After hours of searching for apartments, I finally found one within my budget. An old couple were the landlords, and the majority of the tenants were older couples which was why the apartment was so cheap. Also, the lady was so nice, she gave me a discount because I was on my own.

I had already told Mandy, the receptionist at the hotel, that I found an apartment and I would be leaving in a day. She was sad to see me go but happy that I found a place to stay. Other than... Victor... she was the one person who was extremely nice to me. I couldn't tell if it was because Mandy pitied my situation or if she genuinely liked me, but it didn't matter. I would just leave and not talk to her as often.

I dropped my wig on the floor of my hotel sighing in relief. It got tiring, wearing a wig. I didn't dye my hair because it's too much of a hassle. I only dyed my eyebrows which was much easier than dying a whole head of hair.

My hair was always cut short because it made it easier to wear wigs. Lilly's hair was also cut short which she didn't like because she wanted long hair. Not that it mattered because she only wore wigs. Lilly didn't understand what being Red meant. To her, it was simply a hair color. Once you get older, schools start teaching you about the different classes and what the hair color represents. Being a Red, you have to know as soon as you can comprehend. Lilly didn't get it and now never will. There were so many times she would try to take off her wig in public making us flee the establishment.

I smiled to myself thinking back on all the good times I had. Only three days had passed so I constantly thought about them. I no longer cried, it seemed terrible but now I just smile as I think back on all the things we used to do and how we lived. It may not have been the best, but we enjoyed it. I miss them, I love them.

I'm doing it. Just you wait, I'll survive.

I knew the consequences of being here. There would always be the chance of getting caught and getting killed. I already knew that. It just made me more cautious when leaving my hotel room.

I gathered my small items in my bag I brought with me so I had the majority of my stuff together. I was almost sad to leave this hotel. Sure, it smelled bad and I could hear my neighbors talk all of the time, but I still enjoyed staying in my run-down room.

I smiled at my organization and started to get ready to relax on my bed.

"Mykie! I was looking around town for you and I finally found your hotel! Mandy let me in!" I stared straight at Victor who was holding a bronze key in his hands with his eyes opened wide. I reached up to my hair exposing the vibrant red color. "Mykie...you're a—" I scrambled to Victor and covered his mouth with a shaky hand. The prince began to thrash under my grasp.

"Prince Victor please listen to me," I scared him. The boy was pushing and shoving me but I wasn't going to let go. "Victor, please listen." The Prince suddenly stopped thrashing and immediately turned stiff. This boy truly looked scared of me. His blue eyes were opened wide and his hands were in a fist.

"I'll listen." The royal shoved my hand off of his mouth when I least expected it. "But if you try anything—"

"You can kill me or throw me in jail or do whatever your heart desires." He raised his blue eyebrows like he wasn't expecting me to say that.

"Fine." The prince pushed me out of the way and sat on my bed examining my room. "Well, are you going to tell me?" The blue-headed boy snapped at me. "Why are you hiding as a Green? Why did you come here? Where's your family?" All those questions had simple answers but would take hours just to explain them.

"Well," I was making the teen inpatient. Prince Victor looked like he wanted to leave my room more than anything. "I'm a Red and Reds are not allowed in many places." I wanted to sit down because I felt like I was scaring him, but the only other place to sit was on the bed. "I used to live in Dougtry before I moved here. I was with my mom and my dad along with my little sister. We walked around with wigs and no one could tell that we were Reds. It's just, a few days ago my parents and my sister were spotted with a little bit of their red hair showing and were shot on the spot. I managed to escape my old kingdom and traveled here acting as nothing happened." Victor's facial expression was no longer terrified as it was now sad.

"You're not lying to me, are you?" I vigorously shook my head. "Because if you're lying to me—"

"I swear to you I'm not lying! I wasn't even planning on becoming your friend. I thought that you would leave me alone, but you came back and I didn't know what to do. I was planning on just hiding from you but it seems like I can't do that anymore." I sat down on my bed but at a respectable distance from Victor.

"You're really a Red?" The prince asked oh-so sadly. His first regular friend turned out to be the worst breed of human possible. Anyone would feel hurt.

"Sadly." Victor bit his lip like he was contemplating something serious. "You can't tell anyone. Please I am begging you not to tell anyone! I have nowhere else to go—" I only hoped that he would feel some sort of sympathy, and not tell anyone.

"I—" Prince Victor looked at me with his crystal blue eyes. "I won't tell anyone, but you have to swear on your life that you won't do anything bad. I swear if I hear that you have done something bad—"

"I swear I'll stay out of trouble. I'm not trying to get kicked out of here. I need a place to stay." Prince Victor nodded.

"Your family," he started. "Do you have a picture of them?" I didn't know why it interested him, but it did. Either way, I handed him a small photo of all of us without wigs and acting free as we wished.

"We found another Red who was acting as a photographer so we were able to take pictures without getting in trouble," I told Victor while he looked over at the image. "That's my sister Lilly, and then those are my parents." Victor rubbed his thumb over my face then grimaced.

"So you've been pretending to be a Green your whole life?" I nodded in response. "I don't think I've ever seen a Red in person. My parents just told tales about how terrible they are."

"A lot of Reds are terrible people, but not all of them." Victor handed me back my photo which I then put into the bag I brought. "You don't have to force yourself to stay here," I commented while observing how uncomfortable the prince appeared to be. "I understand if you don't want to be around me anymore. It won't hurt my feelings."

"It's just—" Victor started to justify but stopped as he was trying to collect his thoughts. "You're my first real friend," he whispered. "And it kind of sucks that my first friend ends up being someone who is forbidden to live in this kingdom." The prince sighed then stood up from the bed. "I should get going." I wanted to walk Victor out of the room but he just pushed past me and left in a hurry.

"I think I just screwed up. Immensely screwed up."