Hey guys, sorry it has taken me so long to update I know it's been like two weeks since the last chapter. I will try and get chapter 15 up soon, but if it takes a little while just bear with me my life is a little crazy now. Thank you guys for reviewing my story it really makes my day so please review this chapter. I hope to get five reviews so please tell me what you think and if you have any suggestions on what should happen next that would be great, I'm running out of ideas for what should happen next.

XOXO

Hope for the Selection. :)


Chapter 14

One Week later, Monday.

I yawn as I open my sleepy eyes to see the sun coming through the windows, I look at the clock on the wall and see that it's 5:06 AM I sigh. I'll have to get up soon but there's nothing I want to do more than stay in this warm bed with Kile. Thinking of Kile, I turn over and giggle at him. His hair is all messed up from sleeping and he just looks so adorable lying there with his lips slightly parted as he sleeps. The blankets have fallen off the bed during the night with our tossing and turning while we slept. I reach over and brush some of the hair from his face and he stirs slightly, I move over closer to Kile and cuddle into his bare chest, for some reason he's started sleeping without a shirt 'even though it's freezing outside' but I don't mind. With my movements, I wake up Kile and he wraps an arm around me and pulls me closer to him.

"Good morning, princess," He says sleepily and I laugh a little and look up at him to see his ice blue eyes that I love so much.

"Morning handsome," I say and Kile just chuckles.

"What time is it?" He asks.

"Around 5:10," I say not even bothering to look at the clock.

"That's way to early for me" Kile groans as he snuggles closer to me, resting his head next to mine.

"As much as I would love just to stay here we have to go to work, and you've had two days to sleep in and you can sleep in again next weekend but for right now you need to get up," I say pulling away from him and hoping out of bed.

"You're too hyper in the morning," Kile says burying his head under his pillow as I laugh.

"Ok I'm going to go shower and if your not up by the time I'm done, I'll have to use drastic measures," I say then I lean over and kiss his cheek.

"You have about 15 minutes," I say walking into the bathroom and Kile sighs.


When I come out of the bathroom I see that Kile is up, showered, and dressed in his work clothes, he's walking around looking under the bed then the dresser all the time muttering something to himself. I raise an eyebrow as I lean against the door frame with my arms crossed watching him looking under and around everything in the room.

"What are you looking for," I ask after a few minutes, and for the first time Kile seems to notice me.

"My folder, it has all my designs in it and I can't seem to find it. I already looked in my office but it wasn't there and now it's not in here" He says turning around and looking under the bed again.

"You mean the folder you were working on last night out on the balcony, and the same folder I can see from here lying on the table out on the balcony" I say and Kile looks over at the doors that lead out to the balcony and let out a sigh of relief when he sees his folder, he walks over to the table and picks up the folder then he comes inside smiling.

"What would I do without you," He asks giving me a sweet kiss.

"You'd probably lose your job. Realy, Kile, this is the third time you've lost that folder you need to take better care of things, what if it had rained last night then you drawings would have been ruined" I say giving him a hard look with my arms still crossed over my chest so he knows I was series about this.

"I know, I know you gave me the same speech last time," He says holding up his hands in surrender.

"You know when your prince you can't go around losing things for two reasons. One most of the things you'll be caring around are very important and if you were to lose them that would not bode well" I say trying to get him to understand.

"What's the second reason," He asks.

"My dad would kill you if you lost anything," I say then I walk to the door and out into the hall to wake up the others.

"Come on boys you have school to get too and I need to get to work so get up," I say knocking hard on their doors.

"Josie come on your going to be late like the boys if you don't hurry," I say as I pass her door as well.

Josie got a job soon after we arrived, she now works at the boys school as a teacher assistant for the 1st graders so every day Josie goes to work and comes back with paint on her hands and glitter all over her but she seems to like working with little kids so I said nothing even though I would have never thought she was the teacher kind.

"I'm up, I'm up" Say a very sleepy sounding Kaden walking out of his room dressed in his school clothes with his backpack slung over his shoulder.

"You were up late studying for that test weren't you," I ask and he nods as he yawns.

"Well I hope the test goes well today," I say and he says a garbled thank you as he sleepwalks down the stairs.

Osten is the next to come out of his room and he looks awake and refreshed and ready for the day, I ruffle his hair as he passes me on the way down the stairs with a good morning and a smile. I wait for Josie to come out and in a minute out comes a happy Josie, her hair is pulled into a ponytail and she wears a blue shirt and jeans like always the shirt is from the school and has a tiger leaping on the front, it's mascot of the school.

"You look happy today," I say as she passes and she laughs a little and goes down the stairs with a smile. I turn back and look at our door to see Kile walking down the hall looking a little sheepish.

"Are you mad?" He asks softly when he reaches me and I shack my head.

"No, I'm not mad at you. I'm just frustrated right now and I'd rather not talk about it" I say sincerely, because it's not his fault that I'm the princess and marrying me means that he's going to be the prince and it's also not his fault that I hate the thought of him sitting in a stuffy office doing work that he never wanted to do or live in a place that he never wanted all because he loves me and wants to marry me.

"Come on," I say taking his hand "Let's just go eat breakfast"

We walk down the stairs and over into the kitchen where all our sibling are talking and eating, we went to the store the other day and got some cereal so we don't have to cook every morning. Now on the counter sits about six boxes of cereal with the milk next to it and two bowls and spoons next to that, I told them they were crazy for buying some much cereal when we went to the store but Kile had only laughed and put another box in the basket.

"Morning everyone," I say walking into the kitchen and they all smile back, well Osten and Josie smiled Kaden just yawned.

"What's for breakfast," I ask looking at all the boxes trying to find one I felt like eating.

"Can you hand me the blue box," Kile asks and I pick a blue box full of frosted flakes hand it to him then I go back to trying to figure out what I want to eat.

About 15-20 minutes later we are all out the door and splitting ways, I give Kile a kiss like I do every morning and then he's walking down the street toward the bus stop and I'm going the other way with Josie, Kaden, and Osten right next to me. When we get into town I drop them all off at school then I practically run to the shop, when I get there I walk through the door to see that it's bustling with people I look over at the desk and see Moriah working the cash register. I smile at her and she waves and smiles back before going back to work, I walk to the back of the store and into the work room.

I open the door and I'm meet with a blast of colors and the sound of the sewing machine and talking, inside the room colored fabric lay everywhere and in the corner Hannah is at her sewing machine making what looks like a dress but I can't be sure and in the center of the room Leah in bent over the table drawing like there's no tomorrow with a stack of paper next to her and in the middle of the table sits laura telling her to slow down and to be calm.

"What is going on in here," I say half yelling over all the noise, everyone in the little room stops what they're doing and looks up. Leah gives a sigh of relief and Hannah joins her.

"Grace I'm so glad your here, I need you to help me draw out these orders so Hannah can start working on them and then when we're done with that I need you to order more fabric then we have to start sewing and-" I hold up a hand for Leah to stop.

"Ok but first please tell me what's going on I've never seen this place so full and is that whole pile of paper orders?" I ask and Leah nods and sighs then she falls into a chair nearby and runs a hand through her hair and I can see that she's trying to calm down.

"It's going to be Haloween soon and people are ordering their costumes but the worst part is that ever year our father throws a huge costume party and invites like half the town and you have to dress up for it so most people come to us to make their costumes so we're always flooded with orders this time of year ever though Haloween is still like two weeks away" Leah says and I can hear how exhausted she is just thinking about all the work she's going to have to do. Over the past week, I've found out that Leah's father is very rich and that he lives in a mansion, so it makes sense that he would have a party and invite like half the town.

"Ok we can handle this, hand me a pen and I'll start drawing," I say and she smiles and hands me a pen and I start drawing like my life depends on it.

About six hours later I slump into a chair and rub my sore hand, Leah and I have not stopped drawing for the last six hours well besides the occasional talk about what the costume should look like. I look at the clock and see that it's 12:18 so the shop should be closed for lunch then reopen at 1:00 I sigh looking at the stack of papers that are the drawings of costumes. I watch Leah as she sits at the computer sending people the pictures of their costumes that we draw to make sure they like it before we go and make it.

"I'm going down to the diner for lunch does anyone wants to come," Moriah asks coming into the room, Hannah and I jump up at the mention of food and grab our stuff while Moriah laughs.

"I'll take that as a yes," She says as she walks out of the room with Hannah and I following while Leah and Luara stay behind to work.

We walk across the street and into the Diner, we walk through the doors and I'm hit with the smell food. I sigh along with Hannah and Moriah only chuckles at us. The waitress comes to take us to our seats in the crowded diner, I look around at all the cute things on the walls, a chicken and a cow and a pig on a shelf along with an old kettle, the diner has red leather seats and booths and most of them are full of people who are talking and laughing while they wait for their food or eat it.

The waitress leads us over to a corner booth right by the window and I sigh as I sink into the soft velvet both, it feels like the chair at home the one that's in dad's office the one I always used to sit in. The waitress brings us our menus and we go through them then order our food. After a long few hours of drawing some nice hot food is just what I needed, I take one last bit of my food then I sit back and sigh. Nothing can ruin the happy mood I'm in right now.


"Are we done in here, it's almost time to go home" I call into the back of the shop, the clock shows that it's 7:24 PM I had to stay late to try and finish some of the customs. I called Kile and he said not to worry about it because he was going to be late too so he'd just come by the shop when he's done at work so we could walk home together.

After lunch we came back to the shop and have been in a mad rush since then to get some customs done, my fingers are sore from drawing, cutting, and sewing all the customs and the worst part is we only got about four of them done today but I guess tomorrow there won't be as much drawing so we can focus most of our effort on making the costumes.

"Yeah I just finished, help me close up and then we can go home" Leah calls back and I sigh softly then go to turn off the lights pick up things and just try and get things cleaned up for tomorrow.

At around 7:42 PM I finish cleaning up the front of the shop I sigh as I straighten the last piece of clothing just as the doorbell sounds and Kile walks into the dimly lit shop. I smile at him then I grab my coat and purse, I look around the shop and nod slightly, satisfied with my work.

"I finish cleaning up the front" I call into the back and Moriah comes walking out looking tired.

She smiles warmly at me "Thanks, what would we do without you" She gives me a hug then I walk over to Kile.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I say to Moriah and she nods and waves with a smile on her tired face.

Kile holds out his arm for me and I smile as I take it then we walk outside into the cold night "So how was work" Kile asks and I sigh running a hand through my hair.

"Stressful, I walked into work today to find about 3 dozen people bustling around the place then I went into the back and was meet with absolute chaos. It seems in all the madness Leah neglected to tell me that they make most of the people's Halloween costumes here, so all day I was drawing and sewing and well you get the picture. The point is that in the next week or two I'm going to be working like crazy trying to get all these costumes done oh and get this Leah's father holds a party every year on Halloween and invites like half the town so now we have to make fancy costumes for all those guests because of course, they can't just have a normal butterfly costume no they want the best of the best with silk and velvet and crystal and who knows what else" I stop to catch my breath and Kile chuckles.

"I remember a few years back you were a butterfly for the Halloween party and your costume was anything but normal," Kile says and I roll my eyes.

"That's different that was at the palace, here well people don't have to go all out why not just have a fun party with all your friends," I say and Kile shrugs.

"I don't know but I'm sure you'll pull through," Kile says and I huff.

"You weren't drawing dress all day" I mutter and Kile stops suddenly and groans putting a hand over his eyes.

"What?" I ask.

"I forgot my folder at the shop," He says and I cross my arms.

"Again, really," I ask and he shrugs.

"I'll run back and get it," He says and before I can say another word he takes off running down the street, I sigh, well a least he remembered it this time.

I look around in the light of the street lamp, we're not too far away from the shop so he shouldn't take long to get his folder. I sigh again and run a hand through my hair trying to calm down and get my thoughts straight I lean against the lamp post and look at the buildings around me, everything in this town in quite at night the only sounds around are the chirp of crickets far off and the occasional voice. I shiver a little in the cold, over the past week it's gotten a lot colder, when we first got here it was still warm and we got to go to the beach a few times but then the weather turned cold and so did the water even though I didn't mind swimming in cold water the cold wind made lying out in the sun unpleasant so we stopped going.

I hug my coat closer to myself not really wanting to put the heavy thing on, it was then that I notice a soft sound. I look around and finally I realized it was coming from the ally next to me, I push off of the lamp post and look into the alley and sure enough, I could hear a soft sound coming from the alley. I slowly walk into the ally and make my way over to the trash cans and the small cardboard box sitting next to them, the closer I got the louder the soft sounds gets and soon I can make out what the sound is. It's crying, soft little wails coming out of the cardboard box.

When I realize it's crying I move a little faster knowing that it's not something that could eat me, I walk up to the box and slowly knee down in front of it and gasp softly when I see what's inside. I girl sits in the back corner of the box there isn't much light in the alley so I can't make her out completely but I can tell it's a girl from her long hair and her slim figure.

"Hello," I say softly and kindly and the girl wails softly again and pushes hard against the back of the box, trying to get away from me.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," I say and the girl sniffles a little and just looks at me.

"Are you hurt," I ask and after a minute she shacks her head ever so slightly.

"It's ok sweetheart, I'm not going to hurt you," I say and that's when I hear a noise coming from the street and I look back to see Kile come back running holding his folder in one hand.

"Grace?" He asks looking around.

"I'm over here" I call back and he turns to look at me.

"What are you doing in the alley?" He asks and I make a signal with my hand the means 'come here', Kile sighs but comes anyway while I turn back to the girl.

"You're all right no one's going to hurt you," I say and she seems to relax a little.

"Who are you talking to?" Kile asks kneeling down next to me then he sees's the girl and curses under his breath.

"Can you come out here," I ask sweetly and the girl hesitates before nodding slowly then she crawled out of her box and into the dim light of the alley.

"Goodness," I say softly when I see her in the light and Kile curses again softly.

The girl looks to be about 5 or 6 years old and is very thin for a girl her age, she covered with mud and her hair is full of dirt but the parts that are not covered in mud shine golden blonde in the light. Her face has smudges of dirt on it and is wet for her tiers, in the light I can't make out her eyes but they are red a puffy from crying, but the sad part is her clothes. Her pink shirt in filthy and is too small for her and is ripped in several places and her miniskirt is so short that it does nothing to keep her warm and she has no shoes on her feet. In her arms she clutched a dirty little teddy bear to her chest like it's the only thing holding her to this earth the old teddy bear looks hand made with buttons for eyes though one is missing and you can see the stitches on the sides, one of its arms are ripped and hang loosely by a few threads and it's ear is torn and little pieces of fluff are coming out of it.

I quickly place my purse down and open my coat then I drape it around the girl's fragile shoulder, she flinches back a bit but when she see's that I'm not going to hurt her she doesn't move.

"What's your name?" I ask and the girl looks at me trying to see if she trusts me.

"Charlotte," She says in a soft sweet voice, I smile.

"Well Charlotte, I'm Grace and this is my husband Josh," I say.

"Do you have a home or parents," Kile asks and she shacks her head.

"No, my mommy and daddy died when I was little and I don't know anyone else. So no I don't have a home or family" She says and I'm surprised by how calmly she doesn't cry or even sound hurt.

"I'm sorry," I say and she nods.

"How old are you?" I ask and she brightens up.

"Six and a half," She says proudly and I smile.

"How long have you been on your own" I ask and she shrugs seeming more and more comfortable with us.

"I don't know but it's been a long time," She says sounding a little sad but it doesn't show on her face.

"Do you live here in the box," I ask pointing to the box.

"I live where ever I can a place to sleep, somewhere out of the wind" She says and I look at Kile and I can see the same thought forming in his eyes, I plead with my eyes asking Kile and in his eyes I can see what he's thinking, he nods and I smile then I turn back to Charlotte.

"Charlotte would you like to come home with us, we can give you a warm bed, food, and you'll be safe," I say and I see tears forming in her eyes.

"You want me?" She asks tears falling from her eyes and I can see how much just being wanted means to her, this poor child how long has it been since someone actually cared about her or even talked to her.

"Yes, we do," I say smiling.

"Yes, oh yes please," She says sounding so excited, I stand up and hold out a hand for her and without hesitation, she takes it with a smile on her face.

"Ki- Josh," I say correcting myself and Kile smirks. "Can you carry Charlotte on your shoulders, it's a bit of a walk home and she doesn't have shoes," I say and then I look down at Charlotte.

"Do you mind if he carries you," I ask and she shacks her head seeming a little excited, I turn back to Kile who nods.

"Come here," He says sweetly to Charlotte and she walks over to him and he picks her up and puts her on his shoulders, he then takes her hands in his so she won't fall and starts walking.

"You coming" He calls over his shoulder and I laugh picking up my purse and his folder.

"You forgot this again," I say waving it in front of his face and he grimaces.

"Glad your dad isn't here," He says and I laugh.

"How do you ever keep anything you draw, over the last week you've lost this more times than I can count," I say then I look up and Charlotte.

"He's terrible at keeping track of things, sometimes I wonder how he doesn't lose himself," I say and she laughs and Kile grumbles something.

"The boys are home right," I ask him and he nods.

"Yeah Lily walked them home after I called her," He says and I nod.

We walk and talk until we reach our street, we fall quite as we walk by house after house until we come to ours. I open the gate and walk through then I hold it open for Kile. Charlotte's face is priceless as she takes in the big beautiful house, we walk to the front door but before I open it Kile lifts Charlotte from his shoulders and sets her done on the front door mat.

"Thank you," She says to Kile and he smiles.

"No problem but we should probably get inside it's getting colder out here" He looks at me and I nod then I pull out my key and unlock the door, I walk inside and the first thing I register is noise.

The place is pretty dark so I turn on the light, I look around for Kaden, Osten, or Josie. I don't see them but I hear them and from the sound of it, they're playing pool or something in the game room.

"Hey, your home" I hear Kaden yell from the game room and I sigh.

"Lily, Lucas, Jonathan come here please" I call and the noise dies immediately because they know I wouldn't be using their fake names if we were alone.

I hear them putting things down then they all walk out into the living room where they can see us and we can see them, Josie gasps softly but it's barely noticed Kaden mutters something and Osten just stairs in shock.

"Guys this is Charlotte. Charlotte this is Lily, Jonathan, and Lucas" I say motioning to each of them in turn.

"Hi," She says shyly waving her hand to them.

"Lily can you take Charlotte upstairs and clean her up a little," I ask and Josie snaps out of your shock and nods then she walks over to us and smiles down at Charlotte.

"Come on let's get you cleaned up," She says holding out her hand and Charlotte looks at me and I nod at her then she places her hand in Josie's and they start to climb the stairs but Josie looks back at me over her shoulder and gives me a look that says 'I want answers'

What have I gotten myself into this time I think to myself with a sigh. I don't know how to take care of a child, I barely know how to take care of my brothers let alone a little girl who's frightened, scared, cold, hunger, and unloved but I have been given so much in my life how I can I turn away from someone in need when I can help them. I can't. And I won't. I will take care of this girl no matter the consequences, she deserves a warm bed, a roof over her head, and a family that loves her and I can give her all three. Sure loving her will take a while but already I feel a warm feeling in my heart when I think about her, she just seems so sweet and kind little thing that you can't help but love her the first time you see her. I know I did.

"What now?" Kile asks and I shrug.

"I have no idea," I say running a hand through my hair.

"What on earth just happened," Kaden asks looking just as shocked as before.

"We found her, she was crying in a box in an alley. What was I supposed to do just leave her out in the cold, she told us that her parents died and she doesn't have any other family. So we brought her back here, at least, she can sleep here for the night and tomorrow we can see what we need to do" I say and Kaden blinks fast twice then looked at me again and nods.

"Eady, we still have work tomorrow and the boys have school. We can't just leave her here alone" Kile says and I groan and close my eyes running a hand through my hair.

"I can't take tomorrow off, we're flooded with costume orders and Leah would never let me. You can't take the day off can you" I ask Kile and he shacks his head.

"I've got a lot of work to do tomorrow and I can't take a day off," He says and I nod.

"We can do it," Kaden says and Kile and I look at him.

"What?" I ask staring at him.

"We can stay home, not much is going on at school and me and Osten can stay here with her," Kaden says and I'm about to object but Kile holds up a hand.

"Maybe this would work," Kile says.

"What? We can't just leave them home alone and especially with a complete stranger, are you crazy" I ask and Kile gives me a look.

"Eadlyn, it's a six-year-old girl I think Kaden and Osten can handle her," He says and I throw up my hands.

"I know they can handle a six-year-old girl but really you want to leave them home alone," I say and Kile sighs.

"Guys, it was just an idea. You don't need to blow up about it" Kaden says and I close my eyes and rub my forehead.

"Eadlyn I don't think we have any other choice, we can't leave her alone and we both can't take the day off work. What else do you want me to do" Kile says softly but the frustration in his voice is evident.

"I don't know Kile, whatever you want I can't handle anything else right now. Especially having you mad at me, I just- oh never mind" I say in frustration and I start walking toward the big sliding glass doors, I know I'm probably being childish but right now I am far too stressed out to care.

"Eady I-" Kile starts to say and I hear his footsteps behind me.

"Not now Kile just- I need some air," I say not turning around as I open the glass doors and walk out into the cold night air.

Why on earth am I mad, their not suggesting something dangers. What is wrong with me. I think as the cold air washes over me.

I breathe in deep letting the cold salty air fill my lungs and clear my head, the air calms me down pretty fast and I sigh as I walk down the steps and past the fountain. I walk up to one of the big oak trees and reach out and grab the branch lowest to the ground and hoist myself up onto it, I climb the tree until I find a thick branch that I can sit on. I settle down with my back against the trunk of the tree and one leg hanging over the edge, I close my eyes as a gust of cold air blows past me and I feel my hair move a bit from it.

I open my eyes and look out over the sea, I watch the small waves roll up and break against the sand and the way the water glistens in the moonlight. The moon is full tonight and it's bathes everything in it's bright light, up in this tree I think about my parents and my brother, my life, Kile, and how everything has changed over the past few months. I can't even remember how normal feels anymore, I don't remember that feeling of power I once had and now that I think about it I can't remember the last time I said that line to myself, the one I would say every day and believe.

I'm Eadlyn Schreave the next Queen of Ilea, no one is as powerful as me.

Thinking about it now I know that yes I have power but that means nothing if you're all alone, I know now that I could not be the next queen if I didn't have Kile by my side. To make me laugh when I'm upset of sad, or to kiss me after a long day, or to make everything better just by being in the same room. I couldn't do this without my family, I used to think that I never need to find someone, that I could just go through life on my own and maybe someday I would marry but now I can't wait to marry Kile he's the love of my life and I can't wait to be his wife.

Love. I thought it was a chain before all this that it brought me down but I now know that it's not chains at all. Love is what lifts us up when were down, stands by our side, and love is what a queen needs most. I know now that no matter what I can get through anything if only I have someone I love by my side, and right now I have people I love by my side and I'm not letting it go.

I'm broken from my thoughts by footsteps from below me, I look down to see Kile staring at me with an adorable look on his face and amazement in his eyes, I smile at him.

"What?" I ask laughing a little and Kile smiles.

"You look so beautiful," He says and I smile then look back up at the moon.

"Listen, Eady, I'm sorry I didn't mean to snap at you," Kile says and I can hear that he means it.

"I'm not mad at you Kile, I don't think I could ever be mad at you, well at least not for very long," I say looking down at him again to see that cute grin on his face.

"I don't know what were going to do about Charlotte right know but we'll figure it out, but right now I'm frozen so do you mind coming down from there so we can go inside," He asks shoving his hands in his pockets trying to keep warm, I just giggle.

"Coming," I say and I'm on the ground in a few minutes.

"You know how to climb trees," Kile says sounding impressed and I hit his arm lightly.

"Just because I'm a princess doesn't mean I don't like to do fun things," I say and Kile chuckles.

"You know I love you right?" Kile asks looking at me and lifts a hand up to his face.

"I do and I love you more than you can imagine," I say and Kile smiles.

"But not as much as I love you", He says and I smirk.

He lowers his lips to mine and I melt into him, I wrap my hands up into his hair and hold him close and he holds me close to him. Out in the cold night air, Kile is like a warm blanket, his warmth surrounds me and keeps me warm and safe. With the sounds of the waves lapping up against the sand and some night owl hooting, I hold the love of my life close to me knowing that no matter what I will always have him even when he's not around he'll be in my heart.

I pull back from Kile and smile, I don't want this perfect moment to end but it's cold out and we have a seven-year-old stranger in our house.

"Come on let's go check on Charlotte," I say grabbing Kile's hand as we start walking back to the house. We get inside to find Kaden and Osten playing pool again and the sound of people running around upstairs.

"Let's get dinner started," I say walking to the kitchen with Kile following me.

"These that frozen pizza, why not just have that" Kile says walking over to the freezer.

"Sure," I say walking over to the stove.

"What temperature should the oven be on," I ask as Kile takes the pizza out of the freezer and he looks at the box for a minute.

"375 degrease," Kile says and I turn the nod on the stove and I hear it fire up inside.

"Ok while that heats up lets-" My words are cut off by Josie walking into the living room with Charlotte holding her hand tightly.

Charlotte looks like a whole new girl, her beautiful wavy hair is clean and brushed and it's braided into a french braid in the back. Her face is also clean and her roses cheeks make her look even more beautiful, now that all the dirt is gone and there's more light I can see her eyes. They aren't just one color but several, around the pupils it's like a yellowest brown color but then it more into a gray and around the edge it's a dark blue, they are the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. She's wearing what looks like a sweater but it way to big for her so I can't see it right, but the sweater is fluffy and looks really warm and it covers her and keeps her warm.

"Hey," I say kindly and she smiles at me, then she and Josie start walking toward the kitchen.

"Are you hunger?" I ask and she nods enthusiastically.

"Ok, well the pizza will be ready in a little while but for right now do you want something to drink," I ask and she nods.

"Do you have any chocolate milk," She asks softly and I smile.

"We always have chocolate milk" I say with a wink then I grab two cups from the cupboard and then placing them on the counter I open the fridge and grab the chocolate milk, I pour to cups full and grab both of them and walk over to where Charlotte is sitting at the end on the counter top.

"Here you go," I say handing it to her and she smiles.

"Thank you," Charlotte says before taking a sip.

"You very welcome," I say taking a sip from my own cup.

"The oven's heated up," Kile says from the other end of the counter where he sits drinking his own milk.

"Ok," I say with a sigh as I put my cup down and walk over to the oven to put the pizza in.

"Don't burn yourself," Kile says from his spot on the counter and I turn to him.

"Me burn myself, now where would you get an idea like that," I ask smirking as I put to pizza in the oven and close the door.

"You burned yourself like two days ago, it's very likely it'll happen again," Kile says and I roll my eyes.

"Well I think we all know that I'm no good with ovens," I say and Kile laughs.

"Yes, that's something we can all agree on," He says and I just roll my eyes with a smile and go back over to Charlotte.

"So, what are we going to do tomorrow," I ask Kile.

"The boys can stay home with Charlotte and when we get off work we can come straight home. It's not that complicated" Kile says and I nod then look at Charlotte.

"Are you ok with that," I ask not wanting to say yes without seeing if she's alright staying home with two boys twice her age.

She smiles then looks over at the boys who are still playing pool with Josie cheering them on. "I don't mind, they both seem nice"

"Ok that's what we'll do," I say taking another sip of milk.

"Gracie, when is Ames supposed to call," Kaden asks from the game room as he hits a ball into the hole.

"Um well she called last Tuesday but I don't know she doesn't tell me when she's calling again and remember it could also me Max calling," I say smiling because it sounds weird calling our parents by their nicknames.

"Who's Ames," Charlotte asks and I smile.

"She's a friend," I say and I can feel Kile smirk even though I'm not looking at him.

About 15 minutes later I'm taking out the three pizza's I put in the oven and placing them on the counter, I did end up burning myself once but it wasn't serious so I just shook it off. Charlotte looks like she's in seventh heaven when she bits into her slice and I can't help but smile as her eyes roll back in her head slightly.

"You like pizza," I say watching her and she nods.

"I love pizza," She says taking another bit.

"Me too," I say taking a bit of my own slice, I look over at Kile to find him watching me with a small smile on his face and a glint in his eyes that I haven't seen in a long time. The last time I saw that look in his eyes was when I let him in when he broke down all my walls and saw me. When he discovered something in me that he didn't know was there before.

After we finish eating we all say good night and head to our rooms, I take Charlotte to the spare room next to Kaden's and tuck her in.

"Thank you" She whispers as her eyes start to drop closed as she drifts off to sleep.

"For what?" I ask even though I know what she's talking about.

She smiles "For taking me away from that place and bringing me here, it's been a long time since anyone has even noticed me and tonight was the first time that I felt at home like I belonged. Please don't leave me, my mommy and daddy did and I don't have anyone else" She says and I shack my head and reach out and sweep some of the loose hair from her face, causing her to smile again.

"I will never leave you alone, Charlotte. I will make sure you always have a home and if I can that home will be with me and my family. No one desires to live like you've lived and you'll never live like that agin. I promise" I say and she smiles once more before drifting off to sleep.

I don't know why but I lean down and kiss her forehead softly "Good night sweetheart" I whisper then I get up from the side of the bed and walk to the door. I turn around and look at the sleeping girl one more time before I turn off the light and close the door leaving it open just a crack. I sigh then turn around and walk to my room, I walk out onto the balcony and lean against the rail wondering what I'm going to do with this sweet little girl. I don't know if I'll be able to keep my promise but I will try.

"That was some promise you made to Charlotte. Are you going to keep it?" Kile asks behind me and I sigh.

"I want too but I'm not too sure how I can, all I know is that as long as we're living here so will she," I say looking out at the glittering water of the ocean.

"I agree," Kile says and he wraps an arm around me.

"I'm sorry about earlier, I've just had a stressful day," I say looking over at him.

"Eady, I'm not mad I know how much you had to deal with today and your just stressed out," Kile says and I smile at him.

"I love you, Kile," I say softly. "So so much"

"I love you Eady and I don't know what I ever did to desire you," Kile says and I shack my head at him.

"I think it's the other way around Kile, what have I done to desire you," I say and Kile leans down so his face is just inches from mine.

"From just being yourself and loving me you've done enough," Kile says and I smile.

"Before I fell in love with you, I was cut off from my family and myself. You broke down my walls and you helped me see what I brat I was and how self-centered I am and you helped me change before I didn't care enough about the people that I love I took them for granted but not anymore. I love you Kile please don't ever doubt that you have my heart and you always will. Your my one true love" I say looking into his eyes to find that the only thing I can see is his love for me.

"And your mine," He says and then he leans down and his lips meet mine.

I wrap my hands up into his hair holding him close to me and he holds me close to him. Swaying in the light of the moon with Kile holding me so close that I can hear and feel his heartbeat, I know he'll never leave me. My heart is his and his is mine forever and ever before all this madness started I thought soul mates won't really and I still don't but with Kile holding me close out here I believe in love for maybe the first time. That maybe someone can love me.

It's no longer just a myth, it's reality. I can't live without him and now I know that my parents were right when they said the heart has a way of surprising you because it does. Kile never meant anything to me before the selection but now he's my world, he's my everything and I'm his. I don't know what the future holds for us or if all see my parents again but I know that if I have Kile and my family with me nothing can stand in our way. Life is full of surprises and I can't wait to find out what they are. Togeather.