The Selection (Where the King is Nice)

Chapter 11

A/N:
Thank you for waiting. I was so busy this weekend!!

(America's POV)
I stared at the wall while thinking about the palace. Today was the 9th day of the selection and we were in the safe room because of another rebel attack. I wasn't really worried about it, honestly, because I had other things to worry about. I heard that since the soldier count had been depleted recently, the palace went into the castes and got more. Supposedly the new soldiers were arriving whenever this rebel attack ended. I didn't really care about that, but I was starting to worry because Maxon had hinted to me at our last date that he was going to make another elimination soon. I was also extremely nervous because after he eliminated, if I was still here (which is almost guaranteed) we would have to go on the Report the next day. I was not looking forward to that because I hated getting in front of crowds. But, I guess I have to. Despite myself, I have to giggle when I see Celeste flirting with Maxon. He has the most disgusted face ever, and he keeps trying to walk away, but Celeste keeps following. Ugh, I hope Celeste is eliminated this time. She drives me absolutely insane. Last Report we had she tried to rip my dress off me! The nerve! I wanted to tell Maxon so bad, but when I heard that he doesn't like it when people talk behind other people's backs, I had to refrain myself. Soon enough, Maxon walked over to me.
"Are you ok?" He asks.
"Sure, why? Nothing's wrong." I tell him.
"Well we are under a rebel attack you know." Oh yeah, I forgot already. I must seem really dumb to Maxon right now.
"Yeah.. I wasn't really worried about that though. However, I am getting tired." As if proving my point, I yawn a long yawn.
"You should rest. We have a big day tomorrow. Oh and do you want to meet in the gardens later?"
"Yes." I tell him. I rest my head on his shoulder and let sleep slowly overtake me. Right before I nod off, I feel Maxon kiss my forehead lightly. I love him, I really do. And he loves me. This thought leaves me smiling as I go to sleep.

(5 Hours Later)
I wake up in my room to my maids shaking me to get up.
"Miss, miss, it's almost time for dinner and I heard that the royal family is announcing something important today!" Lucy tells me. The elimination, I think. Maxon is finally eliminating more girls. If he asked me to go on a date later, I'm sure to stay, I think. He's not going to eliminate me. Lucy dresses me in my dinner gown today. She told me that Mary wasn't able to make it right now, so it was just her and Anne. The gown is beautiful, simple and elegant. While Anne does my hair, Lucy is doing my makeup. When it's done, I feel fabulous. Anne has put a waterfall braid into my hair and it looks wonderful. I have a little makeup on, as to only bring out my features and that's it.
"Good luck with whatever is going on at dinner!" Anne tells me.
"Thanks!" I smile at her and go down to the dining hall. Marlee is already there, and as soon as I get to my seat, she starts to talk up a storm.
"I heard Maxon is eliminating some girls today. Do you think I'll stay?"
"Have you gone on a date with him yet?" I countered her with.
"Yes, two." She tells me. I don't tell her that I've been on a lot more than that.
"Then yes, I believe you will stay. He has only taken some girls on one date and I think those will be the ones who leave. Also I think he's going to eliminate a lot because the rebel attacks are probably very risky because of the fact that there's 27 girls that this palace has to protect."
"Thanks, America, I feel better now." Marlee tells me with a smile. I feel glad that I cheered her up. Just as I think this, Maxon stands up from his chair and says,
"Dinner is ready." I wonder why he announced that. Everybody was probably assuming that he was going to eliminate. But he's probably going to do it after dinner so that there's less tension. As the maids come out, I marvel at the food. It looks so good. They come over and offer every dish imaginable. Today must be a very important dinner if there's this much food. I take some macaroni and cheese with lobster bits in it, as well as some bread crumb encrusted chicken. Dinner is silent today probably because every girl is nervous because of eliminations soon. At the end, Maxon very nervously stands up and says,
"I'm very sorry but I will have to eliminate a lot of people today. These rebel attacks are making it very dangerous to keep a lot of you. 10 girls will be eliminated today." He pauses and Marlee shoots a look at me. I can tell she's nervous. Who wouldn't be at a time like this? Me, because I'm pretty much guaranteed a stay at this palace. King Clarkson can obviously sense all of the girls' nervousness and tries to send out a reassuring smile. It doesn't work on most of the girls.
"The girls who will be staying are Lady Elise, Lady Kriss, Lady America, Lady Marlee-" At this Marlee sighs a sigh of relief and looks over at me. I smile back. She whispers to me,
"I'm so glad we are both staying." She tells me. I whisper back to her,
"Me too." When I get back to listening to Maxon, he's still naming girls.
"-Lady Celeste, Lady Natalie, Lady Tiny, and Lady Olivia." As soon as he's done, a bunch of loud sobs fill the room. Maxon looks really stressed. Obviously, he's going to be attending to crying girls for a long time. Hopefully, I'll still see him in the garden. After he announces the eliminations, I don't want to be in the room anymore. I decide to go to the pool room. Marlee had suggested that we go earlier, and I agreed.
"Do you want to go swimming now?" I ask her.
"Yes! Definitely. Anything to get out of this room!" We walk out of the dining hall and walk to our rooms.
"I'll see you in 5 minutes, after I change into my swimsuit!" I tell her.
"Same here!" I walk into my room and Lucy immediately pounces on me.
"How was dinner?" She asks.
"Maxon made an elimination," I say, nonchalantly.
"You're staying? Or wait, are you here to pack up....." She starts to get upset until I say,
"I'm staying! I just came to change into a bathing suit because me and Marlee are going swimming!" Lucy squeals a little and grabs a swimsuit from my closet. She's the only one here right now.
"Do I have to wash my makeup off?" I ask her.
"If you plan on going underwater, then yes." I sigh and wait for the bathing suit. I gasp when I see it. It's so beautiful. It's a one piece and rather form fitting, and it has frills and a little bit of sparkles.
"Pretty," I murmur. Lucy smiles and gets to work. When she's done with everything I see Marlee waiting outside of my door.
"Ready?" She asks.
"Ready!" I tell her. We grab towels on the way down and go to the pool. While we're there we race each other, swim around, dive in the pool, and have splashing contests. I was having the best time of my life until I look at the clock.
"Ugh, I have to go. I have to do something in 15 minutes." I tell Marlee. She smiles and says,
"That's fine. We should do this again tomorrow. I had a great time!" We had been there for nearly 2 hours, and I realized that I should've left earlier. My maids were going to have to rush when I got there. When I reached my room and opened the door, I saw a surprise. Instead of my maids, Maxon himself was there.
"Ummm. You're early." I tell him, trying to suppress my smile.
"O-oh, umm. I'll let you, uh, change." He stutters.
"I'll wait outside," he tells me. Since my maids weren't there, I had to dress myself as quickly as possible. I wore the same dress as earlier. I dried my hair off as much as possible, and in the end it was still wet but wavy. I grabbed some shoes and went out the door. Maxon and I went down to the gardens.
"So, how was your day?" He asks me.
"It was divine!" I tell him. He seems surprised and says,
"I see you've found the pool." I laugh and say,
"Yeah. Me and Marlee were down there." He smiles and then nervously looks down at his shoes.
"Listen, America, there's something I have to tell you."

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