1 CHAPTER 1

Kayla's POV

The day has finally come. For men this day is an honor, for women it's the worst day of our lives. The day that defines us as objects. There is nothing that could change the tradition though. Our society has been doing it for the last 500 years. One female and three males are picked out of our whole society. Two lives will be lost as the males fight against each other for the female that the last one gets to claim as his. It makes me sick to the core but like I said, nothing has changed in 500 years. The royal family made this a tradition a long time ago. I feel it is for their entertainer but they would never admit to it. Everyone that is unmarried must be ready by noon, including me. It wouldn't take me long since I can't do much with my short blonde hair and I don't wear makeup. Even though appearance didn't have anything to do with who gets picked, I wasn't trying to impress. I brushed out my hair, put on some lip-gloss, and now it was time to pick an outfit. Like I said I'm not trying to impress but on this day females are required to look presentable so that we are appealing to the men who get picked. I decided just to wear a simple dress.

The last thing I had to find was shoes to go with the dress. So I just grabbed some white flats with a little bow on them.

Now that I was ready it was time to go downstairs and spent the little time I had left before the ceremony to pick people. The people that are picked don't get to say goodbye to their families so we all spend time with each other before. As soon as I got downstairs I could see my mother, father, and little brother sitting in the living room. There was only one good thing about the ceremony. You must be between the age of 16 and 40 to be eligible for the picking. Luckily my brother is only 7 so he still has a while to go. My mother and father got lucky. They both knew that they had a connection even before the picking. I think that's what made my father fight so hard for my mother. I don't know if I would be able to love someone that I knew killed two other people for a stranger. I just think that the whole system is cruel but I couldn't voice that. Anyone that tried to overrule this tradition would be sent to prison for the remainder of their life. I never have been able to understand how the royal family could be so cruel to people for their own entertainment. I think the son is the nicest out of the whole family. Surprisingly he hasn't found his other half. Lucky girl. I am going to feel really bad for whoever ends up with him. Before I knew it it was time to go. I felt fear fill my stomach as my family and I walked out the front door.