Bars of Blood

Chapter 8: Broken Bones

A/N Hey! I realized I still have a chapter and a half that I wrote a year ago, so I thought I might share them. They aren't proofreaded, so bear with me.

Bars of Blood was one of my first stories tackling royalty and I'm so glad I got to share it with you guys. I'm still improving on my writing day by day, and I'm forever grateful that Bars of Blood became one of the stepping stones to what hopefully becomes a full-fledged book one day.

If you're still reading this after a year, good for you! Hope you, kind reader, are doing well!

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"Helen!" 

I walked into a bear-hug and soon realized that it was Euryale, shaking and sobbing. She grabbed me violently, to make sure I was really there.

"Your Majesty, where were you?!" she cried, looking up at me. I opened and closed my mouth, blinking violently with confusion. "We were so worried!"

"'We' meaning 'her.'" Ryena stood behind her, leaning against the wall with a smirk. "I knew you were gonna come back."

Euryale tore away from me and wiped a single tear from her face. She sniffed. "I apologize, ma'am, I was only worried-"

"Worried that you'll have your head chopped off because her majesty ran off?" Ryena quipped. Euryale glared at her. "Oh, come on. We all know that was the only thing you were worried about."

I raised my eyebrow. "If I ran off..."

"Yep, that lady right there would either die or get thrown right in prison, depending on how good the next monarch's mood is," Ryena pointed behind me to presumably Ariadne's room. "And I'm pretty sure the Princess isn't in a very good mood today."

I silently thanked myself for not running away. 

"I know, Rye." Euryale's eyes shot daggers at Ryena, who shrugged.

"Remember Elaine?" 

"I remember Elaine!" Euryale almost yelled.

"Who's Elaine?" I asked them. Ryena laughed.

"She was Ivan's former maid." 

My blood turned to ice. "Oh..."

Ryena shrugged while Euryale looked at me with terrified eyes. "Are... are the rumors true?"

"What?"

"You killed..."

"Of course not, Yale." Ryena rolled her eyes. "Helen would never do that. Especially when she knows that she's already on thin ice around here." Her eyes bore into me like she was trying to read some hidden part of my brain. I turned away. "I don't think anyone's stupid enough to do that."

I interrupted her. "I didn't. What about Elaine?"

 Ryena's eyes lit up like she had been wanting to tell me about her for a while. "When Ivan was twelve, he ran off to some military base to practice. Queen Emily was worried sick and had Elaine's head chopped off just because she was talking to him when he ran off!" Ryena snickered again.

"It's not funny!" Euryale chastised. 

"No, but it shows..." Ryena turned to me, staring right into my eyes. I blinked. "... that everything the royals do will affect anyone."

I couldn't make out her tone. It seemed as if she were threatening, but it was light-hearted at the same time... could she be that good with words?

"I don't think I could take that responsibility..." I admitted. Euryale gasped while Ryena nodded.

"That's what I thought. I'm willing to help however I can, though."