Disclaimer: I own this as much as I own a mansion and a yacht. And I don't.
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She had a taste for blood, a need for it. Dipping her two swords in a bowl of flaming oil, she made her way back to where the feast had been. There was a single red guard with a bow, but no arrows.
"You are dead." Her face was set in grim stone; nothing could sway her from her selected path.
In one quick upward motion, she sliced an X in his neck. He didn't bleed very much, but the hot blades had cut through his windpipe.
He fell to the ground, and she ran towards her father. She wasn't quite sure if she wanted to kill him, or hug him.
"Father!" She stood directly in front of him.
"You should not be here." He told her, and kicked her in the side before Mathayus let the arrow fly. She fell to the ground, trying to get her breath back.
There was a huge explosion, and Memnon was knocked backwards into the flames. Sitting up, she took a few gasping breaths, staring down into the flames. Mathayus and Cassandra ran up beside her to look out over the crowd.
As she stood –with the help of a stone next to her- all of the soldiers knelt.
"Hail to the Queen!"
"Hail!"
"Hail!" The two of them looked to Alex in confusion. She just stood there, one hand on the stone, the other around her middle, staring at where she supposed her father's charred remains were.
Memnon had kicked her, but had saved her from possibly being killed along with him. That may have been the most merciful thing he uncle could have done for her, killing her right there with her father.
Turning her head, something caught her eye.
Balthazar.
Snarling, she picked up her still flaming swords and ran for him, with no concern for life or limb. Dimly, she heard her name being called, but paid it no heed.
Then, there was only darkness.
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Groaning, she rubbed the back of her head. She was in her bed, alone. Apparently, she had fallen down the stairs and knocked herself out cold last night.
Last night.
Tears started to roll down her cheeks. Takmet, gone. Memnon, gone. The man who killed Takmet, alive, possibly even in the palace right now.
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"Mathayus!" She thrust open the doors and ran into the throne room where everyone was standing. The entire room fell silent, and she slowed to a walk.
"My Queen." There were general murmurs of polite greetings and salutes to her. Balthazar watched, trying to stay out of her sight. If this queen –no more than a girl- wished him dead, then he might as well hand her his sword and let her have at him.
"Everyone out." She said on a sudden thought. Everyone stared to leave, and she was surprised at the power she had. It was a little unsettling; no one had ever obeyed her commands like that. "You stay." She motioned to Mathayus, Cassandra, and Philos. They stopped. "I have no idea who you are," She told the horse thief. "but you can stay."
"Oh, thank you, my Queen."
"Don't call me that." The doors slammed shut as she walked past them to the throne and sat down. Her throne. Tears came to her eyes and she rested her head in her hand. Everything was happening too fast. If one thing had happened at a time, she may have been able to handle it. But all in one night, she had lost her father, her fiancé, and had acquired the throne to her father's kingdom.
"What's wrong?" Cassandra asked. She knew that Alex was having a hard time gripping all that had happened, but wanted to know how deep the emotional rift delved.
"I don't want to be queen." She said through her tears. "I want Takmet back." The pain was too much for her to hold, and the tears ran freely.
"Alex." Mathayus knelt in front of her. "Alex." She looked up at him through teary eyes.
"I felt his soul leave him. I held his hand as he died, and I felt his soul leave." He pulled her in and let her cry on him. "I want you to be king." She whispered in his ear, arms wrapped around his neck. "I can't do it."
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Feel special, two chapters in rapid succession. I COMMAND YOU!
