Butterflies

Chapter 32 - Crimson Red

Chapter 32 - Crimson Red

When Ella was sat in her seat and the table was complete, Olivia ordered the old Council out. They would be aloud low jobs in the castle or they could merely live out in the wild ruins like she had done for so long. In a matter of minutes, the whole Council was talking and asking questions, some with more restrain than others. Olivia desperately tried to quieten them, but her voice was lost in all the noise. Llywelyn touched her arm to stop her.

"Quiet! Can't you see the Queen is speaking?" his voice echoed around the room until the air stilled. "Olivia?"

"Thank you. Clearly there are a lot of questions, but I cannot answer them all at once. We will start with Nanuq. What is it?"

"Is it true that one of the guards killed the King?"

"No." The questions went on endlessly as if no one cared. The sun set and the hours grew late yet still they asked her questions.

"Do you know who killed the other competitors?"

"No."

"Are the terrorists gone now?"

"How are you going to find the terrorists in the first place?"

"Is there going to be a wedding soon?" That question stopped her. Were they? She glanced at Llywelyn but he just shrugged at her. It was like he was saying, 'it's your decision'. Very unhelpful.

"I don't know. I will think about it at some point tomorrow perhaps..." Olivia caught Ella looking at her, a pity full expression on her face.

"Olivia is tired. I do believe that is enough questions for one day." A few members protested but Ella silenced them. "Now." All of them Travelled. At least somebody was in charge. Someone she could trust.

"Are you okay?" asked Llywelyn gently. She looked down and he raised her chin to look at him. "Olivia?" he inquired, unsure.

"Yes. Just exhausted... I never... I never thought being Queen would be so... so... hard and dangerous. I thought once the competition was over, I was safe. That I wouldn't have to worry anymore. But everything is so complicated. Sometimes I wish Melissa had taken her chance to kill me so I didn't have to deal with all... this!" she rubbed her eyes. "But I have to do this. For Jay. For the pillar of the dead. For the people of Earth and the Council."

"I'll see you tomorrow. I have a meeting with Katharine sadly. Just stop worrying about it all. Everything will be better in the morning." he started humming the song by Rizzle Kicks which just made her laugh. Rizzle Kicks were some of the few celebrities who had survived and evolved and Olivia was thankful. She didn't know how she would manage to survive without them.

She had a dreamless sleep that night but she hadn't slept well. She was starting to wonder if she just couldn't remember the dream, when her alarm went off. She reached over to turn it off when she realised it wasn't there. Oh no. I'm still asleep.

She tried not to move and hoped she would just wake up but instead the room moved around her. It morphed from walls to faces cackling and smiling cruelly at her, but they whipped past so fast she didn't even recognise them. Then one caught her eye and they all slowed down. It was Cheryl.

"The only reason your Queen is that everyone is scared of you. But I'm not scared of you. I would happily assassinate you any day for the better of my planet. You're just a selfish little girl, only just growing up, who thinks she knows everything. But you know what, you little brat? Soon I'll be Queen and you'll have to answer to me or work for me. If I haven't killed you already!" the face laughed and flew past. Olivia tried closing her eyes. Wake up! She told herself. It's just a dream. Just a dream...

She opened her eyes to see the familiar walls of her room. She had never loved that sight more than she did then. She checked the time and saw that she was late. Again. No breakfast this morning again then, she thought pulling out a pale green pastel dress. She put it on and watched it swirl in the mirror. How did she have so many nice dresses? She was just thinking how they got the right measurements that were always perfect, when someone burst into her room. She turned around slowly to see Jarod.

He was breathing heavily but she couldn't understand why. He spoke so fast, completely in Spanish, that she couldn't keep up. Even with her own Spanish background, she couldn't make sense of what he was saying. When she finally managed to get him to sit on a chair and calm down, she could tell he wasn't tired or in a hurry, he was frightened. His breathing slowed but he was shaking so much he only managed to say two words:

"he's gone."

After investigating the issue further through the Council, she found it out who he was referring to and why he was so worried that he was gone. One of the most renowned terrorist leaders had escaped from his cell, so when Jarod got there to do his much needed calming, mind-controlling exercises with the prisoner, he panicked badly. Furthermore, from spending a lot of time with the 'off his head' prisoner, he knew how dangerous and unstable he was.

"He's a ticking time bomb!" yelled Jarod for the tenth time in the last ten minutes. It was all he seemed to be able to do: yell. That and shaking uncontrollably. He kept interrupting people as if he was in his own little world where he was being eternally attacked by the terrorist leader.

"Someone tell him to shut up!" Nanuq complained, loosing both his concentration and his patience. "Anyway, just send me and I'll bring him back dead. Much quicker. Much safer."

Olivia was outraged. "I care how you speak of my brother. And as regards to you going out or violent methods, both ways are unthinkable." Nanuq slumped down in his chair like a toddler in a sulk. He muttered something under his breath. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Nothing," he said continuing to mumble and sulk. Olivia was about to press the matter when he said, "he couldn't even squash a fly, unlike you..."

Olivia thought for a moment, realising the truth in his words. Her brother might act tough on the outside, but he wasn't on the inside. She sighed. "He's a boy."

"I take serious objection to that!" Cheryl shrieked. "There is nothing wrong with Jarod. Plus I think the whole hard on the outside soft in the middle thing is kinda... ya know... cute." her voice grew ever quieter, the closer she got to the end of the sentence until she was practically whispering.

Jarod came out of his daze. "What did you say?" a few murmurs came from the Council, some in confusion, others knowingly.

"Cheryl? I do believe my brother asked you a question." Cheryl waited a moment stubbornly before melting again.

"Okay, okay. I said it was sorta cute. Did you hear that? I said you were cute okay? Happy now?" she crossed her arms on the table and buried her face in them. Jarod turned bright red.

Olivia sighed again. Today should be named the 'day of sighs', she thought. It had a ring to it too. "Lets stop for a lunch break and then will come back to this later..." she left the room as some of the Council argued over different matters, some left for lunch, and some sat awkwardly like Jarod and Cheryl who had now lifted her head off if the table and was blushing just as badly as Jarod. They would be a cute couple, she thought and smiled. She looked at the others. Nanuq were deep in conversation talking about fighting, training and tactics while Jaykawb was telling Rita jokes that she was laughing at. It was good to see her friends like this. If she could call them that exactly. Llywelyn walked over to her.

"Coming for lunch?" he asked and she nodded, letting him walk her out into the sunshine.