The Princess of Darkness

Chapter 17: The Fourth Elimination

Alex's POV

Nine girls stood in a straight line. Not a single one moved, I wasn't convinced that they were even breathing. Olivia Shwartz was as pale as a clean white sheet, and she was trembling. Martha Burke's lips and eyes kept twitching, I feared that she would have a nervous breakdown.

A few girls were crossing their fingers so tightly that their knuckles were white.

Morgan Amora stood confidently with her slender fingers laced together and her lip curled slightly up. She wore the only floor length dress and it was a royal blue color that made her skin seem to glow. She was pretty, prettier than any other girl I'd seen before. But she wasn't Elizabeth.

My eyes glided to Elizabeth. She was wearing the plainest dress of all the girls. It was made of lace and white. It fell just above her knees. I supposed that she no longer cared what she looked like. I understood that she believed that she was going home to her family that night and that no one would care what she was wearing after she was eliminated.

But she looked even more radiant than usual.

Obviously I knew who was going home. The results would be no surprise to me, but I felt guilty for making the girls feel so anxious.

I heard the announcer clear his throat. His booming voice echoed through the courtyard. The crowd was hushed, and a raspy cough broke through the silence and made me jump.

"Nine girls stand here beside me, but only five will remain after this elimination." The announced said. His voice cutting through the hushed crowd. Too many of the girls still looked as if they were holding their breath. I swore that I Martha Burke was slowly turning purple.

"Today, four girls will be going home." You could feel the tension thickening the air.

"The first girl to be eliminated this week is," He paused. "Delia Greavey!"

A few people booed, but most let out a sigh of relief because their favorite girl hadn't been eliminated. Delia just smiled shyly and walked off the stage.

"The second girl to be eliminated this week is, Anya Bluew!" He pronounced "Bluew" like "Bleh" instead of "Blue", and I choked back a laugh.

Anya wasn't much of a fan-favorite, and a few people cheered as she stromped angrily away.

The announcer cleared his throat again. "The third girl to be eliminated is, Millie Norhany!"

This time at least half of the crowed booed, and Millie crumpled to the floor. Two guards rushed onto the stage and led her out.

Heather East had visibly paled. I had known that she wanted to be back home with her sister. I wasn't going to let her down.

"The fourth and final girl to be eliminated this week is-"

"Me!" Someone shouted.

I turned to see who had said it. It was Elizabeth.

She marched confidently off stage to join Millie, Anya, and Delia. I thought I was going to throw up.

Before I even knew what was happening, I was on the stage at the microphone.

"So sorry for that interruption. Heather East has been eliminated this week, Elizabeth has not been." I paused for a moment. "Sorry." I said quickly, and then I ran to find Elizabeth.

She was sitting on a chair behind the red curtain. Her eyes were red and swollen. I didn't understand why she was crying.

She had yelled that on stage!

She had no right to do that!

Her face looked so different when she cried. So fragile and pale, like a porcelain doll.

I knelt down next to her.

"Go away, the prince isn't allowed to speak to eliminated princesses." She muttered bitterly.

"That's not a real rule." I immediately responded.

"It should be." She added.

"You're not eliminated until I say you are. Princesses aren't allowed to just leave."

"Well I am." She said coldly

I sighed. "Why are you doing this?"

"You know why." She covered her eyes with her hands.

"Is this really what you want?" I said. "To go home?" I was close to tears now.

"Yes- I mean of course, I mean I-I-I..." She was sobbing. "I don't know!" She flung her small body forward and threw herd head between her knees. She was shaking and sobbing like a child. I reached for her hand but she pulled it away.

I didn't know what to do.

I was lost and confused.

What was going on?

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OMG IT'S BEEN SO LONG! I forgot the password to this account but I could still view it AND i WAS SO ANNOYED BECAUSE IT WOULDN'T LET ME RESET MY STUPID PASSWORD! But I was checking up on this account this morning and the password like came to me in a vision or something and I logged in and it worked and I HAD 1K READS ON THIS AND I WAS LIKE HOLY CRAP!

So yeah I promise to keep updating regularly but it would make me so happy if I could maybe get to 15 followers? So if you're reading this, I will follow you back and read your stories because I know what it feels like to work really hard on a chapter and have it get very few reads! I hope you follow!!

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