The Selection

Chapter 52: Driving

I ran through the halls like a child would on Christmas. Sprinting to Gabe's office door, I swung it open so hard it slammed into the white wall behind it but despite my excitement, Gabriel's chair was empty.

"Gabe?" I called. A soldier came running to my call.

"Are you all right, Your Majesty?" He asked.

"Yes, of course. Where is Prince Gabriel?" I asked without playing down the joy inside of me.

"Uhm, I can take any messages you have to him," he offered.

"Where is he? I just need to ask him something," I chided.

The man shuffled his feet uncomfortably and bowed his head, almost apologetically.

"You can't, Princess. Please, give me your question and I will alert him immediately," the soldiers eyes refused to meet mine. Wherever Gabriel was, I'm imagining that it's where he's been every time he's told me he was in his office. I grew excruciatingly angry, wondering where he was when his wife spent nights alone with his baby.

"Never mind, tell him I'll be back whenever I please," I spit and pushed myself past the soldier and stormed down the hallway to walk straight out the front doors.

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"The right pedal is to accelerate and the left to is to break," Adam said. He drove 15 minutes to the town square. He parked in a supermarket parking lot so I could practice before driving on the actual road.

"It's that easy?" I asked.

"With automatic cars, yes," he answered with a smile. We drove a company black car that Adam had the right to use from the castles garage full of them.

"Okay, now put your foot on the break and I'll shift it into gear for you," he instructed. I obeyed and the stick clicked into place. "Now, slowly lift your foot off the break."

As I lifted my right foot the car began to roll, to my embarrassment it scared me and I slammed my foot back down. The sudden force threw us both forward and my adrenaline kicked in. My breaths were heavy and unsteady, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'll do better, I promise."

"Calm down, Ember. It's fine. But the car is supposed to roll forward," he chuckled. I laughed with him at myself and it felt good. The laughter, not the snide comment. "Try again."

This time when the car rolled forward, I was expecting it. I had even switched my foot to the gas pedal, making the vehicle roll even faster.

"You're doing it!" Adam cheered as I turned the wheel away from a pole, "You're driving!" He let out a holler, and rolled down the windows, letting the chilly air in, I didn't care though, I yelled with him.

After, making rounds in the parking lot, Adam pushed me to try the roads. When I grew the courage to drive 30 miles under the speed limit on the highway, Adam pointed out the road signs and taught me what each one of them meant. When we ran out of signs to learn and he had already showed me the way home, the car grew quiet.

"So, Christian is getting big," he said making small talk.

"Yeah, he is. He can lift his head on his own now," I smiled proudly.

"Watch out, next week he'll be having his own selection," Adam joked.

I cringed at the thought. "Hopefully not."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I mean, I plan on that not being an option by the time he's of age."

"Why? It got you what you wanted?" He pointed out.

"It got me a life that they didn't prepare me for... I can't help that I fell in love along the way. With pain comes some beauty. I just have to get through the painful parts," I said, keeping my eyes on the road.

"You didn't get beauty out of your last pain?"

"When I came home?" He nodded in return. "I don't know, I guess. I mean I got to come back home, I get to sleep in a bed and I'm allowed food when I want-"

"And you got Prince Gabriel," he spoke up.

"Yeah.. I guess for awhile. Lately it's like he's gone again. I've seen him maybe three times in the past month. He says he's been in his office but when I went to ask if I could drive with you, a soldier that assisted me said he wasn't there and he wasn't allowed to tell me where he was."

"At least he's with you," Adam said coldly. His fists were clenched along with his jaw. He stared out the window at the clouds and I could finally read his facial expression. He had lost someone, I would make a note never to complain about barely seeing Gabriel again. I forget sometimes that he's older then me and more wise but he's not married not is he an asset to the kingdom. He is good at his job and that's why he was hired. But now I understand why he wanted away from home, there's pain there from losing the woman he loved. Just as I couldn't imagine going back to Carolina.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. His eyes met mine but as soon as they did I couldn't help but look past him.

"What is that?" I asked, pointing past him then glanced at the road ahead of me. It was a large, grey and jail-like building. It had a horrific feel to it and I was still a mile or two away.

"That's the Stronghold, where your father is," he answered. As I inched closer, I could see a company limo pulling out of the graveled hill.

"Is that Gabe?" It came out of my mouth before I could stop it. At least I know what he's been doing. I cut the wheel sharply onto the paved hill, and drifted between two white lines to park.  Unbuckling my seat belt, I turned to Adam. His eyes were as big as the sun that was now setting over the horizon.

"What's wrong?" I asked, concerned.

"Uhm, no more driving for you," he said and snapped the keys out of the ignition. I laughed a little bit.

"Really? I thought you would be proud of that last turn," I giggled once more. He shook his head at me in return, laughing at himself.

"What are we doing Ember?" He asking, locking eyes on The Stronghold now.

"We're going to see why Prince Gabriel has been lying to his wife for a month and coming to see his betrayer of a mother."