help for.

"How's he doing?" Luke asked.

"I got a message from him yesterday. He's doing better, he finished his first stage of treatment, but I don't know if he's going to be well enough to travel. He already can't do things that all the other kids do, I don't want him to be left out of this one too." Laena said sniffling. "I guess that's silly of me."

"It's not silly, Laena. You care about your brother, there's nothing wrong with that." Luke reminded her.

"I..I guess. Oh, that reminds me, he said to thank you from him." Luke smiled at that. Somehow the thought of a boy thousands of miles away reminding his sister to thank him warmed his heart.

"Tell him he has nothing to thank me for." Luke said.

"You know that's not true, right?" Laena asked.

"Excuse me?"

"You know that he should be thanking you. I mean, you essentially saved his life Luke. I'm thankful for you. You really should take more credit for all the good things you do for people. You're basically a superhero. Embrace it."

Luke blushed at Laena's words. A superhero? Hardly. He was just doing the right thing. "It was the least I could do." Luke said quietly.

"Well then, thank you for doing the absolute bare minimum and saving my brother's life." Laena said jokingly. Luke laughed at that, smiling at her words. That had been getting a wee bit heavy for a second, and Luke was glad that Laena had steered it back into a lighter direction.

"You are completely welcome." Luke said back to her. "Maybe I should make a mask and cape if I really am a superhero." He mused.

"I'll help you make one." Laena volunteered.

"Great. Now all I need is a cool name."

A/N: So turns out I got my laptop back quicker than I expected, so we are back with another chapter. And, this was actually the longest chapter I've written for this story, so that's a fun little milestone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you next time, with a probably shorter chapter!

Joke: Why was the baby strawberry crying?

Her parents were in a jam!