To The Ones Who Can't Dream

chapter 26 - Rhys Finds Out

     When Seren arrived back in the room, Rhys wasn't there. She wanted the chance to tell him what she had agreed to and maybe just talk it through with someone else. She knew she had to put up a brave front for everyone else, nobody would know that she was faking it. Amarantha would surely hear the rumors and turn on Seren.

     She got ready in silence, feeling like she was attending a funeral instead of a party.
The clock eventually told her that the party was starting and she exited the room. Seren realized that if it wasn't for the clocks, she truly would have no clue what time it actually was. For all she knew, Amarantha had changed the time on all of them just to get inside their heads. As she approached the throne room, she could hear music and chatter floating around. She took one deep breath before pushing the huge doors open and strolling into the room.

     She couldn't bring herself to look at anyone else so when she caught a glimpse of Amarantha sitting in her throne, she walked straight over to her. She was sitting there like an alligator, watching and waiting for her prey to become visible. She walked up to the throne and bowed deeply, "Your majesty."

     Amarantha grinned and patted her lap, "Come sit with me for a bit, Seren."

     Seren wanted to groan in frustration and annoyance for having to put on such a public display of affection with the she-devil, but sat on her lap anyways. She twirled a piece of Amarantha's hair over her finger as she finally worked up the courage to look around the room. Everyone was subtly watching her on Amrantha's lap.

     Almost everybody had a look of disgust etched across their faces. After an hour or so of Seren sitting uncomfortably close to Amarantha, she excused herself, figuring she had been there long enough to make a statement.

     As she walked down the dias, she made a beeline for the table covered in different types of drinks. She picked up a small glass of a bright red liquid and downed it in one go. She could immediately feel the drink take effect and was grateful. Seren didn't know if she could follow through on her promises if it wasn't for a little bit of liquid luck.

     She could feel hundreds of pairs of eyes boring holes in her back as she picked up another glass and swallowed the contents of that also. She felt him before she saw him. "Great party, is it not? I see you have been enjoying yourself."

     Seren stiffened and turned around slowly to see Rhys staring her down. His eyes were cold and unfeeling as he continued, "Most of us would have probably waited until the second date, but to each their own."

     Seren narrowed her eyes at him. Before the party, she had been dying to talk to Rhys about Amarantha's proposition. Now, she wasn't feeling as inclined to let him know about what had gone down in her meeting with Amarantha earlier that day.
She couldn't bring herself to speak to him, if she opened her mouth now, she would start screaming in anger. Instead, she turned and walked out of the room.

     She walked down the hallway until she was sure nobody was following her and then ducked into a broom cupboard. Pressing her forehead against the cool stone of the wall, she took deep breaths until she felt like she wasn't going to puke. It was pointless to worry about what would become of her and Amarantha, yet she couldn't stop thinking about it. The only thing keeping her sane was telling herself that she was saving Rhys from this. She knew that she would pick this option again and again if it meant saving Rhys from the pain.

     A singular tear dripped down the side of her face as the door slammed open. Seren whirled around, quickly wiping at her face. Rhys slowly closed the door and walked up to her, "What is the matter Seren?"

     In response, Seren just shook her head. She didn't want to tell him about this, she knew he would try to find a way to get her out of it.

     "Seren, please just tell me."

     Without meeting his eyes, she said, "Amarantha wants me to be her whore from now on. I'm hoping that since I agreed, she will grant us a little bit more freedom than everyone else."

     Rhys stayed silent before whispering, "I'll go talk to her. Maybe she'll let me trade places with you."

     "No!" Seren shouted, "Let me deal with this."

     "I won't let you do this to yourself," he said.

     "Let me deal with this on my own, Rhys."
    
     "Why won't you let me help you?"

     Seren let out a choked sob, "Because she wanted us both. I managed to convince her to only use me though. So, just let me do this for you."

     Silence. "Seren, I can't let you do this."
"Either way, she wanted me. So I can deal with it. It's not your fault."

     And with that, Seren pushed past him and made the slow walk up to Amrantha's room. Stealing herself, she took a breath and opened the door.