The Contest

Chapter 8

As I walked to my room I tied the ring around my neck.
"Out of sight, out of mind." My sister has said. I had decided that I was far too uncomfortable in a dress right now. If I was going to be doing research, I wanted to be wearing pants.
"Is there any chance you have some jeans in that closet?" I asked my maids when I came into my room.
"Quite possibly." Amy said, and went into the walk in closet.
"Why are you wanting pants?" Teony asked.
"I'm used to them, and I'm going to be staying in my room for the rest of the day anyway, so I might as well be comfortable." I said. Amy came out with a pair of jeans and a fancy shirt.
"How about this?" She asked.
"Perfect." I said, and got dressed. "You all can leave if you want. I'm not needing very much right now." I said. The girls nodded and left. I was finally alone. I got on my bed and took my mothers journal from on top of the bedside table.
"Entry number 3." I said, and opened it.

Fawna and I have been talking a lot recently. She's very nice, and a lot like me. She told me the Prince took her on a date already. I didn't tell her that he had taken me on one two days before. I've been feeling rather ill in the mornings. I don't know what it is, but I may need to talk to the cooks in the kitchen about it. Maybe I'll ask Fawna if she's been feeling the same way. Maybe I won't. The Prince took me on another date this morning. I had to end it early because of my stomach but the beginning was fantastic. He had talked to me about living in Performance and what that was like.
"Well, it's not the best. We make little money, and when we do, it's spent on food and bills. Rarely do we have enough to treat ourselves to the things we want." I told him.
"Now you have anything you could ask for at your fingertips." He said.
"It's difficult adjusting to this lifestyle after growing up with the bare minimum. And to think some girls who came here only got a small taste of what Royal life was like"
"I had to let them go, you do realize that right? It was a hard choice to make-"
"I know. I'm glad I'm still here."
"Im glad you are too." He said, smiling down at me. I had blushed. I know I love him. I already know, but Andrew is back at home, and I do love him too.
"Only 20 out of the 32 girls you invited here are left. How does that make you feel?" I asked.
"Nervous. Excited. I'm not really sure." He answered, pushing through some leaves on a tree. "This is really where you wanted to go for our date? We've already been to the garden." He said.
"And when you think of a better place to go on our next date, let me know." I teased.
"Next date?" He asked. I tenses up.
"I didn't mean...I hadn't meant to assume...-" The Prince had chuckled.
"I have a great place to go on out next date." He said. I smiled, and then felt a wave of nausea pass over me. I clutched my stomach and sank to the ground.
"Allison!" He had said, getting down on his knees.
"I'm fine, your highness." I said.
"You know you can call me Steven." He said, helping me up.
"I'll keep that in mind." I said meekly.
"Let's get you back to your room." He said. I had nodded and he brought me back. Although it was a short date, it was great! I do wonder what the place he wants to take me is. I received a letter from Andrew this afternoon. We have decided to keep in touch. I do hope the Prince doesn't think I'm unloyal. I may ask Fawna if she wants to go to the library with me tomorrow.

The entry ended. I turned the page and began a new one.

Fawna and I went to the library today to escape the other girls. Two more were eliminated this past week, and people seem to be getting angry at one another. I made another friend today. Her name is Olivia. She's got the most beautiful raven black hair, and blue eyes like you just looked into the sky. Fawna is jealous of her looks. Fawna has brown hair and blue eyes, but her freckles set her apart. Anyways, we went to the library today and read some magazines. They have a collection of all the magazines from past Contests, and we wanted to see if they mentioned anything that could help us through challenges in the Contest. They also keep record books in there too!

I slammed the book shut and ran out of my room. I knocked on Tink's door.
"Tink, open up your door." I shouted. She opened it up a crack.
"If you've come to try and kill me, I'd rather not. You may get hurt." She said.
"No it's not that. I want you to come to the library with me." I said.
"Ew why?" She asked, opening her door a bit more.
"Cause I am doing research on something and it's boring without someone else with me." I said. Tink sighed.
"Fine." She said, and came out. She looked me over. "You're wearing pants!? That's so not fair." She said.
"You have pants in your closet." I said.
"You're joking." She asked, her jaw open.
"Not one bit." I said.
"Library is going to have to wait." She said, and ran back in her room. I giggled, and walked into her room. It was different than mine. Her room was reds, blacks and white. Mine was blues and oranges. She came out of her closet minutes later with a pair of jeans on and a long shirt that could have also been worn like a dress.
"Okay now we can go." She said. I nodded and we walked there.
"Okay so what kind of research are we doing here?" She asked as we walked.
"They keep old magazines and record books from past Contests in the library. I wanted to try and get a head start in figuring out the future challenges." I said. I wasn't going to mention the real reason for why I wanted to look in record books, and I definitely wasn't going to mention the fact that I already had a date with the Prince tomorrow.
"Well that's a good thing to know." She said. "So...anymore from his royal highness?" She asked. I looked down at my hands.
"No! And I'm never going to tell you anything else if you keep asking!" I said. Tink giggled.
"Fine fine. So why did you bring me? Why not Harmonia?" She asked. I bit my lip.
"Harmonia and I aren't exactly seeing eye to eye at the moment." I said.
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. She's mad cause of the elimination and she said something I hope she regrets. I just need a little time to cool off. It's nothing big." I said.
"I see. So you're wearing your ring around your neck?" She asked.
"Out of sight, out of mind. That's what my sister says anyway." I said.
"She's right." Tink said. "Do you miss him?" Tink asked.
"Miss who?" I asked.
"Evander?" She said.
"Someone said my name?" A voice said from around the corner. As we turned I saw those green eyes I knew I would never forget. That same blonde hair that I had seen the day before.
"Evander?" I whispered.
"Hey Ber." He said, with a small grin. As if I knew what she was doing, I grabbed Tink's arm.
"Don't." I said to her simply. I walked around Evander and into the library doors. Once in, Tink faced me.
"Why is he here?" She asked.
"I-I don't know." I said.
"Are you going to go talk to him?" She asked.
"I was hoping to avoid that for the rest of my trip." I said, sitting on a chair.
"You're not going to be able to do that." She said.
"I know."
"You should just go out there and talk to him now. Get it out of the way." She said. I nodded, and went out. He was standing there, just like I knew he would have been.
"Evander." I said.
"Hey Ber. Can I explain before you go off?" He asked.
"I wasn't going to go off." I said, crossing my arms.
"You always cross your arms before you start yelling at someone." I looked down at my arms.
"Explain." I demanded.
"I got a job in the castle. My family wasn't doing too well, and I decided to get a job and fend for myself. I'm eighteen now, I might as well leave."
"You got this job pretty quick. It had nothing to do with me?" I asked.
"You're here, and the plan was always to have you here, although in a different situation." He said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked. He looked at me.
"I see you're wearing the ring as a necklace." He said.
"Say that a little louder, I don't think the Prince can quite hear you." I said, glaring at him.
"Why didn't you leave it at home?" He asked.
"I'm not sure my mom would have been pleased if she had found it."
"Oh." He said.
"So your plan?" I asked.
"The plan...well..."
"Hurry up Evander, I don't have all day." I said. He looked me in the eyes. His emerald eyes were radiating hurt. He bit his lip.
"The plan was to bring you here as my wife." He muttered. I tensed up. "That didn't go well." He said. I nodded.
"How was your meeting with the Prince?" He asked.
"It was fine. He didn't kick me out, so that should be a sign right?" I said. He chuckled.
"I miss your humor. Got a date with him yet?" He asked.
"A date?" I repeated. "I have to go." I said, and ran back to the library.
"Okay...bye." I heard him call. I found Tink reading a magazine.
"I found them!" She said, and looked at my face. "Went well I see." She said.
"Could have gone better. I just want to read these . Get my mind off the whole thing." I said. She nodded, and handed me a book.
"The records from the last Contest. You might find them interesting, since your mom was part of it." She said. I took the book and opened it. I flipped all the way to the back.

December 1st
-Prince Steven eliminates Hailey Adkins
December 2nd
-Olivia Endenway has a birthday ball to celebrate her 17th birthday
-Prince Steven is seen kissing Allison Heartford
December 15th
-China attacks the castle and Jemma Liken asks to go home
December 17th
-Jemma Liken leaves the castle
-Prince Steven announces he will be making his choice within the week
December 19th
-Olivia Endenway is eliminated
-All contestants are brought back to the Castle to witness Prince Stevens choice
I flipped the page. On the left page was a picture of all the girls, Queen Fawna and my Mother in the front, the Prince in between them. A bit of the right page was missing. All the page said was:
December 27th
-Prince Steven is found
December 30th
-Prince Steven weds Princess Fawna Jeslaw
"Hey Tink, where did you get this book?" I asked.
"That shelf right there." She said, pointing to a bookshelf built into the back wall. I went to it and pulled the books to the sides off, looking for any other pieces of paper. I didn't find anything, just a chip in the wood in the back of the bookshelf where the book had been