A/N: I don't own any characters.

cal witch, kizzyfur, & nattiebroskette - Thank you for reviewing!

Grace POV

I was feeling better after a few days and got out of the hospital wing. My maids and Shield were very happy to see me.

"I was so worried about you." Tamina said and hugged me.

"I missed you all too." I said.

"Were you scared?" Paige asked me.

"I was, but I learned a lot." I said and they nodded.

"What do you all think of the rebels?" I asked them. I trusted my maids and I hope that they were honest with me.

"I think that some of them probably have good intentions." Paige said and I nodded. I had to think that Stephanie wasn't the only rebel in the palace.

"I wish that things were more peaceful." Tamina said and I nodded. I respected that. We were discussing different things when there was a knock at the door. We all turned to see Justin coming into the room. I had seen him a lot lately. He would check on me in the hospital.

"I wanted to make sure that you were alright, Lady Grace." he said and I gave a small smile. We had talked while I was in the hospital and he knew how I felt about everything. He knew that I wanted to move on. I know that it had hurt him, but I felt better.

"I am, thank you Officer Gabriel." I said and he nodded. He left and I noticed that Paige was watching him. I nudged her and she blushed.

"Talk to him." I said and she shook her head no.

"I can't." she said.

"Why not?" I asked her.

"He's a guard…" she said.

"And?" Tamina asked her.

"He's very nice." I said and realized I shouldn't know that. They both gave me confused looks. I knew that I would find out if I really trusted them now.

"I know Justin from before the selection." I admitted and they were surprised.

"You were in love with him?" Tamina asked me and Paige was shocked by her question.

"I was… in fact, I was until a few months ago." I admitted and they were surprised, but seemed to take it in stride.

Dean POV

I was going to see Grace when I heard her talking to her maids. I was going to go in, but I heard her maid ask her about being in love. I didn't know much about that part of Grace, and it was wrong to listen in… I wanted to know more about her. I was shocked and mad to find out that she knew Officer Gabriel before and I was mad to find out he was the one that hurt her. I know what hurt me the most was finding out that she was still in love with him after he came here. I know she said that she wasn't in love anymore, but she had been here a long time. I knew that we had a connection long before he came, so was she faking it?

I didn't know what to do. I knew that part of me wanted to banish Officer Gabriel. I wanted to scream at her. I wanted to confront her, but the worst was that I had the idea to send her home. She infuriated me, but she also still intrigued me.

I walked away to think about anything else. I ended up in another meeting about the prisoners that my father was having punished. He was having the girls participate in sentencing them so he could see how they would handle it.

"What do you think, Dean?" he asked me.

"Give them the murderers. They need to be able to deal with the worse." I said and my father actually gave me an approving look. I was certain that AJ could handle it, but not Brie and Grace was too nice.

I got done and had my dinner sent to my room. I wasn't in the mood to see anyone. I really didn't want to see her. I was doing pull ups when there was a knock at the door. I turned to see Seth walking in.

"You needed to see me?" he asked me.

"What do you think of Officer Gabriel?" I asked him and he shrugged.

"He's good. Why?" he asked me.

"Just curious. I want to know who is around me since the rebels are getting worse." I said and he nodded.

"Are you ready to do it?" he asked me and I sighed.

"I'm reconsidering. I want to make sure she's the right one. I don't know anymore." I said and he looked surprise. I knew that I had talk to them about proposing and ending the selection on the night of the Halloween ball.

"Well, ok, but I think that she is the best one." he said and I sighed.

"When you are me then you can choose her without any problems." I snapped and he nodded before leaving.

Brie POV

I was sitting in the library when Grace came in. I wanted to talk to her.

"You alright?" she asked me and I shrugged.

"I don't know. I mean… I don't think I want this." I said and she nodded.

"What's going on?" she asked me.

"I have had dates with Dean, but there isn't anything there. I just don't want this." I said and she nodded.

"Are you going to ask to go home?" she asked me.

"I can't. My parents would disown me." I said and I knew that it was true. I had written my parents. My mother was always supportive, but my father just told me to do whatever it took to be queen. I didn't want to be queen.

"I'm sorry, Brie." she said and hugged me.

"Thank you, so now I'm rooting for you." I said and she smiled.

"What did she pay you to root for her and not me?" AJ asked us as she sat down.

"Nothing, but I think that she will make a good queen." I defended my statement.

"Whatever, you could never be queen." AJ said to me.

"And you could?" Grace asked her.

"Of course, I have it all." she said and Grace rolled her eyes.

"No, you have your looks which will fade, your attitude which will harder, and your connections which will probably die from a drug overdose." Grace shot back and I was shocked. AJ looked shocked. She was speechless and looked like she was going to cry. She abruptly got up and ran away. Grace sighed and rested her head on the table. She groaned and I rubbed her back.

AJ POV

I was sitting in the alcove near the stairs and watching it rain. I knew that Grace was right, but this was all that I had left. I was sitting there when someone sat next to me. I looked up to see Grace. I couldn't take it and I slapped her. She shook her head and took a deep breath.

"Oh, please don't tell anyone. I'm so sorry." I cried. I knew that if we hit one another we were automatically sent home. I started to bawl and Grace put her arm around me.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I asked her between sobs.

"Because we are all stressed and none of us are still sure what we want." she said and I knew that she was right.

"Thank you. I don't know what I want either. I think that I like Dean, but at time I just don't know." I said and she nodded.

"We all feel that way." Brie said as she sat on the other side of me.

"I am so sorry that I have been mean to you all." I said and they both waved it off.

"It's a competition. We all were drawn in." Brie said and I nodded.

I had fun talking to them and we decided that this would be our meeting space to have girl talks. I knew that I would be friends with them for a long time and I am just glad that I wasn't stupid enough to almost ruin the experience.

Grace POV

We were walking back when one of the maids saw us.

"Lady Grace, are you alright?" she asked me.

"She tripped. She is embarrassed." AJ whispered to her and she nodded with a wink. We walked off and I smiled at AJ.

We walked into the room and Eva was sitting there.

"Loser." she mumbled and AJ stopped in front of her.

"We are all friends here… get over it. It's a competition, but no matter who wins we all need each other." AJ told her and she looked down.

"Eva, friends?" Brie asked her and she looked up with tears.

"I'm tired of being a bitch." she said and hugged us. Stephanie walked in later and we all sat down.

She proceeded to talk to us, the Queen came in and gave us the details of the visits. We were all excited to find out about the Halloween ball. I knew that my maids would have be an amazing costume.

"Ladies." a voice said and we all stood up to see the king. We curtseyed and he motioned for us to sit back down.

"Next week, one the day of the Halloween ball, we also have the yearly sentencing. You will all take part in it. You will all sentence a prisoner. The public needs to see that you all can be their next queen. They need to see that you will not stand for people who break the laws and hurt the country." he said and we all nodded.

He finished up and left. I had a bad feeling about the sentencing. I knew that I would probably be tested more than the others. I didn't know if I wanted to or could do this much anymore.

A/N:Please take a second to review. Check out my newest story: Two Toned Nightmare