Darkness Falls, Light Rises #Wattys2015

Ch.12

Ch.12
Walking through the corridors, some people stopped to salute me, which startled me. I had heard that Sedentians did that, but Riders always put their fist over their hearts as a sign of respect. Saluting was sort of a curse sign for 'fuck you' in our culture.

Finally finding the room where Catherine was staying, I told the guards posted outside her door to take a break. Of course, they trusted me enough to leave the woman the King had on house arrest with a Rider personal guard. It was quite amusing rose that much blind trust.

Stepping into the room, I had a sudden urge to laugh. The room was bare besides a closet, hay bed, and bucket for a toilet.

"Not quite what you're used to?" I taunted, leaning against the wall that wasn't covered with mold or any other nasty thing.

"What are you doing here? It's surely not because you need advice on fashion, although..." She said, giving me a once over. "My informants tell me that you've become my son's personal guard."

"Nice to know I'm that interesting that you have someone stalking me. But I'm here concerning your little proposal."

Getting up from her bed, she chuckled. Walking over to me, she took my face in her hands. "You Riders can't stay away from killing, can you? But you all are so very fragile...like glass." She frowned and smirked. "It's why we pity your lot. You do so much to act tough, but we all know better; you all are broken inside. Something went wrong, you guys are the deformed ones."

"Says the Sedentian who wants to assassinate her own son. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black." I snorted, entertained by her attempt to one up me.

She laughed, running her old manicured nails down my cheek. "Actually, you'll be the one doing that assassinating. So, what brought this on?"

Swatting her hand away, I glared at her. "I have my reasons and you have yours. Give me what I need and I won't kill you."

"You're his personal guard; what more do you want?"

"I need information. Are there things or signs that I should know? I need to get close to him."

She chuckled, expertly pinning her hair up into an intricate design. "Honey, Mason isn't the type of man who accepts anyone. You have no chance."

"You thought I did before when you proposed this idea."

"Then I realized that he was just using you. He probably just wants to experience some freaky Rider sex before he gets married to a proper Sedentian girl."

"Even so, I can use that to my advantage." I pushed, needing to have a plan.

"Honey, a mistress is completely different from an actual, legitimate wife. A mistress is just a woman whose body can satisfy needs; a wife is just for show and to bear heirs. Mason will just use you and throw you away, just like his father." She spat, as if the idea of her husband was the most disgusting thing in the world. "If you actually want to get close to him and learn of everything that runs through his mind, make him fall in love with you."

I scoffed, shaking my head. "We aren't even interested in each other. He's made it clear that he's not interested in being with a Rider girl."

"You really are stupid."

"Watch it." I snarled, clenching my jaw.

Putting her hands up as a sign of a surrender, she smiled. "You're his personal guard. Plan something to put him in danger to give yourself an excuse to sleep in the room with him. Then flirt." She signed when she saw the slight confusion on my face.
"Honey, just seduce him and I'll figure out the rest."

***

"Have you ever thought of dying your hair?" Anya asked as she braided it.

"No."

I had no desire to change how I looked. It was just one of those things that I was completely against. If you were born a certain way, you shouldn't change it because you're insecure about your body.

"Well, you would look amazing if your hair was a strawberry color." She suggested, pushing me away, signally to me that she was finished.

"Are you saying that I don't look amazing now?" I deadpanned, staring at her.

"Yes, actually." She said defiantly, sticking out her tongue.

"You're so childish. Aren't you married?"

She nodded. "So?"

"So shouldn't you be more mature? Marriage is a huge commitment. How old is your husband?"

"Thirty eight."

"And you're fifteen? Isn't that some sort of crime?"

"Yeah. But it's not a crime because it's for a reason. He's a noble from the south and to prevent internal warfare, my siblings got married to nobles."

"Smart...for Sedentians. I still find it disgusting. Like do you guys have sex?"
She laughed and nodded. "Of course we do. It's not like we're gonna have kids yet, but we had to. To consummate the marriage."

"So your family agreed with this?" I inquired, trying to understand the extent of how messed up Mason's family was.

"Yes, they're the ones who set it up. "
Staying silent, I pushed her into the floor for me to do her hair. As I weaved my fingers through her blue tinted blonde hair, I focused on what Mason was doing. He was supposed to be sleeping, but instead he was wide awake, wild thoughts bouncing around in his little noggin.

You're awake. I stated.

Yes. Thank you for stating the obvious for me.

No problem at all. I thought you were due for a little reality check.

How thoughtful...

I know. What are you doing?

Working.

On what?

Stuff that doesn't regard you.

Come on, I'm not a wuss like you, I can take it.

And just like that, he pushed me out of his mind. Rolling my eyes, I finished up Anya's hair and lied back on my bed.

"Can you teach me how to seduce someone?" I asked, cringing as I anticipated her reaction.

"I could...but only if you tell me who you want to seduce." She pushed, looking at me with wide eyes.

"James." I lied. It was a plausible lie; James was handsome.

"At least you didn't say my brother." She laughed, crinkling her nose, disgusted by the idea. "Well, first we need to work on your terrible attitude and sense of fashion."