hello again! So I'm going to start with the regular uploads now, so that should be good :) I'm publishing two chapters at once, as they're both quite short, but I hope you enjoy them :) please review with everything and anything you can, it really brightens my day :D

I stayed in the hospital wing for another few days, but when my bruises started to yellow and my cuts began to heal, I was discharged. Maxon visited me on and off, but as I got better his visits became less frequent, with a slight more urgency to them, as though one of us was leaving.

I was so happy to be reunited with my maids once again, they weren't allowed to visit me whilst I was in the hospital wing, so my reunion with them was precious and a memory I would savour forever. Of course, they all swarmed around me like hens and clucked with disapproval at my injuries, they were the same wonderful, loving girls that they were before, but I caught them crying from time to time, such as Mary who cried whilst she took my dresses in.

I soon settled back into palace life, though I was confused and upset about the fact that Kriss was still here. With Celeste in for questioning, it was only me and her left in the competition. I was ashamed of myself to admit it, but I had the idea that it would only be me now, after Maxon's urgency to rescue me from the rebels and doting kisses in the hospital wing, but clearly Kriss was still every bit the favourite. I was more confused than ever.

I was starting to miss Aspen's presence in the palace, when I told them, my maids could hardly believe his rebel activities, though I missed out the part of me and him back in Carolina. I missed his constant love, the confidence that he had given me.

Maxon had allowed a small funeral for him at the palace, where me and Aspen's family were the only guests. I grieved with them, knowing that they were aware of us lifted a weight of my shoulders, but his death and the events leading up to it made that slightly bittersweet. But they knew nothing of it, in their eyes their son was the hero he always was, he just joined the wrong group.

Mine and Kriss' relationship was more on edge than before, she seemed almost jealous of my rebel capture, and the attention that Maxon was giving me, it was silly and made me want to slap her constantly, but girls would be girls.

Even after being back in the palace properly for a week, I still appreciated the food more than I ever had before, wolfing it down, savouring every morsel, while Kriss watched on bemused.

"Lady America," she crooned, her voice tainted with a patronising edge, "The food was not as good in your rebel base? You must be careful darling, you don't want to get used to all this, you could be back in your Carolina slum before the day is out."

The end of the sentence was much quieter, so the royal family couldn't hear, but I heard, and I straightened my back, ready to fight back, but I stopped myself. Maxon wanted a lady, I must be one.

I excused myself quietly to my room, only turning back at the door to see Maxon laughing with Kriss, who looked like the cat with the cream. I wanted to slap the smile from her face, but what she had said earlier was worrying me, it was hard not to miss the uncomfortable shuffle that Maxon gave when she said it, making me wonder if he had heard it. Why would he respond like that? I began to panic that maybe what she was saying was the truth, before shaking the silly fears from myself and walking in the direction of the ladies room.

I sat down in one of the chairs by the window, and watched the garden, which was glowing in the morning sun. My injuries had left me slightly weak, and I couldn't get far before I needed to sit down. I didn't want to sit in the main room, I didn't want to talk to Kriss any more than I wanted my teeth removing one at a time.

I wasn't sat long before I got a note "tugging my ear," from Maxon, and I left the room, heading in the direction of the gardens. I found Maxon sat on one of the benches near the door, the sun bouncing off his skin, and I felt a sudden rush of love for him. He turned towards me as I approached, and a small smile spread across his face.

"America," he greeted me, with a nod of his head. I smiled in response. I sat down next to him as gracefully as I could, but the bruises spread across my body were still sore, and I winced as I sat down next to him. His arms instantly shot out to steady me, and I laughed.

"America it's not funny! You're seriously hurt and it's all my fault, I don't know how I'll ever live with myself after this, and all the allegations..." His voice trailed off slowly.

"I'm fine Maxon, it's nothing I can't take, besides, you're worth it." I added with a smile, then remembered the end of his sentence, and frowned. "What allegations?"

Maxon grimaced, "you don't want to know," he said,

"I do!" Suddenly I was very alert to our proximity to the door, to the amount of guards near us, all around us, far more than normal, their guns out and ready.

"After, well after you were brought back, there were points raised, people, well, my father, weren't sure whether we could still trust you, whether maybe the had recruited you while you were there. You were there a long time Americ-" I cut him off, not able to hear the rest of it.

"Recruited me? Listen to yourself Maxon! You're accusing me of being one of them!" Anger was boiling white hot in my veins, "I went through hell for you, you've seen the bruises, the cuts, you've seen what they did to me, you were the one that brought me back! You need to believe me Maxon, I need you to believe me."

By the end of my speech there were guards all around me grabbing my arms and hauling me back, "Maxon!" I cried, "please!" Maxon watched as the guards dragged me back, confusion filling his eyes.

"What are you doing?" He called to the guards. "Let go of her!"

"Sorry sir," one of them replied, "orders from the king." With that someone from behind me raised his hand, and I instinctively covered my face from the oncoming impact. The sky went black.