I winced as I stumbled down the hall, nearly twisting my ankle. Why did I agree to wear these things? My ankle leaned against the lining. I growled in frustration and nearly ripped the shoes off of my feet.

I heard a low chuckle from behind me. I rolled my eyes.

"I really hope that this is amusing you," I snapped.

"To be honest," Sebastian grinned as I nearly fell forward. He grabbed my arm, steadying me, "it is."

I curled my fingers tightly around the rail as I nearly slid down the stairs. It wasn't like I hadn't ever worn heels before, but these were definitely not the one-inch heels I was used to wearing.

By the second flight, I could climb the stairs steadily and only needed the rail a couple of times. Sebastian followed from behind. I could feel his smile burning into my back. Maybe we should swap places. Let's see if he'd be smiling then.

We crossed from the Main Hall into a separate room, following other kids wearing large gowns and flashy tuxedos. Some were gorgeous and mesmerizing, while the others looked like random pieces of fabric from a trash can had been loosely stitched together.

The quality of outfits really depended on the amount of money each state gave for the designers to make the outfits. A couple of states just assumed that their tribute would die, and that it wasn't worth giving them a loan, while others had extra money to throw around to have them wear a stunning outfit.

Two lines were formed, one for boys and one for girls. I could see a flood of lights and large sets in the back of the room. Photographers were swarming the area, making sure that they got every angle of each runner that they were taking photos of. Sebastian nodded me ahead.

I stood in line, twisting my bracelet anxiously. I examined what looked like the head of a bird on the piece of jewelry. Its eye was as red as blood. In the heart of it was a small jewel-like object. I placed my index finger on it, pressing on it. Sebastian snatched my hand before I could press it down all the way.

"That's a button," he explained. Wow, what a genius. "Don't press it until a few pictures are snapped, okay?" I was about to shoot a sarcastic comment until I saw the look in his eyes. They stared at me with a look that couldn't be hidden behind his contacts. I nodded reluctantly.

It felt like hours before the line had slimmed. Sebastian stood next to me, but he didn't try to start a conversation. I took this as a hint as not to bother him, so I didn't. I dozed off, not realizing that it was my turn until it came.

A swarm of people immediately grabbed onto my arms, pulling me into a spot. The backdrop crinkled under my feet. I nearly slipped on it a few times since the crew was moving me around so quickly. They finally got me into a position they liked and looked at a woman for her thoughts.

"A little to the right," she told them. The group immediately pulled me to the side and readjusted my pose. I can move myself, you know, I thought with an eye roll. I kept the thought to myself, though.

The woman that was apparently calling the shots went behind a screen. A bright light flashed, blinding me. She snapped up and shot me a dirty look when she saw me squinting. From then on, I attempted to make my eyes as wide as possible.

After tripping and doing a couple more poses, I was finally excused. Sebastian caught me before I could run out of the door.

"You forgot to press the button," he told me.

Oh, right. I had completely forgotten that it existed. "Sorry," I said lamely.

"It's fine," he said with a sigh. "Let's go."

I shifted my focus on searching for where we were going to meet for the Welcoming Ceremony. I wanted to get into my seat before the room got too crowded.

"Wait," I turned, nearly bumping right into Sebastian. He was holding a screen to his chest. Two text boxes blinked at me. "Write down your two facts."

I nearly forgot. Broderick was going to show off what we wanted to share about ourselves. I looked around nervously. I didn't really have anything interesting about myself. I could hold a spoon on my nose, but that was pretty much it. Sebastian tapped his foot anxiously. After thinking about it for another minute, I frantically wrote two random things and continued walking.

The clicking of heels echoed behind me. I turned to see a girl with the fabric of her long dress balled into her fists as she ran. That's when I realized that she was charging at me. I threw my arms over my face to protect me. The girl stopped once her nose was centimeters away from mine. I let my guard down.

The girl's dress draped over her toes and covered the floor. Dark branches snaked around her skirt and torso. Leaves covered any negative space available. Branches were drawn on her face and green eyeshadow sparkled under the lights. I couldn't tear my eyes away from her massive dress.

"Hey," she grinned, curling her dark lips back to show her straight teeth. "I'm Trina. You must be Kat."

I flashed her a closed-lip smile. "Yep. Nice to meet you, Trina." She began to walk, and I nearly tripped to catch up to her. I did not understand how Trina could walk around hauling that fabric around. She must've had tons of practice.

"Are you excited?" she asked. "The course is going to be so fun."

"Right," I answered, clenching my jaw. Sebastian chuckled. I rolled my eyes. Eavesdropper.

"I don't know about you," Trina said, "but I think I can win this thing. Not to be cocky or anything."

I could just imagine her tripping on her dress right there, cracking her head, and losing before the game even started. She continued on her explanation of how she was going to win—not to be cocky, or anything—all the way to the ceremony area, where we departed.

I gladly ran to find my seat. My heels caught on fabrics and untied shoelaces as I went down the stairs. With every step I thought I was going to fall and smack my head, attracting unwanted attention and probably a ton of bruises. That's definitely what I needed minutes away from the Welcoming Ceremony.

I threw myself onto a chair with the words NEW YORK engraved on it. I crossed my legs. My feet were throbbing in pain, but releasing the pressure from them felt magical. The seats surrounding me began to fill up with diverse people in various clothing.

I looked at the seat with NEVADA on it. It was empty. I started to grow worried. Where was Aster? Come to think of it, I hadn't seen him ever since he denied my request to be allies. I sighed. There wasn't anything I could do about it. If he wanted to run solo, then I couldn't stop him.

The room filled with the deafening noise of chatter and heels clicking on the marble floors. It bounced off the high ceiling and shot into my ears. I chewed on the inside of my lip, focusing my attention on the people setting up their large cameras. They laughed and talked as they were setting up. I could only assume what they were talking about.

Remember that one time when I almost broke your head by pushing you off the stage? Ha, yeah, that was an interesting selfie. Did you see that one girl that wasn't wearing a dress? The klutz that nearly ripped off everyone's clothes just by walking? Of course! I ignored the imaginary conversation and instead stared ahead at the empty stage.

Broderick, who was wearing a metallic-purple suit and a large smile, replaced the two workers onstage. A microphone was strapped next to his pale lips.

"Welcome tributes!" he shouted. His enthusiasm overwhelmed the crowd. Everyone around me erupted in applause. I clapped along. "Thank you for joining us for the 114th Pestilention. I am your host, Broderick McAuley, here to welcome everyone to this year's obstacle course."

More cheering. I forced a smile, slapping my hands together. The guy next to me whistled in my ear, nearly making me deaf.

Broderick sighed dramatically. "Gosh, I love America." He winked. "Much better than England. I really missed corn dogs." The crowd chuckled. He smiled, amused. "How about we show off our lovely tributes?"

Broderick began to list off names and their states. One by one boys' and girls' images flashed on a large screen. I didn't even realize that the screen was behind him until then. Broderick didn't hesitate to comment on whether he thought the outfits were "to die for" or if he'd "die just looking at it." He would crack a few jokes after talking about their two facts—which was on a device resting in his lap—that caused even me to chuckle.

"Now, let's welcome Aster Sullivan from Nevada," Broderick announced. An image of Aster with his brown hair overwhelmed with gel and a silver suit appeared. His lips were in a line as thin as a blade and his hands fell awkwardly to his sides. It was either the fact that his curls were straightened or him not having his glasses on made Aster unrecognizable.

"My, my," the host whistled. "That suit is pretty flashy, isn't it?" A few girls shrieked.

"Would you hear all the ladies! He's surely a lucky man, don't you all think?" he wiggled his eyebrows.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Aster slouching in his chair, shaking his head. Either he disagreed with this comment, or he was embarrassed.

Broderick then talked a little about the facts Aster had given him, swooned over his appearance for a little longer, then continued on to the next person.

"And now, I am happy to introduce Katherine Parsons from New York."

My heart rammed against my chest and butterflies fluttered in my stomach. I swallowed down my fear, wiping the sweat from my palms on my jeans. Even though I wasn't on stage, it felt like all eyes were on me. I just wanted to sink into my chair and disappear.

My picture appeared, showing me in a crouching position with my hair blown to the side. It looked pretty dramatic and not too bad for a non-photogenic person.

There was a moment of silence as the host analyzed my image, taking the time to take in every detail from head to toe. The crowd waited impatiently for his commentary. I even found myself leaning in and holding my breath out of anticipation.

"Well, looks like someone lost their dress on the way here," Broderick finally said. My jaw dropped as laughter erupted. I felt my ears heat up as embarrassment rose in my chest. Really? The first thing he said was that?

"Everyone knows to never wear heels with those jeans," the host leaned back in his chair, enjoying the reaction he was getting. "I guess that's the designer's fault, though."

After a few more minutes of horrible commentary and excruciating humiliation, he moved on to the two facts that I had written. At least it'll be over soon, I reassured myself.

"Katherine won her 6th-grade spelling bee and has a solid 4.0 GPA," Broderick snickered. He looked up from the screen. "Try to use those skills during an obstacle."

I was nearly winded by the howls of laughter that were shot my way. My fingers clenched and my embarrassment was replaced by anger. Sure, I had seen Broderick making snarky comments all night, and Aster was the only one that he had anything good to say, but that didn't mean he had any right to say the things he was saying about me. In fact, he didn't have a right to say anything at all, whether it was to entertain an audience or not.

Before I could think, I had gotten out of my chair and was climbing up the stage. All the sound was hushed to where you could hear a pin drop. The silence was louder than any noise could be. Legs shaking, I made my way next to Broderick.

"What are you—" I ignored the host, scanning the room for someone else. Just find the eyes.

I then saw them staring at me. Sebastian nodded when he saw my eyes locked with his. I smiled and dropped my gaze down to the rose on my bracelet. I pressed it with my thumb as hard as I could.

At first, nothing happened. I looked at the audience who were all waiting for something. My ears turned hot as the crowd stared at me. Was Sebastian messing with me? I swallowed down the lump in my throat. I raised my chin and began walking off stage. If there was any dignity left in my crushed soul, then I needed to show it.

I heard a small gasp behind me, and I turned around, nearly tripping on something. I whipped my head around, seeing a train of blue flower petals behind my heels. I looked down, seeing my outfit entirely replaced with an asymmetrical dress. The torso was the same shirt that I had been wearing before, but it was now conjoined with a skirt. The bottom barely brushed past my knees in the front but trailed to the floor for miles in the back. The entire skirt was covered with blue rose petals.

"Wow," Broderick breathed. "Aren't you full of surprises?"

I was too focused on staring at my heels to respond. I'd worn many dresses before when I went to parties with Stace, but I never really enjoyed them. It always made me uncomfortable. Something about this dress, though, was absolutely breathtaking. My hand traced the necklace around my neck as I smiled at the gasping crowd.

I was the rose. Not just the dress, but me. I wasn't just New York's rose, either. I was the whole world's. I suddenly understood why people didn't want me to die. And I wouldn't. Not just that, either.

I was going to win.

This song is called Royals by Lorde. Enjoy!