Fawn's jaw dropped as the room broke out in protests. Angry shouts came from all over.

"Please, everyone, just calm down." Clay said above the noise. Fawn watched, the noise finally settled, but angry glares were pinned on Clay as well as cameras.

"I know this announcement is very sudden and I do not blame you for your protests, but let me explain." Fawn looked at him closely, he definitely needed to explain.

"The war between the East and West is getting worse, this was seen in the tragic shooting of Trent. The best thing to unite this country is to pair an Easterner and a Westerner together. It will help settle things on both sides, and subside the protests." Fawn understood the reasoning behind this decision, but why now? Why hadn't they announced this at the beginning of the choosing?

"What if we don't want to marry a Westerner?" Leah asked from behind Fawn.

"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice." Clay remarked. Fawn glanced at Willow, noticing her friends downcast face. Fawn's heart sank, this meant that Willow and Garrett had no chance now. She glared at Clay, this wasn't fair. Opening her mouth to protest, Fawn was stopped as Travis pushed his way through the crowd.

"Who gave you that authority?" He glared up at Clay. Clay straightened, trying to intimidate the young overseer.

"We were given this power when our king and queen were murdered." Clay said back to Travis. Fawn saw his underlying words, "when our king and queen were murdered by your Section." Travis must have sensed it too.

"You little weasel." He hissed, but didn't move to hurt Clay. He must have known he would only get a few punches in before security jumped on him. Clay turned his eyes away from Travis.

"Again, I am so sorry for this sudden announcement, but I'm sure you will all come to realize the importance of this change." He glanced at Travis when he stated the last part. With that, Clay quickly exited the room, followed by multiple camera crews. The whole room broke into protests again, everyone discussed the new rule. Fawn didn't like the new ruling, something about Clay struck her as odd, something that wasn't good. Garth made his way over to her.

"Let's get out of here." He said to her, grabbing her hand. Fawn followed him silently, she didn't want to stick around either. Leading her up the stairs, Garth turned to her.

"That wasn't right, what Clay did." He said to her. Fawn nodded.

"I don't like the feelings I get from him." Fawn told him when they reached the top of the stairs.

"Me either." Garth walked with her and Fawn noticed their fingers were still intertwined.

"I think we need to figure out what is going on with this guy." Garth stopped walking.

"How do you suppose we do that?" Fawn asked. It wasn't like Clay would just gladly tell them.

"All important government officials have a book written about them in the Palace Library, if we could get ahold of the book we might learn things about him and his past." Fawn contemplated the idea. It wouldn't hurt to do a little investigating.

"It could be helpful." She said finally.

"We could meet at the library an hour and a half before interview time." Fawn groaned. She had forgotten they had interviews tomorrow. The press was dying to get new information from the overseers, and they would be even more eager with this new announcement.

"That sounds good." Garth looked a bit saddened at having to say goodbye to her. He glanced at their interlocked fingers.

"I waited for you." Garth looked at her, his eyes reflecting her face. Fawn nodded.

"I'm glad you did." She moved closer to him, so that their faces were inches apart. Garth did not resist her invitation. He closed what little space was between he and Fawn, kissing her softly. He was so gentle Fawn wasn't sure if he had kissed her, but he did again, this one more firm. Fawn kissed him back, slowly, tentatively. She had never actually kissed anyone in her lifetime, but the growing warmth in her chest confirmed that it was a good thing. Garth was the one who broke the kiss when he pulled back.

"Fawn I was wondering-"

"I will be your girl." Fawn said, cutting him off. Garth eyes widened in surprise as he interpreted her answer. A smiled began to spread over his face and he took a step back.

"Goodnight Fawn."

"Goodnight Garth." Fawn ducked her head as she turned and entered her room. For some reason her heartbeat decided to pick up then. She had gotten her first kiss, and it didn't end in disaster! Maybe this whole thing was possible, maybe she could fall in love with Garth in this coming week. The underlying issue gnawed at her though, when she laid down to sleep. Something was up with Clay, and she needed to find out.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fawn woke up a little earlier than normal, which was odd for her. She stood on her enclosed porch, staring out at the rose garden. It soon became uninteresting though as she spotted Travis walking through it, he had Ruth with him. Fawn turned away, going back into her room. She wondered how the new rule would affect their relationship. After eating a quick breakfast, Fawn got dressed in the clothes she was going to wear to the interview. It was supposed to be casual, but at the same time nice. Her feet carried her down the stairs and through the halls. Garth was waiting for her outside the library doors.

"You ready for some intense reading?" He asked, raising an eyebrow playfully. Fawn smiled.

"You bet." They both walked into the library. Fawn halted for a second, taking it all in. Hundreds of books lined the walls on multiple shelves.

"Alright, what's Clay's last name?" Fawn asked Garth.

"Holsted." Garth said. Fawn grabbed his hand, heading for the H section.

"Then that's where we will start." Fawn started at one end of the shelf and Garth at the other. She couldn't believe how many important H people there were as she weeded through books. It didn't take too long before she heard Garth.

"Found him!" Garth said, a little too loudly. This brought angry glares and shushing from the librarian and other readers. Fawn giggled as Garth ducked his head in embarrassment. Finding an open table, they both sat. Garth opened the book carefully, running a finger along the first page. He found the first chapter and began reading it. Fawn leaned in closer, scanning the pages with eager eyes. Something about this whole thing excited her. Maybe it was the mystery of it all. Ten minutes passed by, then thirty, and soon an hour had flickered by. Fawn's back ached from leaning over the book. Garth closed it, looking very frustrated.

"We spent a whole hour searching those pages and we're no closer to any hints then we were in the beginning." He sighed, rubbing his head. Fawn had to agree with him. They hadn't found much at all. Some stories on Clay's childhood, his success in business and his rise in politics. Any clues they thought they had, led to dead ends. Going by the book, there was no reason why they should be suspicious of Clay, but Fawn still knew something was not right about the man.

"Well, at least we tried." Fawn told Garth reassuringly.

"I know, but I wish we would have found something. Something that would put his ego down a little. Show him that he isn't all high and mighty above us." Fawn was a little surprised at Garth's frustration, especially since Clay favored the East along with Section 5 and Section 7. At least his reasons were grounded though.

"We'd better get headed for those interviews." Fawn stood up and squeezed Garth's shoulder lightly. He let out a long sigh and stood up. Fawn kissed his cheek softly.

"Hey, maybe something will turn up." She told him. Garth seemed touched by her affection.

"Maybe." He repeated, before walking out of the library with her. As they passed the A's Fawn's eyes darted to the book titled Alaska, something seemed to click in the back of her brain, but she didn't know what. Fawn and Garth arrived at the room where the interviews were to take place, just as the cameras started rolling for Willow's interview. Fawn was glad she was not in her friend's place, as the questions immediately began with the subject of Trent. Willow answered them calmly, not wavering in her confidence. Fawn commended her for that. After Willow came Garrett. He sat down in front of the cameras, putting on a classic smile that most people didn't get to see. The only part of his interview that caught Fawn's attention was his answer to the what he thought should be done about the warring East and West.

"I think there have been mistakes on both sides. If everyone could just set aside their petty differences I think a this problem could be easily solved."

"So you believe in a compromise then?" The interviewer asked him.

"Yes, I do." Garrett said tactfully. The interviewer nodded and suddenly Fawn was being nudged toward the chair Garrett was sitting in. Fawn wasn't a big fan of interviews, but they didn't scare her. She sat in the seat, putting her hands in her lap. The interviewer smiled at her. She was a small woman, with a pinpoint smile to make her look flawless on television.

"Fawn Simmons, how nice to finally talk to you. You know, you are one hard girl to catch." Fawn smiled.

"I must be camera shy." The interviewer gave a small laugh.

"Let's get right to it then. How are things for you at the palace?" Fawn went on to describe her stay and how nice it had been so far. The questions continued as the interviewer went on.

"So rumor has it that you have had your eye on one particular person this whole time. Is that true." Fawn couldn't help glancing at Garth.

"Yes, I have." The interviewer brought out a picture. Fawn's palms grew sweaty when she saw it.

"What is this then?" The interviewer made it sound like an innocent question, but Fawn knew it was far from innocent. The picture was of her and Travis dancing.

"We were doing a classical dance, you never know who you'll get paired with." Fawn shrugged as if it meant nothing to hear. The interviewer seemed satisfied.

"Alright, just two more questions. What do you think about the new rule and what are your feelings about the war between the West and the East?" Fawn knew she would have to answer carefully on the second on.

"The new rule is an unpleasant surprise, not something I had expected. I respect the Council's decision though."

"And your opinions on the war?" Fawn swallowed.

"I of course, do not approve of the war, but the West cannot get away with the things that have happened recently. Everyone needs to learn to respect the crown, including both sides. For this whole system to work, we all need to follow it." The reporter nodded eagerly. She dismissed Fawn and as she exited the room she could have sworn Travis glared at her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fawn entered the library, grabbing the first book labeled Alaska. The gnawing feeling she had when she first saw it returned and she was determined to figure out why the name plagued her mind. Walking over to an empty corner, Fawn opened the book. She began skimming the pages until she found the changes in government that had happened these past years. Fawn read the pages closely, then, she found something interesting. During the first reign all weapons had been moved to Alaska, save the ones the guards and royals used. Everything was in Alaska, from guns to nuclear bombs. That would explain where Trent's attackers got their weapons.

So something is going on in Alaska. Willow was right. Fawn jumped as someone slammed the book closed, yanking it out of her hands.

"What do you think you're doing?"