Newblooded

8. Mare

"Mare!" I hear a voice call to me awake. "Mare! Get up I swear," I groan, still not being awake enough to speak. 

"Ugh, I'm up! It's too early." She laughs at my retort. 

"Well you'd better get up, your Prince is leaving soon." I sit up at that detail. Cal was leaving again. Farley smiles at me, her blue eyes radiate with an energy I never knew someone could have this early in the morning. "Look, how are you feeling? You know, pregnancy hits the hardest in the mornings." She finishes with that morning sunshine we don't share.

I fall back into my pillows and pull the blankets over my head. "Yeah, I'm starting to guess that." I muffle through the blanket. I laugh to myself. I bet Farley had multiple pregnancy books of knowledge from Clara, to share with me. I groan, I am not handling this well. I pull up from the blanket to retort, when I see Ca-- Tiberias enter the room. I prop myself on my elbows. 

"Your Majesty? What are you doing here? You should be on your way to Archeon." I comment to the figure behind Farley. She looks back in utter confusion and abruptly stands when she sees him. 

"I'm sorry Farley but, may I speak to Mare alone?" He asks Farley. She looks back at me and I give an encouraging nod. On her way out she doesn't even bother to curtsy, whether he noticed and didn't care, or simply didn't at all. 

The door closes and immediately he starts to speak, "Look, Mare..." he pauses as he tries to cheer me up, he looks over my face, trying to figure out if I had been crying. 

"As far as cheering up speeches go, your failing," I say not even breaking a smile. He smiles instead. 

"Well, I've always been bad at that" His humor truly is lacking.

He smiles and comes to sit on the bed. I untuck my blanket in one swift motion. I curl up tucking my knees under my chin and watch him take a seat on the end of the bed. "Mare, I know you don't want me to take the throne but--" I roll my eyes in retort. 

"Ca-" I pause and breathe in and out, "-Tiberias," He cringes at the name, "Your right I don't want you to take the throne. It's selfish and you're a liar!" I snap at him.

He slinks back against the backboard of the bed. "I-I" He stutters, but instead, I keep going.

 "You promised that you wouldn't! That you would stay here with me!" I'm screaming now and I am fully aware that Farley can definitely hear our conversation. I start tearing up. 

Damn pregnancy.

Tiberias starts to move to comfort me. Aware that his arms would be no comfort to me, I jump from my curled position on the bed and walk towards the small vanity opposite the bed.

I could see this sadness through the mirror, his weakness. The future King of Norta, reduced to this by none other than a red girl from the Stilts. I have to remember in these coming days I am not red. I am Newblooded, with abilities no silver can possess. I am the little lightning girl, a title nobody can take away. However, in this world, in the eyes of most people, I am red.

He gets up. "Mare, I'm so sorry, I know that you didn't want to see me, but I came to ask will you please be there? When I leave. I want you to be the last thing I see and think about when I leave here." He smiles and leaves the room for me to contemplate. The door closes and the heat leaches from the room.

~

I sit down at the bench of the vanity and try to figure out what to do. Farley came bursting in brushing her hands up and down my shoulders. "Are you ok?" She asked worriedly. I give her the brightest smile I could manage. 

"Yeah, I will be when he's gone." I finish, dropping my smile. 

My gaze goes to the door. I get up to look out the window. I open the window to feel the soft breeze. The crisp air seems to help with my nausea. I smile, nature seemed to be the cure for everything, except, of course, matters of the heart. Those seem to always stick.

I hear Farley's footsteps approach me. "Farley, what made him change his mind?" I ask believing that no matter her answer, I would end up crying.

"Well, most of our intel points to Maven's arrival." She says fleetingly. I could feel her eyes like needles in my skin. The name sent a ghostly chill down my spine, a chill I happen to be very familiar with. "Apparently he has had regular visits," She adds sparingly, obviously waiting for a blowup that I was determined to contain.

She is wrong, I don't cry. All I have is pure malice for anything concerning Maven Calore. "As soon as Tiberias departs, I want an audience with the prisoner." 

She smiles and I can't help but feel pride. "Of course Mare it will be set up immediately"

It's my turn to smile.

THANKS TO ALL MY READERS! EVEN THE FEW THAT ARE ACTUALLY READING! I WILL BE POSTING BASICALLY AS SOON AS THEY ARE WRITTEN!