Peanut Butter Fingerprints

Chapter Twenty-One

"Love Endures All"

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Come what may, all bad fortune is to be conquered by endurance.

-Virgil

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AMERICA

I FOUND THAT SNEAKING AROUND while drugged was like trying to run through quicksand. Whatever was in that IV I yanked out must have been some kind of sedative, because within a few minutes, the entire world paused and started running in slow motion. It also didn't help that half the time my mind escaped me and I forgot why I was where I was, and there was a nagging pain in my abdomen that wouldn't go away. Even so, I thought I was doing a pretty good job getting to my destination for a sedated, confused, and stressed woman who was a little over eight months pregnant.

As I walked (more like waddled) down corridors and hallways, I noticed that Christmas lights were strung here and there, and little trees with ornaments occupied each and every corner of the Palace. In all the chaos, the fact that it was Christmas Eve had completely slipped my mind. Even though I hadn't been on the Christmas decorating committee like I was every year, they somehow managed to get it done without me.

It seemed that even with time, my taste didn't change much. Though the placement of decorations varied from year to year, it was mostly the same: large, decorative bows in red and green placed in between the doors, twinkling white lights trimming the doorways and stairs, mistletoe hanging above a few doors. I was criticized by the Palace staff for wanting the decorations to be simple, but I was never one for modern things. For me, it wasn't Christmas without the traditional things, like an evergreen tree with a shining star on top and the smell of baked goods hanging in the air. Most of all though, it wasn't Christmas without family, and as I looked around in the empty and blurry corridor, I found myself alone.

Sure, most of the guest rooms were occupied by delegates and foreign royalty, and I was on relatively good terms with Aspen again, but I still felt lonely without Maxon by my side. Without him, the Palace just seemed like one long never-ending hallway. Well, that and the fact that I was in a part of the Palace I didn't recognize made my walk feel endless.

Regardless, it just didn't feel the same without Maxon's cheery laughter echoing down the hallways. Maxon filled the Palace with a warm light; he was like a candle in a darkened room. Though his flame was small and flickering, his light could fill an entire room effortlessly. Without him, the Palace felt like a darkened room whose candle had been snuffed out.

As I observed the faces of everyone I passed, it seemed that I wasn't alone in this feeling. Maids curtsied and addressed me as they walked by, but their faces were solemn and voices barely above a whisper. Even the foreign royalty didn't stop to say hello; they silently brushed past me without more than a simple nod. The only sound that accompanied me was my shallow breaths and the gentle tapping of my toes against the carpet that stretched from end of the hall to another.

After carefully climbing two separate flights of stairs and waddling down too many halls to count, I finally made it to the third floor. But I was too late to escape the hazy dream-like state that accompanied the sedative that was fighting to consume me entirely. As soon as I rounded the corner from the second flight of stairs, a wave of dizziness crashed over me. I reached out and scrabbled for a grip on something, anything. My fingers clutched onto a fistful of fabric as I leaned my other palm on a table against the wall. I heard something like a vase or small glass shatter as I lost my grip and my palm slid a bit.

Please let no one hear that and come investigate. Please, for the love of God, don't let Marlee or Aspen come walking around the corner. The last thing I needed was to try to fight my way out of going back to the hospital wing.