(Jess pov)
I heard the silence of the house be broken as the morning sun shined through the window. Mother had been cleaning the house all morning and father had called people with the house phone. I finally decided to get out of bed, but I wasn't in the mood to see my parents after the king had visited yesterday. Instead, I went to my sister's room, sure that she would want to hang out with me.
Making my way down the dark hallway, I carried my candle to get a good few of everything. I tried to be silent as I knocked on Delilah's door until she didn't answer the first time. I was about to knock again but a hand on my shoulder made me freeze up. I glanced over my shoulder to see Viar, who grabbed ahold of my hand and drugged me into the room beside Delilah's, his room.
When he let go of me, he closed the door quietly and turned back to me. Delilah sat neatly in the corner of his bed, looking at me as I entered.
"Guys?" I questioned as they both sat on the bed. They both were a few years older than who, who was seventeen. I could feel their curiosity burning through my bones as they sit there and stared at me. "Is this about what the king said?" I muttered.
"We want to know..." Viar was the first to speak, "We hate when you hide things from us!".
"There are tons of things I hide from you." I sighed, "and I wish I could tell you but it's just not possible to break the news to you," I said. Viar snapped, standing up and smacking his hand on my face.
"HOW COULD YOU BE SO SELFISH" He screamed, making me back away, "WE'RE WORRIED ABOUT YOU AND THE ONLY THING YOU SAY IS THAT THERE ARE TONS OF THINGS YOU KEEP FROM US".
"Viar how dare you!" A voice behind me made me freeze up. Father moved past me and lifted his hand to give Viar a smack. I bolted forwards, grabbing his huge arm and pulling the best I could. He glanced at me with a pissed-off look before pushing me away and turning away from Viar, "Watch what you do son because this is the brother you'll be losing very soon" He spoke to Viar.
I watched him walk out of the room and not very long after, I heard the small sobs of my older sister.
"W-What does he mean?" Delilah asked, "I-is it true you're gonna be hanged?" She sobbed. My eyes widened and I turned around to them quickly. Even if they both were older than me, they looked like scared children.
"Is that the rumor going around the village?" I asked. They both looked up at me.
"Rumor? So it isn't true!" Viar gave a slight smile of relief.
"What did father mean?" Delilah asked, "He said we were going to lose you".
"The king came here yesterday inviting me to tonight's Bonfire. He said the prince took an interest in me and...wanted me to be his husband" I muttered.
"What!" They both gasped, "You're going to be a prince!"
"Well no, I will go to the bonfire, and if I say yes then I'll go to the palace and live there until summer. When summer hits I'll either say yes and become a prince or say no and return here" I explained.
"Oh please, you have to go to the palace!" Delilah sobbed as she threw herself at me, "You can't miss the opportunity to get away from father!".
I hugged her, feeling Viar wrap his long arms around both of us and pulling us into his own hug. Tears streamed down my face, finally, as I realized how much things were changing. If I did accept, then what would happen why I'm gone? Would my siblings get married? What about my parents?
My arms tensed and I sobbed harder. Both of them stared down at me in surprise as I hid my face from view.
"I...I can't leave!" I protested, "I don't want to. I'll miss you guys and...and...I'll never know if anything happened to anyone".
"You can't choose right now" Viar sighed, calming down into the state of his wise mind, "That's why you're going to the Bonfire. To see if you want to give this a chance. Plus, isn't there any way we can visit?"
"Y-Yeah...He said something about me having to give permission for you guys to visit because when I go into the castle for those months I would technically not be part of this family" I admitted.
"Then we'll visit when we can." He smiled reassuringly.
"Mhm," I hummed, standing up and heading towards the door of his room. Nodding to both of them to say goodbye, I turned and walked out of the room. I had to go out and find out what I was going to wear to the bonfire. It was a party full of special guests so I had to buy a new outfit that would be perfect for the occasion. I was sure that the dresser shop had something for me since I got most of my clothes from there.