John contacted me today. He's found his place in Maven's court, as a royal adviser. Apparently you're pretty valuable if you can see far into the future, much farther than the Eagrie eyes at least. To say that guy give me the creeps is an understatement.
I haven't pestered Maven about the list since last week. I haven't even talked to him since last week. I can't bring myself to do it. John tells me eventually things will work themselves out, with exactly that much detail. So basically, I'm seventy percent sure I won't die.
I go down to the training room. Technically, I'm supposed to be like, all powerful, and whatever, but I was thrown into this whole "ability" thing a little unorthodox, to say the least. I have a long way to go before I can even be half as powerful as Maven or Elara.
I hurl bolt after bolt at the dummies lining the wall, frying them one after the other. Soon, I'm standing in a circle of charred figures, painting, but feeling more powerful than ever. I hear someone come in, and I don't hesitate, sending a ball of electricity their way.
"Mare." Maven's voice echos in the large room, cold, and disconnected.
"Sorry." I squeak. Killing the king of Norta is a pretty bad way of getting people to like me.
Maven brushes it off like I didn't almost kill him. "That all you got?" He asks, a playful tone in is voice. He turns to someone behind him I can't quite see. "Sentinel Provos?"
The pieces of the training room shift, until the form a small arena around me and Maven. It's hard not to remember the time when evangeline almost spilt my blood here for all to see.
"Let's see what you've learned." Maven says.
"Let's see some silver blood." I mutter.
Apparently maven heard me. "Fiesty Little Lightning Girl." He jokes.
"Don't call me that." I sneer, the hurl a bolt of lightning at him. He sidesteps it easily, and crashes into the wall, leaving a black mark.
"That all you got?" Maven waves his arm, and a wall of fire encircles me.
I form a shield around myself, much like the one covering the queen's trial arena, the one I fell on. I've never really tried this before. I charge through the wall of fire, none of it getting through my shield and burning me. Surprised I didn't get burned alive, I weaken my shield for a moment, and a fireball whizzes past my head, singing a few hairs. We trade blows of lightning and fire, until he has me pinned against the wall, bombarding me with giant balls of fire. I struggle to keep my shield up, as well as try to push him back with attacks of my own.
"Yield?" Maven asks.
"No." I wince. My sleeve is on fire. Without thinking, I charge him, and take him to the ground. Now we're fighting my way, hand to hand. And from all my practice beating up Kilorn, I'm pretty good at this.
I have Maven pinned, and I repeatedly punch him in the face, until silver blood drips from his nose. "Yield?" I ask, grinning, starting to stand up.
"Never." He manages to smile before filling the box with smoke, and I start to black out from lack of oxygen.
"Yield." I groan, and the smoke clears. The arena disassembles around us, and a healer comes to tend to our wounds. Mostly Maven's.
But I can't even celebrate that small victory, Because Elara stands in the doorway, glaring at me.
"Maven." She says, he voice cold. "What are you doing? You're a king. We can get Miss Barrow a trainer, seeing she clearly needs it." Blood rushes to my face. "But you shouldn't waste your time beating up reds."
"She's no common red, mother." Maven says, clearly annoyed. "She's queen of Norta, and who better to help her, than her husband, the king? At that I blush again. "Come on Mare, we're going to my quarters." Now, even my ears are a deep scarlet.
Even though we're married, Maven and I don't share a bed. We don't even share a room. So when I enter his quarters I don't know what to think.
His room looks alot like mine, just bigger and more masculine looking. But I don't have much time to observe it, because as soon as he closes the door, Maven pushes me up against the wall and kisses me hard. Without even thinking, I kiss back. His hands are on my hips, and mine are running through his hair. I've never felt this way with Cal. Never felt the raw energy me and Maven have. But then it hits me how wrong this is. The Scarlet Guard needs me. And I can't help them if I'm in love with the boy they want to kill.
I pull away. "Maven."
"Shhh. He says, putting his finger to my lips. Then he starts to kiss me again.
I turn my head. "Maven!"
"Is this about my mother?" He asks. "Because I'm dealing with her."
"No."
"Then why push me away, Mare?"
"I- I.." I sputter.
He takes a step back. "Is this about Cal?" He asks, angry now.
"What! No I- I choose you!"
"Then what's wrong?"
"I don't know if I'm ready for this… Maven, I may love you, but you did an awful thing."
"I saved you, didn't I?" He says as if it justifies every wrong he's ever committed.
"Is that even matter when thousands of reds die every day, because you betrayed the Scarlet Guard?" This could have been fixed months ago, Maven."
"The Scarlet Guard were a threat to my country. And you know Cal wouldn't have ever chosen you anyway. I have a plan, okay?" He says, brushing me off.
"Fine. What is your plan, exactly? Start another war? Send even more reds to die? Lower the conscription age to 13?"
"If I simply just declared reds equal, the high houses would rebel. We would be killed, and we'd be back to square one. Okay? I'm trying, Mare. Can't you see I'm trying? I'm doing this for you."
I see the hurt, the pain in his face. And my traitorous, traitorous, head over heels in love heart believes him. If he declared reds equal, it's very likely that he'd be assassinated. Every silver would be out to get him. He wouldn't last a week.
I hang my head. "I'm sorry." I say. I'm still mad. But there's nothing Maven can do to help the reds. Only the Scarlet Guard can do that now.