May have gotten a bit carried away with this one. But the PARALLELS between America and Kile drove me absolutely crazy when I read the books. I swear, Kiera planned to make Keadlyn a thing and then trashed it for the sake of a plot twist. But that's none of my business.

Sorry this took so long, by the way.

Chapter Six

Shoulders slumped, Eadlyn dragged herself into the Women's Room and flopped down on one of the couches, surely wrinkling her luxurious gown. For once, she didn't care. She was a mess.

Her mother, the only other person in the Women's Room, looked up worriedly. "Eady, are you alright?"

"No!" Eadlyn exclaimed dramatically. "I am not even a little bit alright!"

America scooted closer to her on the couch. "Well, I'm listening. What's going on?"

(Ever since America's heart attack, she hadn't been allowed to do much, so listening to her daughter whine would probably be the most exciting thing to happen to her all week.)

Eadlyn sighed. "It's my Selection. I really don't know how to choose, but it's already down to the Elite, so I have to keep moving before the public gets bored…"

"Well, that's not exactly the case," America reminded her. "You're doing this for you, not the public. "Don't let anyone else's opinion sway yours."

"It is definitely not that simple," Eadlyn grumbled. She hadn't started this Selection for herself. She just had to finish it that way.

America patted her hair. "Well, okay. Tell me about your options."

"First there's Fox, I guess," Eadlyn said wearily. "I don't really have any connection with him at all."

"Then he's not an option," America said wisely.

"And then Ean," Eadlyn continued. "He's…well, I don't know, I haven't spent as much time with him. He's just…there."

America did not need to know about her daughter's potential deal of a loveless marriage with Eadlyn. Some things were better kept secret.

"Keep going," America told her.

"Well, there's Hale," Eadlyn said. "I like him, I guess. I think he'd be a good prince."

"He probably would be," America agreed. "He's very charming. Do you love him, though?"

"Well, I don't know!" Eadlyn exclaimed. "If I knew that, I wouldn't be having this conversation!"

"Fair enough," America conceded. "Who else?"

"There's Henri." Eadlyn had to smile just thinking of Henri. "Henri's cute and sweet and I like him. Kind of like a puppy, though. I don't know if I could ever…"

"Produce an heir with him?" America said wryly.

"Mom!" Eadlyn complained, swatting her on the arm. "And then there's the language gap. That makes it hard too! Nearly everything I say to him has to go through a translator! How awkward is that?"

"Very awkward," America said grimly. "And that's not a good trait for a Prince Consort. Not that you couldn't make it work, but…"

Eadlyn got it. She nodded with a serious little frown. "Yeah, I know. It'd be a long shot."

"None of those options are really sticking out to me," America worried. "Who else is there?"

"Well…" Eadlyn's voice got awfully dreamy all of a sudden. "There's Kile."

America raised her eyebrows. "That's…wow. Tell me more about Kile, please."

"I like him a lot, Mom," Eady admitted. "He's not at all who I thought he was. He's smart, and funny, and kind of obsessed with butter…I really like spending time with him, and talking to him, and…"

"Kissing him on TV?" America finished.

"MOM!" Eadlyn scolded, blushing fiercely. "Totally different situation. Things have changed. I feel like I really know him now, and we've got a real relationship. Sometimes I'm really sure I love him."

America looked quite exasperated all of a sudden. "Then why one earth are we having this conversation? Clearly, Kile is the only one you have real, potential feelings for."

"But I'm not sure he wants all that," Eadlyn confessed. "You've heard him; he hates this palace. Before the Selection, I heard him call it a cage a hundred times. I don't want to force him to stay here for the rest of his life, even though he says he doesn't mind and he'd do it for me."

"Oh, Eadlyn…" America put a hand on her shoulder. "When I entered your father's Selection, I felt a lot like Kile did at first. I didn't think I was supposed to be here. I know I called this palace a cage more than once. But once I started falling in love…it all changed."

"Really?" Eadlyn asked dubiously. "You didn't want to be here?"

America shrugged. "Well…yes and no. It was complicated, back then. I couldn't imagine being willing to stay here forever, but now I know I'm exactly where I'm meant to be, and I don't doubt at all that Kile feels the same way about you."

"You mean it?" Eadlyn asked in a small voice.

"I really do." America nodded solemnly. "If Kile didn't want to stay with you, he wouldn't say it. You should know him better than that by now."

"I really should," Eadlyn sighed. "…maybe I should go talk to him right now."

"About getting married?" America asked hopefully.

Eadlyn yelped. "Not now, Mom! Slow down!"

But of course, they did eventually get married, and Eadlyn was a great Queen while Kile was an adored Prince Consort and they had like six kids and THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER, GOD DAMN IT.

Don't act like this wasn't how it was supposed to happen.