After War Storm

Coriane

This chapter does have a fairly sad part, just giving you a heads up.

I really hated that girl, and I don't hate many people. Maria, however, is one of them.

I've been up here since before she was born so I've seen her grow up into the monster she is today.

Tibe and I watched now as she made her way to my son's room.

What was she up to now?

We'd seen the other day where she 'accidentally' bumped into Cal and called him Your Majesty to get under his skin. And called herself a slave to the crown.

Like her family would ever refer to themselves as slaves. They're all so up themselves and think they are the most powerful so everyone should listen and bow down to them.

She entered my son's room and looked around a bit before going through Cal's desk.

Maria pulled out a book which I immediately recognised. She sat down and began to read.
"No!"
"Cori," Tibe said wrapping his arm around me and running his hand up and down my arm comfortingly.
"She can't read that. That's my private diary."

I got angrier, the longer she read it, especially when she laughed. She found Elara destroying my life funny? Of course she did.

Tibe and I watched in horror as she proceeded to trash the room before setting my diary on fire.

"No!" I yelled. That's the only thing of mine Cal has. "Why would she do that? How could she do that?" I knew she was cruel but that wasn't necessary at all. Cal has never done anything to her.

Well, not her directly. Him and Mare had killed several members of her family though I think it was Mare that killed them all. But Cal and Mare are in love, hurt one and you hurt the other. That's what Maria was using right now and it killed me. They'd only just found each other again and Cal seemed truly happy for the first time in two years. I'd never be able to thank Mare for all she's done for my son but I am very grateful she came into his life. She's changed him in ways I never thought I'd see, ways Evangeline never could have done.

How much I wanted to talk to them both. I wanted to tell Cal how proud I am of him and everything he's done. Every time I saw him upset or worried I wanted to go and comfort him, but I couldn't. The curse of the dead, I guess. You can watch which was more than I ever thought I'd get. But they don't know that. To watch my son grow up but never being able to talk to him, or hug him, or tell him how much I love him is heartbreaking.

And that was Elara's fault. If it weren't for her I wouldn't be here now, or maybe I would but I would have been there for Cal. Tibe and I could have ruled together. But then we both might have died in the war anyway. No matter who was ruling, the Scarlet Guard still would have risen. Cal might never have met Mare and that is why I was ok with how life turned out for me. He'd found his love and now he had a beautiful baby boy. And I knew that I would get to see him someday and I could wait until then, just watching over him.

I didn't want Maria causing him or Mare anymore harm. They'd faced enough in their lives and when they were both so young.

After destroying my diary, Maria looked around the room seeming satisfied with her work.

She turned around to leave the room but something sparked in her eyes as the landed on the cot in the room. Then she smiled and left.

"She's going after Ti," I breathed clutching Tibe's arm.
"What? How do you know?" He asked, worried.
"Didn't you see her look at his cot and then smile and leave? What else would she be smiling about as it wasn't her handiwork here, she'd already given a look around the room? There's nothing else in this castle that's theirs. Cal keeps all his stuff in that room and Mare doesn't have anything here."
"You're right," he said "but there isn't anything we can do."

That was wrong. I could warn Cal, or try to.

We weren't looking at the castle then, but at Cal and Mare in a small room. It looked like a living room and there were four other people there, two adults and two kids.

I concentrated fully on sending a message to Cal. The dead can use their powers on Earth but only the smallest amount and it is extremely painful. So it is safe to say people like Elara can't control people from up here, they can probably on read minds and send messages. I can send messages, but it hurts, a lot.

'Cal' I thought to him, getting his attention. Cal froze.
"Mum?" Cal whispered. He recognised my voice.

I let out a cry of pain as it built in my head.
'Ti' I thought. I knew I wouldn't be able to send anything else, the pain was growing, so I tried to convey the message that Ti was in trouble through that one word. Luckily, Cal seemed to understand.

I fell back into TIbe who rubbed my back and held me as I rested my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands, massaging my temples.

"We've got to go," Cal said to Mare, sounding urgent as he grabbed his bag and led them all from the house.
"What's going on?" Mare asked worriedly, l
"We're going back to the palace. Now!"
"Why? What happened, Cal?" Mare asked, stopping walking so Cal would have so tell her.
"Something's wrong at the palace." Just tell her, Cal!
"How do you know?"
"I just know."

"What is it?" She asked, after a moment of silence. She knew Cal wasn't telling her something.
"Something's happened to Ti," he told her but I didn't get to see Mare's reaction because we weren't looking at them any longer.

Instead we were looking at Cameron, who was holding Ti.

Then Maria appeared. Oh no.

"Who are you?" Cameron asked but Maria didn't answer. Then a second later Cameron handed Ti to Maria.

"No!" I yelled. There was no way Cal and Mare would get here in time to stop Maria from doing anything. No one would know where Ti was even if they did.

Maria turned and left and we followed her, watching as she made her way somewhere. She climbed up a flight of stairs before continuing through the corridors. Where was she taking him?

Ti began to cry but a second later he stopped after an annoyed, hard glare from Maria. He was a baby! I could only assume she told him to be quiet, or silent, or simply to stop crying.

She carried him through into a guest room until they were out on a balcony, 4 floors up.

"She can't," I whispered clutching onto Tibe. Ti was a baby and he had never done anything to her, or anyone for that. It was cruel to use Ti to get at Cal and Mare. Cruel and wrong. But Maria was evil and I knew she'd stop at nothing to get revenge for her family's deaths.

She held Ti at arm's length, taking several steps forward so he was hanging in mid air above the ground for stories below.

I turned away, unable to watch, just as Maria let go.

I sobbed, I screamed. Tibe held me and I could feel his tears to.

Ti was found soon after and Cal and Mare's friends were informed, as well Julien and Sara. There were lots of tears and swearing and confusion between Cameron and Evangeline. They decided to put the discussion on hold until later. Everyone was too upset.

I was still crying when Cal and Mare burst through the castle doors however long later.

It was awful. They didn't deserve this, no one did. They'd both faced so much loss in their lives and now they'd lost their son. I cried harder.

All we could do was wait and see what would happen.

-~-

Would you like the next chapter from Cal's POV or Mare's or both? Xx