Rise, Red as Dawn

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He turns looking at me with a determined expression.
   "You have to kill Cal."

Maven's POV
   "I was so close, I swear! But the she kicked me and ran off," I said.
   "Ugh annoying girl! Doesn't matter now we must find another way to expose her. I want her dead. I was so close to finally get my own crown, but then she had to come and ruin everything,"
The last month has not be good to my mother, Elara Meranous. I try not to think about though because I knew if she went into my head when I was thinking that it would not be pretty.
    But it was hard not to think because you're constantly reminded every time you look at her. Her once vibrant blonde hair was drab, dark circles under her eyes, and no more glittering gowns.
That's what keeps me motivated to take down Mare. When I look at my mother and see what she's been downgraded to. It's all Mare's fault.
Sure my mothers kept a lot of secrets from me like how Mare was actually alive and how she made her fake her death. Oh and also the whole I'm going to destroy Norta and kill my husband and step-son, but she's still my mother.
  Plus when I was reculant to help imprison and kill Mare, my mother told me that she saw Mare kissing my brother back at the Hall of Sun. Mare was the only person that ever really mattered to me, well other than Thomas. But I obviously didn't matter much to her. And now Thomas is now dead and Mare will be dead soon.
   I look around the small cabin that's  been  expertly hidden in the woods, only a few miles from the palace, but it's so well hidden that none of the soldiers that Father sent out to find Mother has decided to look here.
   Of course she didn't find this place on her own. The only way she's still alive right now is because she still has many supporters at court, including some of the High Houses and of course me. House Arven, the silencing house is our biggest alley and they're going to help us a lot. The thing is I don't know what they're going to help with. I know mother wants to take down Mare and get her crown back, but how's she going to do that? I don't know.
   "Well we have to think of something else," Mother's voice brings me out of my thoughts and back to why she's mad at me in the first place.
  To take down Mare I needed to show people that she's not Mareena Titanos, a silver generals daughter but actually a Red. I knew a great way to do that, to expose her right in front of training.
  So I got Mare's normal guard, Lucas imprisoned, now in the dungeon and he'll soon be killed. Then I got Mare a rookie guard who didn't know she had training this morning. And of course her maids didn't come in, so she didn't know she had to wake up earlier than normal.
  Our training instructor was in on in too and he made Mare fight me. But right when I got her making her bleed so everyone could see the color of her blood she kicked me and ran off!
I wince just thinking about it. "So what are we going to do now?"

Cal's POV
"Ugh!" I yelped, throwing my book down on the floor. I sank into the couch and looked up at the ceiling. I've been trying to distract myself in anyway, but my mind kept on going back to that strange training session.
   When she first ran out of the room, I was confused on what was going on. Why did she suddenly just leave? Then I realized that maybe she started bleeding. But she was fighting Maven, why did he make her bleed. Was it an accident? I don't think so.
And I still can't forgot that night in the library. I would never tell her I did this but about 2 hours after she went into the library I started to get worried so I went in to see if she was alright.
But when I went into the library, she was nowhere to be found. I was even tempted to get the guards just case someone kidnapped her. I went back into the hallway wondering what to do but then she came out like nothing was wrong, except she seemed exhausted.
I don't think she went to the library to read books but to do something else. I know she doesn't like the way the country is run and she's in an good place to give information. But would she do that to me? I've told her many times I don't want to divide our country more than it already it.
The Scarlet Guard is already ruined because they figured out there leader was actually working with Elara, but that doesn't mean another rebel group like that couldn't rise.
A knock at the door disturbs me from my thoughts. I go to open it and see one of the guards with a pained look.
"Charles, what's wrong?" I say with a furrowed brow.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. The king is dead,"

Mare's POV
"You killed the king!" I exclaim, "Are you insane?"
Ivy rolled her eyes but at least Shade looked a little sad.
"I'm sorry but it had to be done," Shade said. "With the king gone, Cal will be named the new king and a new king is much easier to target," Shade says.
"Really you should be happy. It will make your job much more easier," Ivy says and then comes beside me and says in a whisper, "Unless your having second thoughts on where your loyalties stand?"
I look over at Shade and I'm grateful to see he's too busy looking at a document to hear what Ivy said. Ivy has certainly figured out that there's more to me and Cal then I told her. I just look away and shake my head no.
But I can't help but think about Cal. He's an orphan now with no parents, both of them murdered. And Cal is going to share their fate soon if I do what the Scarlet Guard plans me to do.
"The coronation is going to be tomorrow night and that's when we'll strike. I have the new blood army coming and some other red soldiers. I'll need you, Mare, to get Cal alone during the attack so you can kill him. After that we'll take the government making it so us Reds will get the justice we deserve," says Shade.
"That's very risky," I say biting my lip. So many things could go wrong.
"I know but we have to try," Shade says looking at me with convincing eyes. "We have to do it for all the Reds you've seen being treated unfairly, for all the Reds you've seen starve, for all the children that have been taken from their families,"
When he says that I think of my family back at home. Mom, Dad, Gisa, Bree, and Tramy. And of course my best friend Kilorn. We've all been treated unfairly just because of the color of our blood.
A new thread of determination weaves into me. Rise, Red as dawn. And I'll do anything it takes for a new future for the ones who never had the chance of one.

Maven's POV
I fake cry for the sake of appearances. I just learned my father passed away. Natural causes they'll tell people, with only some knowing the truth. It was a gunshot wound to the chest and it was done by the Scarlet Guard. A red flag was found by the corpse.
That's the only thing I'm sad about, that they got to it before Mother and I.
I go to Mother's cabin again that afternoon and she was the happiest I've seen her since she's got here.
"I've got the plan!" she says. She explains it to me and there's only one thought in my head after.
Cal better watch his step tomorrow night or it could be his last.

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Guys! I'm so super sorry I've taken so long to update but I've just been so busy! I really hoped you liked this chapter and the next chapter is going to be the last so stay tuned because it's going to be an explosive finale. And as always please vote and comment! :)

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