Silver Crown (Red Queen 3 Fan Fiction)

Three

Whoo!! This is the third chapter of this story and I know there's not much interaction going on between Mare and Maven but I promise, they're coming. If you have any suggestions, feel free to comment down below and hope you enjoy :)

Mare Barrow

The Sentinel. No. Captain Macanthos leads me to one of the guest rooms where a group of maids wait earnestly for their guest to serve. When they see a bulk figure yanking onto a limping figure, they all drop to a curtsy.

They rise and don't bother to hide their look of bewilderment. Some even whisper to each other and I catch a few of their hushed conversation.

'She's still alive'

'King Maven still favors her'

'What does he want with her'

When I throw them an irritated glare, they silence themselves and instead look at the Captain for clarification.

"His Majesty has asked that you clean her up. Send word when you are ready. I will be at his majesty's post." And he leaves me to face six wide eyed maids awkwardly standing there, comprehending what he had just said.

Until one maid stands forward and speaks.

"Please follow us to the bath chamber Miss Barrow." I wince at the family name which I had once been proud of. Now it only hits like a kick in the stomach reminding me of all the people I loved I left behind. But I don't regret my decision. It was the best for them. For Cal. For Kilorn. For Mom Dad Bree Tramy and Gisa. And most of all, the Scarlet Guard.

They undress me and take away my blood stained pants and shirt. A maid with midnight black hair tucked into a neat side braid cleans up my wound on my thigh and pours a vial of who-knows-what onto my gash. It soothes the wound and I whisper a small expression of gratitude to her. She only nods and gives a small pitied smile.

Judging from their slight blush on their faces and less reserved personalities, I realize the maids are Reds. Like me.

The thought sounds wrong as soon as I say it in my head.

No Mare. You are not like them. You are different. You are abnormal. A Newblood.

While I'm lost in my silent debate of who I am and what I am, the maids finish scrubbing the filth out of my legs and arms. Although I am not given the privilege of a fragranced luxurious spa, my body is scrubbed clean and they give a natural glow. They wash my hair a few times before they bundle me in towels and dry me. Meanwhile, a maid brings a new pair of black pants and a simple white sleeved shirt.

I slip into my new outfit which surprisingly fit and allow the maids to perform a side braid on my hair. Until then, I hadn't realized how long my hair was. The white faded ends of my hair almost reach my waist.

I look around the room in search of a mirror when I spot a glass wall. I see a vague figure of a skinny girl with a neatly done side braid in casual clothing and a faceless expression. I couldn't care less as to gaze into my own reflection before. But now, now I notice how much Mare Barrow has changed over the past few months.

My face especially. Even through the haziness of the glass, I can still make out the bruises and cuts that stain my face. The maids did their best to clean it up, but the bruises refuse to conceal themselves.

The Captain returns as soon as one of the maids send word for him.

He guides me out the guest room, careful to his grip and leads me up deeper into the palace.

What the. Aren't the cells on the ground floor? I examine the halls frantically, looking for a clue.

"His Majesty wishes to see you." He clarifies as he notices my confusion when we don't head to the cells downstairs.

"I thought your orders were to escort me to my cell after I cleaned myself up." I respond, not bothering to hide my frustration. I was already being kicked around like a loathsome slave. I guess that was what I was. A slave. A prisoner was just a formal way of directing me.

"It is his Majesty's orders and you will not talk back to him. Or myself." He declares and tugs at my arm rougher than I had expected. A strongarm indeed.

We head to the Royal Family's Chambers and I feel a sickening coil of my intestines as we close the distance between us and Maven. The hallway sends a wave of familiarity in me as I realize this was where I had lived for a few months as Mareena Titanos.

I spot my old chamber on the right while we ascend the King's chambers.

A few steps from the chamber, a Sentinel recognizes the Captain and signals his associate and they pull open the massive front door.

Maven's room must be where his father King Tiberias VI had occupied before he killed him.

A massive red and black bed situates on the left chamber. And on the right side of the chamber are desks, shelves packed with books, countless papers and contracts piled in a mountain on tables. In the middle of his chamber which leads straight from the entrance is Maven, scrutinizing at a paper while leaning onto an armrest of a red velvet cushioned sofa with his legs casually crossed. He looks up from his paper to recognize our presence.

"Ah. Captain Macanthos. If you may, please wait outside until the end of our conversation." Coolly standing up.

"As you wish your Majesty." The Captain gives a small bow and exits the chamber, closing the door behind him. Now I am truly trapped.

"What is it you have to share with me when I should be in some torture cell with a dozen Sentinels interrogating the life out of me? Your Majesty." I inquire. Beating Maven to the first word.

He lets out a bitter laugh and replies as he closes what little distance we have.

"Mare, I'm not as merciless as you think I am. And plus, if you propose such a method, there's plenty of time for that." And I don't miss the double meaning behind his words.

So you are planning to kill me. Marvelous. I think, not that I was surprised.

"Well then. Did you ask to drag me all the way here to warn me of my forthcoming suffering?" I say, directly glowering into his approaching eyes.

He stops a few steps before me. I clench my jaw until my teeth grind as I struggle against the urge to punch his murderously handsome face.

Mare. You promised you wouldn't fight. Keep it together. Cal and Kilorn depend on you.

I manage to hold my shaking fists on my sides until Maven breaks the silence battle.

"Mare." He murmurs. "Mare look at me." I stare at the laces on my boots instead.

He jerks my chin up until I'm looking straight into his harsh glassy eyes.

"Mare." He whispers softly. "I'm here. I was always here." His eyes slightly lose the tension.

He lets go of my chin and instead grazes my cheek, my four earrings, my collarbone until his hand nestles on my left arm. He pulls onto my arm and I collide with his chest. I instinctively jerk back to disentangle myself from him which only makes him pull me closer.

"What are you.." I wiggle as I try in earnest to break from his grip. But fighting against a boy twice my size is hopeless. He only embraces me, a little too hard, I feel as if his rough embrace might kill me before the Interrogators do.

"Stop it. Let go of me." And I use my free hand in an attempt to push myself back.

But Maven is stronger than I think I know.

Instead, he grabs hold of my free arm too until I'm forced to succumb to his force.

"Mare. I missed you." he whispers, gazing right into my eyes with his fierce ice cold eyes.