Chapter 10

The walk up to the castle is daunting. My body is pushing me forward, but my heart is telling me to run and hide. You don't need to do this Mare. Just let them handle it. Go back and focus on the new bloods. I push the thought down. When did this new Mare become so weak. So scared. What was I really scared of. Cal? Theresa? The judging eyes. Or Cal with another girl. Only time would tell, the first meeting. 6 months of distance and the realisation that it may have changed us. May have changed him, and his feelings. Maybe I am nothing to him, just a distant memory. The thought saddens me.

Once we arrive at the gate we give our names, one by one. They check our bags and pat down our bodies. Our weapons are removed, but not the little one strapped to my chest, just below my bra. No one can see that one, and the pat down conceals it well.

"Fraser!" the guard calls down the entrance. 6 soldiers make their way towards us, no doubt ready to escort us to the King. "Take them to his Majesty" He points at me. "Keep an eye on this one" he says, giving me a death stare. Right. Most of the guards here don't like me and what I can do. I can see it in the way they judge me and watch me. I smile at him as we leave, pissing him off even more. We make our way towards the Kings meeting room. No doubt he would want this to be as private as possible. The closer we get to the entrance, the more and more nervous I become. My palms are sweaty, my upper lip is also collecting sweat. I wipe it off, and try and focus my breathing, to slow down my heartrate. Act cool. Remember Mare, emotions in check. Don't let them know. Don't let him know. Once we get to the entrance, we all stand in front of the guards, in a row, and the guard Fraser knocks on the door. Three times. I hear a murmur, something like 'come in' and the doors open.

The first thing I see is the large circle table in the centre of the room, about as large as 2 King beds put together. Its overwhelming. And new. The second and most important thing my eyes land on is Cal. He is standing, his hands resting on the table below, fingers outstretched. The breath is knocked out of me. I don't move, and luckily neither does Farley, Kilorn or Cameron.

As if electricity runs through my veins in that moment, shocking me still, our eyes lock on each other. I see him suck in a breath, and I do the same. Our eyes don't leave each other, and no one says anything. That is until Fraser breaks the silence.

"Your Majesty" he bows low "The representatives of the Scarlet Guard". Cal composes himself quickly, moves his eyes from my face and nods. Fraser leaves. Only then I notice the young blonde sitting by Cal. She stands slowly to join him, and I feel a sudden pit in my stomach. Jealousy rears its ugly head. She is as beautiful as I remember. Where my hair is dull and lifeless, hers gleams. Soft and shiny. Where my skin looks dull and worn, hers is perfect. Flawless and glowy. I hate her already. Even the simple dress she wears looks rich and elegant. Here I am in thick pants, a heavy jacket and combat boots. I feel as ugly as ever.

Cal finally speaks. "Thank you for being here. Please, sit" he motions to the chairs directly across from him, 4 chairs perfectly aligned and ready. The rest of the table is missing chairs. There is fruit, cheese and a vast array of sweets in front of where our seats are. Wine, water and coffee. I imagine the warm coffee hitting my throat, but shake it off. I'm not here for food. Although we are all hungry, and it looks amazing. Rations only get you so far. No Mare. No. I see Kilorn and Cameron gulp, no doubt wanting to devour everything in front of them. We make our way to the table, I move last and sit on the far right. If I could sit further away, I would. Why am I here. "This is Theresa, my fiancé" Cal says finally. He doesn't look at me when he says the words, and it hurts. Im already fighting the urge to scream. She nods, politely, but I can see her lift her nose up at us. Like we are scum, and she is royalty. Well technically she is, but seeing her acknowledge just how different we are angers me. I suddenly don't regret stabbing her that day. In fact I rejoice in the memory. What does he see in her anyway. She is the complete opposite to me.

"Lets skip the politeness and formality Cal" Farley starts. "We came her to talk about Maven. So lets get started shall we" I want to hug her suddenly. Addressing Cal as Cal and not your Majesty is the best thing I have heard. She could be executed for that. Then again, Farley doesn't care for formalities. Cal says nothing, but Theresa makes a sound, as if offended. Cameron smirks.

"Very well" he replies, leaning back in his chair. He looks casual, although he is wearing clothes that cost more than the house we live in at the moment. "I know where my brother is and I need your help to draw him out" Theresa nods beside him, listening intently. She lifs her head to stare up at him, as if captivated. She looks like a puppy, or worse. She looks like she is in love.

"If you know where your brother is, why do you need our help to draw him out. Why not just attack" Cameron speaks for the first time, asking the question I would have asked.

"Because, I know where he is, but I can't attack because it would, well, it would start a war" he says speaking in code again.

"We already are in a war" Kilorn adds, frustration in his voice.

"He means, he cant attack because Maven is with the lake landers. That would be a direct attack on the kingdom and that, in itself is an act of war. He needs us to draw him out, away from their territory" It is the first time I speak, and all eyes find me. Theresa glares. I can see her thoughts, and I do not need Queen Elara's skills to do so. Everyone stares except for Cal. He looks down, not acknowledging my being there. Fine, if that the way he wants to play it.

"How do you suggest we do that" Farley asks Cal.

"You dangle the one thing Maven wants most in front of him" Theresa speaks. Her voice soft, elegant. "Her" she throws her head in my direction and I have to stop myself from jumping across the table and strangling her. Dangle. Like I am a piece of meat. My hands close into fists under the table.

"Why don't you dangle this…" I say, but Kilorn grabs my hand before I can make the gesture.

"She doesn't mean that" He says, with a small awkward laugh. Theresa suddenly stands, face turning bright red, her fists balled up on the table in front of her.

"Are you going to let her speak to me this way Cal?" She demands, stomping her foot down. Child. "You should have her flogged. Better yet send her back to the hole she calls a home" I'm surprised by her outburst. Well not really, but I figured she would have the common upbringing to not act like this in public. Before I can reply, Cameron stands.

"How about I prepare a different type of hole for you. Say 6 feet underground" Both girls glare across the table. Everyone stands, but me. I stay seated, my face in shock at how quickly this escalated out of nothing.

"That's enough!" Cal yells, grabbing Theresa by the hand and pulling her down.

"I agree. Kilorn, Cameron. Sit down" Farley demands. They listen and sit immediately, but both throw death glares at Theresa. At least they have my back.

"Mare" Cal addresses me for the first time. "Leave" he says. Simple and straight to the point. Leave.

"If she leaves, we all leave" Farley says, the anger clear in her voice.

"I don't mean the castle, just the room. For now" Call says and calls one of the guards to take me away. The guard grabs me by the elbow and starts pulling me out. "Remove your hands off of her. She can walk on her own" Cal says to the guard, and it takes me by surprise. I don't look back, I just follow the guard and get the hell away from that room before I suffocate under the pressure.

…

Cal POV

"I cant believe you let her speak to me that way. Don't you have any honour" I have been listening to Theresa talk on and on about Mare, and how I should have defended her, and how she wants her removed from the castle at once. I know why she feels that way, but I feel as though she is overreacting. The hurt and anger is for 2 things. The fact that Mare stabbed her and the fact that Mare and I had something. Jealousy was the second reason she exploded today. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" she demands. I sigh, already sick of this conversation.

"Drop it Theresa. That is what I have to say. I need the Scarlet Guard, and I need you to stay out of it" I rub my temples, I feel a headache coming on. "I shouldn't have brought you into the meeting today. It was too early" I finish. Mare and Theresa will never get along, and this visit is going to be worse than I expected.

"Why? So I wouldn't notice the way you two stared at each other when she first walked in. Or the way you purposely tried not to look at her in the eyes, but your palms were sweating the whole time under the table." She shakes her head. "Why don't you just admit that you are in love with her. A red. At least stop lying to yourself, since you don't seem to care about lying to everyone else you 'apparently' care about" with that she storms out, before I can even say a word. I don't chase her. I don't correct her. Maybe she is right.

Maybe I thought it would be easy to let go, but when I saw Mare walk into the room, in that moment I realised that maybe I had the wrong girl sitting by my side. The Queen was across the room today, not beside me.

…

*Hey guys,

I hope you enjoyed this Chapter.

The Scarlet Guard will be staying in the castle longer than expected, and will start the hunt for Maven. This means more Cal, Mare and Theresa drama. If you would like to read more, please like and comment, and I will continue writing this weekend. If not, I may take a little break.

Tash xx