My Red Queen |Red Queen fanfic|

Where do we stand

Maven

"Come in."

Footsteps so light you'd think a mouse was tiptoeing along the floor. These near soundless steps belong to a small being, the woman who unmistakably had slept with my brother.

I don't bother to look at her; I don't think I can bear it. My back is kept facing her to conceal my tearless eyes. Have I lost the ability to show sadness? Am I so emotionally exhausted that I have not the will to shed a tear for the woman I lost? The woman I love.

"What did you want to speak with me about?"

Her steps become louder, and I feel her getting closer.

"Maven. Look at me" she places her palm on the back of my arm.

Look! Look what you couldn't have, what was taken from you

My eyelids are too heavy to attempt to make eye contact. I do as she requested, I reposition myself so that I can face her. Eyes closed but ears wide open.

"I am not going to apologize for what happened. I could lie to you, tell you how he forced me or how it was all a mistake. But he didn't and at the time... in the heat of all the passion I thought... he loved me".

"I suppose you'd like for me to feel some sympathy for you. You want me to pick up the pieces that he broke? To risk my own heart messing with shattered glass" I growl.

"I can reassemble your pieces a million times, but you'll never fully be able to trust me. To love me. It doesn't matter how hard I try to prove myself to you; you'll never believe me".

I open my eyes only to be greeted by a sight that makes what's left of my humanity crumble. A piece of heart tore from my chest. I'm so angry and heartbroken all at the same time, I try to remain cold and apathetic but what's left of my heart pushes me to feel.

A gleam of tear stains stream in a serpentine path down the curve of her cheek. She lowers her head as her emotional floodgates are dangerously close to bursting open. She's a strong woman; she's holding her head up, shed give her life to protect the people she loves. Mare does not cry so easily.

"You feel betrayed, don't you? You feel as though I've been unfaithful in that I have Cal the one thing I never gave you. The ultimate symbolism of giving you all of me" she weeps.

"But we aren't together anymore, and I do not belong to either of you."

You were unfaithful when you allowed yourself to be seduced by my brother

"What would you like me to do? To pretend that it didn't h-"

"No. I want you to remember that you put in an arena to be left for dead because I refused to be your queen. You killed innocent people, and worst of all- you let me fall for you know it was all a trap" Mare spits out.

"And we're back to the betrayal! I said I was sorry can we move on now" I yelled harshly.

Mare being Mare doesn't bat an eye at my outburst. If anything she's... smiling?

"I'll let it go as soon as you agree to let the incident go" She smirks.

What is she doing to me?

"Just like that? No more bringing it up in fights or using it against me?"

She puts her hand out, ". Like. That" she smiles.

"H-how do I know you're not lying to me?" I cock my eyebrow suspiciously.

Her smile grows more devilish, oddly fitting for her.

"You don't. But if you want to be with me you're going to have to trust me", she drags her index finger along my chest at a horizontal level, "that is if you still want to marry me."