"Not one drop of your self-worth depends on your acceptance of me."
Maxon woke up the next morning, instinctively seeking out his wife under the sea of blankets in their bed. He pulled her closer, feeling the swell of their child press into his hip. He studied America's sleeping form as she settled deeper into the mattress and into her husband's arms. As Maxon's eyes started to slip closed again, he felt something hit his hip.
His eyes flashed open and he looked, only to feel the jab again. Realization came upon him and he instantly was overwhelmed with emotion. Tentatively, not wanting to wake America, he spread his palm over her stomach and felt their child move beneath his hand. It only lasted a few minutes but he was finally able to tear his eyes away from his hand and look back at America's face nestled on his shoulder. Her eyes were open and staring deeply into his.
She reached a hand up to wipe a tear off his cheek that he didn't even know was there. "I've been feeling him for a week now but I was never near enough to you or in an appropriate setting for you to feel too," she whispered gently.
He smiled and kissed her. "Him?" he repeated.
"Just a guess. An educated guess from my mother and sister but I really don't have a preference. I suppose a son would be best so we can have an heir." She shrugged again. "And so you can name him Christian." She winked at him.
He laughed and rested his chin on her arm. "We don't have to name him Christian."
"No, I like it. It's grown on me."
"What about Abel?"
She rolled her eyes. "It can be a middle name," she sighed.
He sighed too. "Say we have a little princess. What then? Do you still like Elizabeth?"
"You're the father; you deserve some say in this. I want to know what you think we should name our daughter." She wiggled closer to him.
He opened his mouth to answer when their door creaked open slightly and a furry dog jumped up on the bed. The small black dog squeezed between them and started licking their faces in turn. America squealed, not used to having such affectionate dogs around. "What is this?" she demanded, suppressing her laughter.
"It's my Aunt Adele's dog, Poe. He gets out sometimes." He mussed up the curly hair on the top of Poe's hair. "I guess this morning he's our alarm clock." He sighed and stretched as he sat up. He looked over at America and caught her looking at his scars. He blushed. "What?"
She shook her head. "Nothing. My mom once told me that being beautiful isn't about being flawless, it's about accepting your flaws and being proud of them. I can't help but think of that when I look at you because I do find you quite beautiful."
He blushed even more. "C'mon," he sighed, "time to be King Maxon and Princess America, not just Maxon and America."
"King Maxon and Princess America don't get a honeymoon?" she suddenly asked, following him into the bathroom.
He looked at her sadly. "You never brought it up before so I figured you didn't want to have one." In truth, he had one planned and was smoothing out the final details so he could surprise her on her birthday in a few weeks. She looked disappointed though and he had to work really hard to not tell her his plans then. "I'm sorry. Maybe, after the baby…" he proposed, not wanting to promise her too much.
She nodded and put on a brave smile. "Yeah, you're right," she agreed but she still sounded disappointed.
They got dressed and ready for the day separately. Maxon had a valet to take care of his dressing and morning routine and America had her maids. They still ended up wearing coordinating outfits, America in a deep green dress and Maxon wearing khakis and a matching green sweater over a white collared shirt. They slowly made their way down to breakfast, holding hands and not wanting their wedding night to end. More than once they ducked in a room to fulfill their desires briefly.
When they walked into the Dining Hall, everyone stood and curtsied or bowed to them. America still hadn't grown accustomed to that kind of greeting and blushed lightly. They took their seats at opposite ends of the table, as was the custom. America beamed, watching her family and Maxon's family socialize and form a bond that would hopefully last for centuries.
Queen Amberly was sitting to America's left and as they were eating the various courses, she whispered, "I know that you are entertaining your family and friends but I was hoping to meet with some advisers today concerning those plans you had for the education of lower castes."
"Oh, of course. We need to get working now on the budgets and funding if we want to have everything set and ready to go for the school year starting in August," America agreed.
Amberly took a sip of tea. "And how are your plans for Gregory's Day?" she asked. One of the first things she had learned as Princess was that the national holiday, Gregory's Day, took months of preparation. It was still a good five months away but the day always was celebrated with massive parties, parades, and concerts. Typically the royal family would attend magnificent feasts and galas in each province, touring the country for weeks until finally culminating in the grandest ball of the country in Angeles at the palace but America and Maxon decided to forego tradition. They quickly did the math and realized that they'd either have a small child to take care of right around that time or she would be heavily pregnant.
"Well, I was thinking, in honor of our most recent alliances with Italy, we invite their royal family here and have a huge Italian festival. We could invite our other allies such as the German Federation and Swiss-Austria. We hold it out in the gardens, with the Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra playing and some Italian musicians. Food, the finest wines…Maxon loves the idea," America informed the queen. "I'll try to have everything planned and settled a few weeks beforehand because who knows when the baby will arrive."
Her mother-in-law laughed and they both looked down the other end of the table to Maxon. He was talking to his father-in-law and caught them staring. He smiled at America and tugged his ear. She tugged hers back. They didn't do it as a sign of communication anymore as much as they just did it as a sign of affection.
"There's something else I'd like to discuss with you, Queen Amberly," America prompted. She noticed from her side that her mother was watching her proudly. "I was wondering if we could perhaps promote Marlee Tames as well as Carter Woodwork. I believe they are both very deserving of a better position."
Amberly considered. "Have you spoken to Maxon about it?"
"Only in passing. But I know he'll support it," she said confidently. "I know that what they did was wrong but they are in love. They deserve to be happy and have a good life, even as Sixes."
"I'll consider it but that's all I'm promising. You see America, I know how dearly you care for Marlee but if you make exceptions for her you'll have to make exceptions for everyone. I understand that they both work very hard in their jobs but like I said, they have to be punished." She glanced at Maxon again, who was reading a newspaper that had just been delivered to him. "My son has been lenient enough with them. First sparing their lives, then allowing them to be Sixes, not Eights. They should be more than content."
America nodded. A maid put a newspaper down in front of both her and Queen Amberly. "Miss Turner, I actually would like some of my work folders. If you could bring down my folder on the tenement projects and give this newspaper to my father. He would appreciate it. Thank you." The maid bobbed a quick curtsy.
Maxon laughed loudly as he stood and shook my father's hand, tucking his newspaper under his arm. He walked down to America's end of the table, stopping occasionally to mess with his young cousins. He finally reached America and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead, a kiss on the lips being inappropriate in the public setting. "I have to get to work," he whispered to her, rubbing her hand. "Will you be along as well?"
She nodded. "Yes, I'll see you at noon for our budget meeting."
He laughed. "Whoopee," he said sarcastically, smiling anyway.
The budget meeting went smoothly, the advisers finally getting used to Maxon's new ideas of how to run the country. He ran the meeting with little protests and fanfare and America was more proud of him with every minute that passed in the meeting.
Following the meeting, they reconvened in Maxon's study. He locked the door behind him and immediately grabbed her in his arms, pushing her against the bookshelves roughly and kissing her passionately. She twisted her fingers into her hair and pulled back for him to kiss down her neck. "Working the day after your wedding sucks," she whispered.
He laughed and his fingers brushed the top of the zipper to her dress. "Agreed," he grumbled into her neck.
"We shouldn't do this. Not here."
"The door is locked and no one can enter without my permission. If they do, I can have them hanged," he laughed and pulled her even closer. "Good day beautiful."
"Good day handsome," she whispered back.
Okay, I lied before but really mean it now when I say there's three to four chapters left!...okay maybe five. Lol, anyway, please review…and only positive stuff please!
