Revised on 4/18/11.

Yeah, so I'm going through and revising some of my earlier chapters because, quite fankly, they're terrible. I've been writting this story for over a year now, and my writing style has changed dramatically. I've tried not to change anything too much, just correcting grammer and punctuation errrors, and adding in details as appropriate. So yeah. ^_^

Enjoy. :)

"I pledge allegiance to the Twelve

The divine rulers of the land

To the Lord, and whatever he does

One nation, under Kronos

Indestructible,

With structure and discipline for all."

I sat down in my seat, staring straight ahead, and waited for the instructor to arrive. The class was silent, as we had to be. It was one of the rules, and you never disobeyed the rules.

Finally, our teacher walked in. She was what one might call a 'free spirit', with her crazy hats and neon socks. The rules said that everyone must dress the same, but she never listened. She was literally a bright spot in the otherwise dark days.

"Hello class! How are we all today?" Miss Stevens asked, a bright smile on her freckled face.

We all recited the same thing as we do every day: "We're ready to learn, Miss Stevens."

"Good." She smiled again. Her smile lit up the whole room, and was contagious. She always managed to get everyone in the room happy. "Today is Quiz Day. Here are your quizzes. Please answer each question completely." She handed everyone a quiz and walked back to the front of the room.

I looked down at the paper. Five questions, that was nothing.

Question one: Explain how The Elite Twelve rose to power.

Okay, that one was easy. We've learned this since we first started school. I picked up my pen and wrote, 'Back in the dark days, The Elite Twelve were imprisoned in the depths of Tartarus by the Evil Ones. Our Lord Kronos rose out and vowed to retake his rightful kingdom. In the Final Battle, our Lord Kronos defeated the prophesied one, Perseus Jackson. Perseus, along with all the Evil Ones, were tossed into the depths of Tartarus and their training camp was burned to the ground, along with all its campers. There were no survivors.'

I reread my answer. Precise and to the point, just like the rules said.

Question two: What made the prophesized one, Perseus Jackson so hard to beat?

Another easy question. I wrote, 'Perseus Jackson dipped himself in the River Styx. This made him invulnerable, except in his Achilles' Heel. Lord Kronos easily found his Achilles' Heel (located in the small of his back) and made a clean cut. Perseus Jackson was killed and his remains were tossed in Tartarus. (see question above)'

I reread this answer as well. I sounded like a well-oiled machine, but that was what the rules said. The rules allow us to function properly. You couldn't just disobey the rules. It was unthinkable.

Question three: What was one important action that The Elite Twelve took in their first days of office?

This was also an easy question, although I could have chosen multiple answers, this was what I felt was most important. 'The Elite Twelve worked for seven straight days to completely write The Rules. The Rules allow our society to flow smoothly. In the time when the Evil Ones ruled, there was much violence and poverty. Now, everyone is equal. The Rules have greatly improved human life.'

I looked over this question. The Rules were very important. Did I think they were important? Well… I shook my head. Of course they were important. Without The Rules, we would be nothing. We wouldn't survive a single day without the rules. Less thinking, more writing. I moved on.

Question four: What makes The Elite Twelve so fit to rule?

I wrote automatically, the answer had been pounded into my head since before I remember. 'The Elite Twelve are as follows: Oceanus, Tethys, Hyperion, Theia, Coeus, Phoebe, Mnemosyne, Themis, Crius, Iapetus, Rhea, and Kronos. Oceanus is the ruler of the sea. He is the only one who can control the water. Tethys also rules the seas, right beside her husband. Hyperion is the ruler of the sun. He controls how much heat and light we get. Theia is the "bright one". She helps control her husband's anger, to ensure our safety. Coeus is the thinker. He thinks about all the important decisions and weighs the options. Phoebe controls the moon. She decides when we shall have light once Hyperion makes the sun go out. Mnemosyne controls memory. If she feels you're don't deserve to remember something, she erases it. Themis represents balance and justice. She often decides your fate… if you shall live or die. Crius controls the night sky, the constellations. Iapetus is known as the "piercer". He also rules the underworld, the area where the Evil Ones are. He has to make sure they never escape. Rhea and Lord Kronos are the complete rulers of our land. Lord Kronos controls time.'

I didn't even bother to reread that question. I knew it far too well.

Question five: Why is our society considered to be perfect?

I sat there for a moment, thinking about what they were asking. Why was our society considered to be perfect? Honestly, it wasn't perfect. There were flaws. Everything has flaws. I looked up at Miss Stevens, who had an eyebrow raised in my direction. I bit my lip and looked back down at the paper. I reread the question and sighed. Sometimes I thought the Elite Twelve weren't so fit to rule… I hadn't told anyone about this, though, except for my best friend, Zacia. His name was irregular and not accepted by society. His parents were just like that, irregular and not accepted. I guessed it ran in the family—Miss Stevens was his aunt.

"You have five minutes to finish up," Miss Stevens chirped.

I picked my pen back up and scribbled down an answer. Miss Stevens came by and collected our quizzes. She stood in front of my desk, her eyebrow raised, reading my quiz. "Curious answer to number five, Miss Kilmore." Then she walked back to her desk.

The bell rang for classes to end so I gathered up my things. On the way out the door, Zac ran up to me. He placed a hand on my shoulder, and asked, "What did you write on number five? My aunt seemed… I don't know, almost pleased."

I looked at Zacia. He was just like Miss Stevens, with his bright orange hair and his neon socks. "Why don't you dye your hair a more normal color?" I asked, ruffling his spikey locks.

"Why give in to the man?" He looked at me, a half-cocked smile on his pale face. "What I mean to say is that I don't like to be like everyone else, that's all. And anyways, you never answered my question. What did you write on number five?"

"I- I don't remember," I stammered. Now that I thought about it, I had no clue as to what I wrote. It was almost like something else was writing through me. Like there was something else inside of me, controlling my moments. I frowned. What odd thoughts I was having today.

"Right. I'll find out Jemma. I always do." He turned and walked away from me, slinging his purple bag over his back in the process. Suddenly, I had a pounding in my chest; I felt like I was about to explode. My body was burning up with heat, like an atomic bomb had just detonated. Sweat started gathering in puddles on my body. I had to get out of here, now. I ran to the nearest exit and straight out the school.

As I opened the door, I thought about where I could go. I knew one thing for sure; I was not going back to the "home". The "home" was a place for kids whose parents were no longer here. I had no idea what happened to them, only that they weren't here now.

I took off in a random direction, wanting to be anywhere but here.

After about ten minutes of hard running, I collapsed right beside a big pile of rocks. Once I caught my breath, I looked around. I was sitting at the base of a small mountain of rocks. It looked like a pile of… well, you know. In the distance, you could see a river, frozen in its spot.

For some reason, I knew I was safe here, that nothing bad could reach me. I sighed and laid down to rest, letting my thoughts take me elsewhere.

I hope you liked it. Please review. :D