'Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."
- Terry Pratchett
What if there was another other-worldly being that had...
Days and days passed, with the same old routine. Sleep in, workout, party, be at Amarantha's beck and call, sleep, repeat.
She felt like she was in limbo, never being allowed to go outside. The only thing that kept her sane was Rhys's steady and constant presence. He was always there, and she was so very grateful for him. He would always talk to her and if she asked nicely enough, he would tell her stories of his life. From his mother, to Cass and Az, to his sister, to Mor, and sometimes even Tamlin, his stories were never dull.
She sometimes caught herself wishing that she had even half as many good stories that he had. Of course, she had good memories from her universe. But it didn't even remotely compare to all of the fun Rhys had. To be fair, she was never really given the chance to have friends. After all, she had been created to govern universes, manipulated into fighting in a war, and then was forced to serve her own for hundreds of years before escaping through a portal to this world. The tattoo branded upon her forehead would always remind her of the carelessness and foolishness of her youth.
When Rhys would ask for her to share a story from her life, she always turned him down. How could she tell him a good story when they were all shadowed by death. Besides Amren, she had never had any real friends or family. So, she hadn't had the chance to create many fun or exciting memories. In fact, the best memories she had created had been the ones in the past few months with the Inner Circle.
Years passed. Ten years, to be exact. Oh, how she missed her friends so much. She missed Cass's big bear hugs, Mor's laugh, and Az's smile. But most of all she missed Amren. She couldn't remember the last time she had been apart from her for this long. Maybe it was during the war? Or maybe when she had first been enslaved to the Asteri?
Seren was reading a book on her bed when Rhys stormed into the room. Seren looked up from her book and asked, "What's wrong?"
Rhys looked terrified as he said, "I just found out that some of the High Lords thought it would be a good idea to try and start a rebellion against Amarantha."
He started pacing, which wasn't uncommon for him to do. Seren couldn't help but shudder in fear. The last rebellion she had been a part of had made her life hell. She closed her eyes, "Does she know?"
Seren didn't have to say her name for Rhys to understand who she was talking about, "Of course. You can't hide anything from Amarantha Under the Mountain."
"Who?"
"Winter, Summer, and Day. Amarantha said that we are to all wear white and meet down in the throne room for the High Lord's execution tonight."
Seren felt like crying, or breaking something, or maybe punching something but instead she just sat there. And stared at the wall as Rhys paced throughout the room.
Eventually she got up and went through the motions of getting ready. She put on her makeup and did her hair. She selected a white dress, per Amarantha's request. It was made of satin with long sleeves that puffed out and a ballroom skirt with a slit up one side.
Rhys was also wearing an all white suit. He took her arm and led her down to the throne room. Seren didn't know if she could do this. Yet, she put one foot in front of the other and trudged down the hallway.
When they entered the room, everyone was wearing white. Which made sense, she wasn't sure anybody was brave enough to stand up to Amarantha. Especially something as trivial as an outfit. Amarantha being Amarantha, had to stand out so she of course had to pick another terrible red dress.
She sat upon her throne like the she-devil she was and surveyed her prisoners who had all gathered in that room to witness three of their own be slaughtered. It wasn't right, and yet there was nothing any of them could do to stop her.
Kneeling before the dias facing the throne were three fae. And as Amarantha ordered them to be turned around, Seren almost fell to her knees right then and there. Of course! How had she been so idiotic and forgotten?
For kneeling in front of the throne was Leo. And for the first, and last time, of Seren's life, Leo wasn't smiling or laughing or joking. Seren didn't exactly know why she did it. Maybe it was the fact that three innocent fae were about to die. Maybe it was because it was her friend Leo, kneeling about to be executed. Maybe it was because Leo wasn't smiling. Maybe it was simply because Leo no longer looked like the sun. But before she could even register what she was doing, Seren had started running towards Amarantha.
AN: Seren's dress
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
