What If The Elite Was Different? A Selection Story

Chapter Two- America POV

Second chapter in a day! Quite proud of myself. This one is full of drama, and pretty much all speech belongs to Kiera Cass, as do the characters.

I shook my head, willing this all to be a dream. No, a nightmare. This could not be real. This could not be real. That was not Aspen being strapped to the 'A' shaped contraption to the point of pain. That was not Kriss beside him with her wrists bound to the structure.

I glanced at Maxon again. He looked on the verge of cracking as one of his Elite cried in front of him. I wished I could comfort him in some way.

When he looked my way, I tugged my ear -a request. He did the same, wiping his eyes afterwards.

A large, bald man came up in front of us, going up the wooden steps. He was followed by two men who carried buckets with long, thin rods inside. I gulped, though still confused about this all. All three of them wore masks, with holes for the eyes, nose and mouth.

The first man held up a hand, and the crowd hushed instantly. I was impressed that he had such an effect, then ashamed that I could think about something like that right now.

"Kriss Ambers," he boomed, "one of the Selected, a Daughter of Illea, was found in an intimate moment with this man, Aspen Leger, a trusted member of the Royal Guard!"

As he shrieked out his statement the crowd booed again, this time in agreement with him. Some even applauded, and the other Elite, as well as their families, did so too, though in shock. Mom looked horrified as she watched Aspen. But just one word if his statement stuck with me.

Intimate. Aspen was found in an intimate moment with Kriss. And as much as I wanted Maxon, as much as I knew there was no romantic future for Aspen and I, jealousy burned through me. He said he loved me, and Kriss was devoted to Illea and Maxon. So why would they  risk everything? It made no sense. 

"Miss Ambers has broken her vow of loyalty to our Prince Maxon, and Mr. Leger has essentially stolen property from the Royal family through his relations with Miss Anbers! These are acts of treason!" 

Treason. That meant death. It was an inexcusable crime. I swallowed, looking at Maxon and then the masked man again.

A wiry man ran up next to him, holding a microphone. The speaker waved it away, bellowing put his sentences with an inappropriate level of self-importance.

"This is a crime punishable by death!" He waved his arms around as the crowd cheered him on. "But, in his mercy, Prince Maxon is going to spare the two traitors their lives. Long live the Prince!" 

The crowd chanted after him, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from Kriss. Even though we weren't friends like Marlee and I, I didn't dislike her like Celeste. My heart broke for her, but a small voice inside of me was warning me she was the enemy now. She was with Aspen.

"It'll be okay!" Aspen called out, barely audible over the people jeering. At first I thought he was trying to comfort Kriss, but then I realised he was looking right at me. 

Maxon glanced over at us, frowning. Luckily, he dismissed it, just as the crier yelled again, bringing all attention back to him.

"Kriss Ambers and Aspen Leger, you are hereby stripped of your castes. You are the lowest of the low. You are Eights!" 

Kriss's mom cried harder and the crowd jeered again, which seemed wrong. Weren't there any Eights there who hates being discriminated in that manner? 

"And to inflict upon you the shame and pain you have caused our Prinxe and the Elite, you will be publically caned with fifteen strikes! May your scars remind you of your many sins!"

Aspen stares at me deeply. "I love you!" he cried to me. My heart aches to comfort him. "It'll be okay!"

The two other masked men took centre stage, one standing by Kriss and the other by Aspen. They took the rods out of the buckets and swished them in the air a few times: testing them out. The crowd applauded. You could hear the sticks whistling as they cut at the air, and I held back a scream as the pieces of the puzzle fit together.

In just a moment, Kriss's hands would be hit, and Aspen's backside...

I turned my face into my guard's shoulder and wept silently. 

Next chapter will be in Aspen's POV, and you can see how he and Kriss ended up like that. The italics in that chapter will be flashbacks. Chapter 4 will be Maxerica, I promise!

16AinswE