The Keeper Exams

Emotion - Task Four

User: x_Karen_x

Name: Emerald

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User: ChaosC

Name: Andreana

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User: AddictsAnonymous

Name: Gwendolynn Latimer

"Gwen?" Ariel questions, stepping inside my bland excuse of a room. I look up at her in the mirror while trying to pin my brown hair back from my face. Ariel halts in the doorway, her jaw slightly ajar. "You look beautiful, Kate's in red too." I groan, my shoulders slumping and my head dropping.

"Well that's just great!" I snap, my good mood plummeting into the abyss of no return. I looked like my mother and hadn't even been trying.

"Stop whining, it's not attractive." A sardonic voice bickers, I jerk my head up as Aaron steps through the door in a black traditional tux.

"Aaron!" I squeal, turning away from the mirror to embrace my cousin in a bone crushing hug. "You are the first friendly face I've seen in a week! And that's ironic considering all we ever did was fight." Aaron chuckles and pulls back from me, thoughts of Connor override my senses and I grip his arms tightly as desperation eats away at me. "Connor? Is he okay?" Aaron cringes and wiggles himself free of my painful grip, nodding his head in response.

"Yeah, he's fine. My mom has him, they're already at the banquet."

"Well, we should head that way, right?" I pause as realization dawns on me. "How the hell are we supposed to get there?" I wonder, Aaron smiles and shrugs, a knowing look in his eyes.

"I suppose the same way Thomas got me in...but you all apprentices aren't supposed to know just yet." I narrow my eyes at him.

"Teleportation, right? It's the only logical explanation, every Hybrid can do it so it's easy and it makes this place undetectable because there's no tunnel leading up." Aaron frowns and rolls his eyes.

"Stop thinking, you'll straing yourself." I scowl and cross my arms over my chest.

"Why'd you agree to be my escort?" Aaron blinks at my abrupt question and frowns.

"Why wouldn't I?" He counters, I give him a doubtful look.

"Because we hate each other, always have since I first came to live with you guys." Aaron pinches his lips together and shrugs one shoulder.

"Nah, it's just more fun to make you think that I hate you." I form a response but a knock on the door interrupts my train of thought. Ariel pokes her head in, smiling.

"Kate and Thomas are ready so when you see them go ahead and join the group behind them. Okay?" I huff at her, Aaron steps forward and nods a thank you to her as she ducks back out the door. Then he turns to me and scowls.

"If I didn't better I'd think you were a whiny little girl, not a twenty-one year old mother. Gosh Gwen, stop acting so rude and childish. I thought Thomas was joking when he told Mom how horrible you're acting. Clearly, I was wrong to think better of you." He scolds, a disappointed look on his face.

My eyes widen slightly and I find myself at a loss for words, Aaron was my fifteen year old cousin therefore he shouldn't have had any right to call me out on my actions. But he clearly thought he did. He'd always teased me but never actually told me to grow up, the strangeness of his words really struck a cord in me. Maybe I was acting a bit childish about everything.