Hey guys, I wasn't planning on doing a chapter today so this one may be a little bit rough and have more errors than the previous two since I haven't edited it too much. Also, I know that this chapter isn't as action or romance packed, but it'll get there, I promise. I just need to do a little bit of world building first…Hope you like it anyway. Let me know what you think!

"God damn! I thought I told all of you to keep the girls within the palace safe! How did this happen?" a guard growled angrily, his voice seeming far off but becoming clearer slowly.

There was dead silence to answer his question.

A sigh. "Put her with the others and don't let the royal family see the body."

I felt myself move without my consent. I groaned and opened my eyes; I was being dragged across the floor roughly by a palace guard.

I hit him uselessly and cleared my throat. "Hey, let me go." My voice was a harsh whisper, but the guard didn't hear me and didn't slow down. It took three attempts and when my voice finally came, it was scratchy but audible. The guard heard me and turned around despite the fact that I sounded like I had sandpaper shoved down my throat.

"Holy shit!" the guard screamed, dropping me to the floor.

I groaned in pain and clutched my stomach. God, my body hurt absolutely everywhere.

Maxon.

I grabbed the guard's arm just as he attempted to help me up.

"Where did you find me?" I asked as firmly as I could.

"Lady America, we need to get you to the infirmary. You're–"

I shut him up with a swipe of my hand. "Please, I need to get Maxon out. He's in the safe room. No one will find him quick enough. I think he's hurt." I muttered.

The guard didn't hesitate after that and picked me up in his arms like I weighed nothing, practically sprinting down the hall while calling for assistance. He was jostling me as he ran, but I kept my mouth firmly clamped shut. If Maxon needed help then I could wait.

He set me down against the wall when we finally reached our destination. All we could do was wait until someone got a key to open the door. They said two minutes maximum, but each second that passed felt like an hour.

The guard squatted down in front of me, his brown eyes kind. "Lady America, can you tell me if the rebels hurt you in any way that could be life threatening? If you need medical attention then I can take you to the infirmary." His voice was soft, almost like he was afraid I'd die in the blink of an eye or that I'd start running in the opposite direction if he wasn't careful.

I shook my head. "I'm fine, soldier. Just tired. I just need to be patched up a bit; I'll be as good as new in no time."

"Perhaps I should take you to the infirmary." he muttered under his breath.

I glared at him just as more guards came into view, cutting our conversation short. Well, more like they stopped me from scolding the man in front of me. I wasn't a baby; I knew what I could handle.

One man pushed through the rest, a key in his hand. He put it in the wall, a slot magically appearing as if it had always been there. The door slid open with a quiet hiss and everything was quiet.

Several guards rushed in through the door to go find Maxon and I would have followed them if I'd had the strength to.

"Your Majesty!" a guard gasped in shock.

My heart thumped wildly in my chest, a fresh spurt of adrenaline giving me the energy I needed to stand. I pushed myself up before stumbling into the room, my pains and exhaustion forgotten. I gasped at the view in front of me as well. Maxon's shirt was red with blood.

I'd seen people much like him. Right after they'd been whipped.

A guard took out a knife, about to cut open Maxon's shirt.

"Don't!" I screamed.

They all looked at me like I'd gone insane, but I didn't care. I merely pushed my way through all of them and looked at Maxon. "If you cut his shirt open, you could injure him further. His blood has probably already clotted and attached to his shirt. If you move to fast, you could reopen. I want all of you to get out of this room right now."

"Miss–"

"Now!" I screeched and shot them all a look. "If I don't start treating these right now they could become infected. There's no way that you're taking him to the infirmary right now, you could rip open the cuts. Get out. I'll call you when I'm finished."

The stood there for a few moments, completely stunned by my demands, before they all started filing out the room.

I sucked in a breath, preparing myself for the worst. Then, I set to work.

Slowly and gently, I pulled Maxon's shirt off – if I pulled too fast it would rip the dried blood off of him. It would be painful if I did it too quickly. The dried blood peeled off his back anyway because it had dried and stuck to his shirt like a second skin. He hissed in pain and I slowed even further until finally the shirt was completely off.

With his shirt off, I couldn't help but stare even as a gasp escaped my lips.

Maxon's back appeared as if he'd been rolling around in broken glass. I'd seen many people with whip marks worse than his, but the brutality of his scars was undeniably obvious. It obviously occurred over several years, some marks were simply scars, others were pink ones just barely starting to heal, and then there were the fresh ones. The new cuts dripped blood slowly but steadily out of his body.

It was a shame that his back was scarred–I didn't mind it in the least, but I knew someone like Celeste would be disgusted seeing these–especially because his back was well toned. His shoulder blades were well defined and I couldn't help but stare for an extra second at him before shoving my thoughts aside so that I could treat his wounds.

Pull it together, America. You need to get him bandaged up, not ogle at his muscles…even if they are deliciously defines on his body.

I shook my head firmly to get rid of the inappropriate thoughts.

I picked up a black box that I spotted next to the bed, recognizing it because I'd used it on people several times after they'd been whipped for stealing–though often I worked with children, not fully grown men.

I sighed and began disinfecting the cuts on his back, paying special attention to the deep ones. I tried to be gentle, but I knew it would still hurt him. I'd used the same stuff on children several times; it was a thick gel that killed any bacteria or viruses that could get into the cuts.

I was careful to get it on every one of his cuts and by the time that I finished, the bottle was almost empty and Maxon was whimpering in his sleep.

I knew from experience that the gel stung like a bitch, but it was necessary to apply it so that his back wouldn't become infected.

I shuffled around in the box, but didn't find any gauze. I called out to the guards to bring me some and not two minutes later, a roll was thrown down the stairs.

I didn't normally like to use the gauze, it was better if the cuts could breathe for a while after the gel was applied but I doubted Maxon wanted anyone to see the wounds that crisscrossed his back. In the infirmary, I would tell a doctor about him so Maxon could get the privacy he would undoubtedly want.

Once I finished wrapping the gauze around his body, I put Maxon's shirt back on him, covering his body. I then slide his jacket over his skin with only slight difficulty, covering the blood on the back of his shirt.

I then called the guards back down and allowed them to pick up Maxon, warning them to be careful with his back. They all nodded and started carrying him to the infirmary, asking me about why Maxon was bleeding.

"A rebel threw a knife at him and it landed in his back. I pushed him through the wall afterward and I guess he couldn't cover it. He's just lost some blood. He'll be okay, just needs some rest, food, and water. He'll be as good as new in a few days."

I wasn't sure if my little speech was meant to assure me or them, but all of the guards seemed to relax slightly after my explanation. No one asked any more questions after that.

Seeing that I was struggling to keep up, a guard put my arm over his shoulder to help support me. I hissed in pain as it tugged on my own injuries, but didn't make another sound until we reached the infirmary.

Maxon was immediately placed on a bed, still unconscious but breathing. I thanked the guard and told him to leave me alone, he did.

I hobbled over to the doctor in front of Maxon as he began unbuttoning his shirt. I stopped his hands from unbuttoning it further. "Are you the head doctor here?"

The man nodded. "Yes, Lady America."

I leaned in a whispered to the doctor about Maxon's injuries, I didn't lie to him though, he'd see the damage soon enough anyway.

He nodded. "Thank you for telling me. I'll be careful." He chuckled. "You've actually done most of my work for me. Why don't you go and lay down, I'll attend to you once I take care of Prince Maxon."

I thanked him and managed to reach the bed he'd directed me to. I hopped on to it and laid my head on the pillow, my body instantly relaxing as I finally came to realize that the fight was over for now. Maxon was safe and so was I. For now, that was the only thing that counted.

I let my consciousness go with a long breath as I let the darkness surround me in comforting waves of numbness.