Ball time! All characters belong to Kiera Cass, besides the ones that I have created. Enjoy the chapter! Love ya guys!
Today is the day of the ball and I wake up to a certain someone bouncing up and down on my bed. "Uhhhh," I groan, rolling over onto my side.
"Ames, wake up! Today is the day of the ball!" May exclaims, shaking my shoulders.
I turn over to look at her, "May, the ball isn't for another twelve hours. There is still plenty of time to sleep."
"No there isn't Ames! You have to get up!" she yells in my ear.
Finally I relent and sit up in bed. She smiles at me, happy that she got me to get up. Being quite pleased with herself she hugs me before bounding down the hall back to her own room to get ready for the day.
"No one should have that much energy first thing in the morning," I mutter to myself. The amount of energy that girl had was truly boundless.
I told my maids that I wouldn't require their assistance that morning. Guests wouldn't be arriving until later, and it just so happened to be a Saturday, which meant that I could wear pants. I slip into my most flattering pair of jeans and a creamy lace top. I decide to at least wear a pair of black pumps to make the outfit a tad bit more formal.
When I walk in for breakfast James' eyes rest on me and he smiles at my choice of clothing. "I didn't know ladies of the Selection were allowed to wear pants, Lady America?" he jokes.
"Only on your Saturdays, Your Highness," I say the last part in a mocking fashion.
"Well, Prince Maxon, if I may make a suggestion? I think you should allow Lady America to wear pants like that everyday," he says, while winking at me.
I feel all of the blood rush to my face and glance over at Maxon, who is just as red as I am, but for a completely different reason.
"Thanks, I will take that under advisement," Maxon mumbles.
"Although, it's not as if Lady America will be around in the Selection much longer anyway," James says, smirking at Maxon.
Maxon jumps out of his seat with his fists curled into balls. For a second that I believe that James and Maxon will get into a full on brawl in the middle of breakfast, but instead Maxon storms out of the room. I run after him, shooting a glare at James before exiting.
I manage to catch up to Maxon and grab for his shoulder. "Don't listen to him Maxon, he is just trying to agitate you."
"Well, he is very good at it. I will give him that," Maxon says, shaking his head. "Look, I know you don't love him, but he obviously seems to care about you. Imagine how hard that is for me to see every day, in my own house."
"I get that, but I can't force him to stop. He also doesn't change the way I feel about you," I say, trying to lessen Maxon's anger.
"I just need some time to think. It is ultimately up to you who you choose, if you decide to marry James I will release you from the Selection," Maxon says, giving me a quick kiss on my head before turning and walking down the hall.
I decide to head back to breakfast, and when I renter everyone is staring at me. I quickly head over to my usual spot at the table. May leans into my ear and whispers, "What was that all about?"
I shake my head to tell her that I didn't want to talk about it now. No one talks much for the rest of the breakfast.
We then head to the ballroom to begin setting up for the ball that would be taking place there later that evening. I walk over to the string quartet and discuss some of the pieces they will be playing, and then decide to go to the kitchen to see how the food preparation is going.
When I enter the kitchen I notice a familiar blonde head of hair standing in the corner. I walk over to her and tap her on the shoulder. She turns around, and a giant grin forms once she realizes it's me. Marley grabs my hand and pulls me into one of the nearby pantries.
"Tell me the rumors about you going around the palace aren't true?" Marley questions.
"Which ones?" I ask. There were so many of them that I couldn't even be bothered to remember them all.
"The one about you and Prince James. What does Maxon have to say about all of that?" Marley asks, wiping her flour covered hands on her apron.
"He's not taking it too well. But Marley, I don't have a choice," I plead with her.
"America, stop it right now. This is not the stubborn girl I know and love. If you want to marry Maxon, and not Prince James, then fight for that," she scolds.
"But if I don't marry Prince James, there won't be an alliance between Illea and Spain," I inform her.
"Then try to make another deal with them. You are the most stubborn person I know. If anyone can get a country to agree to an alliance it's you," Marley says.
I pull her into a tight hug. I knew I was friends with this girl for a reason. She laughs as I squeeze her and then shoos me away, telling me, "To go get my prince."
I scurry back up the stairs and run back to my room to think about how I really wanted to go about doing this. Shortly after arriving back to my room I hear a knock on my door. I assume it's May and race over to the door, eager to talk to her about everything that has happened. I whip open the door to find a grinning Kriss on the other side.
"Oh Kriss. Come in," I tell her, opening the door up further for her. She smiles at me graciously and walks over to my vanity and sits in the chair.
"Well America, we promised each other that we would always be honest with each other when it comes to Maxon, and I want to make sure that I keep that promise," she says, while fixing her hair in the mirror.
"Okay..." I reply, looking at her quizzically.
"I just wanted to let you know that you should probably go ahead and marry Prince James," she says, continuing to check herself out in the mirror.
"Oh yeah, and why is that?" I ask, placing my hands on my hips.
"Because Maxon said that he wants to marry me. He said he has to let you marry Prince James, and besides he feels like he can't trust you any more. He said that you would be happy with Prince James, and that he loves me," she says, finally turning around to look at me.
"Get out!" I scream at her, pointing towards the door.
"Oh America, I only wanted to keep our promise," she says, while walking towards the door. As soon as she leaves I slam the door behind her and collapse into a fit of tears onto my bed.
It all made sense, Maxon said he needed time to think. Think about who he was going to marry. He figured that he couldn't have me and that Kriss was the next best thing. Fine, if Maxon didn't care about me enough to fight for me, then there was no need to fight for him. He had clearly moved on, and it was time for me to do the same.
I spent the rest of the day in my room, and no one came to visit me, except my sister, who after trying to engage me in conversation several times left me to myself.
Eventually my maids arrived to get me dressed for the night. I followed their orders in a catatonic state. They tried to question me about what was wrong, but soon gave up after seeing that there was no point.
I barely even noticed the beautiful dress that my maids had created for me. It was light gray with a strapless bodice. The bodice was covered with a lace overlay that went up over my shoulders. The belt was made of pearls and the skirt fanned out to my feet. The bottoms of the dress were also covered with a lace design, and the outfit was paired with silver pumps and pearl earrings. I looked beautiful, but I couldn't care less.
Soon after getting ready it was time for the ball. One of the guards came to my room to escort me down. When we reach the ballroom stairs I take a deep breath before stepping through the doors. For the second time that day everyone's eyes look up at me. I begin my descent down the stairs and when I reach the bottom someone reaches their arm out for me to take. I turn to see James smiling at me, and I can't help but smile back.
He leads me out to the dance floor and spins me around a couple of times. He actually manages to make me look like an adequate dancer, which is very difficult. After we dance for a couple of songs, I am left to dance with many foreign dignitaries, some who are just as bad at dancing as I am. When I finish dancing I notice Nicoletta standing in the corner waving at me. I smile and walk towards her.
She kisses both of my cheeks before pulling me into a hug. "America! How are you? More importantly how is my favorite royal couple?"
"I'm okay. Maxon and I on the other hand are not doing that great," I tell her.
She looks at me, her face filled with concern. "Why? What happened?"
"I will tell you all about it later, but I should go to my table, dinner is about to be served," I say, waving at her as I walk away.
After dinner and dessert, the singer I hired comes onto the stage and begins to perform. May runs up to me telling me how much she loves the singer and how beautiful the ball is. She sits with me for a while, but soon exits to go dance with some Prince or other. When the singer finishes her last song everyone applauds and James takes the stage.
"Sorry to interrupt everyone. America, will you please come up here?" he looks out into the audience for me.
I slowly make my way up onto the stage, wondering why he wanted me up there in the first place. When I reach him he takes my hand and kneels.
"America, you are the most beautiful, caring, and intelligent woman I have ever had the privilege to get to know. Will you marry me?"
I look out at all the people staring at me, hoping to find one face in the crowd. When I finally see him, he is whispering into Kriss' ear, and she is smiling up at him. Maxon really was going to marry Kriss, and here was my one shot to marry a great man. I could be happy with James, it would just take some time, and I had the rest of my life. I turn back towards James.
"Yes, I will marry you."
So there it is. Did it all make sense? Did I rush through it too quickly? Let me know. America said yes, but the story isn't over yet. This doesn't mean she will end up with James in the end, but it also doesn't mean she will end up with Maxon. I hope you liked it! Please review, follow, and favorite. Love ya guys!
SHOUT OUTS!
Kiren: Go ahead, I won't try to stop you. ;) I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thanks for being such a fantastic reviewer and reader!
Blondie115: May is great with helping America get out of her head for a while. And I am glad that you like the story enough to continue reading! Yes, please PM me when you can! That would be awesome! Thanks for being such a faithful reader!
theoneforever: I love the idea for your character. I couldn't really put them in this chapter, but I promise they will be in a future chapter. I hope you liked the chapter!
PEETAMELLARKLOVER123: Yay! I am so happy you liked your character! I am also glad you liked the chapter. I hope you liked this one too. Thanks for being such a great reader and reviewer.
And of course my special shout out to agb1700 who is the best reader and the best PM buddy. Thank you!