Its been like a month and I am incredibly sorry about that, but... here's chapter 22! yay! I mean, I'm pretty sure its chapter 22, because I had twenty chapters and two authors notes... yep I'm going to go with this is chapter 22.

This is starting where the last chapter left off, and hopefully more will come tomorrow or sometime this week. I am in a musical until Thursday, so I am thinking I will probably have the next chapter out on Friday at the second-earliest. Sorry! But that's the way things go with my busy schedule!

I'm just going to say this in advanced, you will either love this chapter or hate it. I don't really think that there is an in-between, because its sorta cliche, but its like, interesting at the same time...in my opinion. Okay, enough rambling! Here ya go!

All rights to Kiera Cass, the most amazing, wonderful, great, awesome, groovy, funny, witty, cool, interesting writer ever! :)

Chapter 22

He died. A soldier- no, the soldier; the only one that I knew as a true friend had left the physical world for a girl that had given me nonstop torment and grief all year long. How did she deserve to live more than him? Was God playing some weird trick on me? Was this a dream? I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The rebels wouldn't have let him take her from their camp so easily, and there was no way someone would fall in love with Celeste. She was the most unlikable person I had ever met in my life. I was pretty convinced that she had no soul after the first encounter I had with her. She was always so vicious and judgmental. I couldn't remember the last time she said something remotely nice to anyone at the palace. Everything was always about her- even when she was taken from the palace by the rebels, everyone was focused on finding her.

I shook my head at that last thought. How could I think that? She was captured from the palace and tortured for weeks, and I was jealous of the attention she was getting from everyone. I let out a strangled sob and fell into Maxon's arms. Avery was just down and to the right of me. I was still holding his hand, hoping for a flicker of movement, an ounce of life to show me that he was still alive and well. I couldn't believe that my friend had been shot. He was so strong and brave all the time. I remembered loving him so much for his courage and his ability to stand up for himself. I could do that once in a while, but he always knew when something was wrong and when he needed to say something about it. He was amazing.

I shook harder in Maxon's arms at the thought of my lost friend.

Maxon rubbed my back and made soothing noises in my ear. "Shhh, shh, its okay, America, its okay. He's in a better place now, and that's all we can ask for. We need to focus, dear. We need to get Celeste up and healthy again, and we need to make sure she receives Avery's message." I hiccuped and wrapped my arms around his neck as he continued, "I know all you want to do- all we both want to do is cry and wallow in our loss, but we can't. These people are counting on us to make decisions that will help them and make this country better, and staying strong comes with that responsibility. I'm so sorry, Ames."

He sighed, taking my face in his hands. "You know I love you, right?" he asked me in an endearing tone. "You know that I would do anything to make you feel even remotely better if I could. I need you to understand that we have to keep moving, and I know that its going to be hard, and you are going to want to stop and rest and try to feel even remotely normal, but you can't let that happen. I need you to be ready for anything to happen. You need to know that this is what comes with being the princess, and it is especially important to know that it only gets harder when you're queen. I promise, I'll be there for you every step of the way, though." he kissed my forehead and wrapped his arms around me in a hug as my vision blurred in and out from the tears I was trying hard to hold back. "Now we need to go over there and actually help someone who can be saved. We need to be there for Celeste. Its what Avery would have wanted."

I nodded my head. "I...can't..." my body racked with sobs and I tried hard to control them, to keep them in as best I could. "I- how? How could he just die? He didn't even say goodbye! He just left me here and all I have now is you. All I have is you and my family, who are somewhere in the back gardens doing who knows what, while we are here and Avery is dead and..." I fell on my hands and knees and blood from the puddle on the ground splashed up into my face. "Maxon, I've never felt so alone in my life. First Marlee leaves, then Aspen dies, then Celeste is tortured, and Avery..." I gasped, letting in as much air as I could get, "Avery is gone. I just feel like the whole world is collapsing around me like a house getting demolished, and the only thing that keeps it from falling on me is that one support beam." He closed his eyes and a tear escaped them.

I knew that I was breaking his heart, telling him this; but this was what we had agreed on. He had told me to be honest with him no matter what, and I had to keep that oath. I had to stay strong and let him know all of my doubts and fears, or else no one could help me.

"I just can't handle much more after this. You're the support beam, Maxon, but if anything else happens, I'm not sure if that will matter anymore. I used to think I was strong, but now... now I just feel like a phony. Avery was strong, Aspen was strong, Marlee was strong, you're strong; but I can finally see that I'm not. I am not willing to sacrifice myself the way Aspen did for me, I can't be the savior that Avery was, I can't handle lash after lash from your father the way you do almost every week. I can only mess things up and make myself look bad in front of the country; I can only make your dad hate me, make Kriss despise me. We used to be friends, you know? Back when the competition was down to the Elite and you were still unsure of my feelings, but you weren't spending a lot of time with her- she was always nice to me and I was nice in return. I think we could have been close if things hadn't occurred the way they had. I ruined that, though. I mean, I'm not sorry for loving you, but I am sorry I don't have her as a friend anymore." I closed my eyes and sniffled, "But that doesn't matter now." I looked down at Avery Simons. His eyes were shut just after he died, his hair was matted and covered in blood, his uniform was dirty and wrinkled and very red, his badge was skewed to the side, and his radio was still on and buzzing to life with different messages. I let a tear fall on his face and bent down to kiss his head, "You were like a brother to me, Avery, and I promise I will never forget you." I whispered in his ear before I regained my composure and stood up. "Right. So let's do what you said and act strong and help Celeste." I looked over at Maxon and tried to smile, "After all, you can't help a person who's already lost his life."

Maxon's POV

I stared after her as she walked towards Celeste's hospital bed. After months of knowing America as the brave girl, my perceptions of her changed in an instant. She was not as brave as I thought, but she was strong. She might have been unable to control her emotions, but she did find a way to cope with her grief in the end. She would be a great queen one day, but she'd be an even greater wife. I didn't deserve her. It was that plain and simple; but as I got up and headed her way, she turned and held out her hand, and I knew that as much as I didn't deserve this amazing girl, I needed her, and she, at this moment, seemed to need me as well, and that was good enough for me.

I reached out and took her hand when I got closer to her. She was so cold. I took my other hand and started rubbing it back and forth to warm her up and she smiled at me, cuddling into my arms as we stood and watched the doctors work on Celeste.

"We'll get through this." I told her quietly.

She looked up and into my eyes and then went on her tip toes and gave me a soft kiss on the lips. "I know," she said softly, holding my gaze, "We just have to trust that everything will get better from here, and hope tha-"

The radio transmission from Avery's belt buzzed to life and a voice came over the frequency in a frantic pitch. "Avery! If you're in there with anyone important, get out and to the safe room now! Rebels about a mile away, coming in on the North-western side of the palace. There's around thirty of them and they all have weapons. You need to get whoever's in there to safety. You hear that, sergeant? Gosh darn it, answer me!" he yelled, "Avery!"

I rushed over to the radio and pressed the button on the side of it that allowed me to talk into the walkie-talkie part. "This is prince Maxon. Avery's gone. What's going on?"

"No time! Get to the main safe room as fast as you can! We are trying to get to Lady America's family. Stay safe and stay hidden, your majesty."

The line went dead and the sound of static from the radio took over the room.

"Great, just great." I said, grabbing the radio and America's hand, "Every time I think we get a break from these guys they come back with even more numbers." I muttered, turning towards the doctors and Celeste, "You need to get her on a gurney and down to the safe room as fast as you can. get all the supplies you need and hurry up. You have around five minutes, tops. Good luck."

And then we ran.

Yep, that was the chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. I didn't really proof-read it because I was in a hurry so if you read it today (4/12/14) then you might get bad grammar and it may not be amazing. I am going to have my beta edit it for me and I might update it tomorrow with a new version if I have time. :)

Thanks, ilona18! You rockkkkkkk!

So you know what to do. ;)

Review, follow, favorite, PM, etc.

I am willing to beta read people's stories, but if I don't know the book its based off of, you might wanna try and find someone else to do it! Just saying. Send me requests and I will probably take 5-10 and dwindle it down if it gets too hard to keep up with. :)

Thanks,

Property of Illea :)