Chapter 1

Remember: You can't interact. I hope that you don't get scared when I switch point of views on you. Don't worry, I'll warn you about who's mind your entering. I'm starting with me at thirteen. The day that it all started changing for me. Brace yourself. 3, 2,1.

Raleigh

"Let's go, Raleigh!" Talon yells at me, from the other room.

I groan. Getting dressed, I toss my pillow at the door. "I'm coming, jerk!"

"Watch your attitude, squirt!" My brother shouts at me irritated.

The smell of Mama’s food has reached my nose causing me to pick up my pace. Running down the stairs, and racing into the kitchen, I see that she has made us a really tasty breakfast. I shovel the the food down my throat. I can’t help it. My best friend, Prince Chris, is supposed to be on his way to pick me up.

"You know, you're going to end up choking one of these days. You eat faster than your brother." She says, nodding her head at Talon.

I grin up at her. "I can't help it that you make food that tastes too good. I need to be able to eat it all before he decides to steal it from me."

I chuckle as Talon scoffs and rolls his eyes. Mama laughs so loud that I pause in my eating. I can’t help the giggle that comes out. She has a way to make everyone join in her laughs.

"I can never get enough of your jokes, Rae." She says, laughing still.

Talon growls and storms out of the house.

"What did I say?" She asks.

"Nothing, Mama. He just always has something stuck up his..."

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, young lady." She snaps at me.

I smile but I don't finish the statement. The last thing I need is for her to give me extra chores. We finish eating in silence, both lost in our own heads. I glance up and catch a faint smile on Mama's face. I wonder what that's about.

Currently, I am staring at a pair of wolves playing in the field about a hundred yards from me. I sit quietly so I don't frighten them, just thinking about how fast the days gone. The wolves are playing not far from my favorite spot at the Lake. I come here every day just to watch the wildlife play. I swear, sometimes, these animals seem to know more than they should.

Sighing, I stand up and make my way back to the house. It’s almost time for Christopher to come and pick me up. Talon is 17, who thinks he's as old as our father, and he’s always telling me that I need to be careful. That I have too high of hopes when it comes to Chris. I think that it has more to do with his experience than mine, though.

Chris is 15 and he looks more gorgeous every day that I see him. I feel incredibly lucky to be his friend and so thankful that he is not like his sister. She callously broke my brother's heart when she left to get married to a Prince of the neighboring Kingdom. His birthday is coming up, and I have his present already. I made him a blanket. It took me six weeks to make it and I can't wait to give it to him.

Three hours later, Talon strolls in through the door. He sees me but rushes to his room without a word. It only lasted a second but I saw the way he looked at me. I could swore it was guilt. He saw something that he doesn't want to tell me about. I let it go but I want to know if he saw Christopher. He hasn't shown up yet. So, I run to his room and knock on the door.

"Talon." No response. "Talon!" I try again. Still no answer. "I know that you're in there, jerk. What’s going on?"

I hear him sigh. "Rae, not now." He says, softly.

"Are you okay?" I ask, suddenly remembering that this is how he was when Sabrina left him. He doesn't answer. "Talon?"

"Go away, Rae." He sighs.

Just as I’m about to reply, a knock sounds at my  front door. Deciding that my brother will tell me what’s bothering him later, I rush to open it. It has to be Christopher. He's the only one that I am expecting.

I open the door  and freeze as the smile slips from my face. It is Christopher, like I thought, but in his arms is Sera. My enemy. My rival. My heart sinks. He knows how she treats me. Why is he bringing her to my house?

"Hey, Rae." He smiles. I can tell that he is a little tipsy as he sways a little. He walks in, before I have the chance to shut the door, bringing Sera in with him. She smirks as she notices my widened eyes.

"Uh, Chris, I.."

"Shouldn't you be calling him Prince, peasant?" Sera says, cutting me off with a sneer.

Chris chuckles. "Don't worry about it, babe. She's my best friend, remember?” My heart sinks as the word, babe, comes out. My heart rate spikes. This can’t be happening. “Anyway, Rae. Want to come to the lake with us?"

The lake? My lake? The place that he knows is my refuge? Where I go to hide from her? He knows that I go there to avoid her. My mind is reeling. I knew that he was expected to be with a Lady but, why her?

He's waiting for my answer and I take a deep, calming, breath. Earlier, I had told my brother that I didn't care what he did with girls but this I do mind. I do mind that Sera is hanging on his arm, in my home, and he's planning to go to my lake with her. I don't think that I will ever feel at peace at the lake like I used to anymore.

"I'm sorry, Chris. I think that I'm not feeling well enough to go." I feign a stomach ache, though it’s not that far from the truth.

Sera smiles and rubs her hand down his chest, looping her arm with his, while smirking at me. Not very lady like. "It's okay. We can have more fun for ourselves. Let's go." She says, as she starts to drag him from the room.

"Are you sure?" Chris asks. He sounds concerned and I almost laugh.

If he was concerned then he would remember how much Sera hates me. Now, I don't want to even look at him. "Yes, I'm sure." I walk to the door and open. "Sorry, Chris, but I have to go to bed now."

He stares at me while I do everything to avoid his eyes, my heart beating in my throat. My eyes feel as if they are starting to water. I look down and hear Sera laugh. If he notices, my sadness, he doesn’t say anything.

“Come on. Let’s leave this loser to herself,” she says.

I glance up at him, waiting for him to correct her. He doesn’t. He just nods and walks out the door. My heart crashes down to my feet. That hurt more than I had ever thought possible. If I had known how much things were going to change, I probably would have gone to the lake with him. Instead, I go to bed thinking of ways to get back at Sera.