I was stunned. After all of this... I was eliminated? "DAD! Slow down for one minute!" Alesa shouted at King Luke. Everyone put their hands over their mouths in shock. No one had seen Alesa or King Luke act like this before. King Luke turns his gaze towards his daughter. "Excuse me?" He said forcefully. Alesa flinched at his voice. "First of all dad, it's my decision to decide whether someone is eliminated or not. Second of all, if you would listen to my story, you'd realized he saved my dang life!" King Luke turned back to me. His lips formed a sneer. "A lowly five? Rescuing my daughter? Hah! That's hilarious." "It's true da-" "Quiet!" He rumbled. "I want to hear from him what happened." All eyes turned to me. Alesa looked angry and hurt at her father. Queen Ashleigh gave me a quizzical look. I took a deep breath, and began to explain what happened. "When the rebels attacked, we all noticed Alesa was missing, right?" I turned to everyone in the room, and they all nodded in confirmation, even Jason. I turned back to King Luke. "I was scared for her safety, your majesty and-" "You shouldn't have gone after her! That's a guard's job!" "Well, those guards were too busy fight others to notice she was being cornered by a rebel herself!" I retorted. "It's true dad, he saved me from a rebel! He freaking talked the rebel who was about read to shoot me! You should be thanking him! And you know what? Since it's my decision on who stays and who goes, he's staying!" If I thought King Luke was mad before, it was nothing compared to this. His eyes were bulging, he was beet-red, and he was shaking with fury. "Do not talk back to me!" He roared. "That's quite enough!" I heard Queen Ashleigh finally jump in. "Honestly, our daughter has more sense than you! He wasn't reckless, he was brave. He did nothing but save our daughters life! If he goes, that's her decision, not yours." Wow. I had never heard Queen Ashleigh raise her voice like that. She was always quiet and reserved, and never spoke loudly. I mean, I guess I kinda saved her daughter's life so that may explain why she's acting like this. King Luke looked taken aback. I guess he was thinking the same thing as me. If the Queen raises her voice, she probably means business. King Luke looked thoughtful for a moment, then turned back to me. "Fine, you stay as long as my daughter wants you to. But for the next few days, you are required to stay in your room as punishment for not following safety procedures." "But-" Alesa tried to interrupt him. "He needs to understand the importance of this! And that's final!" No one else said anything. No one would dare challenge his word. I gave a sigh if relief. I was staying. Despite us all hiding from rebels in a dangerous situation at the moment, I couldn't feel more at peace. I went by Ty and Mitch, who silently applauded me as I came to sit down. "That was insane dude." Mitch whispered. I nodded. "I thought I had gotten the boot for sure." I admitted. "Queen Ashleigh stood up for you, you must already be a favorite." Ty said to me with a slight note of envy in his voice. I shrugged. After all of this, could I really honestly be a favorite of the royal family?