Chapter 10

"What safe, Maxon? I demand again, gripping his arm tightly and staring into his eyes. I see nothing but utter fear as he stutters out, "I-I-I don't know, America! I am so so sorry. Let me speak to my dad about this, okay?"

I nod curtly in response. "And thank you for understanding about Aspen. You need to know that I don't love him anymore, I love you, I just have a duty to keep him as safe as possible for his mother and sisters back home." I say all this staring deep into his eyes. They seem to soften a bit as I speak.

"Okay," he says, getting up, "I understand. But you need to know that if this relationship is ever going to work out, we need to keep everything honest, got that?" I can't help but see the logic in his terms.

"Sure." I agree, giving him a sad smile. I watch as he leaves to go talk to the King, leaving me alone. I lean back against the wall and begin to sob silently. I can hear other people doing the same, some are copying me, bottling in their anguish and pain, and other people are taking it out on others. I can hear one lady shouting at a guard: 'Let me out! I said, LET ME OUT! My ring is out there! The one with diamonds, DIAMONDS! Do you even know what they are?'. I can't help but let out a giggle as I listen to her ridiculous argument. People's lives are at stake, and she cares about her ring. Talk about priorities! I am just about to nod off to sleep when someone taps me on my shoulder.

"Huh?" I say, blinking my eyes open. I look up to see a girl standing over me in concern. I'd say she was my age, maybe a few years older, and extraordinarily pretty. She had blond ringlets and sparkly blue eyes that glittered in the light. She was wearing a lilac dress that hugged her figure in all the right places, and the smile she gave me could win anyone over.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you," she says politely.

"No, that's okay." I reply. "I'm terribly sorry, but who are you?" I don't recognise as someone Maxons introduced me, and neither do I remember seeing her before The Selection.

"Oh!" she exclaims, "I'm Kizzy. I'm the King's Chief Advisor's daughter, I live in the white house at the far end of the Southern Garden." Wow, I didn't know anyone else lived in the palace. I suopose it made sense though, they probably wanted to keep pretty girls away from Maxon until The Selection was over.

"You're America, aren't you? I am so happy for you, since the day the competition started I wanted you to win!" she exclaims, gushing a little.

"Thanks," I say, giving her a small smile. As lovely as this girl seems, I don't think I can handle her enthusiasm right now. But, just my luck, she comes and sits down right next to me.

"I am awfully sorry about your sister." she murmurs, casting her head towards the floor. I don't say 'it's okay', for some reason I get the impression she's the sort of girl who knows it isn't.

"I know how it feels," she continues. God, they all say that! They don't know how it feels, to be responsible for you little sister being kidnapped by women-deprived, sadistic rebels.

"No. You don't." I say curtly.

"Yes, I do actually. A few years ago my younger brother, Henry, fell off a horse he was riding. He hit his head pretty bad, and was rushed to hospital. He went into a coma for 43 days. And do you know what the worse thing was, America?" I shake my head, speechless. "The worst thing was was that the day after he woke up was the day we were due to turn off his life support. Imagine that, imagine knowing what it feels like to live the rest of your life knowing that if you had done it a day earlier, or he had woken a day later, he wouldn't be her. Because I would've killed him."

"Oh," I stutter, astounded. I can't even start imagine going through something like that.

"Mm. I just wanted to say, however the situation works out, that if you ever need someone to talk to, I can be your friend. I know there aren't many around the palace!" I smile, grateful for her offer. I get the feeling we will be friends, though I don't want to rush things.

"Thanks, Kizzy." I say, hoping she'll leave me alone, not that I don't appreciate her company, I just want to grieve in peace. She seems to understand my feelings and gets up silently.

Just then the speakerphone crackles into life. I sit up, tense waiting for news. I don't know how long it has been since the first announcement, as they stopped counting down after a minute. Or should I say after he stopped counting down. I still can't get that greasy voice out of mind, and it begins to speak again."NINETEEN HOURS, 48 MINUTES, 32 SECONDS. WE ARE GETTING IMPATIENT, SO WE THOUGHT WE MIGHT ADD A LITTLE INCENTIVE INTO THE BARGAIN." Oh my! What were they going to do? "FOR EVERY HOUR YOU DELAY YOUR DECISION WE ARE GOING TO BREAK A BONE IN HER BODY. I THOUGHT I'D START WITH HER FINGERS. ON 3.2.1" Crunch!

I tensed up as the noise of May's finger's crunching echoed through the room. Her scream followed, accompanied by a sadistic, cruel laugh.

"LET THAT BE A LESSON TO YOU. IN AN HOUR IT WILL BE HER WRIST." God, no! How can this be happening?

A/N Dun dun dah! Sorry about the cliffhanger... And the fact that this chapter is a bit short (but hey, it's over 1000 words!) I hoped you like the new character, Kizzy. She will play a big role later on in the book. Thank you so much to pllforever23, Reader the Fish and Guest for their lovely reviews.

And especially to Crazyafterlove for your really, really nice review. It made me smile so much! I genuinely appreciate your advice, and I'll try and take it into account, but I am one of those people, who (unfortunately) finds it hard to write the boring bits in between the exciting books, so I struggle to pace things out.

I will try and update soon, hopefully by the weekend. Please keep reviewing :)

P.S Any Sherlock fans out there? Season 3 started filming today and the have announced the name of the first episode. It's called "The Empty Hearse"!

P.S.S Would you rather the plot kept playing out the rebels, or I found a quicker way to get rid of them and for America to continue her life? If you have a strong opinion, please state in a review and I will take it into account. Also, if you would like to hear what I am planning to do with the story (and don't mind spoilers) send me a review and I will PM it to you so you can decide how you would like the story to progress...

~Tabitha~