Hello, another chapter here for you today. Happy reading! :)

Chapter 11

'Happy Christmas Eve, Darling.' Maxon said as I opened my eyes to see him with a warm smile hung on his face.

'Good Morning Maxon,' I said, leaving a kiss on his temple. He playfully pulled me up to a sitting position and out of bed to the bathroom. He started the bath and that was my queue to start stripping. We got into the warm water together, splashing water at each other playfully.

'I think its the season to sing Christmas carols to me now.' He cooed with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes and gave in, starting with folk songs. Eventually, we got out of the bath and got dressed, for me I put on a cream colored dress with golden details. Maxon had on a matching suit and we went to the dining hall for breakfast. The Italians arrived yesterday and we were having breakfast together. The other royals would arrive at night for the party, we wanted the Italians to come a little later until after we had set everything up but they insisted and I didn't have it in me to say no to them. When we entered, the food was already served and the wine bottle was already half empty thanks to the Italians.

'Good morning, America.' Nicolletta greeted.

'Hello Nic, how are you enjoying your stay?'

'The wine!' She cheered groggily which sent the room to laughter.

Having the Italians around always lightened the mood, they were always cheerful with a ready smile on their faces.

'Oh, Nicolletta, you ought to freshen up later.' she told her daughter, trying to be as serious as she could.

Nicolletta just nodded and continued eating her breakfast with wine. Breakfast today was mainly fruit based - fruit punch, fruit salad, with scrambled eggs.

We finished breakfast and went to work so that we could get some things done before the party that night.

I went into the study expecting a small pile but of course, on the day when Marlee had taken a day off, the piles combined seemed tall enough to touch the ceiling. I walked over to the table and saw a sticky note on the first folder. I held my breath hoping that it was not more work. I opened an eye and skeemed through the note,

Dear America,

I have placed all the work for the rest of the week on your table since I will not be here till next week. Please have all the work done by Monday, I apologize for the inconvenience caused.

- Silivia

I heaved a sigh of relief, there was no way I could have completed all that work in one day, not to mention Marlee not being around... I looked at the first folder at the top of three piles. 'Three piles for the three days left in the week,'I thought.

The one on the far left was for today, Friday. It was a relatively big pile so I got to work. Luckily, there was nothing too important, just the typical budget drafts and so on...

'You have to get ready now,' Mary informed me.

'I'll be there in a minute,' I assured her as I finished up my last folder.

'Alright,' she said gently and closed the door.

I wrote in the last few words and left the study for my room to get ready for the party. Everything was already prepared, waiting for me. Mary, Lucy and Paisley were cleaning up the already neat room, something Mary and Lucy did a lot at the start of the selection back then.

'Finally,' Lucy breathed out as she pulled me into the bathroom so that I could get into the shower for a quick rinse before I got dressed.

The water cascaded down my skin, I could hear the pitter-patter of the water falling onto the bathroom floor. It was relaxing hearing the sound of water against surfaces, the steam forming on the glass enclosing the shower. When I was done, I reached for a towel to dry myself off. A dress was laid out on my bed, a coral coloured gown with an oval cut-out at the back, it was breathtakingly gorgeous. They helped me put it on and started with the usual hair and makeup. My hair was in a special up do for the party and I had on slightly heavier makeup as well as more jewelry, a necklace, earnings and a simple bracelet.

'Thanks guys,' I said as they pushed me to the door.

'No biggie,'

'Welcome,'

'No problem,' they replied together.

I walked out of my room to the hallway, Maxon was standing there as he always did before parties, gave me his hand and we walked down to the party. As we neared the party, we could hear laughs and chatters. Carter stood by the door and gave us a bow. We gave him a nod, the 'go ahead sign' to announce us to our guests. The room quietened quickly as Carter announced us. We walked to the stage and Maxon gave his little speech, all eyes were on us, he finished and the room erupted into a thundering clap. We walked off the stage, trying to keep up my smile. We did our job as we did in any party and went to greet all of our guests, having involvement in every clique chatting in the room. I was just about done when Maxon went on stage to lead everyone to the dining hall for dinner. Unlike the last few parties we held, we decided to have a more traditional Christmas Eve party and instead of a buffet style party, we went back to our roots and had everyone have dinner together. The butlers filled the room, walking in a neat line carrying the trays containing our food, the lowered the trays with poise, all at the same time and left in an orderly manner. Everyone lifted the covers and the room was filled with the scent of perfectly cooked food, done with precision and skill. I took a bite of the steak after seeing the immense pleasure in everyone's eyes, this was palace food which they were accustomed too, how good could it be? The first bite burst with flavour, the meat tender and juicy, it was one of the best meals I ever had in the palace, even Maxon looked happily surprised with the food and he grew up in the palace! One by one, the guests left the dinning room to enjoy the rest of the party. We stepped on the dance floor and moved along to the music played by the palace orchestra. I caught sight of Kenna and James dancing together too and my eyes lead to Mom who was staring at me and Maxon dreamily. She gave me a tight smile when she realized I was looking and motioned me to carry on. We sat down after a little while since I was getting tired, being pregnant and all. We chatted as Mom walked over to us, giving Maxon a pat on the back which startled him a little before she sat beside me.

'How are you doing, Maxon.' She asked, a seeming a intimidating to me.

Maxon didn't even flinch and just stared at me with his beautiful soft chocolate eyes,'Never been better.'

I blushed furiously and ducked my head, Mum caught on and excused herself,'Now, don't play too long tonight alright, May will want you two awake bright and early tomorrow so that she can open presents.' She added as she trailed away.

We allowed ourselves to leave the party to have our private time together in Maxon's bedroom. We quickly changed into our sleepwear and slid into bed. Cuddles and kisses were generous that night, and we let Mum's words slide.

Maxon POV

'Come on! Can you guys wake up already? I want to open presents.'

Magda was right, she was very right. At eight sharp, America's sister came running to our room knocking at our door trying to get us to wake up. America let out a loud groan, she wasn't going to wake up. What am I going to do? I had no idea how to treat May, like a tough brother in law? Like a nice and kind guy? Well, politely, Mum had taught me to treat anyone. My brain sorted through different words and how I would reply her but her consistent knocking kept me from thinking.

'Five minutes May, we will meet you down stairs.' America shouted, annoyance leaking through her voice, before falling back onto the bed.

I pulled America up and dragged her out of bed,'Not you too...' She said, rubbing her eyes.

'It's Christmas America, don't you want to see what I got for you?'

She rolled her eyes as she spoke,'I'm not May Maxon, I'm not that excited to get presents.'

I released a sigh as we got ready for the morning, getting our teeth clean and changing into clothes, more appropriate for the occasion. I put on a snowman sweater with some pants while America wore a reindeer sweater with a pair of jeans. We entered the Women's room where everyone was sitting around the Christmas tree which was already surrounded by presents, ready for the gift giving to begin.

'Finally!' May said as we walked over, waving her hand frantically to get us to go over at a faster speed.

America quickened her pace slightly and I unwillingly matched her pace. I saw Adele at an isolated corner with her husband and children, they were near the others but seemed far away. That were the only ones left of my side of the family that I was relatively close to. She gave me a sad smile and an approving nod.

As we took our seats at two empty chairs,'May called out,'Let's start opening presents!'

May was like a ball of energy, she was energetic and excitable which lifted the mood in the room, her energy gave off a subtle vibe which made everyone just that tad bit more excited. They passed around the gifts from under the Christmas tree. My gift for America landed in my hands.

I handed the present to her,'Merry Christmas dear,'

She put the box on her lap and lifted the lid slowly. She looked at it in awe as she lifted up the instrument delicately. Magda had turned to look at what I had given her and gave a similar reaction of 'It's amazing.' I smiled to myself, being able to surprise and impress not only America but her mother too.

'I love it Maxon...' She sighed as she ran her hands over the violin.

I knew how much she would appreciate a violin, there was only one in the palace and it wasn't in a very good condition due to old age. There were some violins before but after the many rebel attacks, the numbers dwindled since many of them got damaged. Hopefully with this new one, it would bring America more joy and me more music to listen to when I was working. A box was in her hands and she took in a breath as she handed it to me.

'I think you will love this as much as I love my present.' She said with a sly smile.

I weighed the box on my hands, light. I peeked into the box and could only make out an object which had sharp edges, a squared thing. I opened the box and was blown away. Nestled in the box was a camera. Not just any camera though, the newest one, the one I thought wasn't even out yet. I picked it up from the box and held it in my hand. This was real! No scratches, brand new. Underneath the cardboard that was holding the camera there were lenses for the camera. An Ultra Wide, Wide Angle, Telephoto, Super zoom and Macro, a full set.

'How did you know?' I whispered.

'The same way you got to know about my violin.' She said.

The rest of the presents were clothes and ties. Adele gave me a bow, one of my lost hobbies after the selection was archery. I still did it for exercise at times but we typically stayed indoors. I guess Adele did know me well...

America POV

We continued the passing around of presents, I received some sheet music from mom and shoes from Kenna but what really surprised me was the gift from May. She gave me one of her own paintings, it was one of our old house and it said at the bottom, 'No matter where life takes you, don't forget where you came from...'

'Time for breakfast!'Maxon called out after speaking to a guard.

Everyone walked towards the dining hall where Marlee and Carter were, to join us for breakfast. Everyone took their seats and started to eat the food which was already in front of us.

I leaned back towards one of the guards and spoke in hushed tones,'Could you have someone bring my violin to the Women's room where all the other instruments are as well as the sheet music I got. Have the rest of my presents brought into my room, my helpers will know where to put them.' The guard nodded and left the room.

After breakfast, it was time for May and the others to take their leave. I gave them hugs at the lobby and saw them go into the black car that pulled away shortly after. As we walked back into our home, Maxon caught me off guard and swiftly spun me around and gave me a dip kiss, puling me back up before I could even process what had just happened. We continued walking - him acting as if nothing had happened. 'Let me show him how it's done,'I thought as we reached the third floor. I tugged at his arm with all my might so that he was facing me and pushed our lips together. He returned the kiss after a seconds'thought, 'One point for you and now one for me,'I thought to myself. I pulled away just before it got too intense and went to my study. I placed My's painting on my desk, beside other prized pictures.

Marlee strode in a few seconds later,'What was that all about? It looked pretty intense...'she added.

She gave a slight laugh as I turned away to look at my work, ignoring what she had just said, face burning yet fingers icy cold.

'Let's just... Let's get some work done,'my voice sounding weak instead of the strong voice I wanted.

I briefed Marlee on the work that had to be done and we sat off to work. We did the work quietly, a little too quietly... Usually we would have little chats while we worked but there was none of that today,'Perhaps I have overreacted,'I thought. The silence did help something though, other than for eating at lunch, all our focus was on work. We were able to concentrate and we did all the work and even a little more by late afternoon. 'I think we are done for today Marlee,'I started,'We did work a lot faster but let's not do that again.' I said standing up to stretch.

'Yeah, that was exhausting!'she confirmed with a smile.

She left, wreathed in smiles. I decided to go to Maxon's study. He was not seated there. 'Not again...' I thought. Just then, he appeared from the doorway to his room.

'Looking for me dear?'he said cheekily.

I walked towards him and gave him a flirtatious kick as I circled around him. He pulled me towards him, I was expecting a kiss but instead he pulled me out of the room with him, his camera bouncing at his side. I matched his pace, walking beside him, he loosened his grip to a slight hold. We walked to what I would call our second room, the garden. We walked farther into the garden, the side where we never really went. There, there was a shooting range and another pavilion which looked identical to the other one in the garden, where two trays were. He led me up the steps where our dinner laid.

'I'm not hungry yet...'

'We will have supper according to my plan, you will be fine.' He assured.

It was a light meal, rice with beef stew. I ate the food, taking in every flavor. I dabbed my mouth with the napkin and gave Maxon a shaky smile as he helped me up. We were right next to a shooting range, I did not feel very safe for myself or anyone around me as Maxon passed me a bow, thinking he wanted me to help him hold it as he got some arrows to use. I stopped short and looked at the bow's carvings, this was the bow Adele gave Maxon for Christmas, it had elegant carvings on it and something told me that it was one of a kind, specially made.

'Here.'he urged as he opened the gate to one of the booths.

I expected it to be less exciting compared to our previous dates since I thought I was just going to see him shoot with a bow but the first thing he did blew that thought right off course. He closed the gate and moved right behind me, his fingers overlapping mine. He gave me some instructions and adjusted my fingers. He slid an arrow between my fingers. Everything felt so casual yet romantic at the same time. 'I'm living a dream,'I though as I released the arrow according to Maxon's instructions.

It landed somewhere I never would have imagined it to. 'Maybe someone's leg or in the grass,'I thought,'Maybe in the white space or the black ring if I was lucky...' It landed in the red, just barely, but it was in the red. I was squealed with delight as I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye. I passed the bow to Maxon for him to let him have a go.

We walked to the dining hall where many tiny plates of angel food cake was placed. There were guards and maids gathering around the table to take their serving and leaving the room so that their colleagues could take a piece as well.

'Every Christmas at the palace, the chefs will do up a bunch of Angel Food cakes for everyone, all the staff, the royals. Sadly you weren't here last year so I asked them to prepare two for you, maybe one for you and the other for the baby?' he added with a wink.