The Rebel

Chapter 4: Kriss

"Maxon, wake up!" I shook my fiancé lightly and gave him a kiss. Our wedding was in four days.

"Good morning, Kriss." 

He smiled and broke the kiss. We got up out of bed and headed straight to breakfast.

"Good morning, you two." the king greeted us as we got into the dining room.

"Good morning." I replied. Maxon was staring off into space again.

 I waved my hand in front of his face, laughing. "Earth to Maxon. Earth to Maxon." 

He snapped out of it and laughed a little bit.

"I have to go." he got up out of his seat and kissed me on the cheek. 

I sighed and turned to my food. It was just me and King Clarkson; Queen Amberly was still sick and in bed.

"He seems...... detached." the king commented. 

I nodded my head in agreement."He's been like that ever since the Selection ended." I took a bite of my pancake, thinking. 

We ate the rest of breakfast, making small talk. I got up and went to find Maxon.

 After a while of searching, I found him on a bench in the gardens.

"There you are! I couldn't find you!" I giggled flirtatiously and kissed his cheek.

"Kriss, I'm not really in the mood." he said. I sighed and sat down beside him.

"Do you need to talk?"

He hesitated. "No, I'm fine."

 I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "I can tell there's something on your mind." 

He turned towards me and smiled. "I'm fine. I'm just nervous about the wedding. It's only four days away!" he ran his hands through his hair.

"I'm nervous too. But we're getting married! It's something to celebrate!" I smiled at him and he smiled back.

"You're right." he kissed my forehead and stood up, looking at his watch. "I have to go work now. Why don't you work on the finishing touches of the reception?" I nodded and got up. 

After he left, I smiled to myself. My plan was working. I just needed to keep the act up for four more days. Four more days, and I would be Queen.

 I took the tiny bottle out of my dress pocket and smiled even wider. 

The King and Queen would be dead by morning.

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The guard came rushing into the office. "Your Highness, It's the King and Queen! They- they're dead." 

Maxon's face instantly fell and he ran to the hospital wing. I followed him, trying to look sad. There was really a leap of joy in my chest.

"Mom!" Maxon ran to the cots, collapsing over Queen Amberly's body, tears rolling down his face. I forced out tears and hugged Maxon.

"Oh, Maxon. I'm- I'm so sorry." he hugged me back and kept crying. 

I felt a little twinge of guilt in my chest, but it went away as quick as it came. There were reporters and cameras everywhere, and when they saw Maxon and I, they rushed over.

"How did they die? They weren't very old! When are you going to take the crown?" 

Everyone was asking questions at the same time, and Maxon was fed up.

"Shut up!" he yelled, and all of the reporters jumped a little in surprise.

"Get out of here!" 

They all scurried away and Maxon ran up to his room, followed by me.

"My parents are dead." Maxon whispered, sitting down on his bed. "My parents are dead." he broke down in tears, and I consoled him with my hand on his shoulder.

"Maxon, it's all a part of life. Some people just pass on earlier than others."

"But my parents were in their late thirties! I need to go talk to the doctor." he rushed out of the room and left me, sitting in the bed. 

No one would suspect it was me. I was just the sweetheart princess-to-be; I wasn't capable of murder. 

Or so they thought. 

I decided to go and see what Maxon was doing with the doctor, and when I found them in the hospital wing, I rushed in. Maxon and Dr. Ashlar were talking in hushed voices.

"......Poisoned." Maxon gasped. He turned around and saw me. I gave him a big hug and a kiss on the forehead.

"But who?" Maxon let go of my embrace and paced the room, looking stressed out.

"I don't know." Dr. Ashlar replied. "It would have to be someone in the palace."

"We need to find them. Once I find then I'll-"

"Maxon, come to your room. You need some time away from all of this action." 

He nodded and let me guide him to his room. Once we got in, he engulfed me in a hug.

"I just can't believe it." he said. "They're really dead." 

We cried together; a wet mess on the floor.

"Maxon, now we have to be King and Queen." I said, trying to sound nervous.

"I'm not ready. I'm not ready." Maxon started pacing the room again. "There's so much I haven't learned yet, so much." he ran his fingers through his hair. "How are we going to do this, America?" he stopped, his face turning red.

"It's ok, Maxon. An honest mistake." I said, trying to keep my cool. America was a problem I had to take care of. Once I was Queen, of course. "And we'll get through this together. I'll be with you every step of the way. I hugged him once more, then left him to his thoughts. I needed to arrange the coronation ceremony for the wedding.

"Silvia! I need to talk with you!" she came running over from across the room.

"Good afternoon, Lady Kriss. How can I help you?"

"Since the King and Queen have passed away, Maxon and I need to take the crown. Could you please organize the ceremony?" I said in the sweetest voice I could possibly manage.

"Of course. You must have been heartbroken to hear about the King and Queen." I nodded, forcing tears, and went down to the Women's Room for some quiet time. 

I read magazines and watched TV, thinking about my plan. I decided to contact the other rebels and tell them how everything was going. I got out my compact phone and dialled the number of the headquarters.

"Heather, it's me." I said when the phone was picked up.

"Have you killed the King and Queen yet?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"I poisoned them yesterday. They're dead." I smiled into the receiver and Heather laughed.

"That's my girl. Now all you need to do is take the crown and kill Maxon."

"We're going to have to make a slight change in plans." I said, smiling evilly.

"What?" Heather questioned.

"I have a feeling that America Singer is going to get in the way of our plan. My first act as Queen will be to have her executed."

"Whatever you say, Kriss."

"I have to go. I'll talk to you later." 

I hung up and put my phone away. In four days, I would be Queen. 

In five days, America would be dead.

GUYS I'M SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED!!!!!! But seriously, that was really mean. I'm sorry. I have a new book on my account called The Oracle. It's kinda like a Percy Jackson, Divergent, Harry Potter sort of thing. So check it out! It's on emmalmgren13 . Again, I'm super sorry I haven't updated in like a million years. Thanks for reading!
~Emily and Hannah