After: a Maxerica Story

Part 9

--ONE WEEK LATER--

Breanne's death still hurts like hell, eating away at my brain at any chance it gets. It's like an open wound that won't heal. I miss her so much that every night, I go to her grave and cry. No one knows I do it- and I don't plan on anyone finding out.

Many things have happened since her funeral, though. Sadie and Brooke are the only two left. Amberly tells me I should pick Sadie, while Logan is trying to sway me towards Brooke. I care for them both deeply, but I don't feel a true connection to either of them. That'll be a problem- but if I choose one, I'll eventually learn to love them, right?

Time to think mean time for torturing my mind, with memories of Breanne and confusion about in which direction to go. Picking a wife also means picking a queen. I'll just have to choose based on that.

A sudden knock on the door brings me out of my thoughts. 

"Come in," I say, sitting up on my bed.

"Hello, Gerad," my father says, walking in and sitting next to me. "We have some urgent news."

"Good or bad?" I ask, dreading the answer.

"Well..." He hesitates. "It depends what you make of it."

I shake my head. "Oh God."

After clearing his throat, he continues. "The British palace is under attack, by whom we have not been told. The King and Queen have begged for us to take their two daughters, Gwendolyn and Ashlyn, into safety for the time being."

"Not another girl!" I cry, falling back onto my bed. "And definitley not two! How old are they?"

"Gwendolyn is seventeen, and Ashlyn is thirteen," he replies, and I let out a strangled cry. Another girl, the age of the Selected girls. At my reaction, he adds, "I'm truly sorry, Gerad. I know it's hard, but it's the least we can do. The King and Queen may not survive the attacks. They need heir to the throne, and if they get killed and so do their daughters, they won't have any."

I sigh. "When are they arriving?"

"Tonight."

My eyes almost pop out of my head. "Tonight?"

"I'm sorry- it was a very sudden message. Please make them feel welcome, Son."

He pats my knee and walks out, leaving me angry, betrayed, depressed...

But hopeful.

--LATER THAT NIGHT--

Even from my room, where I've been pacing all afternoon, I can still hear the giant doors to the palace opening. My breath catches. She's here.

I walk out of my room and down the hall briskly until I find myself in a crowd filled with guards and nurses at the ready. One of the girls- the smaller one, who I'm assuming is Ashlyn- is already being taken away by some nurses. I push myself to the front of the hoard and rush to the older girl's side. Her head is down, her soaked hair covering her face. It must've been raining pretty hard outside. The doors swing closed and it becomes silent.

"May I have a towel?" I ask one of the nurses standing nearest me, and she hands me a towel quickly. I wrap it around Gwendolyn and immediately notice red smearing across the white material. My eyes widen and I part the crowd.

"Excuse us," I say quietly as I push through. Looking down at her, I whisper, "I'll get you somewhere quick."

The only place I can think to take her is my room. As fast as I can, I bring her into my large bathroom and sit her on the sink. Her body looks weak and her head hangs down, as if she doesn't have enough strength to keep it up.