All rights go to Kiera Cass.
PREVIOUSLY...
In the end Elise was dressed in a traditional evening kimono, Kriss was wearing a purple colored dress, Celeste was in a gold dress, and I was in an ice blue dress. Looking around the room individually our dresses wouldn't have made much sense but together we looked like Disney princesses. Elise was Mulan, Kriss was Rapunzel, Celeste was Belle and I was Cinderella. Trust me the irony of the situation was not lost on me. I wondered if our maids had selected the dresses in an order that left us in these dresses at the end but swiftly let the thought go as we were sat in chairs around the empty room and our maids did quick work touching up our hair and makeup, and then we headed downstairs together, arms linked and all.
These girls weren't just my friends, they had become my sisters, my family, and I hoped that the happiness we were all sharing now could last a lifetime.
America's POV
If you had told me in the first week of me being in the palace that Celeste and I would be best friends 4 months down the road I would have laughed in your face. If you told me I would still be here and not be sent home from acting like an insane and jealous girl I wouldn't have believed you either but here I am, one of the 4 girls remaining in the selection. Completely smitten with our countries prince, and actually thinking out what my future could be like if I am chosen as Maxon's wife. Wife, that word alone scared the crap out of me, marriage, and children, I always wanted kids, but the idea of it being an obligation scared me to death. I rid myself of the silly thoughts in my head and put on a happy face.
The four of us entered the dining room together, we curtsied to the king and queen as they sat at the head of the table. I walked behind the other girls as we headed to the seats around the table, I was surprised that Kriss chose to sit at the farthest seat from Maxon that was possible, Elise took a seat beside her, followed by Celeste and myself.
We waited in our seats for Maxon, but King Clarkson informed us he would not be joining us for dinner. That seemed to have a negative effect on all the girls, especially me. The way that the king addressed us made me feel uneasy. I tried my best to eat my dinner but I had lost my appetite entirely.
I excused myself from the table before anyone else had left the room. I got to my room without anyone disturbing me and had just sat on my bed when a knock came to my door. I swear sometimes it felt like the maids waited for me to get comfortable before knocking. I got up and opened the door, standing in attendance was a maid I had never seen before, she curtsied to me and didn't speak, she simply handed me a letter and excused herself.
America,
I need you. Find me in the place I showed you this morning.
Yours with love,
Prince Maxon
My heart skipped, I folded the letter back up leaving it on my bed as I rushed down the hallways looking for the secret passage with Maxon's face on it. I wish I could say that I found it easily but it actually took me a while to find the wall. At least this time I had memorized the route, next time it would be much easier to find. I found the little button behind the frame and the hidden door opened.
I stepped inside and made my way up the spiral staircase. When I was at the top of the stairs I gave the door a light knock on the door before opening it. Inside the room was dark with a few candles lighting up the room just enough to make my way around.
"Maxon? Where are you?" I continued slowly making my way into the room trying to make out more than just the furniture.
When I was in the middle of the room I felt the familiar arms encircling me. "Hello my love."
I spun around in his arms looking up into his eyes, "Maxon, what are we doing up here?"
He took my hand and led me over to one of the sofas and he put on a couple more candles surrounding us and lit up the fireplace before he spoke.
"Well, I was supposed to do this in front of everyone but I things are different with you." He pulled back and put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small red and gold box. He took hold of my left hand and got down on one knee. My right hand went automatically to my mouth. "America Singer, there may have been 35 girls living in this palace at one time but I only ever had eyes for 1. You have become my best friend, my confidant, my heart, my everything. Since the moment I met you I knew you were special, you never put a mask on, or tried to be something you weren't, I love you, and that is why I kneel here before you now. America Singer, Will you do me the honor of make me the happiest prince Illea has ever seen, marry me?"
I was crying happy tears, words seemed to escape me in that moment as I rigorously nodded my head yes. Maxon smiled cheek to cheek, lifted me into his arms spinning me around before opening the little red box. Inside was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. The band was two pieces of white gold filigree that had been intertwined together, it looked incredibly delicate. The setting of the diamond looked like a rose and was just the right size to top it off it had a slight blue coloring. It was perfect. Maxon placed the ring on my finger and I realized the hidden message he was conveying, all the thought he put into the ring. I might look delicate, fragile and breakable but true to the roses natural beauty I could prick you and cause a lot of pain.
I took a look at the ring sitting on my finger. I was engaged, to the prince of Illea the man I begged my mom not to have to meet, the man who I kneed in the groin the first time I met him, the man who won over my heart. The selection is over, I'm the one. This is the happiest moment of my life, and it's all because of him, because I found someone who makes me feel whole, someone who lets me be free and loves me for who I am not for who others want me to be.
We kissed each other with so much heat and passion I thought I would melt. Then the rebel alarm went off and it pulled us apart. Panic came to my eyes as I realized I had no idea how to get to the safe rooms from here. Maxon however knew what to do, He walked over to the old wooden door and pressed another button surrounding the frame, a large metal door quickly slid over the wooden one and locked us in safely.
"I installed that myself," he said proud of his own handiwork. Then he walked back over to me cupping my face in his hands. "Were safer here than anywhere else in the palace, most of the rebels know we have safe rooms around and they have found them before, which is why we developed the key system, but this door, it doesn't have a key, it can only be opened from the inside."
The panic I was emitting lifted a little and Maxon walked over to a cabinet bringing over a pair of glasses and a bottle of booze, pouring us two glasses.
"This is not how I thought tonight would go either Ame's." and he left a small kiss on my forehead.
"How did you think it would go?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow.
"Let's just say I envisioned something like this just without the fear of rebels, and possible death." He laughed at my expression when he finished. "Ame's, never in all your time here have you been as safe as you are right now. And just think how much more comfortable this is than the stupid room downstairs. At least up here we can play a game or watch a movie, and we have a big comfy sofa, and privacy."
I chuckled at the last bonus he gave for us being here, catching on to him. I stood and started to walk towards him, then kept walking until I reached the shelf with all the games grabbing the first one I saw. I didn't know what any of these games were anyway so no point in standing there reading the names. When I got back over to him he was sitting on the sofa with a raised eyebrow in my direction.
"And you would rather play snakes and ladders?"
I shook my head at him laughing silently as I placed the box on the coffee table and removed the lid. "Well, we could make it more interesting."
That made him smile, "what did you have in mind?"
"You will have to play to find out." I winked at him as I took out the board and dice before setting two players onto the start line. He moved down onto the floor across from me taking a sip of his drink.
"Alright Ame's lets play."
"Great, so when either of us go up a ladder we get to make the other person do something of their choice, and when we get a snake we have to take a drink, the winner gets to pick what we do next."
A grin came to his face and he picked up the dice. "So, who goes first?"
I took a die out of his hand and rolled it, 4. "See if you can roll higher than that." He threw the dice and waited, 6. A victorious smile came to his face as he picked up the die and rolled his turn.
We both made turns for a while before I finally landed at a snake sending me way back down to the bottom of the board. He was half the board ahead of me and here I was getting drunk as I chugged back the glass he had poured me earlier. We played more and he slowly continued to move ahead of me more and more. I kept hitting snakes sending me back down the board, I must have drank half of the bottle to myself by now. Then I hit a ladder, "FINALLY."
I handed him the dice but he was looking at me with adoration and was trying to hold back a laugh that for some reason made me a little mad. "Aren't you forgetting something Ame's?"
I scrunched up my face at him and remembered I got to make him do anything of my choosing. Suddenly a laugh erupted from me as I thought of the perfect act. "I want you to walk around the room clucking like a chicken."
He burst out laughing and shaking his head. He put his hands on his hips sticking his butt out a little and moving his head back and forth as he quickly ran around the room clucking. When he returned to me I was in hysterics on the floor clutching my stomach as tears rolled down my face from laughing. He pecked my cheek, "You will pay for that later, my dear."
All the laughter ceased when he called me that. I gave him a stern glare and he chuckled and took his seat rolling the dice.
We played on again for a while and he was onto the top row before he landed on a snake sending him halfway back down the board. I stuck my tongue out at him, finally I was in the lead.
I rolled and just made it past a snake smiling triumphantly at him. That was quickly shattered as Maxon rolled and managed to land on a ladder. His arms went above his head and my triumph turned into his. "Prepare to pay, Miss Singer."
My cheeks were on fire as I waited for him to speak. He teased me sitting back and pretending to ponder his decision, "Sing for me."
It wasn't as though I had never sung in front of an audience before, in fact that used to be my job, for some reason singing in front of him made me incredibly nervous, I never felt butterflies from singing in front of people, until now.
What he didn't know was I had been taking my free time in the evenings in my room writing music, so instead of singing one of the songs everyone knew I sang one I had written for him, and it felt right for this night.
Settle down with me
Cover me up
Cuddle me in
Lie down with me
And hold me in your arms
And your heart's against my chest,
your lips pressed to my neck
I'm falling for your eyes,
but they don't know me yet
And with a feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now
Kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
This feels like falling in love
Falling in love
We're falling in love
Settle down with me
And I'll be your safety
You'll be my lady
I was made to keep your body warm
But I'm cold as the wind blows
so hold me in your arms
Oh no
My heart's against your chest,
your lips pressed to my neck
I'm falling for your eyes,
but they don't know me yet
And with this feeling I'll forget,
I'm in love now
Kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
This feels like falling in love
Falling in love
We're falling in love
Yeah I've been feeling everything
From hate to love
From love to lust
From lust to truth
I guess that's how I know you
So I hold you close to help you give it up
So kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
This feels like falling in love
Falling in love
We're falling in love
Kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
This feels like falling in love
Falling in love
We're falling in love
As I sang the last verse I had moved from my place across the table to sit in front of the man I love, his eyes had lit up as the last line left my mouth and before I could even take another breath his lips were on mine. "I can't believe after all this time I never got to hear your angelic voice sing to me. Now I don't think I can go a day without it."
"It's a good thing were engaged then." I said smiling down to him, making his face light up again as his lips came crashing down onto mine holding me close to him.
"Would you believe me if I told you that I have just fallen even more in love with you than I thought was possible?"
I kissed him again nodding my head at the same time. Remembering our game I reluctantly pulled away from our kiss and returned to my seat at the other end of the table taking the dice into my hand before rolling. The 9 that came up brought me to the top row on the board, I would win this game.
Maxon rolled the dice getting snake eyes and the longest ladder in the game bringing him right up to the top row only two moves from the finish.
Not another ladder. He smiled again, "well, well, well another ladder, what to do, what to do?" He patted his chin as he spoke and I threw the pillow I was sitting on at him, making him laugh all the same. "I think I will save this one for later."
"You can't do that." was the only legible words I could think of and they came spewing out of my mouth.
"I am the prince, I can do whatever I want."
"Well as of an hour ago I am the future princess, doesn't that count for something?"
"Nope," he said popping the 'p', "Not until you are the princess."
I pouted at him but acquiesced, once again taking the dice into my hands blowing on them for luck. "Come on lucky number 11." That wasn't what came up on the dice though, I rolled a 3 landing on another snake which sent me back down the board two rows.
Maxon didn't gloat, in fact he looked disappointed that I didn't win. He just picked up one die in his hand rolling the final roll and winning the game.
Maxon's POV
I won, I really was hoping she could win because I only one thought in mind of what I wanted to do with her right now, and lets just say it wasn't entirely appropriate. After she sang to me I was more turned on than I have ever been in my entire life. I tried to clear my head of the thoughts which that proved to be difficult when America came and sat on my lap. "So what do you want to do now?" She whispered in my ear and nibbled on my lobe when she was done. Oh only a million things to you right now, I thought and I swiftly lifted her off my lap starting to pace around the room, I couldn't concentrate with her that close to me.
Walking back and forth I tried to clear my head, the alcohol had made my head dizzy and with every intake of breath I could smell her intoxicating perfume. I needed to get out of this room before I did something I would regret.
I continued to pace thinking and picked up the remote turning the TV on to the surveillance system. I saw nothing on the two main screens that showed the downstairs large foyer, and great hall so I continued to flip through stations, the second floor was clear and guards were searching the rooms of all the girls. I switched the channel again to show the 3rd floor, what I saw there made me stop walking and breathing as I sunk to my knees.
America chose this as her moment to finally speak, but when I didn't answer her she walked over to be in view of the television and she screamed at the top of her lungs before collapsing beside me on the floor, she fainted.
Written on the wall of the princess door in blood was the words, 'Princess, WERE COMING.'
There was no way that anyone knew I had asked America to marry me, it had only happened a little over an hour ago and we were in this room. I tried to think back to my days over the past week, who I spoke to about designing the ring, who knew I was going to propose, composing the list in my head I realized only one person knew who wasn't my family, knew who I was proposing to and that I planned on doing it soon. Kriss.
I feel like saying DUN DUN DUN again to this chapter, needless to say that Kriss has some major shit coming her way. :O
The song I listed in this chapter is Ed Sheeran's 'Kiss Me.' I just love Ed Sheeran and seeing as how this is the first song I have ever incorporated into a Fic it also seemed appropriate for the moment. I hoped you liked it.
Also I'll give a shout out in the next chapter if you can find the "LION KING" reference in the chapter. ;p (it wasn't intentional it just happened and while I was proofing I read it in the voice from the movie) - yes that is one of my favorite movies I know all the words and voices to the movie - pathetic I know.
And there you have it chapter 12. :)
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