Here's the little surprise! Enjoy :)

Happy reading!

•The Untold Stories•

What happened to Aspen, Mary, and Lucy after chapter 39? Was Daphne actually killed? How did Adrian and Toria get killed? Here, in this collection of untold stories, their fate will be revealed to you …

It's sweltering hot. Aspen sits down on a nearby log, and brushes his matted and tangled black hair from his eyes. He takes a drink of water from the bottle, but it doesn't help quench his thirst. Neither does the shade in the woods help cool him down. "Aspen!" Lucy calls. "Mary's prepared some food!"

"Coming!" he yells back, his voice a little hoarse.

He runs back to where he left his wife and her friend, and after giving Lucy a hug and a peck on the cheek, he sits down to eat his meal, devouring the small amount of squirrel, fowl, and leaves in front of him ravenously. "I think we should continue to move," Aspen says after swallowing a particularly large chunk of squirrel. "We've been here for quite a while and I would like to always be ahead of the Axis."

Mary nods. "Aspen," she starts, and then breaks into a fit of coughing, hunching over. Lucy bites her lip, and gently pats her friend's back. Mary had just joined up with the duo not too long ago after her rescue, and frequently had these "bad spells", as Lucy put it, "caused her to hack and cough simply nothing out". Recovering, Mary asks, "Where do you think we are right now?"

"Hmm … goodness, it's kind of hard to tell. But I'm guessing, perhaps near Columbia or Whites. I really don't know, though," Aspen quickly adds. "Wherever we are, though, we need to keep moving." He quickly clears his meal and dumps a bit of water on his hands, to clean them a little.

Finally, they set off after making sure there is no evidence of them being there. Suddenly, light flares up from behind them, and Mary lets out a little gasp. "Turn around," she barely manages to make out. They oblige, and to their horror and delight, a wall of orange stands three miles behind them.

The light finally winks out, leaving the three Illéans flabbergasted and open-mouthed. Aspen recovers first, saying, "We must help them! There may be survivors!" He runs into the direction of the explosion, the women following close on his heels.

"Is … is Daphne dead?" America asks her husband a few minutes later, after freeing him from his bonds.

Maxon tilts his head, gazing at his wife who currently is lying on the forest floor. "I certainly hope so," he replies. "I'll go check."

She nods. "Be careful," she warns.

He walks over to the still figure of Daphne, hoping that she's dead—or, at least, unconscious. It'd be pretty creepy if her eyes fly open but she remains dead, he thinks, and shudders. Great, now I have a pretty disturbing image in my head, and I'm going to check on the person who is prominently featured in this horrific image. He shudders again.

Cautiously approaching the Queen of France, he lingers a few steps away from her body, not wanting to get so close. When she stays perfectly still, he steels up his courage and walks over to her. Her lips still a pale pink and her face peaceful, it is easy to perceive Daphne as an innocent woman who is sleeping. Yet Maxon knows that she is different than what her appearance says of her. Gently taking her delicate hand into his large, rough and calloused hand, he carefully places two fingers on her wrist, searching for a pulse.

Nothing.

She's dead.

Maxon doesn't know how to react. Should he be mourning or celebrating? His feelings about her are so mixed he doesn't know how what to do. Should he mourn for her, because she was his childhood close friend, or celebrate, for an evil maniac leader of the Axis Powers is dead, and on top of that, she tried to kill his wife?

With a heavy heart, he slowly walks back to where America lies on the ground. "Well…?" America asks him expectantly.

"Dead." He replies, his voice flat.

"Oh, Maxon," she says, sitting up and taking his hand in hers. "I'm sorry. She was your childhood friend, after all. Let's remember her for what she was to you in the past, the good memories, and forgive her for what she tried to do to me. She was simply blinded because she still adores you …" she trails off.

Maxon looks away, suddenly seeming very interested in a patch of grass over on his left.

"We should still put her to rest. Properly." America's firm voice says. "Maxon? You listening?" Maxon nods. "She still deserves to be laid to rest … she's human after all." America declares. Pulling herself into a standing position, she walks over to Daphne, rubbing her wrists where the rope chafed her skin. Kneeling beside the still woman, she gently pulls the knife out of the woman's stomach, the blade dried with blood. Leaning over her, America gently brushes Daphne's dirty blonde hair away from her face. "Rest in peace, Queen Daphne," America says, still looming over the dead woman.

Her eyes suddenly fly open and her hand flies out to catch America's wrist, holding it in a tight grip. "Maxon never was supposed to be yours," she snarls, but just as suddenly she grabs America's wrist, her hand falls limp.

America looks at Daphne, shocked.

"Okay, what the bloody hell was that?!" Maxon bursts out, appearing by her side, a strong hand on her shoulder.

"I don't know," she replies. "One second I was leaning over her and the next she had my hand in a vise-like grip. Then she fell slack again." She shrugs. "I think she's actually gone now. This time." She reaches a gentle hand out and closes the Queen of France's eyes and clasps her delicate hands together, laying them on her stomach, covering the wound that ended her life. America gently spreads her hair out, fanning it across the ground around her. "Rest in peace, Daphne." She says, her head bowed.

"Good-bye, Daphne," Maxon says. "Good-bye."

They sit in adjacent cells, divided only by bars. "I'm scared, Adri," Toria says, her voice shaking and her hands trembling as they clutch her husband's through the bars of the cell. "What are they going to do to us?"

"I don't know, Tor," he says, his voice hoarse due to the lack of water. He lets go of his grip on Toria on his right hand and reaches out to console her. "I don't know. But whatever happens, we have to be strong."

Tori nods, tightening her hold on her husband's hands. Who knows how much longer they have to do that, to touch the other, to hear the other's voice?

They don't need to wait much sooner to find out. Judging by the rotations of the soldiers guarding them, it is around six hours later when they are led out of the cell. Adrian and Victoria Schreave never break eye contact, even when they are forced out into the open, the shining sun high over their heads. "Be strong," Adrian Schreave had said.

Nor do they break eye contact when their heads are forced upon wooden blocks and locked in place. When the Axis Powers ensure that their axes are sharp enough, they only smile at each other and mouth the words "I love you" to the other, and reach out for their love's hand.

When the axe comes down on each of their heads simultaneously, Tori and Adrian Schreave do not feel fear, for their love for each other is stronger than death, and words have more power than anyone could imagine. Their wedding vows were true: I will love you to the end, and maybe even after that. Death won't break us apart, because love conquers all.

They lived their short life together. It only made sense that they died together, smiling and holding hands, to give the other strength when they needed it, and they died knowing that their love will continue even after their death.

Woah. I seriously was not expecting that kind of an ending for the last mini story, and heck, I'm the freakin' author!

Okay, so yea! That's the surprise. Kinda morbid, I know … but it's still a surprise nevertheless!

Oh, I almost forgot! Here's a bunch of random things that I was going to write for "The Beginning of the End" but it didn't make the cut:

1. I originally was going to just have the story stop at around 16 chapters and have the ending as Char getting accepted into the Royal family and stuff like that, but I figured that it'd be too boring so I changed it.

2. Having Liam kill Cass by accident was not a part of the original plan. My fingers insisted on typing that, so yea. I kept it. Cass supposed to die differently, but I liked how the scene went so I stuck to that one.

3. I was originally going to kill Aspen, but changed my mind later in the story.

4. Daphne wasn't actually a part of the original plan … she just kinda popped in.

5. There were a lot more deaths than I anticipated.

And last of all … (this one's kinda shocking):

6. In the ending, I planned to pull a Veronica Roth and kill off the main character. Yes, the original storyline was that I would kill Char. However, I didn't, because, my friend and fellow writer AcademicGirl talked me out of it. So, yea, it's thanks to her that I didn't kill Char! GO give her a virtual hug for saving Char's life!

Here's my HUGE THANK YOU NOTE:

First of all, thank you so much for the 33 FOLLOWERS AND 22 FAVOURITES! I know that that may not seem like a lot to writers who have super awesome storylines and stuff, but for me, I feel that this is a really, really, REALLY big accomplishment! Heck, this is my first completed chaptered story! When I started this story, I had hoped that I'd get a good number of favourites and follows, I never, not in a million years, thought that I would get 22 FAVOURITES AND 33 FOLLOWS! On top of that, 202 REVIEWS?! LIKE WHAAAAAAAT?!

I seriously thank you awesome people for sticking with me until the end! Whether you were with me from the beginning or not, I sincerely thank you all, every one of you, for taking the time to read my story.

Without you guys, I would have given up a long time ago, and never would have finished this fanfiction. Your support means so much to me, knowing that somewhere out there, there are eager people reading my story … you guys are really awesome. Really. I am seriously so thankful for you guys! Because of your support, I have learned a lot of things about writing that I never would have learned, because, now, I have experience of writing a story. A fanfiction, but a story nonetheless.

AHHHH this story is now complete! I bet that it'll feel really good when I push that little "complete" button … :)

Now, looking back at my first chapter, I see many things that needed fixing, things that needed a tweak or two, and things that need to be changed completely. I never would have known that if I never had your support. I've been saying this a million times already throughout this thank-you message, but heck, I'll say it once again: I'm immensely thankful for you guys' support.

I'll be writing more Selection fanfictions in the future, as well as Percy Jackson, Mortal Instruments, Lorien Legacies, Divergent, and more! I think a Percy Jackson story is next on my list, although it would have to be out sometime in July (UGH STUPID FINALS). Follow or favourite me if you'd like to read them once they come out!

I figured that I'd end with a little quote. So, here it is:

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving." – Albert Einstein

Again, thanks for reading, and stay awesome,

~Kiren, aka Someone the World Forgot

P.S. Just for old times' sake, mind if you leave one last review? That'd be awesome :)