Annalise was on her way to the meeting room. She had a meeting with Atticus to discuss the rebel attacks and what the crown was going to do about them and she was surprised to hear that Jeffrey would be sitting in on the meeting. She wasn't sure how much Atticus would listen to her son's suggestions, but Jeffrey seemed excited to finally be included, so Annalise was happy for him. On her way there, she ran into Jerry who greeted her with a slight smile.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Annalise, but I was wondering if I could have a word?" Jerry asked.
Annalise nodded, "Of course." She always tried to make time for her Selected, even if she had a lot on her plate, they dropped their entire lives just for a chance to win her hand in marriage, it was the least she could do.
"I've been thinking, and unfortunately I would like to go home," Jerry said solemnly. "I've tried to move on from Rosie, but I just don't think I can do it."
Annalise gave Jerry a sad smile, "I completely understand, it sounds like the two of you had a wonderful marriage, and I thank you for asking to leave before my boys got too attached."
"Thank you, Annalise, you're truly an amazing woman, you're strong and beautiful and your sons are lucky to have you, I'm sure whoever wins you'll make them very happy. It's just, I didn't want you to get your hopes up that it would be me when I just, I don't think I'm ready to move on," Jerry said.
"I wish it was harder to move on from Darren, I am actually a little jealous of what you and Rosie had," Annalise said. She then hugged Jerry. "Thank you for competing and giving it a shot, I hope that you find happiness one day."
"Thank you, Annalise, I'll say goodbye to the boys, though I think Jeffrey might be relieved that I'm leaving." Jerry joked.
Annalise chuckled, "As much as I hate his attitude towards you all, at least he's not getting too attached. I'm sure Callum will be sad to see you go."
"They're both great kids, you've done a fantastic job raising them," Jerry said.
"Thank you," Annalise said with a smile. "I should probably get going, I have a meeting to attend. Have a safe flight."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Jerry said and bowed his head to the Queen.
Annalise smiled at him once more before she went on her way. She was sad to see Jerry go, but she completely understood his reasons for wanting to leave. She suspected that if her and Darren had been closer then she might not have even had the Selection in the first place.
Noah was a little nervous about spending alone time with the princes, if he were being honest, especially Jeffrey who seemed to be giving the Selected nothing but trouble. He decided to have a board game night with the boys, since Annalise said that Jeffrey enjoyed playing them, and Callum seemed to be up for anything. Noah had the game of monopoly set up on one of the tables in a parlor and was waiting on the boys to arrive. Callum was the first to show up and he greeted Noah with a wave.
"Jeffrey's on his way," Callum said as he glanced at the game. "Just don't let him be the banker, he always cheats."
Noah smirked, "Does he now?" Of course, Jeffrey cheated, why didn't that surprise him?
Callum nodded, "He always takes more money."
"I do not." Jeffrey said as he entered the room. "You just suck."
"Hey, be nice," Noah said.
Jeffrey rolled his eyes, but bit back a sarcastic remark, remembering his grandfather's warning. They all sat around the table and started playing their game. Noah kept an eye on the money, but Jeffrey insisted on grabbing his own money from the bank. Noah sighed but relented.
"Don't cheat, Jeffrey!" Callum said.
"I'm not cheating!" Jeffrey exclaimed. "I only took two hundred for going past go!"
"I saw you take three one-hundred-dollar bills! You're lying!" Callum exclaimed.
Jeffrey laughed, "I'm not cheating, you're just not any good at monopoly, that's why you're losing."
"Noah! Make him stop!" Callum whined.
Noah glanced between the two kids, unsure of what to do, "Jeffrey, did you cheat?"
Jeffrey smirked and shook his head, "Why does everyone think I cheat?"
"Because you do!" Callum shouted. He pushed the boardgame off of the table and stood from his chair. "I hate playing monopoly with you!"
Jeffrey burst out laughing as his younger brother stormed out of the room.
"Did you cheat?" Noah asked Jeffrey sternly.
"Yeah, I did," Jeffrey admitted as he continued laughing.
Noah sighed, "Why would you do that? You upset your brother!"
Jeffrey shrugged, "Because it's funny."
"Go apologize," Noah said in a firm tone.
"No," Jeffrey said as he stood. "You're not my dad, I don't have to listen to you."
Noah sighed as Jeffrey stood and left the room. He felt bad leaving the mess for servants to clean up, but he wanted to talk to Callum. He found Callum pouting in the gardens, taking his anger out on a soccer ball.
"Hey, it's okay to be upset about this, what Jeffrey did wasn't fair," Noah said as he crouched down to Callum's level.
"He always ruins everything, even when we do stuff he like he makes it not fun," Callum complained as he crossed his arms.
"If that's how Jeffrey's going to play then we won't play with him, but we can start another game if you want?" Noah offered.
"Yeah, that sounds fun!" Callum exclaimed. "But can we play life instead? I like it better than monopoly, monopoly is confusing."
"Sure thing," Noah said as he wrapped an arm around Callum. Together the two walked back inside of the palace and spent the afternoon playing various board games until it was time for dinner. Noah walked Callum to the dining room. They ran into Annalise on the way there who gave Noah a confused look, he was supposed to be spending time with both of her kids, not just one.
"Hey Callum, did you have a fun afternoon with Noah?" Annalise asked.
Callum nodded excitedly, "Yeah! We played a lot of boardgames, it was really fun!"
Annalise smiled, "That's good, I'm glad you had fun. Go and join your brother, I'll be there in a moment."
Callum nodded and disappeared into the dinning room, and Annalise turned her attention to Noah.
"What happened to Jeffrey? I thought he was supposed to be joining you two," Annalise said.
Noah sighed, "He decided to cheat, then Callum got upset and ran away, so I decided that if Jeffrey can't play honestly then he can't play at all."
Annalise smiled, amused, "I could have told you that he was going to cheat."
Noah gave her a look, "So he always cheats?"
Annalise nodded, "Ever since he figured out how to, yes."
Noah chuckled, "What a kid."
"That's how he always wins, I normally turn a blind eye to it, but now that Callum's caught on, well, I just stopped playing boardgames with them, it gets too heated."
"You really could have told me that before I did this, Annalise." Noah said with a smile.
"Now where's the fun in that?" Annalise asked with a grin. "Besides, I wanted to see how you handled it. I think you did a good job, especially for someone who doesn't have kids."
"Thanks," Noah said.
"We should probably get to dinner," Annalise said.
Noah nodded, "I'll see you around."
"I'll see you later," Annalise said, she placed a hand on Noah's shoulder as she walked into the dining room and he followed behind her. Annalise took her seat at the head table with her sons and father-in-law, while Noah took his seat with the five remaining Selected.
That evening Jeffrey entered Atticus's office, the office that had formerly belonged to his father and then his uncle. He hoped that things were going to be different with his grandfather and so far, they had been. Jeffrey was given official reports to read and give his insights on, but ultimately Atticus was still the one calling the shots. Atticus sat at the desk and motioned for Jeffrey to come closer.
"There's a war meeting tomorrow, and I'd like you to come," Atticus said.
Jeffrey's eyes lit up with excitement, "Really? I get to come?"
"As long as you pass this drug test." Atticus said as he pulled out a clear, small plastic container.
Jeffrey sighed, of course there was a catch. He took the container in his hand with a frown, he hadn't smoked pot since his grandfather's lecture a week ago, couldn't he just trust him?
"Do I have to?" Jeffrey asked.
"Yes, I need to be absolutely sure that you're sticking to your word," Atticus said firmly. "Go fill it up."
Jeffrey sighed as he walked away, stuffing the container in his pocket. A servant followed him to the bathroom and waited outside while he did his business. When he was finished, he handed the container of urine to the servant and returned to Atticus's office. It was humiliating, but Jeffrey did his best to act as if he didn't care about the drug test.
"Tomorrow we'll be discussing the measures we're taking to get those pesky rebels under control," Atticus said. "We think they're planning another attack on the palace."
Jeffrey swallowed a lump in his throat, he hated how scared and helpless he felt during palace attacks, and the memories they brought back. "What are you going to do?"
"I haven't quite decided yet, there are a number of options to consider," Atticus replied as he slid an envelope towards Jeffrey. "These are our options, provided to us by our advisors, I expect you to read them over."
Jeffrey nodded, "Do you think they'll make it to the palace again?"
Atticus shook his head, "I don't believe so, I think we'll squash these rebels before they even have the chance."
"Good," Jeffrey said. He was about to leave, but he hesitated for a moment. "Grandpa?"
"Yes?" Atticus asked.
"Do you think you could…legalize same sex marriage?" Jeffrey asked hesitantly.
Atticus frowned and was quiet for a few moments, gathering his thoughts, "I don't think that's the wisest thing to do, Jeffrey."
"Why not?" Jeffrey asked, feeling deflated.
Atticus sighed as he stood, he made his way around the desk and placed a hand on Jeffrey's shoulder, "Marriage is between a man and a woman, Jeffrey. The people would revolt if I legalized same sex marriage, and we simply cannot afford another rebellion."
"Why did you bring Ethan back?" Jeffrey asked as he crossed his arms.
"Because although I do not agree with your…lifestyle, I do not agree with how your uncle handled things between you and the boy," Atticus answered. "I still love you, Jeffrey, despite what you must think."
"It sure doesn't feel like it." Jeffrey pushed Atticus's hand from his shoulder. "Can I go now?"
Atticus nodded, "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning."
Jeffrey left the room and slammed the door shut behind him, that's bullshit, he thought angrily. Though he knew there was nothing he could do about it, when I'm king I can do whatever I want he reminded himself as he made his way to one of the bathrooms of the palace.
That evening, Greg went to use the bathroom, he tried to turn the handle, but the doorknob wouldn't turn. He knocked on the door and waited for a moment.
"One second!" Jeffrey called from the other side of the door.
Greg leaned against the wall as he waited. After a few moments Jeffrey opened the door and stepped outside. Greg glanced at the teen and frowned when he saw a red bloodstain on the teen's sleeve.
"What happened to your arm?" Greg asked.
"What do you mean?" Jeffrey asked, pressing his hand against his side to hide the blood.
"I can see the blood on your sleeve, Jeffrey," Greg said. He's cutting now? Greg thought, wondering how long that had been going on for.
Jeffrey shrugged, "It was an accident."
Greg gave Jeffrey a look, "You accidentally cut yourself in a perfectly straight line?"
"It would appear so," Jeffrey said nonchalantly. "Are you going to tell my mom or not?"
"No, at least not right now…" Greg said with a sigh. "Look Jeffrey, I know that you hate me and that's fine. I just want you to know that I truly care about your mother, your brother, and you. I know I'm never gonna replace your dad and I have no desire to. But maybe…maybe we could at least be civil towards one another…at least until I get eliminated?
"Sure, why not?" Jeffrey said as he leaned against the wall. He didn't want to, but his grandfather's warning kept echoing in his head. He didn't want to lose his inheritance.
Greg gave Jeffrey a small smile, "You might want to put a band aid on that."
"It's fine, it's not that deep," Jeffrey said with a shrug.
"It starts off not that deep, but the more you do it, the deeper they'll get, you should stop while you're ahead," Greg lectured.
Jeffrey rolled his eyes, but nodded, "Can I go now?"
"Just…put a band aid on that," Greg said.
Jeffrey nodded as he walked away.
Greg sighed as he entered the bathroom, he knew that he should tell Annalise, but he didn't want to rat the teen out right away, not when he had agreed to be civil towards him. He didn't want to lose any progress he had made.