Queen's Scars

Chapter 22: Hestia

Here's another chapter! Sorry if they are shorter than usual, but I'm working on it. Enjoy! 😈

Mother was completely zones out after father came in. I am so excited to visit the village where Mother grew up. After we leave the room mother and father start arguing again. Their voices get louder and louder nipping and biting at the other one. We ignore it, used to it by now.

We enter the training arena, a bit late. All the other teens in the room glare at us. They scheme and plot, and though they want to get married to us, they don't make it a secret that they hate us, or think they're better than us. Foolish. And everyone (parents included) thinks Instructor Samos favors us, just because she is chief lady in waiting to mother. But that's not true. She doesn't play favorites, she's really smart. She was an original winner of Queenstrial herself. Though an adult, she still remains just as deadly and sharp, almost more so.

Her daughter is no different. She is smart, strong, and incredibly attractive. Her name is Serifina. She has deep luminous eyes that pierce your soul and hair as pale as a sliver of moonlight. And her.... Shut up self! Don't even think about it. Father will have my head! Anyway, she has no father, as he died in a mysterious accident so many years ago. She sort of has an extra parent, as Lady Elane often visits their estate.

She's bffs, surprisingly, with a boy from house Iral, Pradus. He is as smug as cat chasing a mouse. To be honest, I'm not sure how she can stand him. And her cousins are no better, always up on their high horse. They constantly look down upon everyone. Except Sammy. At least to his face.

"I'm so sorry we wasted a single minute of your precious time," El snarkily remarks to a group of girls glaring at us.

"Yeah," I continue, "not to mention we ALWAYS show up late."

"Heaven forbid we intrude," adds Z.

"What jerks," Sammy mutters under his breath. Some of the parents glare at us and mutter under their breath, talking treason and cruelty, as usual.

"Typical of Barrow's brats."

"Always out to ruin everything, just like their mother!"

"I don't see a drop of Sliverblood in them. No proper Sliver acts that way." Lady Evangeline enters at a perfect time, just before things get ugly. The parents go silent and leave at her glare and her threatening metal spikes. She quickly sets us up in arenas, and we each battle. I end up with a Haven and an Iral. Sammy takes a Samos and a Provos. Z has the toughest duo, a Merandus and one Skonos. El takes on a Blonos and a Rhambos.

My siblings and I always win. With both newblood and sliver blood in us, it's almost impossible to beat us in a fight. Before we head out with the rest Lady Evangeline stops us.

"Your Queenstrials, Princetrials, and Princesstrials are next week, correct?" We inwardly groan, every parent has approached us and tried to get us to favor their children. She reads our expressions incredibly well, even for a Sliver at court. "Will your mother be there?" We gape at each other, she doesn't know? Luckily Sammy still has the dignity to nod yes. "Hmm. She probably doesn't want to though," she mutters, "too many painful memories. But he would make her go. For appearances." And his lies, we think we hear her mutter.

We look at each other, what on earth is she talking about. We bid her good bye. And leave. We think we see her smile.