Shade looked around his small cell in the Bowl of Bones with contempt. The mission had failed, leading to the retreat of most of his squad and ultimately, his capture. His mother warned him it would be a high risk task and she'd hugged him with all of her strength and begged him to be safe.
They'd thrown him in here a couple days ago and since then, no one had showed up. It was lonely and quiet to say the least and Shade thought that he was the only prisoner in here, well, at least in this sector. The bowl of water at the edge of his cell was dirty and rusty, the water within was warm and so Shade didn't drink it.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to summon his powers to get him out of the infernal place. He paced and paced in his cell, shouting obscenities to everyone, the king, most of all.
King Maven. A stone cold bastard with a sadistic streak. Shade hated him with every fiber of his being, if he ever got his hands on the bas-
"Get up you disgusting animal!" the voice of a sentinel said harshly as he pulled the keys out. Shade glared at them with hatred and did as he was told anyways. He stood up on strong legs and stared at the sentinel without a sliver of fear.
Two more sentinels came forward and grabbed his hands, forcing the shackles onto his hands and tugged him forward. He almost stumbled but regained his footing. He began to protest until the sentinel's hand came up and delivered a brutal blow to his head. Shade crumpled to the ground, unconscious as they put a bag over his head.
An intense pain at the side of his head was the first thing he woke up to. He was momentarily panicked when he realized he couldn't see anything, but when he reached up to touch his face, he found that he couldn't do that either. Shade tried to get up, but it appeared that his legs were unable to move. His panic turned to terror as he realized the extent of his vulnerability.
Suddenly, the bag was ripped off his head and he squinted his eyes against the harsh light. After his eyes adjusted, he was met with the penetrating gaze of King Maven.
Maven stared at the boy in boredom. He couldn't have been more than what? Sixteen, seventeen years old? Tch. The filthy rebels have been starting to recruit more and more young people and that was an issue he needed to fix. He watched as the boy squirmed and fought against his restraints with amusement, that is, until they took off the bag.
Blue eyes. Piercing blue eyes so much like his own and brown hair that reminded him of a girl he used to love. And his face, by the gods his face. It was safe to say that is was like looking at a mirror image of his younger self. He choked for a minute, the shock too strong at the moment.
"Everyone out! Now." he shouted, once he'd regained his composure. The court fell into a series of murmurs and he growled as he ordered them again. "I said all of you out!" The sentinels ushered them all out and he met Evangeline's angry stare, "Even you Samos!"
He waited until they all left before addressing the boy before him. His son.
Shade stared up at the king in fierce defiance, he may be in shackles, but he'd be damned if he submitted to the king.
King Maven was a strong man in his mid 30's the light stubble on his face was nearly groomed, and his body made up of lean muscle, so much unlike the giant form of his Uncle Cal. They were brothers, a painful truth he had extracted from Cal's lips. Whereas Cal relied on his brute strength and ability, Maven leaned more towards his mental strength, his ability slightly weaker than Cal's.
The burning Crown of Norta rested upon the sleek, jet black hair of the false king. The crown belongs to Cal, he thought angrily.
"Who are you?" King Maven asked lazily, as if he could be doing better things than talk to the red scum before him.
"A member of the Scarlet Guard." Shade answered, not giving him his name. He was ordered by his mother that in the event that he was captured, under no circumstances should he give his name. It struck him odd, but he'd never disobey his mother.
The king sighed, getting up from his golden throne and walking towards him. Shade froze, a chilling fear coursed through his veins for a moment. The king's steps held a deadly grace with them, powerful and calm.
He held his breath when the king came to a pause right before him. He stared at the expensive boot of the king and spat on it.
Maven kicked the boy for his insolence. He felt a sick sense of satisfaction when the boy wheezed and grunted in pain. He's got his mother's impudence, he noted.
He grabbed the boy by his chin and forced him to look up at him. The boy struggled a bit and flinched back when Maven burned him.
The boy swore, "You bastard! I'll burn you and your fucking kingdom to the ground!" He was furious now, his face as red as the blood that made him inferior. Maven chuckled at the boy's words and wondered if the boy was a burner like him, or if he wielded electricity like his mother.
"I very much doubt that you could do that." Maven said to challenge the boy.
"Try me." the boy snarled back. Maven admired him for his audacity and scoffed at his stupidity.
Maven contemplated what to say next and tapped his foot. "You're so much like her." he said to himself but the Red boy heard him.
"Like who?!" the boy demanded.
Maven let out an impatient sigh, "Your mother."
"Don't talk about her," he responded angrily "you don't even know her."
Maven laughed, a deep, bitter sound that very few had heard these past few years. He almost never laughed anymore, not after she left, after all, she was the one that brought him happiness. "Me? Not know the great Mare Barrow?" he exclaimed after he had composed himself. He paused, "Or should I say Mareena Titanos?"
The boy stared at him in confusion.
"Oh? So she's never told you about the time she spent masquerading as a Silver Noble Lady?" Maven smirked, mischief in his eyes.
The boy was silent.
"Better yet, did she ever tell you who your father is?" He said. Maven looked at his son's bowed head and kneeling figure on the ground with harsh eyes.
The boy didn't look up, his voice an eerie calm when he said, "My father was a red soldier, a new-blood. He was a hero who died to save my mother and my uncles. His name was Mark Colby and even though he died before I was born, mother said he loved me with all his heart."
"My mother is Mare Barrow, a commander of the Scarlet Guard, she spent time in the palace as a spy for the rebels along my uncle Cal. They were betrothed and you to Evangeline Samos. You discovered their betrayal to the crown and made Cal kill his father so that you could have the crown. My mother didn't love Cal, she was too caught up in the rebellion to properly return his feelings. However, she met a man, a new-blood that she loved with everything she had. About a year later she had me and Mark Colby died a few months prior to my birth."
He took a deep breath, and snapped his head up,eyes burning with determination. "My name is Shade Barrow and I will kill you."
Maven shook his head at all the lies the boy- Shade had been told. He scowled at the name, of course Mare would name their son after her dead brother, but couldn't she have chosen it as a middle name instead of a first name? Nevertheless, he had to set his son straight.
"Everything you say is false. A lie."
Shade tried to object but Maven interrupted him.
"Mare Barrow was a poor Red girl who came to the palace as a servant during Queenstrial. She interrupted a performance by Evangeline Samos and showcased her own electric abilities. To save face, my parents made up a lie and said Mare was the long lost daughter of a dead Silver General, hence the person Mareena Titanos was created. Since Evangeline Samos was the ultimate winner of Queenstrial, she was given to Cal as his bride. On the other hand, Mareena Titanos was to be my bride."
"I hated her. She was a Red savage who had no place in the royal family. But as I got to know her better I realized that we were both alike, we were always cast aside as second best and looked down upon by our parents and peers. I learned that she contacted the Scarlet Guard a few days after she arrived at the palace, a risky and idiotic move, but I followed her and joined the Guard with her."
"That's not true! You're-"
Maven held up his hand and resumed talking, " She grew to love me and I her, working together to overthrow the monarchy. I knew that I would have to betray her, in order to steal the crown from my brother. However, at first I was willing to do anything I could to assure my throne, after all, it was a plan brilliantly crafted by mother. That all changed when I fell in love with Mare. I questioned myself everyday after she was gone if it was all worth it." Maven's voice grew softer towards the end.
"And was it?"His son asked hotly.
"No. Mare was the light that illuminated my darkness. And now what? I gave her up for the crown and now I have Evangeline, who pales in comparison to the brightness of Mare. Not only did I give her up, I gave up my father and my brother, even my mother now that she's dead." He took a deep breath, "It looks like I gave you up too."
"Stop. Stop. Stop talking!" Shade shouted. "You're a liar. Mom said that you were the grandest liar of them all. How can I even trust your words? You're not even my father. You just said that to screw me up!"
Maven glared at Shade, anger swirling in the icy blue of his eyes, "Really? You don't believe that I was the one who sired you? You have my eyes, my nose, my cheekbones! Hell, we'd even be twins if you had black hair instead of brown like your mother."
"Shut up!" He yelled.
Maven was seething in frustration now. How could he prove that he really was Shade's father? An idea came to him.
Shade couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was all a lie right? The king was a liar, Mark Colby was his father. Not the king, never the king.
He looked up at the king in suspicion when he heard a jingle of keys. King Maven had produced the keys from his pocket and knelt down in front of him. The silent stone shackles fell off his hands with a deafening clunk on the ground. Shade massaged his wrists before springing up from his position and catching the king by surprise. Flames erupted from his fingertips as he prepared to launch a fireball at the king.
Maven looked at his son with fascination. Mare's genetic anomaly made it possible for Shade to produce fire from his fingertips without the need of the bracelets he and Cal wore. Maven didn't know if he should feel scared or proud of his son.
His surprise was quickly cut off when a large fireball was thrown in his direction. Maven grinned, and produced his own flame to fire back.
"Like father, like son." Maven mocked.
Shade snarled and fired back in rapid succession. Maven smirked and made a shield with an effortless flick of his wrist. Frustration and anger were powerful emotions, and Shade had both. His attacks grew stronger, no longer standing in one place, he ran around the room firing at the king from different angles, hoping to catch him off guard.
His attempts failed, and he was faltering in his attacks. Shade was getting slow, the lack of sleep and food was taking a toll on his body, interrupting his concentration and making his attacks sloppier and sloppier. To his surprise, not once had the king fired back, he was holding up a strictly defensive stance and just watched him in amusement.
Minutes seemed like hours and his legs were giving up on him. His fire was becoming weaker, and only when he could no longer produce a flame, did he finally collapse to the ground in exhaustion.
Maven looked at the defeated form of his son and sighed. He walked towards his slumped body on the ground and paused in front of him.
"What? Just kill me already...Father." he gasped out.
Maven raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow, "Oh, I have no intention of killing you, boy."
"Then what are you going to do? Torture me for the rest of my life as a way to get back at my mother?"
Maven laughed, "No."
"Are you going to let me go?" Shade asked hopefully. He smiled with pearly white teeth that made him look like an innocent child.
He shook his head, "Oh no, I have even better plans for you, Crown Prince." Maven relished the look of horror on his son's face.
"Y-You couldn't possibly-" Shade stuttered out.
"Of course I can. You see Shade, Queen Evangeline has failed to produce me any children and is therefore of no use to me. I only keep her around to ensure the loyalty of her family. Given that I have no legitimate heirs, I am willing to claim you as my son and successor, seeing as you are are technically my bastard." Maven stood from his position on the ground.
"I'll send guards to collect you and take you to your rooms. I hope you get a good night's sleep seeing as you have a lot to learn about ruling a country. Good day Crown Prince Shade Calore, I expect to see you tomorrow at breakfast." And with that, Maven left the room, walking with the air of someone who had won.
Shade spat on the ground, "Well shit..."
A/N #1: I hope you enjoyed this little one shot I created. For those of you who are a little confused, Maven ascended onto the throne and married Evangeline. Mare was pregnant when she was declared a traitor to the crown along with Cal. The rebellion kind of died down after a couple of years, Maven passed a few laws that let Reds lead better lives and focused on the Lakeland war more instead of searching for new-bloods. Mare had a kid which she named Shade in honor of her brother. He is sixteen years old when he meets Maven. Mare and everyone else never told Shade who his real father was until Maven spills the beans.
A/N #2: I don't plan on expanding this to be a multi-chapter story but that could change. (Highly unlikely)