3 Song Suggestions!

Queue: I Bust the Windows Out Your Car by Jazmine Sullivan. (Karaoke or Instrumental)

Mare: 3 Days Before the Wedding

Maven rolls to the side, catching his breath.

"If I knew that working with you would be like this, I would have done it months ago."

I laugh and run a hand through my hair.

"We all make our mistakes," I say with a smile. "Your taste in music has changed."

When I first dropped by I noticed the music no longer sounded like it was played by dozens of instruments, but a select few.

"It's been awhile since I even thought of this kind so I figured why not?"

"What do you mean?"

Maven sits up, swinging his legs to the side of the bed. "This music isn't exactly court appropriate. Now," he stands and, to my pleasure, is void of clothing, "where are my pants?"

I laugh and reach down and grab them.

I toss them and he catches them with one hand. I laugh at his messy hair.

"So why is this music not appropriate?" I reach down again and grab Maven's now wrinkled, buttoned-down shirt and put it on.

"Well," he says from the bathroom, probably to smooth out his hair.

I button up most of the shirt and as I stand it falls to mid-thigh. Maven is leaner than Cal but he stands just as tall.

"The dance that's suppose go along with it, is what's not appropriate. It's a bit...intimate. Seductive."

He comes out of the bathroom, hair now tamed. I walk over to him and grab his hand and lead him to an open space in the room.

"So teach me," I say. I take his hand and place it on my waist. A memory flashes into my mind.

"We used to dance until dawn—at least, Cal did. Girls didn't ask me to dance much, not unless Cal made them."

"I would ask you to dance," I murmur back to him.

"Mare, I-"

"Anything not suited for court is suited for me," I say with a smile. "Besides, we're no stranger to both of those things. Well, I am. You could step up your seductive game a bit."

Maven raises his eyebrows. "Really? Well, we'll just have to fix that."

He suddenly takes my hand and extends it out against his arm, my back pressed against his bare chest. He places his other hand on my stomach and a chill courses through my entire body as I place my hand over his. And I'm afraid Maven can feel the butterflies in my stomach under his touch.

"Just follow my lead. And I promise you'll be fine."

I nod. "I trust you," I say without thinking. But when the words leave my mouth, I'm shocked to realize I mean them.

Maven starts off easy, moving us to the side, in time with the music. I'm thankful it's a slower pace, but my heart beats twice as fast.

His hand shifts and with a gentle push, I turn in his arms. I face him and he presses me closer him, my other arm now extended.

Maven gives me that smug smile before dipping me and sways. I clench hard onto his back and tightly grip his hand in mine. But his support never wavers.

My loose hair flows through the air as he shifts me from left to right and back again, before bringing me back up. Our faces inches apart.

He lets go of my hand and spins me out. We never break eye contact.

He extends his leg out and I understand. With a smile bring my leg over his. And his arm instantly goes to the small of my back and my hand back in his. As my other leg follows, I have an idea. Bending my knee, I bring my foot up to his thigh and slowly run it down his still extended leg. Then, switching legs, I raise up against his leg. Maven smiles, impressed that I'm catching on to this dance. I am too.

Feeling confident, I jump back over his leg. Maven's hand never leaves my waist.

My ankles cross and I have half a second to process what Maven plans next before he lifts and swings me to his other side. I gasp as my feet leave the ground, but I do not fall. Maven returns me to my previous spot by his side. I twirl away from him and with a smirk, I place my hand on his chest and move behind him and to his other side.

Maven smirks back and catches my other hand, we extend our arms like we're pulling away, then he pulls me back. My hand goes to his shoulder; we stand chest to chest.

He pulls me tighter and dips me one last time. When he brings me back up, I'm greeted by lively blue eyes and a shining white smile.

I can't help but so the same.

"Perfect," Maven says. He brings up his hand from my back and caresses my cheek. "Absolutely perfect."

This was the first time I ever danced anything close to what we just did. Let alone do it without incident or practice.

"Well, maybe your game isn't so bad after all," I say.

He smirks at this, "Thank you."

Queue: Lightweight by Demi Lovato

I rise on my tiptoes and wrap my arms around his neck and lean in.

I started this whole relationship with Maven because I wanted to distract him. But what I found is a sense of control. Not just over him but with myself. a different kind of strength.

Maven holds me close and I find myself savoring the moment.

"I should have been the one to teach you how to dance," Maven whispers in my ear.

I stop breathing altogether, not knowing what to think. I know what he means. How could I not? So many things would be different if he did.

But before I could think to say anything I hear a loud knock, not from the balcony, but from the door of Maven's chambers.

We pull apart from our embrace and my first instinct is to run to the balcony, but then I realize I'm wearing nothing but Maven's shirt. My clothes are scattered across the floor.

"Maven," I whisper.

"They must be here to talk about last minute plans. Normally, that's Isis's forte, but they must need my approval. Umm."

Maven frantically looks around and grabs what clothes of mine he can, I do the same. He shoves them into my hands.

"You'll have to hide in the closet," he says leading me towards the small room of clothes.

"What's wrong with the bathroom?"

"The damn room is obviously large, there'll be an echo and somebody will here. Our best bet is the closet. Any sound you make will be muffled by the clothes."

We reach the closet door and when Maven opens it I see it is big for a closet, but small for a room.

"But-" Then a second knock. It's suddenly getting very hard to breathe.

Maven takes my face in his hands and kisses me.

"I know," he says. "Okay. I know. But it will only be for a short time. I promise I will open that door as soon as it's over."

"Maven-"

"Mare, before you said you trusted me." He speaks quickly. "Trust me now to protect you."

I have no choice but to nod.

I take a deep breath and walk into the closet. Maven grabs a short sleeve shirt off a hanger a puts it on.

"I promise," he says. Then he closes the door without another word.

The room is dark. And for a moment I debate fumbling for a light switch. But I decide not to risk the noise. And I don't attempt to turn it on with my ability. Right now I can't focus, and I might turn on a light outside the room.

From what I saw before Maven closed the door, the closet is long and narrow, with clothes lining the walkway. I put my hand what feels like a jacket and I follow the line of clothing away from the door. When begin to feel my hand across clothes directly in front of me I stop, knowing I've reached the end of the closet.

I slowly shift down to my knees. And sort my clothes on the floor. I take off Maven's shirt, tossing it to the side and begin to pull on my clothes. If something goes wrong the last thing I need is to be caught naked in Maven's closet.

As I pull on my last shoe, my hand goes to my waist. I drop to the floor and feel around, but I come up empty. The horror dawns on me that I must have left my belt in the bedroom.

There's no retrieving it now. I hear voices coming from another room in the suite.

So I sit on the floor, knees tucked under my chin, and wait. As I do, it feels like the room is getting smaller. And I'm reminded of my time as a prisoner. The closet door isn't locked, but that doesn't mean I'm any less trapped.

I hold my hands out in front of me and call to my lightning. Purple sparks flicker in my palms, providing light to the room. Though there is not much to look at.

In the dim light, the clothes turn into creeping shadows, closing in on this supposed safe space. It's nauseating. And it soon becomes too much and I retract the lightning. Better not to be aware of how small the room is. Instead, I focus on my breathing and attempt to calm myself.

I hear more voices, someone else has entered their muffled conversation.

I might be able to hear what they're saying if it weren't for my heart pounding in my ears. I hear the voices get closer. The nauseating fear returns and I place my hand over my mouth and force the bile back down my throat.

I'm so scared I can barely keep from shaking.

Hours or seconds pass and I swear that I'm going to faint from hyperventilating. And just when I think I might, the closet door opens and a ray of dim light enters the room.

"Mare," I here Maven call in a soothing voice. "They're gone. I promise."

I stand from where I'm crouching and slowly approach the doorway. I reach for my lightning, just in case. In my gut, I no longer believe Maven will make me his prisoner, but my logical side tells me to be prepared.

He holds out his hand and gives me a comforting smile. I take it.

"What did they want?

"They wanted me to confirm what to do when we engage the Scarlet Guard. I told them we need to be in and out. Our focus must be on the Rift and the other rebelling houses. We won't harm them other than in self-defense."

I nod my head, thankful.

I almost don't tell him. It will make him hesitate. It might even ruin the whole plan and everything we've built. Buts it's better for him to hear this from me than from someone else.

"There is one change," I say. No going back now. "I'll be there."

The room drops ten degrees.

"What?"

I cross my arms, partly for the cold and also to prepare myself for an argument. Memories of fighting with Cal flash before my eyes. I assume a similar stance. Old habits die hard, I guess.

"I didn't know until yesterday. But we have it figured out."

His breath shudders. Maven reaches down to take my hands in his.

"Please come back to me," he whispers.

I blink at him. "That's it? That's all you have to say?"

Maven just shrugs. "What more is there to say? Even when you were a prisoner...I think we both know I was never fully in control. You're Mare and you will do what you please. And you won't let anyone or anything get in your way, no matter how long it takes."

"You really believe that?"

"With all the trouble you've given me, I know better than anyone that you can take care of yourself."

I give a small smile at this. "Well, I couldn't make it easy on you." That earns me a small smirk.

"Go," Maven says. "I have more things to look over."

"This late?"

"You know very well sleep isn't for people like us."

He brings his hand up and runs his thumb over the shadows under my eyes. Leave it to Maven to notice the littlest of things.

"Two days," he says.

"And then the battle truly begins."

Queue: Young Blood by Bea Miller

2 Days Before the Wedding

"Ow!"

"Well, stop moving and I won't poke you," Gisa complains.

"Do you really have to fix the dress while I wear it?"

"If your butt weren't so big I wouldn't have to."

"It's called muscle, Gisa. No need to be jealous."

When I catch her eye in the mirror she sticks her tongue out at me.

I roll my eyes. "You are such a child."

"And you're a brat."

"Claws in, girls," I hear mom call from downstairs. Apparently, our little fight became loud enough to hear throughout the house. Evidence of that is clear when Kilorn's head pokes through the door.

"Everyone decent?" He pretends to cover his eyes but he separates two fingers so he can see into the room anyway.

Gisa laughs. Her crush still going strong.

Kilorn plops down on my bed putting his feet up.

"Wow, Gee, never thought someone could create something so beautiful that it could distract from the permanent scowl and sour and bitter attitude."

Gisa laughs again and I shoot Kilorn a glance of said scowl.

It's been over a month since Kilorn and I ended our more intense relationship. Now we've returned to our friendship. And somehow, it feels even stronger.

"It was not without difficulty," Gisa says. "Mare certainly doesn't make it easy."

"She hardly ever does," Kilorn says.

"Can you two stop flirting and finish this dress, I have to pee."

"I told you to go before we started!" Gisa reclaims.

"I didn't have to go then."

"Well, move your hair out of the way, before I accidentally sew it into the dress."

I do as she says and I move my hair to the front of me.

Kilorn is right. The dress is beautiful. Perfect in every way. Though it may not be as flashy as what I used to wear at court, and given the fact that I gave her two days to do it, Gisa outdid herself.

The dress is fitted from the waist up dress, but below it falls to just above my knees in layers. The entire dress is black with a high collar front and back, covering my scars and brand. But my arms roam free and so do my calves. And briefly, I realize this is the first time I've ever worn a dress as myself.

The first time, I was a newly found Princess, and then as a prisoner. Maven had me dressed in long sleeved, floor length dresses. And other things that covered my manacles.

It's nice to feel free and be myself for once. And I despair that no one will ever see this masterpiece.

ANALYSIS

So first things first, I would like to give a shout out to two people. First, a guest recently pointed out a mistake I made in the first chapter! I went back to correct. That is totally my fault, I should have specified which character I was speaking of. So thank you.

Also, another supporter, who I love, reviewed about the amount of Foreshadowing I put in this story. I want to give you shout out because I genuinely appreciate these kinds of reviews. Because at the end of the day this story is for you guys and I want your reading experience to be three best as possible. So any tips you can give out any mistakes you spot, please let me know.

Back to the ANALYSIS!

In case you were wondering, that dance between Mare and Maven was, in fact, a tango. If you want to see what it really looked like, my inspiration was a YouTube video titled: "Veiled Threat - Clip 1" by WhiteCollaronUSA.

This is simple as far as a tango goes but remember that Mare is awful at dancing so of course Maven is going to go easy on her. And he's never had a partner for this dance as well.

The song I chose, I Bust the Windows Out Your Car, was used in what one YouTube video called a perfect tango in Dancing With The Stars.

I decided that the words distracted too much from the tension of the dance. And I wanted the instruments to speak for itself.

The second song choice was because I wanted to show how Mare has become both stronger and more vulnerable at the same time if that makes sense. I felt Lightweight was the best song. And yes, I've been waiting to write Mare as claustrophobic. I don't think I need to explain that one.

Next…

The friendship between Mare and Kilorn is finally healed! And I wanted to break the tension and add a little fun before we get serious again.

I wanted the last song choice to be a little more upbeat while Mare is with Gisa and Kilorn because everyone feels better when they're around true friends.