Chosen- A Selection Fanfiction

Epilogue

"Elisa, how can you not be nervous?"

I looked at my maid of honor. "I'm not sure. I'm just ready to be with him. I've been waiting for long time, Marlee."

"While I'm sure you're ready to be with him, I don't think three years is as long as you make it out to be," Olivia called from her chair.

"I don't blame her for waiting a couple of years after her selection," Cecelia said. "I think it's sweet to wait and get to know each other more." Since Cecelia and Diana remained my maids after the selection, they were with me to hear all of my discussions in my newly renovated Princess room, despite that I was not yet a Princess.

"I wouldn't want to get married at eighteen, either," added Diana.

Leila whipped her head around playfully and placed a dainty hand on her hip. "And what's wrong with getting married at eighteen?" she grinned.

Danielle rolled her eyes. "You were a year younger than us, Mrs. Ray. You had one less year than Elisa," she said while flipping open an issue of Illea Weekly. Some things just never change.

"When are you going to find someone to give your heart to, Miss Nicholas?" Leila batted her eyes.

"Oh my God, listen to that! Wouldn't Mrs. sound so much better?" Marlee teased.

"Boys are stupid," Danielle scoffed. "None of them are worth my time." She flipped through the glossy pages of the magazine, and I even saw one with me on it.

My bridesmaids began to chatter at Danielle, defending the opposite sex, but I quieted them down. Olivia began to hush them down. "Ladies, please, if she wants to be an old maid then let her," she joked.

"Twenty is hardly an old maid!"

We were summoned out to the gardens before everything was about to happen. My heart began to race. I stood next to America before the whole thing began. She turned towards me and took my hands. "I know you're a little nervous, but I know you'll do great. I've looked forward to you becoming one of my daughters for a while now," she smiled.

"Thank you, America," I said on the verge of tears.

The first note came from the violin as the succession of family began. I was forced to wait inside so that nobody would see me, and the colossal doors would open for me when it was time. I knew that as the short lilac dresses would float down the aisle, they would be escorted by men in suits. I knew that my cousins would be waiting for me on the front row. I knew that my prince would be waiting for me on that pavilion so that my sister could watch.

She always had faith that I would find love.

The doors opened and the sunlight surprised me. The late autumn air was warm and dry in Angeles. It never got cold, so it was still a pretty and sunny day in early December that was heated by the rays of the sun in the clear sky.

It was perfect.

I began my way down the steps and I felt my long veil flow long behind me. I wore a mermaid dress with simple white lace in the skirt and satin for the bodice. The tail was large and fluffy and it trailed a good four feet behind me.

I made it up the steps of the pavilion and came face to face with Aaron. I took his hand in my left one while I held my peonies in the other. I looked at him in the eyes and saw everything we had overcome throughout our relationship.

I had been summoned here by fate.

I had been taken against my will.

I had been chosen by the love of my life.

And I knew how ready we both were to confirm and bind our love for each other and say the two words we have never been more ready to say in our lives.

"I do."

/\/\/\

"Annalise Penelope Schreave, you will not climb that tree!" I yelled to one of the twins.

Twins. You can't get much more fertile than the Schreaves.

Given, my father-in-law was an only child, but America came from a very big family, as did I. I briefly thought of my cousins and their many, many children. This has caused me to be blessed with four children in eight years of marriage.

Annalise looked up at the tree longingly. "Yes, Mama," she pouted. She came to my and promptly sat on my lap, despite that I was already housing one knee to her younger sister, Lia. This wouldn't be as much of a problem as it was if two of my little princesses weren't wearing poofy dresses.

"Love, have you seen Katherine?" I asked Aaron.

He sipped his coffee carelessly. "She's probably in the tree with Liam," he said with a sip. His eyes drifted lazily to a large magnolia tree beside Penelope's pavilion.

I glared at him with blazing violet eyes that would forever be passed on in the Schreave line. "Your five year old daughter, who is wearing a dress, does not need to be in a tree, nor does your son."

He shifted his gaze to me and shrugged. "They're your children, too," he grinned. He got the message when I scoffed and opened my mouth to fire back one of the many arguments we've already had, and held his hands up in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. I'll go."

I watched him hold his hands up when he reached a spot under the tree, and I almost had another heart attack when I saw Annalise's twin leap down into his arms. I could hear him grunt as he put her down, and Liam didn't even need a hand as he jumped down from his perch.

Liam came running towards me with chocolate on his face and dirt on his vest. Katherine's dress was ripped and she had a twig in her wavy brown hair, and her grubby hands were lifted high into the air as she rested on her father's shoulders. Mother would be having a cow right now if she could see this.

"This is why we can't have dinner outside," I sighed.

I looked at Liam and Katherine's plate to see that their vegetables still hadn't been eaten, but rest assured, their macaroni and cheese was gone. Mysteriously, so were the small chocolate cakes that were in the middle of the table that were reserved as a reward for stomaching their greens.

We went into the palace with Katherine rooted on Aaron's shoulders and Liam leading the way. The maids and guards alike glanced at us from the side and smiled, and I just gently shook my head with a tired smile of my own.

Aaron crept into Talia's room after he had forced Liam to take a bath and go to bed while I had tackled the twins. He kissed our youngest daughter goodnight, and I simply hoped that her night light would be enough to ward off the nightmares that seemed to plague her four year old brain. Maybe I should cut down her sugar.

I was finishing getting ready for bed myself, mentally preparing myself for the taxing day I would go through tomorrow. America and Maxon were the first monarchs to retire, and not rule until their passing. We didn't mind though. They still helped when they were needed, whether it was with their grandchildren or their country.

"I'm glad we're involved in our kid's lives," Aaron commented.

"Why do you say that?" I asked brushing out my hair.

"My mom always made a big deal out of it. Dad was practically raised by nannies," he said without elaborating. He came up behind me and met my gaze in the mirror in front of us. I turned and put my arms around him and sighed.

"Yeah, me too. I love being able to spend time with them. Help them go to sleep and all," I sighed happily.

"You know, I wouldn't mind another one," he said.

I paused and pulled back. "Another what?"

"Kid," he rolled his eyes playfully. "Before you know it Lia will get older and start going to balls and you'll need another little daughter to dress up for a night on the Report and you might miss dressing up your son in clothes that I always thought were for his sister."

I laughed and pecked him on the lips. "And why on earth would I dream up all of this?" I asked shaking my head. He smirked tiredly.

"Because I said so."

The End