Chapter 2: The Guards at the Door

Luca burst through the door and was about to say something when he saw that the two were also watching the broadcast.

"Venera, they'll be here to pick you up. We don't know when, but you have to get ready to be taken to the palace. Make sure your chip is in order and take anything you might need. We need to think about how we can use this to our advantage. I'll suspend all other plans." Dan said, shaking off the shock.

Venera was going to the palace, she was going to be so close to the person who scares her the most in this world, the King. She was still rationalizing everything when Dan instructed Luca to get to the lab asap and take everything from Venera's station and all her belongings from there.

"I need a moment to get over this and think straight." she finally spoke.

The prince had chosen her to go to the palace. This meant so many things, but most importantly it would give the 10 even more inside information into the palace. Venera struggled to remember everything the twins had taught her about thinking on her feet and talking to the enemy. How should she speak to the prince?

"You will need to make the prince fall in love with you, Venera," Dan declared. "You will need to stay there as long as possible. If you can convince him to become the princess, getting rid of the king and the chips would be easier than we ever imagined," he said hopefully.

Venera nodded, taking deep breaths to prevent her anxiety from overtaking her.

"I know you also aren't emotionless; you have some feelings for the prince," he spit out. "I'll make sure Micha comes over as much as he can, to keep communication open.. If you can get the prince to trust you and turn on his father - even better."

Micha was the prince's cousin and the two were close as children, and remained good friends. Micha had convinced the 10, the prince wasn't evil like his father. Venera didn't fear him, just the King.

"Dan, I'm not like the twins, I'm no good at spying and extortions. I'm no good at seducing men," she reminded him.

"You'll know what to do when put on the spot," he assured Venera. She shook her head ignoring his answer. She began shoving things into her leather backpack, attempting to ignore the trembling in her fingers.

Luca came back with her things in record time.

"Everyone at the lab was watching it too. Micha had no idea the prince had chosen Venera, but he has a clue on why she was a choice in general. He snuck profiles of all of our girls into the palace when he first heard the prince was thinking about getting married." Luca explained.

Venera hurried to gather all the boxes she wanted to take with herself to the palace, she retreated into her bedroom to organize everything in her backpack.

When Venera left the bedroom, two guards were standing just inside the door. "We are here to take Venera Vorobyova to the palace. You have been summoned to fulfill your duty as a daughter of Anglonia and answer the invitation of the prince."

Venera stared at them blankly. It finally hit her that this wasn't a cruel joke and begged them for some more time to pack her bags.

The guards gave her 10 more minutes and she slammed the door in their faces.

Venera was completely pale and bile burned her throat. Luca had fallen into panic as well, his hands shaking and checking if his chip replica was attached properly.  Dan was just silent on the sofa, head in his hands, elbows on his knees.

"Snap out of it boys, I need to borrow your heads for processing power," Venera ordered and motioned Luca to the sofa as well. "Tell me everything I should know before going to the palace. I have 0 experience in the field," she said sitting on the glass coffee table facing the boys.

Dan and Luca began stumbling over each other in their haste to give her tips about imagined scenarios.

A booming knock echoed around the room, making them all jump. "Time to go!" The guard yelled through the thin wood.

Take care of Luca," Venera said to Dan. instructed Dan to take care of Luca, while she was gone and for the 10 to be careful with fieldwork while she was gone, as she wouldn't be there to patch them up. She left her scientific journal to her brother and told him to use it to treat the 10 while she was gone by following the instructions in the journal.

She finally opened the door and was met by the guards.

Venera felt even smaller than usual, standing between the two castle guards, both towering 3 heads above her. They got her outside and into the back seat of a black jeep, placing Venera in the middle seat and a guard at each door.

"You can do whatever," the tall black-haired guard said, "We have around 40 minutes until we approach the palace. Don't mind us, you might want to change or do whatever. The prince will meet you on arrival," he informed Venera, who hadn't even gotten to thinking about her appearance. She was wearing dark blue jeans and a checkered mustard-and-black flannel shirt. Good enough, she thought.

"Can I listen to music on my headphones?" Venera asked innocently.

The guard just nodded.

Venera took out her phone and headphones from her backpack. The music helped calm down her thoughts and build a plan of action.

After a while, she took them off and asked the guards if they had any idea why the prince chose her.

"It's probably the hair," they laughed and Venera's ears burned with embarrassment.