Once again, thank you for reading! If you've made it this far, I must not be the worst writer ever! Thank you for choosing my story to satisfy your Red Queen thirst, I'd give you a hug if I could!

Enjoy, and always remember, Red in the Head, Silver in the Heart.

Mare

I cracked open the door to watch him walk away. I could only see him from behind, but he looked the same as always. The only difference seemed to be his hair. When we had first arrived at Piedmont, he told me he cut his hair himself, using his signature, crooked and cheesy smile, as he told me. I hadn't noticed it while talking to him a half hour ago, but now I could tell someone had cut it. I suppose that haircut hadn't been fit for a future king.

After awhile of thinking, I got up. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. More than anything else sometimes. I walked over to my closet to change into my night clothes. My closet was about the same size as Mareena's was, but what it held was much different.

While Mareena's held heaps upon heaps of dresses, two or three training outfits and a couple buckets of white paste, mine held nearly all athletic wear and one dress. I wonder why the dress was even in there. Maybe to go to one of the Samo's balls or for the day we infiltrate Maven's palace.

As I took off my shirt, I felt something jab at my stomach from inside my pocket. I took the object out of my pocket and found a single, red earring. I had been wearing this shirt on the day we defended Corvium, the day Cal made me jump out of a plane. I smile at the flashback of when he calmed me and gave me that earring, he promised it wouldn't end like the last plane ride to the Choke did. Just a few hours later, everything ended much worse than it could've if I had fallen into Maven's clutches that night.

I walked out of my a few minutes later, in my night shorts and shirt, in search of a maid. I wondered all the way from the second floor to the fourth, it was late at night and most maids had retired to their own chambers. But after searching for several minutes I finally found one, she was cleaning something from a wall. When I got closer I saw burn marks on the wall, the woman was cleaning off any of the soot she could. Cal. I immediately got an uneasy feeling. Cal was probably staying on this floor, there was no other reason for him to be here, it was only a residential floor.

"Excuse me, this is a strange question, but can I borrow a sewing needle for a moment?"

The women looked at me, "Little Lightning Girl," she said with wide eyes.

I smiled, "You look familiar, have I met you before?"

For a moment, she seemed to be replaying a memory in her head. "I was a servant at the Queenstrial, perhaps you saw me there, or as your time as Mareena."

"Perhaps," I respond. Although no one is around, I whisper, "Are you still considered a servant here? A red rat?"

She nods sadly. "Here's your needle, miss."

"No need to call me miss and I promise, once the Scarlet Guard takes control, the pathetic accuse the silver's call a system of power will be replaced," I say. Taking the needle, I create a small prick on my right pointer finger and squeeze several drops of blood onto the wall where the burn marks are.

I swiftly walk back to my room, the main halls of the estate get very warm during the night. I go to my bathroom and look in the mirror at my other earrings lining my ear. I touch each one. The red one held in my hand doesn't belong with them. While the other earrings are from the people I've known so long are located on my earlobe, the red one must go somewhere else.

I line the needle up against my cartilage. Piercing my ear here will cause much more pain than it would at the lope. But the person who gave it to me has caused more pain that any of the other earring's donors. I make a ball of tissues, and place it behind my ear, and quickly push the needle through. I cringe as the needle pushes through the opposite end of the ear, dap off the excess blood around my ear, and slide the new earring inside.

I look at myself in the mirror. I look tired as always. I can't remember once in my life when I've looked well rested. Even my time as Mareena, no amount of makeup could cover up the sacks under my eyes.

The red earring stands out from the others. Just as Maven would say, it makes me look alive.

As a few more drops of blood continue to trickle down my ear, I wipe them up with my index finger and draw a small lightning bolt on my pristine white door.

The next morning, I wake up to Kilorn slamming my door open. Out of reflex, I conjure lightning and nearly shoot him, but he dodges out of the way before I hit where he was.

"Whoa, are you okay? Seem awful jumpy this morning."

I smile at him, "When am I not jumpy nowadays? Sorry, I'm not used to people barging into my room when I'm still asleep," I say sarcastically. Kilorn grins sheepishly.

"Kilorn, do you want to have breakfast together?" I ask. "Without my family here, it's gets pretty lonely sometimes." After the battle at Corvium, only members of the Scarlet Guard were to stay at the Kingdom of Rift. So any red refugees or newbloods who aren't willing to fight are still at the base in Piedmont.

His smile was full of warmth, "I'd love to."

As we walked down the hallway, towards the dining room. I used to call this room the cafeteria, or the mess hall. But after many scoldings from others, I've finally learned to use the 'technical' term.

Kilorn interrupts my thoughts, "We have a meeting at 10 a.m today, right?"

"Uh, yes. Get rid of Maven, reinstate Cal on the throne, happily ever after." I mumble.

"Doesn't sound like a happy ending for you."

"Well not everyone in this world gets a happy ending, do they?" I snap.

Kilorn raises his eyebrows at me, "Would you like to change the subject?" he asks.

I smile sourly. "I'd love to"

We spent our breakfast reminiscing about the good old days when our only problems were having enough food to eat and attempting to avoid conscription in that pointless war. We both spent that breakfast laughing about all the mischief we caused in the Stilts, the times we stole one-layered cakes from weddings, how I used to beat him up as a small child, but later became great friends.

"Life used to be so simple, you know?"

"Yeah, the good old days. I'll I had to do back then was spend several hours on a boat in smelly water." I snickered at that.

"Ok," Kilorn said. "Which had been your favorite life to live, Mare's, Mareena's, or the Little Lightning Girl's?"

I pondered this. "So you're basically asking me which life I've hated the least?"

My response made Kilorn chuckles so loudly, many silvers scowled in his direction.

"If I really had to choose, I wouldn't pick Mareena. Although I was well fed and was only partially locked up, it was too fake. All of that disgusting white paste they painted my body in every day, they also had me engaged to a boy I had never met before. The Little Lightning Girl has endured more crap than any human should in their lifetime, and then there's Mare, who was often miserable, hungry and frowned upon by her parents, all because she didn't have a job."

"So who would you choose?"

"I'd choose Mare Barrow," I say with confidence. "That life, so simple, no lies, no complicated, twisted love triangles."

"Don't forget about how in that life there's me, which is pretty much the best part!" Kilorn says dramatically.

Oh! I just remembered you have to try this drink, I'll be right back with two cups," he continued.

I nodded and looked at my hands, thinking. I lied to Kilorn. I wouldn't go back to the Stilts. No matter how twisted it may seem, but I'd choose the life of The Little Lightning Girl every time. If I had never left the Stilts, I could've had a friendly marriage with Kilorn. But I've never held a romantic interest in Kilorn, and never will.

With Cal, it was different. This was the first time I've ever felt actual love, Maven wasn't the same. Perhaps I loved him, but now I know whatever I loved- his mother told him to act that way. No matter what happens, I do know Cal cared for me- still does actually. Although I shouldn't, I still do as well.