WELCOME TO CHAPTER TEN OF "LEAVING LETTERS" LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. ARE YOU READY TO RRRRREEEEEEAAAAADDDDD?!

WE'VE GOT ACTION, ROMANCE, HUMOR, AND MORE!

POSSIBLY.

AMERICA

Once I finished my letter, I had a thought.

In a way, I was thinking of us as two loose ends. I automatically assumed that he would come to this exact room just to find me, namely my letter. But things could have happened to him. (A/N OH, HONEY, YOU HAVE NO IDEA.) The Rebels could have gotten him, he could be out elsewhere trying to find me. Or he could have written me off and gone back to the other girls, choosing to believe I was dead.

No, he loves me. He said so. There was no way in the world that he would just leave me like that.

It's just, he's probably out somewhere and not coming to this room.

"T, do you-"

"Yep, I gotta place to put the letter where your sweetheart will find it," T said. Woah. He's good.

"T, what's your problem?"

He sighed. "Let's go, please?"

I tucked the letter into my jeans pocket and went back over to the mirror. T grabbed my hand and tugged me onto the stairs.

We went up, down, all around, until finally I saw a pinprick of light at the top of the stairs.

"Come on, T, let's go!" I shouted, laughing and pulling him along with me.

He laughed, too, and said, "Calm down, calm down! We need to be careful!"

I stopped running. "What?"

"The Rebels could still be waiting for you. They may trust me, but still. I don't want you to get hurt."

Woah now. What? But then he added, "If you get hurt, your boyfriend will have me murdered. If you die... I don't even want to think about that."

I started walking again. Nudging his arm, I joked, "Aww, come on. You know you don't want me to die. I'm just too adorable."

"Uh, I don't know about that, America. Sure, you're good company, but adorable? You need to back up a few steps."

"Shut up, Drew!"

"Who's Drew?" he asked. Darn it. I've been trying to figure out his real name. I guess it's not Drew.

"I'm just trying to figure out your real name, T."

He laughed a small laugh and said, "David. But, please, call me T."

"David?" I said. I actually really like that name. It suited him, too.

"T. Okay, wait here." T went out the door, taking my letter with him. He disappeared around the corner, then reappeared. He gave me a thumbs-up sign.

And so we walked. And walked. And walked. Witty banter was exchanged, more than one sexual comment remarked, all in all, it was uneventful.

Until we got to Droatia.

Droatia is a very beautiful province, very nature-based. There were hardly any sorts of electronics, televisions, etc. Everything was calm, clean, and peaceful. Mountains, forests, rivers. Very pretty.

But we managed to find the one television in the entire province (it's a fairly small province) that was broadcasting.

"I spy with my little eye... A television! Yes! We can see what's going on!" I dragged T towards the TV that was behind the display case.

"We interrupt this broadcast to bring you some urgent news," the TV newscaster said, "We have recently gotten news that Prince Maxon was killed in an attempted attack on the Southern Base."

I didn't hear anything after that. There was a giant ringing in my ears. At first I was calm, thinking, "Ooh, so that's what he's been doing."

I think T sensed that I was about to implode, and then explode, and then implode again, so he dragged me away from the TV screen. We found an empty field, one that they apparently did meditation in. That is when I broke.

"Dead?" I sobbed. T and I were sitting on the ground surrounded by tall grass. He had wrapped his arms around my shoulders and was rubbing my back. "He can't - he can't be gone."

As I blubbered, T soothingly whispered, "Shh, shh, it's okay. Everything's okay."

But it was most definitely not okay. Maxon... My dear, my Maxon... Never again? No more kisses, no more cuddles, no more unbelievably romantic words.

"T, what - what did I do wrong?" His grip on me tightened. "Why did he have to die?"

"America, you had absolutely no part in his death. If he's even dead. He could still be alive. But if he isn't, I am so, so sorry. I know you love him, and I am absolutely certain that he loved you with every fiber in his being."

We sat there, with me sniveling, and T rocking me back and forth while attempting to calm me down.