Good morning! Sorry for the short chapter so far! I promise longer ones are coming a major plot twist. If you've read this far, thank you so much for the support! We hit sixty views yesterday and I'm hoping more of you will leave reviews with feedback! Love you :D

Dusk -

Today's the day. I don't want to get out of bed, but I know the longer I stay under the sheets, the harder it will be to leave them. I breathe in their scent one last time, ignoring the feeling of tears welling up behind my eyes.

Dawn's already up, and I haven't heard a sound from her since. She's probably gone out to finalize all the things in my place. She's the best sister I could ever ask for.

I drag myself out of bed and head to our tiny bathroom. Luckily, no one's in there, so I quickly wash my face and brush my teeth and hair. I would apply makeup, but we're too poor to have any. Dawn's never needed any though, and since I look exactly like her, neither do I.

I dress in the outfit of the selected, white top and black pants, and make a mental note to drop by the province services office to pick up the flower.

When I open the small wardrobe that Dawn and I share, I notice almost half of the clothes on Dawn's side are missing. Granted, that only means about three pairs are missing, but she must've wanted me to have them.

I head out of the room which leads directly into the dining room and peer out the window, but there are no reporters outside and no sign of Dawn. She probably went somewhere.

I sigh, deciding to visit Brandon one last time. I still haven't said goodbye. I knock on the Richards' door, knowing Mrs. Richards won't be home. Mr. Richards never opens the door, and Beatrix knows about me and Brandon because she found us once.

Trix opens the door, looking confused.

"Dawn?" She asks.

"You were just here an hour ago..." Her voice trails off as she realizes her mistake.

"Dawn was here?" I ask.

Trix tries to cover it up.

"Yeah, Mom called her in to um... clean something!" She explains.

I eye her suspiciously, but she doesn't let up. I decide to ignore it. It probably isn't important anyway.

"Is Brandon home?" I ask hopefully.

Trix's demeanor changes.

"Yeah. He's in the garden." She says.

I take a deep breath.

Dawn -

A knock sounds at the door. I can do this. Right now, Dusk will be with Brandon. I hope she's lost track of time, that he's done his part in keeping her here.

I open the door and a well-dressed woman steps inside, frowning at the interior with disdain. I bite my tongue, knowing better than to say anything.

"Dusk Willow?" she asks, looking at the clipboard tucked into the crook of her arm.

"That would be me." I say.

Mom, Dad, Astra and Luna are already in the province square, but only Mom knows what I plan to do. The woman nods and checks something off, then turns on her heel.

"Please follow me." she says.

Her voice is stodgy and makes me feel like slapping her. I do as she says, following her out of our small house and into a sleek black car.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

She wrinkles her nose at me in the mirror where she sits in the front passenger seat.

"The province square, then the airport." she says.

The car starts, and before I can register, we're at the square. I quickly unbuckle the seatbelt and open the door, hoping to see my family. I can't, but I know they must be here.

The woman leads me to the stage in the center, where I can see he crowd. It seems everyone in the province has come to see Dusk off. And do they look... proud? I guess because we're Sixes, all the lower castes are happy she's been selected. I didn't expect the higher castes to also be happy though. Maybe they just want to see someone from our province on the throne. Little do they know I won't be at the palace for long.

I almost feel bad at the thought of letting so many people down, especially all the children of the lower castes. But there are Sevens and Eights in the competition too, and one of them could end up winning. I'm not going to sacrifice my happiness unless it's for someone I love. Like Dusk.

The snobbish woman lets me say goodbye to my family and everyone in the province. I don't see Dusk or Brandon anywhere, so I can only assume my plan is working. I follow the woman back to the car and buckle my seatbelt.

That's all for today lovelies! Come back tomorrow for Chapter Ten :P