The Chosen [COMPLETED]

Chapter 19

I looked into Easton's bright blue eyes. I thought about my stay at the palace. The whole time, when I was dating August, Easton was still there. He had become a friend to me, and now that August was gone, Easton seemed more important. 

"They can't call off the Queenstial," I said. I never thought I would have ever heard that sentence come out of my mouth.

"You should get a say in this. It's your Queenstrial." I added. Easton nodded his head. 

"I know, but it's my father. He likes to make all of my choices for me." I was not surprised. 

"What does your mother think?" I asked. 

"She does not get much of a say either." 

Easton and I walked through the gardens. I still admired each flower we walked by. We did not talk much for the rest of our walk. I could tell Easton was stressing about his father. 

I made sure to tell him that I needed a new officer. I did not tell him the whole reason why, so I just told him that August had talked about not wanting to be at the palace anymore. Luckily, Easton did not ask me any questions. 

We had to cut our walk short since we were running behind for the funeral service for Scarlett. I rushed to my room, and my maids were waiting for me with a long black dress. 

"Your late," Justine said. 

"I was walking with Prince Easton," I replied as I stepped on the podium to be dressed. Amy put my hair into a braid that went around the back of my head. The whole look made me feel more depressed. 

I met up with Farley on my way down to the service. Her dress was almost identical to mine, except for the shorter sleeves. Easton was already talking with a few of the other girls when Farley and I arrived. I waited for him to notice me, But Choe kept taking his attention away. 

I saw the king and queen sitting off to the side watching everyone. I felt the pressure of having to make a good impression while being in the same room as the king. I turned to Farley and we started making small talk. I kept glancing at the king, and he was looking in my direction more than once. 

Harper walked in and the funeral started. In the front row, Scarlett's family had their eyes glued to the casket in front of them. I remembered being in their place when Aaron died. Thinking about him made me choke up. I focused on what Harper was saying. 

"Many of us here at the palace knew Scarlett." Haper was saying. "And many more people knew her at home as a five." I did not know Scarlett was a five. She might have known Katrina. 

A few of Scarlett's family members talked after Harper. They all seemed very nice, and I felt bad for them. I knew how hard it was to get up and talk about a deceased family member after their death. 

Once the service was done, there was a small lunch outside in the gardens. I talked with Scarlett's parents for a while and gave them my condolences. But most of the time I talked with Farley. 

Easton came over to us and joined in our conversation. I noticed King Clarkson was watching us intensely. I kept glancing at him through the corner of my eye. I did not want to make it obvious. 

People slowly started to leave the gardens. Farley, Easton, and I talked for a while longer until Farley decided to leave. That left me and Easton. We stood there staring at each other awkwardly waiting for someone to start up a new conversation. 

"Your father was watching me a lot today," I said. 

"That's because he wants to find any excuse to send you home." I glanced over at the king. He was standing next to the queen, who was talking with someone. King Clarkson looked bored and still had one eye on me. 

We stood there for a while and eventually decided to go back and chat in my room, away from King Clarkson. We sat close to each other. It felt like I was with August again. 

"They took the diary," I said. 

"Don't worry about it. No one goes up there anymore." Easton put an arm around me and I buried into his chest. I felt guilty for the book being stolen, but I knew it wasn't my fault. 

I started thinking about that night. I remembered the pain in my gut when I saw the pin on the rebel's jacket. I had loved August, and he kept a huge secret from me. I tried to think about if it would have been different if he had told me sooner. It was hard to see past the rebel part of him. I did my best to think of all of the reasons I broke up with him.

 I focused on the moment I was in with Easton. I paid attention to his little movements and the way his fingers brushed my hair. I let myself relax and enjoy this moment. Easton leaned into me and kissed me. I got closer to him and kissed him back. 

Easton moved his hands to my waist and back. I let everything go and Easton took over. 

"I love you," Easton whispered into my ear. 

"Do you say that to every girl," I said in between kisses. Easton stopped and looked at me.

"I mean it. You are gorgeous and strong." He said "My father might disagree, but this is my Queenstrial." I smiled and looked into his blue eyes.

"What are you going to do with your father. If he finds out you love me, he is going to get rid of me." 

"I would like to talk to my mother and see if she can talk with him." 

"You should be the one to talk to him." Easton sighed and nodded his head slowly. 

"What would I even say, or do to get him to listen to me?" I sat there thinking for a minute. King Clarkson was hard to impress. I knew that from experience.

"You have to do something big, something he will notice. Something that will make him listen to you." 

"Don't you think that could get people into trouble?" 

"Yes, but how else do you get him to pay attention?" Easton pondered my idea for a minute. 

"You are going to be the next King. You will be a better King than he ever was," I assured him. 

"Will you help me?" Easton asked. I was not planning on helping him, but since I was the one who threw it out there, I was going to have to.

"Of course." I smiled.