"I'm not who you think I am," she whispered quietly, her heart beginning to race as he drew closer. Her fear seemed to wash away as the space between them minimized to inches. "You don't know me enough to understand what I do." "I know you enough to know that you want me," he murmured," and I want you. Why can't you let me in?" "I want to, but..." her mouth felt dry, her words seeming to meaning nothing to her, no matter how hard she tried to resist, "It's complicated." "I don't care who you are. I don't care what you've done. You mean everything to me, and nothing can change that," he declared softly. Even though she was moments from the best moment of her life, Rebecca still sighed, too softly for him to hear, "If only that could be true." Princess Rebecca is not like the other nobles of her class. She is nothing like the royalty that have come before her. And she is nothing like her father, King Marcus the Third of the Kingdom of Telkmania. She has grown up living in a castle all her life, watching people around her take their easy petty lives for granted while the people outside the castle walls struggle for every meal they require to at least survive. Fed up with her responsibilities and the disgusting way her wealthy peers treat their servants, she tries to find a way to escape it all. By literally escaping. But as she explores what it's like to live among the lowest level of her kingdom, she realizes that not all of them will let themselves be stepped on. Overwhelmed by the expectation of the low class, her father's guards on her trail, and getting caught in an upsurging revolution that forms a confusing love triangle for her, can Rebecca determine what's best for the kingdom? Or will her personal life and shaky mental health consume her? Note: Any words italicized in the story are in Latin, unless they are said by the character Robin, in which the italicized words he says are in French.

Something came. It happened so fast that no one saw it coming. One moment the world was a peaceful planet, and next it was ravaged by destruction and famine. Humans barely survived. With the population scattered out of fear and barely large enough to support a new country, the people reverted back to their animal instincts. They killed for food, and killed each other for more. It was chaos. Until one man rose up to take charge, and saved humanity from elimination. Rules. A list of rules were set to keep people in check. Fierce punishment was established to anyone who broke it. It was called the Rules of Evardo, after the man who saved them. Tribes. The people created their own tribes with one leader and rule over a territory. They all followed this code and would die for it. But some thought they were above the rules. Battles. Tribes raged war against each other for territory and food. People died, tribes became smaller, and a death meant more death. Until a new rule was added. "If a tribe's leader was killed by another tribe's member, than that said-leader's tribe would become part of said-member's tribe". That prevented more death and war. Assassins. They were loners who refused to join a tribe and lived on their own. They trained themselves to kill and were set up by tribes to kill another tribe's leader. They were in desperate need and very valuable. And that was what Cyrus was trained to be by her father. An assassin. But the other tribes don't know that. She only made herself known once, and it ended terribly, so she kept a low profile. Instead, she joined the last group she'd ever think of associating with, and soon realized there's more to being apart of them than what met her eye. And with the skill of a deadly slayer, she must learn to protect her tribe as well as herself. Easier said than done. (Thx to @aapaark for the awesome cover!)