KRISS
AMBERS
Following her loss
in the Selection, Kriss returned to Columbia to start over. She left the palace
feeling upset about coming in second, but the impact didn’t fully hit her until
Maxon and America’s wedding. She kept a brave face for the whole day, posing
for pictures and dancing with guests, but she returned home deeply depressed.
For more than a
month Kriss stayed inside, analyzing her steps and trying to figure out what
she could have done differently. She had regrets over giving away her first
kiss and couldn’t stop thinking she was truly meant to be queen. She only
rejoined society at her parents’ insistence, working alongside her father at
the local university as an assistant in the Communications Department.
At first she hated
her position. People came up to her frequently asking to get a picture with
“that girl from the Selection,” completely unaware of how much that label
stung. She took multiple sick days early on, unable to handle being in public.
More often than not, Kriss would go to the library, doing her work in the most
isolated parts of the building. She feared this would be her whole life, and
she wasn’t sure she would ever again be seen as someone other than the girl
Maxon almost picked.
About six months
after she began working at the university, a welcome home party was thrown for
a professor who’d spent more than a year collecting plant samples in the
jungles of Honduragua. An enthusiastic botanist, Professor Elliot Piaria was
praised for his drive and skill, especially at such a young age. Kriss hadn’t
wanted to go to the party but was fine after she saw she wasn’t anything close
to the center of attention that day. And she was pleased to meet the professor,
particularly when they were introduced and his first question was “What do you
teach?” Having been away from nearly any source of technology for its entire
duration, Elliot had no knowledge of the Selection, and Kriss’s naturally
mature demeanor didn’t hint that she was seven years his junior.
The two crossed
paths frequently, and Elliot continually asked Kriss why she wasn’t teaching,
convinced her intellect was better suited for a classroom than a cubicle. She
lit up under his attention, taking it more to heart than he could ever have
guessed.
Elliot was
attracted to Kriss, and she liked that he was one of the few people who saw her
as herself and not a former Selection candidate. She grew more and more
confident, returning to her cheerful self; and they began dating shortly after
Kriss got a position teaching math, a placement she wasn’t thrilled about
except for the fact she was teaching.
She was hesitant
to let herself fall for Elliot, fearing she would get hurt again. Elliot,
however, was endlessly charmed by her and proposed to her spontaneously when he
caught her in a particularly happy mood. Elliot wanted to move quickly, fearing
Kriss would change her mind if he waited. They were married within a month of
his proposal, and after the wedding, Kriss finally settled into the realization
that Elliot loved her for herself and had no intention of ever being separated
from her.
They stayed in
Columbia, though Elliot’s curious nature ended up taking them to the edges of
Illéa in search of new things to study. They had no children but did end up
raising several pets, many of them exotic, which they also studied.
NATALIE
LUCA
After being
dismissed from the Selection, Natalie went home to comfort her family over the
loss of her sister, Lacey. Natalie had never really experienced hardship before,
and this was almost too big a trial for her family to endure. Her parents
nearly divorced shortly after Lacey’s death, unable to deal with such a
horrific loss; but Natalie managed to comfort them, reminding them often of
their late daughter’s joyful nature and telling them the last thing Lacey would
have wanted was for them to part ways because of her. There was plenty of truth
to that statement. Many of Natalie’s and Lacey’s friends came from broken
homes, and they both feared the same fate growing up, even though their parents
never fought.
Natalie considered
it a great triumph that she became her parents’ glue and knew that Lacey would
have been proud as well. It was after that when Natalie realized she should be
happier herself. Natalie’s shortcomings in the academic department had been
criticized over the years, but Lacey had always reminded her that she was
unique and beautiful just the way she was.
By the time Maxon
and America’s wedding rolled around, she was back to her old ways and was possibly
the highlight of the reception, dancing as wildly as she could, completely
encouraged by America. Natalie wasn’t too heartbroken not to be the new
princess. Seeing America’s folded hands and taller posture made her realize
that she really didn’t like the rules that kind of life imposed anyway. She
wanted to be herself at all costs.
After the
commotion around the Selection died down, Natalie worked in her family’s
jewelry shop, learning more about design. Her naturally whimsical personality
made her great at coming up with designs, and with hard work, she mastered the
mechanics of the actual creation process with her father.
About two years
after the Selection ended, she launched her own jewelry line, and her fame from
the competition gained her lots of attention from celebrity clientele.
Actresses and musicians wore her pieces often, not to mention her dear friend,
the queen of Illéa. Beautiful and effervescent, Natalie married an actor and
became a Two before the caste system died out. Not long after, they divorced,
as Natalie’s carefree nature didn’t suit married life and she was much happier
on her own. As someone who had always hated divorce so fiercely but couldn’t
bear the confines of the relationship, it was a very confusing time for her. She
ultimately came to peace with her decision. Since she was now a Two, she tried
out for a few movies, landing several supporting roles in comedies. It was
debated how much of her performance was acting.
Natalie spoke with
America occasionally, but the person from her Selection days who she
communicated with the most was Elise. Even though their friendship was long
distance for the rest of their lives, their different personalities meshed
well, and they always got together for life’s biggest moments.
ELISE
WHISKS
Elise wore her
loss of the Selection as if she had been publicly shamed, and after the violent
attack on the day of the engagement announcement, she could never bring herself
to set foot in the palace again, not even for Maxon and America’s wedding.
What Elise didn’t
know was that the war with New Asia was mostly for show. It began over a minor
trade issue and was amplified and perpetuated by King Clarkson. He kept the war
going so that the public would focus less on issues at home, and he manipulated
the draft as a means of keeping the lower castes and potential rebels in check.
Maxon had realized something was off shortly before the Selection began, and
his visit to New Asia confirmed his suspicions. Battles were staged in poorer
areas, as the president of New Asia sought to protect the larger and more
necessary cities, fearing Clarkson’s ability to crush them. Thousands died on
both sides defending nothing.
Elise thought her
alliance was much more valuable to the crown than it ever really was and
assumed her marriage to Maxon would bring a peace that his father never
intended to allow. But Maxon had begun quietly planning for a way to end the
dispute as soon as he returned from that fateful trip, and shortly after his
reign began, he drew up a truce between the two countries and enlisted Elise as
an ambassador. She considered it an honor to serve her country and family in
this way and agreed to go.
On one of her many
trips, she had a public meeting with the head of a company that was using a
portion of its profits to rejuvenate the areas most depleted by the war. The
son of the CEO was enchanted by Elise’s mastery of etiquette, languages, and
books, not to mention her beauty. He kept in contact, eventually asking her
family for her hand. They agreed enthusiastically, knowing this young man would
inherit a fortune and had a solid standing in New Asia’s society.
Elise’s joy at
pleasing her family surpassed her worries over marrying someone she’d only met
a few times, and she trusted her family’s judgment. She moved to New Asia, not
caring whether she would find happiness with her new husband. To her complete
surprise, she did. He was incredibly generous with her, patient in waiting for
her affection to grow, and absolutely doting on her when she became pregnant.
She remained
poised in her interactions with her family, but whenever she could get in
contact with Natalie, she gushed over her kind and handsome husband. Elise had
two boys, who became the pride and joy of her husband and family. She was in
love and happy, accomplishing more than she had ever hoped she could, and never
mourning losing her chance to become a princess.
