Kings and Queens: Total Drama

Suprise Switch: Chapter 11

((Synopsis: The 'lackeys' tend to Lightning's wounds, and one deceiving member proves to have a little sympathy when it comes to the prisoners.))

"Hey, Max. Didn't I ask you to pass me the iodine?" Scarlett growled, tucking a loose strand of her soft orange hair behind her ear. She and her consort Max were reluctantly tending to Lightning's stab wound. Fortunately, he remained unconscious, unfortunately, he didn't bleed out.

Anne Maria sat nearby, untying a roll of cotton bandages. Several pieces of antique jewelry coated her fingers and arms, clinking against each other as she fondled the fabric. Max got up from his spot at the window, anxiously rushing to Scarlett's side with a thick glass bottle, fumbling the container in his hands before passing it to her.

She took the cap off with her teeth, spitting it onto the floor. Anne Maria shivered in disgust, "Gross! Girl, you'd better pick that up after you're done with him." Scarlett just rolled her eyes, "Whatever, just hand those cloths over to me."

The Duchess approached her sovereign, bandages in hand. Taking her first good look at him, she scowled. His white linen shirt was stained with a huge red blob. Similar but smaller stains across the sleeves, most prominently in the left one. Whatever the cocky soldier he fought did to him, it got him good.

Scarlett snatched the cloth from her with a sneer, and Anne Maria backed away, keeping her eyes on the patient. "Who do you think he was fighting?" Max asked, trying to ease the tension and keep himself from wetting his pants. His lady scoffed, clearly irritated that he didn't get it. "Who else? There's no way any of the ladies in that court or Cameron could cause this level of damage in such a strategic manner."

Anne Maria raised an eyebrow, "So what? It could've been a normal soldier." Scarlett continued to wrap the bandages across of Lightning's chest and left shoulder, and she shook her head. "Highly improbable, and considering past battle logs, this is a completely different pattern than the one Lord Duncan normally produces."

The other two stared at her, dumbfounded and utterly clueless. She pinned the ends of the cloth to the inside and laid Lord Lightning on his back. "So out of everyone left, who would be talented and experienced enough, as well as having a decent motive to oppose Lightning in a way such as this?" Still nothing.

She groaned, facepalming and making her glasses awkwardly reposition themselves, "It's Lord Brick, you knobheads." "Oohhhhhh," the two said in unison and Scarlett rolled her eyes again. Looking down at Lightning, she sighed. "Max, go summon the guard to the West Tower." He eyed her curiously, "For what purpose?" "To get you something to do, darling." Emphasising the last word to show she means business, Max took it as a cue to exit as fast as humanly possible, leaving the two ladies alone with the Lord.

"Miss Maria, what is your relation to the Lord?" Scarlett demanded after catching the Duchess's line of sight. The tanned woman flustered a bit, the jingling of the gold and silver bands on her skin hinting at her response. "It's not what you think. He gave me a position of power after I brought him a few things to mess with Queen Pasty." Scarlett gave a half smirk, placing her hand over Lightning's forehead.

Max had already sent the guards to the tower, trying to be as efficient as possible to avoid any kind of punishment his girlfriend could think of. On his way back, he decided it would be a good idea to check on the prisoners in the basement.

Walking down the rickety stairs into the damp underground passage made him surprisingly comfortable, lord knows why. He approached the cell, staring into the black dark corners of the brick wall while gripping the iron bar with his hand. "Hey, inferiors, you in there?"

"Max?" Mike's hoarse voice called from the corner, letting a sleeping Dawn rest on his lap. "Yes, it is I." "What do you want?" He sounded really sick, but that wasn't what interested the small lord at the moment. "Are you alright?" he asked, sounding surprisingly genuine for an enemy of theirs.

Mike cocked his head to the side, puzzled by his odd kindness, "What do you think?" "I think you want to get out." Suddenly, Dawn started to stir, and she raised her head from Mike's lap and drowsily glared at the man. "traiTOR!" she screeched, lunging herself at the bars and trying to scratch his eyes out.

The scrawny Lord sharing her cell gripped her waist and pulled her back into the darkness, "Dawn, calm down, I think he wants to help!" She froze, pouting her lips in angry disbelief, "Why?" "Because I'm on the wrong side."

The two cellmates started at the enemy Lord, watching expectantly for a 'Got you! Haha, look at your pathetic faces! No way I would help you losers,' but they were surprised to find the exact opposite. "I don't like the way he's treated his people and comrades, especially you guys. And seeing what one of your allies did to him . . . I was really impressed."

"I want to learn how to be like that, not only to better my own kingdom and impress my queen but to help the right cause." Dawn looked at Mike, smiling despite the small tears threatening to drip down her face, "He's telling the truth, his aura is a glorious mix of pink and yellow." She left Mike's hold, reaching her hand out through the bars.

Max seemed shocked at first, "So you can see my aura?" Dawn nodded, and the boy smiled, "How fascinating." Mike slid over next to Dawn, eyeing Max suspiciously, "So, you really want to help us?" Max held both of his hand before the two prisoners, "I swear it." The prisoners exchanged a glance, and nodded to each other, a new hope filling both of their hearts. They placed their hands in his, and they shook on it.

"So, where do we start?"

**Words: 989**

((W O O! I'm so hyped, and I just love writing Scarlett's character. Max's switch is something I have been thinking about, and I think it was the right decision. He has such an interesting concept and I feel like he can be a really developed character if the writers tried hard enough. Bring it on, guys. ~Kay))