999 Pieces

Chapter Twelve: Maxon

Aspen and I spend the next hour in America’s room, carefully going through her things and sharing stories. The more we talk, the more I miss America, but surprisingly, I am starting to feel just a bit lighter. 

That is, until I found the letters.

The waterworks return at full power as I reread my words to America. Although it’s gut wrenching to read, I’m so glad that I poured my heart into the letter. After all, they were some of my last words to America.

“Maxon?” a voice calls. My head snaps up and I gently place the papers back on the table.

“Kriss? What’s wrong?” I ask, clearing my throat as I stand. My voice sounds terrible. Probably from all of crying.

She walks over to me and, to my suprise, hugs me tightly. “I was so worried!” she cries into my shoulder. “I-I went to your office and saw the mess… and when you weren’t there…”

I wince, remembering that Aspen and I had just left my office without cleaning anything up. “I’m sorry I worried you, Kriss,” I say, noticing Aspen quietly slip out of the room. 

She pulls away and I somehow find myself missing the comfort of having someone’s arms around me. “How are you doing?” she whispers, briefly looking around the room before meeting my eyes.

“I’ve seen better days,” I say, trying to smile, but failing.

Kriss hesitates. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I shake my head.

“Oh, okay,” she says, suddenly looking uncomfortable. “Well, I’ll be in my room if you need me.”

She turns, about to leave when my hand reaches out to touch her arm. She looks up at me with surprise.

“Do you want to spend some time together sometime?” I ask before I can stop myself.

At first Kriss struggles to respond. “Are you sure, Maxon?” she asks finally.

I take a deep breath, Aspen’s words coming back to me. “Yeah, I think so.”

Kriss gives me a small smile. “I’d like that. Just let me know when.”

I nod, looking around the room again.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” she says, gesturing to the letters I was reading. 

“Thank you,” I say when she reaches the doorframe. “For everything.”

Kriss turns back towards me. “You’re welcome, Maxon. I know this is difficult for you.” She gives me one last sad smile before leaving me alone. 

A moment later Aspen returns, his expression becoming worried when he sees me. “What happened?”

“I think I just asked her out on a date,” I blurt out. 

He looks shocked, but nods. “Alright. How are you feeling about it?”

“Guilty,” I whisper, running my hand through my hair. “Was it too soon? Am I rushing things?”

Aspen is silent, thinking. “I’ll admit that I’m surprised you decided to do this so soon, but maybe it’ll be good for you.”

“I feel like I’m cheating on America,” I mumble. “Which is ridiculous considering I did the same exact thing during the Selection.”

“Take it easy, Maxon,” Aspen advises. “Just do what your heart says. If you’re unsure, just postpone it. I’m sure Kriss will understand.”

I nod, looking at the clock in the corner of the room. “Shit. I have a meeting in two minutes.” 

Aspen’s eyes widen “Go!”

I nod but I feel myself looking at the letters again. I hesitate for a brief moment, before deciding to leave the letters on the table. I’ll just come back later, I think as I take off running.

-o-

“That went better than expected,” Stavros comments once the screen goes dark.

Mr. Voss rolls his eyes. “All that happened was the New Asian Leader agreeing that the war is pointless and that it should stop. We still have to draw up a damn treaty.”

“No, matter,” I interject before things become heated. “We got what we wanted. Let’s move on to other matters shall we?”

There’s a mumble of “Yes, Your Majesty”s as papers are tucked away and pulled out. 

“To begin, I would like to address the proposal I gave about the Castes,” I say, my face hard. “The Italians have made it clear that they will support us if we dissolve the Castes.”

“So you’re saying that we have no room for negotiation?” Mr. Voss demands.

“Even if we did, I wouldn’t change a thing. If we dissolve the castes, the people will be happier. Have you seen the atrocities happening out there?” I ask, gesturing wildly.

“But, Your Majesty, you must admit that castes have helped keep things in order,” Mr. Voss argues.

I let out a humorless laugh. “We live in different times, Mr. Voss. This isn’t 80 years ago. The Castes have only made people miserable.” 

“Your Majesty-”

“Should I remind you that I am not my Father?” I interrupt, feeling my temper rise. “I don’t see things the way his twisted mind saw them!”

The room is dead silent, and I know why. This is the first time I’ve openly insulted Father.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “We will be dissolving the castes, Mr. Voss. I think we can all agree that losing Italy as an ally would be too costly.”

Mr. Voss doesn’t respond, but I can tell he agrees.

“Is everyone in favor of dissolving the castes?” Stavos asks after a moment.

Everyone in the room nods, even Mr Voss after a moment of hesitation.

I let out a sigh of relief. “Of course, now the big issue is how we would dissolve the castes.”

“Removing them one at a time, starting from the bottom, is a good idea, Your Majesty,” one of the advisors says, motioning to his paper. “However, we would need to be cautious about doing so.”

I nod. “Agreed. Merging the Eights with the Sevens could work, but after that it will get tricky. This is a process that will take many years. I’m not so naive to think that this can happen overnight.”

“The social stigmas will be a big issue,” Mr. Forteir mentions and I nod.

“Any other comments?” I ask.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Mr. Voss says, and I stiffen.

“Go on…”

“What else did the Italians say?”

Sorry I didn't post last week! Some events occurred last week that pushed publishing a chapter back. Plus I've run into a dilemma in a future chapter that I need to figure out. Hopefully I'll think of a solution soon...

-theselectionseriesfan