AN: Well, this chapter was a little more on the fun/filler side than anything else. However, there are a few things that are insanely important to the outcome and I hope that you are able to pick up on a little of the foreshadowing. There's only about 8 or 9 chapters left in this little story of mine and I can't wait to have you guys see how it all plays out. I really hope you all enjoy the ending and stick with me to the end. :) You guys have truly been the best reviewers there are. This is almost the most reviewed story that I've ever written, almost the most amount of chapters I've ever written, most favs and follows, and I think most enjoyed by so many people. I can't believe how special you all make me feel every time you review. I hope you guys like the conclusion to the story that'll be headed to you from this chapter on. Rock on, you guys are truly the best readers ever!
ALSO FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVEN'T SEEN THE UPDATE ON SOCIAL MEDIA, THERE IS A SURPRISE COMING TOMORROW STRAIGHT FROM THE ONE, THE ONLY, KIERA CASS! MOVIE? SEQUEL? MORE TO THE QUEEN NOVELLA THAN JUST A NOVELLA? WHO KNOWS!
America's POV
I would have never imagined how long the car ride from Angeles to Carolina truly was. Perhaps that was simply because the only time I had made the journey was via plane and I knew that the trip was much faster because of it. I watched out from the window as there were a few rolling hills, some mountains, and a soft view that carried me all the way to my long forgotten home. For months at the end of the Selection, I had dread the day that I might get sent home like this, having lost favor with Maxon and having to watch him choose someone else. And he had picked someone else, yet for some reason I had convinced myself that I could stay at the palace and forget about my feelings for him. I had told myself that I could work past those lingering feelings and work alongside him, becoming his close friend and confident again. I should have known it would have been a recipe for disaster. I rested my fingers against my lips and could still feel the warmth he had left radiating on him. If I had stayed at the palace, I would have broken up their engagement and I didn't want to do that to Kriss. I was sure that it was just a drunken mistake on Maxon's part so what would be the point of causing drama for them? Neither of them deserved me to meddle and question whether or not there was more behind it than a few whiskeys.
I was greeted in a warm hug by my mother as I exited from the car door. There were a few soft tears in her eyes. The last time I had been here, I had very little choice about coming back. I had to be there for my family during the funeral, I had to step up and help them through the roughest patch in our lives. It was also here that I learned the most unsuspecting people could be Northern Rebels, which meant that I shouldn't have been too surprised that the list included Scott. Then the door slid open again and I suspected to see May or Gerad running out to greet me in a warm hug. However, when the door opened I saw a much taller figure than either of my younger siblings. I instead saw Daniele, whose hand was outstretched behind him as Celeste walked out of the door behind him. I stared. What on earth are they doing here?
It was then that I realized that Officer Tanner and Officer Walker were outside my house, sitting on the sidelines and simply looking around the area. I guessed that they had been sent after me by Scott or Maxon in order to ensure my safety but that didn't explain why Celeste and Daniele were here. I walked over to them quietly, trying to avoid eye contact with Celeste because I still felt ashamed of how much I had offended and hurt her. "What are you doing here?" I whispered quietly to Daniele, who pulled Celeste to his side rather than keeping her behind him as if he were being his hero and defender.
"You know we have our meeting with New Asia in two weeks. We have to work and if you'd rather work here, then that's fine. But you still have a job to do," he said with a smile. "Mrs. Singer, can I help you finish anything with the breakfast you had started to prepare?" He followed my mom back into my house and I watched as Celeste and I were left standing on the front step of my house.
"So this is what poor looks like Five." She replied, refusing to look at me as her eyes flickered around my house and those surrounding it.
"I'm sorry Celeste. What I said to you was completely out of line. It was almost as mean—well maybe it was just as mean as some of the things you said and did to girls during the Selection." I had to make up with her. Out of all the time that we had spent hating each other, I didn't ever think I would become so dependent on the friendship that she had offered me. "I was just stressed and I didn't want to be the bad guy in his relationship. I didn't want to break up their engagement, I never did. And I don't see him here asking for me to come back to the palace. It's over, we just had to get that one last kiss out."
She shrugged and pulled me into a soft hug. "It doesn't have to be over. If you would have stayed maybe-"
"It's over, Celeste. I'm happy to move on I just need some space from him right now." I cut her off, softly hugging her back for a moment before pulling away. "Now shall we go inside? I know my mother's cooking might not be as fancy as you're used to but she does a really good job."
"I've never had a home cooked meal, Five. It better live up to those who had been hired and skilled in the trade," she replied smiling at me as we walked in. Upon entering, we saw May staring up at Daniele, admiring his Italian accent. I whispered to Celeste how she had always admired Maxon and how I might have had competition in my time if she had been my age. However, from the grin that Daniele was giving May, I warned Celeste that it might be her turn to worry about a younger woman stealing away her prince. She rolled her eyes at me and went over and started to talk to Gerad, who had been looking at her since the moment she walked in.
"You're pretty for a girl," he replied to her asking if she could sit next to him, looking nervous as Celeste took her seat. I giggled remembering how he had said earlier last year that he had no intentions of being hung up on some crush. I remembered being at the age when I thought that boys weren't attractive and had some sort of disease. I watched as Daniele scooped May up onto one of the taller chairs next to him. I was glad to see that the two of them had such a playful relationship as Celeste had always been so manipulative when we were all dating Prince Maxon. I knew that Nicoletta would grow to love her as a sister if she didn't already.
"Well, I suppose we can go our separate ways now, Celeste," Daniele said with a grin as he bit into the breakfast my mom had prepared. "Mrs. Singer is a fabulous cook and now that I've seen what May will look like when she's older," he said with a half-smile winking over in my sister's direction. That earned a soft laugh from the table as everyone thanked my mother for the meal that she had prepared. "America, once we are done eating we really must get down to working. There's so much to catch up on before we go on our trip. It'll be the first time you get to have any real delegate responsibilities."
I nodded and found myself lost in my breakfast. Having gotten used to fancy meals cooked at the palace, I forgot how well my mother could cook. While I had offered to buy them a nicer house, my mother refused to leave the place where she had raised all of her children and had so many happy years of marriage to my father. I knew it was the memories that she sorely wanted to cling to but I still gave her enough money to ensure that she had enough food, heat, and whatever else they could need or want for taken care of. We ate the remainder of our breakfast in peace, making small talk here and there in-between bites. Once we were finished, Celeste offered to take May shopping while Gerad headed out to play watch with the guards. My mother being the person that she was said that it was no trouble if Celeste didn't want to take May along with her but I was impressed once again that she replied how much she had always wanted a younger sibling and would like to be able to try it out for at least one afternoon.
As for Daniele and I, we headed up to my father's old studio room and began to work on the lessons that we had to get through before New Asia. I wasn't looking forward to having to do business with Maxon again but I knew that I didn't really have much of a choice. I wasn't going to back out from a job I had agreed to, especially not now that I had started to enjoy it. I was just hoping that when I saw him, I wouldn't be hurting for another kiss, another stolen moment from a man who was no longer mine to love.
Maxon's POV
I hadn't eaten all day. That was the first thing that came to mind as I rounded the corner to my last meeting. I wasn't going to be in any form of a good mood to deal with DeLisle once I got into the meeting and re-established when we would be leaving for New Asia with our delegates to them, the Italian embassy, and of course her, my beautiful fiery redhead that had once and for all defined that our relationship was over and couldn't have been picked back up again no matter if we had begged for that to be the case. I pulled myself together and stood tall as I walked through the double doors to the meeting. Once again, there were whispers that muted themselves as soon as I walked through the door. The Advisors bowed to me as they stood up from their chairs, sitting back down as soon as I had taken my own seat.
"Today, gentlemen," I started out the meeting, passing along the folder I had created for our meeting. "We will go over our agenda for the upcoming meeting with New Asia in which we finally hope to finish the war and begin to focus on fixing the problems here at home in Illéa. They have agreed to meet with us and from the conversation that I had with Prime Minster Li they are ready for peace just as much as we are."
DeLisle scoffed from the background. I knew that he would be against the war ending without a single doubt. The minute those funds were gone and no longer needed was the same moment that we could really start to dissolved the Caste System. From there, people who had once been Sevens could easily step in and work their way up to his position. I rolled my eyes slightly and quickly at the noise he had made, careful to make sure that none of the other Advisors saw the movement. I didn't want to appear condescending like my father before me—or those who remained his loyal supporters long after his death.
The Advisors began to look through the paperwork and seemed to be pleased, for the most part, with what they were reading. It took me a while to finally be able to relax in DeLisle's presence I looked around the room and realized that the eight people who were on my side were split from the five who weren't—DeLisle at the front row with Elliot, Davidson, Andrews, and Tucker. I looked amongst them and saw soft shakes of the head as they read through the paperwork. Those who looked disappointed in the work that I had done worried me. I didn't want to force a new set of people who I thought would agree with everything I said into the group of people I had to pass all my plans through. However, I didn't want to wait and have them keep drawing others into their growing group. Somehow I felt like they might have been bribing the others to join them or turn their backs on me. I knew that I could be a good king, perhaps even an amazing one, I just needed the chance. New Asia would be my first opportunity to show it to all of them as well as all of Illéa.
"This all seems to be in order," Saxton said as he put down his packet. "King Maxon, who have you decided will take this trip with you?"
"Prince Daniele of Italy, delegate to Italy America Singer, delegate to New Asia Emery Peterson, Head of my Private Guard Aspen Leger, myself, and a few other choice guards."
"Sounds like a small enough party," DeLisle replied, leaning back in his chair. "Are you sure you can take on an agreement with Minister Li without letting the good of Illéa slip through your fingers? You've never had any experience, King Maxon, perhaps one of us should join you on your journey."
"Emmett Larson is going to be joining me. He's had enough experience under my father and I feel as if he can be trusted to fulfill his part in the treaty. I wouldn't want to separate the rest of you from your positions and duties here and he will do a fine job alongside me." I replied, smirking softly as his jaw clenched at my well planned and explained answer to his question. He wasn't going to be able to trip me up about this.
"And Lady Singer is going but the Princess isn't?" He replied coolly with a soft smile. His voice was almost inaudible and no one in the room seemed to hear the remark besides me. My heart began to race as the words wrapped around my brain, sticking like glue. What did he know? How could he know anything? America and I had kissed in the shadows, he was nowhere near to see what had happened between the two of us. I tried to fight the urge to run my hand through my hair in a panic. There was no way I was going to let him bully me about this. He couldn't, there was no way he could really know and that was what I kept telling myself over and over. I breathed deep. "I propose that you leave for New Asia in ten days, rather than fourteen, your Majesty. I only say that because it must be hard trying to plan your wedding while you have this going on and I would love to make sure that we get our new Queen sooner rather than later." His face smiled with a bright smirk behind the look. There was flash in his eyes and I knew that somehow, he knew what I had done. But I still wasn't going to let him push me out of this with the blackmail he now had on me.
"Of course," I replied, biting my lip as I tried not to get angry with the words he was throwing my way. Each one hit like a bullet to my chest.
"Meeting adjourned," Saxton replied. "I'll call the New Asian embassy and have them alerted that we will be coming a little earlier. Though, if they are so eager on peace agreements I'm sure that they won't really mind." I nodded and watched as everyone exited the room. I picked up the papers and headed out to meet Kriss for cake tasting down in the kitchens. With just a few months before the wedding, there was too much to do. I would be happier when it was all over.
Kriss was leaning against one of the counters in the kitchen, looking around the room while she talked awkwardly to my mother. I felt distanced from her in that moment. I had always hoped that my mother would be good friends with the girl that I was going to marry. Yet, when I saw that she couldn't possibly be comfortable in the room I wondered if things were ever going to get any better. I knew that Kriss would have gotten along perfectly with my father if he had survived the rebel attack.
"Hello, my dear and mother," I said with a smile as I hugged my mom before leaning in and giving Kriss a small kiss on the lips. "I'm so glad you guys were able to take some time off your schedules to come and start planning things with me," I smiled and wrapped my arm around Kriss' shoulders. My mother looked at me as if there was something going on that I hadn't told her about and I barely managed to advert my eyes before I started to feel guilty about it.
The head cook brought out some samples of a few different chocolate, vanilla, a strawberry, and random blends of cake that I couldn't have imagined. The experience wasn't something that I was overjoyed about, though. I had always hoped when I would be getting married that I would have been completely in love with my wife but my marriage to Kriss was going to be nothing but adding unwanted commitment to a friendship. I didn't know how we were going to pull this off but I knew that somehow, we could.
"What cake did you prefer?"
"I like the vanilla one, not too plain but not too strong either," Kriss replied as she took a small piece from the sample once again. "What about you?"
"Strawberry."
"Well, I can do a few layers of both," the cook replied as he smiled from both of us to my mother. "How about you, your Highness?"
"I think that the strawberry or chocolate would have to be my favorites. But I think that if you layered the strawberry and vanilla that would be a good choice as well, even if some would argue that chocolate should go with strawberry flavors." She said with a soft smile in a teasing tone as she looked up at the clock in the corner of the room. "As for me, you'll have to excuse me as I have meetings I have to get back to. I trust whatever they choose and I know you'll do a wonderful job preparing the meal." I bowed to my mother before she walked out of the room.
"Vanilla and strawberry it is," I said with a soft smile. Kriss nodded and we walked out of the room together, deciding that the cooks could decide what they wanted to prepare for the meal and we would simply have to trust their skills. "Have you had time to look at some dresses yet?"
"Very little. Princess training is exhausting but I was thinking that maybe my maids might be able to talk to America's former ones and see what they had to input about it. I just loved all their designs and I want it to be perfect. I'll only get married once," she replied as we continued to walk down the hallways.
"Well, I'm leaving for New Asia in ten days but I was hoping that after I get back we could go on a date or something. I would like to try and take you out before but I just have so much that I have to do in order to prepare."
"Its fine, Maxon. I'd love to go on a date with you after you get back," she said smiling as she softly kissed my cheek. The smile on her face was soft and friendly and I wondered if we'd ever be able to truly have a happy marriage. I hoped that we would but I couldn't help but worry about it either. "Well, this is my room."
"So it is," I said. "Well, I'll see you at dinner."
