When The Clock Strikes Twelve

Chapter 15

The screams and cheers from the previous night echoed in Zaria's head.

A win.

They'd won.

But... had they?

She felt Dalia's absence vividly, like someone had reached into her and taken out a part of her. Now, she was empty, empty without Dalia.

Zaria didn't remember much from last night, after Dalia had... had...

Zaria choked on a sob, curling into a tighter ball. She was lying on a bed, though she didn't remember how she'd gotten there. Zaria had been fading in and out of sleep, focusing only on the waves of grief that battered at her as she thought about Dalia.

Zaria tried to squeeze herself tighter, hoping that if she just became smaller and smaller, she would disappear, and she wouldn't have to feel this terrible pain anymore.

A few hours later, Zaria felt a presence next to her, a dip in the bed. She closed her eyes, shallowing out her breathing, pretending to sleep.

She heard Jaye sigh, but she didn't move. A few moments of silence passed, and Jaye spoke softly.

"I... I don't know if you're actually asleep, or pretending, but I'll just say it anyway. We're going to elect a new queen tonight. It's mostly ceremonial, everyone's going to vote for Laurel, but... you should come. It means a lot to everyone. I think you'd like to be there."

Zaria opened her eyes, and sat up. the words barely registering with her. Jaye looked at her questioningly.

"I'll be there." Zaria promised. "How long?"

Jaye looked at the clock on the wall. "Two hours."

Zaria nodded, lying back down. "Okay."

~

Zaria dragged herself out of bed and trudged out of the tiny room, finding Jaye at the door, waiting for her. Wordlessly, Jaye took Zaria's hand and led her down the hallway, back to the ballroom.

Zaria tried not to think about what had happened, in this very ballroom, just hours ago. The shining marble floors had been scrubbed clean of blood, but Zaria still felt the presence of what had happened.

She forced herself to look away and focus on Laurel at the front of the room.

"Before we start, let's have a moment of silence for our fallen friends, who died fighting the tyranny and oppression of the Queen." There were nods and the huge room fell silent.

Zaria flinched a little and leaned into Jaye, who squeezed her hand.

After a few moments, Laurel raised her head and grinned. "Now, onto more savory matters."

She looked around and raised her arms. "Last night will go down in history. What we did-what you did- was an extraordinary and brave thing, and the world is better for it. Now that we've taken the Queen off the throne, we need to elect a new ruler to take her place. This time, we want to elect someone who will not take away our rights, someone who will lead fairly and justly. Now, in the running, we have Zak,"

She gestured to a person near the front of the crowd. All Zaria could make out was that they were tall, with dark hair. "And, we have Olia,"

She gestured to another person, who Zaria couldn't see at all. "-And of course, me." She gave a little grin and the crowd offered up some polite applause. She was clearly the favorite. "The person elected will be the new Queen, so the government structure will remain the same, just with a different person in charge."