Are you excited to graduate? - I mean, anyone that goes to college after high school has to be excited to graduate!

Do you watch Sherlock or Dr. Who? - Nope

Are you going to see Divergent in theatres? - Jury's out on that one. I may just wait for a website I know to put it up and that'll probably be in a couple days.


"May my heart be kind, my mind fierce and my spirit brave."


America leaned against the cold stone wall of the waiting room of the infirmary, arms crossed over her torso, one of her hands clutching a coffee mug in a white-knuckled grip. Gerad had been in the hospital for hours – she had lost track of all time – as the doctors worked furiously to save his life. The outlook was unclear when Dr. Mackey initially looked at him and they hadn't heard anything since.

She looked over at her parents who were sitting in a couple chairs with Kota helping to comfort their mom. Kenna was pretending to be asleep with her head on James's shoulder. May was sitting and staring at the floor. Maxon came walking around the corner suddenly, walking through the open doors of the waiting room to meet his wife.

He clutched her elbow in his hand warmly. "Any update?" he asked. She shook her head and looked away from him. "The maids had no idea about the drink being poisoned."

"Maxon, you gave his seat to him," she said quietly, looking at the floor.

He nodded. "I know and I know what that means. He's still alive though, okay? And I've survived poison before so I'm sure I would have been fine."

"It was a different blood type transfused to yours. That's completely different," she said bitterly.

"You should get off your feet," he urged, tugging on her but she shook his hand off.

"I'm fine." She lifted her gaze to May. Her sister didn't look remorseful or worried. She looked scared. Scared that someone would discover her secret. Every ounce of America wanted to grab May by the hair and pull her up, demanding answers.

Maxon picked up on the shift in America's mood. "Everything okay?"

"Not here."

He laughed darkly, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "America, that's what you told me at dinner. What on earth is going on that you can't talk to me now?"

She finally met his eyes. "Maxon," she barked, interrupting him. "Not. Here."

Dr. Mackey finally walked out of the infirmary, looking at the group assembled in front of him. James shook Kenna to wake her up and everyone stood, waiting to hear what Dr. Mackey had to say. He motioned for everyone to sit down but no one moved. Only May stayed sitting down, still staring at the floor. "Gerad is stable, for now. We're going to have to monitor him closely for the next several days and unfortunately we have to limit visitors to just his parents. I'm sorry."

"What do you mean that he's stable for now?" Mr. Singer asked, knowing everyone was wondering the same thing.

Dr. Mackey nodded, as if he was prepared for that question. "We have extracted the poison but there's no telling how it has affected his overall health. It spread quickly to his organs. He'll probably be bedridden for months with symptoms similar to the flu. We'll have to flush his lungs regularly as the toxins build up inside."

Mr. Singer nodded as his wife moved closer to him, clutching his side like a lifeline. "Thank you Doctor," he said warmly, extending his hand. America could see from where she was that it was shaking a little.

Dr. Mackey shook his hand and walked back inside the infirmary. Everyone looked at each other and sighed in relief. Kenna walked up to America and pulled on her hand. "We need to talk," she whispered to her younger sister.

"Agreed," America said, leading Kenna up to her bedroom where no one would bother them.

Once inside with the door shut tight, Kenna wrapped her sweater tight around her small body and faced her sister. "Ames, Gerad was sitting in Maxon's seat."

America nodded and waved her off. "I know. I thought of that as soon as Gerad fell." She ran a hand through her hair, suppressing the urge to throw up. "We both know, though, that we aren't here to point out the fact that someone was trying to kill my husband."

"You knew. You knew something was wrong. I saw your face, I heard you yell to him." She narrowed her eyes at America. "How'd you know?"

"Ken, I don't want to say it. Saying it just makes it more real."

Kenna took her sister's hand. "Ames, say it. It was May, right?"

America shook her head, not knowing how to respond. "I saw her lift her cup but she didn't take an actual drink."

"So her drink was poisoned too?" Kenna asked, her eyes slowly widening. "Oh. Oh. You were supposed to sit there. But then why didn't she fight when you and Maxon let them sit there?"

She shrugged, not knowing any of the answers. "Why would she want to kill us?" America asked.

"You don't know that she does. Maybe someone is motivating her."

"Whatever the reason is, we need to figure out if there's a connection to Amberley and put a stop to this right away."

Maxon walked in the door, holding a stack of papers in his hand. "We have a problem," he announced, handing over the document. "Amberley just passed a bill to get the castes reorganized."

"What?" America exclaimed.

"Yeah, she had the first caste rearranged to just include the king and queen and any princes or princesses. Our families are all Threes now."

Kenna gasped. "Threes? Not even Twos?"

"Why would she do this?" America asked her. "We were just about to eliminate the castes."

Maxon nodded. "I know. That's why she did this. It's a power play. She knows that any bill passed looks like it's always passed by me even though sometimes they're not. The people are expecting a caste change and this is what it is. It makes me look cruel and selfish, cutting my family out."

"But that's her family too."

He was already shaking his head. "She's rallying support. Those that are mad don't know what they're supporting but they're upset; they want to fight. If she keeps doing this, we could have a full-scale revolution on our hands in a matter of days."

Kenna frowned. "That's not fair though. Isn't there a way for you to make an announcement? Tell the people that this wasn't your idea?"

"It'd be just words to them. Besides, it would make it sound like I don't have control over my own country," Maxon explained. "No, there's only one thing left to do and you're not going to like it."

"What?" America asked. But she already knew what he was talking about. "Maxon, do what you have to do to overturn her power. I'm fine."

He sighed. "I don't want to be a dictator Ames."

"You wouldn't be a dictator. You'd just have absolute power and there's nothing wrong with that if it's only temporary. Okay?" She could tell he still didn't want to do this though. "Maxon, do it."

He nodded. "It'll take a couple days."

"Not everyone will know by then. You can still repeal it then."

Tugging on her hand suddenly, he pulled her toward him and kissed her, leaning his forehead against hers for a few moments. Then he pulled away. "Kenna, if this doesn't work, you all will be reimbursed."

She shook her head. "Don't worry about it Maxon. We don't need the money we're already getting. Just take care of your country and leave America to us."

He quickly left and America watched him. "This is the right thing to do," she said quietly, trying to convince herself mostly.

"Yep," Kenna agreed.

Hope you guys liked it! After reading your reviews and messages, it seems like it's about 50/50 over the length of this story. so keep reviewing and telling me! Thanks so much for the support guys!

P.S. am I the only one completely obsessed with Frozen? I watched it for the first time a couple weeks ago and I am absolutely in love with ALL OF IT. it really is a problem.