Black Storm - Red Queen Fan Fiction

Chapter 19 - The Moon part II

Brand new material! I've done it, I've inserted content from the King's Cage excerpt even though it doesn't add up with my plot in general ;-)

The Reaper

"What a gift she's made to you," Cassandra marveled at his prowess.

Sorata nodded gravely, yet he couldn't help it, he started to smirk when he saw her raising her hand to her chest in a dramatic gesture. She wore the ring he'd given to her.

The only jewellery she never takes off.

"We'll put your ability to good use, Sorata Ives," she announced, then grinned. "Thief."

The time for hesitation was over.

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Mare POV

I'd said the words Maven had wanted to hear from me. Words that were supposed to set up a ruse, to catch any Newbloods still in the shadows, powerful swords without one to wield them, as Maven had phrased it. Before they pledged their allegiance to the Scarlet Guard, the king had made a public offer to take them in, like a shepherd calling to his flock of sheeps.

Only that Maven was a wolf in disguise.

I had to lie about everything that had happened in the fall, when both the king and I had been searching and recruiting the Newbloods of Norta. I'd wanted to hide and train them in safety, while Maven had them killed or imprisoned. But that was not what I'd told the people of Norta.

While I, together with Shade, Cal, Farley and Kilorn, had indeed acted in defiance of the Guard, everything else had been lies, a story fabricated for Maven's puposes.

Still I had no idea what Maven wanted to do with the Newbloods. His other Merandus relatives, apart from his mother, were hardly able to be the puppeteers of a whole company of Newbloods, not with their minds alone. Did he really expect to win over the Newbloods by claiming the Scarlet Guard was out to hunt them?

I doubted those Newbloods were in for any warmer hospitality than myself, even when I had been claiming to be Mareena Titanos. I wondered what Griffey told the Guard about this manoeuvre, or about me. What information did she receive in return? She didn't tell me anything, not after she had given me that one letter.

Love was like eating shards and waiting for the amount of blood you'd retch. And so was hope. That was the only thing she'd said to me. And it was accurate. More than a month had passed since the revelation about her cooperation with the Guard, and I had to endure this while completely ignorant of Cal's schemes to help me. Sometimes, I was too afraid for him to wish for rescue, not alone and on his own devices.

But I couldn't help it. My captivity was gnawing at me, as I was aware of Maven's atrocities, committed while I had to be his prize. With each passing day, I wondered more if the Scarlet Guard really thought it worthwhile to liberate me - me who had brought herself into this mess. Maybe what Griffey relayed to them made the Guard think I was doing well enough.

One vengeful part of me was glad to play a part in Maven's newest game. This move had to force their hands. The Scarlet Guard, the Newbloods, the other nations, most of all Monfort - what would they do about the official revelation of the existence of Newbloods? I had tried to shout out to the Red servants, telling them about the trap and the lies, without great expectations. Yet for the first time in almost two months, I trembled with excitement. They had to do something now. But I didn't dare to hope this would include me.

We were no longer in Archeon. The thaw came at the beginning of February, and Maven had his court travel his lands, to show me off, like Lady Haven had predicted. But it wasn't just me. He had another Newblood to present, a middle-aged man who had registered himself as a Newblood on his own volition, or so it was claimed. I wondered if he was actually a prisoner dragged out of his cell, to play a role for Maven, just like me. The gratitude he put on was too much to bear for me, yet he did his best to cement the image of the formidable boy king that Maven honed so much.

I wanted to retch in those moments, when I stood next to them, dressed-up like Evangeline while she had still been at court. Her progresses at the choke had become an official part of the royal broadcasts, to make the Nortan people proud of their warrior queen. Probably everyone was happier that way, apart from me. Instead of Evangeline, I had to accompany Maven as his Newblood ally, flanked by Ptolemus as the stand-in for his sister. I had lost count of the times I'd spat at him. But I still did, unbothered of the exchange of snickers between Ptolemus and Maven that followed everytime. I didn't care.

They deserve so much worse.

The room I spent the night in was more like a literal prison. The sounder device ticked relentlessly as two Arvens and the two other sentinels, strongarm Sallos and the Samos magnetron, held watch beyond the prison bars. I was in a dilapidated side building that was a little off from the renovated main mansion that Maven lodged in, I had gathered that much, as well as that we were currently in the seat of the governor of the Aderonack region.

The king and his court had a party going on, after making another broadcast with me. Afterwards, I had been brought back into the dirty ashes, the gown stripped off me as soon as the broadcast was over, and put into rags again. At least that was more honest. I imagined the haughty nobilty grinning at each other now, aware of the ruse they were part in, laughing at the gullible Reds. I didn't know how much backlash the Scarlet Guard had received during the last days, but judging from the smug faces of the courtiers, a lot of Reds had to be cutting their support, perhaps selling out known rebels, though it was doubtful that it did them any good with the vengeful Silvers.

I wish the Scarlet Guard would drop bombs on them, just as relentlessly as in the propaganda.

I stayed awake until late, as usual, to shun the dreamgazer as much as possible. Though I was not even aware if he was taking part in the progress, or how close he had to be to invade my dreams. Without a glass wall between us, I was able to listen to my gaolers, to hear them talking about their boredom, frustration and gossip. It was strange to notice how little they cared about my presence, realizing I was just a job for them. They didn't fear me and so, they didn't look at me prying open the links of the chains shackling me. A useless try, to be honest, but better than doing nothing.

I startled in my tracks when I heard gasps coming from outside my cell. They were followed by the muffled sounds of my gaolers slammed against the metal bars. Silver blood trickled into my cage, reflective in the pale moonlight gleaming in from the small window above me. Heels clacked on the stone floor of the corridor and the cell doors opened creaking. I turned around, but all I saw were shadows, and Silvers slumped down in death. I couldn't grasp what had happened, or who was responsible.

Not until the sound of steps stopped as if someone stood in the middle of my cell. The moonlight intensified to an unnatural level as if all clouds in the sky had vanished. The light gathered on a figure like the limelight upon an actor on a stage.

Cassandra Griffey appeared in front me like a vision of doom, styled like a SIlver lady, in a black dress made of starlight and with a wreath of raven feathers on her brow. She looked like a harbinger of war, dressed in Silver blood and drowned in moonlight, too bright to be real.

"Strike midnight, and the party is over, Cinderella, " she said, smirking and tilting her head. "It's time to go home."

Commentary:

It's time to rush things, because King's Cage is coming! A short chapter, and thus with a cliffhanger.

The seat of the Aderonack governor is Coriane's and Julian's old home, I thought this is a nice idea, to have ... this ... happening there.

I baulked at writing the little summary of Glass Sword, even though there are only like three sentences, Argh. I just don't like to put summaries in the text.