Hello Lovelies! XD

I'm so sorry that it took so long for me to update! Especially when I said I'd try to get another chapter posted before I left for vacation. My next update will hopefully be sometime this week or this weekend, but I'm not sure because I have finals and midterms coming up. I will try my very hardest though!

Thanks sooooooooo much to all of the wonderful reviewers! :3

Parisismydream- I know! I felt so bad doing that to Mer! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one too!

Theoneforever- Thanks for reviewing! Now you can finally see what happens next!

syc. julie- I'm sorry it took so long to update, but I'm glad you like the story so far!

Please excuse any grammar/spelling/plot errors you find, but if you see any major ones please tell me in a review or private message! I need to know so I can fix these things!

All rights go to the talented Kiera Cass.

PLEASE READ: And one more note before we begin... As you guys will remember this story takes place as if Maxon and America's fight didn't happen the way it did in the book. In my story Max and Mer still had the fight so he knows about Aspen, but they made up before he proposed in the first chapter of my fanfic. You need to know this to understand some stuff that happens toward the end of the story. I may have my version of their fight as my next update to get rid of any confusion later on, but we'll have to see what I feel like writing.

So now I present to you...

Chapter 3 ^w^

The whip came down across my back as I screamed. The pain was unbelievable. Again and Again the man brought the whip down along with the knife and his fists. I seemed to continue on forever. I tried to stay silent; I tried to not show any weakness, but the pain was too much. My voice gave out from my many screams, and tears rolled down my face.

I could feel my mind leaning towards a darker, calmer, safer place, but I resisted the urge to fall into that darkness. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that if I gave in to the black that I may never return. But eventually the pain became too much. I don't know how long the torture lasted before I finally gave out and succumbed to the darkness.

I slept. I don't know for how long. All I know is that I awoke to more freezing water splashing my whole body. Before I could register my surroundings the pain began again.

Through my tears I could see the same man with the knife and whip. He had on different clothes from before I fainted, and I realized that I must have been out for at least a day. I looked up and saw the other man with a video camera again. I realized that this must have been the next day's "session" as Jade had put it. I tried, once again, to put on a brave face for Maxon, but any hope of looking strong was quickly washed away by the pain of the knife against my skin.

I stayed awake the entire time that day. Once Jade and her two men left my cell I began to take inventory of my injuries. I couldn't move my arm, and as I lifted my head to look at my feet, I saw that one of my legs was bent at an unnatural angle. I knew that my leg must have been broken, I didn't know what was wrong with my arm, and I didn't care to think about how much blood I had lost. I dropped my head back onto the cot I was lying on and slowly drifted into sleep.

My world continued on like this for days. I lost count of how many. Some days I would wake up to water splashing on my head and some days I had never fallen asleep to begin with. I tried to count how long I had been there but my mind was to foggy to even begin to guess. Sometimes I would hear snippets of what Jade was saying to Maxon on the video camera. Mostly she would remind him of what they demanded but sometimes I would hear other things.

I think we'll let them go a bit longer this time. Just to encourage you to speed things up.

I really don't know how much more of this she could take.

Do you really love her at all? I can't imagine that you do. Otherwise you would have already met our demands.

My mind was already spinning, and I tried not to think about what she was saying, but I couldn't help it. Was I really that close to death? Was he not responding to their demands? Is that why she was increasing the time of the torture? I ached to know more. I wanted to know what was happening at the palace. I wanted to know how they were responding to the southerners. But I had no way to find out any of these things.

One day when I woke up something was different. No, not just something. Everything was different.

I hadn't woken to the water splashing, and the pain hadn't come almost as soon as I woke. As I slowly came into consciousness I realized that I was being carried. And whoever was carrying me was running.

My first instinct was to fight against the person carrying me because they were surely a rebel. I pushed against the person's chest with my good arm and feebly tried to kick my legs. Anything I could do to get them to release me.

But then I heard a familiar voice.

"Shh. Mer, it's ok."

I knew that voice. How did I know that voice?

"You're safe now."

I slowly turned my head upwards and looked into the face of my carrier.

Aspen.

Aspen was here. He was here. No more pain; no more torture. He was here and that meant I was safe. But wait. Why was he here? I tried to whisper his name.

"Shh! Mer, we need to be quite. I promise I'll explain when we get out of here," Aspen whispered.

I tucked my head into his chest and tried to drown out the pain that jolted through my body every time he took a step. I closed my eyes and began to drift off but before I could his speed increased. I heard shouting from being and heard Aspen curse under his breath. My leg seared with pain as he quickly jolted around to use his back to open a door. And then we were outside.

I took as deep a breath as I could of fresh air. I hadn't been outside in so long. Not since before the attack on the palace. I hadn't realized how stale the air in the cell had been. I could hardly breathe in there compared to out here.

I heard gunshots begin to fire and a van door slide open. I was lifted up as Aspen handed me into whoever was in the van. Immediately I was placed on a cot and an oxygen mask was placed on my face. Everything lurched as the van sped into motion. I could still hear the faint popping of guns as the van drove away.

Faces began to swirl above my head. I could hear people saying things, asking me questions but I couldn't tell what they were saying.

"Aspen…" I whispered, barely able to speak.

"I'm here, America," I heard him say. I felt him grab my hand as his face appeared in my vision. 'I'm here. The palace sent out a team to rescue you. You're safe now. You're coming back home."

"Maxon?" I asked, hoping he would know what I meant, and he did.

"He's at the palace. He wanted to come but it was too high risk. He's waiting there. You can see him as soon as we get there."

"Leger," I heard a voice say, "The prince will explain everything to her when we get back. But for now she needs medical attention. Move back so we have room to work"

Aspen gave my hand a final squeeze and left my side. As soon as he was gone other people appeared, asking me questions. Did this hurt and could I feel that? What about here? There? When was the last time I had water? What about food? I tried to answer the last to questions but I couldn't remember. Did they feed me wherever the rebels were holding me? My mind was so hazy, and I couldn't think straight, and I just couldn't remember.

Someone pricked my arm with a needle and I flinched away but a pair of string hands held me steady. I heard a soothing, yet overly- sweet, feminine voice say, "We're gonna give you something for the pain, okay, sweetie? It'll make you sleepy but you'll feel much better."

No. I tried to say. I don't want to go to sleep. I don't want to go back to that dark, black place. But I couldn't get the words out. And I doubt they would have done any good if I had been able to speak them.

I began to feel the drugs take effect. First the pain began to fade away, and I could finally relax my body. Then I began to feel tired. So very tired. I tried to fight it. To stay awake just until we got back to the palace. Until I could fall asleep in Maxon's arms, but the medicine was too strong. I slowly drifted into sleep, into the black oblivion I had begun to fear so much.

It seemed like seconds later when I woke up.

As I slowly drifted back into awareness, I noticed how sore I was. My whole body ached, but my left arm and right leg were especially throbbing. I groaned as I lifted my arm that wasn't as sore to rub my eyes. Someone grabbed my hand as I lowered my arm back down to the bed and opened my eyes. And then I heard a voice speak my name as my eyes adjusted to the light.

"America," it was Maxon. "Are you awake, love?"

Yes, I tried to say, but all that came out was a hoarse whimper. I nodded my head instead. My throat was so dry. "Water," I managed to squeak out.

Maxon helped me sit up and then reached to the nightstand beside the bed I was laying on to pick up a glass already filled with water. He held the glass to my lips as I drank, never letting go of my hand.

I looked around the room as I drank. We were in a large room that was impeccably furnished. There were high ceilings with an elaborate trim made of dark wood. The walls were painted the lightest shade of purple, and the bed I was laying on had a matching comforter with an elegant pattern on it. I recognized that we were somewhere in the palace, but I didn't know which room.

By the time I had finished the glass, I could finally speak. "Wh- where are we?" I asked.

"We're in the princess's chambers," he answered.

That explained why I didn't recognize the room. I had already been in here once before, but the staff at the palace must have redecorated in time for the new princess to move in, once they had found out that Maxon would soon be making his choice of bride.

Suddenly I remembered something. "Maxon, you didn't give them what they wanted, did you?" I asked. I couldn't bear the thought of those traitors getting what they wanted, even if it did mean my safety.

"No," Maxon said, "We sent in a small group of our best soldiers to rescue you. I believe Aspen was one of them. He said he talked to you."

"He carried me out of their hideout." I said.

"That was his job. With such a small team, each person had a specific job. Aspen's was to get to you and get out."

"Did anyone get hurt?"

"Not badly," he said. "Surprisingly, the operation went very smoothly. We don't think that the rebels thought we would be coming. The signal from the videos they sent us was very hard to trace. But luckily we found the source of where they were coming from."

"So, you saw the videos? The ones of me?" I asked. I dreaded his answer. I knew what it would be, but I didn't want him to have seen those. To have seen them terrorize and torture me like that.

"Yes," his voice was strained, as if the words were hard to get out. "I saw them. And America, I'm so sorry. So, so sorry. I can't believe you had to suffer like that. I could hardly stand to watch them, but as hard as they were for me to watch they must have been a million times harder to live through. I couldn't protect you from that and I-"

"Stop," I interrupted. "It's not your fault. I'm here. I'm safe now."

"And I'm so glad for that," he said as he lifted my hand to his lips. "I love you," he said against my hand before he places a kiss on my hand. "I love you."

"I love you too. You know I do."

"You should get some rest. You need sleep to recover."

"I don't want to go back to sleep," I said more quickly and more panicked than I'd meant to. Instantly he knew that it wasn't just because I wasn't tired that I didn't want to sleep."

"Darling," he spoke softly. "You need to sleep. It'll be okay. I promise."

"Stay with me," I whispered. "Please."

"Of course," he said as he walked around the bed before lying down on the other side. Being careful of my arm and leg, which were both in casts, he gently pulled me to him. I turned to lie on my side and laid my head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around me.

Suddenly and unexpectedly a wave of tears crashed over me. I tried to hold them back for as long as I could, but eventually I broke with one loud sob. Then the tears came continuously. I turned my head into Maxon's shoulder to block out the world. He didn't say anything as I cried but just stroked my hair. I cried until I had no tears left, but my shoulders continued to shake with dry sobs. Eventually I became sleepy and my eye lids drooped until they threatened to close. Maxon could tell I was still trying to avoid the sleep that was coming for me.

"Sleep," he whispered. "I'll be right here."

And with that I finally let my eyelids close, and I fell asleep wrapped in Maxon's arms.

So what'd ya think? Please tell me in the reviews! I LOVE BEING ABLE TO READ ALL OF YOUR REVIEWS! XD XD XD

I hope you lovelies had a marvelous new year and I'll talk to you guys soon! ^0^

-actuallymaddy