marexmaven ;)

Chapter Seven: Mare

A/n: Sorry this chapter low key sucks. Bringing them together is soooo hard! I have an idea, slightly... so I guess this is kinda a filler lol I'M SO SORRY GUYS I FEEL BAD

I found myself once again being dragged by Evangeline. She had a tight grip on my wrist that probably would've hurt if it weren't for the manacles. 

I was too over her at this point to pick a fight. I had to go over the stupid speech more today, which already had me in a bad mood. If I want Maven to be nice to me, I can't go around getting into fights with his future wife. I shuddered with disgust. 

I was shoved into my room and the door slammed shut behind me. I guess she wasn't in the mood for picking fights either. 

The thought made me smile a little, but it quickly fell away. This place sucks the happiness out of everyone. No wonder Maven's so dead inside. At the mention of his name, my mind brought forth memories of him. 

His piercing blue eyes, the black he always wore that fit him so well, his hand that fit perfectly in mine... the kiss we had on the royal boat. 

God, what's wrong with me? I shook my head and stepped over to my bed. I picked up the packet to read and memorize for a few more long hours. 

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I was escorted by some Sentinels to a new room. It was a little bigger than mine, with racks of dresses and accessories off to my left. Under my feet was a fluffy red rug, and there was a stool with a large mirror off to the right. The lights were bright, and there were more makeup and hair tools than I could count. 

The guards left me, and three maids led me to the glamorous bathroom. Of course, Maven always gives me the best. They scrubbed my skin with a sweet smelling soap and put me in a soft robe. 

I sat down on the stool and looked in a mirror for the first time in a while. I looked pretty bad, even for me. Silent Stone does more than just take away abilities. My skin had a gray tone to it, and my cheeks were a bit sunken. I was also very skinny, worse than before. 

The velvet robe was so comfy, it was hard to stay awake while the girls did my hair. "Your hair is done, miss." I opened my eyes and turned my head to see both sides. They had braided two small sections at the top of my head and tied them together at the back, and the rest of my hair was down in loose waves. It was beautiful. 

The maids used a lot of blush to try and make me look less withered, and I had shimmery light pink eyeshadow. Finally, they put pink on my lips. They left me in my seat admiring their work while they prepared options for me to wear. 

The first was a red dress with a v neck and red heels, representing my blood. The second was an off-shoulder purple dress with silver sparkles at the bottom and silver heels, representing my ability. Kind of ironic, really. The third was a black cold shoulder dress with red trim and red heels. This one was to match Maven, I assumed. All the dresses were floor length with long sleeves to cover my manacles. 

I ended up going with the purple dress because it was the prettiest, and I wanted to show off my brand. Why not give people more reasons to dislike Maven? M for monster. I wasn't sure who it was describing, me or him. 

I stepped into the folds of purple silk, and the maids tied the back tight. They helped me slip on the diamond-studded heels and clasped a silver choker on my neck. I looked in the mirror again as I was heading out, and I looked positively regal. I hoped my looks would distract a bit from the horrors I was about to say in front of the entire country. 

Wait... the entire country. 

That means the Scarlet Guard would see this. My family would see this. Cal would see this. My stomach churned. I'm so sorry, I thought. I'm so sorry. I swallowed down tears as the Sentinels stopped me next to Evangeline, Ptolemus, Samson, and of course, Maven. 

I inched as far away from Samson as I could get and didn't look anywhere near his face. I noticed Maven looking me up and down, and I smirked when I caught his eye. His ears flushed silver, and Evangeline cleared her throat. 

Maven adjusted his cape and said, "When you're announced, you enter. Don't screw this up." His gaze lingered on my face, then moved on to glare at the sniggering Evangeline. "And I'm talking to all of you." She stopped laughing but kept a smirk on her lips. 

Maven readjusted his crown and strided into the court as his name was announced. Then the Samos siblings and Samson. I took a deep breath as my name was called and stepped into the room.