A Monday update, as promised! Above is a fanmade video of Mare and Maven's relationship. As always, like and comment!
Enjoy! "Rise, red as the dawn."
Mare
I drop to the ground, but my eyes never close. The icy snow melts against my back, but I feel nothing. My arms can't find the strength to push me back up. My finger cannot twitch. It's a strange sensation, as though I'm out of my body, and have no control. But yet I can watch everything.
Maven touches a hand to his cheek and drags his fingertips down the side of his face. With a shaky hand, he stares at my blood running down his pale fingers. The way he looks at my blood upon his hands, a stranger might believe he murdered someone. He glances at my form splayed across the snow and observes my eyes. My eyes are the only part of me I still have control of, and Maven seems to notice.
"You have so much of that drug inside of you that you can't be put out. So the tranqs do their best, and send you into temporary paralysis." Maven chuckles at the situation and drags his hand over my face. My hand refuses to slap him, and my legs protest to running. My eyes blaze into his, expressing my hatred in the only way I can. I don't feel the blood he's spread onto my face, I can't sense the sticky, warm glop. Although just by the way Maven looks at me, I know it's there.
Laying in the snow, I imagine how weak I look in the eyes of others. The little lightning girl, crumpled in the ice-cold snow; she is at the mercy of the king.
I feel weak, too. Manacles do not chain me; instead, I am a prisoner to my own body. I have absolutely no clue whether the newbloods made it to safety; perhaps they'll freeze to death instead. And Cal is still out there, at the king's mercy. I control nothing. Not even my own pinky finger.
Maven slides one arm under my knees, and the other under my back. Cal was the strong one physically, and Maven was weak. But it seems the boy king has grown and picks me up with ease.
"Sentinels, she is no danger in present form. I will bring her back." The men solemnly nod their heads and clear a path for their king to walk through. The corridor we enter is long and wide, probably a direct shot to the throne room. As Maven carries me, I understand his plan. He wants to show my paralyzed corpse off to the high houses of the palace and make himself look strong. But in paramount, he wants me to feel weak. The little lightning girl is nothing. As we pass a group of palace courtiers, Maven shouts something to them, and they cheer gleefully. I'm too wrapped in my thoughts to listen.
A single tear slips out of my eye, as Maven enters the throne room. Silver houses congregate in the massive area, screaming at one another. However, the second they lay eyes on the king and the pathetic red girl he has in his arms they go silent.
"The wretched little lightning girl has been captured. And she will be punished for her sins." Wretched. I see they've added a new word.
Many of the silvers call for my head. They're the ones who have tear stained eyes, their elaborate makeup smudged on their faces. I killed one-hundred guards.
One hundred parent's children.
It wasn't my ambition to murder those silvers. But with that power- enhancing tonic inside of me, my electrokinesis was off the walls, and impossible to control.
But I can't say I wasn't angry, either. Maven kept those newbloods held captive and experimented on. I had to do whatever it took to buy them time for escape.
It just so happened that the price of nine individual's freedom was one-hundred silver lives.
"Mare Barrow killed one-hundred of our people today. And for what? Nothing." I want to scream at the top of my lungs that he's lying. Your king is a liar. A filthy liar, who is nothing but a boy who wears a crown a top his head. "We captured the newbloods my science team had been using to gain a substantial understanding of. And unfortunately, our Sentinels were forced to dispose of them, after their behavior outside." Liar! I scream in my head. They got away with the serum and you know it. There was absolutely no chance they were captured. "The newbloods were in good hands. We treated them with care and respect. And they repay us by murdering our own." Maven glances towards a group of newbloods huddled in the corner. He wants to inspire fear among them, so they don't step out of line.
The anger I feel is enough for my finger to twitch. In most cases, the slightest movement of my right index finger shouldn't mean anything. But with the serum pumping through my veins, it enough to bring down one final bolt of lightning. An electric purple band of lightning crashes through the glass ceiling and spirals down to the floor, landing dead center in the throne room. Silvers fling themselves to the outskirts of the room, just in time as giant glass shards descend upon the floor. The shards shatter on impact, making a sickening sound as fragments sprawl across the room, cutting ankles all around.
I peer up at the upon night sky, as snow begins to filter through the ceiling cavity. Above the thick sheets of snow, a thick red circle has appeared, with a jumble of curved lines inside of it.
The Scarlet Guard's emblem. Although it could mean a multitude of things, I choose to believe it's a message for me and only me.
They made it. And we're going to win.
I lay on my mattress inside of my room. Not Mareeena's room, but the little lighting girl's room. The walls are slabs of silent stone, and I do my best to pretend they don't effect me. It's been hours since the escape, and I've regained motion. But my heart's still, so worried it might never beat again. While I have faith the newbloods made it to safety, my mind wanders to Cal. It seems Maven is the only person who knows his location and has total control over his fate.
I also wonder about my fate. Maven's entire court wants me as a corpse, and I worry it'll only be a matter of time before they get their wish. Only Maven stands between them and me. Thinking back to a breakfast between Maven and me, I remember how he promised he would protect me from Evangeline, no matter what. These days I contemplate whether it's true now. Evangeline was one thing. A court of silvers is another.
I sigh as I rip off my snow soaked coat no one bothered to take off. The damp fabric peels of my skin, leaving me in a thin training jacket and leggings. The coat gets thrown over to the corner of the room, smacking against a slab of stone. But in the process, a piece of paper fluttered onto the bed from the coat pocket.
Dear Mare: This is Farley, and I can explain everything.
I didn't die the night of the ball, I had a chest piece that absorbed the shock. The rest of it was just an act. Let me start by apologizing for blackmailing Cal. I tore your relationship apart, and I shouldn't have. But I was also being blackmailed by a Lakelands silver official. He said because I was close to Cal, I needed to force him onto the throne, so the Lakelands could have influence. He told me if I didn't comply he would take Clara. The man is dead now.
My love for your brother was real and still is. He was the only person I ever told my secret to, and I swear on my life I never influenced him in any way. I am a silver, but far from average. I joined the Scarlet Guard, pretending I was red because I knew your kind would never accept me if they knew the truth. Ever since I was a small girl I have always sympathized with reds.
If you never wish to speak to me, I understand. But I promise, after all, I've done to you, the least I will do is save you from Maven. I wish I could explain more, but it's too risky. Harrick might never get the message to your coat pocket.
Rise, Red as the Dawn.
Tears spring from my eyes. But I don't give myself the chance to analyze the letter because I know soon enough someone will take it from me. Rushing to the faucet, I crumple the paper into a ball and run it under the cold water. I watch as any trace of Farley's promise disintegrates.
Footsteps rush down the hallway and bolt into my room. Maven appears in my bathroom doorway, looking frantic.
"What was it?"
A smile plays at my lips. "You'll never know."