Truly Elected (Book Two of The Next Selection Series)

Chapter 19

I shot awake, panting as I sat up. The darkness soon faded into a soft light, a light breeze blowing in from her window. 

'Wait,'  I thought, glancing down. I was in bed, my comforter covering my body and a thin mint green nightgown draping over my body. I looked at the clock on my nightstand; it read 7:45. 'What day is it?'

"Was that all just a dream?" I wondered allowed, my voice croak-like. I began rubbing my eyes, and soon after, I heard the door crack open.

"Cassia," I said, not looking at her. "You'll never believe the strange dream I had." I laughed, my eyes closed as I stretched my arms out, yawning profusely. "I dreamed there was a rebel attack, Fabian saved Matthew and me but got shot in the process, and the three of us were trapped in a safe room together."

"That wasn't a dream Sol," a familiar voice said, but it didn't belong to Cassia, nor Juliana or Starlet. My eyes popped open, my lips twisting to shape my startled expression as Harmony's strawberry blonde hair came into focus. She smirked smugly, approaching me slowly once my initial surprise died down.

"Wha-what?" I squeaked, tugging on my covers a bit. "What are you doing here?"

Harmony sighed, setting down on the edge of my bed. "I came to check up on you," she admitted, running a hand through her perfectly contained hair. "And to thank you."

"Thank me?" I pushed my covers aside, standing to meet her at the edge of my bed. "For what?"

"For not telling anyone about my secret," she sighed out, pointing to her feet. A worn pair of pointe shoes were toed around her ankles, the pink-tinted ribbon still reflecting light even though it lost luster. "Had it been Heather that found out instead of you, she would have held it over my head like a bargaining piece: I be her slave and she'll keep my secret."

My eyebrows knit together; why was she telling me all of this?

"And since I'm going in this direction anyway," she said slowly, her words breathy. "I wanted to apologize to you for my awful behavior toward you. At first, I was completely enthralled by Heather, another Two who I saw myself wanting to be like. But over my time here, I've come to realize that I want to be nothing like her." She shook her head, brushing strands of melted honey and rose petals out of her eyes. 

I smiled softly, placing a hand on her back in a tentative gesture. "Apology accepted." I laughed lightly, seeing a small smile blossom on her thin lips. 

"Oh, there is one more thing I have to inform you of," Harmony stood, backing toward the door. "While the attack wasn't too devastating for us, it wasn't great either. And Rebekka, without Risa here with her, has had enough of this; she wants to forfeit her spot in the Selection, which means it will be narrowed down to eleven girls."

My eyebrows knit together as she went to exit. I began counting on my fingers, calling out for her to stop when I reached ten. She stopped midway in my door, poking her head through the crack to see my face.

"Where did you get eleven from?" I asked gravely. She eyed me with concern in her eyes.

"Are you sure the rebels didn't knock up a few brain cells of yours?" she joked with a chuckle, her perfect nails tapping against the door. "There were twelve of us before the attack."

"I'm aware," I said, still thinking. "But who's left?" Harmony rolled her eyes, thinking the answer was so obvious.

"The two of us," she started, counting on her fingers. "Heather, Blake, Dylan, Willow, Phoebe, Tressa, CeCelia--"

"She's still in the competition?" I asked appalled. Again, Harmony gave me a concerned reaction.

"Well, yes, of course," she looked around the room, almost as if she were missing a very obvious clue to my surprise. "She is a Pre-Elite after all."

It soon dawned on me that Harmony did not know CeCelia was a rebel like I did, and therefore did not know of her current standing. My breath caught, realizing that with both her and Rebekka being eliminated, just ten would be left: the final Elite. 

"O-oh," I commented, bowing my head so Harmony couldn't read my face. It wasn't my place to tell her what would happen next. "And who else?"

Now Harmony rolled her eyes. "Don't make me regret apologizing to you." She said, her tone sassy, but one look at her eyes and I knew she was completely joking. "Let's see, I think the other two are just Darling and Elsie..." her words hung in the air as I checked her math, counting out ten fingers, excluding CeCelia.

"Yep," I choked out. "Eleven."

Harmony nodded, giving me a two finger salute as a goodbye and gently shut the door, leaving me alone to my thoughts.

*****************

"May I have everyone's attention?" Daniel asked as he clinked his silver spoon against a glass of water. The eleven Pre-Elite in the room, CeCelia was no where to be seen, all turned their attention to him; my eyes trekking to him last. "We have an announcement to make."

I gulped, clutching onto my bronze colored skirt tightly. This was it, the moment everyone knew.

"We don't know how many of you are aware," Matthew started, his eyes finding mine briefly. "But Shane's birthday is coming up very soon; October first actually. And as per tradition, we are hosting a ball in his honor on September 30th." I visibly exhaled deeply, my heart hammering in my chest.

"In addition to this celebration," Daniel picked up, drawing all eyes back to him. "We will be announcing the final ten girls, our  Elite, during this ceremony." His warm, brown eyes soon met mine, a question in them, and I blinked at him, hoping he got the memo that I could talk to him after breakfast. 

The meal passed by quickly, no one too hungry nor having too much to say. Maids sashayed by, sweeping up any remaining broken glass from the attack. I was one of the first to leave, following Tressa out. As I was making my depart, I heard another chair slide back. The moment the door closed behind me, I felt a hand grab mine.

"Tell me what happened during the attack," Daniel's voice pleaded as he pulled me around a corner, earning us more privacy. My eyebrows knitted together.

"Tell you? What is there to tell?"

"Everything," he threw his hands exasperatedly. "Matthew refuses to tell me jack. I know CeCelia was involved somehow... but he won't say. Truthfully, I think he is upset because he may have held feelings for her."

I sighed, glancing down quickly at the shining fabric wrapped around me. "I figured she was one of them all along." I admitted quickly. "There was something too ominous about her actions."

"You mean her being a rebel?" Daniel scrunched his eyebrows. "Why do you figure?"

"I've seen her sneaking around before with a guard on a few occasions," I looked up at him. "And it was usually the night of or the night before an attack, telling her that everything was set in motion. I had told Matthew my suspicions, but he didn't bother to take them into account."

Without another word, Daniel leaned forward, catching me in a surprise embrace. Slowly, I lifted my arms to wrap around him, my head settling into the warm crook of his neck. "I can't believe he didn't believe you," he whispered into my ear, stroking my hair. "I am sorry Sol."

I shook my head. "No, I am sorry." I felt myself frown as Daniel pulled away. Tilting his head, he cupped my cheek and brushed his thumb against his cheek. 

"Hey," he smiled softly. "Why don't we do something fun later, just the two of us. A picnic, perhaps?"

I giggled lightly, my hand moving to hold his against my cheek. "Sounds lovely."

A/N: I am so so sooooo sorry it's taken so long to get another chapter up! I know I owe you guys more then this and excuses and such, I've just had a lot going on lately in my personal life that has demanded more attention and I had to let this project take a back seat. However, I will not let this story diminish, IT WILL BE FINISHED! Thank you for your loyalty to this story, and I hope you all are having a good start to your school year.

~Halebella