Hey guys! Thank you so much for clicking on Mistake! I hope u enjoy the story!

Also, THIS IS NOT A ONE SHOT! THERE WILL BE MORE CHAPTERS! I'm not sure how long this story is going to be, though, so if you have any length suggestions, feel free to leave them in a review ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own the selection series. The amazing and bae-tastic Kiera Cass does! ;)

Enjoy!

"Henri Jaakoppi, will you marry me?"

I put on a smile as he happily replied, hugging me as the crowd cheered for us, a few tears of joy leaking out of his eyes. I knew he was happy; it was obvious to anyone who looked at him and I was glad that he was filled with so much delight. Henri was an amazing person. I'd be a terrible human being if I wished him misfortune. He deserved to be happy.

All along the studio, the people watching my proposal were clapping and smiling as well, representing barely a fraction of our nation, whom were all viewing this scene. Yes, the queen had found herself a king…or, more accurately, a prince consort. Why would anyone be sad on a day like this one?

But the assumption that no one could be sad was false. For there was not one but two people who were melancholy in the room where the Report was being videoed. One of them was me, the queen herself.

I looked past Henri's shoulder as I was caught in his embrace, searching the people's faces for the bright blue pair of eyes that I longed for so desperately. As the time stretched on, I became desperate. Had he left already? Where was he?

I turned my ears off as Gavril started bringing the show to a close. I didn't need to listen to him. I only needed to find him.

As soon as the red lights on the cameras that announced that they were filming were off, I gave Henri a quick kiss and fled the studio before he could speak any words he wanted to say.

I held my dress as I ran, high heels clicking on the tile as they carried me on. I didn't stop to think about how improper or unladylike I must've looked. At that point, I didn't care. I just needed to run.

He had left me already. He wasn't at the Report when I had proposed. If he had been, I knew that our eyes would have undoubtedly met. We had an ability to do that, to find each other's eyes in a sea of people. If my eyes hadn't been able to find his in a matter of moments, then his eyes weren't present to be found.

I was crying now, silent tears falling down my face as I ran up the stairs that led to the second story. I used a hand to wipe at my ruined mascara, but lost my footing while doing so and tripped, barely catching myself before crashing into the ground. I reached up and grabbed onto a railing, not caring that I left smudges of mascara on it while I regained my composure.

Breathe, Eadlyn.

But how can I breathe when I know that he's gone?

I walked on after a moment, taking deep breaths to try to slow my tears. After a moment, though, a thought popped into my head and I couldn't continue to walk any longer. As the hope filled my mind, I sprinted down the hallway yet again, being sure not to trip over myself this time.

I paused outside of his door, chest heaving with hope, excitement, fear, regret, and most of all, love. I didn't think about how this would be the last time I ever saw him or how it would only make the pain worse. I only thought about him: his blue eyes and dark hair, his kind yet shy smile, his beautiful heart.

That's right. I didn't think.

So the shock that met me when I burst into his room to see nothing was more than I could handle. I had been so sure that there was more hope in this situation, that I would hear his voice and see his face one more time. I had been so sure that I hadn't stopped to think "what if" or "maybe." And that little mistake of mine had cost me dearly.

Closing the door behind me, I let the tears come freely. I sobbed loudly as a moved to sit on his bed, looking around the room with regret and overpowering sadness.

It wasn't that long ago…

Just a few hours ago…

He was here.

He stood there,

Sat here,

Laid there.

But I'm too late.

He's gone now.

I looked to where he had stood the day before my coronation, when he had been arguing with a butler about his suit. He had looked handsome in it, sharp and perfect. He had looked at me like I was the most beautiful girl in the world. I had seen him and realized how much I loved him.

But not just him. There was more to it than that. I loved his crooked smile, his caring heart, the way he looked at me with yearning, love, and brokenness all alive in his bright blue eyes. I loved the way he walked, with his shoulders hunched forward slightly and his gaze on the floor, the way he was shy in front of cameras, how he didn't think he was higher than anyone else. I loved his easy going laugh, his bright smile, the way he put his hands in his pockets whenever he trailed behind Henri. I even loved the way he bit his nails when he was nervous, though he only ever did so when he didn't think I was watching.

I loved him.

I love him. No –d on the end of it.

Love, not loved.

Love.

It tore me apart to see his room empty. There was nothing there to show any sign of his presence in the room. It had been vacuumed by the butlers, cleaned by the maids, and his suitcase had been packed by him. He was completely and utterly gone.

I couldn't stand to be there for another moment. Opening the door, I ran out of the room that was mocking me with its powerful memories. I heard it as clearly as if it had yelled it at me.

It laughed at me as the torments pursued me. "Hey, Eadlyn! I get to treasure these memories on my walls forever! And what do you have? Nothing!"

I was bawling again as I ran, the words and thoughts bouncing around inside of my skull. My feet tripped underneath me yet again, doing so continuously, but I never fell. I don't know how I even managed to keep running, but I did so and tripped at the same time, all the way to the third floor.

I fell against the door to my bedroom, clutching at the doorknob desperately as a held myself up with my fingernails. I was a mess. It briefly crossed my mind that Eloise would be shocked beyond words at the sight of me and that I'd have to explain myself, but I didn't have time to think about anything further than that.

I finally burst into the room after managing to open the stubborn door. Once I was inside, though, I immediately slammed it again, not bothering to turn around and face my room as I collapsed. I just clung to the wood, kneeling on the ground, barely able to hold myself up at all. I held the knob with all of my strength. It was, after all, the only thing keeping me from falling.

I bawled my heart out, knowing that because I hadn't been immediately comforted by Eloise, she wasn't here and I was alone. My tears ran down the door as I pressed my face against it, the sobs racking my body and shaking it beyond control.

He was gone. My love had left me before I could say good-bye. And now I would never see him again.

"Eadlyn…"

I gasped and jumped in shock at the sudden voice, standing and desperately trying to open the door. But after a moment, realization hit me like a slap to the face and I turned back, facing the inside of my room.

There he stood, not ten feet away from me, dark hair ruffled and blue eyes full of tears, though they refused to fall. His lower lip trembled as he looked at me and he swallowed several times, trying to keep his cool in our final minutes. But I could see it plainly: he was as hurt and lost as I was.

"Eikko," I whispered, running to his open arms.

He met me halfway and wrapped me up in his arms, stroking my hair soothingly as I wept into his shirt. I felt him shaking, too, as we hugged each other. But I only focused on Eikko and how it was to be with him. I knew he was doing the same with me.

When I finally pulled back from him enough to see his face, I saw that the tears had finally fallen. They cascaded down his cheeks, off his chin, and into my messy hair, and I smiled slightly at it. I don't know why it made me smile, but it did.

But it didn't last long. I sniffed as I rested my head on his chest, tears of mascara falling endlessly as Eikko wrapped his arms tighter around me. We stood there for an eternity, just crying and holding each other as if it was all that mattered in the world.

And in a way, it was.

I looked up at him again as my tears were renewed. Eikko gave me the smallest of smiles before lifting a hand up and wiping away the traces of black from my face. He cleaned his hand off on his suit, one that I had insisted he wear on his last day. The dark grey fabric was darkened as the mascara created a line of black that dripped towards the earth.

I sniffed again and returned a weak smile. "Sorry for ruining your suit," I said lightly.

Eikko raised his fingers to my cheek, brushing it lightly as he cupped my face in his warm hand. He stared into my eyes, the blue as deep as his stare. "I don't care about this suit. I don't care about any of my things. My books and items: they don't matter. My family, friends; sure, they're important, but everything dulls in comparison to you."

We were kneeling on the floor now, wrapped up in each other's arms as we whispered quietly, the words interrupted by quiet sobs quite often.

"I love you, Eikko."

"I love you, Eadlyn. You are my moon and stars, my dusk and dawn, my day and night. I love you more than you can imagine." Eikko rested his forehead against mine, our noses pressed against each other lightly. I inhaled his exhales, as shaky and filled with sadness as each of them were.

"I love you, too, Eikko. You've changed me so much. You've showed me how to love and lead and I'll never be the same. You're still with me now, but I already miss you so much it hurts." I let out a sob of anger, but it was all directed at me. "I'm such a fool! I don't care about the rules, I just want you! Why didn't I propose to you? Why, why, why?"

I cried as I spoke, the tears flowing like a waterfall. I was shaking harder than I ever had before and as faithful as ever, Eikko was there to comfort me. He pressed himself against me, his warmth enough to calm me down ever so slightly, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, trying to cease his own shaking.

Our eyes connected again and we both knew what the other wanted at the same time. I moved my hands to his neck as his moved to my waist, and I pulled him gently towards me. My heart beat faster as expectation and longing filled it up, so much that I feared my heart would die before the moment came.

But it held out. As our lips connected, happiness burst within me and filled me up entirely. The taste of his sweet lips on mine and the scent of his skin so close to my own made me believe that we would be fine, we had to be fine. We'd pull through, we'd make it.

He kissed me softly but passionately, as if he didn't want to hurt me, instead showing his love through the feeling that I received from his tears mixing with my own and the gentle pressure on my lips. I returned the feeling, moving my hands to his hair and leaving them to rest there comfortably.

Too soon, he drew back, his lips a mere centimeter from my own. Our foreheads rested together again and our eyes never broke contact. We didn't speak, but we knew quite clearly how the other felt.

But then the moment ended. Eikko stood, taking my hands and pulling me up next to him. He didn't meet my eyes, instead looking at the floor.

"I…" he started, needing to clear his throat to rid it of the overpowering emotions threatening to overtake him completely. "I should go."

I panicked. "Eikko, don't—"

"I have to," he whispered. "I have to go or I fear I will never."

"Then never!" I managed, falling into him and putting my hands on his chest. "Stay with me. We can work this out. I know we can. You just have to stay."

His eyes were still on the floor, but they brightened slightly at the idea. His mind was racing as he thought about what it would be like for us to have a future together. He would be happy, he and I knew that. We both would be happy.

But then those beautiful blue orbs of his darkened and he closed his eyes tightly, shaking his head. "I can't."

I let out a small puff of air, my heart screaming in the pain that those two words brought it. "Why not?"

Eikko swallowed. "Henri," he whispered, so quietly I almost missed it. His eyes finally jumped up to meet mine. "Henri. I could never do that to him. And I could never do that to you, make you look like a bad queen by having you go back on your decision to marry him."

Eikko took my hands in his as he took a small step back from me, leaving nothing but air in between our bodies. The separation from him killed me; my body screamed in desperation for him to be next to me once more, pressed against me, never to leave my side.

He looked into my eyes as he raised my hand to his lips, kissing it. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty," he said, the formality in it wrenching my heart. "I'll leave you in peace."

I was too shocked to go after him as he took the few steps to my door. I finally was shaken into reality when he opened it and stepped out of my room.

Eikko paused, his hand on the doorknob. His gaze was on the ground again as he whispered to me. "I love you Eadlyn. I do. But please don't contact me. I couldn't do that to Henri."

And in the moment that the door closed behind him, my heart officially broke.

2551 words. How long do you guys like chapters? Shorter? Longer?

So that was the first chapter of Mistake! Also the first selection fanfiction chapter that I have ever written! Did I do good?

So, to reiterate, this is NOT a one-shot! There will be more chapters for sure!

If you have read The Aspen's Screech, my other fanfic, then you know that I LOVE reviews and followers and favoriters. You definitely do not have to review or follow or favorite, but it means so much to me when you do! It inspires me to write more chapters! So please review, follow, and favorite if you want to! ;)

Ok, thanks for reading the chapter! I will update this story once I get anywhere from 5-10 reviews, I don't know how often people review for selection fanfics! XD

Anyways, thanks! Bye! Luv ya! Peace out! ;)