For the next three days, it was perfect. Every afternoon, I snuck out through the hole, went to Dock 133, was transported to the base, trained for a few hours, then went home. It was working, and my parents never found out.

Then one evening, I came home and headed straight for my room as usual. I tucked my Resistance uniform and ID into my private safe and washed up, then put on a dress. I slipped my comlink into the hidden pocket I'd had made specifically for the purpose. Before I could do the same with my blaster, though, the door opened without warning. The blaster was still lying in plain sight on the bed!

"Arabellah, where have you been?" It was my mother, and, as usual, she didn't look happy with me. "The servants have been searching all over the grounds for you."

Thank goodness she was focused on me, or she would most certainly have seen the blaster. I edged closer to the bed as I replied, "I've been in here the whole time, Mother."

"They said they searched over the entire palace."

"Well, you know how servants are." I laughed. Then I winced at how fake it sounded. I shuffled over a few more inches, almost enough to obscure the blaster from my mother's eyes.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you weren't on the grounds at all."

"Nope, I've been here the entire day." Now standing right in front of the blaster, I probed around behind me and scooped it up, holding it tightly to my back. Please don't go off, I pleaded silently.

The queen examined me with eagle eyes for several moments, then harrumphed and left, closing the door in her wake.

I blew a sigh of relief and pulled the blaster from its hiding place.

"You," I addressed the blaster, "are a lot of trouble." Then I realized, "I'm talking to a gun." I rolled my eyes and shoved it into my pocket.

The walk from my quarters to the dining hall is a long journey, one that always seems longer as a result of my dread of what I know awaits me at the end of it. Mealtimes with my family are rough, and if I had my choice, I'd have my meals delivered to my room. But Mother and Father insist that we should have dinner together every night, and every night, the situation gets worse. My parents love my little sister Rosali to bits, and I do too, but they can't stand the sight of me. They always assume that I'm wrong, even if I'm trying to make a reasonable suggestion to help with the political problems they're facing.

It was hard, but I did my best not to get upset. It wouldn't have done any good to get angry and yell at them and then get grounded for a month, especially now that I was in the Resistance. I wouldn't have been able to train.

So I trudged the lengthy walk to the dining hall, as I did every evening. Rosali joined me as I passed her room. She was dressed in her usual pink and her long, curly brown hair hung down her back.

"I haven't hardly seen you all week, Bell," she said. "Where have you been?"

I redirected the question as best I could. "I don't know, Lili. Where do you think I've been?"

She thought for a moment, then suggested, "Um... The library?"

"Nope."

"The pond?"

"Nope." I wasn't really sure what I'd do if she went through every place in the palace and I still hadn't said 'yes'. I was reluctant to lie to her. She was so trusting, and I loved her far too much to tell her a fib.

Fortunately, I was saved that trouble when I saw something odd through a window. I only saw it for a second before it disappeared around a corner, but it looked like a person - dressed all in white - standing at the corner of the building. I asked Rosali if she'd seen it. She hadn't, but at least it moved the subject from my whereabouts that week.

We reached the dining hall and took our seats, but my place faces the biggest window in the room. Through it, I could see down to the gardens, where more people dressed in white were edging along the outside of the palace, pressing themselves against the walls and peering through windows as they went. As they drew closer, I could see clearly what they were. Stormtroopers!

My eyes widened, and my mind raced. Why are they here? What are they doing? What should I do? My hand slowly moved to my blaster. Neither Rosali nor my parents seemed to notice anything was wrong.

The troopers reached a guard, approaching him from behind and putting a hand to his nose and mouth. The guard passed out almost immediately, and they dropped him on the ground and continued.

I wasn't sure what to do. I couldn't fight them myself, not without help. I'd only had three days of training! And the last thing I needed was for my family to wonder how I learned how to fight even that much. I excused myself and left the room hurriedly amid loud objections from Mother and Father. I rushed to a window and looked out. There were more troopers now, dozens of them marching in through the front gate. The guards had been knocked out, and the stormtroopers were surrounding the palace. One of them saw me at the window and fired his blaster. The glass shattered just as I ducked."She's in there! Raid the building!"

A shout came from outside: "She's in there! Raid the building!"

I turned to get Rosali from the dining hall, but my path was blocked by a line of stormtroopers clambering in through a window. I pulled my blaster and ran, but the other end of the hallway was barred by the same obstacle. I skidded to a stop and looked to either side in panic.

The troopers ordered me to halt and drop my weapon, but I didn't. I did the only thing I could think of to get away. I jumped out the window.

I rolled as I landed on the gravel path, but the impact hurt my leg.

"Get her!" a stormtrooper shouted, pointing at me.

I jumped to my feet and limped through the gardens with an entire company of troopers in pursuit. I hurried to the hole and ducked under the hedge. I kicked the bricks as I usually did, expecting them to give way and let me out, but they stood firm. I kicked harder and harder, but they didn't budge. My leg ached from the force of the poundings.

Panic was building up inside me, the stormtroopers were getting closer, so once more, I did the first thing I could think of. I pulled myself out from under the hedge - my tiara was left caught in the branches just like the afternoon I met Tal - and began to climb it.