A Twisted Fate

Chapter Two

Tears welled up, and even though I hated to be seen like this in front of the other girls I couldn't resist. He loved me,  I kept thinking over and over, trying to suppress the water spilling out of my eyes. Everyone else seemed to know something was up, I could tell by their tense goodbyes.

"I'll really miss you," Kriss told me in a genuinely sad voice. I had constantly thought of her as competition, but now more than ever she sounded remorseful, like a friend. I cried even harder, I'd had friends here, but now when I finally began to feel comfortable I had to go. 

When it was Queen Amberly's turn for a goodbye she hugged me tight, "I always thought you would be the one," she whispered in my ear, and a tear trickled down her cheek. I recalled what I'd heard in the earlier phases of this competition. The Queen did not want to get attached to girls just to have them sent home.

I sobbed, my face red, "it was going to be me, Maxon really did care but-" I cut myself off, remembering that I would only be in more trouble if someone were to discover that it was all Clarkson's choice to separate his son from me. All because I wasn't a perfect and influential Two. The queen met my eyes, she could tell, and from the grim look on her face she felt awful about it.

"I never thought he could be this cruel," she muttered, her voice low enough so only I had heard. I pulled away and grabbed my scarcely packed bags, leaving my lavish jewelry expensive clothes as well as any gift Maxon had gotten me, so I'd never see it again.

I slowly followed a butler to the grand entrance of the palace. Sadness was keeping me from enjoying the stunning architecture one final time, and before I could really think about it, the door was being held open. When I walked out, a limo pulled up and the driver ushered me inside, "come, Lady America," he said, his voice cool.

Shaking my head I told him, "just America, I've been sent home, and I wasn't a Lady to begin with." Suddenly I noticed his face fall, like he hadn't known I was being sent home. Still, I got in the car and he began to drive me away, back to Carolina. Back to my family. 

Instead of paying for an airplane, the king ordered me to be driven to my family, but they were many hours away and I was bored out of my mind, so I decided to talk to the driver. "Me and Maxon had just been friends at first," I explained, filling him in on our deal to take me to the final two. Despite barely knowing him, the driver seemed like the type of person you could tell all your secrets to, the one who would actually listen and not just nod there head. "But then we fell in love, sort-of, and he even talked to me once about getting married because we were nearing the end, but then king-"

"The king forced you out?" The driver guessed, his face showing all that he wanted to say. It was a picture of annoyance, pity, and loathing. I nodded and he saw my renewed grief through the mirror up front. "Oh, I'm sorry," he told me, sympathy lacing his voice. Suddenly, the car fell quiet, the driver looked to both sides, and then took a deep breath before muttering "don't tell anyone I'm telling you this," he added.

I reluctantly nod, "alright," I say. Suddenly the car comes to an abrupt stop near the side of the road. Considering we were somewhere on the border of provinces, no one was around. I inched closer to the door, if he wanted to murder me, now would be the perfect time. 

However, instead of attacking me, he pulled up a sleeve and showed me a strange tattoo a few inches below his shoulder.. "I'm a rebel," he confessed, a sly grin on his face. I gasped, nervously inching even closer to the door before he said, "oh I'm sorry for frightening you, I meant a Northern rebel if you know what I mean...the kind that does things not to terrorize Illea, but to help those with unfortunate lives."

I nodded knowingly, remembering the hungry nights and undesirable living conditions. Now that I was returning to Carolina as a Five, I would experience them all again. Maxon had offered to make me and all of my family two's but I declined, heartbroken. "I get it," I replied, "you want to make Illea better and I'd like to help."