Scorn and Devotion

Chapter 10

Warnings - Traumatic memories, fire, injury, loss of loved items

' "The display today was absolutely disgraceful!" Timothée shouted. Us six girls were lined up before Timothée and Natalie in the throne room. He paced back and forth.

Vangelina and Odessa looked very pleased with themselves. I could have almost laughed. Boy were they in for a shock when he told them he was angry with their behavior and not Juliet's.

"Prince T-" Vangelina began.

"Don't you dare Vangelina," Timothée whipped to her, and glared.

"I'm sorry-"

"You are only sorry because I did not enjoy your foul language."

Puck was an incredibly offensive term for someone who was a Fairy or had Fae blood. The fact that Vangelina had said that, in front of everyone was monstrous.

"I really did not mean to, it just slipped out," and here came the crocodile tears. Meanwhile, Juliet was not crying, but still flickering with rage as she looked straight ahead.

"My cousin, Leon, was killed by Fairies when we were young," Vangelina sniffed.

"What does that have to do with Juliet?" I demanded.

"I shouldn't judge her, but sometimes when Fairies come up, I get defensive, I think it is the trauma."

She was really milking it for all it was worth. Juliet's face stayed hardened. I saw Timothée didn't look convinced either.

"If I had the power to exclude you from this competition, I would, our next queen will not be a bigot."

Vanglina was so taken aback she stopped crying. Her mouth hung open as she stared at Timothée. Had she really thought he would be okay with this? Or was she just not used to being told no?

"You also, Odessa, suggesting torture was completely out of line, and frankly, disgusting," Timothée growled.

Odessa looked horrified. I was sure she had never been called disgusting before. Her too-perfect lips were frozen in an "O" shape, and her hands had come up to her cheeks.

"I-I did not know it was considered torture, I did not know how bad it hurt the Fae until Juliet explained it to me," Odessa whimpered.

"I should not have to," Juliet mumbled, still looking straight ahead. "You should do your own research, or maybe listen in class, then you would not get a 58 on your tests."

I was not surprised to hear Odessa had scored so low, but I was surprised Juliet had brought it up. She was normally so kind, but this warranted some hard blows.

Odessa looked furious at Juliet's word, but smartly, kept her mouth shut. She nodded curtly, hopefully, that meant she would not be so presumptuous again.

"I do not want to hear that any of this is happening behind the scenes," Timothée warned, and Odessa and Vanglina nodded quickly. They would not jeopardize their ability to become Queen again, now that they had seen how Timothée had acted.

"Now, Natalie has something to say," Timothée backed up and let Natalie come forward to talk. Her mouth was in a firm line, and her eyes were fiery.

"As you know, the meeting earlier was the second portion of your first exam. Vangelina, you will get a zero for your conduct, which will affect your grade greatly," Natalie stated, and I felt my chest swell with happiness.

Vangelina looked angrier than she had this whole time. I knew she desperately wanted to say something, to defend her beliefs, but instead, she curled her fingers into a fist and clenched her hands hard. She did not nod, but it was clear she understood.