I am so so so so so sorry for the really long period of inactivity…. Life happened, I guess! Anyway, enjoy, review, favorite, or just read! Thanks! :D
Maven. He's always there, in reality or in my mind. I can't trust him, not now, not ever. Even though… part of me wants too. Part of me knows that there is a chance the Scarlet Guard will fail, that I might actually have to life my life, married to him, as queen. I don't know what I saw as my future in the stilts, besides dieing in the choke, but this is far from it. And the way Maven looks at me, with his mother's eyes, is on the the line between simple longing and full on obsession. And I won't deny it. I loved him. But I loved Cal too, and for all I know he's dead.
But for all Maven's faults, he's not evil. He wants to kill his mother. To help me, to help himself. He wants to help me. Unless- unless this is all just another plot, leaving the Scarlet guard in worse shape than it is already, or just to bring me down. But in this palace of lies and whispers, he might be a powerful ally. My friends in the Guard, with all their newbloods abilities still might not be much help.
John's words nag at the back of my mind. Maybe I am meant to do this alone. But Maybe he's a liar, just like the rest of us.
I'm meeting Maven for dinner. I've already told Granny, and she's going to see if she can be the servant attending us, to have one more set of ears. And also, I hope, help me know where exactly Maven's loyalties lie. To bad we don't have our own Elara, someone who can worm their way into our enemies heads. Maven said to meet him at his office at five. I don't know what he wants, I can find my way to the dining hall well enough by myself.
Red maids circle me, and I feel similar to how I felt on my wedding day, all covered in powers and glosses and silk. My dress is simple though, a knee length combination of red and silver. Fitting, I suppose. One maid tells me Maven had it made just for me. I refrain from rolling my eyes.
One girl escorts me to Maven's office. It's like they can't trust me to get anywhere. Then she winks at me. Granny. Of course. Someone might get suspicious if a certain red servant was always hovering around the new red queen. She has to change her look.
Granny leads me down the hallways, and even though I don't know the castle super well, I know this isn't the most direct route.
We're in what looks like a servants quarter. Granny hands something to me and whispers in my ear, "It's a listening device. It will record your conversations. The king will probably want to keep you're meeting private." It's shaped very much like a hair pin, so I slip it in my hair. Then Granny leads me to Maven.
I don't know why I'm nervous. It's not like this is a date… But my palms are sweating, and i'm wondering what he'll think of me. Neither of us have anything to prove though. We are already married. But he wants me to love him. I don't know what I want. Will loving him make this any easier?
Granny knocks on the door, and walks away. She's leaving me?! I don't know I can do this by myself.
Maven opens the door. His hair is tousled, and the top button on his shirt is unbuttoned. He looks tired and a little childish. But also, kind of cute. In a way.
"Mare." He says. I can't detect the tone of his voice.
"Maven." I say, trying to sound as professional as possible. I am a queen. And he is a king. He taps his fingers on his leg. He's nervous too. He smooths his hair, then smiles. And I want to cry, because it almost looks exactly like Cal's. Almost.
He walks out and shuts the door. Then, before I can do anything, he grabs my hand.
"Shall we?" He asks.
A part of me realizes I could shock him, right here, right now. But then what? Face Elara's wrath? Face the wrath of the whole silver court. If- no, when I kill him, it will be planned out much better than this.