make me remember.

chapter thirteen

"well, if it isn't the king of the northern kingdom,"one of the princes, valdemar barlowe, bows mockingly, a smirk spreading over his face as north and the rest of his 'team' approaches the crown room.
"arisen from the dead land," atticus hart, the eastern prince adds. a low chuckle spreads amongst them but north merely rolls his eyes.
each one of the princes have settled in there, probably as a sort of meeting point, the last of them, north, just now joining the awaiting crowd. "amusing," he says, stopping just close enough to shake hands with each of them. "i'm impressed. when the idea was pitched, however satisfactory outcome i saw it to be impossible. the queen isn't easily soiled. so, tell me, where is she?"
at this, prince hart leans forward slightly, a frown painted on his face. "what do you mean? we were told she had been 'slaughtered by rebels' by the guards, assuming that was your team?"
at first, north stops in his tracks. he seems to need to think over the information given but he doesn't seem to be drawing any conclusions before a shot echoes through the entire room.
"we were told the same thing." north says. it seems that no one has any answers to the confusion and the room falls quiet.
at this sudden pause, barlas steps forward, out from the other ranks of soldiers lining the walls of the crown room. "my king, there must have been a misunderstanding. there were no orders given on the concern of the queen's death, and therefore, she was taken from the scene and stored away. we assumed her body should be rid off, but we didn't have any actual orders on how to proceed." he hisses out those two words, clearly struggling with keeping his tone neutral enough to seem unbiased. he wasn't doing his best, but enough so that no one seemed to see through it. no one on the opposing side, at least.

"where exactly, commander?" north replies, barely taking the time to glance at the general. the sudden power he has come into doesn't look good on him. he so clearly believes he deserves it, despite the awful twists and turns he has taken to get it. it doesn't suit him as much as it would have previously. before, he ruled because he had been forced to, the son of the king of the north, but now?
now, he was clawing his way back up the mountain in such desperate attempts that he forgot to listen to his own common sense.
the queen isn't easily soiled.
"the cells," barlas says, his voice deep as he slithers the lie out.
"we will have to see to that the remains, and any other evidence, is destroyed by sunset. now, to more pressing matters," north turns to the other princes, only one meeting his eyes.
"he won't say anything," prince graham curran, the southern kingdom, speaks on the behalf of the prince that stands besides him.
prince caden, the one who bexley terrorised for his first few days here, stands tall but doesn't say a single word.
"he doesn't agree with our ways, but he agrees with keeping his head off of a stick." prince graham finishes, the sneer clear in his voice. this time, prince caden raises his head, just enough to look at prince graham. the state in his eyes is cold and intimidating but prince graham quickly moves on, looking elsewhere. i fight the urge to smile. they're afraid of him even in their ultimate moment. they've won, an entire kingdom now freely at their feet, yet a prince they don't consider an ally scares them enough to keep him in the room while they discuss their next move.
"very well." prince atticus waves off the issue with a hand before turning to the soldiers. "commander, have it seen that confirmation of the queen's death is sent to each of our kingdoms, directly to the kings. it is to be kept under private matters until a story can be crafted."
their discussion continues endlessly, all matters regarding what to do with the remains, how the news of the northern queen's death will spread. they discuss how north will take over the reign immediately, maeve will stand by his side and divorce papers will be set into motion as quickly as possible. all of this, barlas is expected to oversee and he nods along with their demands patiently, before clearing his throat.
"there is one other matter that needs resolving, however." he says, and at this, north turns towards him for the first time. with a deep sigh he raises his eyebrows as if asking barlas to continue.

"what are we to do about your deaths?"

barely seconds after barlas speaks the sentence, shots sounds from each corner of the room. exactly four shots are fired, each one hitting their target. the men each fall to their knees, some all the way onto their back. one remains standing, not as shocked as i had expected him to be. he looks around, seeing how his fellow princes twitch in their spots on the floor, still alive but in pain nonetheless. then, he looks up appearing to search the crowd of faces surrounding him. he doesn't appear afraid, merely focused as his eyes search the room.

a terrible scream echos in the large hall as maeve falls to her knees. she reaches him in mere seconds, bend over him as north continues to drag long, hollow breaths. blood is running down alongside his mouth, down his chin as he attempts to lift his head. he doesn't even look at her, instead he looks behind her, meeting my eyes as he notices my face.

i've already pulled my mask off, my hair clinging to my face beneath. what i've left on, however, is all the protected gear i'm dressed in. it made me blend in amongst the guards before but now, with my face clearly visible, i suppose i stand out a bit.