All rights to Kiera Cass. This book is designed to make story edits that largely follow the original plot. So even in the edited parts it is often largely Cass's writing.

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Author's note: Noehe is pronounced like "no" than the letter "E" or "ey" sound. It's derived from the name "Noah", which is now isn't popular name, and generally thought of as a name of former generations. Analogous we may think of Roslin.

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CHAPTER 8

I WATCHED AS THE PALACE was transformed. Almost overnight, lush Christmas trees lined the hallways of the first floor, garlands were strung down the stairways, and all the floral arrangements were changed to include holly or mistletoe. The strange thing was, if I opened my window, it still felt like the edge of summer outside. I wondered if the palace could somehow manufacture snow.

(edit)

I saw many of my Garden Gremlins helping to set up decorations. I guess that would be their job for now.

In the women's room that afternoon the queen was silently doing needlework as the elite were discussing our favorite parts about Christmas. Kriss loved how everyone always came together; Celeste, of course, loved the excuse to throw a big party; Elise loved getting to see her extended family. I was telling them how I loved decorating the tree when the door to the women's room creeped open. I saw one little girl with chocolate skin and another with cookie colored skin, slip into the room. Oh no.

"America, America" Meght called running to me as soon as she spotted me. Abigail was taking her time walking in the room, taking in how big it is.

Out of instinct I got down on Meght's height. I could tell she had been crying a bit. "What's wrong my little gremlin." I asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I got a splinter." She explained holding up her finger, "I wanted you to take it out, but Abby and I got lost and couldn't find you." I gave her a hug.

"You know you really aren't supposed to come in here." I looked to the queen and she seemed to understand who they were and nodded, "But the harm has been done, let me take a look at that finger."

The other girls were watching me closely. Clearly confused on who these kids are. I ignored the looks. Meght's splinter wasn't that deep so it should be easy to take out. I moved across the room to look through the cabinet with some basic medical supplies.

Abigail, however, had finished examining the room and ran over to the elite. "Hi I'm Abigail!". I looked back in time to see the girls' still puzzled looks.

Meght saw the chance for attention and jumped. "And I'm Meght! Do you want to see my cartwheel?"

"Meght no cartwheeling inside. Besides, don't you have a splinter in your hand?" I called back to her. Still looking for the tweezers.

"Okay." She replied sadly, "But I could have done it one handed. I am practicing to be a ninja ballerina."

The girls and the queen all politely laughed at that.

Abigail ran up to Celeste. "Wow, your hair is so pretty!"

"Thank you." She replied in a tone that declared she already knew.

"Do you have a hair brush?! I've always wanted one of my own." I turned around to see the look on Celeste's face and it was almost startled. As a two I'm sure she grew up showered in whatever she wanted. A hairbrush never would have crossed her mind as something to be desired, but at the garden we only have two hairbrushes for everyone. There is very little that any of the kids had as their own.

"Um yes I do." Her voice was the most humble I had ever heard.

"Wow! That must be amazing. You can brush your hair whenever you want and have it all smooth…" Abigail was almost daydreaming. She loved brushing her hair and was one of the few who chose to keep it long. Most felt it was just too much of a hassle.

I returned to the group with the tweezers and ointment. "Okay Meght time to take the splinter out." I picked her up and sat her on my lap, trying to carefully grab the splinter.

Elise finally asked the question everyone was thinking. "So, who are you girls?"

I glanced at the queen. Neither of the girls said anything, they knew they weren't supposed to answer that question. The queen looked at them then sighed. "Can you keep a secret?" The Elite looked to each other. "If not tell me now because many lives rely on you keeping it."

The Elite all agreed and the queen responded, "These are two of the Eights from the garden Lady America made. All of them were brought to the castle and will remain here until there is no longer a threat to the Elites' families." I finally got the splinter out and put Meght down.

It seemed as though Kriss and Elise looked at them completely differently, but Celeste still looked not quite herself.

"Well it's nice to meet you." Kriss acknowledged the girls.

"It's nice to meet you too!" Abigail shot back.

"Wait!" Meght exclaimed, putting her little hands in the air. "We don't know your names."

"These are the other girls who remain in the selected: Celeste, Kriss, and Elise." I told them pointing at the girls. Their little eyes got so wide. They clearly didn't know they had been talking to selected girls. "And this is Queen Amerberly." I pointed at the queen.

Meght and Abigail froze looking at each other. "Abby," Meght whispered loud enough so we could all hear. "It's the Queen!" The Elite's were covering their mouths trying not to laugh at the goofy little girls.

"What do we do!" Abigail loudly whispered back.

"I think we're supposed to get down?" Meght tried. Both girls got down and laid on their stomachs. We all lost it. They were trying so hard, but failing in the cutest ways.

I came to their rescue. "Little Gremlins you don't have to lay all the way to the ground. Just do a curtsy or take knee like this." I showed them, and they copied.

Remembering what I said to Maxon yesterday Abigail tried, "Your Magicsty." It was so cute none of us corrected her.

"Thank you Meght and Abigail."

They got up and were bouncing in excitement.

"I had an idea." The queen proclaimed. "How about you tell the other girls from the garden that the queen invited them to the women's room and we can have a girls day."

They beamed at each other, "Can the boys come too?" Abigail asked.

"Well this is the women's room and it wouldn't be much of a girl day with boys. We'll do something fun with them another time." They nodded and ran out to deliver the message.

I laughed a little, "At the garden we never segregated anything by gender so this is a completely forgein idea to them."

"Nothing. What about to sleep, or for baths." Elise asked.

"They bathed in the river and we only had one shed everyone cramped into. In general we didn't have enough supplies to segregate it, and they are young enough that it didn't matter. So we didn't." I responded.

"I can't imagine having that little." Celeste spoke up for the first time in a while. "She was so mesmerised by the idea of having a hair brush. I had twelve by the time I was three and never thought twice about it."

It was silent for a moment. "I get it." Kriss finally said. "I spent five minutes with two of them and I already would burn down the world if I thought it would make it better for them. You spent years with over sixty of them. How you are so restrained, I don't know."

"Anyone who watched you with them would have no doubt you're a princess." Elise said quietly. "Not just that you would make a good one. You already are a princess, just without the crown."

My mouth failed to work for several seconds. For the first time in the whole competition I felt the other girls may get just a little bit of where I was coming from. I looked at the queen, hoping she would help me know what to say, but she just smiled at me. I opened my mouth managing to squeeze words out, "Well. Generally, I do try to burn the world down."

They laughed a bit remembering my report. "I should warn you about a few things, however. First, while these kids have gone through a lot and they are eights they do not want your pity. They want to be respected and treated like you would any other kids. And secondly, they kids can get pretty crazy, and they aren't used to being trapped indoors. For most of them this is the longest they have ever been inside, so I am not entirely sure how this will go."

On that note the door opened and eleven little girls, plus Lyla, poured in. Lyla was desperately trying to contain the chaos. "Garden Gremlins we need to bow to the queen." She demonstrated and they copied. So far it was going better than I expected.

The queen stood and said. "Thank you. I was hoping to offer you girls my hospitality and engage in some activities."

Most of the girls looked confused and Lyla explained, "She wants to fancy play."

They immediately perked up and Nikkey yelled out, "Can we braid hair?" While most of the girls hair wasn't much longer than shoulder length, many had curly hair making french braids practical and worn a lot. Fancier hair styles, however, were almost never done.

"That sounds like a great idea." The queen smiled. By the way she looked at all the little girls I could see how desperately she had wanted a daughter. It seems that today she has decided to injudgle herself, just a bit.

We had maids bring water, hair ties, and hairbrushes. All the garden girls were almost scared to touch the things brought out. They were so nice and expensive looking that they knew that a single hair brush was worth more than everything they had ever had in their lives combined.

The girls got to work on each other's hair and the outcomes looked amazing. Meght had her kinky hair in twelve small braids around her head released into a puff. Nikkey got her short, straight, black hair braided in three small french braids on one side. Abigail had her long, waist length, wavy blonde hair styled by Celeste. Celeste put in two french braids leading into high pigtails that made Abigail shake her head in joy. Reba's hair is auburn and a few inches longer than shoulder length. She got two smaller french braids that lead into a pigtail braid on both sides, with little wispies left out in the front. I could see her trying to remember how to do it so she could wear it again. Lyla got two braids in front to frame her face, leaving her loose orange curls free.

It took a couple of hours to get through all the girls hair and they couldn't stop looking at themselves in the mirror. They were still in their eight's clothing -oversized, heavy, tattered- but they were clean with their hair done, and it was definitely different.

Reba had characteristically snuck off from the group and was curled up in a corner, nose in a book she found. While the rest of the girls were goofing around with the selected, the queen went over to Reba and crouched beside her. I was close enough that I could hear them.

"Hi there. Found a good book?" Reba nodded. "What did you choose?"

She showed the queen the cover

"The Secret Garden." The Queen playfully gasped, "Do you like to read?"

Reba brought her eyes to the queens. No small feet for the shy little girl meeting someone for the first time. "I have read most of the books in the library at home, but I have never seen this one before."

"That's probably because it is over two hundred years old." Reba's eyes got so wide. "Do you like it?" The queen continued.

"I think it's the best book I've ever read." She replied quietly.

"Then it's yours."

"Really!" I could hear the hesitant excitement in voice.

"Yes. And if you wish we can have tea when you finish to discuss the book. The Secret Garden is one of my favorites."

"I would like that. None of the other kids likes books as much as me." The queen smiled at her and returned to the bunch. I couldn't help but smile. Reba barely would talk that much with people she knew, usually if there was a new person she would hardly say a word. But the queen had made a connection.

"Can we read a book?" Lissy asked.

Lyla looked to the queen for permission who nodded, "Yes, let's read a book."

All the girls gathered around and Lyla pulled one off the shelf. "Those are all in Spanish." Kriss warned.

Lyla flipped through the book, "That's okay I can translate." They agreed on a short story about monsters who aren't really evil and I sat with the Elite and the Queen in the far back.

"I didn't think eights knew how to read." Celeste whispered.

"They don't unless you teach them." I replied.

"She can read in two languages. I only speak one." Kriss commented.

"Most of them can speak at least a little spanish and all the ones over five can read in english. The main purpose may be to supply food, but we don't want to send the graduates out at eleven with no prayer. So they can read, write, speak some spanish in case they need to go south, have basic survival skills, know basic first aid, and have self defense training. It more often than not isn't enough, but it makes enough of a difference to keep doing it. Besides, most of them like having something to work towards."

"You didn't just make a garden." The queen spoke. "I don't think you truly saw all you did, because it wasn't nothing. Even if they don't live as long a life as they deserve, they live one with far more happiness and purpose then they would have without the garden."

"With all do respect Your Majesty. It's so much easier to see it that way before you watch a child die. After that it is a slippery slope of hopelessness, as so much innocence escapes from your grasp and falls to its death. This garden is worth a thousand times more than every moment I put into it, but it is the hardest thing I've ever done." I wasn't looking at them, I had my head turned down and eyes trained on the table.

Kriss reached out and put her hand on my arm, "Just because it is hard to see it as something that brings purpose, doesn't mean it's not true." I nodded and took a deep breath. I shoved the knotting fear feeling associated with my love for them down and for the first time wondered if shoving all my feelings down was smart.

After the story finished the Queen addressed the girls. "Thank you all for coming. This has been lovely. Unfortunately the Elite and I have dinner to get to soon so we should be wrapping this up."

Lyla thanked the queen on behalf of the group, rounded up the girls, and headed out.

I knew Maxon was even busier with his father away, so I didn't see him the rest of Wednesday, or Thursday and knew I probably wouldn't see him today. I spent my free moments with my Garden Gremlins who seemed to be adjusting to castle life. Though not being able to go outside was still a hitch.

While I was walking back from a visit with them. It felt as if some unseen trigger had set off everyone in the palace. The guards stood a bit stiller, and the maids walked a bit faster. Even I felt strange, like I wasn't quite so welcome here as I was only moments ago. Before I knew what it was I was feeling, the king rounded the corner, a small entourage behind him.

(cass)

Then it all made perfect sense. His absence made the palace warmer, and now that he was home, we were all subject to his whims again. No wonder the Northern rebels were excited about Maxon.

I curtsied as the king approached. While he walked, he put up a hand, and the men behind him paused as he came close, leaving us with a small bubble of space in which to speak.

"Lady America. I see you're still here," he said, his smile and his words at odds with each other.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"And how have you been in my absence?"

I smiled coyly. "Obedient."

"That's a good girl." He started to walk away but then remembered something and came back. "It was brought to my attention that of the girls left, you're the only one still receiving money for your participation. Elise gave hers up voluntarily almost immediately after the payments were stopped for the Twos and Threes."

That didn't surprise me. Elise was a Four, but her family owned high-end hotels. They weren't hurting for money the way the shopkeepers back in Carolina were.

"I think that should end," he announced, snapping me back into the moment.

My face fell.

"Unless, of course, you're here for a payout and not because you love my son." His eyes burned into me, daring me to challenge his decision.

"You're right," I said, hating the way the words felt in my mouth. "It's only fair."

I could see he was disappointed not to get more of a fight. "I'll see to it immediately."

He walked away, and I stood there, trying not to feel sorry for myself. Really, it was fair. How did it look that I was the only one getting checks? It would all end eventually anyway. Sighing, I headed toward my room. The least I could do was write home and warn them that the money wouldn't be coming anymore.

I opened my door, and, for the first time, I was completely ignored by my maids. Anne, Mary, and Lucy were in the back corner, hovering over a dress that they appeared to be working on, bickering about their progress.

"Lucy, you said you were going to finish this hem last night," Anne said. "You left early to do it."

"I know, I know. I got sidetracked. I can do it now." Her eyes were pleading. Lucy was already a bit sensitive, and I knew Anne's rigid manner sometimes got to her.

"You've been getting sidetracked an awful lot these last few days," Anne commented.

Mary held out her hands. "Calm down. Give me the dress before you mess it up."

"I'm sorry," Lucy said. "Just let me take it now, and I'll get it done."

"What's going on with you?" Anne demanded. "You've been acting so funny."

Lucy looked up at her, eyes frozen. Whatever her secret was, she looked terrified to share it.

I cleared my throat.

They whipped their heads in my direction, all curtsying in turn.

"I don't know what's going on," I said as I walked toward them, "but I highly doubt the queen's maids argue like that. Besides, we're wasting time if there's work to be done."

Anne, still angry, pointed her finger at Lucy. "But she—"

I silenced her with a small gesture of my hand, a bit surprised that it worked so easily.

"No arguing. Lucy, why don't you take that down to the workroom to finish, and we can all get some room to think."

Lucy happily scooped up the fabric, so grateful for the means to escape that she practically ran from the room. Anne watched her go, a full pout on her face. Mary looked worried but dutifully went to work without another word.

It took all of two minutes for me to realize that the mood in my room was too dreary for me to focus. I grabbed some paper and a pen and headed back downstairs. I wondered if I'd done the right thing, sparing Lucy. Maybe they'd all be fine if I'd let them air out whatever was happening. Perhaps my meddling would shake their resolve in helping me. I'd never really bossed them around like that before.

I paused outside the Women's Room. That didn't feel like the right place either. I moved down the main hallway, finding a little nook with a bench. That seemed nice. I ran into the library and picked up a book to lean on and went back to the nook, finding myself practically hidden by the large plant beside the bench. The wide window looked into the garden, and, for a minute, the palace didn't seem so small. I watched birds fly outside the window and tried to form the kindest way to tell my parents there wouldn't be any more checks.

"Maxon, can't we go on a real date? Somewhere outside the palace?" I recognized Kriss's voice immediately. Hmm. The Women's Room might not have been so full after all.

I could hear the smile in his voice as he answered. "I wish we could, my dear, but even if things were calm, that would be difficult."

"I want to see you somewhere where you're not the prince," she whined lovingly.

"Ah, but I'm the prince everywhere."

"You know what I mean."

"I do. I'm sorry I can't give that to you, really. I think it would be nice to see you somewhere where you weren't an Elite. But this is the life I live."

His voice grew a little sad.

"Would you regret it?" he asked. "For the rest of your life, it would be like this. Beautiful walls, but walls all the same. My mother scarcely leaves the palace more than once or twice a year." Through the thick leaves of the planted shrub, I watched as they passed me, completely unaware. "And if you think the public is intrusive now, it would be much worse when you're the only girl they're watching. I know your feelings for me run deep. I feel it every day. But what about the life that comes along with me? Do you want that?"

It seemed as if they'd stopped somewhere in the hallway, as Maxon's voice wasn't fading.

"Maxon Schreave," Kriss started, "you make it sound like it's a sacrifice for me to be here. Each day I'm thankful for being chosen. Sometimes I try to imagine what it would have been like if we'd never met. . . . I'd rather lose you now than have gone a lifetime without this."

Her voice was getting thick. I didn't think she was crying, but she was close.

"I need you to know I'd want you without the beautiful clothes and the gorgeous rooms. I'd want you without the crown, Maxon. I just want you."

Maxon was momentarily speechless, and I could imagine him holding her close or wiping away the tears that might have come by now.

"I can't tell you what it means to me to hear that. I've been dying for someone to tell me they're fully committed to a life truly with me," he confessed quietly.

"I am, Maxon."

There was another quiet moment between them.

"Maxon?"

"Yes?"

"I . . . I don't think I want to wait anymore."

Even though I knew I'd regret it, at those words I silently put down my paper and pen, slipped off my shoes, and scurried to the end of the hall. I peeked around and saw the back of Maxon's head as Kriss's hand slid just barely into the neck of his suit. Her hair fell to the side as they kissed, and, for her first, it seemed like it was going really well. Better than Maxon's, that was for sure.

I ducked back around the corner and heard her giggle a second later. Maxon let out a sigh that was half triumph and half relief. I walked to my seat quickly, angling myself toward the window again, just in case.

"When can we do that again?" she asked quietly.

"Hmm. How about in as much time as it takes to get from here to your room?"

(edit)

I reminded myself that I had asked him to keep seeing Kriss. I reminded myself that it was necessary in case Maxon couldn't choose me or I decided I couldn't do it. I reminded myself just to live life day by day, that I can't choose who Maxon loves. But it still felt like a blow. For a split second I wondered why I was fighting so hard when he could just choose Kriss and everything would be easier. But it wouldn't be easier. I wouldn't have Maxon and life without him, that's not easier. I can't make all the stars align that leads to him choosing me, but I can choose him. I choose to fight for him.

I now had all the motivation I needed. As Kriss's laugh faded as they moved down the hallway I picked up my pen and paper, finding the words easily now.

(Cass)

Mom and Dad,

There's so much to do these days, I have to keep this short. In an effort to show my devotion to Maxon and not to the luxuries of being in the Elite, I've given up receiving payments for my participation. I realize this is short notice, but I'm sure with everything we've been given by now, there's not much more we could want for.

I hope you won't be too disappointed by this news. I miss you and hope we'll get to see each other again soon.

I love you all.

America

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Thanks for reading. As always please comment! I love to hear your thoughts!