The King's Choice - Red Queen Fanfiction

Chapter 6 (Mare POV)

After about an hour of me thinking about leaving and then remembering that Maven will kill not only Cal and the rest of the people I love, but every Red and Newblood out there, I hear a knock on the door.
"Hey Mare, we can't leave until the sun is down and it's getting late, do you wanna come out to have some food?" He sounds genuinely concerned so I stand up and open the door. He offers his arm to me and I hesitate for a second. Then I take his arm. He leads me into the main room where four guards and a pilot are sitting on crates, laughing, and eating. They all stop once they see Maven and I. Two of the guards stand up and offer us their seats. I look over at Maven for what to do. He gives me a small nod so I sit down and he sits down on the crate next to me. The pilot looks at me and then down at the food. Realizing that I'm not gonna ask for anything, he says, "Miss, would you like some food?" I nod vigorously. I didn't eat at all today because I was too nervous about meeting Maven. The pilot hands me a plate filled with chicken, salad, and pasta. I take a fork from the crate the guys were using as a table. When I dig into the food, it's probably the happiest I've been all day.
After about another 3 hours of waiting for complete darkness, Maven tells me that we're ready to leave.
"You should probably go to bed. We're gonna be flying for about 10 hours and when we get to the palace, well, let's just say there's gonna be some craziness. I'll walk you to your room."
We walk down the hall and just as I'm about to open the door to my room, Maven puts his hands on my waist and spins me around. We spend what feels like forever just looking at each other. Then, he kisses me. I'm about to pull away but I stop. I let him kiss me. It feels so familiar and for a second I kiss him back. Then we pull apart and I realize what just happened.
"Goodnight, King Maven," I say, quickly opening the door and closing it behind me. I run to my bed, hoping that if I ignore the world, maybe it'll just go away.
I lie in my bed, unable to sleep. I can't stop thinking about Maven and Cal. I know that I want Cal. He's perfect for me. We have so much in common but we're still so different and we will do anything for each other. Then I think about the kiss with Maven. Everything comes back to me. The feelings, the hours of the two of us talking, the laughter, how he was always there for me even when Cal wasn't. I can't help thinking, maybe it was supposed to end this way.
We land at the palace at about 8:30 in the morning. I hear Maven knock on my door. I walk over to the door and brace myself for the awkwardness waiting for me when I open it.
"Mare! Good to see you're awake!" It's like last night never happened. He looks calm and collected so I decide to just go with it.
"It's good to see you too, King Maven." His cheerful smile changes to a frown.
"I prefer just Maven when it's coming from you. We don't need to be so formal, Queen Mareena. Come on, I have ladies just waiting to fit you with some new clothes." We step off the ship as Maven continues to talk. "You can take some time to settle in, you'll be in my mother's room until the wedding." I'm about to ask about Elara, but when I see the look in Maven's eyes, I stop. I don't know what it feels like to lose your mother, but it can't be easy, even if your mother is a heartless, manipulative bitch. I place my hand in his and look up at him. I nod for him to keep talking.
"Anyway, make sure you have nothing going on at 2:30. That's when we start the wedding planning. One of your ladies-in-waiting will show you where to meet me." He babbles on about the palace and how glad everyone will be now that I'm back. We reach the front entrance to the main hall and I look at Maven. He gives me a squeeze as if to say, "Don't worry, everything will be okay," and I squeeze back to say, "I wasn't worried but thanks." I take a deep breath, and we push the doors open and step through.

2016 has been a rough ride for all of us. So many amazing people have been taken from us this year. So much hate has taken over our lives. Hopefully 2017 will treat us better. Happy New Year!