Atlas (A Selection/Hat Films Fanfiction)

~ Thirty ~

I was in my room, reading my parents' essays again very late at night when I heard a knock on the door. Stuffing the book under my pillow, I went to answer it, knowing there were only a few people it could be. I was feeling lonely again, so I was disappointed to see Alex standing in my doorway, having hoped it would be Ross.

"Can I show you something?" he blurted as soon as I answered the door.

I was tired, and he seemed nervous to be here. "That depends," I muttered, trying to ignore the itch under my right eye from where the scab had healed over, "what is it?"

He looked around, checking to see if anyone was listening before saying, "It will cheer you up. . . uh, I think."

"There's very little you could do to cheer me up," I drawled, an edge in my voice as I dropped my head to the side.

He furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at the floor, looking guilty. "It's. . ." he muttered, running a hand through his hair and rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "It's important. Please?"

I was surprised by his manners, and I could use some cheering up, so I agreed. He tried to walk close to me, but I purposefully put a wide gap between us, silently telling him that I still hadn't fully forgiven him for everything. Just because he gave me a blanket and said a few kind words, didn't mean it made up for all the things he said during those fights.

I followed him towards his room, turning up a flight of stairs right before we reached it. There was a set of fancy, gilded doors right above the princes' rooms, and I had my suspicions as to what it was before he even told me.

"This is the princess's suite," he explained, his face turning red as he kept his eyes trained on the door instead of looking at me.

The One that Alex chose would be moved from her selected room to this one. They wouldn't be married directly after the final announcement, and it was improper to share a bed as an engaged couple, so this would be where she stayed until then.

I had a bad feeling about this, but Alex wouldn't look at me. My heart was hammering in my chest; every possible reason he could be showing me this hit me all at once. I tried to think of our last interaction, but it might have been a couple days ago out in the garden. Had something changed?

He took a step forward and grabbed the flowery handle, tugging on it and holding the door open expectantly. He still wouldn't meet my eyes, but the fear of getting caught with him out here spurred me to walk into the dark room.

I heard Alex come in and close the door behind him, flicking on the light switch.

The room was huge. Spotless, marble floors. Gilded, panel walls adorned with gold patterning. A high, curved ceiling with a beautiful, breathtaking chandelier. In the center, a canopied bed stood as the centerpiece, but I jumped when I realized there was a person standing by the nightstand. I heard a quiet gasp, and I just recognized her as she ran over and jumped to squeeze me in a tight hug.

I immediately felt tears stinging the back of my eyes and I didn't let her go as she went to pull away. "Beckii," I choke out, "Oh my God, Beckii. I'm so sorry." I was overwhelmed with emotions; the last time I had seen her, she was chained to a whipping pole. Filled with grief, a sob escaped my lips as I squeezed her tighter. I hadn't know what had happened to her, but from experience, being kicked out on the streets as a freshly stripped eight was one of the worst things you could go through.

She grabbed my arms and pulled back to look at me. "Hush Atlas," she cooed, wiping away my tears with her dress sleeve, "This is a happy meeting. It's so good to see you." She was wearing the same dress my maids wore, her hair tied back under a brown cap.