Chosen- A Selection Fanfiction

Chapter 38

My normal routine was fine up until I got the note. Aaron left me a slightly crinkled piece of paper saying to meet him at the stables before lunch. I smiled at the thin sheet before going up to my room to change. As much as I enjoyed wearing the beautiful dresses my maids design and create, I prefer to ride in something more form-fitting.

The only type of pants I ever wore were black leggings. Now, I was wearing royal blue ones and a yellow tank top that met the edges of my fingertips when my arms rested at my sides. I laced up my black boots and buttoned my jacket that matched my leggings before pulling my hair up into a braid.

"I'll be back later. Don't wait on me to come back if you get tired- go to sleep if you need to," I said very seriously to my maids. They work hard enough as it is, and it's unsettling to think that they have to wait on my every minute of every day. They deserve breaks too.

"Yes, Elisa," Cecelia said for them. Mary was passed out on the couch, and Diana was in the dressmaking room. "Have fun," she called from the other side of the door I just closed.

"Yeah, me too," I sighed under my breath. I kept walking out to the stables and looked in the saddle closet for Ira's grey and violet saddle I usually picked for her. I looked all over, but I couldn't find it. I was a little upset because it was so comfortable to ride on, but I just grabbed a brush and left for her stall.

Imagine my surprise when Aaron already had already saddle Midna and Ira and had them ready to go. My arms fell limp at my sides as I looked at him in his white dress shirt and black dress pants. "I can't believe you did this," I smiled happily.

I walked straight into his open arms and sat there with my head on his chest. "Anything for my princess," he said into my hair. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," I said quickly. This was my first time riding Ira since my incident, and I intended to take full advantage of it. Aaron smiled and hoisted me up onto the saddle by surprise. I laughed as I guided Ira out of the stall to meet him.

He was fixing a rope tied to Midna's neck, smoothing it against her glossy black hair. I admired how gentle he was with her, despite whether or not she was an animal. It showed his compassion in a way. He noticed me standing near him with Ira and came to meet us.

"Let's go," he beamed.

"Try to keep up," I challenged with a smirk. Before he could question me, I took off into the greenery. I could faintly hear him laughing behind me, but I didn't turn my head to look. I kept going.

I felt the wind brushing through the strands of hair that were beginning to come out of my braid running down my back. My heart raced, and for the first time in a while, I wasn't scared of it. I embraced the adrenaline.

"Elisa, slow down!" he called from behind me. I reluctantly brought Ira to a stop near a hill filled with tiny white flowers. It was starting to warm up, despite the fact that it was barely late winter. Not that I minded, it was just taking me a while to become accustomed to the Angeles seasons.

I slid of Ira's side and tied her loosely to a tree branch where she would have plenty of freedom to walk around if she so pleased. It was a nice spot for her. Aaron took the liberty to tie Midna up beside her.

I was stroking Ira's neck when strong arms wrapped around me. "Aaron! What are you doing?" I laughed, throwing my head back. He brought me over to a part of the hill and sat down, never letting go of me. I wormed out of his arms and sat beside him. "What was that for?"

"You were taking too long," he teased. He took a basket off of his arm and opened it up. It was a dark basket that only held types of fruit and sparkling cider. He poured some for himself and for me inside plastic cups before handing it to me.

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes. I leaned against him and kissed his cheek. He took advantage of this and pulled me in and united his lips with mine. I felt the heat rise up from the back of my neck, despite the slightly chilly weather.

"You still blush," he laughed as he fell back a little from laughing. He spilled a little bit of the cider from his cup because he was laughing so hard, and this only coaxed the blush to steadily rise across my whole face.

"Not voluntarily," I mumbled, which only made him laugh even harder. I took a sheepish sip of my cider while looking at anything other than him.

"That just makes it even better," he smirks, leaning in even closer. "So, what's your campaign for the big project? You guys have to present pretty soon, don't you?"

"Two days," I sighed. I was nowhere near ready. "I'm going with something relevant to the Hampton Burn. How surprising, right?"

"It is, Elly," he remarked with a slight frown at my own self-depreciation.

"Please, Aaron. I'm a walking cliche. The only thing that could prove that wrong is if you decide to marry someone else," I blurted. I didn't realize what I said until the words had already escaped my lips. I sat back on the hill and covered my face with my hands.

"Then Illea better prepare for the biggest cliche in the entire selection," he said softly, removing my hands from my face so that he could see my complexion. "You need to put more faith in yourself, Elly. I do."

"Good, that should be enough for the both of us," I joked.

He simply smiled at me and brushed away a piece of my hair. "So, tell me about this project of yours."

I immediately lit up. "Well, it's really to target people like me," I began. I told him my plans, and I'd never seen the boy this interested in hearing me talk. He was hanging on to every word, from start to finish.

And that was why I loved him.

_-_-_-_

Hey guess what you're not allowed to hate me :)

just kidding because I hate myself.

I know that I promised two chapters on Christmas, but I've had stress from dealing with possible friendships I might lose to school stress. OH MY GOD MY NEW HISTORY TEACHER IS GOING TO BE THE DEATH OF ME

And my best friend's father passed away, and she is so sweet, strong, beautiful, and supportive, and she didn't deserve this. That whole family didn't. That man was compassionate, just like her, and awesome. He lived the life of, like, ten people. He was a veteran, a biker, a small business owner, and an entrepreneur. Not to mention the best father anyone could have asked for.

Yeah, I know these are excuses. I'm not going to make this super long, 45 chapters, like I wanted to, but I'm just going to finish when I finish.

Sorry for the wait.

-ET