Enemies To Lovers

Rise of the Queen

Character names: Amara and Zander

"No one is who they deem to be."

~

Her heels clattered against the cold stone floor as she walked throughout her new court, observing the little things she missed the first time she settled into the castle. She noticed that there was a crack in that wall and that some of the velvet on the chairs was dusty, but other than the minor flaws in the room, it was everything she worked for and more.

Amara passed by her servant and approached the only window in her room, gazing out into the town she could now call hers. A sly grin became plastered onto her face as she thought of how she got to where she currently was, the things that were done in order to claim the throne that was rightfully hers. She felt powerful when she first sat in the great chair, as if with the snap of her fingers, she could order all to do as she wished.

She heard faint footsteps echoing through the halls, only for them to get louder and louder, she could only have a mere guess as to who it was.

"Hello, Zander, to what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked without turning to face the dark-haired boy that just entered her court. She didn't have to face him to hear the pattern of his breathing or to see the anger on his face. He was fuming with rage, steam practically spilling from his ears.

"Did you know!" he sneered, keeping his place at the entrance to make a minor point. The blonde turned from her place at the window, her hands folded in front of her stomach as she made slow strides toward him. "Terrence, leave us," she waved off her servant, knowing where this conversation would be going.

"Did I know what exactly?" she asked with an innocent smile, knowing exactly what he was referring to. Zander looked the girl up and down, his heart cracking the slightest at the sight before him. She was... different, too different. Her long hair was washed and pinned neatly in a bun on top of her head, resting around the bun was a black crown with red rubies placed perfectly apart. Instead of a worn out commoners outfit, a dirty, white, long sleeve and second-hand trousers with old shoes, she now wore a skin tight lace black dress that trailed behind her with every step she took. On her feet, were shiny black heels, something she claimed that she could never wear.

Her make-up made her look almost unrecognizable to any other, but he could pinpoint her in a crowd the size of the castle, it was too easy, he knew her too well. He felt as if she wasn't even looking at him in the same way.

The dark-haired boy huffed, taking long strides towards the girl to meet her in the middle. "Did you know what sending all those soldiers out to Lafara would do? Did you know!" he raised his voice, visibly upset with the choice she had made. "You had more than half the village slaughtered!"

Amara took his question in her hands as if she was passing it back and forth, toying with him as she took too long to come up with an answer. She gazed past the boy instead of looking at him directly, "Yes, I did know."

Even though Zander knew that was going to be her answer, he was still shocked that she would even begin to think about doing such a cruel thing. His expression falttered to a look of disappointment, "Why? Why would you do such a thing?!"

A smirk played on her face as she shrugged, "Call it collateral damage if you will."

His heart dropped to his stomach, he couldn't believe his eyes at what he was seeing. He stared into the blonde's eyes, not finding an ounce of guilt. "What happened to you, Amara, what happened to the girl you used to be?"

His question made her guard drop for only a second as she remembered the girl she was a little over a week ago. She was loyal to her soldiers as she led her army into battle, she was courageous as she assisted those in need of help, she was head over heels for the boy that now stood in front of her, staring at a different version of herself.

Hearing her name being spoken by him and only him was something she could never get over. The way he said it was as if there was the biggest meaning in the world behind it, as if it were sacred and special.

She took a deep breath before letting out a sigh, she answered him, offended. "What happened was I became the Queen, and I had to make a decision that no one else before me was willing to make! A decision that everyone may or may not like or agree with, but it had to be done! Lafara won't be bothering us or any other town again, they were put in their place." 

"You sent your army to slaughter hundreds of men, women, and children. Hundreds of innocent people all for three rogue soldiers-"

"Those 'rogue soldiers,'" she interrupted, "have caused more problems than any other person we've been up against! I had to make sure there were no more in the making, I had to clean up my mother's mess."

The brown-eyed boy was completely lost for words as her expression changed before his eyes. The girl that he started off hating, the girl that couldn't even stand his voice in the beginning, the girl he grew to love so much, was the girl that stood in front of him without an ounce of guilt in her eyes.

His eyes became glossy, but he was sure to hide it as he stood his ground. He knew that he wouldn't be able to take this much longer. "Alright then," he spoke after a moment of silence. "When your kingdom turns on you, siding with Maryan and her people, don't come crawling to me. I don't know who you think you are, Amara, but you're certainly not the girl I grew to love and laugh with and share everything with. The old Amara was my everything and I to her, but this new Amara is nothing but cold and empty."

"I will be in my chamber's, don't even bother to speak a word to me unless you know who you really are. Goodbye, Amara." Without another word, Zander turned on his heels, walking out of the court and back to his chamber's in the castle.

The blonde girl was surprised that the boy would speak such words to her, that he would disrespect her in her own court. Nevertheless, she wasn't angry about it, but she didn't know how she felt. His words stung, but she wouldn't let him see that, she wouldn't let him know how she felt.

How she felt about him was in the past, when they were still fighting with each other, when they were still battling against the enemy, when everything was still normal.

Nothing would ever be the same again, she had made her decision and he had made his. It was only a matter of time before one of them caught up to her.