A/N: Hello Readers! I am happy to give you another update on this growing story!

I got a couple of reveiws/questions I wanted to address.

"How long will this story be?"- As of right now, I'm only planning on 9 more chapters (about chapter 32 or 33). It might have an epilogue of sorts to tie it back into what Keira Cass wrote in the extended part of The One. But it won't be more than 45 chapters for sure!

"Can you do a chapter where they fight because I know that not every couple is perfect"- Of course! I am already planning and writing it out and it should be in an update soon! I'll make sure to mention it at the top of the author's note!

Of course, if you have any questions or comments please feel free to review! I would love to hear what you have to say! If you enjoy what you read in this chapter feel free to review, follow, or favorite this story to let me know!

Enjoy chapter 26!

I clear my throat and tap the microphone with my free hand before I begin. "Hello, everyone. I hope everyone can hear me alright. I'm Queen America Schreave of Illea, which still feels weird to say, so bear with me tonight. I'd like to start this little speech off by saying thank you for coming here to celebrate with King Maxon and me. I have to say, I am more than shocked at how many people are here right now. Tonight, we celebrate. We celebrate two hearts joining together. About nine months ago, I was lucky enough to get drawn for the Selection and get to fall in love with this man right over here." I point to Maxon with the biggest smile on my face, "I have been finding a new thing to love about Maxon since I met him, starting with his overwhelming kindness for letting me stay in the Selection when I could have been sent home more than just one time. I have learned to love him and all that he does for me. King Maxon is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I am so lucky to have married him.

"In an interview that I did on the Report in the very beginning of the Selection, I said to Gavril that Maxon was 'the epitome of all good.' While at the time, I didn't know much about Maxon since we had only met a week prior, I was right to say that about him because I haven't been proven wrong since those words left my mouth. So, we celebrate the good he brought me. We celebrate the joy I feel when I see him. We celebrate the way Maxon and I feel together as a couple. We celebrate our marriage and our new, happy union. We celebrate the lifelong happiness that I am sure we will have together." I pause for the applause that fills the room. I smile and chuckle a little, "Today, we celebrate a new start. A new start with the person who I love the most. More importantly, we celebrate the Italian Monarchs and this new start that we get to experience with King Alfonso, Queen Bianca, and Princess Nicoletta. We are so lucky to have such great new allies, and we can't wait to start an amazing partnership with them. So, tonight we celebrate the bringing of two together." I raise my glass and people in the crowd follow. I wait a moment, as people raise their various drink glasses, others join in. "We raise our glasses to two. Two hearts, two people, two counties, two loves all for one common good. Cheers to two!"

There is a hoop and a holler, followed by a little bit of silence as everyone takes a sip or chugs their drink. I take a sip quickly, more anxious than not. Applauses roar around me as people finish their drinks. I smile and step back. Maxon smiles at me nodding his head with approval. I look down and smile to my feet in pride. Maxon and I trade places at the microphone. I wanted to go shy off, but he grabbed onto my waist to keep me close. His finger rubbed against my bare skin on my exposed back from the dress. I wrap my free arm around him and take another sip from my drink as he raises the microphone stand up to reach his mouth.

"Wow. I don't know how I keep getting put in situations where I speak after my wife. America will tell you in private that she isn't a public speaker and that she isn't that good, but I think she just proved herself wrong with that speech that she completely improvised. Can we get another round of applause for that speech?" Another wave of applause floods the room. It makes me want to cower away, but I can't. I just nod and mouth 'thank you's out as the sound of people cheering for me and my speech fills the space. "Alright. As Queen America said earlier: thank you so much for coming tonight to celebrate with us. I guess many of you know who I am based on her speech and my pride in her, but in case you didn't catch it, I am the lucky man who gets to call America my queen and my bride. Typically, referred to as King Maxon. We are so lucky to celebrate with you tonight. We are celebrating our marriage and union together. America chose the safe route to say all of the good things about us that we like to share when we speak out in public, but I am not her and I want to share our (rather embarrassing and odd) first few days together. Otherwise known as the first time I fell in love with a woman and became completely and utterly infatuated with her entire existence when she didn't feel the same way at first. America is kind of embarrassed by some of the events that led me to fall in love with her, so bear with us as I try to get through this without her getting mad at me." He clears his throat, "Starting from the beginning, the day I met the love of my life. America and I, actually, met by accident. I wasn't supposed to see her at the time I did, but I met her and fell in love with her blue eyes as she was homesick and crying all while calling me shallow, insulting my home, making fun of my choices, and mislabeling me without even truly knowing me."

I tucked my head into his arm only slightly embarrassed by the story he is telling. He kisses my head and continues his story. "The next day, I got to officially meet her, the way I was supposed to meet her like everyone else. She made it very clear that she came to the palace with a wish to stay. But not for me and because she wanted to be me, but instead for the food and the money to send home to her family of Fives. I can safely say my response to that was 'ouch' and 'I guess I will keep her around'. She proposed that we became friends of sorts. She would have a reason to stay, I would have a reason to see her, and it would all work out. And after getting over the sting of being friend-zoned, I can say that it did all work out. She was my first real friend, and I got to know her and see her and love her all while being by her side. Little did I know that I would spend the rest of my life by her side when I made that agreement. At our first meal, I made a barter with America. She wanted pants, something she had back in her home province, and I wanted to spend time with her. It ended up with me getting my first date with her all because she loves food and because of another little red-head girl whom I love, America's little sister, May Singer. She happens to be here today. Hello, May. How are you, My Dear? I hope you're doing well and enjoying your second royal party." I pop my head up at the mention of my sister. He pauses for a moment, almost like he's expecting a response from somewhere in the crowd. "May got me my first date, and I fell even more in love with America on this first date. I learned about her family and what she loves. I heard the way she talked about her siblings and her parents, and I knew that I wanted to hear her talk about me like that. On this date, though, my loving wife was very, very stubborn. She didn't want to hold my arm for the sake of looks, she didn't really want to do this with me, she was upset because she lost our barter even though I did give her pants afterward, and she even kneed my manhood on this very first date."

"It was your thigh!" I hollered, some of it catching on the microphone.

The crowd laughs and so does he. "Despite all of that stuff that typically turns suitors away, I didn't want to turn a blind eye to her. I was still hooked on her blue eyes… I have been captivated by her since the moment I saw her."

The crowd applauses again. I kiss his cheek, leaving a light red lip mark on his cheek. The crowd claps and awes at us. "We are also celebrating a new political union between the Italian Monarch. We are so glad that you all accepted our offer and that we get to join up with you to create a strong union. We celebrate as one unified group working together for one unified cause. I know I speak for the rest of my advisors when I say that it is truly an honor that you would accept us in. So, let's celebrate the new beginnings Two people, two countries, one common bond. Cheers!"

I take another sip of my drink, as does Maxon. We turn to go down the stairs, still having to complete the first dance. Silvia takes our drinks and sets them down on a table that is out of the way. I grab Maxon's hand as Silvia announces that we are having the first dance together. The music from the live band starts to play a sweet romantic song, similar to the wedding march. He leads us into the center of the floor where people cleared out of the way to let us dance together. I turn into him, my eyes snapping up to look into his. His hand meets my waist with his fingers brushing lightly over the bare small of my back. It sends a shiver down my spine that I mask as adjusting my arm and shoulder. My hand reached his shoulder, grasping onto him gently. He holds my free hand up with his and we slow dance together. I look into his eyes, and he stares back into mine. I smile a sheepish grin at him which he returns instantly. I hum the melody of the song the band played as we danced. Maxon must have known it too because he was humming along with me as well. I throw my other arm over his shoulder, pushing myself into him so I can rest my head on his chest and feel the thudding of his heart. He holds me into him, both of his hands around my waist. His head falling to rest on top of mine. We continue to dance to the slow and sensual song, me still humming into him. We sway for another moment and then I pull away. He looks into my eyes and I just stare back. I want to tell him everything I should have told him during the Selection, starting with my love for him, but I can't seem to form the words to say 'I love you' when he looks at me the way he does. I can't seem to form any words when he looks at me like that.

"My Darling, you are perfect." He tells me sincerely.

I smile and look down, attempting to regain my ability to speak with some success, "Thank you. You are pretty perfect, too."

He chuckles. "Thank you, America, for… being mine."

"Thank you for being mine, Maxon. I love you more than you could ever even know."

"I love you that much plus a million more."

I giggle. I reach up to kiss him lightly. He kissed me back. Our swaying stops as he deepens the kiss by pushing me into him more. People hoot and holler at us, but I don't hear much of anything. To me, it's just white noise surrounding us as we have a moment of love together. Besides, I don't care about what they have to say or what they think. I know I love him and that he loves me and that's what's important. I break the kiss as the music comes to an end. I turn out to the side and take a mini curtsy. He bows as the applause ends and people start to flood in around us to dance to the more upbeat song. I turn back to face him. We continue to dance together, my arms over his shoulders so casually slung around his neck, and his meet around my waist, lingering to my ass.

"How'd I do with the party?"

"Considering that it looks amazing, the people loved your speech, and you are having a good time, I would say pretty damn successful."

I smile and laugh. "Thank you."

"I mean it, America. This is amazing. The scotch is perfect and the music is just right. People are having a good time. The Italians are laughing and having fun. To top it all off, I have the most beautiful plus one to join me tonight."

"Oh really?" I ask him inquisitively.

"I would say so. Wouldn't you?"

"I don't think I would call Aspen 'beautiful', but whatever you want to believe, babe."

He rolls his eyes, chuckling just a little, "Ah yes, Aspen is just so perfect… I could only ever imagine bringing him as my plus one. I would only bring him because that's who I just boasted about marrying on stage to people who might not even care."

I giggled, making Maxon laugh a little bit more before responding. "Daring, believe me when I say that you are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on and that I am so honored to stand beside you and be your plus one."

"Thank you, Maxon."

"I mean, I could go on and on about just how damn sexy you look in this dress." He dips me down. His stare is almost intensified as he looks down at me.

"I know you could. I figured you would get a kick out of this dress tonight."

He pulls me up and into his warm embrace. It makes me smile. "More than just a kick, Darling. I'm having a hard time containing myself around you. You look so so damn sexy, America."

"Maybe, we could run off and I could help you out with containing yourself…" I pull away from him as the song ends. A tiny smirk lines my face, one that is challenging and cunning. One that makes him think a little. One that makes his face drop for a second before filling with wonder, lust, and awe. One that he can't say no to.

"I think I'd like that." He tells me.

I kiss his cheek lightly. "Later."

I wink at him and walk off. I know he's got a smirk on his face knowing that he's probably going to get a little extra love tonight. I make my way through the crowd to find Nicoletta, again. If not, then at least I'll be able to enjoy some more party time today.

I mingled for a little. I wasn't able to find Nicoletta as I had planned. How in a room full of this size did I not find the bright magenta dress and the woman who is wearing it? It beats me. Instead of talking to her, I was just eating some veggies from the veggie tray, drinking sparkling water and avoiding the alcohol as best I could, and hanging out around the band and near the stage. Despite the eating and music, I was getting tired and there was at least another hour of partying to happen that I had to be in attendance for. I stood off to the side, watching the mass of people dance in the center of the floor. I could feel someone's presence approach me. My body turned to look and see who joined me at my left side. Standing next to me was none other than Aspen, the other man in my life that I requested danced with me. He extends his hand out to me. "May I have this dance with you, Queen America?"

"I would love to dance with you, Officer Leger." I grab his hand and he leads me out into the middle of the floor. I place one hand on his uniformed shoulder and his one hand meets my waist. He supports our other hands up as we dance slowly to the song that plays.

"You look amazing tonight, Mer."

"Thank you. You look rather nice as well." He wore a dark blue uniform with all of his medals from working in the palace. He even got gold lapels for his especially honorable service to the royal family during the rebel attack that almost took Maxon's life.

He laughs a little, "It's nothing like what we wore in Carolina."

"Not at all."

We swayed to the slow beat of the music for a few minutes. Aspen was looking down at me, and I was looking up at him. If he was Maxon, I definitely would have kissed him by now. But he's not Maxon. He isn't even close to Maxon... He cleared his throat, "Thank you, Mer."

"For what?"

"For keeping me around." He smiled down a little.

I returned it lightly. "Aspen, you are like a brother to me. I love having you around. There is nothing to thank me for."

"But you know I feel obligated to thank you for your kindness towards me."

"But you don't have to. I like you just enough to keep you here."

"Well, thank you for that."

"What did I just say?" I giggled as a small chuckle escaped his lips, "But, it's really not a problem. You did, after all, save my life and my husband's life."

"And I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

We dance the rest of the song in silence. When the song ends, he bows and leaves me without another word. I decided now would be a good time to go off and get another drink. I got a glass of scotch, not because I like scotch but because I wanted to drink like Maxon for whatever reason. I took a sip and it was good, but not my type. I ended up dumping it out in the nearest garbage can and grabbing a glass of strong red wine. It was so good.

I sipped on this glass for a long time, nursing it until it was only lined with the faintest shade of that deep red. I wanted to grab another glass. I almost did, but Maxon, my saving grace, stopped me. Of course, it was in the best way possible (his hand falling deathly close to my ass and rounding up to the bare flesh on my back only snake around my waist to pull me into him. It gave me chills, feeling his hand run over my body so casually). His lips lightly kissed my neck. Another chill. He turned my body to look at him, eyebrows raised inquisitively.

"What were you doing?"

"I was going to grab another glass of wine before you made me fall in love three times over again," I tell him.

He smirks, "How would I do that?"

I get another chill thinking about his hand roaming over my bare skin, "By existing in the best ways possible."

"Wow," He pulls me closer to him, looking down on me. Another chill, "you are really flirting hardcore aren't you?"

"It's that obvious?" I pull away a little to look at his face better.

He laughs a little, "Well, only slightly."

"It's just the wine talking, Honey."

"I think it's cute that you can't flirt."

"I think it's cute that I don't need to flirt with you if I want to sleep with you."

"Is that a challenge?"

I shrug my shoulders, a small smirk falling on my face, "Only if you want it to be. I know you like a good challenge."

He leans into me and whispers, "Watch yourself, Darling. You don't want me to go off on you, do you?"

"Only if you want to," I reply slyly.

He chuckles for a minute. I look at him, waiting for his next comment to come, but it never does. Instead, he pulls me away from everyone, away from my party. I yelped, but I quickly shut myself up when his eyes darted back to mine. They were filled with warning and authority, but I feel like I saw lust in them too. He guides me through the halls of the first floor. I allow him to lead me to a parlor in a hidden hallway. He opens the door, a finger pressed to his lips signaling me to be quiet as we hideaway. I creep in, Maxon follows. He closed the door so softly, it hardly even made a sound. I wait for a moment in the dark for Maxon to get the lights. He found them rather quickly compared to anything I would do. We don't need the lights, but I think he knows that I am not exactly a fan of the dark. He comes back over to me and kisses me. That kiss is more than anything I could ever imagine. There was so much power and so much love, I wasn't expecting it. It was like he took everything he was holding back earlier to give it to me now.

His arms wrapped around me, pulling me close. I kissed him back, the same urgency in my movements. Arms slung around each other, and I knew I was falling in love over and over again. We stumbled around the room, tripping over our feet, in an effort to find the couch without letting go of each other. I fell back against the couch and toppled over onto me. I broke the kiss to laugh at him. He laughed with me. He removed himself so he wasn't on top of me and sat next to me.

"I guess I kind of ruined the mood."

"It wouldn't be us if there wasn't something slightly off," I tell him light-heartedly.

I turn to face him, he looks at me with kind eyes. I smile, and he returns it. I kiss him, wanting to pick up where we left off. He agrees instantly with my decision. The only I know is because I am pulled on top of his lap. I am unable to straddle him the way I want to due to this dress, so I just sit on him as his hands run from my back down to my thighs. I squeal into his mouth a little when he reaches the ticklish part of my side. I pull away and send him a warning stare, with a smirking grin. He just smirks and tries to pull me back into him. I don't let him, though. I get off of him and kneel in front of him as he remains sitting on the couch. My hands reach for his belt buckle, hungry for something sweeter than a strawberry tart. I see his eyes grow with lust as my fingers pull on his belt to unwind it from his hips. He unbuckles his pants for me, wanting to get to the same point as quickly as possible. I grab the waistband of his pants and boxers, trying to pull them down his hips and get them to his ankles. He chuckles at my eagerness but does eventually lift his hips off the couch so I can successfully get them down further. When I get them down I take a moment to look at him. He's at my mercy. His lust-filled eyes, already weakened knees, and cum filled cock is all in my power. I've never liked power, but now… oh, but now I crave more of it.

I lick my lips, my eyes meeting back to him. He looks anxious, but also eager. Ready, but also not prepared for what is to come (which will hopefully be him). I smirk. "Look at you… at my mercy and everything…"

He gulps. I give a solid chuckle, "Don't worry, Babe, I'll be nice… do everything just the way you like… give it to you right… let grip into my hair the way you do… even let you cum in my mouth…"

I don't give him a chance to respond before I lick up his shaft. He groans at my warm touch. I place feather-like kisses from the head back down to the base. Then, I repeat, going back up and kissing all the way down. His whole body relaxes at my touch, only followed by light tensing up as I hit all the right spots. I kiss the tip, he groans. I lick his head, more groans. I can see from my peripheral that his hands have gripped the couch every time my lips or tongue makes contact with his dick. I put my mouth around his head causing a loud groan from his throat to escape.

I release myself from him making his head bolt up to look at me, "Shh… Babe, you don't want them to hear us…"

I go back to him. He relaxes back against the couch. I kissed his head lightly, and he stifled a groan. The power I have is amazing. Instead of easing into the heavy oral sex, as I was doing earlier, I decided to just go for it. I feel him slide in my mouth and down to the back of my throat.

"Ah, fuck, America…" He moans out.

I slide up and go back down, repeating the motion with ease. I was half tempted to stop and scold him again for being too loud, but I didn't and I kept going. It wasn't weird or uncomfortable, maybe just different is how I would describe it. It was different feeling him slide down my throat and back into my mouth. My hand reached by my face to massage one of his balls. Another loud groan. I went to the other side, lightly rubbing his balls with my fingertips. He was loving it. I continued to pump him in and out of my mouth while massaging his balls until his hand met my red curls and gripped them. Then, it wasn't me allowing him to slide in my mouth, it was him pushing and pulling my head to give him a pleasurable experience. His grip tightened in my hair, his pace of tugging on me was gaining speed, and he was moaning and groaning with every motion.

"America… I… I'm gonna…" He started to mutter out, but it was cut short, "Fuck, America!"

I felt the rumble in his balls and suddenly, my mouth was being filled with his sweet, sweet cum. His grip had loosed in my hair, his hand more just resting on my head as I continued to slowly deepthroat him till he was finished. When he was done releasing his goodness inside me, he removed his hand from my head. I detached myself from his dick and swallowed all that he left for me. I took a minute to clean him up by licking his shaft all the way from base to tip. When I was done, I pulled away from him and wiped my lip all while making eye contact with Maxon. He stands up first, I follow him. He starts to put himself back together without any words to me. I go to a mirror on the opposite wall and fix my hair to the best of my abilities. I look at him through the mirror and see him staring at my ass.

I turn, "Are you ready to go join the people? We should probably talk to my mom before the night is over."

He smiles, "Ready whenever you are."

I smile back, turning to make sure that I look just as I did when I entered this room. Maxon's arms snake around me. He peppers my neck with kisses. I giggle, placing my hand on the side of his face.

"I love you, Maxon."

"I love you, America."

"A little bit extra now, right?"

"More than a little…" He sighs into my neck, "You know I could show you how much I love you, but I believe that would require a towel and for you to be naked…"

I gasp and pull away, "You naughty man… You naughty, naughty man…"

"What can I say? I like showing my wife how much I love her, even if it means the sheets are stained red."

"Maxon!" I slap his arm lightly.

"I'm just telling you the truth…"

"Naughty…" I grab his hand and pull him to the door.

I make a final adjustment and we leave together. Unfortunately, we don't make it even a foot out the door without getting caught. Right outside that door was Marlee, her face filled with disgust. "What the fuck…?"

"Marlee!" Suddenly, I rush over to her, leaving Maxon's side to coerce her to not tell anyone. "You can't tell anyone. Maxon and I needed a break and we just happened to be able to slip away. Don't tell Silvia, she will slit my throat."

"I- I- I-, what the hell were you two doing…?"

Maxon hurried over to me, trying to be a saving grace for me or something to help prove my point, but it fails. His face is still too smug, still too much like he just got head, and it's not helping. Marlee's eyes flicker between us, hoping for a good response. "We needed a break from the party, so we slipped away, just the two of us."

"And?" Marlee questioned.

"And Maxon may or may not have escalated things."

"Hey!" Maxon gasped.

"Hush!" I tell him before going back to my shocked friend, "The point is we got a little… distracted. But you can not tell anyone."

She huffs and rubs her forehead, "Fine. But only because I don't want your first week of marriage to be spoiled by this."

She walks off fast and full of anger. We could hear her muttering, but we couldn't decipher what it was that she was muttering about. I turn to face Maxon, my head resting on his chest. "That couldn't have been worse…"

"It could have been your mom."

I pull away to look up at him. He raises his eyebrows at me, emphasizing what he said. I shrug, "I guess you're right."

He pulls me into him for a hug. My arms reach around him and hold him tight to me. After a minute we pull away. He holds out his hand for me, and I grab it. We walk back into the party side by side, and nobody says anything to us.