Scarlet Queen

Chapter 14- Scarlet's POV

5 months later...

I bolt through the halls of the palace, running like my life depended on it.

I hear the thunderstorm of feet pounding after me, giving chase. I push myself harder, leaning forward into my sprint. My heart pounds, and I feel my breath starting to run out. I gasp, only to feel someone tackle me from behind. I grapple with my attacker, rolling around with them on the floor, until I end up on top, pinning him down. I count down slowly. "3..." My attacker struggles to get free. "2...." He starts to thrash desperately. "1." I finished, and my attacker stopped struggling. Then I grinned and got off of him.

Slinger jumped up to his feet, making a big show of brushing himself off. "I say, Scarlet, you certainly haven't gotten any weaker," he says, fighting hard to keep his face serious. I smirked at him. "Maybe you've just haven't been training hard enough, Captain," I said haughtily. Slinger chuckled and grabbed my arm, spinning me around. The sound of my laughter echoed through the halls, surprising me.

The last five months after King Arcane's death were the hardest of my life. For the first few weeks, I felt lost, empty. Without Lucas, the palace felt like a prison. Whenever the celebrations rolled around, honoring the Sky Pirates and me, I locked myself in Lucas' old room, hiding myself from everybody and spending hours just crying. But one day, whenever Everyone had gone to the Village Square to hear Slinger speak, I emerged from my room.

I spent hours roaming the halls, Vengeance clenched tightly in my hand. When I reached Statue Hall, I pulled out my chain and sent all of those statues crashing to dust. All the tapestries featuring King Arcane's face where cut to shreds. Then I found myself in King Arcane's office.

I breathed in the relieving smell of books. I loved reading with a burning passion. Whenever I was young, King Arcane forbid me from reading anything from his library. So naturally I stole dozens of books at night, staying up late past midnight to finish them. The memories made me smile. Then I saw the mahogany desk.

I loved that mahogany desk. Lucas had too. I remembered stealing a kitchen knife and carving our initials of the underside of the desk, where King Arcane would never find them. I gently ran my fingers along the underside and sure enough, our initials were still there, worn but visible. I smiled.

Being in the office made me feel better than I had in weeks, so I took a chance and went out to the Village Square. I saw that Slinger was still up there, talking to the crowd. I tried to stay in the shadows, but it wasn't long before a villager spotted me. Murmers started to spread through the crowd, and then, as one, the villagers parted to make a path to the stage. I hesitated, blatantly aware that I didn't have on my hood or scarf. But one look at Slinger, beckoning me up to the stage with him, gave me all the courage I needed.

I walked towards the stage, head held high, and took my place next to Slinger. He smiled, put his arm around me, and finished his speech. Whenever he was done, all of the villagers stood up and clapped, just as they had for King Arcane. Only this time, they truly appreciated his words.

But what struck me most of all was whenever someone in the crowd yelled, "Queen Scarlet!"

I was frozen for a second. So was the crowd. But the person who said it kept it up, chanting my name, until slowly the entire crowd joined in. "Queen Scarlet! Queen Scarlet! Queen Scarlet!" I gasped, and Slinger chuckled. He grabbed my arm and held it in the air, bringing a cheer from the crowd and my Sky Pirate friends.

I blinked, and suddenly I was in the palace halls again, Slinger holding me. He was looking at me with concern. "Are you alright, Scarlet? You zoned out for a few seconds," he said nervously. I shook my head and smiled. "I'm fine, oh Captain my Captain," I said, gently brushing some hair out of his face. "Just relieving the past events." He smiled at me, then leaned forward and kissed me.

His lips were soft and warm, again giving me an impression of melting chocolate. We stayed like that for a small eternity, and I was sad when it ended. But then I turned and saw that Peg and Sticky were staring at us, grinning. I flushed.

"So, how's Slinglet doin'?" Sticky said, looking signifigantly at us. I rolled my eyes. Deciding what me and Slinger's ship name would be had been the talk of the Airhaven. Saucyboss had won the debate when he came up with the name, "Slinglet."

"Honestly, Sticky, that name just sounds so..." I trailed off. "Cringy?" Slinger offered. I nodded and pointed at him. Sticky just shook his head. "You just don't want to admit that you like it," he said mischievously. I coughed slightly and changed the subject.

"How did you get all of that?" I asked, pointing at peices of jewelry adorning Sticky. There were necklaces, bracelets, and rings, and a golden fork was stuck into his belt. Sticky looked down at the gems like he just realized that they were there, and he did his best to hide them. "Ya know... around," he said, trying his best to sound casual. I smirked. "You've been pickpocketing the nobles again, eh?" I said. Sticky flushed, and we all laughed.

Peg cleared his throat, then beckoned for us to follow him. "C'mon. The blacksmith finsihed yer crown, Scarlet! They waitin' for you to go an' tryit on!" I pulled away from Slinger, and we all walked down the hallway. When we got to the throne room, I saw the blacksmith standing with a pillow covered with a cloth in his hands. He smiled at me when I approached. "Queen Scarlet, I present your crown," he said grandly, then pulled the cloth from the pillow. I gasped.

The crown was made of a beautiful dark red metal, with garnets inlaid in it. It was made of delicate wires, twisted into the shape of a crown. The Captain of the Guards bid me to kneel. I knelt, not realizing that there were people watching as I was crowned.

"Princess Scarlet, this kingdom needs a leader. Do you promise to uphold the values of this kingdom, and rule as a just, fair queen?" he asked, his voice low and somber. "I do," I said, my voice strong. He nodded respectfully, then reached and took the crown off of the pillow. "Then, by the power vested in me, I crown you Queen of this kingdom!" He placed the crown on my head. I was surprised by how light it was. I stood up, and everyone in the room cheered.

A scribe came forward, holding a book. I realized that it was the kingdom's log of rulers. "History shall remember you as Queen Scarlet, the hero of the kingdom," he said respectfully, lowering his pen to write my name in the book.

"Wait," I said, and he stopped. I felt the memories flooding me. I remembered the red-tinted explosion from the bomb that killed mother, the scarlet blood pouring from my face when Arcane scarred me, the red velvet captain's cloak that Slinger wore when I first met the Sky Pirates. I remembered the blood from the guards I killed, the red rage that filled me when they took Lucas, and the warm red love that replaced it when we reunited. I saw my hands, stained from Lucas' blood, as he died to protect me. I saw the red blood coating Vengeance as I killed the monster that once controlled my life. I traced the crown resting on my head, made of dark red metal and red gemstones. My whole life had been nothing but shades of red.

"I'd like it..." I said, my voice unwavering. "I'd like it if history remembers me as the Scarlet Queen."