The Seconds- Part 2 of The Unravelling Future

Chapter 4

Sapphire woke up wrapped in Trey's muscular arms. She tried to wriggle free, but he only pulled her closer, mumbling something in his sleep.

"Trey..." Sapphire whined.

His eyes opened and he loosened his grip.

"Sorry babe," he said blushing. She pecked him on the lips and got out of bed to shower.

She washed her hair with white citrus shampoo, then changed into a knee length white and pale blue dress. It had a corset at the top and puffed out at the bottom. She let her hair air dry into the beach waves she and Ana both had, then stepped into her white pumps and strutted into her bedroom where Trey was still flopped across her bed. She gave him a look and he got up.

"Fine," he said, "I'm going, I'm going."

He had always been impossible when it came to getting up out of bed unless of course Scott gave him a personal wake up call. She pulled the sheets up, making her bed slightly presentable even though she knew one of the maids would come to straighten her room up later that morning.

She brushed off her skirt, then made her way down to the dining hall to meet the others for breakfast. Sure enough, Cass, Aiden, Hunter, and Mina were seated around the table, immersed in a deep discussion. She sat down and everyone's gaze turned to her.

"Is it true about what your brother said about the dream you had last night?" Mina asked.

She tensed a little, remembering the horrible things she had envisioned the previous night. She gave a slight nod as the waiter placed a plate of pancakes in front of her. She cut a bit off the edge of the pancake and nibbled on it. Trey entered the room, now changed into a pale blue button down and gray pants. His hair was still wet from his shower, a couple of drops of water landing on her shoulder.

"If what Sapphire said is true, I suggest we investigate further," Mina said, snapping her fingers. A pretty brunette maid, about fifteen or sixteen, appeared at her side instantly.

"Michaela, would you please ask the General to send equipment for a week's journey?" she asked, "One of the new rulers will accompany you to explain our situation. Any volunteers?"

"Aiden will," Trey said smirking.

Sapphire glanced over at Aiden, who had been staring at Michaela ever since she got there. He blushed deeply and walked over to her. They made their way down the hallway to the General's office.

"If you are granted permission to leave the country, you will depart at noon. I am not at all fit to be going on such expeditions at my age, but the General will accompany you to Arke," Mina said.

Sapphire's heart rate quickened at the thought of a man in a similar position to Scott in charge of them. Even if Mina trusted him, it didn't matter. Mr. Askins and all their siblings had trusted Scott and look where they had ended up now. Trey noticed her as she began to shake and jumped to her rescue.

"Mina, do you think we could have a female guardian accompany us on this journey? Just so the girls will have somebody they can talk to more easily?" he asked.

"Well, I'm sure he could bring his wife, Larissa along," she said, "And they most certainly would bring their personal assistant, Michaela, the one that I sent his office as well."

Sapphire relaxed a bit at the thought of having a couple of other girls on the trip. As long as Hunter and Trey were there to protect her, she was sure she would be fine. After all, this was the day they had been training for their entire lives.

Aiden and Michaela returned after they had all finished their breakfast. Aiden had a huge smile on his face, and Michaela was blushing. Sapphire guessed they had heard the news that she was joining them.

---

By the time noon had rolled around, the seven of them had packed their bags (Similar to the huge ones on The Amazing Race). They were all in their winter attire since they would be driving through the Snow Sector, which wasn't nearly as cold as Arke but was still below 0°c. Sapphire had on a brown parka with fur around the hood, a pair of black leggings under a pair of slim, thick fleece leggings, and some fuzzy, knee-high winter boots. Grabbing her backpack, and her thick wool mitts and hat, she headed for the door where the others were waiting, bundled up just as much as she was. They had all worn multiple sweaters under their coats and had put heat packs in their mittens. Arke was known for their -50°c weather and horrible snowstorms, so they wanted to go prepared.

They exited the palace and made their way to the buggy that would be pulling them to Arke, about an hours' travel outside the country. After about half an hour of traveling, the setting started to change. As they went on, the temperature dropped lower and lower until they reached the middle of the Snow Sector, where creatures similar to Leaf but made out of ice skated and built snowmen, all the while with huge smiles on their faces. They waved at the six teens, recognizing them from the coronation.

A long ways out of the center of town, the winds started to pick up. Snow whipped around them ad the roads had become too icy to drive along. Luckily for them, there was an inn on the side of the road, one of the few buildings they had passed over the course of three hours. The General pulled the buggy up around the front and they hurried inside the dimly lit building.

They wandered into the small, cramped lobby and up to the elderly lady at the reception desk. She had a soft look to her face, that kind of look that all nice elderly people have to them.

"Looking for a room dearies?" she asked, "I have three large conjoining rooms, that would be about five beds together."

"Sure that would be great," Trey said, slipping a few bills on the table, "Keep the change."

"Upstairs and to your right," she said, motioning to the staircase down a narrow hallway.

They thanked her and climbed the staircase to their rooms. Sapphire, Trey, Cassiopeia, and Hunter shared one with two double beds, Zaira, Aiden, and Michaela and the General, Peter, and Larissa shared the last one.

Sapphire changed into her fuzzy hooded pyjamas with white fur lining the cuffs and pom-poms on the drawstrings. They were ballerina pink, a colour that she and Ana had always favoured. Pushing the thoughts of her sister aside, she crawled into bed beside Trey and snuggled up close to him, wondering how he wasn't freezing in a thin t-shirt and boxers.

Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in a while, it's been hard to get back into a normal school schedule. I know that the characters were a bit overdressed (Any of my fellow Canadians would agree that just below zero isn't that cold) but give them a break, they lived in Brazil their entire lives.

VACAS

-Kat