America POV

I open my eyes and see not Maxon, not Aspen, but Queen Amberly. Her hand is wrapped delicately around my own, and she's watching me with a calm expression on her face. She smiles kindly at me when she sees my eyes open.

"Your awake," she says softly, stating the obvious.

"I'm awake," I confirm, my voice a little scratchy.

Amberly's smile grows. "How are you feeling?"

I laugh drily. "Like I got beaten with a stick," I deadpan.

Her Majesty's smile disappears, replaced by an immense solemnity. "America, that was extraordinarily brave of you to do. I wish you hadn't had to go through that. But I admire you very much. I could never have done that. I don't think I'm strong enough. But you… you're a force of nature, America Singer. A force to be reckoned with. Keep that in mind, and never, ever change."

I can only nod in my surprise.

"If everything goes as I think it will, I know you'll make an excellent queen."

I'm even more dumfounded by that statement. "Your Majesty, you put too much faith in me," I argue. "I could never measure up to all that you've done."

The queen's face cracks. "Me?" she chuckles, "What have I done? Sat on a throne? Raised my son and loved my husband? I'm not as perfect or wonderful as our country seems to believe. You, on the other hand, you're going to change the world. You have big ideas, America. And you're going to do great things with those ideas. I have faith in you."

And then she leaves before I can change her mind.


A/N: I'm so, so, so, so, sooooooooooo sorry for the short chapter. Once school is out for the year, I promise chapters will be longer an on a better updating time. Anyway, as always, thank you so much for reading and I'll see y'all next week.

With love,

StormcloudPercival13