King's Cage (A Red Queen Fanfiction)

Chapter 2

A/N

Hey guys, thank you all for the amazing feedback on the story so far. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I should update in about a weak. Sorry the update was a little late. As of now my "update day" is Monday and if not then Wednesday depending on how long the chapter takes to write. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did, please consider leaving a like or comment. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

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Farley's POV

     It's been a day and half and there's still no sign of their return. So many things could have gone wrong. The plan was a dangerous one. I hate staying here, constantly worried, not knowing what's going on with the others. I wish I didn't have to stay.

     My short walk to the tuck graveyard isn't pleasant. The cold bites at my eyes, threatening to freeze the tears running down my face. I reach the familiar stone marked 'Shade Barrow' and sit in front of it. It's almost been a week since his death. I visit his grave everyday to confide in him, to ease the aching in my chest.

     "I miss you," I choke, "I wish you were still here, so we could be happy together during these dark days. So you would get the opportunity to hear our baby laugh for the first time."

     I feel a hand on my shoulder and look up to Gisa. She's been quite a comfort for me these last few days. She reminds me so much of her brother; kind, considerate, reassuring.

     "There's news," she whispers softly.

      One look at the grim expression on her face tells me it isn't good news. I wipe the tears off my face, get up, and allow Gisa to lead me to the propaganda room.

     My heart sinks the second I step into the room. The battered T.V in the corner of the room displays an image of Mare, kneeling before Maven. That wasn't the worst of it. In Maven's hand was a leash, which was attached to a jeweled collar hung around Mare's neck.

      Mare looked frail, weak, as though someone had sucked all the blood and muscle from her body. Her face looked tired, defeated, drained of color. There was no doubt she'd been tortured again. Then as she looked up at Maven's content face, her depressed expression turns into a look of determination and bravery. It wasn't too convincing, given her condition, but the effort would have been enough to make Shade proud.

     When the crowd settles, Maven delivers a short but disgusting speech about Mare, her crimes, and the promise to punish her. After allowing his misled silver audience to bow and applaud, Maven dismisses the crowd and heads into his castle, pulling Mare behind him. 

    I don't know how to feel. I can't say I'm surprised. The plan was too edgy, it had too many holes in it. And with a ludicrous, obsessive king like Maven, something like this isn't totally unexpected.

    "Any news about the others?" I ask Gisa.

    She shakes her head, looking terrified as she fingers the little blue earring given to her by Mare, nestled by the earrings from her other siblings. She's scared about the things Maven might do to her sister. She's already lost one sibling.

    "She'll be alright, your sister is strong," I whisper, putting an arm around her shoulder. It feels odd to be the one comforting her; that's what she normally does for me. She nods and we leave the propaganda room together, heading towards the cafeteria.

      As we stand in line to get our meal, I can't help worry about the others. If Mare is with Maven, what happened to the rest? They can't all be captured or Maven would have showed mentioned them at the very least. No, there must be something else, some other reason as to why Maven has Mare but not the others. God, I wish I didn't have to stay behind; I wish i could be doing something rather than wasting away time before their arrival.

    "Ma'am," I look up to see the lunch lady expectantly staring at me. I was too consumed by my thoughts to realize that we reached the end of the line.

     "I'll take the tuna," I tell her.

     The women nods and hands me a tray with hot tuna, mashed potatoes, and an apple. Grabbing a water bottle, Gisa leads me to the table where the rest of the Barrows are already seated, devouring their food. I've been sitting with the Barrows during my seldom visits to the cafeteria: they've been warm and welcoming, sharing my sorrow over Shade.

     As I sit down, I'm greeted by several kind smiles. Returning the gesture, I start poking my tuna. My thoughts float back to the information I just received. The guard can't afford to loose the people who accompanied Mare. They were too important, too affective. I'll give them two days. If there's no sign of them by then, I'll start hunting them down.

     Around me the Barrows start picking up their trays and throw them away. On our way out of the cafeteria, Mrs. Barrow asks me if I want to spend some time at the Barrows' barracks, as I've been doing, finding comfort in Shade's shared room and belongings. Tempting as the offer might be, I kindly refuse. I feel too sick to go there today and I don't want to puke in their cozy little home. Besides, I need to get my mind off Shade and turn my focus on the guard. I've been neglecting my duties too much recently, crying too much and doing too little.

     Inside my barrack, I rummage through the drawers to find the vitamins I got from the
Tuck nurse. She's the only other person who knows about my pregnancy as of now.

     I slip the vitamin in into my mouth, and take out a pencil and notepad. I draw a map of Norta, trying to figure out anything useful. I start sketching a line to represent the route they were supposed to follow when I hear the loud motor blaring outside. Ditching the pencil and notepad, I dash outside, my heart swelling with hope. Relief courses through me when I see the medium sized jet, wings gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. The snapdragon. They're here. Or at least most of them are.

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So this was Chapter Two of my idea of King's Cage. I'm sorry this chapter is a little shorter than the last, I had trouble grasping Farley's character enough to write about her. Next chapter is Mare's POV. Thank you so much for reading! <3