The Little Queen

The Little Injury

I ran through the Paddock's unkept courtyard and eventual rose garden. I was on Opal's tail and all I needed was for her to slow down even the tiniest bit or stumble just a tad.

"Opal!" I screamed as she hopped the wooden half fence and ran into the woods. I followed closely behind, tripping as soon as I leapt over the fence. I took the small amount of time I had made contact with the ground and used it to grab a rock before chasing after her again.

She was starting to get tired, I could tell. She kept looking behind her frantically to see if I was still following her. Why wouldn't I have been? I felt like she had been at the center of so many of my problems recently, there was no way I could have afforded to let her just run off and carry on with her life as if she wasn't about to just destroy my best friend's family.

Why couldn't she keep to herself? Or go after anyone outside of my circle?

"Stop!" Completely fed up with her not complying, I chucked the rock in my hand at her as hard as I could. I wasn't sure if my aim was a good thing or bad because it hit right in the back of her head but I can promise you that's not what I was going for.

I wasn't upset about it though.

She let out an 'oof' before falling forward and I was finally able to run up to her.

She rolled over onto her back, gripping the earth beside her. Retaliation was coming and it was not going to be pretty. Her method was the same as mine, except she found a larger rock and hurled it at my face.

It felt like it happened in slow motion, as in I could see everything she was doing in fine detail but as soon as that oddly shapen mass came flying my way, real time kicked back in and I was unable to avoid it. It collided with the boney part of my under eye and was enough to shock me long enough for Opal to run away. The pain was unimaginable, so bad that I collapsed on the ground, cupping my ever swelling eye.

I wanted to cry but I was so angry I couldn't bring myself to do it. The only thing I could focus on was how I was going to completely ruin Opal's life...

...without killing her.

Theodore's POV

Fairington House was a complete, chaotic mess upon Ethan and I's arrival. Servants were circling the area in question, bodyguards had a perimeter set up in place and there were even some other enforcers from other agencies questioning Arden and Philippa.

There was a noticeable absence in the house, one I couldn't necessarily shake.

"Your Highness!" Penelope broke away from her father's side and came running up to me, curtsying very quickly. "I need to talk to you," she glanced at Ethan, "...in private."

I watched as Arden urgently ditched the Enforcer he was talking to and ran up to us. He grabbed Penelope's upper arm, and I noted the unnecessary amount of force behind it, "Penelope, what are you doing?" He sneered quietly as if I wouldn't have been able to hear him. Why was he trying to be sneaky?

It lead me to believe he was guilty of something but what exactly?

I raised an eyebrow at him as Penelope ripped her arm away. She was very angry with him and I needed to know why.

I made eye contact with the Enforcer and motioned him over. I had an inkling that Arden wouldn't have left quietly if I asked him to. The man seemed to think he had some amount of power of me and he could talk to me however he wanted.

He needed to be reminded otherwise.

"Your Highness?" the Enforcer said while looking between, Arden, Penelope and I.