Two years had gone by since America had last seen Maxon in Italy. She had kept to her promise to avoid him at all costs, so that they could both heal and move on. She had spent time touring to promote her album, and time at home with her family, and, of course, still writing new music. She had even gone on a few dates to try to put herself out there. None of them had been particularly successful, but she was trying.
It had come as a great shock to everyone when it was revealed that Kriss had been working with the rebels. King Clarkson announced that she would be hanged for her crimes. America mourned her friend, and her heart broke for Maxon who would be left all alone.
After the proper mourning period, an announcement was made that the other four left of the Elite would be summoned back to the castle so that Maxon could marry again and produce an heir. Out of the four, two were already married, which left only America and Natalie, who had left the selection early due to her sister passing away. Celeste had married a wonderful man, who treated her like the princess she wanted to be, and Elise had also married someone who she seemed to be happy with.
America didn't want to go back to the palace to take part in another selection. She knew there wouldn't be much of a choice for Maxon, or for herself. It made her angry that he could just summon her back to the palace without her getting a say in it. She had already come to terms that she would never see Maxon again, and this new revelation tore a hole in the reality she had built for herself. Maxon had never used his title to get what he wanted, and now that he was using it in such a way that expressly went against America's wishes, she couldn't stand it. Her heart was bubbling with anger - and maybe just the tiniest bit of hope.
The day that America arrived at the palace had started off rocky and full of tears, mostly from May. She didn't want to be so far away from America, but she was assured that America would write letters and it wouldn't be long before they would reunite. May called America her superhero for being so strong in this situation which she knew she didn't want to be in. No one in America's family had forgiven Maxon for choosing Kriss over America in The Selection, although her mother wouldn't stop going on about how it was her second chance to be queen and she couldn't let it slip away from her like she had last time. America rolled her eyes at her mother whenever she would go on this particular rant and reminded her that it was over for her and Maxon and her returning to the castle was never going to change that.
The entire journey to the palace America had to remind herself to breathe so that she wouldn't spiral into a complete meltdown. When she stepped out of the car after arriving at the palace she took one last deep breath before the whirlwind of being back at the palace in a quasi selection began.
America was rushed to her room, where she was happy to find her original three maids waiting for her. Mary, Anne, and Lucy greeted America with a curtsey before she enveloped them all in a big hug. She had missed them more than she had known and was so happy to have at least some comfort with her in the palace. They all spoke about what they had been up to in the last few years, with the maids telling America that Maxon has personally requested for them to come back to the palace to be her maids. They had all gotten married since the last time America had seen them, which made her heart warm for them. They were some of the sweetest people she had ever met and they deserved the best life possible. Her heart squeezed a little that Maxon had personally requested they be there, but she knew it was a game that she wasn't willing to play.
She had been put back into her old room, almost as if Maxon was trying to continue the other selection to right his wrongs. America tried her hardest not to think about Maxon and came up with a game plan of how she was going to get out of this with her heart intact, and as quickly as possible. She knew the longer she stayed the more difficult it would become to leave. Not only because of Maxon, but because of the expectations of the public. There had been a massive outcry of support for America when it was announced she and Natalie would be returning to the castle to compete to marry Maxon. It seemed everyone knew this was a charade to force America to marry him. America felt sorry for Natalie, she was being used as a pawn and everyone seemed to know it. Little did any of them know, if America was to have her way, Natalie would be the one to marry Maxon, not her.
America knew that simply telling Maxon she didn't want to be there would have no bearing on her leaving, so she had to do something that would anger King Clarkson enough that she would be sent home. The wheels in her head started spinning, remembering her stint on the report during The Selection, and forming a similar plan in her mind. Afterall, she had been exposed to more injustices than she had ever imagined during her time touring, and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity to bring awareness to these causes, as well as to get her out of the palace.
Dinner time came quickly, and although America wasn't hungry, her maids dressed her up in a beautiful blue gown, with light makeup, and her hair in curls. When she arrived at dinner the table was a lot smaller than she had expected, with Clarkson, Amberly, Maxon, America, and Natalie all sitting at the same table. Clarkson, of course, sat at the head of the table, whilst Amberly and Maxon sat on one side, and America and Natalie sat on the other.
America was guided to a seat next to Clarkson and opposite Amberly, who was sitting next to her husband. She thought she was placed there so that he could berate her for returning to the palace. However, the entire night he sang her praises, talking about her music career and how well she had handled herself after the end of the selection. Amberly chimed in saying how proud she was of her. Maxon's eyes shimmered with pride and happiness at being so close to her once again, but America did her best to avoid him. Of course, he asked her many questions, but she always replied with as few words as possible, always trying to shift the conversation to Natalie.
It was America's favourite treat for dessert, strawberry tarts. It was too much for her to take. The sight of them brought her back to reality and the situation she was in. She didn't manage to eat even a single bite of them, simply moving pieces around her plate to give the illusion that she was eating them. As soon as it was polite to do so, she excused herself from the dinner table and returned to her room.
Her heart was heavy, she was already emotionally exhausted and she had only been at the palace for a few hours. She needed to scream, or cry, or throw something, but she knew she couldn't. She dismissed her maids and walked over to the piano that was in her room. She thought back to what May had said that morning, that she was a superhero for going through with this with such grace. She did what she had come to always do when she was full of emotions and started playing and singing whatever came to mind.
Hmm-mm
I wanted to get on stage and sing for you
I wanted to start a family
I wanted to buy a house in Malibu, hmm-mm
But there's only one of me
And I can't do it all
Call me superwoman, but I know I'm not that strong, hmm-mm
Because I cry more than a little
And if I'm superwoman
I'm flyin' in the rain (flyin' in the rain)
And I wonder, will it ever get old bein' a superwoman
Smilin' through the pain (smilin' through the pain)
Even heroes cry
So why can't I? Why can't I?
I don't really have any archenemies
My only villain is myself
I'm not quite exactly who I wanna be, hmm-mm
I can't be anybody else
And I can't do it all
So call me superwoman, but I know I'm not that strong
No, oh-oh
Because I cry more than a little
And if I'm superwoman
Flyin' in the rain (flyin' in the rain)
And I wonder, will it ever get old bein' a superwoman
Smilin' through the pain (smilin' through the pain)
Even heroes cry
So why can't I? Why can't I?
Even heroes cry
So why can't I? Why can't I?
Tears were rolling down her cheeks by the time she finished singing. She quickly wrote down what she had sung, and started working on perfecting it. She didn't know if she would release this song, but she would add it to her collection of songs that she had written. She had never counted how many songs she had written, but it must have been at least a hundred.
While America was pouring her heart out to her piano, she had no idea that Maxon had heard it all from outside her door.
I hope you liked it! It's taken me ages to write this one lol but I got inspired tonight - maybe I'll even get started on the next chapter but no promises!
Song is Superwoman by Meghan Trainor
Lots of love,
girlinabar xxx