H is for Hate
Takes place following the events of Glass Sword. Maven and Mare have an alliance of sorts.
It's just temporary, it's just an alliance, it's just for the good of the country.
Her excuses all run into each other, each failing to cease the extreme guilt in her chest and make her feel better about what she's doing. She'd started reciting them to herself every night before bed in an effort to make sense of her actions.
But the truth is she can't justify what she's doing. Not to her family, not to Cal, and especially not to herself. So, she settles for muttered half-truths in the dead of night and keeping her face out of sight of anyone who might make her role in the palace known.
It works, usually. Except when she's alone and it's quiet. She hates the quiet. It makes her think which is something she generally tries to avoid these days.
She's in the middle of one of these excruciating silences when the door to her chambers open and a lone figure slips through the small crack. She doesn't look up, knowing who it is and wishing he didn't elicit the small thrill in her body.
"It's over."
His voice is like a slap to the cheek. She nods once, refusing to acknowledge his accomplishment and skill in ending a century long conflict.
"And now what?" She asks, still keeping her eyes focused on the table before her.
"Now we turn our attention to the internal conflict within Norta." His voice hardens. "Namely the civil brewing within the High Houses and the rebellion amongst the Reds."
The Reds. He never acknowledges that she's red, that she was a main driving force of the rebellion he's speaking of. Somehow he knows that she doesn't belong there. The same way she knows he doesn't belong in a gilded palace with a shiny crown on his hand and flames dancing at his fingertips.
"You have to do as promised." She looks up at him now. He's not wearing his father's crown and he looks so much like the boy she once knew that her heart hurts. "The whole reason we started …whatever this is…was so that we could help this country. Ending the Lakelander conflict was just one step. Now, you have to help my people."
"I told you." Maven's smile is almost feline. "I'm a man of my word."
His words conjure images of a battleground and bloodshed and excruciating pain that burn so bright she has to close her eyes. When she opens them, he's standing much closer and wearing a serious look on his face. "I will help." He promises solemnly. "Not just for Norta. For you, and for Thomas."
She trusts him, instinctively, even though it has never done her any good. "Thank you." She murmurs, ignoring the way her skin heats as he places one hand on her cheek.
His hand lands on the curve of her waist, where the material of her shirt rides up a tiny bit to expose a strip of bare skin. It exudes a gentle heat, enough to warm her frozen limbs and breathe some life into her cold body.
He looms over her, his proximity doing strange things to her heart. "We shouldn't do this," she whispers even as her body comes alive beneath his touch.
He smirks cruelly. "Keep telling yourself that, Mare. One day you'll believe it."
Her eyes fly open and she grips his wrist so hard her nails dig into his skin. "I hate you," she hisses and the sincerity of her words ring clear.
His words match hers in conviction. "I hate you too."
And then he's kissing her, hips pressing against hers, forcing his way into her mouth. Their collision is not graceful nor is it gentle. Instead, they're a mess of clashing lips and teeth and tongues until he has her up against the wall and her legs are wrapped around his waist.
She hates the way her body shudders when he lifts her shirt over her head and touches her oh so gently in the places she longs for. She hates the pleasure she feels when he's inside of her and hates the way he says her name like it's salvation when he finishes.
But most of all, she hates the way her heart aches when he carries her to the bed and sets her carefully on the sheets. Because she knows he'll be gone soon enough, he never stays the night, and her body will still be craving his touch.
Tonight, the Lakelands and Norta made peace for the first time in one hundred and five years. Tomorrow, they will begin work on fixing a fractured country and ending years of segregation and harsh treatment.
She doesn't know how many more nights they'll share. So tonight, she grips his arm and pulls him down onto the mattress next to her.
"You know they won't let you live." She speaks a while later, after their breathing has slowed and the sweat has dried on their bodies. "The Reds, the Silvers, everyone. Even if you do end the rebellion and bring back peace, Cal will still be alive. He will tell everyone the truth about how you came to power. No one will accept a king who built his throne on bloodshed and lies. And then he will hunt you and he won't stop until you're six feet under."
"And I suppose you'll help him?" His tone is defeated. "Whisper in his ear about all of my weaknesses that you've surely discovered in the last few months? Stand by his side and recount the night my father died to the masses?"
"And then I guess I'll marry him. Become a dutiful wife to the perfect prince."
His laugh is bitter. "Living out your life with the oh-so-righteous Cal. That sounds more like a prison than anything I've done to you."
"Shut up." But it's hard to inject real anger into her voice when she hasn't seen the man in question or felt his touch for almost six months.
"My brother sees the world in black and white, Mare. Either you're good or you're evil. There's no in between. He doesn't understand how you can be both selfish and selfless. He doesn't understand that all the bitterness and destruction is a cover for how wretched and lonely you are on the inside. He doesn't know your pain. He doesn't understand how you can love a monster."
She stiffens. "When have I ever told you I love you?"
"But you do don't you?" He shifts so that she's pressed against his side, his hand spanning her rib cage.
"Yes." She admits, kissing his shoulder and resting her head on his chest, "And that's the part I hate most of all."
Author's Note: I know their relationship is wrong and screwed up but then again, so are Maven and Mare. If you don't like, don't read. But I really hope you guys enjoy this and please review!
P.S. If I had to explain the alliance, I would say that since Maven doesn't really want to persecute thousands of Reds and Mare doesn't really want a country-wide war against Maven, they've teamed up to end the rebellion peacefully. Maven is hinted as being a political genius in the books and I wanted to see one of his positive character traits in action for once.