Selected: Part 3 - Love and Lace

EPILOGUE

I AWOKE FROM THE MOST restful sleep I'd had in a long time feeling Ethan's warm body pressed on mine. The silver ring with a light blue gem on my finger was all the proof I needed that the following evening had not been all a dream. The next days were a whirlwind of events. The press were sworn to secrecy about Agatha's dismissal until the next Report, where, from start to finish, our wedding would be filmed live in the converted studio for all to see. Ethan wanted to get married as soon as possible, which left no time at all for the preparations. Luckily, I was marrying the King, so no task was too ambitious. Teams of people helped set up, and Ethan wanted me to choose everything, from the decorations, to the music, to the food. I had never really pictured my wedding, so I didn't mind much any of these things. The only thing I had ever dreamed of was the dress I would be wearing.

I stared down at the sketch of dress I'd been designing, wondering if it would be even possible to have it come to life in so little time. As if by magic, the door of my bedroom flew open, and I was shocked to see who was on the other side. "Grace!" I exclaimed, dropping my sketchbook. We hugged and laughed as Piper and Maya joined in, grinning ear-to-ear. With Ethan's help to fly her in, Grace had come all the way back from her home province one last time to help the girls make my wedding dress. Above everything else, I was so grateful she would be there on the happiest day of my life.

As I walked down the aisle between crowds of people, I felt radiant in my dress. Instead of classic white, I had chosen a pastel blue fabric, with a matching bouquet of bluebells, and it was everything I dreamed it would be and more. As promised, Hazel and Gwen were my bridesmaids, dressed in matching dark blue midi dresses. They had helped get me ready, and during that time, I was so happy to feel any awkwardness between Gwen and I had completely faded away. Though I had no family of my own, Beatrice was in attendance, with her two daughters, of course. Upon my request, Ethan had relieved Maria and Lydia of their work, and they were reunited with their mother and more money that they could ever need to support themselves. After all, without them, this never would've been possible.

Amongst the crowd, I also noticed Naomi, arm in arm with a tall man who I could only assume was the one she loved. Actually, every single girl who had been in the Selection was in attendance, except Scarlett and Shannon. I was so grateful to have them all here to support me. At the very front, where Hazel and Gwen were standing, there was also Mabel the official royal horse, a flower crown of bluebells atop her asymmetrical ears. Everything was absolutely perfect. Ethan and I exchanged vows and, just like that, my new life had officially begun.

As Illéa's new King and Queen, we had so many plans for the future of our people. The most important and ambitious being having the castes slowly dismantled. Amongst other things, we also had peace agreements with other countries, and collaborative projects with the Northern rebels under way. No matter what, we had each other through this all, and I just knew fate was on our side.

A/N: This is the end of this fan-fiction. It took much too long to finish but I'm glad these two finally got to be together. I hope you've enjoyed if you've read up to this point. Thank you so much <3