"Why worry? If you've done the very best you can, worrying won't make it any better."
-Walt Disney
Sorry it took me so long to wright this chapter. It are a bit of hectic weeks for me. Enjoy and let me now your thought! ;)
I was in the kitchens with Nicoletta to put a menu together for the next month when the rebel alarm went off. I quickly grabbed a frying pan and then Nicoletta's hand and ran off to the nearest entrance for the Royal Safe Room. But since we were in the kitchens it took a lot longer to get to the nearest entrance. We saw people fight and quickly tried to move unnoticed, but of course that wouldn't happen.
Nicoletta got grabbed from behind and they covered her mouth with their hands and held a knife to her throat. You could see the fear in her eyes. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins.
"Let her go!" I said angry. They had an amusing smile on their faces and then someone grabbed me from behind and did the same with me as they did with Nicoletta, but without the knife. They hadn't noticed I was holding a frying pan.
"Do as we say and you won't die," one of them said. We were all alone in the hall, no guard to be noticed. Where were they when you needed them the most?! Probably fighting in another part of the palace. We needed to do something quickly to escape. The rebel who hold Nicoletta turned around and began to walk. The rebel who was holding me was about to do the same when I pushed my heel hard into his foot. There was enough room for me to turn around and give him a knee in his not so bad crown jewels. He struck a cry and let me go. Heels were handy after all, I thought.
I ran towards Nicoletta and hit the rebel hard against his head with the frying pan. He smacked to the ground unconscious. I grabbed her hand.
"Time to run," I said and together we ran off again. We rounded a few corners when I saw a group of rebels standing. We quickly hided around the corner.
"They're standing in a hallway where a passage is," I whispered.
"Than what do we do? Look for another entrance?" Nicoletta asked. I shook my head.
"No, it's too far away."
"We need them to get away from the entrance then." And then again a hand covered both of our mouths and fear crept through my body.
"Don't yell, it's only me," I heard a familiar voice say, a voice I knew way to well. It was Aspen. Relief went through me. I nodded and he removed his hand from our mouth's. I turned around and was met with his green eyes.
"Don't ever do that again!" I hissed in a whisper. I wasn't mad at him, just that he scared the hell out of me.
"Now is not the time to talk about this. Why are you hiding here?" he asked.
"Keep your voice down will you. There are rebels around the corner in front of the entrance." he looked around the corner and then put his attention back to us.
"You two stay here and I will distract them. And keep your frying pan alert." He chuckled a bit when he said that. I did as he told and Nicoletta went to stand behind me. Aspen fired in the opposite direction of the hallway the rebels where standing. We heard footsteps turn our direction and they went pass us.
Aspen made sure there was no one left in the hallway when we were about to move to the entrance of the passageway. I felt someone move me around and I was facing three rebels. They all had a grin on their face and once again fear crept through me.
"Hello, Princess," one of them said and they hid me on my left shoulder with something. I let out a smothered cry and fell to the ground. Then I heard gunshots and one of them felt to the ground. I hit the frying pan to the knees of the other rebels and they fell to the ground, too. Then I hid the frying pan to both of their heads and they felt unconscious. Just to be sure I hid the pan to the rebel who was shot, too. We ran to the passageway and went through it.
When we were through we leaned against the wall, catching our breath. I felt that pain in my shoulder but didn't let it notice. What is it with me being hurt every time there is a rebel attack? I just recovered from the last one and that still hurts sometimes.
"How did you do that?" Aspen asked me. I shrugged my good shoulder, my right one.
"I don't know. I couldn't let them hurt both of you," I said simply.
"Well, we better get going downstairs before your husband does something stupid," Aspen said. I smiled at that. "But I wish for you two to stay behind me."
He walked downstairs and we followed him. "Why does he speak to you that way?" Nicoletta asked. I looked to my right and smiled at her.
"He may be the head of security here, but he is my friend and Maxon's. I knew him before I entered the Selection," I explained.
"That's so sweet," she said with her accent I liked so much. I just shrugged it off and we entered the safe room. I was enveloped in Maxon's arms in a second.
"Where were you?!" he asked. I could hear the relief in his voice and buried my face in his chest. His arm was over my painful shoulder but I didn't want him to know that.
"Attacked by rebels," I said. He pulled back and held my shoulders, looking confused. I saw that the Royal Family of Italy and ours were all here. We were complete.
"What?" he asked. I sighed.
"We were in the kitchens putting together meals for the upcoming month when the alarm went off. We ran towards the nearest entrance but were captured by rebels. I freed myself and helped Nicoletta too. Later Officer Leger found us and helped us get here," I explained.
"How did you freed yourself?" Amberly asked.
"Whit a frying pan," and I held up the pan. It made them look even more confused.
"America hid the heads of the rebels with the frying and they fell unconscious to the floor. I don't how she freed herself before she freed me but we went on and before the nearest entrance was a group of rebels standing. That's when Officer Leger found us and helped. He took one of them down and America the other two because they were standing right in front of her," she said to them.
"She did a remarkable job, your Majesties," Aspen said to all of them.
"Thank you, Officer Leger," I replied. Maxon put an arm around my waist.
"Come, let's sit down," he suggested.
"Let me put this away first," I said and mentioned the frying pan. I put it away and went to sit next to Maxon. Now that the adrenaline was gone I was hit by a flesh of exhaustion. I put my head on his shoulder and drifted off to sleep.
I was gently waked up by Maxon and he said we could go back to our rooms. It was sick o clock in the evening so dinner would be served soon. Maxon walked me back to my room so we both could get changed. He dropped me off in my room and then went to his own to change. Mary already had the bath ready and helped me out of my dress. I saw she had a shocked looked on her face from the mirror. I turned myself around and saw an ugly big blue bruise on my left shoulder blade.
"What happened, Miss?" Mary asked.
"The rebels, that's what happened," I said with a sigh. They really had it coined on me.
"Have you been to Dr. Ashlar?" she asked.
"No, and I don't intent to go, too. The only thing I do these days is go to the infirmary, and I'm sick of it. I just recovered from my shot wounds."
"I understand. We need to cool it though, and if it's going to hurt too much you're going to see Dr. Ashlar, alright?" she stated.
"Yes, ma'am," I said laughing.
"As for now," Mary spoke again. "You are going in bath and we will dress you for dinner. No strapless dresses for you anymore," she said. And so we began our normal routine and once I was out of bath they cooled my shoulder with ice and prepared me for dinner. They put me in a pink dress with think straps that just covered my enormous bruise. Maxon peeked his head through the adjoining door and asked if I was ready. I nodded and stood up.
Dinner was lovely and the last one we had with the Italians because they would leave in the morning after breakfast. I would miss them, especially Nicoletta. Before I knew it dinner was over and we walked back to our rooms. Mary and Paige helped me out of my dress and once I was done and in my nightgown I walked to Maxon's room and flopped onto bed. I stared at the sealing.
"Aren't you coming to bed?" I asked him.
"Just a minute, dear," he said. I rolled my eyes.
"I'm still not you're dear," I said. He smirked and stood up from his desk.
"No, you're right. You are my dearest."
"Well, your dearest wife want's to sleep with her husband lying next to her. She is very tired." He came lying on his side next to me, his head in his hand.
"She is always tired."
"But never of you," I said.
"That would be a very serious problem if she was, wouldn't that be?" he asked. I smiled and turned my head to look him in the eyes.
"A very serious problem," I replied dead serious. He kissed the top of my nose and went to lie on his back. I put my head on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.
"Goodnight, my love. I love you," he said. I kissed his chest.
"I love you too," I replied and with that I fell asleep.
"America?" I heard Maxon say.
"Hmm?" I said sleepy.
"Are you awake?"
I sighed. "No." I got a kiss to my forehead.
"Now?" he asked. I shook my head. He kissed my nose and asked it again. I shook my head. He then kissed my lips and asked the same question again.
"Not even close," I answered. He came to hover above and I put my arms around his neck while he kissed me on the lips again. I sighed against his lips.
"I could do this all day," I murmured. I felt him smile and opened my eyes.
"Me too, but we better get up before Nicoletta comes to drag us out of bed herself," he said.
"Nah," I said. Out of nowhere he began to tickle me. I tried to turn away but it was useless. I was laughing so hard and eventually a scream escaped my mouth. A guard came rushing though the door and Maxon sat up. I followed behind him.
"I'm awake," I said still laughing. "Are you happy?" I asked him. He had a pleased smile on his face.
"Yes," he answered. The guard looked amused at us and left. We both got out of bed and got ready for the day, both in our own rooms.
After breakfast we said our goodbye to the Italians and went to work. I went to my study to make a phone call. I dialed the phone number I needed and waited until she picked up. After three times ringing she picked up.
"Hello, America," Kriss said on the other side of the phone.
"Hi Kriss," I said back. "So, for the school programs I had an idea in mind."
"Spill it," she said.
"Well, if we would create a program for kids who are a bit older, say from of eleven years old to the age when they drop school to help them choose something they like. We would make for them a less program where they have six hours of school each day and they need to do a little project beside that. You can sign in for different subjects, like art, math, music, geographic, anything. If you're having trouble with math you can sign up for the project math and it's like free extra lesson math. This project takes several weeks where you learn more about the topic you choose and make a final assignment. After those weeks you deliver your assignment and you sign up for another subject. It can be anything they like and it won't take much of their time, maximum ninety minutes each week. They also would have enough time left for that day to work so they can support their families."
It was silence on the other hand for a long time. I was trembling a bit because I didn't know if she would like the idea or hate it.
"America," she began. "That's a brilliant idea!" she squealed though the phone. I sighed in relief.
"It is?" I asked just to be sure.
"Yes! But how are we going to manage to do this in the budget?"
"Normally they would have longer schooldays so the teachers are there anyway to make their money. So with this project you give the students and the teachers more free time. The project would be scheduled after their sixth hour. The students will be free earlier so as the teachers. It will cost no extra money," I explained.
"Like I said, a brilliant idea! When can I come so we can discuss this some more?"
"Um, I have to ask first but I think I can be something next week."
"Okay, just let me now. Talk to you later. Bye!" she said happily.
"Bye!" and I hung up the phone. A smile spread on my face. I grabbed the stuff I needed and went to the Women's Room. When I opened the door Amberly was working on one of the tables. She looked up and saw me smiling like an idiot.
"What are you so happy about?" she asked me once I sat down beside her.
"Nothing," I replied to her. "just that I had an idea for the school program and asked Kriss what she thought about it. She liked it."
"Can you tell me what your idea is or do I need to guess?" she asked. I explained to her what my idea was and she thought it was a brilliant idea, too. If I wanted to bring Kriss to the palace I needed to discuss this too with Maxon and Clarkson. I would do this at lunch. Amberly and I worked until it was lunchtime and we went to the dining room. We sat down and Maxon and Clarkson quickly followed. Maxon came to sit beside me and gave me a quick peck on the lips.
I explained what my plan was and Maxon thought it was a good idea and was enthusiastic while king Clarkson was thinking. He didn't say it was a bad idea though.
"When are you thinking Kriss would come?" he asked me.
"I was thinking next week so we can discuss this some further," I said.
He nodded. "Alright. You can tell Kriss she can come next week. She can stay as long as she wants," he added. He had a grin on his face. Did he still wanted Kriss and Maxon together? I knew Maxon didn't want that but still, I felt a bit unsecured about myself.
"Thank you. I will call her after lunch."
We ate our food and when Clarkson was done he stood up, kissed Amberly's cheek, patted Maxon on his shoulder and then came to me. He put his hand tight on my left shoulder and squeezed in it hard. It took a lot to not wince in pain. "Not a bad idea, I must admit," he said and than squeezed my shoulder again but a lot harder this time and left. I excused myself and went to my room.
Mary nor Paige were in my room so I rung the bell and a few moments later Mary appeared.
"Ice," I said. "I want ice."
She looked at me worried. "Can you show me your shoulder, please?" she asked concerned.
"But you need to help me."
"Of course," she said and she went to stand behind me to undo the buttons to reveal my shoulder. When the dress was off my shoulder she looked at me worried through the mirror.
"What?" I asked.
"It looks worse than yesterday. Take a look yourself," and she spun me around so I could take a look through the mirror. She was right, it did look worse than yesterday. It was a lot more blue on a lot more places and it was beginning to look purple, too.
"We're going to the hospital wing," Mary announced. I looked at her, I didn't want to go there, it wasn't that bad. "We agreed to go to the hospital wing when it would hurt to much, and I think it does hurt a lot seeing this."
I sighed. "Fine. Would you come with me?" she nodded and began to do the buttons. We walked to the infirmary and the nurse looked surprise to see us. I asked if I could see Dr. Ashlar and she went to go get him. He appeared a few seconds later, coming out of his office.
"Your Highness, what can I do for you?" he asked while he made a bow.
"My shoulder hurts a bit and I wondered if you could take a look at it."
"Of course. If you would follow me please." We followed him into a private room and I needed to sit on the bed. Mary undid a few buttons of my dress, just enough so it revealed my shoulder. Dr. Ashlar took a look and was quite shocked, too.
"May I ask what happened so I can understand it?" he asked.
"Well, yesterday in the rebel attack I was hurt by rebels. I don't with what but they hid me on my shoulder," I explained.
"Why didn't you came to me yesterday?"
"It didn't hurt that bad. It feels like the only thing that happens to me is getting hurt, and when I'm hurt people have pity with me and that's the last thing I want right now."
"Well, next time something happens you need to come to me so I can take a look at it and prevent you from the pain. Now I'm going to make some pictures to see if it's broken or not because I can't tell. If you would follow me please."
So I stood up and followed him. He took some pictures and looked at it once they were printed. My shoulder wasn't broken but heavily bruised. I have to keep moving with it so it can heal, but not to much. I got some painkillers and then I was free to go.
I made a phone call to Kriss and asked her if she could come next Monday to the palace so we can discuss the school program some more. She happily obliged and I would see her next monday around noon. I worked in my study the rest of the day and went to dinner when it was time. After dinner I got back to my room and Paige helped me out of my dress and put me into a nightgown with long sleeves. After that she was done and I grabbed a book from the shelve and went to read it on the couch in Maxon's bedroom.
I was busy reading when he pressed a kiss to my cheek. When I looked up he kissed me softly and full of passion on the lips. It quickly grew into something more. I stood up, never breaking the kiss and began to unbutton his his shirt. When his undershirt was gone too I moved my hands over his abs. He kissed my neck and I tilted it, sighing in relief. His hands moved to my shoulders and so was his mouth. I felt him stir. Shoot!
"Ames, what is this?" he asked and he stroke my shoulder.
"Just a bruise, nothing more," I said. It wasn't a lie. But he didn't believe it and he put my nightgown over my shoulders, reveling my whole shoulder blade in blue and purple colors. He gasped and looked at me horrified.
"That's not a bruise! Your whole shoulder blade is wounded! What happened?!" he demanded.
"I got hurt yesterday," I said.
"Hurt, as in the rebels hurt you yesterday during the attack?" I didn't respond and that was all he needed to know.
"God, Ames. Why didn't you tell me?! Why did you lie?"
"I didn't lie!" I was getting a bit angry now. "I just didn't tell you."
"And why didn't you tell me before? "
"I didn't tell you exactly for this reason. I knew you would react this way," I said angrily. I could see he was angry, too.
"How do you think I would react! I almost lost you during the attack, and I won't let it happen again!"
There were two the attacks. The first one is where he and his parents almost died and the second was where I almost died.
"Yes, I know I almost didn't make it during the attack. But everybody has got to stop to worry about me all the time. I can defend myself if you haven't noticed."
"Apparently not," he said. "What else haven't you been telling me?!"
That was it. The size was full. I couldn't tell him about the note I had found, it would only upset him more and it was the only one I received. "That's it! I'm going to my room and sleep there. Goodnight Maxon." I said angry and I walked to the adjoining doors and when I was in my room I locked the door with the key. He couldn't get into my room anymore. I left the key in the door and went to lay in bed. On my desk I saw a note. I didn't know if it was something I forget so I stood up and grabbed the note.
You gave us quite the blow, don't you think?
We can blow back to you, too.
I guess you have noticed that.
We hope you recover soon!
Another threat?! What do they want from me?! I hide it with the other threat in an envelop and put it double bottom om my desk. Then I went to bed again, not able to get enough rest.