The Elite (Where the King is Nice)

Chapter 22

(Maxon's POV)
I collapse against the door in anguish. America ran out of the Safe Room, and I'd done nothing to stop it. Why? Because I've been such a fool lately. I kept taking Kriss over America. Heck, I don't even know why. And now, because of that, I let America slowly drift away. I let go of some of our progress. She probably doesn't want to marry me anymore. She'll need more time. I don't blame her. I've been such a jerk to her lately.
"Dad?" I ask weakly. He's still in the chair that he collapsed in and has his head in his lap. He and America had a close bond from the start. He lifts his head up and looks up me.
"Yes, son?" He says drearily.
"Will they find her? Will they get her back?" I ask desperately. My father goes rigid.
"Maxon, when we get her back, you will spend more time with her. She loves you, and what do you do? You take advantage of it and run off with Kriss. She loves you! She is the strongest person I know!!!" He whisper-yells at me because he doesn't want Kriss to hear. I think she's asleep anyway.
"Dad, we have to get her back. I know I've made mistakes and I want to fix them."
(America's POV)
A guard comes running and grabs my waist. The rebel scrambles around to find his gun and then aims it at my chest.
"Let go of her or she's dead!" The rebel yells at the guard. I squirm to get out of his grasp. The guard drops me to the ground and I land with an oomph. The guard and rebel start fighting and I take the chance to get away. I run in the direction where the other rebel took Marlee.
"Marlee!! Marlee!!!" I yell desperately. I turn the corner and see a rebel talking into a walkie-talkie.
"Do you have the girl?" He asks. A voice responds,
"Yeah, we do. Meet me by the entrance." My eyes widen. I can get Marlee! But I can't go there alone. I turn the corner to see two guards, doing nothing. Jerks.
"Hey have you seen the girl who was kidnapped?" One of them asks the other. I interrupt at this point.
"I know where she is but I can't go alone! Can you come with me?" I ask. They nod and we run to the entrance. There's 2 rebels there, and one is holding an unconscious Marlee. I clamp my mouth shut so I don't blurt out anything.
"Stay here," one of the guards says and then they both go off and attack the rebels. I watch as one rebel falls, but it's not the one that was holding Marlee. Suddenly, I'm grabbed from behind.
"Lady America!! You're ok!! Follow me!!" A guard ushers but I stay put.
"Miss?" He gestures for me to follow him but I don't move.
"My friend is out there. I'm not ditching her." I tell the guard while gesturing to Marlee.
"I came here on King Clarkson's orders. I can't go back empty-handed." The guard says frantically. One of the guards that was trying to get Marlee yelps and limps over to us. Now, it's one against one.
"Nooo!!!!!" I shriek and run out to the rebel. All three guards look shocked as I tackle the rebel to the ground. Marlee falls over his shoulder, still unconscious.
"Get her!!!" I yell desperately while trying to keep the rebel down.
"Fine! Take her! We'll keep you!!" He shouts and grabs me. I scream and punch him.
"I'm not going down very easily." I mutter to him. He scowls.
"HEY!!!!" One of the guards yells and grabs me. I scream.
"Stop! STOP!!! GET MARLEE!!!!" I shriek but the guards keep holding me back. They drag me all the way back to the Safe Room. I'm too weak to fight back. First, they check to see if anybody is around, and then open the door. I collapse inside and don't get up. Most of the people inside are asleep. The King and Maxon included. The queen comes over and puts her arm around me.
"It'll be ok." She says quietly and comforts me. I don't push her away-it feels nice to be comforted for once. She starts to rub my back.
"Owwwww..." I hiss when she hits a sore spot.
"Are you hurt? Get in the light so I can see." She says. I get in the light and she gasps.
"Oh America," she says in a motherly voice. Then, Queen Amberly gets up and goes over to the medical cabinet.
"Oh you don't have to do that, really." I say to her. I feel bad that she's doing this.
"Oh, hush, America. I don't want you in pain." She murmurs.
"I miss her," I whimper sadly. The queen sits down behind me with the medicine.
"What you did was very brave," the queen says.
"When I was in the Selection, I met my best friend there, just like you did. Once, there was a very bad rebel attack. She was kidnapped for two weeks." Amberly says sadly. I open my mouth to object but she continues.
"They found her, bruised and beat up. But the thing that really struck me, was that no matter what they put her through, she was always able to come through with a smile on her face. That was what the best part of her was. She was so strong!" Amberly says and tears start to fall.
"We were in the final two together. Most people would've thought that would have made our friendship bond weaker. But in fact, it did the opposite. We were inseparable after that, and when the Selection ended, I was heartbroken to see her go. We still visited each other and wrote letters, and heck, she even got a job here. We were so happy to see each other again." Amberly says while smiling through her tears.
"But one day, she went home to visit her family. Everything was fine until I got the phone call." She brushes tears off of her face. At this point, they are falling at full-force.
"They said that the plane she took to get back to the palace malfunctioned and-and..." Amberly drifts off and starts to sob.
"Shh, it's ok." I tell her. Just then, there's a slam on the door and the lights go out.
(-(-(-(-(-(-(-(-(-(-(-(-(-(-(-(-(-(-(-(-(-(
Sorry about the random POV switch above. Maxon's POV will be next chapter.