999 Pieces

Chapter Fourteen: Aspen

“Here is your walker, Officer,” the nurse says, motioning with her hands.

I nod at her. “Thank you.”

“Someone will come here shortly to help you as you regain the ability to walk,” the nurse explains. “In the meantime, you no longer have to stay here, Officer Leger.”

“Really?” I ask incredulously. “So fast?”

The nurse nods, smiling.

Lucy will be overjoyed, I think, smiling in what feels like a long time. I can’t wait to tell her.

“You’ll have to walk with a walker for a few days, and once you’re ready you can transfer to a cane,” the nurse adds. “It’s possible that you will have to use the cane for the rest of your life, but we aren’t completely sure. We’ll have to see.”

I sigh and nod. “Alright. Thank you so much.”

“You’re very welcome, Officer Leger.” The nurse smiles, before looking over my shoulder. “Oh! There she is right now!”

I turn, my grin widening as I see Lucy walk in. “Lucy!”

She smiles and quickens her pace. Once by my side, I quickly pull her down to kiss her, unable to stop myself.

“If you need anything or have any questions, feel free to let us know, Officer Leger,” the nurse says. “Don’t overdo it please.”

“I’ll make sure he won’t,” Lucy promises, clutching my arm.

The nurse smiles before leaving to attend someone else.

“Ready?” Lucy asks, looking down at me.

I nod, putting my hands on the walker as I slowly bring myself to a stand from the bed. Lucy’s hand is on my back as I remain standing for a moment, my legs shaking a bit.

“Whenever you’re ready,” Lucy mumbles, rubbing my back.

I take a deep breath and cautiously take my first step. A slight pain shoots through my leg, but it’s bearable. Lucy looks at me with worry, but I nod and take another slow step.

Step by step, Lucy and I eventually make our way out of the Hospital Wing.

“Where to?” I grunt.

“Your new room?” Lucy asks. “His Majesty informed me that you are being moved to the third floor. I know where it is.”

I nod in response, taking another step. “I don’t think I can do the steps yet.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll take the elevator,” Lucy reassures. “They fixed it from the damage in the rebel attack.”

We slowly walk towards the elevator and once we are inside, I let out a breath of relief. Walking isn’t painless, but I’m happy that I can walk. I know that I’m pretty damn lucky compared to some others.

When the doors to the elevator reopen, Lucy and I walk out and make our way to my new room. As we pass some conference rooms, a door flings open and Maxon runs out, papers in his hand. He stops and smiles when he sees Lucy and I, who sinks into a curtsey. “Your Majesty,” she breathes as I nod to him.

“Lucy, Aspen,” he says, nodding at us. “Good to see you up on your feet, Aspen. I’m afraid I can’t stay to talk, I have to-”

“I understand,” I interrupt. “You go on ahead. We’ll talk later.”

He gives me a smile, before running off.

He almost looks excited, I note, happy to see him so energized. I wonder what it’s about.

“Are you close to King Maxon now?” Lucy asks quietly as we resume walking.

I nod. “We’ve been talking a lot in the past few days.”

“About Lady America?” Lucy whispers, her lip trembling.

I stop and carefully pull Lucy into a hug. She begins to cry, her face buried into my chest. We stand in the middle of the hallway as I rub her back.

“How much further?” I mumble after a moment.

Lucy lets out a sniff. “J-Just a few more doors down.”

I nod and we continue walking. Once we reach my door, Lucy quickly goes to hold it open for me. Once inside, she shuts the door and helps me to my bed.

As I sit down, Lucy walks over to the door to the balcony, opening it to let some fresh air in. I watch her move, concerned. I can tell that she’s still crying. When she turns back towards me I beckon for her to come over to me.

She crawls onto the bed into my open arms, resting her head against my chest. I trace patterns on her back as she quietly cries.

“I-I miss her, Aspen,” she whispers. “Maybe not as much as you, but…” Lucy lets out a sob. “She didn’t deserve her end.”

I nod, tears in my eyes as I continue to rub her back. “I know, Lucy. I know.”

“H-How’s King Maxon?” Lucy asks after a moment. “He seemed alright earlier, but…”

“It’s been bad,” I sigh, thinking back to the time he destroyed his office. “It ranges from him being sad to angry. I heard that he exploded at his advisors again yesterday.”

“Has he tried talking to people?” Lucy asks quietly. “I know that helped me a bit when my mom died.”

I nod. “We talk quite a bit. I know he also talked with Gavril and Kriss.”

Lucy makes a face. “Is he going to marry her? She’s a nice girl from what I’ve heard but…”

“She’s not America,” I finish. “But he’s taking it easy right now. He doesn’t want to be pushed into marriage right now, and he’s pretty adamant about it.”

Lucy nods looking up at me. “And how are you doing?”

“I’ll get through it,” I whisper, kissing her head. “I just need time.” I smile bitterly as I remember the various times that America said that to me in the past few months.

“Let me know if you want to talk,” she says after a moment.

I nod as Lucy shifts so she’s closer to me, closing her eyes.

“I love you, Aspen,” she whispers.

I give her a soft smile, still rubbing her back. “I love you too, Lucy.”

This chapter is kind of a filler, but the next few have a lot. For the record, a LOT of you are guessing scenes that are happening soon in the comments. It's kind of interesting. Also, America is dead, she's not coming back to life, although a lot of you are hoping that is the case.

-theselectionseriesfan