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Chapter Twenty

Once she had left, I approached Valleree. Her body was slumped.

"Are you okay?" I murmured. I reached out to give her a hug.

She straightened, pulling away from me. My hands fell to my sides. "I'm fine," she said stiffly. "It just really drains my energy when I have to do everything I can so I don't scratch out her stupid eyes and pull out her stupid fake hair."

I laughed lightly, but I was still a little shaken up. Why had Lady Jewel even been here? Why had she been so mad, and why was she so angry about leaving? All of this was giving me an uneasy feeling, but I tried to push it away.

"So you weren't exaggerating when you told me how horrible she is," I said to Valleree as we head back into the main house, looking to find Gerad and Chelsey.

Valleree snorted. "You thought I was exaggerating? Well, as you can see, I wasn't. Gosh, vampires and zombies could take lessons from her." She scowled. "If she shows up at the Palace or here again, I swear I'm going to sound the alarm," Valleree pledged. "Oh, no, Lady Jewel is here! Get the guards! Protect the king! Shield the children from her horrible face full of cakey makeup!"

I laughed again, but this time it was genuine. Valleree always has a way of cheering me up.

"Why are you here?" She asked me.

I wanted to say that I missed all of them, and that I've been so lonely, and I miss Maxon so much. I wanted to to tell her how I was worried about my brother, and I didn't want another person I loved to leave me. I wanted to say that I felt like everyone was slowly drifting away from me - all my friends were out and about, traveling, Maxon was in another country, and I could feel Queen Amberly starting to give up. She was so tired, and I was just beginning to feel close to her…

Instead, I just shrugged. "My brother wanted to have a look around."

"Your brother?" Valleree's eyes were wide as we climbed up the grand staircase. "That guard was your brother?" She laughed. "He's grown a lot, America. Or at least he sounded a lot younger in your stories."

I shook my head, hiding a smile. "Yeah, I suppose he is getting big now."

"Big? He's nearly a foot taller than Chelsey," Valleree chuckled, then paused. "Speaking of Chelsey…" She smirked. "Don't tell me you didn't notice the googly eyes he had when he looked at her." She raised her eyebrows. "He's not going to break Chelsey's heart, is he?" Valleree too, had heard stories of my brother's many, many, girlfriends. I had no idea how Gerad had gotten any of them to date him, but he was never happy with them. He broke up with every single one of them.

I shrugged. "I'd be more worried about Chelsey breaking his heart. I've never seen him so infatuated. And so quickly too…"

Valleree sighed. "There's so much drama. You'd think, after awhile, that things would calm down…" She smiled. "I guess there's no hope for that, huh?"

I smiled slyly. "With you around, there's never going to be any hope of peace."

Valleree swatted at me, but I ducked. We were laughing as we entered Chelsey's honorary bedroom - she didn't live here, but we fondly called it hers.

We both stopped laughing when we entered and saw the scene before us. Gerad was sitting hesitantly on the bed, staring at Chelsey while she paced the floor. She was muttering words that were not very kind to Jewel, but she stopped and looked up when we came in. Her eyes were rimmed with red from tears, but from her face she just looked mad. Her face softened when she saw us.

"Hey," she greeted. "Gerad helped me unpack," she said, pointing to the dresser.

Valleree went to give Chelsey a hug, so I sat on the couch with Gerad. As Chelsey and Valleree talked, I turned to Gerad.

"Was she shaken up?" I asked in a low voice.

Gerad shook his head with a small smile. "More angry than upset. She didn't have many kind words for Lady Jewel." I giggled. Gerad paused. "Although she did start crying when I offered to help her unpack." His brow furrowed. "Girls are weird," he muttered.

I smiled, elbowing him. "You'd think you would've picked up on that by now."

Gerad smirked. "Don't worry, I still think you're the weirdest of them all," he shot back.

Before I could respond snarkily, Valleree came up to me. "Wanna stay the night? It'll be you, me, and Chelsey."

I nodded. "Sure. But I'll need to go pack and assign someone to takeover Mallory's break from Prince Chase."

Valleree asked, "You still watch Prince Chase?"

I nodded. "It's boring without you guys there," I admitted. "I needed something to do."

"Besides being head of all the maids in the entire Palace?" Valleree said with raised brow. "I think you're just missing Maxon."

Gerad stood up. "Why would America miss Maxon?" He asked with a frown. "She's the Prince's nanny."

Valleree's eyes widened, realizing her slip up. "Well, they work together a lot. And Maxon's been gone awhile. We all miss him." She nudged Chelsey, who grimaced. "Right Chelsey?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure."

Gerad was doubtful, but he just shook his head. "Okay, fine. You're not telling me, but I'll find out." He smirked at me. "I'll always find out."

I scrunched up my nose. "Whatever. Now you're just being creepy." I looked to Valleree. "I'll just go assign someone to replace me as Chase's nanny for tonight and then I'll be back."

"I'll go for you," Chelsey offered. "I am Head Maid after all, now that I'm back." She smiled. "Now you can go back to being Chase's full time Nanny." I opened my mouth to refuse, but she insisted. "No, really, I'll go. I have some friends I want to see anyway."

Valleree gasped dramatically. "You have other friends besides us?"

Chelsey laughed. "Yep. Unlike you, I have a life."

I laughed with her, but Valleree pouted.

"You guys are so mean," she complained. "That hurt my soul."

We laughed again, and then Chelsey grabbed her small bag. "I'll be right back."

"I'll go with you," Gerad, who had been silent, suddenly stepped forward. His eyes were bright with eagerness. Valleree shot me an amused look. "I think my break is done."

I looked at him. "You told me you haven't started actual work yet."

Gerad narrowed his eyes at me. "Well I'm sure my supervisor will want me back."

Chelsey smiled, oblivious to Gerad's obvious flirtatious endeavours. "Sure, you can come." She headed out, and Gerad followed after her, but not before shooting me an angry look.

Once they had gone, Valleree laughed. "He's gonna get you for that, Singer."

I shook my head, smiling. "He'll forget about it as soon as they start talking. His thoughts will be filled with Chelsey, Chelsey, and Chelsey."

"Well, I hope neither of them gets hurt." Valleree commented.

I sighed, thinking of my brother - practically my only sibling left. "Me too."

(ONE WEEK LATER)

Now that she had returned, Chelsey was back to running the maids' activity at the Palace, and I returned to my job as Chase's nanny. Chelsey let me keep Mallory as an assistant, so I spent more and more time with the blonde woman, and we soon became good friends.

I hadn't heard any news of Maxon coming back, but Veronikka wrote to Valleree, saying that she would return sometime that day! I was very excited, but I knew she would be leaving the next in two days. The only reason Lady Veronikka was allowed to come back was to work out some arrangements with Maxon's other advisors who had stayed at the Palace. At first, I was excited. I couldn't wait to see her again. But Veronikka never mentioned anything about Maxon coming back with her. Was he going to stay in New Asia? And if so, for how long?

I felt so selfish ignoring the return of my friend for someone else, but I couldn't help myself. I desperately wanted to see Maxon. I wanted to throw my arms around him and tell him how much I missed him. But I didn't dare send him a letter. I couldn't muster up the courage to do it, and besides, there was no point. As a maid, I couldn't send my own letter across the world. Unlike Valleree, whose high status allowed her all the information from Lady Veronikka, I didn't have the privilege. I almost asked Valleree to send it to Maxon under her name, but it felt too personal. I knew she would be happy to, but it made me feel uncomfortable every time I realized just how different we were. She was a Two; I was a Six. Even Chelsey, a fellow maid, was higher in status as Head Maid. They were still my best friends, I knew, but I was embarrassed. Sometimes the only person I felt comfortable with was Mallory. She didn't tell me much of her past, but she was content and happy - and she made me feel safe, and regular, like everything was fine.

I wished more than anything that everything was fine.

I knew Veronikka was coming around noon, so Valleree, Chelsey and I agreed to meet at the front entrance to greet her when she arrived. Keahnna had sent her love and apologies, but she was still away traveling.

As I left Chase with Mallory that morning, I hummed to myself, finally excited for something. My friend was coming back!"Do my ears deceive me, or is that the lullaby Mom would sing to us when we were little?"

I turned to the sound of voice and was met with the sight of my beaming brother.

He was right - that was the short little melody Mom would sing to us when we were kids. But instead of responding, I smacked him - hard - on the shoulder.

"Ow!" he complained, though I knew it didn't really hurt - he was nearly twice my size. "What was that for?"

"For not seeing me in a week." After surprising me a week ago at the bakery, I hadn't seen my little brother since. A nagging thought in the back of my mind thought that there was the tiniest chance that he was hurt. I hadn't worried too much since I assumed I would get a little warning, but I was disappointed I hadn't gotten to spend time with him. What was the point of him being here at the Palace with me if I never even saw him?

He sighed. "Yeah, sorry about that." He ran a hand through his hair, and in the corner of my eye I noticed a maid's eyes widening as she blushed when we passed. I rolled my eyes, but Gerad didn't even notice.

"Turns out I wasn't supposed to be off Palace grounds," he admitted guiltily, then shot me a look. "Or even out of training quarters, either. So, yeah, I basically got grounded. Thanks a lot for getting me in trouble," he finished, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

I smiled, batting my lashes. "You're very welcome."

He scoffed, and I laughed. "You couldn't have gotten grounded that long," I commented to him. "What's the real reason I haven't seen you?" I pressured teasingly.

He eyed me, his brows creased. "How'd you know there was something else?" he asked in wonderment, but suspiciously.

"Know what?"

Looking around, Gerad quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side, out of the way.

"What's the big secret?" I asked in bewilderment.

He shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal, but I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to be telling you this." He shot me a smile. "I've been stationed as a guard at the Palace, y'know, but I've been doing actual work outside of Palace grounds. They've needed backup in citizens' areas," he said in a low voice.

My eyes widened. "For what?"Gerad's mouth formed a grim line. "They're called raiders. They attack citizens - whoever they want to - and steal personal items from them. After knocking them out." My younger brother winced. "There's been so many attacks, the city's needed more security."

I sighed. "That's horrible. Have you caught them all?"

Gerad shrugged. "It's really hard. They're just regular people, America." His brow creased. "They blend in, and usually they're from lower castes. It's hard to tell them apart, since they're usually pretty dirty and dressed in rags… Not to mention the lower castes have the largest population, making it difficult to choose specific people in a big city." He frowned. "I caught a careless one of them, when I was undercover." I almost laughed, thinking of my little brother working undercover, but his grim face kept me grounded. This was serious.

"The person I caught was a Seven, I think," he thought to himself, "and she looked starved - like really hungry. Her eyes were all big and wide, and…" Gerad shook his head. "Raiders are cruel, but they're not like the rebels. The rebels have more support, and money. Raiders just want a better life - they're desperate." His voice had sympathy, and I looked at him with concern.

"Is this why you hate the monarchy now?" I accused.

Gerad shushed me, his eyes wide. "OK, first of all, I never said I hate the monarchy," he whispered. "Second, keep your voice down." He sighed. "And third… well, you can understand why these people would be unhappy, America, can't you? We were always complaining when we were little."

I swallowed. "We acted like selfish brats, Gerad. It might've been hard, but others had it harder."

My little brother gave a small sad smile. "Exactly. Can you imagine how desperate those people are to attack and steal? Sometimes kidnap?" He shook his head. "It's horrible." He saw my upset face. "I'm not going to become a rebel, America." He told me quickly. "I couldn't put you and Mom through that. Not after everything." He shrugged. "Illea's not perfect, but I think it's better than the chaos of no castes."

I didn't agree with that, but I was deeply relieved that he wasn't planning to run off and join the rebels. I couldn't handle that. Like he said, it would be too much after everything that had happened.

But still, I was conflicted - I saw both sides of the argument if I was honest. A couple years ago, if someone asked me if the monarchy could use some improving, I would have said yes, definitely. And while they could definitely use some improving now, with all that was happening, I didn't blame the monarchy as much as I did the people. Yes, the monarchy suppressed people and shut them into little boxes of containment, and that was wrong, but Maxon, at least, thought that was the best that could be it, though? I asked myself. You know how hard it is as a Five, and a Six - imagine how hard it is for a Seven or Eight. Surely anything could be better than nothing.

Shaking my head slightly to clear my thoughts, I looked to my younger brother with a small smile. "You have a lot of perspective," I commented. "But everything is really confusing, Gerad."

He smiled. "That's life, though - we may seem like we have everything under control, but one thing can shake up our whole world."

"When did you get so smart?" I teased.

He laughed and winked. "All that time I resisted art when I was little, I was either kicking a ball around or reading." His smile lessened slightly.

"You're still not as happy as you could be, are you?" I asked softly.

"No. But I'm happy enough." He smiled, and gave me a quick hug. "I've got to go, America. But I have a break later today, so I'll talk to you later."

I smiled, an idea springing into my mind. "Why don't you ask Chelsey to go on a walk or something?"

Gerad's eyes widened, but I could see the hopefulness. "Do you think she'd like to?"

"I'm sure she'd be happy too. Just ask later," I advised with a smile. "We're going to see Veronikka arrive, and probably have lunch or something."

He nodded, and quickly pecked the top of my head. "Thanks, Ames. See you later." He waved good-bye and he went down the hallway, and I turned the other way and I headed to the front of the Palace.

Veronikka was about to arrive.

Commotion was already spreading through the Palace, and it wasn't even noon yet. Maids and butlers waited at the front entrance of the Palace. Some looked out through windows, and others stood right outside.

I met up with Valleree and Chelsey, and then, with them at my heels, quickly pushed my way to the front - the top of the marble steps at the entrance to the Palace. There was a driveway at the bottom of the steps, and that was where everyone expected Veronikka's RGT vehicle to pull up.

"Why is everyone so eager to see Lady Veronikka?" I asked in confusion to my two friends once we had gotten to the front. At least twenty to thirty people were lingering at the top of the steps. Most of the crowd, too, were maids and butlers, which surprised me.

Chelsey smiled. "There hasn't been this much excitement since they left. People miss it," she shrugged. "Plus, Veronikka's a people's person. Almost everyone knows her."

Valleree nodded as I mulled that over. "Yeah, remember how I told you how she tries to remember everyone's names?" she laughed, looking over at Chelsey. "Hey, remember that one time-" Before she could recount what funny thing had happened, the crowd stopped its chattering and some began to clap.

An expensive car was pulling up in front of the Palace. Chelsey clapped and Valleree whooped as the chauffeur came out and around the car to open the door. Veronikka came out with a gracious smile, but as her friend I could recognize the exhaustion in her eyes. With a deep breath, she looked up at the bright blue sky - it was a pretty day in Angeles, as usual - and smiled.

I watched as another woman stepped out of the car, with a guard by her side. At first I thought the petite woman was someone from New Asia, just because of her petite, pretty, and fair looks. Then I recognized the face as someone I had seen around the Palace, and realized it was Sofya, another advisor who had accompanied King Maxon because she had roots in New Asia.

Veronikka caught my eye again. She was waving at the people at the top of the steps, and saw me and our friends. Her smile brightened. I grinned back as her chauffeur, holding two suitcases himself, handed Veronikka her handbag.

She quickly turned to him and with a quick smile began conversing with him, probably saying thank you for the ride, and other nice things I probably wouldn't bother saying if I was her (if I'm being honest… I mean, I'd probably dash up the stairs to my friends immediately).

"Why are waiting up here?" Valleree scoffed. "Let's go meet her!" With that, she bolted down the steps.

Chelsey and I exchanged a look, smiled, shrugged, and then followed Valleree's lead. With my longer legs, I was faster than Chelsey, and I was so excited that I skipped three steps and nearly fell on my face.

"Veronikka!" I called out as she turned away from talking with the chauffeur. Her eyes lit up again when she saw Valleree, Chelsey, and me.

Her eyes glistened as she gave us each a hug. "Oh, I missed you all so much! You have no idea!" She squealed. I smiled and returned her hug. Her hugs were always warm and fuzzy - I felt better already.

She introduced Sofya to me, even though I already knew her. Sofya seemed nice, but she quickly excused herself to go greet some other friends.

I looked around to see if anyone else had come. I didn't admit it to myself, but I hoped Maxon was here. He wasn't of course. Or else Veronikka would've told me. I told myself not to think about it, but, lo and behold, the unbearable thought that had been buried deep inside resurfaced now. Maxon wouldn't be coming back anytime soon. And if he was coming back, a part of me worried. New Asia was dangerous. They weren't our enemies anymore, but they weren't our friends either. What if something happened? What Maxon wasn't allowed to leave? Or what if New Asia will pressure Maxon into making a treaty that's not good for Illea?

My most worrisome fear - even if a bit selfish - is that Maxon will have changed. I sometimes can't sleep at night I when I think that Maxon may come back and have realized he doesn't love me. Maybe I've changed too much for him. What if our relationship falls apart again, just like it's done before? What if I don't get happily ever after?

And then I think, maybe I don't deserve a happily ever after. Maybe Maxon and I - together - just isn't meant to be. He's the king, I'm a maid. How on Earth could that pairing possibly work out, or even be allowed?

I was shaken out of my thoughts when I realized Veronikka was talking. "Doesn't that sound like fun?" she asked cheerfully.

Valleree and Chelsey nodded along, but I just stared. "Uh, sure," I said awkwardly, feeling bad that I hadn't been listening to my friend after she had been gone for months.

Veronikka just laughed. "I missed you," she said fondly. "And you have to tell me everything about the ball, and what's happened since, and oh," she sighed. "That's why we're going on a picnic." She clapped her hands.

Chelsey nodded. "I'm going to ask a couple chefs to pack us a lunch."

Veronikka nodded, and said, "I think I'm going to unpack."

Valleree offered her help, but I excused myself to go find Mallory and tell her I would need a longer break. I was sure she wouldn't mind. We all promised to be ready to meet in half an hour.

END OF CHAPTER TWENTY