AN: Several of you asked that I add another chapter to this story. While I had orginally planned that it only be a one-shot I decided to write a short little drabble in order to add to Kriss' life after the Selection series/the first chapter in this short story. I hope you enjoy it! And maybe if you like it enough I'll add a little more from time to time. :)
It had been two years since I left the Selection. It had been a little less than two years since Maxon had married America. It had been only a few days since I finally realized I was truly over Maxon. There had been days that I had felt as if I were over him but then I would see his face on the cover of a magazine or I would watch the Report and my heart would still do a little flutter. Then it would drop dead when the cameras rolled to Queen America or her photo appeared next to his. But I was finally seeing that she was what had been sorely needed in the country. Their reign would change everything for the better. I didn't know if I would have really been brave enough to keep facing all of these attacks—especially following what had happened the day we had almost become engaged. I don't know how I would have responded to my husband's life being threatened on a daily basis and being able to do nothing about it. Yet there was my friend, standing tall next to him no matter how hard the attacks got by the Loyalist to Clarkson's way of running (mostly a collection of Two's who felt that self-entitlement to their position and money).
A few months ago, I had been named the head of the department of education. I had been relocated to just outside of the palace limits. While it had stung at first to see America's belly slightly swollen with child, it was also what helped me realize that I was no longer in love with Maxon. I wanted that—a family—more than anything else in the world. And I would be able to get just that if I were able to move on from the Selection and all of those lingering feelings. I woke up one day, somewhere near the end of America's first trimester and was grateful they had finally vanished. I was no longer jealous she had won. I was hopeful at long last.
I woke up early that morning and started to plan for the meeting I had with Queen America and Lady Marlee about the next educational tour that we would be taking together. America had been planning to show the people that we would all prosper together in the simplest way possible to start with. The educational tours opened the doors of schools to children that had been born to parents in the 8th Caste and was helping to promote unity with most of the people in the communities. It was a small step but it still had worked well with the people who wanted to see a change in the government. Some of the Southern Rebels had been included in the transition after they denounced their way of life. Yet, this basic change had also been enough to start small riots within the Two's and some of the richer Three's. They argued that the Southern Rebels were a threat to their way of life and removing the 8th Caste completely would start to drown everyone into debt once again—as in our country's long past. But Maxon and America had insisted that this be continued. This was what had led to my new position as the head of the education programs in the country.
As I was leaving my house I saw a guard car pull just outside the front door. He walked up and knocked gently, waiting patiently for me to answer. I opened the door and looked confused at him. Usually, there wasn't anyone who was ever sent to come and collect me for these meetings. Nobody saw me as a threat to the old country but rather as a woman just doing her job. "Can I help you Officer…Alexander?" I said reading his badge.
"The meeting has been postponed, Lady Kriss." He replied. I looked at him trying to decide why they would send a guard when a simple phone call would have done the trick in the past. He looked inside of my house from over my shoulder and then back down at me. "May I speak to you somewhere that isn't so exposed? I bring news that needs to be passed along in secret for now."
I nodded and stepped out of his way before shutting and locking the door. I showed him into the main room and offered him a seat on one of the couches before sitting down on the other. Whatever the news was, there was no way that it could be of any good for anyone. "The Queen lost her baby this morning. We are trying to keep it out of the news as long as possible. The Loyalist would be very pleased if King Maxon and his wife were unable to produce a heir so that the crown can be passed on to one of Clarkson's cousins who would keep the country as it is and revert any changes made in their lifetime," he explained. "We would appreciate you keeping this quiet but as a Lady, I don't think we need to worry about that at all."
I nodded. How terrible that must be for them especially since Maxon had been the only one of his siblings to be able to survive and be brought into this world. I had no idea what they would be feeling. I instructed the maids to bring the officer a drink as I worked through quickly to make them a card. This was the first I would be making out of complete friendship to the pair but it was the only thing I could think of to offer them my sincerest apologizes. At the end I noted that they needed to keep the faith. I believed they would be parents they just needed to be able to cope with this loss and try again. I gave it to the guard before he slipped back out into the car so he could return to his duties at the palace. He told me to call him if I needed anything else and that he would return if the Queen or Lady Marlee wanted to see my plans I had drawn up to store them away at the palace.
That was the first time I ever met Officer Scott Alexander. In that moment, I didn't take the time to realize just how attractive he actually was. He was taller and larger than Maxon in stature—due to simple mass amount of muscle. His brown hair curled back at the top and fell down just to below his ears in a simple cut. On occasion, he would have a grown in ginger beard that I couldn't help but giggle when I saw it come out. It meant that he had been working hard within the palace and was unable to shave it off. I liked that he was such a hard worker I never appreciated anyone who half did their job. His blue eyes sparkled when he smiled and it was really the first thing that I noticed about him on our next encounter. All in all, he was simply stunningly handsome. And from that moment on, I felt myself starting to fall in love all over again. He woke up a small fire that burned inside of me. That wasn't quite what Maxon had made me feel. It was so much better and mine.
Two years later we found ourselves in the delivery room with our first child. I hoped that our baby would look like their father. When they brought our baby girl into our room, I smiled back and forth between our creation and my husband with the upmost joy. While I had never been able to make Maxon fall completely in love with me, Scott was all mine. His heart had been mine for a long time and I had given him my own in return. As I soothed our little girl's cries, I noticed that she had the same pale blue eyes before she closed them for sleep. I hadn't been the One but I was finally someone's. And I wouldn't have traded this life for anything I had thought I wanted previously. This was so much better.
