The Contest

Chapter 24

I guess I had fallen asleep. I woke up to find Archers arms around me, and his suit jacket on the floor. I didn't think anyone actually knew where I was, so I hoped no one was freaking out. I rolled over quietly, and placed a gentle kiss on Archers nose. His eyes fluttered open, and he smiled at me.
"Looks like we fell asleep." He said.
"I'm okay with that." I said.
"At least there's no one outside." He said. I giggled.
"I hope not at least." I nuzzled his nose with mine.
"What's that for?" He asked. "Not that I mind."
"Just cause." I said. I rested my forehead on his and closed my eyes.
"Still sleepy, Love?" He asked.
"Mhm." I mumbled, and cuddled into him more. He wrapped his arms around me tighter. "Archer you're gonna kill me!" I squealed.
"I'm never letting go!" He said, and squeezed me as tight as possible. I let out an noise that was not human, and Archer released me. I toppled onto the floor.
"Fine fine, but only because that noise you made was desperate." He said. I giggled, and stood up. "You still look beautiful." Archer said, sitting up.
"I doubt that, but thank you." I said, smiling.
"I'm completely serious. You look as amazing as a summers sunset." He said. I blushed.
"Well this summers sunset has to go get ready for the day." I said, pulling him off the couch.
"Fine. Do you want to do some research later today?" He asked.
"Sounds good to me. See you at breakfast." I said, giving him a kiss. I backed out to leave, but Archer pulled me back in, kissing me warmly. I melted in the kiss, smiling into it. Archer smiled back, and ran his fingers through my tangled hair, managing to miss every snag that he could have ran into. I pulled him closer to me, kissing him softly, and wrapping my arms around his body. He backed out of the kiss, but kept his forehead on mine, smiling.
"You're pretty good at that." He said. I laughed, looking down at the floor. "What?" He asked.
"Nothing Archer." I said, giggling. "I'll see you later." I said. He nodded, and kissed my cheek. I went to my room.

~~~

Later that afternoon I got a knock on my door. It was Archer, and he had a book.
"This, is my Fathers journal." He said, handing it to me.
"Should we skip to the end of each journal?" I asked.
"If you want to know what happened." He said. I nodded and we went to the couch. I opened my mothers journal.
"This one first." I said. He nodded. I skipped towards the end, a few entries left in the book.

My dress didn't fit this morning. There was no way for my maids to let it out any further either. One of my maids suggested I go see a nurse about the rapid weight gain, considering I fit into my previous dresses. So I did that. They asked me what was wrong and I asked to see a female nurse, just for precautions.
"What seems to be the problem?" She had asked. I had explained my problem and she told me to pee in a cup. I didn't think this would solve the problem but I did so anyway. She said she would let me know if they could solve the problem. I went about my daily routine. Andrew has been sending me letters constantly, and it's very sweet. He still loves me, but I love Steven. He told me that this morning. He told me he loved me and that nothing could keep us apart. I love him so much, but so does Fawna. I don't want to hurt her feelings. At this point there are only six of us left in the Contest, and it's getting tough. The girls are all getting on each other's nerves, and we are constantly resenting each other, even though no one knows Steven told me I would win. I have to go, the nurse just came to my door.

I flipped the page.

I'm pregnant. I'm pregnant with someone's baby. They told me it was a girl. I'm going to have a baby girl. I can't tell anyone of course. I could loose this competition. I have to tell Andrew. It's his baby. I know it is. How am I supposed to tell Steven before he ends up noticing? It won't be long either, I've been here for three months already. I'm crying, and I'm feel sick. This is terrible.

"Wow." Archer said. I stared at the page.
"That's why my mom wanted me to come." I said.
"Huh?" Archer asked, plainly confused.
"She wanted me to fix everything. She wanted me to change the legacy she had created." I said.
"You don't have to do that Lynnie." Archer said.
"I know I don't. I'm not going to." I said. "We should invite the families to the castle." I said suddenly.
"Lynnie do you think that's such a good idea?" Archer asked.
"I don't care. I want to speak with my mother." I said.
"Just write her-"
"In person, or I'm going home myself." I said, shooting him a look. He seemed to shrink.
"Okay." He said.
"Let's find out what your Father thought about this, shall we?" I asked, opening the other journal.

Today Allison came to meet me in the garden for a date. She said she had something to tell me.
"Hello my love." I had said, kissing her. She hadn't smiled me.
"What's wrong, darling?" I had asked. She was pregnant. With someone else's baby. Someone from home. I had told her that it was okay. That I would help her raise the baby if she wanted me to, but if my Father found out about this, he would kill me. I love Allison, and it doesn't matter if she did this. It was before she met me. I hoped she would stay. She was having a baby girl. I decided to talk about names with her.
"I'm not sure what I would want to name her. Maybe Ellie." She had said.
"How about something Royal sounding, since that's what she will be." I had suggested.
"Did you have anything in mind?" She asked me.
"What about something like a stone. Something precious." I said.
"Pearl?" She asked.
"Or Aquamarine?" I asked.
"Hmmm no, but I like the start with the A." She said.
"Amethyst." I said, and it was settled.
"I love it." She said, and kissed me.

I closed the book and laid back into Archers arms. He wrapped them around me and kissed my hair.
"You really want to see your family?" He asked.
"I do, as long as you're willing to have a bunch of small children running around your home." I said.
"Well I already have Tink, and she's a lot." He said. I giggled. "But yes, I would love to meet your family." He said.
"Good." I said, smiling. I looked up at him and his kissed me quickly.
"I have to go my love." He said.
"Nooo." I complained.
"I'm sorry. I promised Shaeleigh a date tonight, and I at least have to pretend the competition is still happening." He said. I groaned and sat up.
"Okay, okay." I said.
"Goodbye." He said, smiling. He kissed my nose, and moved to my cheek. He softly moved down my face to my lips, and kissed me, holding it out.
"You should go." I said.
"Don't tell me that." He said, kissing me harder.
"Archer-" He kept kissing me.
"Archer!" I exclaimed, standing up. He sighed.
"What?" He asked.
"Shaeleigh really likes you. You need to give her a chance." I said.
"So I couldn't kiss you one last time before leaving?" He asked.
"Sure, but when I say stop I want to stop." I said.
"F-fine." He said, standing up. He brushed off his suit, and left without saying goodbye.
"He's so temperamental!" I exclaimed, clenching my fists. Someone knocked on the door.
"Come in." I said, trying to make myself look calm. It was Teony.
"Everything okay in here miss?" She asked.
"Just peachy." I said. She looked at the books on the couch.
"Do you want me to clean up?" She asked.
"It's fine. I have to go do something." I said, and left the room.