WAR STORM (Red Queen 4// Alternate Version)

Chapter 2

Congratulations! You made it to the second chapter. This proves you can endure some serious emotional trauma. If you're enjoying my fanfiction, please star my chapters, and comment if you have any suggestions!!

"My heart breaks for him; my heart hardens against him."

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Mare

My fingernails dig into the cushy fabric of the armrests that lie upon the chair, leaving impressions when I clench my fists and force myself to keep them in my lap. I don't allow my gaze to wander far, keeping it restrained to the wall in front of me. Though I've been here for only a matter of hours and seen a fraction of the palace, I get the notion that it's a dark place, though nothing like Whitefire, in its sense of grandeur, but all the same for its purpose. To scheme other's downfalls and a sanctuary for liars and narcissists.

Only a thin layer of glass separates us from the morning day outside. The Samos estate isn't nearly the size of Whitefire, nor as ornate, yet I admit it radiates a different sort of beauty. Nearly all of the building is comprised of glass and steel, a feature that would be considered positive in a magnetron's eyes. Outdoors, metals arch over the greenery, a sort of hallway I can assume. Magnolia and wisteria trees stand at the edges of the expansive lawn, the wisteria's flowers blowing in the breeze. The sun lies low on the horizon, daring to dip under. I must've slept late into the afternoon.

Davidson speaks once he takes his place at the head of the table. "Shall we commence?" There's a glint of humor in his eyes, a detail I wish to slap him for allowing.

Seconds of silence pass before anyone speaks. I glance at Volo, but he appears to be waiting with his face turned towards Cal's. A ghost of a smirk lies on the man's face.

I could concede and let my eyes wander to the glass that neighbors the pane I had been using as a distraction; to watch him, I'm dubious he isn't doing the same. I can practically feel the heat of his stare burning into my chest, so powerful it almost hurts physically.

But I never do. And at last, Cal responds with a "Yes."

Though it is neither him nor Davidson who speaks next, but Volo. "Every day that passes, the Nortan empire crumbles under the bastard's rule. Many of Norta's Houses have already left, each one believing it would be better to have a traitor on the throne over a madman."

"I'm not-" Cal begins, but is quickly cut off.

"Of course not, Your Majesty." I can't help but cringe at the King of Rift's words. Already calling him by a royal title without a crown on his head. "We've gone to extreme measures to explain to them that it was all simply a horrible misunderstanding. That the dead queen forced your hand." The man glances at me for a moment, remembering the face of Elara's killer. "My point is, that Maven will not be a king at all without his people. Soon enough the scales will turn in our favor if they haven't already. "

I didn't notice until now, but Davidson has turned slightly red in the face, and his eyebrows are drawn together. "What are you suggesting? That we sit back and wait for Maven to make a mistake? That could take years! I've never met the boy, but from the tales I've heard, he's as sharp as a knife. And with the newly bounded alliance with the Lakelands, he has compensated for the damage the loss of the High Houses caused. Perhaps he is in a weaker position from where he was six months ago. But with his betrothal to the princess, it raises the stakes for us as well."

Davidson speaks the truth. For over one-hundred years, the two silver-ruled nations bled one another out, constantly burdening the other by their very existence. With the war over, both countries will be stronger than they have been in a very long time. While I'm obligated to believe that the war being halted is a good thing for the reds, I can also see how it could be a very, very awful thing for this group of silvers and the Guard.