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I rolled my eyes in exasperation, running my hand through my hair. "No, America, we can't go to a public theatre!"

She put her hands on her hips, the blue green of her dress bringing out the anger in her eyes. "Okay, then what about the new restaurant down the street? What's it called, Tastes of Illea or something?"

We were in the King's Suite, fighting about yet another stupid topic. Recently, America had been getting somewhat antsy about the palace, being outside as often as she possibly could be. And instead if telling me directly why, she usually chose to communicate with me through arguing.

Not that it's completely her fault, of course.

She didn't get the facts about this topic. Or at least she refused to believe them. "Look, we can't just go somewhere without giving the owners of the establishment some kind of heads up!"

America shook her head, muttering what had to have been the word "establishment" under her breath in irritation. "Fine. Then let's call and tell them we'll be there tomorrow."

"It's not that simple."

"Oh?" she questioned, raising one eyebrow at me as if talking to a little kid. "And why not?"

My hands balled up into fists. I love America, I do, but sometimes she could be so difficult. "You know why. There are security measures, risks that need to be looked at. We can't just go anywhere we'd like without having people looking into our safety."

America huffed and threw her arms into the air, letting them fall back to her sides. "I'm so done with this! I wish we could just be normal people, doing normal people stuff! Like going to restaurants and theaters and bowling allies and stores!"

Something about that stung me. But instead of feeling hurt, I got mad. I shouldn't have.

"Well, it's not my fault you have to live your life like this!"

Her face scrunched up, anger and confusion and the emotion that says "are you serious right now?" all written in her eyes. "Yeah it is, Maxon. You're the King. Of course this is under your control! And I'm not so stupid to think that we should be able to go anywhere in the world with no supervision of any kind, but I think it would be fine to go down the street without having to be escorted by an army!"

I bit my lip, fighting to contain the frown arising on my face. "That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean when you said it's not your fault? What?"

I blurted it out before I could think. "I meant it's not my fault you even signed up for the Selection!"

America's jaw dropped, hurt and anger both equally showing on her face, competing for her full attention. "Wha—well would you have rather me not have signed up for it? Not come to the palace? Not marry you?"

I sighed, rubbing my eyes, one hand on my hip. "That's not what I meant—"

"Oh, stop saying that!" she shouted, voice rising in her anger. "If it's not what you meant, then why not just say what you did mean in the first place!?"

"Good God, woman, you never let me finish a thought!"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine. Finish your thought. What did you mean?"

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair again. I should stop this. Yes, we did fight quite often, especially for having been married for only a month now, but I should know by now that nothing good ever came out of it.

But, like an idiot, I couldn't keep my mouth shut.

"You should've known that by signing up for the Selection, there'd be a chance that you'd have to live the rest of your life like this! And yes, I know it wasn't even your decision to join it, but you still should've been aware of it. So you can't blame me for the situation when you had to have understood it!"

"But you could change this, Maxon!" She was mad now, just like me. "You can change just about anything with a snap of your fingers! But for some reason, you keep the both of us trapped in this palace for, what, the sake of tradition or something? I haven't lived here for my whole life like you, Maxon! I'm used to going where I want and doing what I please whenever I want to!"

That was what was bothering America. It wasn't the fact that she wanted to go see a movie or eat some food not prepared by the chefs who worked here. It was that she wanted to be free of the bricks that ensnared her in the palace.

It's not like I could blame her. I'd always felt this way, too. But I'd learned to live with it.

"America, you may not like it, but this is the way you're going to have to live now. I'd change it if I could, I swear, but it's just to ensure our safety!"

She grabbed her hair in her fists, her frustration rising. "So then we basically can't do anything outside of the palace because there's a slight chance that it could be unsafe? That's insane, Maxon!"

I lost it. "Listen here, America. The rules are here for a reason! I know they suck but you'd best deal with them! So stop complaining about them and be grateful! Most people in Illea, in the world, don't get the luxury of this kind of protection! This is one of the smaller things that you have to put up with if you want to be queen!"

Her eyes burned with rage. "You know as well as anyone that I don't even want to be queen!"

"Then leave!"

I wished I could take the words back as soon as I said them. Both America and I gasped and took a step back at the rage and annoyance in the two words I'd said. I looked into her eyes, nothing but regret and sadness in my own, and saw complete hurt and heartbreak in hers.

She beat me to speaking. She brushed her dress off as if she needed something to do with her hands. "Fine. If that's what you want, I'll go. At least I'll finally be able to see something other than the palace walls."

She strode to the door, sadness and anger radiating off of her in waves. I chased after her, grabbing her hand as her other one gripped the door handle. "America, stop, I'm—"

"No," she said, hair whipping as she turned to look at me, fury and melancholy both shining in her eyes. "You stop, Maxon Schreave. Stop trying to stop me. If you don't want me here, why should I want to be here? Why have I ever wanted to be here? God, I'm such an idiot! How could I ever hope for anything like this?"

She'd gone from talking to me to chastising herself. She looked at the floor, frowning in rage as she reprimanded all that she'd done or thought or hoped for.

We stood there for a moment, my hand on hers, her other one on the door. There was nothing to be said as we both internally fought with out mind.

I swallowed before I spoke again. "Do…do you really want to leave?"

She looked at me, eyes showing something like shyneses and the need to be told the truth, even if it hurt. "Do you want me to?"

"Never," I whispered immediately, not even blinking an eye. "I'd never want you to leave."

"The why—"

"Because I was mad. It was the spur of the moment. I wasn't thinking. And…" I sighed. "After what you said, I wasn't sure if you even wanted to be here anymore. I'm not going to keep you here against your will. Knowing you, nothing and no one can keep you from doing what you want to do. And they can't force you into doing something you don't want to, either.

"I don't want to force you into staying. It'd hurt me if you left, I know it without a doubt in my heart. It'd kill me. I don't think I could bare to have to stay here without you by my side. You're my everything, America. I need you to know that, or at least be reminded of it because I'm sure you already knew.

"The fact is…I'm in love with you. Desperately so. And I know you know this. I've told you more than I've told anyone anything, in fact. I'm positive of it. I love you more than anything, more than anyone loves anything. You're my life. I don't know what I'd do without you.

"But with all of this…if you wanted to leave, I'd let you. I love you too much to see you miserable. And if this place makes you that way, well…then you should go. For your own sake. There are so many places to go in this world, so many sights to see. And though I can show you many of them, that fact may be overwhelmed by the repetitive sights of these hallways and endless, boring rooms. You'd have a year of dull sights for every week of beautiful ones.

"And I don't want that for you if it's what you despise. So if you must, then leave. It'd tear my heart out if you did. I wouldn't be able to breathe properly without you, live properly without you. You're my world. But if your world is away from here, is where your desires truly lie, I won't stop you. I won't cage your heart so that mine may be free. And I'll gladly let mine die so that yours may live."

We were both crying. The tears ran from our eyes, silent and cold. They dripped from our lashes, ran down our cheeks, dropped to the floor like the heavy things they were. We watched them fall, eyes locked on the floor.

America bit her lip, then smiled. And that single smile was somehow the most confusing part of this conversation to me. "Maxon, you're right in that I don't love walking down the same halls everyday. And that I'd love to see the world. There are so many sights, so many places I'd like to see. But who's to say I can't do that with you by my side? Yes you're right about some of what you said, but you couldn't be more wrong with the most important part: what you said about my desires being elsewhere. They may not be in this palace, but they are with you. Eternally. How could they not be? I'd be a fool to place them anywhere else! You're my heart as much as I am yours, my life and world as much as I am yours. And I've been awful if I haven't shown you that everyday. The fact is that I could never leave you, Maxon. Because leaving you behind would be as impossible as leaving my own heart behind. I couldn't live. Because you are my heart. You're my other half. You're the love of my life, Maxon Schreave."

She let go of the door and embraced me. I wrapped my arms around her, stroking her red hair, vowing to myself that I would never let her go. Pure happiness pulsed through me as I held her, filling up every fiber in my being. With America beside me, I knew I would never need to worry or be sad again.

America tilted her face upwards so that she could look into my eyes, and I saw all of my love and joy reflected in her own. Wordlessly, I cupped her face with one hand while I pulled her to me with the other. I bridged the gap between our lips, kissing her as we stood, embracing each other in our relief and happiness. She kissed me back, the pressure of her lips on mine making me giddy in the moment. I kissed her again, needing to convey to her through the passion of the moment exactly how I felt about her, how I would never leave her, never hurt her again.

Too soon, she pulled back, just enough so that our lips were still touching, foreheads pressed against each other, her inhaling my exhales. She sighed in contentment, eyes flickering upwards towards mine. And we both smiled, knowing our hearts had found each other.

We stayed like that for months, years, until the end of time. I never let her go, just as I'd promised. We were one, locked in an embrace that could never be broken. Nothing could ever break it.

Finally, I spoke, smiling as I did so. "How about we look into going and seeing a movie at the theatre next week? We can call ahead right now if you'd like."

She smiled mischievously at me before she answered. "Actually, I've changed my mind. I'd rather stay here and watch a movie in our own theatre. You know, with the privacy of my own husband."

Then she winked and I grinned.

"Whatever you say, my queen."

Hope you liked it! Be sure to check out my other Selection stories, another one shot called Like Him and a story called Mistake!

Please be sure to review! Love you lots!