I'm not gonna lie, I think this is my favorite chapter to date.

Happy fucking first birthday to the majestic story. It would've been nice if this was the hundredth chapter but oh well.


Photo #74: One Year

Eadlyn knows nothing about marriage except that the royals have to do it at young age to a randomly selected stranger or some other royal whom you've only seen the face of at a few parties. They expect a 'love at first sight' type of romance to make it not seem as forced which never really happens. The only response that comes out of love at first sight is either 'you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen' or 'you're super ugly'. Infatuation like that never has a middle ground.

Romance actually takes time to build. Love at first sight is completely fiction (and this isn't coming from Eadlyn's bitter attitude towards her own Selection). Even after the wedding, a married couple still manages to continue falling in love with each other. For instance, her father always has a new reason to love her mother, even if this picture of her mother covered in freezer frost seems as if it should have no reason for him to fall in love with her all over again, her father will still find a way.

If there's something Eadlyn knows about life, it's that the firsts of anything else are the ones that truly matter.

-o-

According to tradition, a married couple would save the top layer of their wedding cake to eat on their first anniversary. It's supposed to promote good luck and prosperity for a happy marriage. For Maxon and America, that was the only layer of their wedding cake that remained untouched and not smashed in each other's faces.

Today is their first wedding anniversary and that top layer was going to be eaten. The first problem was looking for said layer. It was kept in the kitchen's main freezer but since the chef knew it wasn't going to be touched for another year when he first put it in, it was kept in the back. It was too important to just be put in the walk-in freezer.

America stands on her tiptoes, craning her arms on the freezer just above the refrigerator. She takes out all the frozen items in the front and passes them to Maxon. He holds all of them in his arms, shivering because, well, he's holding frozen items so he's obiously freezing cold. America keeps pulling out items non-stop so Maxon puts the items that he's holding on the table that's covered in towels just to prevent the melted ice on the packages to spill all over the floor (which he probably should've done a while ago to avoid getting frostbite on his arms and chest).

"I think I see it!" America exclaims, grabbing a step-stool to help her reach the back of the freezer.

Now that there's enough room in the freezer for America to just move the remaining items in there, Maxon takes a seat on the table as he watches his wife search for the top layer of their wedding cake with such determination. She was so psyched when she woke up this morning because of that cake layer whereas Maxon forgot it was in there.

"You know, you could help," America suggests.

"No thanks," Maxon replies, "I'm enjoying the view."

America looks out from the freezer and sees that Maxon is sitting down behind her. They're in the kitchen so there isn't really anything to look at. Then she realizes that he's sitting behind her and she's standing on a step-stool, leaning forwards into a freezer. Maxon Schreave had a perfect view of her perfect butt.

"Creep," she jokes as she goes back to searching. She smirks at the sound of Maxon's laugh.

"Maybe it'd be better if you gave up on finding it?" Maxon suggests. "Who knows, maybe it disintegrated in there."

America huffs. "Maxon, sometimes, it doesn't matter what position you're in. Whether you're weak, hurting, or in the midst of being stopped by a giant frozen bluefin tuna in the freezer you're halfway in; when it comes to love, when it comes to someone you truly care about, nothing will stand in your way because love always wins."

Maxon would appreciate her words more if she wasn't talking about a layer of their wedding cake that's a year old.

America suddenly hits her head on the top of the freezer. Maxon jumps in his seat, acknowledging America's slight cursing. Well, on the bright side, she already has access to all the ice she needs for the growing bump on her head since she's basically inside the freezer.

"Happy Anniversary!" America exclaims as she puts the cake on the table. Maxon is glad he was able to capture that as a photo. Only America could make frost-tinted hair look fabulous.

It doesn't really ressemble the cake Maxon remembers seeing on his wedding day. To preserve it, the cake was wrapped in plastic and placed in a box which was just wrapped with more plastic. Then after all the time in the freezer, there was a lovely coat of frost on it.

"Wow," Maxon says with all his breath. "Just, wow."

America cheers as she leaps off the step-stool and pushes the frozen foods they took out earlier just to the side of the table, some might have fallen on the floor but America doesn't care about that right now. All that matters is that the cake layer is here. America brushes off the frost off the top so elegantly which contrasts to the way the rips through all the plastic. Maxon closes his eyes as the frost remains and plastic wrap get thrown on him. Once he hears that the rustling has stopped, Maxon brushes all the packaging that has now stained his clothes with wet patches.

"America, I think you found a glacier," Maxon says, touching the cake with one finger and it is as hard as a rock.

"It's fine," America says.

"Maybe we should let it defrost," he suggests even though he knows that she'll come up with a reason as to why they shouldn't wait that sounds absolutely wrong but sounds right.

"It's basically ice cream cake now." And there's the illogical reason he was waiting for. A year of marriage really teaches a man a few things about his wife.

"Dear, it doesn't work like that," he tries to correct. A year of marriage also taught him to never flat-out tell his wife that she's wrong. (But for some reason she could tell him that without sugar coating it. Marriage is weird that way).

America goes over to where the chefs store the knives. Since it's a cake, common sense says to get one of those delicate knives to make a nice clean cut. However, she's working with a wedding-layer-turned-ice-cream-glacier cake so she pulls out the giant butcher knife. In one fluent motion, Maxon uses his feet to scoot his chair a good distance away from his wife. It's not that he doesn't trust his wife with what she's going to do it's that they're surrounded by everything icy and slippery and if that gigantic knife were to go flying, he would be decapitated in seconds. Maxon could offer to cut the cake himself but America's determination outshines his strength any day.

"The cake isn't that frozen," America tells him.

The moment she tries to slice through the frozen icing on the cake layer, the knife handle breaks right off. America is taken aback, looking at the blade that's wedged in the cake and the handle in her hands. Maxon can't help but laugh. The look of defeat on her face makes this whole scavenger hunt for the top layer of their wedding cake totally worth it.

"Should I get a chainsaw?" Maxon suggests as he stands up next to her.

"Not funny," America replies even though she secretly thinks that it is.

"This could be symbolic."

"How?"

"If this cake is the embodiment of our relationship, then this proves that nothing could cut through it."

America narrows her eyes. "That's lame."

"I love you too."

America grabs another big knife and starts hacking at it. "How is this frozen fossil still considered edible?"

"Maybe it'll be melted by our second anniversary."

It wasn't supposed to be a joke but Maxon laughs anyways and he's the only one who finds it funny. He laughs even louder when America's second knife ends up the same way the first one did. She groans as Maxon pulls her close and kisses the side of her head.


I googled it. This tradition is legit and totally something I would do if I don't eat all the cake the moment I get married.

And for the story's second birthday, I will be writing them eating that cake. I'm kidding but if I make it to two years then we'll celebrate again.

Stay Tuned - Is there such thing as too much chocolate? (Answer, no because chocolate is infinite).