The Elite: Maxon POV

Chapter 2

I had just come from a meeting about the new rebel attack in Belcourt. Northerners thank goodness. They were becoming more and more frequent, especially since I had narrowed down the ladies to the six remaining elite. Although they were troubling, there were not nearly as bad as the rebel attacks from the Southerners. As I left the meeting room, my father approached me.

"I thought that meeting went fairly well," he said.

"I agree. I do wish, though, more could be done about damage control."

He looked at me sternly. "You ought to have said something, contributed more to the meeting then, Maxon. It reflects badly not only on you, but the royal family and the kingdom we represent when you sit there like a child unsure of what to say," he said coldly.

"Yes father, I'll do better next time."

"I can only hope," he said as he walked away from me. Nothing I do could ever impress him, ever show him that I'm doing my best and taking this seriously. He only sees me as a child, but expects so much more. Needing a distraction, I decided to head down to the gardens to take some photographs. As I walked down the hall to the elevator, I heard a groan come from America's room. I stopped outside and leaned against the frame of the open door. America was sitting bent over a stack of papers looking incredibly frustrated and incredibly beautiful. Her maids looked up and saw me and I hastily put my fingers to my lips, willing them to stay quiet. The smaller one let out a giggle, causing America to look up.

"You gave me away!" I said jokingly to her maid. America jumped up from her chair and ran into my arms as her maids continued to snicker.

"You read my mind!" she gushed. "Please tell me we can go outside. Just for a little while?" How could I say no to her. Besides, I was already on my way out there for a break anyway.

"I have twenty minutes before I have to be back," I told her. We walked down to the gardens, our place. I held her hand as we walked. "What are these?" I asked referring to her worn fingertips.

"Calluses. They're from pressing down on violin strings four hours a day."

"I've never noticed them before," I said incredulously.

"Do they bother you?" she asked, her face downcast. I stopped walking and led her to face me. I kissed each of her fingertips.

"On the contrary. I find them rather beautiful," I said as she blushed. I pecked her nose as we continued walking. "I've seen the world -- admittedly mostly through bulletproof glass or from the tower of some ancient castle -- but I've seen it. And I have access to the answers of a thousand questions at my disposal. But this small hand here? This hand makes sounds incomparable to anything I've ever heard. Sometimes I think I only dreamed I heard you play the violin, it was so beautiful. Those calluses are proof that it was real." She looked into my eyes like I had just said the most adorned words she's ever heard.

"Do you really have the answers to a thousand questions?" She asked with big eyes.

"Ask me anything and if I don't have the answer, I know where we can find it." She pondered for a moment, unsure of what to ask me.

"What's Halloween?" she finally asked. I'd never heard of such a thing which, in a sense, was a tad embarrassing as the Prince. "Not so certain now, Your Royal Smartness?" she smirked, teasing me. I threw her a fake pout before grabbing her hand once more and breaking into run.

"Come with me. We have to hurry," I said pushing past the guards and reentering the palace.

"Maxon!" she shrieked, "I can't keep up in heels!"

"Come on, come on you'll love this," I whined. Why did women choose to wear such god awful shoes all the time? We headed toward the north corridor, near the area where the Reports were filmed, but ducked into a stairwell before we got there.

"Where are we going exactly?" she huffed as I led her up.

"America, you have to swear never to reveal this chamber to anyone. Only a few members of the family and a handful of guards even know it exists." I knew I was pushing my boundaries and if father ever found out...well I know exactly what price I would have to pay.

"Absolutely," she said with wide eyes. The look on her face was enough to disperse the doubts in my head for now. I scanned the stairwell and hall to make sure we were alone and reached behind the frame of an old picture and the painting swung forward revealing a little door. America gasped. She looked around the windowless room with shock on her face. I let her look around while I turned toward the computer on the desk behind me.

"What's that?" she asked.

"A computer. Have you never seen one?" I said then mentally slapped myself as she shook her head. Why would I ask such a stupid question? She used to be a five. She'd probably never seen a ballgown before coming to the palace, much less a computer. "Not many people have them anymore," I said covering up my mistake. "This one is specifically for the information held in this room. If anything about your Halloween exists, this will tell us where it is." I punched it in and three results appeared. I ran over to the bookshelf.

"Ah this one should be interesting," I said picking one out of the row.

"How so?" she asked coming up behind me. I could feel her breath on my neck and it was doing something strange to me.

"This, Lady America, is one of the volumes of Gregory Illéa's personal diaries."

"What?" She said astonished. "Can I touch it?"

"Of course." We read through the section about Halloween, explaining that it was a holiday that celebrated-- well not much anything. Just a time for people to dress up and have fun and for children to go door to door looking for candy. My time was running out and I had to get back for my next budget meeting.

"Would you like to keep reading it?" I asked her. She snapped her head up.

"Am I allowed to do that?" She asked in awe.

"No," I chuckled, "but I trust you to keep it hidden well."

"I will give it back to you in a couple days, I promise." I smiled at her before kissing her cheek and going back down to my meeting. She truly was perfection.