Thanks for reading! By request, here's the sequel to After. Let me know what you think! Chapter Two is almost ready to load. :) Happy reading! -SJ :)

Dearest Calix Shalom,

You'll have to excuse me, but I can't help but become nostalgic today. It's hard for me to believe that twenty-two years ago, your father and I were just bringing you into the world. I was no older than you are now. And here you are about to graduate to a new life as an adult! Forgive me for the cliché, but it all happened so quickly. In what seemed like blinks of our eyes, you were walking, talking, conspiring against your poor sister with your brothers following every move, requesting to attend University, now poised to graduate with honors.

The Crown is a heavy weight, and every step you have taken has prepared you to carry it. The dedication to your people is honorable, my son. The choices you have made so far have not been easy. But the choices you made have been right ones, made out of a deep love for Illea and respect for yourself and our family.

I am so proud of the man that you have become. I am so proud of the man that you will be.

All my love,

Mama

I run my fingers over Mom's looping script, close the birthday card, then place it gently on the bedside table. I ease into bed, pulling the slumbering dark-haired woman back into the crook of my arm. It's as if she is made to fit there. Closing my eyes, I try to push away the thoughts that flood my head. The main one on repeat: My love has never felt like it has been mine to give away. What will my parents say when I tell them there will be no Selection?

If Mom could see me right now, she might not be so proud.

Sighing, I float in the place between waking and dreaming. The closer graduation gets, the more troubled my sleep has been. This has been the worst night yet. I pass most of my evenings like this: still but wakeful. Doing my best not to disturb her rest. Replaying the past four years in my head, especially the last four months. Because that's when I met her. Four months seems like a lifetime ago. Graduation day tomorrow should be an exciting day, but I can't help but think about my parents when I introduce them to Fae. And I dread it.

A smile plays on my lips as I roll back time in my head. Auntie Nic hosted an early St. Valentine's ball at the very end of January. I attended as representative for Illea at her request while I finished my Winter Term stay and prepared to return to Illea for my final semester at Columbia University. But since the completion of my rather wild freshman year, I have never been one for crowds. I wandered up and down the corridors of the Italian castle, content to view the familiar art pieces that have been hanging in the same spots since I was a small boy. Eventually, I made my way to the library. Curled into an oversized chair, supporting her head in her hand and pouring over an old volume of poetry, was Fae. My entry into the room startled her, but she didn't look up. Instead, she read aloud, "so much depends/upon/a red wheel/barrow…"

And I surprised her by interrupting and completing the recitation, "glazed with rain/water/beside the white/chickens. William Carlos Williams." I smiled, and was rewarded as she raised her head and appraised me with her eyes, so dark blue they almost seem violet. "Calix Schreave, and you are?"

"Surprised a Prince of Illea can quote twentieth century American poetry," she responds archly, her accent a curious blend of several languages. I can't tell which one is most prominent. Standing and smoothing her dark blue evening dress, she inclines her head to me, "Your Majesty."

I bow to her, "I repeat my question. And you are?"

"No one of consequence. A friend of Princess Nicoletta, roped in to being here this evening," she replied.

"That seems to be Auntie Nic's way. She is very persuasive. Has been as long as I've known her," I smile again, taking in her long chestnut brown hair, curled for the event, with small pieces pinned back. Her skin is almost olive in tone, but not quite, and I had to look down to see her delicate features as she is so petite, the top of her head was barely level with my shoulder. She was beautiful without being aware of her beauty. Unlike most women over the last few years, she looked wholly unimpressed with me. Maybe even slightly irritated that I had interrupted her quiet evening? Her tone seems to suggest annoyance, and I am intrigued. "I would offer you my arm to return to the ballroom? Maybe by then you would find me fit to learn your name?"

She laughed then, and did walk back with me, mentioning Auntie Nic would be furious if she didn't enjoy more of the party. Although she refused to take my arm, I did learn her name: Fae Eveline Baron. I sang it to myself the rest of the evening, even as she refused my requests to dance.

As I excused myself for the night, Auntie Nic pulled me aside and warned me against pursuing her further, "She's too special to be another notch, Cal. With your Selection coming this summer, do you have the heart to be with someone who could be more?" It's not often that Auntie Nic is serious, especially during a party. I promised to not seek Fae out.

It turns out that Auntie Nic's discouragement was more than enough reinforcement for both of us. Fae and I returned to Columbia on the same plane the next week. I was astonished to discover she was also a senior, and even lived in my apartment building. Her literature major and penchant for the library, plus my affinity for privacy, probably just a few of the reasons I hadn't seen her before.

Fae shifts in my arms, and I feel her lips brush my bare collarbone. "You don't have to pretend, Cal. I know you're awake."

In response, I find her lips with my own, whispering, "Morning," when we take a breath. I contemplate staying here all day, and bury my nose in her hair.

"Good morning, Cousin," Ethan shouts, throwing open my door and flipping on the overhead light.

I open one eye and frown at him and his signature grin. "Get the hell out."

Ethan. Five years older and with enough bravado for all of us put together. He's the only son of my dad's cousin August and his wife Georgia, and is the reason I was allowed to come to Columbia in the first place. He's my bodyguard, my closest friend, and as he burst into the room this morning, the most annoying person I've ever met.

"Not gonna happen, Cal. Just got word our moms are on their way here to surprise us. Thought you might want a warning. You can thank my dad for the heads up." My groan elicits an even wider grin, as he turns his attention to my companion. "Morning, Fae. Sleep well?"

She answers him with a rude gesture. That's my girl.

"Sure, I'll start the coffee," I hear him chuckling at himself in the hallway as he shuts the door.