The One

Chapter 1:

"Maxon, this is ridiculous. I look stupid."

"No, you don't. Now hold still."

The books on top of my head crashed to the floor. I glared at Maxon who was trying to suppress laughter. I swatted at him.

"I'm pretty sure my ability to balance books on my head isn't going to win the people over, Maxon."

"No," he agreed, picking up the books off the ground. "But it will earn you points with my father. He needs convincing too, you know."

I huffed. "Yeah, I know."

"Speaking of which, I'd better start acting like a king and look over some of this paperwork. Practice for a little bit while I work on this stuff," he says sardonically.

Maxon walks behind his desk and sits down, pulling a stack of papers in front of him. I could tell he was still feeling hurt and embarrassed by what his father had said at breakfast this morning. If I wasn't trying to gain his father's favor, I would've stuck my tongue out at him right then and there.

Instead of putting the books on top of my head, I walked over to Maxon and hugged him from behind, being careful not to squeeze him too tight as I was sure his back was still healing. He visibly relaxed in my arms and leaned back.

"Are you okay? I know you are trying to help me, but is there something I can do to help you?" I asked, kissing his cheek.

"No, darling. I just wished he would trust me a little more, you know? How am I supposed to learn to run a country if he never lets me do anything?" Maxon replied. Frustration leaked into his voice.

I felt terrible. I knew that it was partially my fault that the king had said those things. I decided to try to take his mind off of it.

I plopped into Maxon's lap and put my arms around his neck. "You are going to make a great king someday," I whispered. "You care about people, Maxon."

Maxon grinned. I couldn't tell if he was grinning because of what I had said or because I was here, sitting in his lap, and I didn't get a chance to ask because he took my face in his hands and pressed his lips against mine. I felt that slow fire that I loved begin to burn through me.

He pulled away too soon. He sighed and I knew he really had to get back to work. I stood up and let Maxon's fingers linger at my waist for a moment before I walked back over to the other side of the room to pick up my books. I stacked them slowly on my head, using the glass in the grandfather clock by his bookcase as a mirror. I held out my arms and put my shoulders back slowly, and turned around and began to walk. I got all the way across the room without dropping one. I looked out of the corner of my eye to see Maxon watching me with a goofy grin on his face.

"Is His Majesty impressed?" I asked confidently.

"Yes, very impressive." Maxon's smile grew wider. "Are you going to hold your arms out like that when you walk from now on?"

I let my arms fall and slap the sides of my body. The books fell off my head.

"No. I think I'll just slouch. Is it really that bad?" I said, feeling self-conscious.

"I don't think so. Your posture is one of the last things I notice," he said, making me blush as he looked adoringly at my face.

A quick knock at his study door startles me.

"Come in," Maxon says quickly, facing the door. To my surprise, Elise walks through the door with a smile on her face. Her smile doesn't fade when she sees me, she just looks me up and down to make sure I'm wearing clothes today. At least that's what I'm guessing.

"Oh, hi America," she says kindly. "Were you in the middle of something? I just wanted to talk to Maxon for a minute, but I can come back." I notice her posture and try to mock it.

"No, no, it's fine… I'll see you later Maxon." While Elise is watching me pick up the books off the floor, Maxon tugs his ear and smiles crookedly. When Elise turns around I do the same.

I walk out of Maxon's study and down the hall to my room. I have the stack of books in my hands and almost drop them again when Kriss comes around the corner.

"Whoops! Sorry about that America. Didn't see you." She smiles at me and flips her long brown hair back over her shoulder. All the animosity from this morning is gone. I guess she decided she has forgiven me for the dress incident last night.

"That's okay. Didn't see you either." Even her posture is perfect.

She eyes the books in my hands warily. "Getting some studying in?"

I decide to roll with it. "Yes, actually… One of us is going to be the only one left pretty soon. A queen has to know her foreign policy." I smile, pretty sure that one of the books I'm holding is an instructional guide to learning French, a language I already speak.

"Oh, yes, how smart of you! I should ask Maxon if I can borrow some of his books…" I'm not entirely sure if she is being honest, but at the mention of Maxon's name she practically skips down the hall towards his study. "See you later, America!"

"Bye." I say to no one.

My maids aren't in my room when I walk in, but there is a small slip of paper in my jar with the lone penny.

I plop the pile of books on my bed and open the jar, reaching inside for the slip of paper. I am just getting ready to unfold it when I stop myself. I realize that, for the first time, I am really not interested in what Aspen wants to tell me. Our last talk wasn't so great. I knew he thought me going home meant that he was my choice. But he figured out very quickly that I wanted Maxon, even if I was going home. If given the opportunity to stay, which I had, he knew I would take it in a heartbeat. I was in love, and it wasn't with Aspen.

Instead of unfolding the slip of paper, I went out to my balcony and looked over into the gardens to make sure no one was walking out and about. Not that we were really allowed to anymore without supervision anyway. But since I wasn't going to read the note, I wanted to be sure.

It was definitely winter now. Even on days like today when the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, I still needed to shield myself from the cold. The wind was blowing , taking the last few leaves off the trees that go bare until spring. I held out my hand, wrapped in a fist, and when a particularly strong gust of wind came, I uncurled it and let the note fly into the woods past the palace. It was so perfect for the way I felt now. My love for Aspen had been real, but with a little wind, had so easily flown away. But I still had the sun – a ray of light that I felt would burn inside me forever. And that ray of light was Maxon.