THE SELECTION: The Decision.

The Eight of Hearts

Maxon and I stare at her for a moment in silence before he speaks.
"I don't see why that should be a problem... Love is love, right?" He's looking at the expression on my face hesitantly. "Right, America?"
I shake my head softly. "It doesn't work like that, Maxon... May knows it doesn't. Sure, you can legally marry whoever you want, but in May's case she would be demoted to an Eight... Nobody does that. No matter how much you love somebody, becoming an Eight means hunger and pain and uncertainty... Not to mention the fact that our mother would go ballistic."
"But she should be free to love whoever she wants," he argues.
I look up at him and stare him in the eyes. "You're right. She should..."
"But... Because of the Castes, she can't?" He asks.
"Right..."
"Well what if the Castes were eliminated?"
May looks up quickly. "What?"
"My father is opposed, but I have a plan to dissipate the caste system one caste at a time to keep order..."
Both May and I stare at him in awe and then I punch his arm. "When were you going to tell me about this?"
"Hey!" He laughs softly. "The idea started forming when I met you, actually... You told me things I had never experienced and you weren't afraid to give me all the details I needed. I realized early on how flawed this system is and my plan was to start removing them as soon as I became King...  Maybe there's a way to start sooner, if I approach it correctly.  I want May and Gerad and our children to grow up in a world that is not defined by these labels.... I want May to choose whomever she wants to love, and I want Gerad to be a scientist if he wants..."
"Maxon--"
"Hear me out, America. I know I sound completely crazy, but I'm so passionate about this. Why not use this real-life instance to fuel my dream project?"
I just shake my head softly, completely enamored by this man that I am marrying. "You... Are wonderful. And perfect. And quite possibly a saint."
He smirks and feigns exhaustion. "All in a day's work, America. All in a day's work." He turns to May and gently leads her to sit with him on the edge of the bed. "Now May. Tell us about this boy of yours..."
I didn't think it was possible, but May blushed even more. "Well... He's one of the kindest people I've ever met. I met him when I was taking out our garbage one day. He was in the alley behind our house, rifling through the dumpsters. Naturally, I panicked. I dropped the bag and was about to run back inside, but he apologized to me. He said that he didn't realize anyone was home, and he was just looking for some old paints. It seemed odd to me, someone who was starving would be looking for something as useless as paint. It turns out, he's a wonderful artist. His mother was a five, but she was demoted to an eight when she got pregnant with him by one of the men she was working for." May's eyebrows furrowed into a frown. I could see on Maxon's face that this particular story struck close to home.
May continued, "He has such a talent. It just amazes me that, instead of being angry at the world for what he's been given, he creates a beautiful world of his own. And even though he hasn't been to school, he's incredibly smart. I've been saving my allowances and buying us some schoolbooks to work in together."
I smile at my little sister, amazed at the person she's become. "He sounds amazing, May. Is he handsome?"
She giggles. "Very! He has brown eyes and brown hair and little spotted freckles covering his nose."
Suddenly Maxon stands up and heads towards the door. "Excuse me, ladies. I'll be back soon."
  As soon as he leaves, May turns to me with a questioning look. I give her a small shrug.
"I'm just as confused as you are," I promise her. "But I'll ask what that was about later. In the mean time.... Tell me more."

********************************************

  By the time I finally see Maxon again, it is nearing dinner time. I've had another rough day of morning sickness, and I've only had Kenna to comfort me. Everyone else is quite oblivious, and I can't blame them. They're being treated like the royalty I always knew they were.
  I'm sitting in the kitchen with the staff after finally sending Kenna away to spend time with everyone when Maxon bursts in.
  "America! Oh my... I've been looking everywhere for you!!! You've scared me half to death!" He takes my hands and searches my face before realizing where he is.  "What are you doing in the kitchen?"
  Frederick, one of the chefs, peeks his head around the corner.  "She's eating our entire supply of chocolate, that's what she's doing!" He teases.
  I roll my eyes.  "Oh come on, Frederick.  I haven't eaten that much."
  "Try four bars and a half a bag of chocolate chips," he deadpans.
  Maxon bursts out laughing, much to the shock of the kitchen crew.
  "Darling, are we going to have to put child locks on the cabinets down here? Eating that amount of chocolate cannot be healthy."
  I raise an eyebrow at him.  "It's dairy, and I think there might be some egg or something in there.  One of the bars I ate had almonds.  Sounds perfectly healthy to me."
  "Mm... I like the way you think, Ms. Singer." He leans closer.
  I shake my head.  "Nope.  Not Ms. Singer... Mrs. Schreave." I kiss him quickly.
  His eyes light up beyond what I thought possible. "Mrs. Schreave.... I like the way that sounds."
"Me too." I grin. I hop off of the counter and give a wave to the kitchen staff. "Bye guys! Thanks for the chocolate." I grab Maxon's hand and we go running out. The kitchen staff just laughs in our wake.
When we slow at the top of the stairs, Maxon turns to me. "When did you become so friendly with everyone in the kitchen?"
I shrug. "They're all very nice. I started going down to visit them from time to time after I was shot, and we've become pretty good friends. The kitchen is where all of the gossip comes first."
"Is that so?" He raises an eyebrow. "What kind of gossip?"
"Well, Maurice--"
"Maurice?" He asks.
"The gardener," I clarify. "He and his wife have been in the middle of a pretty significant argument for about two weeks. It culminated on Tuesday when she threw his own shears at him. She missed her primary aim, but poor Maurice lost two toes because of it."
He gasped. "No!"
"Yes! Oh, and apparently one of the maids has a pretty hefty crush on one of the guards. I don't know who it is yet, because Frederick had a soufflé emergency, but maybe I can do a little match making in my spare time." I smirk.
Maxon laughs, but stops just as quickly. "Oh, speaking of match making... I'm sorry about running off earlier."
"Yeah, where did you go?" I link our hands as we make an unspoken choice to go to his room.
"Well, it really bugged me that May had to worry about having a boyfriend who is an Eight. This is her first boyfriend, she should just enjoy the present. I know that I can't put my plans to dissolve the castes into place just yet, but maybe I can make one small difference with this boy. I sent word to bring him here... I'm giving him a job at the palace. It's not hard work, and he'll get a place to live because of it. Hopefully he'll have enough comforts to easily work on his art with the supplies I've provided him."
  At some point in his announcement, I stopped walking.  I found myself simply staring at the incredible man that I was going to marry.
  "Maxon..." I whisper.  "That's... Oh my gosh!" I tackle him in a hug.  "I can't believe you did that for my sister!"
  "As much as I love May, it wasn't only for her.  That boy... He deserves a chance.  I found out that his mother died, and so he was really alone.  He sounds incredible, and I don't want any of his talents to go to waste."
  I simply shake my head before kissing him, dissolving into the blissful embrace of My Maxon.

A/N:
I'M SO SORRY THAT THIS TOOK SO LONG.  I HAVE A SOFT SPOT IN MY HEART FOR THIS FANFIC AND I REALLY WANT TO FINISH IT, SO JUST KEEP REMINDING ME AND GIVING ME SUGGESTIONS!!! LOVE YOU GUYS