King's Cage (A Red Queen Fanfiction)

Chapter 4

Hey guys! First of all, I want to apologize for the late chapter. I was on vacation and got into a writer's block last weak so I'm really really sorry. At first I wrote this chapter in Farley's point of view but I thought it was total trash so I changed it to Cameron. I hope the chapter isn't lame or boring. Thank you all for the amazing feedback on the last chapter. The next chapter should be up in about a weak (hopefully). If you like the chapter let me know. Enjoy!

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Cameron's POV

"If you punch the damn wall again I'm locking you up in a cell," Farley scowls at Cal.

     After loosing Mare to the icy eyed boy king, we went to the trenches in a final ratchet attempt to save the reds; I wasn't about to come back here without my brother. We reached there to find a horde of red children racing away from the trenches, smiles plastered across their faces. The silver patrol was nowhere to be found. Confused, I asked a passing kid what was going on.

      "The king has freed us," he exclaimed, excitement audible in every syllable of his words.

    Relief was an understatement for what I felt at his response, but I shoved it down, saving it for when I found Morrey. I pushed through the crowd, scanning it to find my twin, a light panic building at the bottom of my chest. What if he's not here? What if he did something wrong and the silvers killed him? Those were the thoughts running through my mind when a familiar voice rang through the air.

      "CAMERON!"

      I spun towards the voice, my eyes roaming the crowd to find my brother's soft brown ones. The second I spotted him, I raced towards him, the constant worry in my mind finally at ease. I threw my arms around his neck and squeezed him in the tightest of hugs, confirming he wasn't just an illusion.

     "Come with me," I told him.

     Hand in hand, we headed back to where the snapdragon hid behind a thick line of trees. On our way, I explained a few things about the Scarlet Guard, my journey there, my powers and how I'd been forced to join the Guard because of them. By the end of my story his eyes were wide with shock, mouth handing open.

     When we reached the snapdragon we found some of the others recruiting the now free reds into the Scarlet Guard. Most declined, eager to see their families and go home instead, but some decided to join, either because they were afraid of being conscripted again or because they really believed in the cause.

     I walked into the snapdragon, Morrey by my side, to find Cal and Kilorn, sitting side by side, shoulders bent. It was an uncommon, but I figured I should get used to it as the latest tragedy seems to have brought the two lover boys together. On the ride back to tuck, they stayed the same; head bowed low, not a word escaping their mouths.

     As soon as we landed Kilorn went fishing and Cal just headed straight for his room, his fists clenched so tight they were almost as silver as metal. He stayed locked up in there for two days straight and we all thought it was best to give him his privacy- we didn't want him burning the place down.

    He finally came out of his hole today upon hearing that there was news about Mare. It probably would have been better if he hadn't. The second his blazing eyes landed on the T.V screen, he lunged towards it. It was all Kilorn could do to keep Cal from breaking the battered old thing.

    "We need to bring her back," Cal yells, his rough voice bringing me back to the present.

    "You know we can't. It's too risky, besides Mare made a deal," Farley tries to explain. I'd filled her in on everything when I arrived. We've become good friends, or at least as close to friends as either of us can become.

     "Then I'm leaving," Cal roars, "I have no interest in your foolish rebellion anyways."

                                          "If you think you can save Mare own, you're wrong. And deep down inside you know it," my words come out harsh and biting, as usual. It's a habit from the long hard days at the slums and I can't quite get out of it.

   He turns around sharply and I see his face clearly for the first time in two days. I almost don't recognize him. His face is flushed silver, dark bags under his eyes indicating sleepless nights. Maybe it's a trick of light but I think I see tears in his eyes. For a second, I almost understand him. I get what it feels like to loose someone, wanting to do everything to save them, but being to powerless to do anything. But then I remember that he's part of the reason I felt that way.

    "I'm staying," he whispers through gritted teeth," only for her."

    With that he storms out of the propaganda room, slamming the door behind him. The second the door closes behind him, the room temperature seems to drop several degrees.

    Kilorn shifts beside me, "I'll be in my room," he mumbles. He hasn't been having a good time either, showing up for meals here and there, but never talking to anyone. All this sadness and drama is starting to drive me crazy. I'm sure if someone else was captured, no one would have even cared that much.

    "Keeping your head down isn't going to bring Mare back," I point out.

    "I'll walk with my head up if you can tell me how to get her out of the royal palace," he glares at me, closing the door before I can respond.

     I don't hate the little lightening girl. Her sacrifice is the reason I'm living and was able to get my brother back. I learned to get along with her as we spent more and more time together and I think it's even safe to say we have a couple things in common. She just got to me when we first met because she thought she was some sort of guru or something and everyone treated her like one. She thought everything she was doing was right, but what she didn't realize was that she was that in the process of rescuing newbloods, she was forgetting about reds and everyone just blindly followed her. That's what the whole problem was. Everyone just wants the well being of their own people; their own kind. To be fair, I'm not saying that I'm completely excluded from this group.

     "We have to do something about this. Everyone is either depressed or scared and we can't have that. I think we should carry out an attack and shoot a short clip convincing more to join," Farley mutters.

    "The slums. Let's attack the slums," I suggest. I don't even have to think about it. I grew up in new town and know first hand how tough life in the slums can be, how desperately the workers there need to be rescued.

So many reds slave away in the slums, endlessly working in a mass of pollution, creating gadgets and weapons for silvers to use. I lost my father to a lung disease caused by working in factories full dust and smoke. My age worn mother still continues to work in them, coughing the days away, breaking a couple nails and even fingers in the process.

Attacking these factories will not only slow down the silvers' work, but could save the lives of so many reds, including my mother.

Farley nods, showing her approval of the idea, "We'll execute the plan in two days' time. Till then, let's come up with a solid plan and convince members to join us in the plan," she declares.

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The next chapter will be in Mare's POV. Thanks for reading! <3