“This competition is as old as this country, and should be taken seriously,” He warns. “In a month’s time, the people will vote on which of you fine young people should be my successor.” He sighs. “Until then, it is your job to train yourselves to rule this great country. There will be several interviews and social events, and I expect you to behave like the nobility you are, and uphold your honor.” He nods to all of us in respect. “Best of luck.” We all stand up and bow one last time, then start to leave the room. 

Cai tries to move forward to catch up with me, but I move faster. I trip over my enormous skirt, and fall forward, but don’t hit the ground like I think I will. Someone catches me. 

“Are you all right?” Cai asks, as I attempt to wriggle out of his grasp. 

“Yes,” I growl, and walk ahead, my fists clenched. 

“This was such a good idea.” Angel giggles, nibbling on a chocolate-covered pretzel. We sit around a lantern in the dark, wrapped in blankets.

“We should make a fort,” Hadley announces, her face lighting up. Angel nods. I reach for an apple slice, but Julia slaps my hand. 

“There was a fly on you,” She says, when I turn to look at her. She stands up and helps Hadley get some blankets, a smile on her face. 

“I don’t think we have enough blankets for an epic fort,” Hadley laments with her arms folded. 

“There are more in my room,” I say, and stand up, my socks sliding on the marble floors. I leave Hadley’s bedroom, and walk down the hallway to my room. I tiptoe through the dark to my closet. I bump into three boxes before I find a pile of blankets. 

Carrying the enormous pile, I walk back to the door, and bump into somebody and drop my bundles. 

“Sorry,” I mutter, bending down to pick them up. 

“No, it’s not your fault,” They say. Cai! I look up at him, and glare. “Olive.” I pick up the blankets, and start walking down the hallway. “Do you need help with that?” He asks. 

“No,” I say, walking faster. He catches up to me, and takes the blankets from me. 

“Are you mad at me?” He asks, as I fold my arms and keep walking. 

“You failed to mention that you were one of the champions, you have a fan club composed entirely of screaming females, and you lied to me. Why on Earth would I be mad?” I whisper-shout. “Is the mayor in on your impostor-ing, or are you just tricking him too?” 

“Impostor-ing?” He asks, raising his eyebrows. I glare at him. “He actually is my uncle,” Cai says, stopping his walk. “Mom is his sister, but she married a Light from the mainland so technically I’m Light, though I prefer it on Metal Island.” I nod and take the blankets back from him. “I didn’t mean to lie to you, Olive. I just used the disguise to hide from the fan club composed entirely of screaming females. If they knew I hid on Metal Island most of the time, they’d swarm the place and ruin it.” I hear footsteps, and shush him. 

“Oh, there you are, Olive,” Angel says, walking into the light streaming through one of the windows. She turns to Cai. “You’re welcome to come hang out with us, Caden.” 

“Cool,” He says, and walks with us back to the bedroom. Hadley waves, and Julia scoffs, when he enters. He helps us tie blankets to the posts of Hadley’s bed, and sets chairs up so they hold up the blanket roof too. 

“It’s perfect!” Hadley says, as we step back to admire our work. “Now let’s tell scary stories and eat our weight in food!” 

“That won’t be hard for Olive,” Julia says. “She’s so skinny.” I glare at her, and curl up under a blanket. Cai sits next to me, his hair disheveled. Angel giggles randomly at different points in Hadley’s story. It’s not really that scary, because of Hadley’s way of telling it. “Can I go next?” Julia asks, already taking the flashlight. Hadley stands up, and goes to the bathroom. 

“Sure!” Angel says, grinning. Julia turns the flashlight off, and now we’re in complete darkness. “Hey, what’s that for?” 

“You won’t get scared if I leave the lights on,” Julia responds, in a very dark voice. Stay calm. I think, shivering. It’s just like when the power went out last winter. Nothing is hiding in the dark to kill you. “A long time ago, when the country was new, a small group of people rebelled against their Governor that fed them and protected them.” Sounds like a lot of propaganda. “They crept into the castle in the night, and killed him in his sleep. But nobody could find the murder weapon,” She says, in the most creepy voice possible. “But there was a witness, the Governor’s son. He punished the rebels and their families for their sins, and imprisoned them on an island just off the coast, creating a new Division, one for simple, powerless people.” 

“Jules, that’s insensitive. Olive is here, you know,” Angel says. 

“I’m not being rude. I’m just telling a story about history,” Julia responds, then returns to her scary voice. “And every single Governor’s Pageant since, the Metal champion has met a sticky end.” My breath catches in my throat. “Each one died a mysterious death on the night the election results were to be announced.” I curl up tighter. “And everyone claimed they saw the ghost of the dead governor at the murder scene, each time.” A hand grabs my shoulder from behind, and I scream, my eyes filled with tears. Julia bursts out laughing. 

“Julia, that’s not funny,” Cai says, grabbing the flashlight and turning it on. Julia rolls on the floor of the fort, laughing manically. 

Angel pulls her knees to her chest. I lean against the wall and shiver, pulling my blankets closer. I hear footsteps, and scream, as a face appears in the fort. I cover my eyes, my chest heaving. 

“Olive, it’s just Dennis,” Cai mutters. I pull my hands off my eyes, and slowly get my breathing back to normal. 

“I was just looking for Hadley. What are you guys doing in here?” Dennis asks, crawling inside. 

“Telling Olive here about her impending doom,” Julia says. I glare at her. “With any luck, she’ll kill herself before the governor can get her.” Dennis’s usual blank face turns into a frown. “Oh, don’t tell me you’re one of those sensitive people too.” Dennis glances over at me. 

“You don’t have to stay here with these guys.” He says in a quiet voice. I nod, and stand up, crawling with him out of the fort. I wear my blanket as a shawl as he walks me back to my bedroom. “Sorry you have to deal with Julia’s crap.” He mutters, though he doesn’t use the word crap.

“Why is she targeting me?” I ask, sighing. 

“It’s sort of a tradition, for the Metal to get bullied,” He explains, looking down at his feet. 

“That’s nice. I’ll add it to the other thousand things that annoy me about this place,” I grumble, as I attempt to open my door. The handle is stuck. They probably don’t even do maintenance on the Metal bedroom. 

“I never was one for traditions anyway,” Dennis says with a rare smile. I smile back, and continue fiddling with the doorknob. “Here. Let me help,” He says, pushing me aside, and slamming his hand on the knob, knocking it back into place. 

“Thank you,” I say, opening the door. He nods. “Good night.” I wave, and go inside, closing the door behind me. I quickly turn on the lights, so the governor’s ghost doesn’t jump out and murder me. I tiptoe to my bed, and climb under the covers, hiding. After a few minutes of eerie silence, a knock comes at the door, and I scream. 

“Calm down,” Cai says, entering the room. “It’s just me.” 

“Get out,” I grumble. He sighs and walks over to me. 

“You can’t sleep with the lights on, you know,” He says, smirking. 

“I can’t sleep at all,” I mutter, shoving my face into my pillow. He sighs.

“I’m sorry about Julia,” He says, and I sit up, glaring at him. “Why are you mad at me?” He asks. I roll my eyes. 

“You’re annoying,” I reply. “And you lied to me about who you really are, and you didn’t stop Julia from threatening my life!” 

“Yes, I did,” He defends. 

“You told her off. You didn’t get her to stop.” 

“I’m sorry, then,” He says. “Really.” I lay back down. 

“This is the worst day ever,” I mumble into my pillow. Cai pats my shoulder, and I turn to look at him. 

“It’ll be okay. Tomorrow is going to be better,” He says with a smile, then leaves the room. “Do you want the lights left on?” I nod. He closes the door behind him, and I hide under the covers. 

“You’re late,” The governor says, as I walk into breakfast. 

“I’m sorry, sir,” I say. “I had some trouble sleeping.” 

“Are you complaining and making excuses?” He asks. I flush and move towards my seat. Cai waves at me, and I wave back. 

“No, sir,” I say. He glares at me. “I’m just-” 

“Talking back?” He asks. 

“Yeah, that’s how a conversation works,” I say, and clap my hand over my mouth. Olive Ferrum, you need to learn when to shut up. Cai laughs under his breath, and disguises it as a cough. The governor stares. Don’t kill me.

“Sit down and hold your tongue,” He says. I nod and take my seat. Julia kicks me really hard under the table, and I wince audibly. The governor looks back up at me. “What did I say about holding your tongue?” I glare at Julia. 

“Sorry, sir,” I mutter. Julia smiles triumphantly and eats her bacon and eggs. After breakfast, we sit around in a large living room, staring at the floor. Julia, Ashton, and Angel sit in one group, talking, and the rest of us somewhere else, in silence. 

“We should do something fun,” Hadley says, breaking the silence. Dennis nods quietly. 

“There’s a stables here,” Cai says, looking up. Hadley smiles. 

“Let’s go!” She says, standing up, and pulling Dennis to his feet too. He dwarfs her in size, and I almost laugh at the stark differences between them. 

“Stables?” I whisper to Cai, as we leave the other three champions in the room, my brows furrowed. 

“For horseback riding,” He says. When he sees the utter look of fear in my eyes, he chuckles. “You’ll be fine. They’re tame.” 

“Okay,” I say. Cai loops his arm through my elbow. Rich people. I think, and use my free hand to hold up my long gray skirt as we head up some steps. 

Ahead of us, Hadley taps Dennis on the shoulder, barely able to reach. She runs away, quick on her tiny feet, but Dennis easily catches up and tags her. She laughs and chases him again, jumping up to tag him, but he easily lifts her up around the waist and throws her onto his shoulders, laughing. She squeals, and struggles to get away. 

With a smile, Dennis kisses her on the lips. She flushes and hugs him, sliding back down to the ground. I glance at Cai, a question in my eyes. 

“They’ve known each other since infancy,” He explains in a whisper. “Stone and Sky are right next to each other.” I nod. “It’s not unusual for champions to date one another,” He says quietly. I nod. Cai smiles a little and opens the stable door for me.