This is an extended ending to The Crown, the last book of the Selection Series written by Kiera Cass. The setting is three years after the events of The Crown.
I couldn't sleep. I had tossed and turned all night, waking Eikko up a couple of times, thinking about how my parents were coming home today. The clock on my nightstand read 3:02. I decided to go to the kitchen for something to eat, looking back on my sleeping husband lovingly before I left. As I approached the kitchen I saw the lights were on and a figure was standing by the one of the stoves. I immediately recognized him as Henri, the Swedish cook, and I thought about how it had already been three years since the Selection in which I chose Eikko, Henri's former translator, as my husband. I had almost chosen Henri but I got the courage from my father to defy the rules and chose the man I really loved. Henri saw the love Eikko and I had for each other and stepped down. Since then, we have become friends and I gave him a job as a cook for the palace.
"Good morning, my queen!" said Henri in his thick accent, ever cheerful despite the time. As I said before, Henri's home land is Swendway so he is not a natural at English. Since he came to the palace he has been working hard on learning English and has gotten quite far on it. He still stumbles on a few words but he can engage in normal conversation with little help. And no matter how many times I tell him to call me Eadlyn, he still calls me queen. I think it is just out of politeness so I stopped trying to get him to call me by my first name.
"Good morning, Henri!" I replied, inhaling a deep breath of air and a sweet, sugar and cinnamony smell.
"Couldn't sleep?" he asked. I nodded.
"Me too." he added.
I said "I keep thinking about my parents coming today." After Eikko and I came into power, my parents decided to travel the world, have some fun, live. They had been gone since, with a few short visits at the palace, and I missed them terribly.
"You must be excited for that, no?" implored Henri.
"I'm excited but I'm worried about mum." Just then, a timer went off, startling me. Henri opened the oven and pulled out a pan of some sort of baked pastry and the smell hit me again, stronger this time, and it filled me with a warmth and longing for something sweet.
"Kardemummabulle. Swendway's version of a cinnamon roll." said Henri.
"Kardemummabulle. " I said. Weighing the words on my tongue, trying to pronounce them correctly.
"Very good!" said Henri." Apparently I had pronounced it correctly. "You try some." he added.
"Gladly!" I replied, smiling. I took a bite of the soft, warm bun and immediately a sweet sugar and cinnamon taste filled my mouth.
"Delicious!" I exclaimed between mouthfuls.
"So what were you saying about you're mum?" he questioned.
"I've been worried about her." I replied. "You know she has heart trouble. It runs in the family. She's getting up there in age and I'm afraid that something is going to happen to her. It would kill dad if she..."
"You're mother's strong, she can handle anything. She'll be fine." he stated.
"I hope you're right."
The morning went quickly and all of a sudden my parents were at the door. I was so glad to see them and I had so much to tell them. They were so happy to see all of us, except Ahren (he was in France with his lovely wife.)
"Oh, I missed you mom, and you too, dad! I have so much to tell you!" I exclaimed, excited.
"We've missed you too, honey. We have a lot to tell you, too." she replied, hugging me.
"And how are my boys?!" my dad exclaimed, embracing them as they came running up to greet him.
Eikko appeared with a smile on his face and greeted my parents "And how are you Mr. and Mrs. Schreave?"
"We are great your Majesty. Please, call us America and Maxon." my mom answered.
"Alright America and Moaxon, welcome to my humble abode." Eikko said with another smile, gesturing to to the inside of the palace.
"Ha ha, I wouldn't call it humble." my mom said, laughing.
"We have some time to talk. Lunch will be ready in an hour." Eikko explained.
And so they talked. They got caught up on each other's lives and what everyone was doing. Time passed quickly and all of a sudden it was lunch. As we sat down my mom exclaimed about how there were so many memories here and she looked at dad and they both smiled, reminiscing. After lunch I went to my office, for there was a lot of work to be done. Eikko had offered to do it but I knew there was way too much for just him, being we hadn't worked all morning. So, I settled in, preparing for a long afternoon, knowing my brothers could entertain my parents.
I had been working for a while when Eikko walked in with a very serious expression on his face.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Your mother is having another heart attack."
I dropped the reference book I was reading, got up, and followed Eikko out of the room, all with great speed.
When we got to her room at the doctor's Eikko asked "Do you want me to wait outside?"
"No, you can come in." he put his hand on my shoulder after I said that and we walked in together.
I looked around and saw Kaden and Osten staring silently from the corner of the room, the nurse tending to my mother, and my father was right by her side, tears running down his face saying "Honey, hold on! Hold on America! Don't die on me now! Please, I need you!" I have never seen my father so devastated.
The door opened and the doctor came in.
"She's having a heart attack! Help her! She's dying!" my father shouted at the doctor. I moved to the corner by my brothers and out of the doctor's way. Eikko followed me, comforting me with kind words and holding me.
The doctor went over to my mother and said to the nurse "Get an I.V. in her and roll the table over here!" When the nurse was done he preceded to shock her. Shock after shock. My mother's heartbeat was now a flat line. The doctor went to my father, put his hand on his shoulder, and spoke. "I am so sorry Maxon. If I could have saved her, I would've, but some things just aren't meant to happen." Then he left the room with the nurse.
I was already in tears by this point but I completely collapsed now. Eikko came over and hugged me and supported me.
"I'm so sorry." he said.
"It's okay, it wasn't your fault." I said to him in between sniffles.
I walked over to her, bent down and kissed her cold and lifeless cheek, and said "I love you and I will miss you." and burst into tears again.
I looked up at my father through blurry eyes just as he got up, looked up at the ceiling and screamed "Why?! Why her?!" and then he turned and kicked the nightstand beside the bed and walked out. I looked from the broken nightstand to the door that had just slammed shut and ran after my father. I found him on his knees in the hallway, crying. I went to him and bent down next to him to comfort him and then brought back on his feet again and helped him to his room and onto his bed.
"I can't believe it!" he mumbled.
"I know, I can't either. We will miss her."
"Of course we will miss her. Your mother is...was the greatest woman I knew." and with that I left him crying on his bed to go attend to my brothers.
The days that followed were filled with grief and pain, tears and sorrow, disbelief and devastation. All of our friends and family filled our ears with condolences and kind words, and the palace with sweet smelling flowers, but it didn't change anything. Mom was gone. Before I knew it, it was the day of the funeral. Ahren had flown in with his wife yesterday and they had done that dreadful report that night, wanting to wait until the whole family was togther. I swallowed remembering how I had started to say what had happened but couldn't finish and how Eikko took over. Oh, how grateful I had been about that. I did not want to tell my country the horrible news.
Finally, I decided to go see my father. I hadn't really been in here since she ..., I guess I just didn't want to see my father crushed. I walked into his room and stopped dead in my tracks. My father was sickly and pale. A maid was trying to get him to eat but he was refusing.
"Father, what is wrong? Are you sick?" I asked, worriedly.
The maid answered saying "He has not really eaten since... well, you know."
"Well, why didn't you tell me?!" I asked, incredulously.
"I didn't want to bother you. You are too busy running the country to take care of me." said my sickly father.
"What! Of course not father!" I glared at the maid, dismissing her, and she obediently left the room. "Why would you think that?"
"It's just that ever since... life, there is no life without her." he seemed to struggle to get the words out.
"That's it! You're just gonna give up, just like that! Is this how mom would have wanted you to behave!"
"You're just like her, you know that?"
"You need to eat, dad." I said, holding the tray of food to him. He took the food and took a few small bites.
"I still can't believe she's gone." he said in a sad voice. "I feel like I should have done something, anything. "
"Dad, it's not your fault! You couldn't have done anything, none of us could. I miss her too, dad, but blaming yourself isn't going to help anyone much less yourself, and it is going to get her back. There are people who still need you dad. One of them is talking to you right now. And you have three sweet boys out there needing your guidance. You may not be the king anymore, but you are still important. Especially to me." I went over and hugged him.
"You're right." my father said as he smiled at me. "I love you Eadlyn."
"I love you, too, dad." I smiled back at him. "I've got to go. Promise me you will eat some more food?"
"I promise."
It had been two years since my mother died. I still missed her greatly and cherished the memories we made together. My father was doing better. He had a more positive outlook on life and he went back to taking pictures, something he hadn't done for a while because it reminded him of mom. He still broke down a couple of times when he was reminded of something especially reminiscent of her. From what I could tell, they loved each other deeper than I have ever seen someone love before, even my own beloved husband. A love like that is not easily forgotten. One thing I have learned from my parents is how to love. I don't mean regular love, I mean the deep die for each other love that my parents had. That love isn't easy to find, but if my parents found it, so could I.