My Hero- A Selection Fanfiction

Chapter 3

The next few days passed by in a blur. I was bombarded by the media, but I was instructed by the council that I should keep quiet and let the palace answer all the questions. They kept Kriss and I at the palace with what was left of our families. For me that meant Kenna, James, Astra, May, and Gerad were now taking up my wing of the selection girl rooms. Kenna has really taken over the role of mother, making sure May and Gerad went to meals and ate their vegetables, and didn't play ball in the house.

For Kriss that meant only her mother. They shared her old room and grieved for her father. We ate all our meals with Amberly everyday, because she insisted that we were the closest thing she had left to family at the palace. At first, mealtime was very awkward. Everyone just wanted to be alone and think about their lost loved ones, but one day May decided she had had enough.

"Mmmmm..." she said obnoxiously loud. "Mrs. Ambers, don't you think strawberry tarts are just the best!" Mrs. Ambers was never a very talkative person, even before her husband died. She just smiled slightly and nodded. May would not take that as answer.

She tried again. "I'm sorry Mrs. Ambers, I didn't get that. Aren't these strawberry tarts just amazing!" Mrs. Ambers nodded again. May tried to get her to talk so many times that she started to sound exasperated. "Mrs. Ambers. I only want to know if you. like. the. tarts!" By this time May was halfway across the table. The look on her face was screaming louder than her words. She made to move across the table again, keeping her eyes on Mrs. Ambers. In her concentration, she didn't noticed when she placed her hand straight into the mashed potatoes.

She gasped and I held in a giggle. I looked across the table and saw that Kriss and Amberly were also stifling giggles. I couldn't help it, I laughed out loud. May looked at me and started laughing too. Pretty soon the whole table dissolved into hilarious laughter. It felt so good. After that, meals were always filled with laughter and loud talking. It became my favorite time of day.

That was probably because the rest of my day consisted of sulking around, thinking of Maxon. Everything I looked at reminded me of him, any bench now reminded me of our ruined bench. Every picture reminded me of his beautiful picture wall, never to be added to again.

The funeral was coming up and Amberly asked Kriss and I to each do something for Maxon's memory, as she was preparing to do something for Clarkson's. She promised we would be going home soon. She was certain as soon as Maxon and Clarkson were laid to rest, the media would take a break as well. I didn't know what to do for Maxon's memory. He wasn't a guy tied down to his physical possessions.

One day I decided to go look at his picture wall again. I wanted to feel him again. Amberly had given me free reign in the palace now that the selection was over, so no guards stopped me from going up to the royal family's living quarters. I remembered exactly which one had been Maxon's, and it hurt to see no guards standing out front. I pushed open those large doors and went into his room. I looked at his wall.

The last time I was in here was a horrible day, the day my dad died. Now I could tell Maxon had been preparing for a big commitment, because all the pictures of the other girls in the selection were gone. What remained were pictures of me. I was smiling from all over the wall. Then there was the house he bought my family from all angles and a few other houses that I'm assuming he was considering.

And that was it. He was my whole world, and now I know that I was his. Tears formed at the corners of my eyes. I think about how much he loved taking pictures. He had captured pieces of his life and made them so he could keep them forever. He was a brilliant man. "Maxon I miss you so much" I said under my breath. I sat down on his bed to continue looking at the collage, but before I knew it I was sound asleep, breathing in the smell of him.