A/N: My bad, I forgot to post on Saturday. I'm going to switch to Fridays; I didn't realize how little I'm on my computer over the weekends. But, I have everything written for weekly updates through October, so any delays between now and then will just be because I suck and have no memory. Thanks for reading!

The Halloween party is as amazing as Maxon promised. When I walk into the Great Hall, I am stunned by the sheer beauty before me. Everything is golden. Ornaments on the walls, glittering jewels in the chandeliers, cups, plates, even the food- everything has hints of gold in it. It is nothing short of magnificent. I find May at the dessert table and quickly cross the room to her.

Popular music is plaything through a sound system, but in the corner a small band waits to play the songs for the traditional dances we've learned. Cameras- both for photography and video- dot the room. No doubt this will be the highlight of Illéa programming tomorrow. I briefly wonder what it will be like at Christmastime. My hand comes up to caress my new necklace... We'll be alone at Christmastime. Well, not alone, but the Selection will be over.

Everyone's costumes are gorgeous. Marlee is dressed as an angel and dancing with that guard I ran into, Officer Woodwork. She even has wings that look like they've been made out of iridescent paper floating behind her. Celete's dress is short and made of feather, with a large plume behind her head announcing she is a peacock.

Kriss is standing next to Natalie, and they seem to have coordinated. Natalie's dress has flowers blossoming on the bodice, and her full skirt is fluttery blue tulle. Kriss' dress is as golden as the room and covered with cascading leaves. Guessing, I'd say they are spring and fall. It is a cute idea.

Elise's Asian heritage is being taken full advantage of. Her silken dress is an exaggeration of the demure ones she tended to favor. The draping sleeves are incredibly dramatic, and I am in awe of her ability to walk with the ornate headdress she is wearing. Elise doesn't typically stand out, but tonight she looks lovely, almost regal.

Around the room, all the family and friends are in costume, too, and the guards are equally dashing. I see a baseball player, a cowboy, someone in a suit with a name tag that says "Gavril Fadaye", and one guard so bold as to put on a lady's dress. A few guards are near him, laughing up a storm. But many of the guards are in the dress version of their uniforms, which is simply pressed white pants and their blue jackets. They have on gloves but no hats, and these features help distinguish them from the guards who are actually on duty, surrounding the perimeter of the room.

"So, what do you think?" I ask May, but when I turn, I see she has disappeared into the crowd, already exploring. I laugh to myself. She is going to love living here with us, or near to it, at least.

"Hello, Your Majesty," someone whispers in my ear.

I start and turn to my father. He's dressed in a tuxedo- not quite a costume, but dressed up all the same.

"I'm not the queen, Dad," I whisper with an eye roll.

"No," he acknowledges quietly. He pointedly looks down at my necklace. "But you will be."

I hug him tightly. "I'm so glad you know," I murmur into his jacket.

Dad laughs and weaves his arms around me."Of course I know, Kitten. He even asked for permission."

"He told me," I say. "Also, May and I saw you in the gardens."

Dad laughs. "What are you, spying on me with those secret passages?"

"Gotta keep tabs on you somehow."

Dad looks down at me. "All jokes aside, America, are you happy?"

I nod. "So happy, Dad. This is good."

"That's all I need to know." Dad shakes his head. "Who knew this would be where you'd end up?"

I sigh, looking at Aspen, where he was approaching another guard, who embraced him like a brother. I wonder if being a guard has given him a sense of family the way the Selection has done for me. "Not me," I finally answer.

Just then, Marlee and Elsie find me, and drag me onto the dance floor. As I sway, trying not to hit anyone, I catch Aspen standing on the edge of the floor, talking with Mom and May. Mom runs her hand over Aspen's sleeve, like she is straightening it out, and May is beaming. I can imagine them telling him how handsome he looks in his uniform, how proud his mother must be.

He smiles back, and I can see how pleased he is, too. Aspen and I are rarities, a Five and Six pulled out of our monotonous lives and placed in the palace, The Selection has been so life changing that I sometimes forget to appreciate the experience.

I dance in a circle with some of the ther girls and guards until the music quiets and the DJ speaks.

"Ladies of the Selection, gentlemen of the guard, and friends and relatives of the royal family, please welcome King Clarkson, Queen Amberly, and Prince Maxon Schreave!"

The band swells with music, and we all curtsy and bow as they come in together. The king is apparently dressed as a king, simply that of another country. I don't catch that reference. The queen's dress is a blue so deep it almost appears black, with glittering jewels across it. She looks like the night sky. And Maxon, comically, is a pirate. His pants are torn in places, and he wears a loose shirt with a vest and a bandanna over his hair. Now I understand his shadow of a beard; he looks like a ruffian.

The DJ asks us to clear the floor, and the king and queen have a first dance together. Maxon stands to one side beside Kris and Natalie, whispering things to each in turn and making them laugh. I fight the pang of jealousy that sits in my chest by brushing my fingers over my necklace. Finally I see that he is doing a sweep of the room. I don't know if he is looking for me or now, but I don't want to be caught staring at him. I smooth out my dress and stare at his parents instead. They look very happy.

I think about the Selection and how crazy it seems, but I can't argue with the outcome. King Clarkson and Queen Amberly are suited for each other. He seems forceful, and she combats that with a calming nature. She is a quiet listener, and he always seems to have something to say. Though the whole should be archaic and wrong, it works.

Did they fall in love as quickly as Maxon and I did? Or was she the only one he could stomach, and the affection came later? I resolve to ask Maxon if we can tell his mother, so I can ask her for advice. If nothing else, I can get a headstart on learning to be Queen. There's no one else I'd rather learn from.

I survey the crowd, looking for my family. I see that Dad is standing arm in arm with Mom on the opposite side of the room. May has found her to Marlee and is tucked right in front of her. Marlee holds her arms across May's chest in a sisterly gesture, and their white dresses shine in the lights. It doesn't surprise me at all that they got so close in less than a day. I sigh happily. This is my life now. Soon, my family will all know, and we will all live together in Angeles. It seems like a dream.

I catch Aspen's eye, purely by accident, as he talks to a girl I don't recognize. I'm surprised to find that I am not even a little bit jealous. I watch a smile flash across his face as he sees me, but as soon as it comes it is replaced by a stony glare. I look down and adjust my dress to hide my sadness. I hope we can be friends again someday.

As the king and queen finish, we all crowd onto the dance floor. Guards shuffle around, pairing up with girls easily. Maxon is still standing on the side of the room with Kriss and Natalie. I hope maybe he'll come ask me to dance. I certainly don't want to ask him.

Gathering my nerve, I smooth my dress and walk in his direction. I decide that I'll at least present him with the opportunity to ask me. I make my way across the floor, planning to jump into their conversation. When I get close enough to do that, Maxon turns to Natalie.

"Would you like to dance?" he asks.

She laughs and tilts her blonde head to the side like it is the most obvious thing in the world, and I breeze past them, my eyes trained on a table of chocolates, as if that was my goal the entire time. I keep my back to the room as I eat the delicious treats, hoping no one can see how deeply I am blushing.

Perhaps a half-dozen songs in, Officer Woodwork appears next to me. Like Aspen, he has opted to stay in his uniform.

"Lady America," he says with a bow. "May I have this dance?"

His voice is bright and warm, and his enthusiasm washes over me. I take his hand easily.

"Absolutely, sir," I reply. "I should warn you though, I'm not very good."

"That's fine. We'll take it slow." His smile is so inviting that I can't be worried about my poor dancing skills, and I happily follow him to the floor.

The dance is an upbeat one, which suits his mood. He speaks through the entire thing, and it is hard to keep up. So much for taking it slow.

"It seems you've fully recovered from me nearly running you over," he jokes.

"It's a shame you didn't do any damage," I shoot back. "If I was in a splint, I wouldn't have to dance at least."

He laughs. "I'm glad you're as funny as everyone says you are. I hear you're a favorite of the prince, too." He makes it sound as if it's common knowledge.

"I don't know about that," I deflect. Who knows how long I'm going to hide this. "Sometimes I would agree, but he hasn't even spoken to me yet tonight," I admit, like it I don't understand why.

Over Officer Woodwork's shoulder I see Aspen dancing with Celeste. Again, I don't feel anything but slight sadness at the wall between us now. A little bit of revulsion towards the way Celeste is running her hands all over him, though. At least I know for absolute certain that I made the right choice. It felt like someone ripping my chest open when I saw him with Brenna in Carolina when I left, and now I don't care that he's dancing with someone else in the palace.

"Sounds like you get along well with most everyone. Someone even said that during the last attack you took your maids with you to the hiding place for the royal family. Is that true?" He sounds amazed. At the time, it seemed like a completely normal thing to protect the girls I loved, but to everyone else it comes across as daring or strange.

"I couldn't leave them behind," I explain.

He shakes his head in awe. "You're a true lady, miss."

I blush. "Thank you."

I'm left gasping for breath after the song, so I take a seat at one of the many tables sprinkled around the room. I drink orange punch and fan myself with a napkin, watching others dancing on the floor. I find Maxon with Elise. They look happy as they spin around in circles. He's danced with Elise twice now and still hasn't sought me out. I frown. Is he rethinking his choice? If he doesn't want to be seen with me in public, how can I believe what he says to me when we're alone?

The night goes on, and I find myself peeking at Maxon regularly. Though I try to seem casual about it, I bet anyone really paying attention might notice, particularly my dad, who did notice. We'd make eye contact every now and then. He'd wink, or wiggle his eyebrows in Maxon's direction. I laugh and blush every time. I try to distract myself with the party, and must dance with everyone in the room except Maxon.

I'm sitting down resting my tired feet when I see that Celeste is dancing with Aspen again. It's just embarrassing for Maxon at this point, to have one of the Elite fawning over a guard. I roll my eyes and think about calling her out, but I quickly nip that train of thought in the bud. It would be even worse to have two of the Elite get in a fight over a guard. By the song ends though, I am on the move and situate myself close enough to Aspen for it to be appropriate for him to ask me to dance, in case he wants an out.

And he did, which is nice. He doesn't totally hate me.

He makes no attempt to make conversation for the first minute or two, and it is torturous. I decide that there's not much I can do to make this worse and go for it.

"You know, if we were really just a guard and one of the Elite, you'd be talking to me right now," I say as we spin around the dance floor."

"Sorry, am I not entertaining enough for you? Is that what I needed to change about myself?"

"Aspen," I sigh. "There is nothing you could have done. It's done. Can we never be friends again?" Over Aspen's shoulder, I see Maxon dancing with Kriss. Again. Is he even going to ask me once? Maxon notices that I'm dancing with Aspen and frowns. I smile, feeling a little victorious.

"Not now, America. We've broken each other's hearts I'm sure we'll see each other around, but there's no need for more than that," he says coldly.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry you're unhappy. I never wanted that for you. Well, maybe for a little,"I amend. "Just at the beginning."

"That's fair I guess," Aspen says as the song ends. He gives me a short bow before turning and walking away, and I am left alone in the middle of the dance floor.

Alone, that is, until I hear a voice from behind me.

"My lady?" Maxon asks from behind me. "May I have this dance?"

"I don't know," I answer, only mostly teasing. "Are you sure you want it? I'm sure Natalie is missing you, you've only danced with her four times."

Maxon gently rolls his eyes and guides me into the dance. Of course, now is the time the band starts a slow song. I can't say I'm unhappy about it. Maxon holds me so close I can smell his cologne and feel his stubble against my cheek.

"I was wondering if I was going to get a dance at all," I comment, trying to sound playful.

Maxon grins and pulls me even closer. "I was saving you. I've put in my time with them, now I can just enjoy my evening with you."

I blush, just like I always do when he says things like that to me. Sometimes his words are like single lines of poetry. I smile, thinking about hearing them for the rest of my life.

"What are you thinking about?" Maxon asks. He tries to act like he doesn't really care, but I see through him. I wonder if he can see through me.

"You," I say, trying not to blush.

"Specifically?" he leads, grinning even bigger now.

I laugh at him. Sometimes, he acts like a child who's just been told they can eat candy for breakfast. "Specifically, that you're going to be saying things like that to me for the rest of our lives," I whisper. "And it makes me happy."

Maxon laughs, freely and joyously, but not loudly. "I most certainly will, darling."

I rest my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat as we sway in time to the music. "Have I told you tonight that you're beautiful?"

I smile, remembering his disjointed proposal. How is it that was just hours ago? "You might have, but I can't recall. May as well tell me again."

"You are glorious," he says softly as we turn a bit too quickly and my wings spin around us again. "You are as radiant as the sun and everyone else pales in comparison."

I grin so widely, I nearly cry.

"Much too beautiful to be on the arm of a scraggly pirate, at the very least," he adds with a wink.

I giggle, more wetly than I would have liked. I quickly wipe my eyes without smudging my makeup, brushing my fingers across my new necklace as I loop my arms back around Maxon's neck. "How could you have possibly dressed to match? Come as a tree?"

"Any kind of shrubbery, I suppose," he shrugs.

I laugh again. "I would pay money to see you dressed as a shrubbery!"

"Next year," he promises.

I look up at him. Next year. Because we know that now. I'll be here next year.

"Would you like that? For us to have another Halloween party next October?" he asks.

I nod, unable to look at him now.

"Love?" he asks, sounding a little concerned. "We don't have to if you don't want to, I just thought-"

"No," I cut him off. "I do want to, it's just… I'm overwhelmed by the fact that I'll be here next year. That… it's for sure now."

"I promise you, America, it is. No take backs," he says seriously. "That's why… well, why I wanted to… you know," he says sheepishly. I nod. "We'll work together. We'll make a plan sometime in the next few days. I want you to be able to be one hundred percent certain of me, and I of you."

"You can be," I vow, quickly.

"I know," he says. "But I won't pretend that I was thrilled to see you dancing with Leger."

I smile sadly. "I know. I think he hates me now, so that won't be a problem anymore."

Maxon hugs me closer for a moment. "I'm sorry. I never wanted you to get hurt over this."

I kiss his cheek. "It's alright. He'll get over it eventually, and maybe we can all be friends then."

Maxon grumbles for a moment, so I try to distract him.

"What were you saying about making plans?"

He brightens. "I'll have to dismiss someone tomorrow, but I haven't decided who yet. Any preferences?" he teases, very quietly.

I raise an eyebrow. "Are you seriously asking me that?"

Maxon laughs. "I suppose I know who you dislike the most. Anyways, that will appease my father and the public for awhile; I don't want to rush you. I want you to see the princess's suite. It adjoins mine, actually," he says quietly. Something about being that close to him all the time makes my bones feel weak.

"I think you should start deciding what you want in there. I want you to feel completely at home. You'll have to pick a few more maids, too, and figure out if you want your family in the palace or just nearby. I'll help with everything.

"And in the meantime, we spend as much time together as we can without being horrifically obvious. When it's proper for me to end the Selection, when I publicly propose, I want to be as easy as breathing for you to say yes in front of everyone. I promise to do everything in my power between now and that moment to make it that way. Anything you need, anything you want, say the words. I will do everything I can for you."

I am overwhelmed. He understands me so well, how nervous making this commitment makes me, how frightening it is for me to become a princess. He is going to give me every last second he can to let me prepare, and, in the meantime, lavish me with everything possible. I have another one of those moments where I can't believe this is all happening.

"That's not fair, Maxon," I mumble. "I can barely convince myself I'm good enough to marry you, you can't think I'll make a good queen. What in the world could I possibly give you?"

He smiles and kisses the top of my hair. "Darling, you're perfect." I hug him closer to me, or at least as much as I can while still being appropriate. "All I want is your promise to stay with me, to be mine. Sometimes it feels like you can't possibly be real. Promise me you're real, and you'll stay."

"Of course. I promise."

With that, I rest my head on his shoulder and we slow dance through song after song. Once, May catches my eye, and she looks like she is about to die with happiness watching us together. Mom and Dad stand looking on, and I see Dad wipe a tear from his eye as Mom clutches his arm and beams.

Something occurs to me. "Maxon?" I ask, turning my face toward him.

"Yes, darling?"

I smile at the name. "Can we tell your mom? I'd like to talk to her about things."

Maxon lets out a breath. "I'm not sure. I don't know if she'd feel the need to tell my father, which we definitely want to avoid."

I nod. "I understand. I think it would be nice to be able to ask her things and have her be able to tell me the truth, you know?"

"I understand. I'm excited for you two to get to know each other well."

I smile. "Me too."

I settle back against his chest and his hand moves slightly to settle low on my back, encouraging me to stay close. In that touch I know so many things. I know that this is real, that it is happening, and I can let myself believe it. I know I will let go of the friendships I've made here if I have to, though I am sure Marlee won't mind losing in the slightest. And I know I've let the torch I held for Aspen burn out completely.

Because now I am Maxon's. I know it. I have never been so sure.

For the first time I can see it. I see the aisle, the guests waiting, and Maxon standing at the end of it all. With that touch, it all makes perfect sense.

The party goes on late into the night, and Maxon drags the six of us to the balcony at the front of the palace for the best view of the fireworks. Celeste is stumbling up the marble steps, and Natalie has acquired some poor guard's hat. Champagne is being passed around, and Maxon is celebrating our engagement with a bottle he's kept all to himself.

As the fireworks light up the sky in the background, Maxon raises his bottle in the air.

"A toast!" he exclaims.

We all raise our glasses and wait expectantly. I notice Elise's glass is smeared with the dark lipstick she's been wearing, and even Marlee holds a glass quietly, choosing to sip rather than gulp.

"To all you beautiful ladies. And to my future wife!" Maxon calls.

The girls hoot, thinking this toast might be especially for each of them, but I know better. As everyone tips their glasses back, I watch Maxon- my fiancé- who gives me a tiny wink before taking another swig of champagne. The glow and excitement of the entire evening is overwhelming, like a fire of happiness is swallowing me whole.

I can't imagine anything strong enough to take that happiness away.