Under the Water (Book 1)

Twenty-Three

I'm sitting back in the servants secret room when Scarlette appears again. It's a little bit less rowdy than usual, most of the Rebels have left to hide out for a while, they don't trust Scarlette.

Scarlette and Larkken walk in at the same time. Scarlette starts walking towards me, but then when Larkken doesn't follow, stops and stands uncertainly by Lark, looking somewhat... annoyed, for some reason. Lark smiles at me, and Scar glances at me as well. I force a smile onto my face for both of them, trying to ignore the heavy weight of the key in my pocket. Larkkens position doesn't last long, soon she's walking across the room towards me, she sits down and drops a warm packet in front of me.

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep." She says sitting back, amusement written all over her face.

"What do you mean?" I say innocently, glancing towards Scarlette, seeing that shes already busy in conversation with someone else. I guess she didn't want to talk to me. Lark whacks me on the back of the head.

"Apple pies you idiot?" She says rolling her eyes. "You're lucky that the guards were new or you'd be in trouble. Again." I pick up the package and open it to find two miniature apple pies stacked on each other.

"Thanks Lark." I say grinning. "But there seems to be one missing.''

Lark whacks me on the head again, laughing this time. "You don't deserve one nolo."

I pout comically, before I notice that Scarlette's gone. I voice my concern to Lark, but she just shrugs and says "She's talking to dad. She'll be fine."

There's nothing much say to that. I just hope that Scar makes the right decisions.

***

After a round in the ring, and losing. Again. Against Kai. Again. And after Larkken patches up my rebroken nose. Again. we hurry to the kitchen to start dinner duties. I'm confined to the kitchens once more to work with the machinery and the rest of the servants. I know many of them by name now and the shift goes smoothly.

Near the end of dinner, Larkken corners me near the back of the kitchen. "Quinn, I don't know why you're still chasing after her. You're going to get yourself hurt." She says. So bluntly it takes me a second to understand what she's saying.

"Wait, ther- there's nothing going on between me and her." I say, trying to cover for my lapse of silence.

"Really." She says, her expression hurt, as if she can't believe that I still don't trust her. A knot forms in my throat.

"I've known her forever Lark. I... I love her, is that so bad?" I say, swallowing hard.

Larkkens jaw clenches and she looks away. "What do you think she's doing right now Quinn. Dinner's over and she's walking around the castle with Ansell in tow. Just stop right now, just let her go it won't wo-"

"How do you know." I break in. "Larkken let me make my own decisions. Please." Lark looks up at me defiantly, finally meeting my eyes.

"I like you Quinn. So just be careful okay?" She doesn't break the stare. "Promise me you'll be careful." And just like before, she walks away.

***

I don't wait around in the kitchen much longer than needed, as soon as I'm released I start running through the palace, not bothering if I'm seen or not. I run into my room, (dropping of the pies to the guards as I go) and stumble through the dark passageway, cursing myself for neglecting to take a light. I burst through her closet door, searching for Scar. She's nowhere to be seen. I leave the room and head toward the guest rooms of the castle. 

Towards Ansells room.

I make it there in only 3 minutes and then I stop. I stand at the door, hand raised, about to knock. But I don't. The door's already open a crack. I lean close to peer through.

Scarlette lays stretched across the bed, and Ansell leans over her. I can't stop looking, but I can't do anything. "Scarlette?" He says. Concern in his voice. He places his hands on her jawline, leaning forward. I looks away. I leave, not even bothering to close the door. Leaving it wide open, and widening further. Like the feeling I have now, open wide and empty. Widening further. Now that I know who Scarlette loves.

***

I can't sleep that night. I can't paint, and I can't work or head to the Meeting place without being caught by Dezzmond. So I do the next best thing.

I roam the passageways, looking for the right one to take me to the king's office. The office that I now hold the key to. After a few trial and errors I finally stumble through a fake wall panel directly across the hallway from the king's office door. There's no guard in sight. What's the point when there are 5 set alarms and keypads to get in. Unless you have the key.

I walk to the door and start looking for the keyhole. I was most likely showing up on camera right now, but the guards are so lazy that they won't notice, and if by some miracle they did... well that's besides the point. The keyhole in the center of the furthest left edge of the door. I insert the golden item and something clicks. Nothing happens.

I stand there waiting for some sort of light to pop up, I push the key again, but it doesn't budge. I try to pull it out and it doesn't move an inch. It's stuck. I try wiggling it, prodding, and pulling. I eventually twist it, and that works, something else clicks, and this time the door pops open. With a rather convenient squeak. I flinch and wait in silence.

When no one comes out suspicious I walk in, and head for the files.

***

It's interesting what you find out while snooping through the kings top secret files in the middle of the night. Who had affairs with whom, whose unpaid debts are paid and who has done what to be executed. I'm not looking for anything in particular, but its still interesting when I find the paper on my engagement. Stating that when of age Quinnson of the Grecian house would marry Scarlette Imperium. Hmm well that didn't work out did it.

I'm about to leave, satisfied more or less when something else catches my eyes. A vid chip. It's titled, Rebels. I reach up to the shelf it's on, tugging my back into a painful stretch, and read the file it's attached to. 

Dated about 3 years ago:

Found plans of rebel attacks.

Going to set sights on the Argentum Dome sooner or later, three

domes have already fallen, the outside camps of the rebels are getting

better hidden and more spread out. Our resources only go so far

Please come to our assistance, they are on their way

The Imperial Palace of the Argentum Dome

I stare at the file, I always knew that there were other domes... but the palace always said they were unreachable and reclusive. The only reason that they would say this... it could be multiple reasons. We could be running out of resources, or we could be trying to stay out of the attacks. Why would the King be avoiding the pleas of help from the sister domes? I hear a noise outside and I realize I've been in the room far to long.

I stuff the vid chip in my pocket and fold the paper back into its file. Then get the hell out of that room, trying to escape the court's plans as I did long ago.

And yet knowing that it will always be impossible.