The Rebel Queen

Chapter 13:

Marianna was wearing knee high leather boots and skin tight jeans. Her hair was curled and her lips were painted with her signature preppy red lipstick. Her back was to me and for a second she looked like Nicoletta. For a second.

"Why are you all dressed up?" I asked. "It's just another attack."

Marianna rolled her eyes. "I always dress up for attacks." She turned towards me, still in the process of running the lipstick over her lips. Her eyes ran accusingly up and down my form. "Why are you so dressed up?"

I bit my lip and fiddled with the edge of my shirt. "What?! I'm not!"

"Here." She threw her preppy red lipstick at me. "Your lips are probably chapped, you'll need it."

"Y-y-y-you know?" I squeaked, gaping at her.

"Please America," She sighed rolling her eyes at me once again. "I know everything. I can tell when somebody is fooling around with somebody else. And if you add that to the goofy smile you wore after the attack last week and your attire today, it's pretty obvious."

I hesitantly rolled my finger over her lipstick and applied it to my mouth. "I am not that obvious."

"Your right, you're not. I'm just very perceptive," She tapped a finger to her forehead teasingly. "So how are we breaking in today?"

"I don't get why we can't just use the door! You guys used the door during every single attack while I was in the Selection!" I yelled in exasperation.

"But now we have you," Marianna pointed out.

"You also have the door!"

"Thelma just wants to make your life harder than it has to be by making you switch it up. God knows, that women needs some color in her life!" Marianna laughed.

"I had Kriss leave her balcony open," I admitted.

"Easy Peasy, see? Why couldn't we have just use the balcony last time instead of going on our mid-day swim?"

"That's not very fun."

The lamp and fairy lights in her room began blinking, signaling to us that the attack was too begin. The same thing would be happening to the rest of the rooms in the base too. Marianna ran out of the room expecting me to follow. And I did.

But not before slapping on another coat of lipstick.

~oOo~

I climbed the last couple of inches until I stood on Kriss's balcony. I could feel the tugging on the rope as the rest of the rebels climbed up too. As promised, her balcony doors were opened and I entered her room. It was painted baby blue with music note decals, and white accents. It was so obviously created for me that I'm not even sure how Kriss deals with it. I wouldn't be able too.

Suddenly the door handle started jiggling and o heard a voice on the other side.

"Get Kriss..."

The door was pulled open and I saw a familiar face. And no it wasn't Maxon. It was two olive feet attached to a long deep red ball gown. Which was attached to a long neck with an olive face at the end, who had long cascading brown hair.

I covered Nicoletta mouth before she could speak and a silent scream was muffled by my hand. Than she hesitantly opened one eye and took in who it was.

"Ahmeerheah?" She asked, her voice muffled behind me hand.

I let go. "Princess Nicoletta, what are you doing here?!"

"I'm attending a ball, what are you doing here?" Her eyes were accusing me of a million different crimes.

Marianna had made her way on to the balcony by now and was sending me alarmed looks but staying silent. She untied the rope and there were loud thuds and groans from the ground. She just shrugged.

"I'm attacking?"

"You've joined the rebels haven't you? Just like the the girl I talked to during the attack," She accused.

"Yes, but than you know that there not bad!" I exclaimed. "You met Georgia and you know that she has done nothing wrong! So please don't do anything."

"America, I can't cover for you of this ever comes..."

"I don't expect you too! I just need you to not alert the guards yet, actually.....do! Go run down to the floor below us and scream rebels! It'll give us time!"

Nicoletta looked at me skeptically. "I don't know..."

"The northern rebels don't hurt people Nicoletta, were helping them. But that's too much too explain, so I need you're help! I'll explain if we ever meet again, just please. Help me." 

Nicoletta hugged me pulling me close to her. "I don't know what's happened to you America, but when you're back on that throne I hope we can become friends. You are the only one who can help this country."

She gave me one last fleeting glance before running out of the room and jut looking back.
2 minutes later the rebel alarms were ringing.

~oOo~

I came barreling into Maxon's fathers old office  and the the first time I expected him to be there. He was sitting in a leather desk chair, two wine glasses in his hands, and a full bottle if wine.

"What is this?" I asked, entering the room hesitantly.

"I'm not going to kiss you, I swear! I just wany to hang out with you. As friends," he choked out the last word and I saw him cringe. "For Kriss."

"For Kriss," I agreed, sitting down next to him with less apprehension. There was a couple of moments of silence before I filled it. "This is weird."

"It is, but that's just because we need to start out new! We can't just force ourselves to be in the same destructive relationship we used to be in. The relationship is new and so our we! So let's start over!"

He tipped the wine bottle until it began filling up his glass. I held back some tears and tipped the bottle back.

I shook my head. "No. We can't do this. We can't sit up here and laugh and drink wine, while Kriss is a couple floors below us cowering in fear. Because you aren't with her and an attack is going on!"

My mind was telling me that Kriss was doing the opposite, but I bend me tongue.

"Ames..."

"No! I am always yelling at you because you just don't get it! You are not the man I fell in love with! That man would not be so insensitive towards Kriss's feeling. So I am leaving and I pray that someone knocks some sense into you!"

With that I ran. I ran up the stairs and I jumped off the balcony. My hands barely grabbed the rope and my feet had barely touched the ground before I was off and running again. I left behind the rebels, the attack, and Maxon barely a minute into the attack.

There has got to be a medal or trophy for this amount of self control.