Maxerica

Guns and Gardens

I wake up when the clock alarm goes off in our hotel room far to early.
Maxon reaches over and turns it off.
He sits up and turns the light on.
I groan and cover my head with the blanket.
I feel the shift in the bed as Maxon gets up.
I start to go back to sleep, but Maxon stops me by lifting me out of the bed. The blanket falls off of me.
"Maxon!" I squeal.
The guard rushes in and leaves when he sees us.
"Yes?" he asks with a sly grin, holding me bridal style.
"You're evil," I accuse.
"I am not."
"Are too."
"And why am I evil?"
"Because I'm tired. I was going to get up in a minute."
"You were not."
"Ok maybe I wasn't. But still."
He kisses my nose then puts me down with a smile.
"I'm going back to bed," I say.
I start to go over but he grabs my waist.
"Nope. We need to get ready," Maxon insists.
"But I'm tired," I complain.
"Then nap in the car. But we need to get going."
"Fine."
I get into my bag and grab my clothes. I decide to wear a light blue day dress. It has spaghetti straps and a white bow on the waist.
Once I'm changed I give Maxon the bathroom.
I don't put any makeup on. I want to be comfortable. And I'm being lazy.
I pull my bangs back with a blue ribbon, tying them at the back of my head.
I put my black flats with a white bow and pearl on.
I check the clock. It's 5:18. I shouldn't be up this early. Not now, not ever.
Maxon comes out of the bathroom. He's wearing tan cargo shorts and a grey, short sleeved dress shirt tucked in.
I sit on the bed while he does his hair.
"I think it's funny how you take longer to get ready than I do," I tease.
He looks at me through the mirror then continues to meticulously do his hair.
"Says the woman who took forever yesterday," he come backs.
"Ok. First of all, I woke up late. Second, I was throwing up. Third, the maid did my makeup and hair."
"Fair enough."
"So you're slower."
"Thank you."
I smirk.
He finishes.
"Let's go," he says.
I grab my suitcase but he takes it from me. He has his bag and his camera as well.
I roll my eyes and grab my bag for the car.
The guard comes in and grabs our other two bags.
When we leave the room the guard offers to take the bags from Maxon. Maxon lets him and carries my bag instead.
We get to the car and get situated.
I put my bag by my feet.
Maxon's camera is by his feet.
The guard puts our stuff in the back then gets in and starts driving. 
"How far is the first stop?" I ask, getting into my bag for food.
"About four hours," Maxon replies.
"Four hours?"
"Yeah. We're still in Jammins and the next stop is only an hour away from Midston."
"Ugh. That's a long drive."
"I know honey."
I pull out the bag of honey roasted cashews.
Maxon holds his hand out. I pour some into his hand then I start eating.
Once I'm done I move closer to Maxon and lay down with my head in his lap. He puts his hand on my arm. My feet are against the door. It's still dark out, so I easily go to sleep.
Maxon wakes me up when we're almost there.
I sit up and look out the window. We're driving through a town somewhere. There aren't many cars on the road and all the homes we pass are small.
I run my hand over my hair to make sure it's ok then I fix my dress.
Maxon watches me with a smile.
I look at him.
"Do I look ok?" I ask.
"Beautiful," he assures.
I smile.
He leans over and kisses my cheek.
I watch out the window until the car pulls over in front of a small shopping strip.
We get out.
I look down the street at the shops.
It reminds me a lot where I used to live. There weren't many shops and the ones that were there were small.
I notice an art shop.
"Let's go in there," I point to the shop.
"The art shop?"
"Yeah."
"Alright."
He follows me into the shop.
The walls are in much need of a new coat of paint and the carpet is stained. An old man with wild grey hair is behind the counter. All the art is on a table against the wall or hanging on the wall.
"May I help you?" the old man asks.
"We're just looking," I tell him.
"Alright."
I smile at him then walk around the store looking at the paintings.
Maxon follows me and looks but seems bored.
The old man just sits on a stool behind the cash register, turned to a table next to him. He's working on a new painting.
I stop at a painting on the wall of a girl walking in a stream. She's surrounded by trees and birds.
I look over as Maxon walks over to the man.
"Do you have any photography?" Maxon questions.
The old man reaches under his desk and pulls out a box. He hands it to Maxon.
Maxon sits it on the counter and starts going through it.
I smile and turn back to the painting.
It's a beautiful painting. I wonder if someone thought up the idea and painted from a picture or maybe even painted from the experience.
I go over by Maxon.
"Sir," I call.
He looks at me.
"Yes miss?" he asks.
"Did you do all of these paintings?"
"Everything on the walls is mine. Everything on the tables is other locals work," he explains.
"They're all very good."
"Thank you."
"How long have you been painting?"
"Sixty years. But I opened my shop forty years ago."
"You've had this shop for that long?"
"Yes. I do lots of portraits for the richer communities so I've managed to stay in business."
"Wow. That's really impressive."
"Thank you."
I smile at him then look at Maxon. He's going through the photos in the box. The man looks at him too.
"He likes photography," I explain.
"There's nothing wrong with that," the man smiles.
"Did you take these?" Maxon asks, not looking away from the photos.
"Not all of them. My son took most of them. He travels and takes pictures," the man explains.
"I've always wanted to do that."
"Feel free to take any you want. And if you want a painting miss you can have it."
"Oh no we couldn't. We'll gladly pay," I insist.
"It's an honor to have you in my shop. Please take something."
Maxon holds up a black and white picture of someone's feet standing on the edge of a steep cliff.
"I'll take this one if that's ok."
"Yes, please," the old man agrees.
I give Maxon a look before he pulls money out of his pocket. He hands the man fifty dollars.
"No sir please. The picture is only fifty cents," the man objects.
"It's not for the picture. It's just a donation," Maxon says.
The man looks at the money then looks at him.
"Thank you," the man appreciates.
"No need to thank me. We should get going. We have other places to go before we leave."
Maxon shakes the man's hand.
He puts his hand on my lower back and leads me out.
"That was sweet of you," I praise.
"Not really. I could've given him more."
"We only get a certain amount for the trip though."
He shrugs.
"Hungry?" he asks.
"Starving."
He smiles and brings me to one of the only restaurants in the town.
We get seated immediately and have breakfast.
We both have a waffle and fruit with tea.
This place is small and old like the last one, and doesn't have many food options, but we're fine with that.
Once we're done we get on the road again.
I'm still tired so I nap on Maxon for most of the way there. The sun's up, so I struggled a bit to go back to sleep. But once I do, I'm out.
Maxon kisses me awake when we're there by repeatedly kissing my cheek.
I look at him and smile.
He smiles back.
I sit up and look out the window.
"Welcome to Xynnar," Maxon greets.
Xynnar is a richer town in Midston full of agriculture. Parades and festivals happen here all the time.
Even looking out the window now I see people dancing in the town square.
There are lots of decorations and people everywhere.
We get out.
There are musicians playing live music next to the square, and that's what the people are dancing to. I'm impressed at how good they are.
There are lanterns hanging by buildings and paper animals in the sky everywhere. They're all so pretty.
There are a few booths by the square, but there are mostly shops. All of them have their doors propped open. Everything seems so happy and carefree here.
"What time is it?" I ask Maxon.
"It's one," he tells me.
"Already?"
"Already. We'll have lunch whenever you want."
"Let's do that first and then we can shop."
"Where do you want to eat? There's a sandwich shop, a coffee shop, a cookie place."
"Let's go to the sandwich place."
He takes my hand.
One of the guards leads us there while the other stays behind us.
Not many people are eating lunch this late, so not many people are there. We sit in the back. The place has many cool decorations. There are a lot of signs and light up things.
Maxon orders a roast beef sandwich and I get a BLT. They're in sub form and come with fries.
Once we get our food we start eating.
"I wish we ate this stuff more often," Maxon admits.
"Me too."
"We're going to have to make a new menu for the castle."
"I'd love that."
"Sadly we can't."
"Nope. But I'm glad you're getting to experience this now. I know you practically never get to leave the castle."
"Very rarely I've left. And usually we travel straight to the place and straight back."
"So I'm glad I get to have this time with you. Outside of the castle."
"I'm glad too. I'm very grateful for these moments I have with you."
I smile at him and finish my food.
I wait for him to finish, then we start walking around.
I make him stop at one of the booths with paper animals. I pick up one of the plastic fans they have and open it. It's black with flowers on it and gold lining.
"Eadlyn would love this," I say to Maxon.
"She would. And the boys would love these animals."
"This should be there other gifts."
"Alright. What animals?"
"A dragon and a tiger."
"Ok."
We buy the paper animals and the fan. I also bought a fan for myself to use as decoration. Mine is white with white lace and a gold design on it.
"You have to get yourself something too," I insist of Maxon.
"I will."
"What are you going to get yourself?"
"Well, I already got that picture."
"That doesn't count."
"Why not?"
"We didn't buy it."
"If you insist I buy myself something else I guess I can't argue."
"Well I insist."
He smiles at me.
"I hear they have a nice garden here and we still have awhile. Do you want to go on a walk?" Maxon questions.
"Sure. That sounds nice," I answer.
He holds my hand and takes me to the garden.
It's a public garden with a path going through it. It has beautiful blooms and is really big.
Maxon and I walk together on the path while holding hands.
"I love you," I say.
"I love you too," Maxon replies.
"The kids would love this garden."
"They would."
"Ours is just as pretty though. This one's only bigger."
"The gardeners do a good job with our garden. My mother always loved flowers."
"She did?"
"Yeah. My father would bring her a flower every year on their anniversary and she's let it dry. She kept every one of them on her desk."
"That's sweet."
"Yeah."
I look at him. He's looking to his right at the flowers.
I lean up and kiss him on the cheek as we walk.
He looks at me.
I smile.
He smiles back a bit.
"You make me so happy Maxon."
"Only because you make me so happy."
One of the guards stops us.
We look at him.
"There's a suspicious subject. We should take you inside somewhere," he informs us.
"What do you mean there's a suspicious subject?"
"On the other side of these flowers on the path. He keeps touching his pocket and looking at you. We should go now."
I look over.
There indeed is a man who is very suspicious. He's wearing a hoodie and has his hand in his pocket.
We start going.
He looks directly at me, noticing me looking and us leaving. As soon as he sees us, I know something bad is about to happen.
He pulls a hand gun out of his pocket and aims it towards us.