The Addition (The Selection)

Chapter Eight

Another hard part of being pregnant: telling my family. Do I tell them all at once or individually? Do I let Maxon help or do I do by myself? Do I do something creative or should I just tell them.

By the time I'm ready to leave for Astra's party, I believe I already have my announcement planned out. I stare my reflection down in the mirror, making sure that I look perfect for the night's events. My hair is pinned up in the back, forming an elegantly braided knot. My makeup is still as light as when I first came to the palace: just the essentials. I wear a long, simple dress. The shades of purple at the top fade down to shades of light pink that match my light pink heels. I also have on a silver necklace as the final touch.

A knock on the door breaks me from my thoughts as I walk over to the door that separates the king's chamber from the queen's. The only time Maxon and I use our separate chambers is when we're getting dressed for a large event. I open the door and grin at him. He smiles back at me.

"You look beautiful, as always, America," Maxon says. He holds his arm out for me to take. I loop mine through his as he leads me through our room to the door to the hall.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Mr. Schreave," I reply with a grin. He chuckles and leans down to kiss me.

"Thank you, Mrs. Schreave," Maxon tells me before we open the large bedroom doors. We nod to the guards waiting by the doors as we walk by. We quickly reach the stairs and begin our descent. The hallways are empty, a large contrast from when we usually have guests. Since this is Astra's party, though, it's only for family and friends. Even the press isn't invited.

"Is Astra excited?" Maxon asks me as we through the hallway. I nod.

"Very. She can hardly stop talking about it. What almost three year old wouldn't want to have her birthday party at the royal palace?" I ask him. He chuckles and nods.

"And Astra certainly is one who loves being royalty," he says as we walk down the stairs that lead to the doors of the great room. I chuckle and nod.

"She certainly is," I comment as we approach the guards at the door. Maxon and I both nod to the guards on either side as they open the door and announce our arrival. As we walk in, everyone is quick to rise to their feet and curtsy but Maxon and I are just as quick to dismiss them.

I lead the way to the table where Astra, Kenna, and James sit. Astra grins at me as I curtsy to her. "How is the princess doing?" I ask her. She giggles but her mother beats her to a response.

"We can't be having you call her princess, Ames. She already thinks she is one," Kenna tells me. I giggle and take Astra's hand.

"Well, you can be the princes for tonight, can't you, Astra?" I ask. She nods. Astra is actually very shy when she comes to the palace. Her birthday seems to be no different. I ask if I can sit with the family to which I receive a yes. Maxon slides in next to me just as the waiters begin to bring out the first course of our meal.

§§§

"Would you like to dance, Princess?" I hear a voice behind me say. I turn and smile at the voice. Maxon stands behind me with a hand out in front of him. Astra grins and accepts his offer before taking his hand and letting him lead her to the dance floor.

As I watch, my mother slides into the seat between Kenna and I. I hardly notice her as my attention is on Maxon and the birthday girl.

"You're right, mother, he'll make an excellent father, won't he, America?" Kenna says, distracting me from my thoughts. I turn around and my face must be painted with confusion as my mother and sister both erupt into laughter.

"It's about time you respond. We've only been trying to get your attention for the last ten minutes," my mother says. I feel heat rush to my cheeks, embraced to be caught admiring my husband.

"I'm sorry. . . I was just distracted," I tell them. They both nod.

"I think we figured out that much, America," Kenna says. She looks over at Maxon who is spending Astra around in circles. "So I hear there's going to be some kind of big announcement?" I nod.

"Oh, yeah. I've just been waiting for the right moment," I tell her, hoping to get the attention away from that subject as quick as possible.

"Well, I think you should go ahead. I don't think Astra will mind. Do you, Kenna,?" my mother asks. Kenna shakes her head before calling my niece over to her. They wave their hands for me to go up to the stage. I walk in that direction, quickly grabbing Maxon on my way up.

We walk up onto the stage and Maxon puts his arm around my waist. As the band gets a microphone ready for us, he whispers in my ear, "Are you ready?" I give him a nod in response, not sure I am exactly able to speak.

As a member of the band steps away from the microphone, we both bid our head and step up to the mic. Maxon asks for everyone's attention and all the heads in the room quickly turn towards Maxon and me.

I open my mouth to speak and the only thing to help the words escape my mouth is my Maxon's hands rubbing circles on my back. "King Maxon and I are-" I begin to say. The sounds of yelling and shattering glass out in the hallway cause my words to quickly come to a stop.

Alarms begin to blare throughout the room. The cries of Astra and her young friends are hard to hear as Maxon pulls me off the stage. A door to the safe room is opened and people file into it, eager to make their way to safety.

Maxon and I end up being one of the last people on the stairs. The doors to the stairs are shut behind us, making it almost pitch black. The light of dim lamps does not help at all.

I slowly notice myself begin to shake as we work our way down. As the shaking gets worse, I begin to break into a nervous sweat and my vision blurs.

"Maxon," I say in a voice just above a whisper. But when he turns to me, it's too late.

I've already fallen to the ground and blacked out.

Hi! So yeah really late, I know! That's okay, though, I hope. I'm sorry for the late update and that this is kinda rushed. I wanted to get this posted before I went to bed so yeah.

Disclaimer: Keira Cass owns The Selection, not I.