ONCE AGAIN, SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT, I JUST FINISHED READING THE HEIR AND NOW I NEED THE NEXT BOOK! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!

America

Waking up next to Maxon was the best feeling in the world. It was as if all of my dreams had come true, and yet, just a few months ago I hated him. I barely remembered why now. However, this morning I didn't wake up with my fiancée next to me in his bed. I sat up and looked around the room, I saw his photo collage and his things on his desk, but no Maxon.

I decided to get up, he probably had to get up and go to a meeting and didn't want to wake me. I looked at the clock on his wall, half eight, half an hour before breakfast. I walked through the door to my suite and pressed the button to call my maids, but no one came. After pressing again and no one entering, I decided that I would have to choose what to wear myself.

I looked into the wardrobe, there wasn't much in there as of yet, in fact there was only one day dress. It was pale blue, and came to about mid-calf. I quickly went through to the bathroom to wash and then put it on. I decided to call my maids one last time, and when they still didn't come, I decided to go and search for them myself.

I nodded to the two guards outside the room as I left, but other than that I saw no one in the corridors, not even maids or other guards. Where was everyone? I decided to check the dining room to see if they were all in breakfast, but it was empty. So was the Great Hall.

"Hello?" I shouted to no one in particular, but there was no answer. I walked back up to our suites to ask if the guards had any ideas but when I got there, they had left too. I walked back into my room and looked for any signs of anyone being in here. I walked over to my balcony, I looked over the railing and saw white marquees all over the garden, I looked at them until I saw a blonde man look round and wave, he then tugged on his ear, I returned the gesture and walked back into my room, perfectly composed, before running down the staircase towards the garden.

When I got to the door, I noticed Maxon leaning against the wall, waiting. He had a smirk on his face and was watching me closely. I sunk into a low curtsey.

"Your majesty." I said dramatically, trying not to laugh at the words. I looked up and saw him coming over to me, shaking his head and smiling, I smiled back as he took my hand and led me outside.

Maxon took me into one of the marquees where I saw a camera crew stood at the bottom of a raised platform, I felt Maxon's posture change into that of a King and I stood straighter myself, trying to copy what I thought Queen Amberley would have done. When we climbed the few steps up to the stage the crowd burst into cheers and I smiled, they were cheering for us. Maxon let go of my hand and I stood just behind him as he moved towards the microphone in the middle of the stage.

"My country," Maxon's voice filled the tent and he gave a sweeping glance over everyone there, before looking straight into one of the cameras. "I present today my future wife and future Queen of Illèa. Lady America Singer!" The crowd cheered and Maxon turned towards me, moving his head slightly to beckon me towards him. He moved to the side and let me stand at the microphone to address my country. I was so not prepared for this.

"Illèa." The cheers stopped as people began to listen to me. "I would just like to say that, as your Queen, I will strive to be everything you want me to be. I will strive to help make our country as good as it can be for everyone. I hope you'll all accept me as your Queen as well as you've accepted King Maxon." I smiled and stood back from the microphone, allowing Maxon to take his place there.

"Our future Queen." The crowd erupted into cheers again. "Now, enjoy the festivities."

We stayed on the stage as the rest of the crowds filtered out of the tent, towards the rest of the garden. When we were finally alone, Maxon turned to me with a smile on his face.

"I'm sorry I didn't warn you but I wanted our engagement party to be a surprise. You did wonderfully, especially as you weren't at all prepared."

"Well, a good performer is always ready to perform, even if it isn't singing or playing an instrument. I know how to make something up on the spot." I grabbed his hand. "And it's easy to do when you have a great King, whom the people love, to support you."

"I love you so much, you're going to be a great Queen."

"I know, I think I might be Queen and you can just be one of my servants." I joked as we walked off the stage and out into the glorious Angeles sunshine.

We weren't alone for long as, as soon as we walked out, there were flashes of cameras as photos were taken of us. After they left to photograph the rest of the event, I was met with arms around my waist and hair in my mouth.

"May!" I said, reaching down slightly to hug her back. I soon saw my mother, Gerad, Kenna, James, and little Astra coming towards me. "No Kota? I didn't think he'd miss this publicity." I tried to laugh but it did hurt that he hadn't come.

"Well, he's here but he's talking to the twos about his art and trying to convince them to buy them." My mother told me, she looked slightly angry with him. "I told him that he should be here to congratulate his sister and his King, but clearly he thought that other things were more important."

"Well, if he doesn't want to be here to support his family, then he might not find invitations to state events in his letter box for much longer." Maxon said, his face and voice were stern and I could see that he was just as upset about it as us, even though he had never met Kota.

"It's his loss." I said with a smile. I didn't want him to ruin Maxon and my special day.

"As much as I would love to stay with you all day, I'm afraid we have lots of people to see, but stay after the party and we'll all have dinner together. Even Kota, if he behaves." Maxon told my family, I knew he loved them as his own and he really would rather be with them, but we both knew he was King and there were so many people here that would want to speak to him. The best part of this being our engagement party was that we could be together for the full day, no one wanted us to separate on the first day we'd had when we could actually celebrate us.

I walked next to Maxon as he led me underneath another cover, this one was bustling with people and I spotted Kota in one corner, however I kept my smile in place as we walked over to greet the Mayor of Angeles. He bowed to us as we approached.

"Your highnesses."

"Mayor Littlewood. It's a pleasure." I held out by hand which he took and kissed it lightly.

"Believe me, Lady America, the pleasure is all mine." I smiled and looked at Maxon who was watching me and smiling. "Any ideas for the date of the wedding?"

"February." Maxon answered quickly.

"Not too long from now, is there time to plan it properly?" I laughed slightly, not sure whether to take it as a joke or not.

"The Palace staff are great at doing things quickly and I know that America has already made a lot of plans already. We both feel that after the recent tragedies, the people would appreciate a Royal wedding to cheer them up. They love America, and she will be a great queen. So the sooner the better." The mayor bowed quickly before Maxon pulled me out of the tent and we headed further out into the gardens.

"Maxon, are you Ok?" I held both his wrists and looked up at him.

"I just wish that some people would understand that this country needs a Queen. No one saw how much work my mother did behind the scenes. I think that if people understood just how much she had done herself for this country then they would understand just how much I need you, and how much the people need you."

"Maxon. The people out there know nothing of what happens in this palace, your mother never spoke on the Report and they never hear anything but small updates. They barely understand how much the King does." I paused and looked away from him, letting go of his hands. "Before I came here, I thought you were pretentious and stuck-up. I thought the royal family did nothing. I didn't see the point in the Selection. I didn't understand why we needed a King or a Queen. Then I came here." I turned to look at him, he looked slightly sad. "I saw how much work went on just so that the country could find out the little bit that was going on in the palace on the Report. I saw how much work it was to have good relations with other countries, and how hard it is to not insult the German Federation. I met you and I saw how much the Prince had to do just to keep some of the country onside. They don't understand. Not even the Mayor, because no one sees what has gone on behind the scenes to just get up to where we are now. And you can't expect them to unless you show them what you have to do every day." Maxon's face lit up and he kissed me on the lips and held them there for a few moments.

"Come on, let's go celebrate us and the great monarchy that we are starting. Together."