A/N: Hello! Welcome to my favorite day of the week. Not much to say today, other than I'm pretty sure this is the chapter where we'll hit 100 reviews! I'm so stoked by how much this fic has taken off since I've picked it back up. Thank you guys so much! As a little gift, everyone who reviews this chapter will get a sneak peak of next week's chapter (but you have to be signed in! Otherwise I don't have a way to send it to you) :) Y'all are the best!

"Mother said the receptions went well," Maxon comments as we walk around the gardens.

I grin. "Oh, good. I thought so, but I wasn't sure."

"The Italians especially loved you, it seems," he says with a smile.

I pull him back, stopping us in our tracks. "Wait, really? What happened?"

"They sent us a note," Maxon says. "Something about how gracious you were, and how they can't imagine anyone following in my mother's footsteps quite like you."

My mouth drops. "But- I didn't even- I mean she told me-"

"She told you?" Maxon is astonished. "Princess Nicoletta? The queen? What did she say?"

I glance around, making sure that no one was around. "Nicoletta. She said that she saw that I fought for Marlee. That they liked it a lot. They've been hesitant to form a relationship with Illéa because of the castes, and to tell her if there was anything they could do to help me win."

Maxon shakes his head. "Sometimes I wonder if we shouldn't just do away with the castes."

"Of course you should."

Maxon looks down at me, like he wasn't expecting a response. "Love, we… can't. That's just how it is."

"Would you be able to get rid of them?"

"From a legal standpoint, of course, I can decree whatever I want once I'm king, but that doesn't make it right for the country. That would tear everyone apart; there would be no order. I could never."

I level my eyes at him. "I think you could."

"But- why?"

"What do you mean, 'why'? Because it's inherently unfair!"

"We're working on making it not unfair though. I have the food assistance, and my mother has the work with those with disabilities. We can help people without ripping at the fabric of our society," he counters.

I never intended for this to be the way our conversation went this morning, but here we are.

"My younger brother is great at science, and he hates it when we have to force him to learn some kind of art form. You think that's fine, as long as he can get some free food? Just because he's a Five, he gets no choice in what he does for a living, even when that living can't provide for him?"

"Ames, of course not, but it's not as simple as all that-"

I cross my arms. "It is, though. We are the only country in the world with this system, so clearly it's unnecessary. There has to be some way to get rid of it."

Maxon holds his hands behind his back and keeps walking. "Maybe someday, further on in my reign. But not soon, America, that kind of change takes decades."

I sigh, unwinding my arms to rest my hands on my hips. "Okay."

"Really?" Maxon is bewildered. "That's it?"

"I'm not letting it go forever. I do think we should get rid of them. But I can accept that you know more about how to change things like that. If you say now isn't the right time, then I can accept that. As long as you agree that it should happen."

Maxon looks thoughtful, offering me his arm again. "If you'd asked me a month ago, I probably wouldn't have. I've never really seen how people live outside of Angeles, and I didn't think anyone was really struggling." He shoots me a small smile. "You've taught me that I was wrong, obviously. And if it's been holding us back from forming alliances, then it is definitely worth looking at."

I want to point out that his subjects are more important than alliances, but I don't.

"Good," I say simply. Time for a subject change. "How is it going with the other girls?"

"Well, I think," he says hesitantly. "Do you truly want to talk about this?"

I nod. "Yes. That way I either know they're lying or I already know what they're trying to surprise me with."

Maxon shakes his head. "So I don't get any privacy because you all need to one up each other?"

I raise an eyebrow. "It's not like I can participate- I have the trump card and I can't even play it."

He laughs. "I suppose you're right. But you admit that you are playing a game?"

"Not the same one they're playing. Their game is already over, they just don't know it yet," I say with a grin as Maxon smiles as well and kisses my temple. "You and I are playing a game all our own."

"That's true." Maxon looks like a normal boy when he's happy like this. Like there's no country waiting to weigh him into the ground, no father waiting for him to screw up. Like there aren't four other girls inside the palace scheming to get him to marry them. "I think I have cause to eliminate Celeste after that reception. She clearly doesn't want the responsibility of being queen, so that will be understandable."

I snort, then make a mental note that I have to stop doing that. "That may be an understatement."

"It might," Maxon confirms with a slight smirk. "Natalie is sweet, and easy to please. There isn't anything special to report there." He guides us to our bench, and I lean into his side once we are situated.

"Elise remains infuriatingly pliant, but I don't think she knows that. I think she might be useful as an ambassador or some kind of advisor to New Asia in the future, but she holds no appeal as a wife for me."

"And Kriss?" I ask hesitantly. I know she's the one Maxon likes best after me.

He shrugs. "She gave me a card a few days ago, which was nice. I could see us becoming good friends, but I don't imagine she'd want that."

"Why did she give you a card?" I ask, trying not to sound jealous.

Maxon sees through me though, and laughs. "She said she was sorry about Marlee, essentially. She said she's there if I ever want someone to talk to, things like that. It was sweet."

"I'm here if you ever need to talk to someone," I mutter petulantly.

"I know, my dear," Maxon says. He's laughing at me, but he also tightens his arm around me soothingly.

I elbow him. "Not your dear."

"But you are my dear!" he argues for the millionth time. "You are, objectively, my most dear!"

"Pretty words," I say with a wave of my hand. "You have two other choices, use those. Or, you know, my name," I tease.

"That's so long though," Maxon complains good-naturedly.

"You've started calling me 'Ames'," I point out. "I don't mind that, and no one else here calls me that."

"Have I? I must have picked that up from your sister," Maxon says thoughtfully. "Speaking of, you need to think about whether you want your family to move into the palace or if you want them to have a house nearby."

"Oh, right." For some reason, thinking about how this will affect my family is strange. "Do you have an opinion?"

"Not really. If you want them close, have them here. If you want to keep a little distance, then we can find a home that's close, and you'll still be able to see them whenever you want."

"I don't think I want them to live with us," I say slowly. "We'll have your parents, there's no need to add even more pressure to that."

"That's fair. I can't say I feel confident that my father would get along with them."

Before I can respond, a guard comes up to us, bowing to Maxon and handing him a note. Maxon reads it quickly, his frown deepening with every line he reads. "Thank you, Markson. Tell my father I'll be ready momentarily."

The guard bows again, then turns and hurries back into the palace.

Before I can ask, Maxon turns to me with unease plastered all over his face. "Something has happened in New Asia. Father and I are leaving immediately and I don't know when we'll be back."

I swallow my fear. This is something I'm going to have to get used to. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Maxon shakes his head. "No, not really. It's hard on my mother, though, when we leave. Be nice to her."

"Of course. Maybe I'll send her a card," I say, bumping shoulders with him.

He stands and holds a hand out to help me do the same. "She'd love that, to tell you the truth. You should."

I wrap my arms around him in a tight hug. "Be careful. I'll miss you."

Maxon hugs me back just as tightly and kisses my head. "You, too. Don't do anything too crazy."

"I won't," I promise, releasing him so we can at least walk back to the palace together. "I love you," I whisper when we reach the door to the Women's Room.

Maxon kisses me quickly. "I love you, too." Then he hurries off into the palace.

I take a deep breath and straighten my spine before slipping into the room.

Natalie, Kriss, and Celeste are all in a corner together, but Elise and Queen Amberly are nowhere to be seen. They all look up when I enter, and their faces fall.

"Sorry to disappoint you?" I'm not sure who they were expecting.

"Her Majesty ran out of the room a few minutes ago, and asked Elise to go with her. We were hoping you were one of them and you could explain," Kriss tells me.

"Oh, Elise will be good," I say without thinking. I'm still a little distracted with worry.

"What does that mean?" Celeste demands. "What do you know that we don't?"

I sigh. "I don't know that I'm supposed to tell you this, but Maxon and the king are on their way to New Asia. I was with Maxon when he found out, that's how I know."

"What's wrong?" Natalie asks shyly. Kriss and Celeste seem too shocked to say anything.

"I don't know. Maxon didn't either, he just got a note from the king."

Kriss looks extraordinarily worried.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," I try to comfort. "Especially if Elise's family can help."

"They must do this all the time," Celeste says with a flip of her hair. "Flying is actually quite fun when one has the time to enjoy it."

I stand. "I'm going to go write some letters. I'll see you all at dinner."

They all nod distractedly, and I notice them distancing themselves from each other.

~PtG~

I do write some letters to my family, but I also send a note to the queen. I'm not sure that there's anything I can do to help her, but I want her to know that I'll do what I can. She doesn't respond, but I wasn't really expecting her to. She does let us eat dinner in our rooms, though, which I take advantage of. I settle in to read a book about the Russian Federation, and soon after there's a knock on the door.

I sigh. The only one who would come to me with Maxon gone is Aspen. I can't ignore him, though, if he's ready to talk.

However, when I swing the door open, Kriss is standing in front of me.

"Oh," I say, confused. "Hi."

"Hi," Kriss says, a little too upbeat to be natural. "I was wondering… do you want to eat together?" I glance at the little clock on my vanity and see that I've been reading for two hours.

"Sure." I open the door a little wider, and she comes in. I see Mary coming down the hall with a tray for me, and once she arranges it on a table for me, she quickly ducks out to bring Kriss' up as well.

"Maxon comes here a lot, doesn't he?"

"What?" I nearly spit out the water I'm drinking, but manage to hold it together.

"That's why I wanted to eat with you." Kriss pauses as Mary sets her dinner down, and waits until Mary has closed the door behind her to start again.

"I think you and I should talk about Maxon."

"What about him?" My hand raises to touch my necklace, but I don't want to draw attention to it, so I refrain.

Kriss fidgets in her seat."Well, I had prepared myself to lose. I think we all had except for maybe Celeste. It was obvious, America. He wanted you. And then everything with Marlee happened, and it changed."

Well, I guess we did a really good job at hiding it. If they thought we got more distant after Halloween. "So, are you telling me you're sorry for getting closer to him?"

"No!" she says emphatically. "I can see he still cares about you. I'm not blind. We all see that necklace you never take off, it must be from him."

My hand flies to my neck, and I don't have an excuse ready. I was going to tell them my family gave it to me if they asked, but Fives could never afford something like this. Kriss keeps going.

"I'm only saying I think you and I might be neck and neck at this point. I like you. I think you're a really great person, and I don't want for things to get ugly, however it turns out."

"So this is…?"

She clasps her hands in her lap and straightens her spine. She looks nothing like Queen Amberly in her coloring, and yet, they could be sisters in this moment. "This is me offering to be completely honest about my relationship with Maxon. And I'm hoping you'll do the same."

My mind races. Do I pretend to not know anything about their relationship? About the cards she sends him? I have to, I think. If I know everything about her and she knows nothing about me, that could give us away.

"When did you two get so close?" I try to sound a little defensive without being aggressive. I'm not sure how well it works.

Her eyes get a little dreamy and she toys with a piece of her light-brown hair. "I guess right after everything with Marlee. It probably sounds stupid, but I made him a card. That's what I always did back home when my friends were sad. Anyway, he loved it. He said no one had given him a present yet."

Pfft. I gave him my hand in marriage, is that not enough for him?

I do feel a bit chastised. After everything he's done for me, have I really never done anything for him in return?

"He was so happy, he asked me to sit with him awhile in his room and -"

"You've seen his room?" I asked, shocked. He never told me that.

"Yes, haven't you?"

"Yeah, but- never mind." I wave the unsettling information away. I'll yell at Maxon for it later.

"Okay," she says uneasily. "Anyways, after that he started visiting me a lot." She shakes her head. "It happened kind of fast."

Yeah. He needed someone else to be the favorite, because he's marrying me. Take that.

I shake my head, trying to calm down. "I've noticed. He's told me that it'll probably be us two at the end."

"So…" She bites her lip. "You're pretty sure he still likes you?"

No, Kriss, I'm damn sure he's in love with me. I hate this.

"Kriss, do you really want to hear all this?"

"Yes! I want to know where I stand. And I'll tell you anything you want to know, too. We aren't running this thing, but that doesn't mean we have to be lost in it."

I notice my foot tapping and try to control myself. Obviously, I can't tell her the truth. Do I just play it down a little? Do I say I'm holding him up? Do I just say I don't want to talk about it?

"I'm sorry," I say, a little embarrassed. "I don't usually talk about things like this. We see each other most nights, but not for long. We just... talk a lot."

Kriss nods. "I figured. We never see you together, but you always seem close, if that makes sense."

I nod. She looks like she wants to say something else, but isn't sure.

She blurts it out. "Has he kissed you?"

I nod. "Yes. And you?" Even though I know the answer.

She shakes her head. "No, but I think he would have if I hadn't asked him not to. In my family, we sort of have this tradition where we don't kiss until we're engaged. Sometimes we have a party when people announce their wedding date, and everyone gets to see the first kiss. I want that for me," she explains. "He kisses my hands a lot, though, or sometimes my cheek. I think it's kind of sweet."

I nod, staring at the half eaten chicken on my plate.

"America, if you're not going to be honest, then this is a waste of time. I came here wanting to be open with you. I thought it would benefit us both to be friendly."

I sit there, wringing my hands, trying to think of a way to explain myself. It's not that I dislike Kriss. If I didn't love Maxon, I'd want her to win.

"I do want to be friends with you, Kriss. I kind of thought we already were."

"Me, too," she says gently.

"It's just hard for me to share private things. And I appreciate your honesty, but I'm not sure I want to know everything. Even though I asked," I say quickly, seeing the words coming to her lips. "I already knew he had feelings for you, I can see it. I think I need things to be vague for the time being." It's a lie, but that's my life for now, I guess.

She smiles. "I can respect that. Would you do me a favor, though?"

"Sure, if I can."

She bites her lip and turns her eyes away for a moment. When she looks back, I can see the hint of tears in her eyes. "If you're certain that he doesn't want me, could you maybe warn me? I don't know how you feel, but I love him. And I'd appreciate being told. If you know for sure, anyway."

Bitch, my mind hisses before I can stop it. I take a deep breath to steady myself. It's fine. It's not like Maxon is suddenly going to change his mind.

"If he ever tells me for sure, I'll tell you."

I'll talk to him about it when he gets back. If he gets back. The bread in my mouth turns to dirt at the thought, and I quickly gulp down some water to clear it.

Kriss doesn't notice. "And maybe we could make another promise? Not to purposely get in each other's way? I don't want to win that way, and I don't think you do either."

"I'm no Celeste," I say with disgust, though my heart isn't in it. She laughs. "I promise to be fair."

"Okay then." She dabs her eyes and straighteners her dress. I can see it so easily, how elegant she would look with the crown on her head.

We eat mostly in silence, and it's a little uncomfortable. It isn't unbearable, but Kriss doesn't linger long after we finish.

I have two dreams once I finally fall asleep that night. In one, Maxon decides I would be a terrible queen and marries Kriss instead. She sends me a card when he proposes.

In the other, I see Maxon burning in a plane crash in rural New Asia.

I don't sleep well.