A Game Of Chess

4. Replaceable

Delvince Rei

It is getting harder and harder not to walk up to her, grab her waist and pull her close. My hands are tingling and I cannot feel my own presence in the ballroom a second longer. My breathing is the only stable thing about me, in through my nose and out through my mouth.

Warning my sister was only to do something useful and distracting at the same time, my mind got to fed up with thinking about her. Wondering why she is still too far away from me. Almost as if she doesn't care about me anymore, does she even remember the memories that we share?

The tapping of my foot against the base of my throne increases and I notice the peering eyes of Titan on my right, I don't trust him, so I stop my actions and scan the ballroom. This was all for her, to welcome her into my home, my kingdom and my life. And what does she do? Take it all for granted, wandering through my people like she owns the place. As if she could murder them all in a matter of seconds, wanting to but not able to do so.

She finally turns toward me, eyes meeting and capturing mine for a while. I can see the growing smirk on her pretty face, so fed up with her own power. It is disgusting. It was then that she turns around, continuing her way to the middle of the room again. Totally ignoring me.

I shoot from my throne and make my way towards her, my people making a place for me as our distance lessens. "Solace." I demand, grasping her wrist before she can escape me. "What?" Eyes batting innocent. "Don't play dumb." She smiles and I begin to feel my hand heating. "Why would I play dumb, It's much more fun to outsmart the king of Tallis." Her eyes shift to where I hold her, looking up after seeing my red skin. "Take your hand off me or I will set your skin on fire instead of heating it up." Now it is my time to claim victory and lay my other hand on her side, leaning close to her ear. "Remember your signature, love. Hurting me results in your death." I can feel her blood boiling under her skin, fire crying to rise to surface level.

The hot touch on her skin stays, she simply doesn't want to back down. Just enough heat not to burn, so controlled that it only annoys me instead of actually causing pain.

But I won't let her win and wrap my hand around her waist, holding her hand so that a dance can begin. "Follow the lead," I say and begin my steps. She does as she is told without muttering any sound, though her expression says it all.

If it was not for her signature melted with mine, I would be dead and six feet under.

"Did you miss my company?" She stays silent for a little while, as I swirl her body around joining with mine after. "Does it look like I did?" My mouth forms itself in a tight line and I take a deep breath. "You know, Delvince, the world doesn't revolve around you. Even if you go to another room, when you close your eyes for a good nights rest in your kingly bed and when you finally take your last bit of oxygen in your lungs the world will keep on turning. There's always another person waiting to take your spot, whether it be your reign or your lover. In the end, your existence does not matter. Because you are just like the rest of us, easily replaceable."

"You're not."

She's not even taken aback at my words. "Everyone, including me." The musical piece and dancing routine asks us to switch partners and so we do. I get to dance with someone's wife, noticing her ring around her finger. I don't even know who she is, normally I know everyone in my castle and alarm myself when I don't. Since spies have been crawling around for a little while now. But now my being is worried about a stupid redhead that is not running back into my arms like I expected her to do.

A few minutes before our bodies are joined again and she still has this hateful gaze projecting in her eyes as she watches me. "I'd like to prove you wrong." She scoffs. "Go ahead, prove to me that no one's spot is easily taken." I take my time to look around and come up with a good argument that does not sound ridiculous.

"My successor," I start and only stop when I hear her chuckle. "Yes, your successor. When you get murdered, all of your little contracts will vanish and they will turn against you. Against your sister and as you do not have an heir yet, your line will die. The monarchy of Tallis will collapse and the black queen will take your throne as she did with Illion. And after her downfall, when she does not bear a child at least, there will be a power vacuum. Powerful people will riot against each other for the power that she left behind and we will be in an even more uncontrollable war." I stare at her blatantly. "You have figured it all out, congratulations."

A wicked twinkle could be seen in her brown eyes, victory.

"Now, tell me how you see the future. What do you need my [particular, talents, for?" She acted as if she was actually interested. Though I knew better, Sol only tried to get information out of me. Information that she could use against me. "Protection," I state as I turn her body a few times to the sound of the music. Her dress following her graceful body like a ghost. "Killing." And again. "To use you to my advantage." I say as I get to hold her in my arms again, continuing our steps together. "No feelings?" She asks me.

Risky.

"I burned those many years ago." She smiled, it catching up to her eyes and cheeks. "Ah, finally something that we can relate to."