A few days later, Greg found Jeffrey in the gardens. He was walking and talking with Ethan but stopped the second he saw Greg. He rolled his eyes and told Ethan to go ahead without him.

Ethan nodded, "Be nice," he said before he walked away.

Jeffrey sighed as Greg approached him, "What do you want?" the teen asked.

"Look, I'm sorry about how heated things got the other day." Greg said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out Jeffrey's phone. "What do you say we put it all behind us?"

"Why are you giving it back? Just so you can take it away again?" Jeffrey questioned.

Greg sighed, "Having a phone is a privilege, not a right. You have to earn it, and honestly Jeffrey your behaviour has been off the walls."

Jeffrey shrugged, "I really don't care."

"So, you don't want your phone back?" Greg asked.

"I want it back," Jeffrey said, annoyed.

"Then here you go." Greg said as he handed the phone to the teenager.

"Thanks," Jeffrey said as he pocketed his phone.

"Look…the truth is that, for the longest time, I've been seeing you as an obstacle to your mom, but you're not. You are a boy who lost his father and that should have never happened to you." Greg sighed as he looked at Jeffrey. "I don't blame you for not wanting the Selection and maybe your mom should have waited until you were ready, but I don't want to fight with you anymore because deep down you are a good kid and I think you could be a great King. You survived living under that bastard Rupert. Jeffrey, you have so much strength inside you. If you can show the people of Illéa who you truly are, they'll follow you…and so will I."

Jeffrey, unsure of what to say, remained quiet but nodded.

"But you need to start taking your therapy seriously, Jeffrey, it's not a bad thing to need help, everyone around you just wants to see you doing better, but that change starts with you," Greg said.

Jeffrey sighed, "I don't need a therapist."

Greg raised an eyebrow, "Really? You think cutting or jumping out a window is the way to cope? What was the plan there, Jeffrey?"

Jeffrey shrugged, "I just wanted to leave."

"Look, if you're willing to be honest with me, then maybe we could be friends," Greg said.

"Why would I do that? If I tell you the truth, you'll just punish me," Jeffrey said.

"Maybe you need less punishments and more help," Greg said. "Look, can we put this whole thing behind us?"

"Fine," Jeffery said, relenting.

"Thank you, Jeffrey," Greg said.

"Whatever," Jeffrey said. "You're just gonna go psycho on me later."

"I'll try to keep my psychoness in check," Greg said with a chuckle.

Jeffrey nodded then walked away, he wasn't sure how much he believed Greg, and took his words with a grain of salt.

The next day, the families of the Elites arrived. Annalise gave them the morning to reconcile before they met in the gardens as a group. Annalise was excited to meet their families, as was Callum and Jeffrey seemed indifferent.

"I'm so excited to meet them!" Callum exclaimed as they walked to the gardens.

"That's good, some of them are going to join our family," Annalise said.

Unfortunately, Jeffrey thought, but kept quiet. Each family had a tent set up in the gardens, and the plan was for Annalise to go to each family one by one and introduce herself and her sons. Annalise decided to start with Joel's family. She entered the tent and saw him talking to his three children, his adoptive son, the seventeen-year-old Cypress, and his daughters the thirteen-year-old Dawn and the twelve-year-old Flora. The girls curtsied to the Queen and the princes while Cypress bowed. Annalise smiled at the children.

"You don't need to be so formal," Annalise said. "These are my sons, Jeffrey and Callum." She said, motioning to each child in turn.

"It's lovely to meet you," Dawn said.

"It's wonderful to meet you too," Annalise said. "Your father has told me a lot about you."

"The palace is amazing!" Flora exclaimed. "I can't believe you get to live here."

"Thank you," Annalise said. "Sometimes I can hardly believe it myself."

"There's a game room, too!" Callum said. "Maybe I can show you this afternoon. Can we, mom?"

"After we meet everyone, you can," Annalise said.

"Okay!" Callum agreed excitedly.

"What's up?" Jeffrey asked Cypress.

"Not much, just you know, meeting your mom," Cypress said nonchalantly.

"No shit," Jeffrey said with a smirk.

"Language Jeffrey," Annalise warned.

Jeffrey rolled his eyes and Cypress stifled a laugh.

Annalise and Joel exchanged a smile, at least their sons seemed to be getting along.

"Can I go talk with Cypress?" Jeffrey asked.

"What did I just tell Callum?" Annalise asked, raising an eyebrow at Jeffrey.

"Fine after can I go talk with Cypress?" Jeffrey asked.

Annalise nodded her assent, "So, tell me about yourselves. What do you like to do for fun?"

"I'm really into science, I want to be a scientist someday, but that's really hard cause of the caste system." Flora answered.

"And I really like sports, but I don't think I can make a career out of it," Dawn answered.

If only Atticus would just get rid of the castes already, Annalise thought but smiled. "That's really ambitious, I wish I knew at your age what I wanted to do. What about you, Cypress?"

Cypress shrugged, "I'm taking a gap year before going to college."

"That's a good idea if you're not sure what you want to do yet," Annalise said.

Annalise talked with Joel's family for a while longer, and the longer they talked the more the girls opened up to her. When Annalise was finished, she gave Joel a kiss on the cheek before she took her sons to meet the families of the other Elite.

Annalise and her sons entered the tent set up for Greg's family next. Greg was sitting, talking to his daughter but immediately stood when they entered.

"Hi Greg," Annalise said with a smile, then turned her attention to Jane, who curtsied to her. "And you must be Jane."

"Hi, Your Majesty," Jane said timidly.

"Please, just Annalise is fine," Annalise said. "My, don't you look pretty."

"Thanks." Jane said with a smile. "I don't really like dresses, but my dad said I had to wear it."

"Can I let you in on a little secret?" Annalise asked.

Jane nodded.

"I don't really like wearing dresses all that much either," Annalise said with a wink.

Jane giggled, "But you wear them all the time!"

"Because that's what's expected of me," Annalise said.

"Yeah, it would be weird to see you in pants," Jane admitted.

"It would, wouldn't it?" Annalise said with a laugh. "These are my boys, Jeffrey and Callum." She said, motioning to each child in turn.

"Hi." Jeffrey said with a wave.

"It's nice to meet you, wanna play later?" Callum asked.

"Yeah, that sounds fun," Jane said.

"Me and the other kids are gonna go to the game room, you should come with us!" Callum said excitedly.

"Dad, can I?" Jane asked.

"Of course." Greg said as he ruffled her hair.

"Can we go now, mom? Please?" Callum asked.

Annalise sighed, "I suppose so."

"Yay! Let's go get the other kids!" Callum said.

"Okay!" Jane agreed eagerly.

Callum and Jane took off, leaving Jeffrey alone with Annalise and Greg.

"I'm gonna go hang with Cypress…" Jeffrey trailed off.

"Behave, Jeffrey," Annalise said firmly.

"Yeah, yeah," Jeffrey said dismissively. He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he left the tent.

"Your daughter seems lovely," Annalise said.

"She's really great, I've missed her so much," Greg said.

"I couldn't imagine being away from my boys for that long," Annalise said.

"It's been hard, I'm just glad I got to see her again," Greg said.

"Well, you'll get her for the day, that is if Callum doesn't steal her, he's always eager to make new friends, he doesn't really get to interact with too many people his age," Annalise said.

"Yeah, I bet the isolation is hard on him," Greg said.

Annalise nodded, "It's hard on both of them. I should probably go talk to the others," Annalise sad.

"I guess I'm going to the game room," Greg said with a chuckle.

"Thank you, for volunteering to supervise," Annalise said. She smiled at Greg, then left the tent.

Later that afternoon the Elite had gathered in the garden for a picnic style dinner. The Elites were focused on spending time with their children, but they all sat together in a big group, the children off together socializing amongst themselves while Annalise and the Elites chatted. Annalise caught Jeffrey's wrist as he was walking back to the palace.

"Where are you going?" Annalise asked, suspecting he was ditching the event.

"Bathroom," Jeffrey replied.

Annalise nodded as she let go of Jeffrey's wrist. Jeffrey proceeded into the palace and came face to face with two men that he didn't recognize. One was taller with shaggy black hair and his companion had dark red hair.

"Can I help you?" Jeffrey asked.

"Actually, you can," the red-haired man said as he pulled out a gun. Jeffrey raised his hands in the air, his heart racing in his chest. "Put your hands behind your back."

Jeffrey immediately put his hands behind his back and the black-haired man came up behind him and zip-tied his wrists together.

"Where's the regent?" The black-haired man demanded.

"The boardroom," Jeffrey answered quietly, his voice tight.

"Lead the way, Your Highness, and don't make a sound." the black-haired man said, giving Jeffrey a little shove. Jeffrey swallowed a lump in his throat and walked towards the boardroom with the two men following behind him.

"We have the heir," one of the men said into a mouthpiece. "Secure the hostages."

Shit, Jeffrey thought, his mother and brother were out in the gardens, without a clue as to what was going on. So were the Elite, but he suspected that they were mainly after him and his family. Suddenly, the alarm sounded.

"Fuck," the black-haired rebel said as they saw a guard up ahead. He didn't hesitate to draw his firearm and shoot the guard in the chest. Jeffrey jumped at the noise and tensed when the barrel of the gun was pressed into his back. "Walk faster."

Chaos broke out in the gardens as soon as the alarm sounded, guards rushed to the scene. Annalise grabbed Callum's hand and ran with him into the palace, guards flanked them to protect the Prince and Queen Mother from any rebels that might be around. The rest of the Elite grabbed their children and ran in various directions. Joel grabbed Dawn, Flora and Cypress and ran towards the woods. They ran for what felt like an hour before they finally decided on a hiding spot.

"What's going on, dad?" Flora asked in a panic-stricken tone.

"Rebels are attacking the palace," Joel explained, fighting to keep his tone calm. "But it's okay, everything will be okay, the guards will handle it."

"I'm scared," Dawn said as tears came to her eyes. "Why would they attack when we visit? We didn't do anything to them!"

"I don't know," Joel replied honestly, he pulled his kids into a hug. "We just need to hide out here, I doubt they'll come this far."

"What if they do?" Cypress asked.

"We'll deal with it if it comes to that," Joel assured his adoptive son. "I'll do whatever it takes to protect you three, okay? We'll be safe."

Cypress nodded, "What about Jeffrey? He just went into the palace."

"The guards will protect him," Joel replied, knowing he would be the top priority of the guards. "We need to keep moving, put as much distance between us and the rebels as we can."

His kids nodded and they started walking further into the forest. Joel felt like a coward for running, but he didn't have a weapon on him, and he needed to keep his kids safe.

Greg picked up a panicking Jane and ran her inside of the palace, there guards ushered them into one of the hidden safe rooms in the hallway. The door to the small room was locked behind them, plunging them into darkness. Greg put Jane down and felt around for a light switch, which he eventually found. Jane had tears streaming down her eyes and Greg pulled her into a tight hug.

"It's okay, everything will be okay," Greg said in a soothing tone.

"I'm scared, daddy," Jane sobbed.

"We're safe here, no one will find us," Greg assured his young daughter.

"What's happening?" Jane asked. "Why is the alarm going off?"

"People are attacking the palace, but don't worry the guards are well trained, I'm sure this will be over soon enough." He said, though he remembered that the last rebel attack had lasted hours.

"I wanna go home!" Jane cried.

"I know, I know." Greg said as he rubbed his daughter's back. "Everything's going to be okay, you're safe here, we're safe."

"They really can't get in here?" Jane asked.

"The door is locked and bulletproof, and I'm sure the rebels don't know about this hiding space," Greg said. He sat on the bench and Jane sat beside him. He wrapped an arm around her and flinched as he heard gunshots outside. Jane jumped and hugged her father tightly, sobbing into his chest.

Jeffrey and the rebels arrived outside of the boardroom, multiple guards had been shot on their way there and Jeffrey felt sick to his stomach. How many people would die trying to protect him? The red-haired rebel opened the door to the boardroom, where Atticus sat with another rebel pointing a gun at him.

"Where do you want the prince?" the black-haired man asked.

"Over there." The rebel, presumably their leader said as she pointed to a corner of the room. Jeffrey was dragged to the corner of the room and pushed to his knees.

"Now, Your Majesty," the leader said to Atticus as she holstered her gun. "We're going to have a little chat." She sat at the table across from him and placed her hands on it. "Keep a gun on the prince."

Jeffrey stiffened as he felt the gun press against his forehead. He looked at his grandfather with wide, fear filled eyes.

"What is it that you want, Lena?" Atticus questioned.

Lena, the leader, smirked, "I warned you this would happen if you didn't listen to my demands, and here we are."

"Let my grandson go," Atticus demanded.

"Not a chance," Lena said as she leaned back in her chair. She twirled her blonde hair between her fingers. "It's about time you actually listened to my demands."

"I will not dissolve the castes," Atticus said firmly.

Lena nodded to the black-haired rebel, who kicked Jeffrey in the stomach, eliciting a groan of pain from the teen.

"Next time I won't be so kind," Lena said with a smile. "You know what I want; an end to the castes, the abolishment of the monarchy, and social services put in place for those who have too long been discriminated against and not taken care of adequately by a sovereign whose job it is to care for them."

"Absolutely not," Atticus said firmly.

"Shoot him," Lena instructed her henchman.

"No!" Jeffrey cried.

He heard a bang then felt excruciating pain in his arm. Jeffrey fell over, screaming in pain.

"I suggest you take me seriously, Atticus, we've already killed a king for our cause, I won't hesitate to kill a prince," Lena warned.

Annalise paced back and forth in her safe room, she had just been alerted that the rebels had Jeffrey and she could barely keep herself together for Callum's sake. She didn't tell him about his brother's captivity, not wanting to scare him any further.

"We have the SWAT team on their way, Your Majesty," one of the guards said to Annalise. "Once they have a clear shot of the rebels, they'll be taken out."

Annalise nodded as she clutched her hands together so hard that her knuckles were white.

"He's in the boardroom with His Majesty, the guards estimate they're with three rebels, we're working on neutralizing the rebels in the palace, all of the Elite and their families are accounted for, with the exception of Joel Cedar, security footage shows him running to the forest, none of the rebels went that way." The guard said.

Thank God everyone's safe, Annalise thought breathing in a sigh of relief. She continued to pace as she awaited to hear news of her son's rescue. After what felt like hours the guard returned to Annalise.

"I have some good news and some bad news," the guard said. "We've just received words that the rebels holding your son and father-in-law have been neutralized, but the prince has been shot."

"No," Annalise breathed out.

"They're waiting until the palace is secure to take him to the hospital wing, they're doing the best they can to keep him alive," the guard said grimly. "He was shot in the arm, so they've applied a tourniquet. With the help of the SWAT team, we should have the palace secure in about an hour."

Annalise nodded, "T-thank you."

The rebel attack came to an end after an hour and a half. Jeffrey was rushed to the hospital wing and Annalise instructed for the Elite and their families to be gathered in the Men's Parlor. She wasn't sure what she was going to say to them, but she knew that she had to check in on them. She brought Callum with her, who was too scared to go off on his own. This was the second most serious attack they had had in their lifetime.

"I just wanted to apologize to everyone about the attack, we are gathering information about how the rebels got in to ensure it does not happen in the future," Annalise said to the crowd of Elite. She went one by one to check on them, and one of the Elite asked to go home, not wanting to put his children in a position where they might have to go through that again. Annalise gave them her permission to leave, then went to check on Greg, who was buys consoling a crying Jane.

"Hey," Annalise said softly. "How are you two holding up?"

Greg sighed, "It brought back some memories…you know, from the war."

Annalise nodded, "I'm so sorry, Greg." She turned her attention to Jane. "I heard you were very brave today."

"I don't feel very brave…" Jane said with a sniffle.

Annalise knelt in front of her, "You did exactly what you were supposed to do, you stayed hidden and out of sight. Rebel attacks can be very scary, but you did a great job following protocol."

Jane nodded, "T-thank you."

"It's okay Jane, it's over now." Callum said as he puled her into a hug.

Greg pulled Annalise aside while he allowed Callum to console his daughter. "Are you okay?" Greg asked.

Annalise shook her head and burst into tears, "Jeffrey got shot."

"I'm so sorry, Annalise, is he going to make it?" Greg asked as he pulled her into a hug.

"I-I think so, he's in surgery now." Annalise said as she hugged him back.

"He'll be okay," Greg said soothingly. "You have the top doctors here; they'll take good care of him."

"Thank you, Greg," Annalise said as she pulled away. "I should check on the others. Can you keep an eye on Callum?"

"Of course," Greg said.

"Thank you…oh and one more thing…after everything that's happened, are you sure you want to stay in the Selection?" She asked hesitantly.

"I know it won't be easy, we'll always be in danger because of the crown, and I get that. I think I can carry the burden, but only if you're by my side," Greg said.

Annalise nodded and kissed Greg on the cheek. She left Callum with Greg as she went off to find the next Elite to check in on. She approached Joel and his children, Joel looked clam, but his children were pale and had fear stricken expressions on their faces. Annalise talked to his children and assured them that they were safe before pulling Joel aside.

"How are you doing?" Joel asked.

"I'm fine, it's my kids I'm worried about, that scared them half to death," Joel replied.

"It was smart of you to take them to the woods," Annalise said.

"Where's Jeffrey?" Joel asked.

"In surgery, they shot him," Annalise replied as she blinked back fresh tears.

"I'm so sorry Annalise," Joel said as he enveloped her in a hug. "I'm sure he'll be okay."

"I hope so." Annalise said as she hugged him back.

Joel rubbed her back soothingly, "Where was he shot?"

"His arm," Annalise answered.

"That shouldn't be fatal," Joel said. Unless he lost too much blood, he thought, but didn't want to say it and worry Annalise further. "He'll be okay, he's a tough kid."

"Thanks," Annalise said in a shaky tone. "I should probably get back to Callum, explain everything to him."

Joel nodded, "I should really get back to my kids."

"Do you want to drop out?" Annalise asked. "I wouldn't blame you if you did."

"Absolutely not, Annalise." Joel said. "I knew the risks associated with your Selection when I signed up for it, not even rebels could keep me away."

Annalise nodded, "Thanks Joel." She kissed him on the cheek then went to find Callum.