A Mermaid's Kiss

Chapter 24

 I am so sorry for taking so long. I honestly don't know why I didn't update this story in so long, but I promise that I'll update more frequently, especially since I got a new laptop. And as I said in the previous chapter, this story is coming to a close, probably two or three chapters. So without further ado, enjoy! :) 

xoxo Ellie

P.S. I’ve never written a battle scene before, so bear with me.

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I grabbed Aaron’s sword and stood up. I was going to fight now, and I was going to kill the Queen. And no one was going to get in my way.

“Adrienne, what are you doing?!?”  William grabbed my arm and forced me to a stop. “You have to get to safety.”

I whirled around. “Safety?!?!? Look at where safety got me William. Safety got Aaron killed. And it was all because of your damn mother. She has ruined my life since I became a human, and I won’t stand for it anymore. I’m going to settle this once and for all. Enough of this hiding and running away. I’m going to kill her.”

“That’s fine darling, but you can’t just march into the middle of a battle! You will get killed. And I can’t- I can’t lose you. Not to her.”

I softened. “William,” I said, placing my hand on his cheek, “You won’t lose me. Nothing can tear us apart.” I pulled away and hardened my features again. “But you can’t stop me.”

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I stalked through the raging battle, my face murderous. I had my eyes locked on the queen. She had no idea what was coming to her. 

The sound of swords clanging fueled my anger. This war, these deaths, they were all because of her. She was greedy, vile, a snake. She wanted power, and didn’t care who she hurt.

I wasn’t going to allow her to hurt anyone else.

The Queen whirled around as she heard my approaching steps.

“Well, if it isn’t the little bitch who took my son away from me. Are you happy? You started a war.”

I laughed incredulously. “Me? I started this war? Last time I checked “Your Majesty” I wasn’t the one who tried to kill dozens of girls just for loving your son.”

She huffed. “That does not matter. You took the prince away from his kingdom, his duties, you revolting wench.”

“Petty insults won’t intimidate me. I came here to end this war. And I came here to end you. You do not have a right to this land anymore. Your son does, and you need to back off.”

The queen threw her head back and laughed. “Oh you sad, sweet, naive little girl. You really think that I am just going to abdicate the throne?”

I smirked. “Of course I don’t. That is why I am here, on this battle field.”

With that, I lifted my sword and lunged at the queen. She lifted her weapon up just in the nick of time, and they collided with a clash. My arms shook with the effort of keeping her sword from piercing my body. I couldn’t let her win.

I spun around, ducking and trying to cut the queens legs. She jumped and sliced along my right arm.

I dropped my sword and hissed in pain.

The queen laughed, “Did that hurt? I’m sorry; I’ll try to go gentler next time.”

I gritted my teeth. “Don’t bother.”

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I don’t know how long the queen and I fought. All I do know is that both of our strength was fading. Neither one of us was going to last much longer than this; somebody was going to make a fatal mistake. I could only hope that it wasn’t going to be me.

I was bobbing and weaving, just barely dodging the queen’s blows. All I could hear was the clang of metal meeting metal; sword meeting sword.

I lashed out at the queen’s knees, and landed a kick that knocked her flat on her back. I pushed one foot against her chest and held my sword to her throat.

“You have done nothing but terrorize me since you met me. You are a tyrant who only cares about herself. You don’t deserve to live, so give me one good reason why I should spare your miserable, contemptible life.”

“My son would never forgive you. How do you think he would react to hearing the news that his beloved Adrienne killed his mother?” The queen tried to lift herself off the ground, but I just pushed my sword against her throat harder. “He would hate you.”

“You’re lying. William told me himself that he didn’t care if you died.”

She snorted. “Of course he said that dear, he wanted to do anything to make you feel better. But the truth is, deep down, my son still loves me, and wouldn’t want to see the love of his life kill me. So kill me, what do I care. But know that if you do, William will never forgive you.”

I hesitated. There could be some truth to what she said. I hadn’t known William long enough to know what kind of bond he had with his mother.

“She may not really want to kill you, but I do.” The sound of Liv’s voice caused me to spin around. She was stalking towards the queen and me, a murderous look on her face. “You are the reason why I was locked in the dungeons, why I had to flee in the middle of the night like a criminal, and the reason why Aaron is dead. You don’t deserve to live, so, you won’t any longer.

Liv took a dagger out of her belt, and before anyone could react, stabbed the queen right in the chest.

The queen gasped as the dagger pierced her heart. Blood splattered Liv and me in our faces, getting in my open mouth. The taste of blood on my tongue caused my stomach to roll, and I turned away, retching.

“Adrienne!” I heard as I threw up on the grass. A pair of strong hands grasped the hair that had come loose. “Shhh, everything is going to be fine my love.”

Once I had emptied my stomach, I sat up and faced Liv. “Liv, are you alright?” I questioned.

She was sitting on her heels, hands shaking, silent sobs raking through her body. I pulled her into my lap. “Liv, are you okay?”

She cried into my shoulder. “I had to Adrienne, I had to. She killed Aaron!”

I rubbed her back. “I understand why you did it. I do not blame you.”

“William will, I just know it!”

A second pair of hands joined mine on Liv’s back. “I don’t Liv. I could never blame you.” William’s soothing voice said. “I think that what you did was very brave.”

She sniffed a few more times and peeked up at us through her lashes. “I am so sorry William, I know how much you loved your mother.”

He smiled and leaned in to peck Liv’s cheek. “I may have loved her, but she endangered the people I care about even more. She needed to be taken care of. Now, how about we announce to the rest of the troops that the battle is over? I think that it’s time we went home.”

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There it is! I hope you guys liked this one, I am especially partial to the scene when Adrienne and the queen are fighting. And again, I am so sorry for keeping you faithful readers waiting for so long. Please forgive me.

xoxo Ellie