The Rebel (#Wattys2016)

44. Nationally Broadcasted Honesty

Prince Skander stared at the television. He looked down at his hands, clutching the bandages that were all over his arms, protecting the cuts underneath. He was sitting in a chair in the middle of the base's tech room, surrounded by dozens of soldiers and screens, with his brother seating besides him. June was somewhere in the base, probably talking to an Officer, telling him what it was like in the Castle. They were working on the intel the runaway princes had brought, trying to see where to go next. Skander looked up at the screen in front of him again, and felt a pang of hurt in his chest when the Freedom Fighter's logo came to view -two F's back to back surrounded by stars and with two flags on top of it all. One flag was the Illean flag, the next was the People's Flag, blue with eight golden fists in it, each for a Caste.

"Did they announce a broadcast?" Jasper asked the soldiers. They all shook their heads and Jasper frowned. "Wonder what it's about."

Skander shook his head and stood up. Silently, he made his way to the door behind him. The soldiers let him through, already accustomed to his ever-lasting silence. He looked at the floor, at his boots, trying to block the new national anthem, the People's Chant, from getting into his head. He made it to the door and was about to open it when the anthem finished and a female spoke.

"Adeen Orson, thank you for joining us." A woman said.

Skander froze with his hand on the door's handle. He was sure he'd heard wrong. Right?

"Thank you for having me here." She said.

Skander was not quite himself as he turned around and stared at the screens.

"Skander-" Jasper said but Skander ignored him and took a step forward.

Adeen was smiling at the camera, as happy as she'd ever been. She showed no signs of pain, and Skander didn't know whether that made him happy or sad. As the camera zoomed out, Skander saw she was wearing the rebels' uniform, but hers was different. It looked like leather and metal, all shiny, instead of the normal ones the rest wore. Hers didn't stop at her neck, like the rest, but rather left her chest bare up until around four fingers below her collarbone. And between her collarbones rested Skander's necklace. To anybody else, it was a necklace the color of the revolution, only with a lighter shade of blue, but to Skander it was his color.

By the time he'd made it to his chair, Skander's palms hurt where he'd been digging his nails. He sat down, quietly, and finally heard what they were saying.

"-on behalf of the entire country that we're very impressed with you and all that has happened." The woman said. "We're still in a state of shock after what happened just a week ago. And we're full of questions. So today I'll ask you some of those, is that alright?"

Adeen smiled. "Totally fine by me."

Jasper turned to Skander. "You don't have to see this, Skander."

It was the first time he'd seen her since she'd let them go. Skander had to see her, to make sure that she was... fine? Happy? Sad? Skander only knew he couldn't tear his eyes away from her.

"So, first question. What was life like in the Palace, being a undercover rebel and all?"

Adeen didn't have to think.

"It was beautifully dangerous. In the beginning, everything was clear. I was here to gather information and convince the Prince to keep me here long enough to be useful to the cause. But as the Selection progressed, I got more and more entangled with this life." Adeen shrugged with one shoulder, the only indication she'd been hurt. "The luxuries, the happiness, the easiness were all so strong here, so prominent, that there were times when I lost sight of what was my goal, of what was important."