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On their way out of the Raine's house, they passed Ruby's window. The sixteen year old saw the familiar colors of red and violet together, and she instantly knew who they were. Her older sister Violet and her friend Dieter. She quickly opened up her bedroom window and called out to them, or more likely her sister. "Where are you going, Violet?" She asked her. "You know mom and dad don't like you going out all afternoon. They'll be upset if they come back from book club and you're not here." They didn't like mind the fact that she was going out with Dieter Park. What they didn't like was the fact that they spent hour on end together, and their daughter was earning a reputation. They didn't worry for themselves as parents, since they trusted her to be good. But Ruby was already getting bullied in school. They didn't want Violet to be bullied by everyone else in town.

"I'll be back before they even return." Violet assured her with a wave of her hand. But she knew exactly why her sister was stopping her. Not for concern over Violet's reputation or their parents' opinion. But because she wanted to go with them as well. She was always stuck at home, since she didn't have friends of her own at school. While at home, the other violet teenagers were too scared to even approach her. They thought she would be self-absorbed and mean like the others.

She bit down on her lip, mulling over the question. "Can I go with you?"

A little smirk spread over Dieter's lips as he made a smart ass remark to her. "Little Ruby Raine. Don't you have good grades and a reputation to maintain?" Perhaps Dieter was a red in appearance, but Violet's attitude had surely rubbed off on him. He was violet in his mind, and his thoughts. 

"Yeah, Roo." Violet heaved a sigh. "Better stay here and do your homework. I don't want mom and dad to feel disappointed in you too."

Though they didn't say it, Ruby was the light of the household. She was beautiful, smart, talented in most things. And she was a red. That was what guaranteed that she would do something good with her life. She wouldn't be a waste of a person, rotting in some factory for the rest of her life. That was the life that was awaiting for her and Indigo. But even Indigo was a pride and joy for her parents. He was problematic like Violet was, but there was just something about him. It was easy to fall in love with him. Her brother was absolutely charming. Then there was Violet. Her parents wanted to be more like Ruby.

But at one point along the lines they just stopped pushing her because they knew as much as she could try, she would never amount to anything. It was the sad reality of violets in their county and their town. If she was lucky, Dieter would marry her, but his red parents would never allow it, and they were just friends anyway.

Ruby's expression dropped into a frown.

Without thinking more of it, the two walked right past her window, Violet still wearing her purple school uniform. They walked down to the docks, sitting on a small and rotting wooden pier. The two were silent for a while, Violet thinking about the noise in her closet. She could have sworn the closet door had been closed. Only one suspicion crossed her mind, but she quickly shook it off. It couldn't be. When they were kids, Violet and Ruby would get ready for bed. Their brother used to hide in the closet and used to jump out to scare them. But her brother was off in the army. It was probably a mouse, since there were plenty of them in the slums where she lived.

It was Dieter's voice that pulled her away from her thoughts. "Hey Violet." He started nervously, and she turned to him with confusion and even concern. Dieter Park was a jokester, a flirt, someone who had high self-confidence. He never got nervous. Now with her eyes on him, he found it a bit more difficult to continue. "I was doing some research about the laws concerning the mandatory conscription for violets--"

Violet heaved a sigh. "If you're scared and want to back out of signing up with me, its fine. I told you that you didn't have to."

He was afraid and that was understandable. As a red he never had to fear joining the army because he only had to go if he wanted to. For Violet it was a reality that she had known about her whole life. 

The red haired boy quickly shook his head. "That's not what I'm trying to say at all. I was just saying because I found a loophole for you."

She raised an eyebrow at him in question. "Oh really?"

He nodded his head and then continued to explain to her. "Its super rare and has never happened before. But...it said that if a violet woman marries a red man, she can opt out of the army."

Violet thought about her parents, how they were the only red and violet couple in their town. It was rare and most people didn't want to accept it. But still, it did nothing to save her father from the war because he was a man. Things were different if the man was a red, and the woman a violet. He could save her from the war.

"I know this is going to sound really sexist and horrible but it says she would be exempt so that she may remain by her husband's side to serve him and give him children." He didn't even want to look into her eyes out of fear of what her reaction would be. But he was only trying to find a loophole to save her from having to serve in the army. They weren't at war in their country currently. But three years was still way too long to spend without being able to see her. Also, he had heard the horrible stories about how women in the military were treated. Many of them were abused, both sexually, mentally, and physically. 

"What do you suggest, Dieter?" She asked him. "How am I gonna find some red idiot who will marry me just like that?"

He seemed almost offended that she hadn't even considered him an option. "What? You don't need to find some red idiot. Me. I'll marry you."

Violet snorted at his words. "You're seventeen. You'll need your parents' permission, and they'll never allow it."

"Hello." He said as though it were obvious. She was so oblivious to it all that she didn't even realize he could be an option. "I turn eighteen twelve days before you do. I won't need my parents' permission then. They won't be able to stop me."

"So..." She went over the details in her head, and it all sounded absolutely insane to her. "You're saying we should get married six months from now so that your parents won't be able to oppose and I can be exempt from the army?"

He nodded his head, side glancing her. "Easy."

"And why do you want to help me so badly?" She wondered. 

His crimson irises were trained on the water below. But Violet's own lavender irises were trained on him, watching his every move. He was so embarrassed in that moment that he wanted to tell her to forget it and jump into the water. His cheeks were currently tinted with a red that let her see he was embarrassed.  When he finally spoke, his words came out in a rushed stutter. 

"Because if you leave, who will I hang out with? Who will not give a shit about societal classes with me? Who will encourage me when I rebel against my parents? Who's gonna be a fucking annoying little shit all the time?" When he said that, he side glanced at her momentarily for a reaction and Violet rolled her eyes at him. He continued, but the last words he mentioned were ones that took her by surprise. "No one will be able to replace that annoying and fearless little violet girl that I love so much."

And without further warning, he turned around and leaned in, closing the distance between them. The moment Violet felt his lips pressed against hers, her eyes widened in surprise. But she could feel the desperateness behind it. Like it was he who needed her instead of the other way around. Violet closed her eyes and relaxed against his lips, feeling the fluttering of butterflies in her stomach.

When they pulled away, he begged her, "Let me save you."

Violet touched her now swollen lips quietly. She was still in shock, in a daze. She had never thought of Dieter Park, her friend, as anything more. But that kiss just then. She couldn't deny that she liked it. He was also handsome, tall, a red. He was her ticket to a better life. Ruby already didn't have to worry about being sent to the army. She could opt out if she wanted to. But Violet was finding she just might have a choice as well.

"Dieter--" She started, but he silenced her with another kiss, now full of bravery.

"I'll start working at my parents' business a couple of hours per day to earn some money. In six months we'll have enough to buy a little house out here in the slums." He said to her. It was the best he could offer her. No big party, or a luxurious house. Just a wedding and a run down shack in the slums. He would be essentially giving up his life as a red, since his parents would disown him and he'd never be able to afford a living in the nice part of town. He would have to get a job in the factories like all the other violets. He had everything to lose in this scenario, and yet he wanted to help her.

She gave a shake of her head. "I don't want you to make that sacrifice for me."

"It's not a sacrifice." He assured her with a small smile.

"I just--" She breathed, still not over the surprise of it all. "I need some time to think."

He nodded and got up to leave. He first offered to walk her home, but she shook her head, assuring him that she was fine on her own. She would sit at the docks and think about his offer. Then she would return home whenever she was ready. Before she knew it, the sun had set over the town of Porpra and it was night time. It was especially dark in her town at night, since the street lights that were available never worked. The king never sent anyone to fix them when they gave out. Why would he? He didn't care about the poorest people living in his country. It didn't affect him.

She got back on her feet and headed back towards town. The trail that led to the docks was a dirt road, surrounded by trees and forest. As violet walked, she couldn't help but feel like someone was watching her. And she knew she wasn't mistaken when she felt an arm around her waist and a hand clamp down on her mouth to stifle her screams. Out from behind the trees jumped out two more violet delinquent boys that she knew from school, and the last to emerge was none other than Dieter's older brother Finn. If Dieter had been around, she would have thought it was just a harmless prank. But she knew Finn didn't like her, and he had shown it with horrible glares in her direction each time he was around her.

As he walked towards them the other violet boys managed to tie her arms behind her back, her feet together, and put a gag in her mouth. When they were done, Finn admired their work. "Nice job, fucking purples." He said and pulled out three coins from his pocket. Three crimson coins like the ones reds used as currency in the nice part of town. They were worth twenty purple coins each. And in the slums, twenty purple coins were hard to earn. Red coins were once in a lifetime. 

The three boys scurried off, leaving the two teenagers there by themselves. Finn cut the distance between them and held her chin firmly in his hand. "They say around these parts of town that Violet Raine opens her legs to any red boy wanting an easy fuck."

Violet watched him and instinctively tried to step back out of his hold. But she had forgotten that her legs were bound together too and she fell to the floor with a thud. The nineteen year old knelt by her side and mocked her. "You fucked my brother, so it shouldn't be a problem with me too." He then grabbed her arm before straightening up, dragging her to the side of the road behind a row of trees. Violet tried to scream, but her sounds came put as whimpers through the gag in her mouth. 

She felt his hands inching across her skin and she closed her eyes tight, hoping for a miracle to stop him. When she felt his hands hike her uniform dress up her legs, she knew no one could save her now. But he stopped abruptly and her eyes flew open. 

The red boy was unconscious on the ground, knocked out cold. Standing above her now was a boy with brunette hair in and clothes that though simple, appeared far more expensive than the clothes even reds wore. "Are you okay?" He asked her, and knelt down to remove the gag from her mouth. In the shadows of the forest at night, she didn't recognize him, but the way he spoke made her think that he knew her. He drew a knife from his pocket and cut the ropes tying her hands and feet. When she tried to get up and make a run for it, he stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Shh." He said to her, holding the seventeen year old in his arms. She struggled at first, but something told her he was someone good and she relaxed. He was so much taller than her that he towered over her and as he held her, her face was buried in his broad chest. "I promise I won't hurt you."

When they pulled away, the soldier looked down at the boy on the ground.

"We should go before he wakes up." He commented with disdain as his eyes regarded the red boy. "I performed a martial arts technique on him that would keep him unconscious for fifteen minutes. But if he wakes up any sooner and we're still around I swear by my colors I'll fucking shoot him."

"Who are you?" Violet asked with a shaky voice. By now there were also tears streaming down her face. 

Like Dieter earlier, the boy was also appalled that she didn't remember him. Still, he decided to play along and pretend he was just meeting her for the first time. "My name is Cade."

"Violet." She muttered her own name as an introduction in return. "You're not from around here." She commented.

But it was already obvious. He had brown hair and brown eyes. He was from Crown City, where the king and the other elites lived. What she didn't know was what he was doing so far away from there. Why was he in the forest? And why did he save her if he didn't even know her?

Instead of explaining who he was and what he was doing there, he asked her, "What are you doing out in the forest by yourself?"

-

so apparently violet should know this mysterious brunette lurking in the woods named cade. but she doesn't. i ended up writing another chapter, instead of adding the one that was already written. but i think this amount of exposition is necessary.

there will be more to come, to please stay tuned. 

thank you to those of you who read this story and support it still. i hope you're enjoying the rewrite. it means a lot to me that people were still messaging me until recently, hoping that i would update. it makes me feel motivated ot keep going.

-clary