Where It Went Wrong, A Red Queen Fanfiction: Completed

Chapter 18

Something about the whole situation that he's describing seems remarkably familiar. Yet I cannot understand Maven, as he as always been too vague. Almost vague enough so that it's difficult to grasp the concept of what he's saying. Like a butterfly, the message flits in front of you. It's taunting the way that it floats in front of you, almost close enough to touch. Yet you know that you can't. Before you can figure out what's been said, it's already flown away. "Are you talking about me?"

He may be, just as he did before when he had the painting created in my honour.

"Kind of," the King responds. "The friend that I'm speaking of reminds me of you - very much. We were only teenagers, yet I knew that we were going to be the best of friends even when I first met her. She had your lively spirit, Mare. Vivacious and eyes twinkling when we were up to no good. Yet I doubt that she could match your craziness."

I snort. Nobody could possibly match that. "I suppose that nobody can really match me in that department. I may be small, but I assure you that I can pack a punch."

Maven shifts on the bench so that he looks straight into my eyes. As he does, I get lost in the cool pools of blue. They bounce over my complexion, scanning me like a textbook. "She had your eyes, perhaps darker. Her hair was auburn, brighter than yours."

I've never seen him so keen about something, so eager to share. "What was her name, Maven? Tell me everything about her." The corners of his mouth turn up, and he takes my hand.

"My friend's name was Atessa. I suppose it sounds silly now, but I loved her. That's how I could tell that I loved you, and that I still do. Both of you actually seemed to care. She was different from everyone in the court, as you were. Atessa loved books. Every moment that she didn't spend with her duties, she spent with me, or reading. She even confided in me that she wrote her own novel. Her mother didn't like that. Nor that she wouldn't use her ability during the fights in the arenas. She was always placed with someone else, but she liked it best when she was with me."

"Her power?"

"An Eye, from house Eagrie. My mother...... she noticed how we always spent time together. She thought that we were besotted with each other. In a way, we were. We were each other's only friends in the court. After a while, everyone began to taunt her. They thought that she was trying to impress me, the Prince of Norta. My mother believed it. And what, paired with the fact that she barely used her ability, they grew suspicious."

Atessa Eagrie. The name seems to strike a chord within me, but I cannot guess why. "Then why did you accuse Bronx of being a traitor too? Considering that Atessa was shunned for the exact same reasons..."

A cool breeze wafts it's way around the garden, making me shiver in the light clothes that I changed into. I was hot and sweaty before, but now I need warmth. Maven chuckles, and I huff in response. Honestly, just because he has fire - which naturally provides warmth, most likely. Suddenly, I feel the comforting feeling of cloth being placed around my shoulders.

Maven sits without his training jacket, for it's wrapped around me. I flush, though not all from that added heat that the garment gives me. "I was being too wary, always too wary. As soon as I said it, I was picturing Atessa. I guess that made me angrier. Everything just piled up against her after that."

"Her name was Atessa Eagrie. Why does that seem so familiar, Maven? I mean, obviously she was in the arena and that, yet her name seems to make me picture her more than others. Red hair, black and white uniform."

His eyes light up, and they seemed to be haunted with something I cannot comprehend. Atessa and Maven's relationship reminds me of Kilorn and I's. "That's her," he says, but the small smile begins to disappear as he thinks. "You may know her because, well, Atessa's trial was broadcasted all over the channels. It was the first time in decades that a Silver was being singled out and asked to leave. My mother didn't care, and she was my mother. Cal just didn't know, and I guess that he never seemed to care so much before he met you. And well, my father.... you remember what he was like."

I know from what he's implying that Atessa's trial didn't go well. Silvers are trained to hide their hearts, and no doubt her parents did. He said that she was sent away, and surely that can't be a good thing. As I glance over, Maven's lips are trembling slightly. I want to ask so many more questions about his childhood best friend, but I know better than to ask now.

"I'm sorry, Maven. They shouldn't have done that to Atessa. Everything in this stupid government is corrupt, and your parents knew it," I say, looking way for a moment as he wipes away the tears that have formed in his eyes.

Although many of the Nortan citizens would be surprised to find their King with tears in his eyes in a garden, I'm certainly not. The royalty of a place may be painted to seem emotionless, but at the bare canvas of their lives, the paint can be easily be washed away by strange situations. Sometimes the paint dries and becomes hard, but it still can be pried off.

"We just have to hope, Mav. Hope that Cal and Atessa will be okay. They're both fighters. Now that your parents are gone, we will find them."

The King of Norta looks up, eyes still wet. He grabs me softly by the shoulders, and wraps his arms around me tight. "You're right, Mare. I have the whole Kingdom of Norta behind me now. It may seem childish, us going after our friends. Yet we need to sort out the problems that the past rulers made, start afresh."

"And show that we actually have hearts, Maven. I remember you told me to hide my heart once, but you cannot do it too much. Everyone believes that their King doesn't care, and you must show them that you do. Show them that ice can thaw. Everything in moderation. Show them your heart, but don't...." I say, kissing him gently, "give it away."

Maven's eyelids flutter with surprise before he kisses me back. My heart fills with hope and love, for both the past and the present. Love is what holds us together, but it can also tear us apart. Yet love is what unites us, and without it, we would be lost in solitude.

I've done both coldness and openness before in love before, and neither of them work. Sometimes the person that I chose to trust does not deserve it, and I am let down with my honesty. Others, I don't trust them and regret it, as I realize that I have lost a potential ally.

Looking King Maven of Norta in the eye, I speak vehemently. "For Atessa and Cal, we shall rise: Red as the dawn."

"Red as the dawn."

Author's note:

Thanks for reading! How do you like the character of Atessa? As I haven't read King's Cage yet, does anyone know what powers the Cygnets have?

Also, which of the Myers Briggs personalities do you think the Red Queen characters have? I feel like Mare would be something like an ISTP, Cal an ENFJ, and Maven maybe a INxJ. Which personalities are you? I'm an INFJ.

- Inkpen_Scroll