A/N: Hi there! I recently finished the House of Wolves DLC and I was incredibly butthurt at the lack of Mara Sov. I mean, I was pleased that her name was finally revealed, but seriously. Lack of Queen in a DLC about the Queen's faction and her revenge is just sad.

Anyways, Petra's a cool lady. I was going to write a fanfic about a female human hunter and the Queen, but since Petra was just handed to me I decided to go with this instead. Takes place before and during the House of Wolves DLC.

Enjoy!

She was uncertain when it happened. How it started. But it mattered not. As she grasped at her waist, forcing pressure on her wound, she hugged the walls and slowly walked through the halls of the Reef. Her breathing was rough and she was in pain, but she persevered. She had no other choice. As she continued her slow walk, the bodies began piling up. So many Awoken had died. Hers. They were her Awoken and she was unable to protect them. Bile started rising and she tried her best to keep it down. Her failures were obvious. She'd trusted that the Fallen wouldn't have been stupid enough to turn against her. She'd trusted that the Nine would accept Skolas. She'd trusted that Skolas would just go peacefully. It had all been fine until the ridiculous rebellion that stupid Fallen had surmounted. A rebellion against the Queen of the Awoken?

She scoffed. How long was she to act all high and mighty? Well, it certainly wasn't an act the entirety of the time. She did consider Awokens to be superior, but she wasn't blind. The human guardian who had fought the Gate Lord and gotten to the Black Garden...That guardian was more than a mere mote of light as she'd initially considered her. But it was becoming exhausting. Acting callous was in her blood, and yet she felt she was beginning to grow too old for it.

She grunted as she continued on, more bodies piling up, more of her failures showing. The nerve those creatures had at betraying her. She'd make them pay. She'd kill every last Fallen in that stupid House of Wolves, and in a torturous manner. Her Awoken, her children, her family was dying. Scattered around the halls of the Reef like carcasses.

"Sister!" Her younger brother roared as he finally found her. Making his way to her as fast as he could with a handful of remaining Royal Guards, he scowled as he noticed her clutching at her waist.

"Uldren, what brings you here?"

"This is no time for humor! We must retreat!" His face contorted, similarly to hers, in shame. He had failed, those were the thoughts coursing through him. His Queen was injured, and a plethora of Awoken were lost. Of course he'd feel like a failure.

"I can't. I need to find her," she turned away, slowly continuing her trek, stopping by doors occasionally.

"Sister, please," he had grabbed onto her shoulder. Uldren always had unparalleled respect for his older sister, but he also cherished her deeply. Mara was the only family he had left, and as she was his Queen, he'd made it his number one duty to protect and safeguard her life. So at that moment in time, he didn't care if he was disrespecting the Queen. His duty was more to his Sister who was injured and slowly bleeding out. His selfish, stubborn sister who had made the mistake of falling in love with the help. He shouldn't have spoken ill of Petra Venj. She had saved his life countless times before, but the fact that the Queen was using up most of her strength to go around the Reef and find her was ridiculous. Petra was a soldier and the leader of the Royal Guards. She could take care of herself.

"Unhand me, Uldren. Before you lose a piece of your body." She wasn't serious about the threat, but she knew he'd comply. And he did, a bit reluctantly. She'd sort out her misgivings with her brother at a later date. At that moment, she had to find Petra, make sure the woman was safe and then plot a counter attack. It irked at her, but she had a favor with the Guardians. A favor she intended to utilize. Mara Sov did not ask anyone for help. No. She had favors she used up. Sure, it was an indirect cry for help, but at the same time, they owed her. Those guardians who she considered motes of light owed her and she hoped she was putting her trust in the right people this time around.

She'd made it. Something was tugging at her heart as she looked at the door she stood in front of, her brother and the guards still behind her.

Walking into the room, her eyes immediately landed on her target. Her helmet was destroyed, the reddish pink hair gently covering her eyes in a bit of a mess, as she lay on the ground immobile, her right eye seemingly injured. The Queen was frozen in place, her eyes uncharacteristically wide. There were a dozen Fallen all around the woman, unmoving as well. The Royal Guards walked up to them, inspecting them, making sure they were dealt with.

It seemed as though time had stopped for Mara, as she looked on at the body of her most trusted Royal Guard. Clutching onto her waist with even more pressure, she extended her arm out as she slowly made her way to the body. She'd seen it. Its chest had moved, as though the person was breathing. They were attempting to conceal the fact that they were alive.

"My Guard," she stuttered, bit by bit getting closer until she was able to fall to her knees next to the woman. "Petra, I know you're awake."

No response was given. Was it a joke? No. Petra did make a few ill timed attempts at humor, but no. She would not make a joke at this time. "Petra..?" She nudged her to no avail. This couldn't be happening. She was breathing just a moment ago! "Petra! Petra, as your Queen, I order you to open your eyes! Do not jest!"

The cool and composed Queen of the Awoken had begun to break down. This couldn't have been happening. Petra Venj was her strongest Guard! There was no way a dozen of Fallen could kill her! "Petra!" It wasn't working. Nothing she did woke her up. Her arms fell to her sides, her eyes beginning to water. She'd lost her. She'd lost the woman who had promised to never leave her side. She didn't care if her brother saw her crying. She didn't care if the remaining Royal Guards were to judge her as weak. She didn't care that she'd considered Guardians to be motes of light. She didn't care to uphold her callous personality. No. Mara Sov did not care about anything at all. Not even revenge. Her mind was blank. The only thing she could see was her lover's dead body in front of her. And she screamed.

She screamed. That is all she did. She screamed for the lost men and women. She screamed for her failures. She screamed for her inaptitude at protecting the Reef. She screamed at losing Petra. At having let her die. She screamed. She wasn't a Queen. No. She was a fraud. And she'd failed miserably. She screamed one more time, but it was inaudible.

"Mara! Mara wake up!"

She was nudged awake, shaking, grasping for air, cheeks stained with tears, as someone placed their hands on her shoulders. "Mara, are you okay? You were having a nightmare."

Who was it? Who was calling her 'Mara' so freely? Her brother only did it during very rare moments, and while it was true that Petra tended to do it when they were alone, Petra was gone. Just at the thought, her eyes started watering again, "Petra" she let out shakily.

"Yes, my Queen?"

Her Majesty's eyes widened as she looked at the person who was nudging her. "Petra?"

The reddish pink haired woman smiled, "Hi," wiping some of her Queen's tears.

Looking around, she noticed she was in her room, in her bed, as Petra sat on the side next to her. That's right. It was a nightmare. But also a memory. It was all true. The Fallen had attacked. Many Awoken had died. Petra had been lucky. Awoken medics had quickly made their way to the Queen to take care of her per her brother's request, however she'd given them the explicit order to take care of Petra once it was established that she was clinging onto life.

"Petra," the Queen wrapped her shaking arms around her Guard, like she had when the woman had woken up from her life endangering wounds.

The Royal Guard reciprocated, wrapping her arms around her Queen's waist, holding her in place. "Mara," she whispered. "I'm here. I'm safe, I'm alive."

"I know," the Queen mumbled.

"So when will it stop haunting you? It's been two months and Skolas is near capture."

"I know, Petra. I know. But, so many people died. So many Awoken lost their lives because I was too weak to protect them. I, I no longer know if I deserve my position."

"Preposterous. This wasn't your fault. Though we will mourn their deaths, they are not yours to take responsibility of. The Fallen are the ones who took our brothers and sisters from us. The Fallen are the ones who turned the Reef into a battleground. None of this was your fault, Your Grace. You are a wonderful Queen, and none of us would ever wish to replace you with anyone. Mara, you are the only person who can lead us. You are the only one fit to be our Queen."

She only receieved silence, but she didn't mind it. Petra knew full well that her Queen's mind was working. She was thinking on the past. On what she did, what she could have done, what she should have done. But that was fine. That was how Mara worked. She ruminated and wondered. Never again would a Rebellion befall the Reef so long as she was Queen. That's how she worked. She'd take one incident and make sure it would never happen again. As she looked at her Queen, she continued.

"I don't mind this side of you though," the Guard smirked. This was the Queen's weak side. Well, Petra didn't consider it weak. She considered it ironically, human. It was her more vulnerable side, the side she didn't even show to her brother. No. Only Petra had been given the rights to see her Queen so vulnerable and in need of her. But Petra knew. Saying something like that would easily put the Queen's shields back up, and Mara preferred it that way. What caught her by surprise however was her miscalculation.

"Don't fight," the Queen whispered.

"Your Grace?"

"Don't fight Skolas. Let the Guardians do it. Please," she let out quietly, moving her hands to grasp at Petra's clothes. She was scared. Though Petra was right in that two months had passed since the rebellion started, since her near death experience, Mara could never forget the feeling of her lover's cold, unmoving body so easily. She had been terrified that she'd lost Petra, and she knew that feeling, those memories and dreams wouldn't leave her so easily. As such, she didn't want to put Petra in even more danger. And she knew full well Petra would concede to her wishes. Not because she was Queen. No. Because Petra truly loved her enough to know what would break her. Being so open was something relatively new. Mara Sov was known for being cold, callous, cruel. Of course, she was only known as such because of her enemies. It wasn't just a rumor however. Mara Sov really was as cold as people said. The only time she wasn't, was when she was in the arms of the woman who loved her. Within Petra's arms, Mara would forget her responsibilities, her duties. Though not for long, that break was very helpful. Petra loved seeing her ruthless Queen, but at the same time, she loved seeing the woman who relied on her so much. The pit of her stomach filled with an insurmountable amount of happiness whenever she was alone with Mara, and she knew Her Grace felt the same.

"How about I just go pick him up and let the Guardians do all the dirty work?"

"They owe us anyways."

At that, Petra smiled.

"My Queen," she lifted her leader's chin up, each looking deeply into the other's eyes.

As she leaned in to place a gentle kiss on her Queen's lips, she made a silent vow. As long as Petra Venj was alive, she would never allow Mara Sov, the Queen of the Awokens and the Queen of her Heart to ever feel the kind of pain she'd put her through ever again. No. Petra would die before giving her Queen bad memories again. At that, she couldn't help but laugh. If she died, she'd be giving her Queen bad memories either way.

When their lips parted, Petra whispered, "I'll always be by your side, Mara."

The Queen smiled, her blue eyes glowing even brighter, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

A/N: It was relatively short. I hope you enjoyed! Reviews are very appreciated!