Where It Went Wrong, A Red Queen Fanfiction: Completed

Chapter 13

There is a bird in my chest, and it's fighting to get free.

As I step into the carriage that we're being transported in with the King of Norta, the nerves start to take over. Cal is with his troop in another carriage, and the members of the Scarlet Guard are scattered. I try to regulate my breathes, but the urge to scream is more pressing. I don't know why I did this. Please turn back, please turn back, please turn back!

My visage must be quite pale, for Maven mentions it. "Are you sure that you're happy to do this?"

There's something there that I don't like, a certain coldness in his glance that makes me reminisce to when we first met. The look that stated that he didn't trust me, and he was being forced into whatever we were doing. His lips purse as if he is looking down at me, and his eyes glint with mixed emotions. "Yes," I confirm, fixing him with a similar look. "We're almost here now."

Here is a strangely conveniently flat piece of land located between the border of Norta and Lakeland. It almost seems to be crafted for battles. There is a strange elevated slice of ground that is reinforced with steel bars in the centre of the area. Even from afar, I can see the tell-tale waves of electricity and energy that probably comes from a strange machine which keeps the ground clear.

"Them Lakelanders, they sure like a good entrance," Bronx says nervously.

Bronx is a new recruit of the Scarlet Guard, a newblood. He has the invaluable power of persuasion, and can order anyone around if he likes. Luckily for us, he prefers to be silent about it. It amazes me that the newbloods seem to have an endless amount of powers, whereas the Silvers have certain ones. Bronx told me himself the story of how he discovered his strange power.

"I was j-just trying to ask my younger sister if I could use her toy... and then I got mad at her. I demanded her for the toy, and then she kinda just jerkily gave it to me. It wasn't natural, the way she did it. My father, he got so m-mad..."

After that, he didn't dare use his demanding voice. What - with his timid voice and dopey eyes, nobody would believe he has such a powerful gift. I can only imagine what powers his ability would hold if it had been given to the wrong person.

"We gotta fight them," Bronx's sister, Xena says determinedly in her Southern accent. Out of the sibling pair, she voices her opinion more often. But I know that Bronx feels the exact same way as she does. Xena is but sixteen, and Bronx only being two years older than her.

Xena has pale blond hair, but I've never seen it down. From the way it appears in her bun, it's pin straight and quite long. Her eyelashes are naturally curled, and her dark eyes peek from underneath them. Sometimes it's endearing - but others, not so much. Bronx has the same wide eyes, and his honey brown hair falls in waves down the side of his face to his chin.

"You know what you have to do, Xena. Don't be afraid to take those gloves off and tackle them," I recommend gently. Her power is like the opposite of a Silver's skin healer. With a touch, she can weaken vital systems. It's nothing that cannot be healed if there is a skin healer present, but it kills within minutes. Yet years ago, the rulers of our world decided that the skin healers would purely be limited to helping in health facilities. Not battle fields. Perhaps a medical tent, but not out in the chaos. Partially so there's a proper fight, and partially to ensure that there will always be healers around.

But her touch also holds another intimidating power. The pain is caused because she can draw memories from the person she touches. From what Julian has told us, he predicts that she could also give others her own memories. Which is invaluable for passing information around.