Hey everyone! I hope you all are doing well!! I'm getting my 2nd dose of the COVID vaccine on Saturday so I'm super excited for that woohoo! Love you all :)
This is gonna be a happy chapter, feel free to vote if you like it! Just as a reminder it's from America's POV <3
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I look around the room, not being able to contain my smile. Everyone I love and hold dear to my heart is in this room. Gerad, Gwen, Logan, Ashlyn, Amberly, Xander, all of my beautiful grandchildren, and last but certainly not least, Maxon.
My eyes linger on my husband as I'm surveying my surroundings. He's speaking with one of the guards, laughing about who knows what. He is so incredibly handsome today, dressed in one of his nicest suits. He has definitely dressed for the occasion, as have I.
I'm pulled out of my thoughts by a gentle hand on my arm. I turn my head to see Amberly standing next to me.
"Hello, sweetheart," I murmur, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"You look absolutely stunning, Mom," she replies, moving so she's standing right in front of me. "Dad is truly a lucky man."
I giggle, my eyes wandering to him again. "Honestly, I'm the lucky one."
Amberly waves someone over, and I follow her gaze to Xander, who begins walking toward us.
He bows once he's reached us. "Your Majesty." His voice is formal, but I smile kindly at him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I told you Xander, Mom is perfectly fine."
Blushing, he says, "Okay, Mom... You look beautiful. Congratulations on 50 years."
"Thank you, Xander. I can't believe it's already been that long... it feels like just yesterday he proposed to me." I pause, winking at Amberly. "But here we have living proof that it's been much longer than that."
Amberly and Xander both laugh, holding each other. Seeing them together - and seeing all my children with their spouses - makes me melt. I couldn't be happier that they all found someone that makes them as happy as their father makes me. That is all I wished for, and it came true.
Though it saddens me to know I won't be here forever to watch over them and to see my grandchildren grow up and have kids of their own, I know they will be perfectly fine, and they will always have each other.
I look up again to find Maxon, and when I spot him, he's also looking at me. I feel my cheeks heating up as a smile. After all this time, he still gives me butterflies.
He immediately starts walking over to where we're standing, and Amberly whispers to me, "I'll let you guys have a minute alone. See you around! Love you!" With a quick hug, she pulls Xander away.
As he approaches, he gives me the biggest grin which I can't help but return. "Hi, my love."
"My dear," he replies with a kiss on my cheek. "How are you enjoying the party?"
"It's lovely." I put my arm around his. "You look very handsome in that suit."
Chuckling, he whispers in my ear, "I was just about to say, you look phenomenal in that dress. How about later, you let me take it off of you?"
"Maxon!" I exclaim, hitting his arm playfully. Lowering my voice, I add, "But yes. Absolutely."
We both laugh then fall silent as we watch the festivities around us. I can't help but look at him, though. His silver hair is perfectly combed, his suit perfectly fitting. Though he's now 70, he's no less handsome than the day that we met. Or the day we married, or the day we had our first child. He's still the same amazingly attractive husband.
"I want to make a toast," he says to me, guiding me to the stage set up for the musicians.
"Don't say anything embarrassing," I reply with a wink.
"Well, no promises there, my dear." He laughs and moves over to the microphone. When he speaks, the room goes silent. Everyone turns toward the king they so deeply adore.
"Hello, everyone," He begins. "First, I want to thank everyone for being here tonight. Today marks the 50th wedding anniversary of me and my dear wife, Queen America."
Everyone cheers and applauds as I wave to the crowd of people gathering in front of the stage.
"I am so grateful to be king, but even more than that, I am grateful for my family. My dear America has given me more than I could've ever asked for. A beautiful marriage, three beautiful children, and an ever-growing amount of beautiful grandchildren.
"When I look back at my life, my childhood was filled with one thing: being the perfect prince. Training to be king one day. My father never wanted me to think about anything other than politics, especially not love. So I never truly knew what I wanted or even what I should want.
"Then here comes 35 women into the palace, into my home."
I survey the crowd and see the familiar faces of some of the other girls from the Selection. They all have husbands - fairly wealthy ones at that - and seem to lead very happy lives. I couldn't be happier for them. I felt a pang of sadness that Celeste, a girl I never thought I could ever like, couldn't be here with the rest of us.
"All of these women taught me something different. Some good, some.... less than that." Everyone chuckled at that remark. "But America here, taught me what love felt like. What it felt like to truly want someone, to even need them, because you couldn't imagine what it would be like to live without them.
"I couldn't imagine living without her. Though I thought I might have to many times since we got married, I don't think I could have done it. Every fiber of my being needs her. And after 50 years, that still is the case. She gave me amazing children that make me proud every day, and grandchildren that can bring a smile to my face no matter what I'm going through."
He turns to look at me, and I notice he has tears in his eyes. I blow him a kiss, and he smiles before turning back to the audience. "So here's to America, to marriage, to family, and to love. Things that I am so grateful to have."
He and I raise our glasses and everyone else follows, echoing his words. Now I feel tears forming in my own eyes, and I can't help but let one fall down my cheek. One look at the audience tells me many of the other people in the room are also wiping away tears. Gerad is holding Gwen with one arm, his other hand resting on his son's shoulder. Xander has himself wrapped around Amberly, and Amberly is holding her childrens' hands as they stand next to her. Ashlyn is leaning against Logan, who is holding their son in his arms.
Oh, my family.... my lovely family.
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After the party was over, the entire family decided to spend some time together in the Women's room, which was named after Celeste shortly after I was crowned queen. That room held so many memories, it felt like an appropriate place for our family to be together.
It's not common for everyone in our family to be in the same place at the same time. Gerad and Gwen live in England, ruling over the country, and can only afford to leave for very important days in Illéa. I suppose our 50th anniversary is considered an important enough occasion. Logan, Ashlyn, and their son have a little more freedom to go where they like. They've been traveling the world, spending time on every continent. I can't complain, though; they visit Illéa often, as well as England. Amberly, Xander, and their children live in the palace all the time, which I love. Amberly and I have always been close, but since her selection, her and her father have grown almost inseparable. I often times find them in Maxon's office together, sometimes talking about politics, sometimes just talking about life. I can tell Amberly misses her brothers who she always depended on so heavily, so I know spending time with her dad helps ease that pain.
But when we're all together, it feels like nothing has changed and no time has passed. We still laugh, reminisce, and the grandkids absolutely love playing with each other. Sometimes I just sit back and watch them all.
Eventually, though, the kids start to get tired and want to go back to their rooms. One by one, all of our kids and their families leave the Women's Room. Gerad is the last to leave. Gwen and the twins left already, but he stayed to talk to us a little longer, which I'm grateful for. I miss my first born.
"How are you both doing? How is Illéa?" he asks, taking another sip of his drink.
Maxon and I look back and forth, and I finally answer, "We're doing okay. Things in Illéa aren't fantastic right now, so we're trying to calm things down before passing the torch to Amberly and Xander."
Gerad turns to Maxon, who nods. Concerned, he asks, "What's going on? I thought everything was peaceful?"
"Well... yes. No one is rioting or anything, but we have this illness going around that is causing quite a lot of destruction. We can't seem to find a cure." Maxon rubs his forehead, and I put a hand on his arm.
"We're trying not to let things get out of hand, but we really need a cure to fully stop it." I sigh. "We're doing our best. I hope it doesn't spread to other countries too."
Gerad furrows his eyebrows. "I haven't heard of anything like that in England. Is there anything I can do to help? Can I send some of our best physicians?"
"That would be helpful if you can spare them," Maxon admits. "We're trying not to cause a panic until we fully know what's going on. But don't trouble yourself about this, son. You have your own country to run."
"I know," Gerad says with a sad smile. "But if you need anything at all, you know I'm here to help you."
"I love you, Gerad," I whisper, pulling him in for a hug. "I miss you, too. Is there any way you can visit more often?"
"I wish, Mom." He kisses my forehead before pulling away. "I miss you more than you know. Once Amberly takes the throne, you should come visit us. We would love to have you."
Maxon stands to embrace him, and watching them releases some of my stress. No matter what, I have my boys.
Gerad sighs, and says, "I should probably go back to the room. We have to leave early in the morning tomorrow, and I'm sure Gwen is exhausted. I'll make sure to see you and say goodbye before we leave, okay?"
"Yes, please do," I say, hugging him tight one last time. "Take care of yourself, my love."
"Of course. You too, both of you." With that, he leaves the room, leaving Maxon and I in silence.
Looking visibly stressed from our conversation, Maxon sits back down.
"Hey," I murmur, sitting close to him. "We can worry about everything in the morning. For now, we actually have a moment alone for once."
He doesn't say anything, so I inch closer to him.
"Didn't you say something about.... getting me out of this dress?"
To that, his serious face cracks and he shakes his head at me, smiling. "You're right, I believe I did. Shall we?" He offers his arm to me as he stands, and I take it.
As we head back to our room for the night, I count my blessings. Turns out, there are too many to keep track of. And the biggest one is right next to me.
"Happy 50th, darling. I love you forever," I murmur when we reach our room.
He looks into my eyes, and whispers, "I love you always. Happy 50th."
He kisses me, and I lose myself in his touch.
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Yayyyyy happy Maxerica chapter! I'm really tired I've been working 70 hours a week so there's probably a lot of typos and mistakes OOPS! Forgive me. I hope you enjoy anyway! Thanks for reading!!! <3