Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try to work on it. Callista is only going to be about 5'3 to 5'4 so I don't want to make Stayne too tall, so for this story the max he'll be is 6'6. At least for now I might change their height in the future.
Stayne POV
Iracebeth and I were again arguing about how to get out of this barren wasteland called the outlands and if we should try to make up with Mirana when someone said, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
I turned around to see Callie on her horse Adrian. She looked just like she had when I left her and the rest of the White Queen's side. Her curly brown hair was pulled back in a bun and a few strands framed her face. She was dressed in a black blouse and a floor length black skirt with her signature black flower in her hair. She sat on Adrian like she was royalty. She looked absolutely beautiful.
"No absolutely not," I said.
"Good because Mirana wants me to bring you back to Marmoreal," she said.
"What makes you think I'll go back with you," Iracebeth said.
"Well either you can go with me now or you can stay here in the outlands. You're choice. You have five minutes to make up your mind before I leave," Callie said.
Iracebeth didn't say a word after that. She just followed me and Callie back to Marmoreal. Callie didn't acknowledge or talk to us once, when we stopped for the night she continued to not speak a word to either me or Iracebeth, she just stayed near Adrian. I knew that I had hurt her, but I didn't think I had this badly.
We reached Marmoreal the next day where some members of the guard met us at the gate. They led Iracebeth and me to the throne room where we would see Mirana. While the guards began leading us into the castle I noticed Callie turn her horse in a different direction and vanish.
Callista POV
After we reached Marmoreal and I told the guards at the gate that Iracebeth and Stayne had a meeting with Mirana I headed for the stables. It took me about fifteen minutes to reach there and when I did instead of handing Adrian over to the stableman like usual. I walked Adrian over to his stall.
Like the rest of the castle and the buildings that surrounded it the stable was all white. Adrian's stall was the only one that had another color besides white and the black paint the horses' names were written in. Adrian's door had a black club painted on it with his name written on top of it in bright red. His blanket was a plaid red and black one.
I left the stable after rubbing down Adrian, putting new water in his tub, and bringing him some fresh hay. I then entered the castle through a side door near the stables and headed up to my chambers where I showered, washed my hair, and changed into some fresh clothes. I put on a dark purple dress with silver spirals at the sleeves, collar, and hem of the skirt. I kept my hair down, but put in a pin that was in the shape of a flower and was the same color as the dress. I then headed for the throne room.
In the throne room…..
When I entered the throne room I couldn't believe the words that came from Mirana:
"Iracebeth of Crimms you will be kept under constant watch, but you will be allowed access to most of the rooms in the castle. You are never allowed to leave the castle without my consent and you are never allowed out of your chambers without a member of the guard.
" Ilosovic Stayne since you have said you have truly repented and will rejoin our side you will be admitted back into the guard, you may receive your old position back if the head of the guard and, or I decided you are loyal enough to have it back. You will work your way up from the bottom and will be under constant watch by the head of the guard until you begin to prove your loyalty to me and the rest of the white kingdom."
"That's it, the queen's gone mad. Those two should be locked up in the dungeon if she wants to keep them here not able to live in the castle," I said to Tarrant after Mirana had finished.
"She knows what she's doing," Tarrant replied.
"After all she wouldn't make a decision if she thought it would harm Underland, now would she?" Alice said.
"Who asked you?" I responded.
"Everyone but Iracebeth and Alice may leave. I wish to speak to the two of them alone," Mirana said before the rest of us meaning Tarrant, McTwisp, Mally, Stayne, and I left.
Tarrant left us in the hallway saying that he needed to go back to his work shop to finish some hats and veils for one of the women of the court's wedding. McTwisp then left saying he had to drop off something in the mail room while Mally said she'd go with him. Stayne and I were then left alone in the hallway.
"Follow me and I'll show you to your chambers. Tomorrow I'll go over your schedule and what rooms you'll be eligible to enter," I said before heading right down the corridor. Stayne then turned around and followed me.
I'm so going to get those three back for leaving me alone with him!
When we finally made it to the corridor where both of our rooms were located. Unfortunately that's what happens when you're both the head of the queen's guard. "Here are your chambers mine are across the hall. Knock on my door if you have any questions. Dinner will be in a few hours, I'll come get you to take you to where we eat."
"Callie," I heard him whisper as I was opening the door to my chamber.
"What Stayne?" I replied. You could hear the annoyance quite easily.
"Callie I want to apologize for everything. I'm not even sure why I left you and the White Queen's court."
It's too late for your apologies," I said while going back to my room and shutting the door behind me.
"Callie please give me a chance to explain," Stayne said while stopping the door with his foot and entering the room.
"Why? So you can tell me you love me, make me fall for you again, and then leave me for someone else again," I said while throwing one of the pillows on the couch next to me at him.
"Callista, I'm sorry I left, but if you listened to me you'd know that…." Stayne said as I shoved him out the door and locked it behind him.
Why can't that good for nothing, lying, deceitful, bastard just leave me alone? Isn't it bad enough that he's broken my heart once?
Dinner….
A half hour before dinner I left my room and knocked on Stayne's door. "Yes?" he said from inside.
"If you want to eat then come with me to the dining room," I said while waiting for him to come out.
On our way down to dinner he kept on trying to apologize, but I kept on ignoring him. When we reached the dining room we found Tarrant, McTwisp, Mallyumpkin, Mirana, and Alice all at the table. I sat down at my usual spot to the right of the queen and on Tarrant's left while Stayne stood awkwardly in the corner. "Stayne why don't you sit in between Alice and Mallyumpkin," Mirana replied when she noticed him.
"Of course your majesty," Stayne responded while taking his seat between a unhappy Alice and Mallyumpkin.
After dinner I returned to my chambers where I locked the door and went over a map of Underland trying to figure out what could be causing problems in Durmtean. Hopefully Stayne will finally take the hint that I don't want to talk to him and that I'm not going to give him a second chance.
Stayne POV
After dinner I pulled the hatter aside telling him that I wanted to talk to him alone. He then told me to follow him. We stopped at a door in an area of the castle that I wasn't too familiar with. He opened the door and I realized he had taken me to his work shop.
"What do you want Stayne," Hatter said after closing and locking the door behind him.
"I want to talk to you about Callie. I know that the two of you are really close and I figured that you might be able to help me."
"All right. Go on," he replied.
"I want to win her back, but she won't even listen to me. I need your help."
"Have you tried to apologize?"
"I have, but she won't listen to me."
"Then you are going to need to prove your loyalty to her and the White Queen."
"How am I going to do that if she can hardly stand to be in the same room as me?"
"There's an easy way that I can help you with. All it involves is changing your armor."
Hatter then disappeared farther into the room grabbing some material, "What we need to do is bring out the old you. The one that Callie fell in love with."
"You think that will work?"
"It's worth a shot besides it's the only plan I have and unless you want to involve someone else in this like Mallyumpkin or Nivens you are going to have to work with what I've got."
"No I'll stick with this. What do you need me to do?"
"First of all remove the eye patch. I know for a fact she hates that and if she finds your eye disgusting we'll just get you a patch in a different shape."
I then removed the eye patch from my face and looked at the mirror in front of me. It wasn't that bad. Scratches ran across my left eye to my cheek. My eye itself was glassy and looked like there was a film over it. Thanks to that dumb Jubjub bird I'm blind in my left eye and will have those scratches for the rest of my life.
"Good now change out of your armor and into this," said the Hatter while throwing some fabric into my room and shoving me towards a changing screen. I then changed out of the armor that I had worn different variations of for the last ten years of my life into a black turtle neck and black slacks.
"Now go try to talk to her and if that doesn't work give it a rest for the night and try again tomorrow," Hatter said before shoving me out of the room.
Callista POV
About two hours after dinner I heard a knock on my door. I opened it up to see Stayne, but he didn't look like the one I had grown accustomed to over the last ten years. He looked like his old self like the version of him I had fallen in love with.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.
"Sure," I replied.
"Look I know that I've said this a thousand times but I really truly am sorry Callie. Iracebeth offered me power and I wanted it so badly that I didn't realize that if I followed her I'd loose you. I haven't stopped thinking of you. I've only wanted your forgiveness since I saw you on Frabjous (is that the right spelling?) Day. That's why I wanted to come back to the White Queen's Court I wanted to see you, I wanted you to love me again, I wanted everything to go back to the way things were before. Please Callie give me another chance," he said.
"I don't know Stayne. I'm not sure if I can trust you like that again. I'm not sure if I ever will be able to again."
"Callie, please give me a second chance. I don't know how to live without you."
Stayne POV
Oh what's the point in even begging her to take me back! She'll never forgive me! I should just give up and go back to my room!
"Ilsovoic I forgive you," she whispered, but I didn't notice she said it I was too lost in my thoughts.
Suddenly I felt her lips brushing against mine and I realized she had forgiven me. I responded to the kiss and soon deepened it moving my tongue across her smooth sweet lips that she quickly parted allowing me access to her whole mouth. When we had to stop for air she stepped back into her room where we kissed more. I wanted her so bad I made to move for her dress but as I did she stopped me saying, "No not tonight Stayne, not tonight."
"Of course," I said remembering another night in this room when I tried the same thing, but failed. Callie told me she wanted to wait until after she was married, we were married.
"Callie what happened to you after I left? Hatter said that I had killed you."
"In a way you did kill me. When you left I became a shell of my former self. I continued to serve the queen but I didn't show any emotion. I didn't try to fall in love with anyone. I was oblivious to the rest of the world. Tarrant, McTwisp, and Mallyumpkin all tried to cheer me up, but nothing they tried ever worked."
"I'm sor….." I started to say but I was interrupted by Callista beginning to kiss me again. When we finally broke apart she told me to stop apologizing. That night I slept with her in her bed, but nothing happened.
The end! Of the chapter anyways. They still have to deal with that problem in the other part of the country. Besides do you really think I'm going to leave the couple there.