Torn Mind

Chapter 34: Mare

I'm on the jet again. Strapped in next to me, flying the jet is Cal. He catches me looking and turns, smiling broadly. I can hear all our friends in the back talking. I hear a faint laughter. They're happy. We are safe. I look back out the glass in front of me and notice the vast mountains covered in snow. It all looks so pearly and smooth, I want to touch it. Getting up from my seat, I step closer to the glass until I am only inches away. I reach for the glass, desperate to get as close to the perfection as I can. When my fingertips collide with it, everything turns to ruins. We all fall in silence, too shocked to scream. I whip my head around, trying to find everyone else but they seem to have vanished. I continue falling and I hate the feeling it leaves me with. I know that when I hit the ground, I will be gone, but I still wish for it so that I don't have to suffer anymore. Looking down, I see the cold, hard ground awaiting me, and I welcome it.

My eyes burst open right before the impact. I almost always wake up distressed when I have my nightmares but today I am mostly stoic. Perhaps I'm getting used to them. While I do still jump back frightened, it is not a cause of my nightmare. What is much more horrifying is the sight in front of me: Kira's bold and bright blue eyes staring deep into mine.

"Good morning! Sleep well?" I swear each day she is getting more and more exuberant.

I yawn in response.

"Today is a busy day so let's get moving."

Still waking up, I take my time getting up and stretching a bit as well. Looking to the other cells, I notice that Tyton and Monte are both still asleep, or are at least pretending to be.

Reluctantly, I go along with Kira and the guards lead us down a dozen passageways. Kira never bothers to blindfold me when she takes me places and I don't know whether I should consider it a good thing or not. On the one hand, it allows me to make a mental map of the palace in case I ever have the chance to run, however, it also indicates her assurance that I won't ever get the chance to use the information.

Today she takes me to a new room that appears to be meant for conferences. As we walk in I see dozens of people roaming about, all looking frazzled and quite busy. Some hold lists upon lists and are running around, demanding this and that from others and frantically scribbling down notes on their papers while the rest are simply here for manpower. When the first person notices Kira, the room almost immediately goes silent and everyone quickly shuffles out, not leaving a single trace behind to reveal that they were once here.

The soldiers take their usual positions around the perimeter of the room and I follow Kira to the table in the center of the room. Kira gestures for me to sit, and while I do hesitate at first, I sit without a fuss. Instead of joining me, Kira opts to pace back and forth in front of the table, contemplating something. Everytime she pivots past me, I catch a whiff of her lotions. I sense she wants me to start our conversation today and I have nothing to lose at this point so I give in.

"What's wrong?"

"Where shall I begin?" She sighs, "The Cygnets are losing their patience with me, you refuse to comply with my wishes, and I cannot decide what theme my ball should be."

I ignore the first two and jump to the last, most unusual 'problem'. "You're throwing a ball?" I don't bother hiding the confusion and judgment on my face.

"Why, yes. It seems the only things that make me happy these days are champagne and dancing."

Kira continues her thoughtful pacing and I sit still, not exactly sure what my purpose for today is. How can Kira possibly throw a ball at this time, in the midst of a war? Unless, perhaps it's over. Maybe this ball is in celebration of their victory. I'm itching to ask Kira but I know she will only ignore me, continuing to keep me as uninformed about the outside world as much as she can manage. I want to assume the worst case scenario, in order to protect my heart from the pain, but I can't help hoping that everyone I love still has a fighting chance.

"Don't look so gloomy Mare, you are invited."

"What?" I don't know why I'm surprised, I should learn to expect the most ridiculous situations coming from Kira.

"Yes. You, Monte, and Tyton are all invited—well, more required—to come to my ball. Only thing is, I can't seem to come up with a good theme."

"How about a masquerade?" My heart pounds at the idea, scared she will see right through my plan. If I can convince her to throw a masquerade ball, that would be a prime opportunity to escape unnoticed.

I didn't think her eyes could get any more terrifying but they double in size when she hears my idea. "Brilliant! Oh, I am already picturing the mask I will have made!"

Maids make their way into the room, measuring tapes in hand, not even a minute later. Kira must have sent for them. A few approach her and begin to take measurements of her face while a few more do the same to me. They work quite efficiently and are back out the door as soon as they finish.

Kira reaches for my hands and I flinch. She goes on anyway, pretending not to notice, and holds my hands. "Thank you for helping me with this Mare. Hopefully, you'll see I'm not as cruel as you think me to be. Now, I have a lot of planning to get to so I'm sorry I will have to cut our day a little short. To make up for it, and to show my gratitude, I will have a gift awaiting you." With that, she squeezes my hands gently and swiftly turns around, exiting the room.

As the brute soldiers lead me back to my cell, I think about what Kira could have gifted me. Hopefully, it is something that I can turn into a weapon. When we make it down, the soldier roughly shoves me into my cell. When Kira isn't around, it isn't out of the ordinary for them to treat me a little worse. Usually, I have a snarky remark ready for them but what I see in the corner of my cell shocks me into silence. 

~~~~~~Author's note~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading my new chapter! I hope you enjoyed it and if you did, please consider giving it a vote! I would like to know what your guesses on what gift Kira gave Mare are, so if you think you've got a good idea, leave a comment. I also want to know who your favorite viewpoint to read from is (I think I'm tied between Cal and Mare even though Kira's are pretty interesting to write). I hope you all have a wonderful and beautiful day!