So I'm going to see how well this story is going to end up. I've only read Red Queen.
It was the day of the Queenstrial and Xannie was not happy. For one, her dress was too thick and it was slowly suffocating her. Second, her head was pulsing with power in a painful migraine. Third, she had missed breakfast, too busy sleeping and yelling at her maids to leave her alone to realize it was well into the day. The cold reassurance of her blood red gloves made her shiver. In the lift, she caught sight of herself in a reflective metal surface.
Amber eyes stared back at her. Her pale skin was framed by auburn hair, the Oriana family trait. The film over her skin hid the red blood flowing through her veins.
Her dress was red, the colors of her house, and the color of her blood. The sleeves were long and flush against her skin. Only her forearms, back, and a plunging neckline weren't covered by her floor-length dress. It had black embroidery scattered everywhere in miscellaneous designs. Wards against evil, wards against the Silvers, her mother had said.
"Lady Oriana," a guard said stonily. "You're late."
"Good morning to you too," Xannie pushed down on her hatred for the Silvers and tried to remain impassive.
"Xannie, I'd really hurry up if I were you," the guard suggested, his voice recognizable and barely loud enough for her to hear. It was the Scarlet Guard. Xannie hid her smile and entered the Queenstrial. As she walked past the faces of the other houses, she felt their power in tendrils around her.
The room hummed with power and Xannie braced her hand on the back of her chair. The faces of her sparse family looked at her, concern etching their faces.
"Xannie, sit," Zander, her dear brother, placed a warm hand on hers and she got the hidden message. You're not alone in this. We all have something to hide.
Xannie used most of her energy to lower herself into her seat. Her hands twitched, wanting to reach out and take that power in the air.
"Xannie," Zander warned again. Don't take off your gloves. Don't absorb all that power. Don't show them everything you can do. "Don't."
"I won't. We worked too hard for this to mess it up," Xannie gritted and pushed against the power taunting her. Her arsenal was large already, she collected so much power and it was overwhelming. She needed to have physical contact to the person in order to have their power permanently stored inside her.
An interaction with Lady Samos caused their bare skin to touch and her power overwhelmed Xannie. She could feel Evangeline's power now, writhing and familiar.
As a child, her power was strange. But as Newbloods, her family was prepared for that. They quickly deciphered her power and decided to keep it a mystery. No one outside of the House Oriana knew what it was. All their powers were a mystery, after all, they weren't like Silver powers. Zander nudged Xannie out of her reverie with an elbow to her ribs.
"Lady Oriana," a Silver announced and Xannie stood. She walked out into the center of the arena. As she walked, whispers followed. Evangeline smirked smugly. She hasn't even gone yet and she still thinks she won.
Of course, Xannie couldn't win. Her Red blood shouldn't mix with Silvers', but this was her chance to make a difference, shake these Silvers to their core.
You don't expect me to win, Xannie whispered into Cal, Maven, and the King and Queens' minds. They sat up straighter. She took a step closer to them and slowly removed her gloves. You don't think I have power.
Behind her, she could feel Zander's triumphant smile and her family's pride as the royal family's eyes widened. Xannie curtsied in front of Cal and then stood, her back straight and her voice regal, "Good morning your Highness."
She gently took Cal's hand from where it was gripping the chair and his power made her see stars. She controlled her features and closed her eyes. She felt his fire settle inside her next to all the other powers she collected like books. She ran two fingers along his palm and snapped her fingers.
A golden flame appeared above her fingers and the King gasped. Maven and the Queen's eyes widened in disbelief. Cal just stared at the flame, then at her face. She released his hand and turned around, flinging the fire around her. It spread and melted the entire arena, flattening out the rubble and turning it into a surface smooth as glass.
Heat radiated off the floor and Xannie glanced at her brother, her eyes asking him to tell her when it was too far. He raised one eyebrow that would look like he was unimpressed to anyone else. One more. Give them something to talk about.
The audience only saw her fire, they didn't see her whisper. Without another thought, she pulled the moisture from the air with a sweep of her hand. A thin coat of mist fell upon the arena, cooling it with a hiss. Stream rose on the arena along with shocked faces. She waved her hands above her head and in front of her face in a grand flourish. When nothing happened, people shared cautious glances.
She snapped her fingers and the steam became ice, falling to the ground and shattering into a billion pieces. She bowed mockingly at all the Silvers and returned to her seat, ice crunching beneath her feet.
"Too much?" She murmured to her brother and he beamed at her.
"Just right," Zander said and patted her on the back. The phantom power he possessed fluttered along her consciousness.
The pulsing power of all the Silvers pounded in her head. She slipped her gloves on and sat back to watch the rest of the Queenstrial.
As Evangeline was getting ready to show herself off, something else joined the pulsing powers in the air. It was foreign and new. It felt like hers, and Zander's, and everyone else in her family. Her family of Newbloods.
Xannie stiffened and scanned the audience, looking for a servant, anyone who would be a Red... There.
"Zander," Xannie breathed and her brother leaned in slightly, the only acknowledgment he let show. Her family picked up the warning in her voice and glanced her way. "There's another one."
A flick of her eyes had Zander searching for the girl with white tipping the ends of her hair. Her mother, father, her two cousins, and her uncle and aunt soon spotted the girl. Evangeline was forgotten as Xannie tracked the Red. The Red moved smoothly and cautiously through the Silvers discussing the trial. She was serving a small group of men. Just then, the whole arena was tossed to the side. Evangeline's doing.
Xannie watched in horror as the girl tipped over the side, landing atop the electric shield. Xannie jumped to her feet as the Red fell into the arena, her body fully functional.
Her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment but that quickly turned to fear as she met Evangeline's murderous gaze. Xannie watched, frozen, as the Red emitted lightning from her hands. Missing Evangeline by a sliver.
The Red fled and sentinels raced after her. In a daze, Xannie walked to where the Red previously stood. The power seemed woven in the air and she reached out with a gloved hand. She felt the Red's power entwine itself around her arm. Electricity, the Red could create electricity. The Red's power whispered it's secrets to her as it began to fade from the arena.
A thought, a name lingered where Cal once sat. Mare Barrow. The Red's name, Mare.
"Xannie," a hand on her shoulder. Shaking her. The voice was firmer now, "Xannie. Xanella."
Xannie turned at the use of her whole name and met her closest cousin's gaze, Vyvian. Her auburn hair was short compared to Xannie's waist length hair. Vyvian spoke again, "Xannie. Let's go. It's getting late."
It wasn't late, the day just began. Vyvian pulled Xannie away from Mare Barrow's pocket of power and led her all the way back to their room. Far away from Evangeline's murderous glaring, prying eyes of the Silver's, Cal and Maven's curious glances, the King, the Queen, the cameras, and most of all, the Red. The little lightning girl. Mare Barrow.
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