The Selection (Where the King is Nice)

Chapter 23

A/N:
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(America's POV)
We pull away immediately and I blush a crimson red. There stands the king, waiting for Maxon. He smiles and says,
"Sorry if I interrupted anything. I need Maxon right now." Maxon gets up and tells me goodbye. Through the door, I could hear the king saying,
"I figured you'd be there." I can't hear Maxon's response because just then, my maids rush in.
"How was it! Oh my gosh! And by the way, we have to get you into this dress for the Report."
"The Report? Since when?" I ask. I don't exactly remember being told there's a report.
"When the king and queen found out that you were ok, they scheduled an emergency Report. Basically, it's going to show the whole nation that you're ok." Actually, I didn't really care about the Report. I was a little disappointed that Maxon's dad, the king, ruined our moment just a few minutes ago. Our moment was just... fantastic. Until he walked in.
"Ok, miss, here's your dress." I look over and see a silky red, floaty dress. It drapes to the floor, just like every other dress I wore for the Report.
"Do you like it, miss?" They asked.
"Of course! They just get more beautiful every single time!" My maids beam with pride and put the dress on me. Mary does my makeup so it makes my eyes pop. Lucy does my hair, curling and and then pulling it into a bun, leaving some curls framing my face.
"It's beautiful, girls. Thank you!" And then I run out of the room. I turn the corner and run into Marlee. Literally.
"America! Oh my gosh! You look beautiful for the Report! You know it's practically going to be revolving around you! Celeste is so jealous of you but every body else is so excited for you and-"
"Marlee slow down! And your dress is beautiful too!" Marlee sits there, breathing hard to catch her breath. She'd been talking a mile a second.
"Let's go before we are late," I tell her, and then drag her along the halls. We get there just as it's about to begin. I look over at Maxon and see him winking at me. I blush my trademark blush back. Marlee then points to our seats and we walk over. Gavril is talking about the recent rebel attack and the guards who lost their lives. Ever so often, you hear a sob from the crowd. I listen for Aspen's name, but then I remind myself, he cheated on you by being with someone else. You don't love him anymore, you love Maxon. Aspen was your first love, and that was it. Nothing special. I then hear Gavril say,
"And today we have a very special guest with us. Someone who was affected by the rebel attack very heavily.. She recovered rather quickly, and luckily, she's in the studio today...." Gavril keeps talking about me indirectly and I see Maxon's smile gradually get bigger. Soon his smile is ear to ear as Gavril says,
"And now we welcome... Lady... America Singer!!" The crowd goes wild and I take a deep breath. It'll all be over soon.
"So America. What was your initial reaction when you felt the rebel grab your shoulder?" Such a predictable question.
"At first, I was following Prince Maxon to the safe room. He'd been bringing me and Kriss there when he'd found me and her walking the halls. We had been working on our project for Silvia." I take a gulp of air and continue.
"When the rebel first grabbed my shoulder, I admit that I was scared out of my wits. Somehow my gut told me these people were the Southerners, and I didn't want to die. The guy grabbed me and told me to do exactly what he wanted me to do. I tried to fight back but he was too strong.
"Eventually he gave me a fluid that knocked me unconscious. When I woke up, I was in their base camp. They started to take videos of them torturing me. At first, I didn't know what they were using them for. And then, one day, the last video, they said they wanted something from us. I didn't want the palace to give the rebels anything. Too much was at stake.
"When I yelled in the video, I didn't realize it was live in the palace. They stabbed me in the stomach, hard, and I fell unconscious. I woke up who knows when later. My sense of timing was so ridiculously off. I heard screaming and yelling, but I was hardly coherent. People grabbed me, but I was too weak to resist. A needle was stuck in my arm, and once again I fell unconscious. The next thing I knew, the nurses of the palace were telling me that everything was ok, and that I was going to live." I took a deep breath. I'd just told my whole story to the entire country. The room was silent. And then, everybody burst into applause, yelling,
"Go Lady America!" Some were screaming about my survival, and others were screaming for the heck of it. It took awhile for Gavril to calm them down, but eventually it got quiet. He asked me a few more questions, and then a few other girls went up: Marlee went after me, telling Gavril about how worried she was when I was gone. Kriss went next, saying how she worried she was as well, and how we'd just became friends. She told the crowd about how I'd been trying to keep her calm when the rebel alarm went off, and that I probably saved her life. Other girls went, but Marlee and Kriss's were the only ones I remember. Celeste looked really fake throughout the performance. She faked happiness, faked sympathy, whatever. After the Report, I went to the dining room for lunch. Half an hour later, everybody was there. That's when Maxon stood up to make an announcement....

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