The Mariposa

Chapter 36

Elyas

As resigned as I was to our fate, Maeve didn't seem put out by the helplessness of our situation in the slightest. Hours passed and I watched as she still continued to investigate every inch of our cell for an escape. A couple times, she swore that she had felt a draft, or a loose part of the never-ending whiteness that was the walls that encased us. And every time, she was wrong.

At this point, it was so easy to give up. My heart was heavy, my limbs numb, my will gone. However, watching her helplessly continue to find a way out was so much harder. The speed at which I would lose my sanity was going to be a lot swifter if I had to continue to sit there, watching her run around in circles. Letting out a heavy sigh, I stood to my feet, my legs wobbling slightly after hours of unuse.

I slowly approached Maeve, who was once again running her hands along the wall for any sign of give. Coming up behind her, I set my hands gently but firmly on her shoulders, tugging her away from the wall.

"Maeve, I'd really rather not spend my last moments alive watching you go mad trying to find a way out."

She huffed, whirling on me, her eyes fiery. "Since when did you throw in the towel so easily?! The entire time I've known you, which admittedly isn't long, you've been sickeningly optimistic. Now you're giving up when faced with a measly cell?!"

My jaw clenched at her words, and I fought to ignore the sting of her words. "I'm optimistic, not stupid. If it was possible there was a way out of here, I would be searching with you. I know there isn't though."

She opened her mouth to continue arguing, and I took the calculated risk of covering her mouth with my hand, stepping closer to her space. I wrapped my free arm around her, gently pulling her down with me to sit on the floor. She glared at me, moving my hand away from her mouth.

"So, what would you rather me do, hm? Sit here and stare at you until we both slowly die?"

I smiled, oddly amused even now by her feistiness. I shrugged. "Imagine you are May, and I am someone anyone but Prince Elyas. Imagine with me I met you in some middle tier bar. Let's spend our last moments together getting to know one another, in a way our former lives never did."

She was fighting to keep an icy façade, her eyes still glaring at me. But there was a slight coloring to her cheeks as she spoke: "That's so dumb. But seeing as I'm bored, whatever. What do you want to know?"

I lifted my gaze to the blankness above us as I considered my options. "Okay, pretending your family was anything but a group of lying assassins... What was your favorite family tradition?"

She smiled after a moment at the question, settling her back against the wall. She stared off into the blankness, her gaze making it obvious she was no longer here with me, instead back at the Mariposa HQ.

"Sometimes Kalon, Harrow and I would get together in the gym late at night when no one else was up. We would have the lights off and play a game of hide and seek. As you can imagine, being assassins, the games always went way too long and were way too intense. But it was a lot of fun. After we found each other... or gave up, we'd meet in the middle and just share mission stories. It was the closest I'll ever get to spending time with siblings."

I smiled at her, hesitantly taking her hand. To my pleasant surprise, she let me. "I wish I had gotten the chance to get to know Harrow better. The more I learn about him, the more I regret hurting him."

She nodded slowly. "You would've liked him. He would've liked you. You two are very similar. Sometimes you sound like him." She looked at me now, her smile smug. "My turn."

I shrugged. "Seeing my impending doom, I am an open book."

"Did you always want to be king?"

I nestled myself next to her, allowing my arm to rest against hers. Our hands were still entwined, my thumb stroking her incredibly soft skin. "I had no interest in being king until I met Malachi. He made me want to make the kingdom better. And in order to do that, I knew what I had to become." I paused, a lump settling in my throat as my eyes started to sting. "I guess I'll never get that chance. I hope Malachi will forgive me."