Where It Went Wrong, A Red Queen Fanfiction: Completed

Chapter 32

As our entire group files into the dining room, I get the feeling that some of the Silvers may not approve of our presence. There are only a couple guards that stand at the front, but they are mandatory. It is more the other Silvers that I am worried about.

One or two stand near the table, one even standing with a notebook in their hand. Multiple sheets lie on the table, turned up as if they are placed to offend us. Exchanging a look with Tramy, I feel a jolt of adrenaline peak in my stomach. Cal beats me to it. "Excuse me, but what are you doing here? This a private room ordered for the Calores and the Barrows. If you do not belong to these houses, please depart."

The Silver with the notebook flushes grey before bowing and making his way out of the room. As soon as the others have departed, Cal grins and takes my hand, pulling me to the head of the table.

"Mr. Barrow, please sit at the head of the table," Cal says, pointing to the desired location. "The rest of you may sit wherever you would like, apart from the other head. That place is designated for the King. Even if he does not show up to our meal."

My father furrows his brows at this statement, but he does not dare question the Silver Prince. Gisa and Mom follow him, taking their places opposite him. My brothers sit across from each other, leaving two spaces that Cal and I can sit at.

The head of the table still stays empty.

Until, that is, the door flings open with an echoing slam. I nearly jump out of my chair at the sound, my conversation ruined. And we had only just started getting into the conversation, as it is. Given the bubbly mood that I'm in, I instantly scowl at the door so that the intruder knows what he or she is doing.

It is the King himself, but he does not look like himself one piece. It looks like somebody has taken a replica of Maven and made him look as ghastly as possible. His eyes are glazed over, form limp, and yet he still wears that blasted uniform with the medals. I bet that if he still had that crown, he would wear that too.

"Well, don't just stare at me! I am real, let me assure you. I am the King of Norta. Carry on, as you were," Maven says, waving his hand lamely at the lavished table. He stares at the assembled surface expectantly, almost as if he is not seeing the people that he is talking to. His pupils dilate as they adjust to the different light levels, but I don't see why they should skim over us.

Hastily, everyone looks back down at their plates. I keep looking out of the corner of my eye, noting how he limps favouring his right leg. Even the way that he gathers himself and sits down seems unusual.

"What's it like being a mother, Farley?" Cal asks, breaking the awkward silence.

Farley's eyes flit over the Silver King of Norta before responding. "It's like he never died. Had things not happened the way that they did," she says forcefully before continuing. "Shailey and Shade carry on their father's legacy."

Something in her seems more gentle as she talks about her children. It startles me, but I'm beginning to realize that I missed a lot when I was forced away from my family. Gisa is more confident than she was before, Bree and Tramy look after Mom and Dad...

Cal, ever naturally charismatic, warms up to the Barrows faster than I thought he would. His brother, on the other hand, is the Silver King. Everyone, including Farley, seems wary about glancing at the head of the table. He stares into the distance, and everyone tries to ignore him.

It is only when he stops the waitress and orders wine that I begin to feel worried.

Ever since I came to the palace and got him out into the garden for the first time in a year, he dropped drinking like a hot coal. Yet something has poked those dwindling ashes and started a yearn for oxygen. If he doesn't get that oxygen, he'll start to burn out. Burning out isn't the best way to go, though. He needs the ashes to be stomped on and put away forever.

I hope that the confused glare that I'm giving him will make him question his motives. After all, all that my family remembers of Maven was when he first became King.

"Are you sure you need that, brother?"

Cal's voice rings out before my own, although he voices the same thoughts that I'm having at the moment. I turn my gaze onto him, and he looks just as confused as I do. The rest of my family looks on at us, furrowed brows and exchanged looks apparent on their faces.

The King ignores his brother's question, still staring after where the Red servant just exited. Gisa gives me a knowing look, and I can almost read the question in her eyes. My father, however, seems even more curious. The Prince leans over the table and mutters four words into the air.

Instantaneously, the glare in Farley's eyes softens, and my brothers begin to lose their tension. Surely they remember the King that was ruling when they thought I was dead. The King that was almost nonexistent when it came to Norta making decisions? The King who they thought had murdered their own daughter in a moment of pure mad rage?

"My King," I demand pointedly, tone lathered with pleasantries. Using his formal name causes Maven to turn his distant eyes onto mine. "Your brother asked if it was alright for you to have alcohol in the condition that you're in."

Even looking at the way how his skin is so pale makes me feel that I am right. The way how his cheeks are hollowed screams delicacy. The alcohol will do nothing but worsen everything. It will affect his memory too, if he doesn't want to have it removed in the first place. I still haven't asked him what he wants to do, but I don't think I will get a chance if he destroys himself first.

Yet as he does not reply, I turn to my family. "Gisa, how has your hand been?" Thankfully, my family knows me well enough to know that this is my method of changing topic. My parents begin to talk with Cal, and my brothers pig out on the food that the Silvers have provided - and the Reds have prepared.

"It's been alright, I guess," Gisa replies, holding out her hand for me to examine. I can still see blemishes and scars, but it does not have the deformed shape and bruised pallor that it had before. "I can still make things. To be honest, my sewing abilities have improved a bit since then. When I was off of sewing for a while, I didn't have to do it for a living."

A heavy weight lifts off of my heart like dust off of an old piece of furniture during spring cleaning. "I'm glad to hear it."

Gisa shakes her head, grinning gently. "Enough about me, though. I've been alright. After all, we all thought that you were dead for a period of time. Surely you have more of a story to tell than I do now."

I begin to flush a bit before I give into her statement. "Well, I suppose that Mom and Dad already read that letter that I sent. But basically, I ran away from this palace. A Silver guard released me and I ran. I ran as far away as I could, so that I could get away from here."

I'm so involved with telling Gisa my story that I don't realize that the rest of the room is listening in on my retelling. "I stayed in a rural town for about a year, and it gave me time to reflect. I made a friend, one who helped me get back here. Her name was Jessica, and she was the reason that I was safe during that year. It was uneventful, and I liked it. A simple life. It was only until I began to hear rumours about the palace that I decided it was time to come back and confront everything."

My sister gives me a look of awe. For a moment, she reminds me of Xena. "Wow, Mare. Lady Mare. I never knew that you had been through so much. I mean, we all assumed that you had been kept here, all drugged up and perhaps even dead-"

"I have made my decision," Maven states with an obnoxious air, confidence elaborated by the intoxicating liquid he has been consuming. A servant probably gave it to him while I was talking. "I would like to have my memories wiped. If it affects me to the extent that I cannot remember my position, then I will have my brother take over my position."

With that bold proclamation, the King takes his leave; and I find that I cannot believe what he just suggested. Maven wants to have his memories removed?

A/N: Thank you all so much for reading, voting and commenting! If you're looking out for an awesome Red Queen story, go check out cakepopangel16 's new fanfic.