The In-Between

Chapter 3 - A Modest Proposal

I quickly changed into the long sleeveless white dress, cinched at the waist with a brown belt. I kept my nude block-heeled sandals and quickly checked my reflection. Good enough, I thought to myself.

I was not sure when my hands started shaking but I tried to calm them. I tried to remember that he would leave soon and that I would just need to make it to through this meeting. When I returned to the bedroom, Cal was gone, and my dagger was placed on my pillow.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to remember my plan. My plan to finally reunite with Ollie. It was so close I could taste it. I didn't dare try to picture what he would look like when I crossed over, but my heart ached at the thought of being able to see him again.

My magic whispered doubts to me, a tactic it often used to keep me from doing something reckless. Perhaps I'd reunite with Ollie in the Vale, but maybe we'd end up in two different places. Surely, whatever gods made the decision would not put sweet Ollie with heartless Adelaide for all our afterlife. No, I'd probably end up with all the other brutes somewhere deep in the ground. That would be my punishment after death. But perchance when I first crossed over, I would get to see him, even if it was just for an instant. That was all I needed him. I would gladly accept my punishment if it meant there was even a slight chance of seeing him again sometime in that eternity.

Pushing my thoughts of Ollie away, I prepared for the meeting.

When I entered the council chamber on the second floor – which was typically empty save for a considerable, ornate gold throne with black cushions – it contained a large table in the center surround by my councilors. I felt the tension, but also the excitement. Rivendall would finally be rid of me.

King Calden sat at the head of the table. I was sure it was the first of many passive aggressive antics to remind me that he was higher than me on the ladder of power. My face remained impassive. It would take much more than a seating chart to crack me. The chairs to his immediate left and right were vacant, but he motioned for me to sit at the other end of the table. An invitation, I quirked an eyebrow, how kind.

"I expected at least one snide remark by now, Adelaide." He drawled out my name as I took my seat directly across from him.

I lifted a shoulder in a shrug, then placed my elbows on the table, clasping my hands together in front of me. His onyx eyes bored into mine, as if he were trying to decipher what game I was playing. My icy blue eyes, mirror opposites to his dark ones, returned his gaze, not wavering from the coldness in them. I wondered if he could see that I was giving up. If he knew that part of me died that day on the battlefield. All that was left of me was a small part of me that knew I needed to keep in order to prevent this court from falling.

I wondered if Cal realized how much he had taken that day. I hoped he thought it was worth it. I hoped he relished in the fall of my court and the destruction of Ollie's. More than anything, I hoped he too had a gaping hole in his chest where his best friend had once been.

A councilor to my right cleared his throat, attempting to break our staring contest. I lifted my right hand and waved it offhandedly in his direction. The councilor erupted in blue flame briefly before ash took his place. Cal didn't glance at the spectacle, didn't even blink, his gaze never left mine, but almost imperceptibly the right side of his mouth twitched.

No one moved, no one made a sound. If they thought that they could get away with interjecting without permission because King Calden was here, they were mistaken. I was still the Lady of this court. The room was so silent and tense, that the sound of incoming footsteps made all of the councilors between Cal and I flinch. A dark smirk emerged on my face.