The Reunion-- The Selection Fanfiction

Chapter 1

Family Day. I'd been anxiously awaiting this moment. Some days, I'd guiltily hoped he would be sent home before they made it to this day, so I didn't have to face him. But others... I pulled at my skirts, my hands itching for' something to do. I was going to have to face him, no way around it.

As if the weekly Reports weren't bad enough. It took me years to move on, but every week on that couch felt like a fresh open wound.

My Elias was less than a year apart from Meredith. Kriss had even come to visit me while we were both pregnant. The press ate it up. Of course, the princess's baby bump was brand new and picture perfect, while I looked like a beached whale.

My husband died not long after Elias was born. He was a palace gourd, at a time where the rebels were persistent. We had married in haste when I found out one careless night had landed me pregnant. He may not have been my soulmate, but I cared for him deeply. He was there when I was drowning, and he stuck by me when we got into trouble. The tears I cried at his funeral were real.

Kriss came to visit me then, too. To hold my hand and tell me everything would be okay. She assured me that the palace would stand by me, and if I ever needed anything, she would come running.

But I never did see her after that- at least not intentionally. Perhaps she saw the death of my husband as a loss of the only thing keeping me from stealing Maxon. Or maybe she'd witnessed the hushed conversation we'd had at my husband's funeral. I was too devastated and distracted to care or respond, but Maxon was giving me looks that held much more than friendly concern.

Regardless, I'd been shut out and isolated from the palace, giving me space to move on- or at least try. After 3 major heartbreaks, I was happy to devote all my time to raising my son. Being a single mother was tough enough anyway. Sure I had mom and Kenna, who had plenty of experience raising children, and sure I had May, who fell in love with her baby nephew instantly. Even Gerad was happy to have another boy in the family. But in the end, I was responsible for making sure he was clothed and ted and happy. I was responsible for shaping him into a proper young man. And I was responsible for answering all his questions about his father as he grew older.

When the announcement came out that there would be a Selection for the King's daughter, I buried any feelings I may have had. I didn't force his hand one way or another, but I did gently encourage him to at least consider the opportunity.

We'd never really talked about my time in the Selection. I figured no child wants to hear their mother talk about falling in love with someone that wasn't their father. He knows that I have friends from the selection, and he knows that's why I'm famous. But we talk about it like it was summer camp.

When his name got drawn, we had our first real conversation. I reminded him to play nice, because no matter what happens, he should be leaving with life long friends. I reminded him of how well he knew Elise and Natalie, or how we'd light a candle every year for Celeste.

But I also explained how important it was to stay true to who you are. I was the closest with the now-king for a long time because I was the only one willing to challenge him.
He asked some questions, and I shared stories. But I never allowed myself to reveal how close Maxon and I were. He didn't need to know that before meeting him.

As the selection went on, he would write to me with questions and I would do my best to answer.

I tried not to think about what it meant that Elias was one of the Elite. But the reality still haunted me: he was either going to face the heartbreak I did all those years ago, or he was going to be the next prince of Ilea-- and I would have to face Maxon regularly.