Twisted Love / A Red Queen fan fiction

Chapter 2:The Vial

Maven cracked a cold smile as he took a step into the room while Ptolemus stood guard at the door, blocking my view of what was on the other side. I tried to peek past him, but my line of sight was interrupted by a pant leg in front of my cell.

Quicker than I had time to react, Maven dropped to his knees and stared into my eyes. From up close I could see that he was very well groomed. His hair was neatly combed. His usual bangs were swept back, giving me the full view of his aqua eyes. Just like his mother's. His outfit was freshly ironed and his crown shone. All I could think of when I looked at him was spilling his disgusting silver blood all over this prison.

I reeled back faster than lightning. The quick motion made me lightheaded and I had to close my eyes from keep passing out.

“Mare-”

“Don’t touch me!” I hissed. I nearly jumped back at my own voice, which had begun to sound foreign.

Maven flinched slightly which brought a cocky grin out of me. It immediately faded when Maven moved closer to my cell.

“Don’t worry,” he said “I’ll get you out of here real soon.” The gentleness of his words and the softness of his gaze made me want to puke.

I dropped my gaze to the floor. I could almost see the silent stone sucking the energy right out of me.

When Maven didn’t say anything else I was forced to lift my head and look at him. His face was so close to the bars that he was practically touching them. I’d gotten much skinnier, I could punch him right now and make the silver blood spill out all over the floor. I smiled and lifted my hand. I was about two seconds from slamming my fist into his face when he stood up. Without a word he reached into his pocket and pulled out something tiny and black.

A key.

I scooted back to the farthest edge of the cell as the rattling sound of my cell door opening filled my ears. My heart sped up tenfold as Maven stepped in.

“Don’t come near me.” I warned.

Maven ignored me and walked right into my cell. I pressed my back up against the cold metal walls of the cell as maven drew nearer. He was walking slowly and paused every few steps, like he was approaching a frightened animal. And that’s exactly how I felt. Powerless, helpless, just like I did when the royal guard took me from my family. Once again Maven has managed to make me feel like nothing more than a little girl playing an adult’s game. But cornered animals attack. And so will I when the time is right.

Maven was only a few feet from me when he bent down to his knees. He reached into his pocket and immediately my brain had began coming up with ways to escape this mental torture. If I could keep him here long enough, the silent stone would weaken him and then maybe I stood a chance against him.

“You see this cloak I’m wearing?”

I snapped my head up at the sudden sound that sliced through previous silence. When I didn’t answer Maven he continued.

“It blocks out all of the silent stone’s effects. So there’s no way it could weaken me. There's no point in trying to hurt me.”

He flicked his wrist up to show me his flame sparker and I gasped. Not just at the sharpness of Maven’s voice, but the fact that he knew what I was just thinking. Had he just...read my mind?

I shook the thought away just in time to see Maven pulling something out of his pocket. It was a vial. About as long and as thick as my index finger. Maven slowly held it out to me. I didn’t move an inch. I was too afraid of what was about to happen. After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, Maven scooted closer. I once more pressed my back into the wall, desperately wishing that I could go through it and be out of this corner. Maven once again held the vial out to me.

“Take it.” He said softly. The change in his voice made me sick. My hands started to shake.

I would do anything to keep him away from me so I quickly snached the vial from him, careful not to touch him.

“Drink.”

Maven’s simple command made me want to defy him even more.

“What is it?” I asked in the most demanding voice I could muster.

“Drink” Maven repeated.

I rolled my eyes and grunted. I obviously wasn’t getting anywhere like this so I might as well do what Maven says. My teeth gritted as I opened the cork of the small container. I sniffed its contents and gagged. The stench was so bad it brought tears to my eyes and made my nostrils burn. I quickly held the vial away as far as my arms would allow me.

“It taste better than it smells. I promise."

He is a man of his word.

I was still in so much shock from the odor that I couldn’t even retaliate. It took a few more seconds for my nose to recover and I slowly ought the vial closer to me. I took a look at Maven who nodded at me, and then I looked back at the vial. I looked to Ptolemus who gave a look that told me to hurry up. Just then, I contemplated fighting Maven. Getting knocked out sounded a whole lot better than having to taste this horrible liquid. I sighed and brought the vile to my lips. I held my breath and let the syrupy liquid slide down my throat. The texture alone made me want to vomit.

The second that I was done drinking I threw the glass vial to the ground, shattering it. Maven was right about it tasting better than it smelled, though it was still terrible. It only took a few seconds for my brain to realize that it was under attack. I felt my brain begin to pulsate, it felt like it was trying to escape my head. I screamed and curled up into a ball. Holding my head as though I could keep my brain in place. Luckily for me, the sensation only lasted a few seconds. I heard a voice in my ear.

"I'm sorry," it whispered.

Then everything went black.

I awoke with a pounding headache. All around me tall green objects went flying by. It took me a few seconds to realize that the blobs were trees, and I was in a car. I tried moving my head which led me to discover a terrible crick in my neck. From what I could tell I was in the back seat and on the right side of the car. I could hear two muffled voices, one from beside me and one from the driver’s seat. I felt a hand touch my thigh and tried to move it. But I was paralyzed. The only part of my body I’m in control of is my eyes. I tried to make out where we were but the scene was going by too fast. What if we were passing Gisa? It made me more and more dizzy to think, until the world went dark again.

I woke to the feeling of a soft carpet. I lifted my head up and for the first time in what seemed like years, I wasn’t in pain. The only thing I felt was slightly sore muscles. Phantoms of what used to be agony. I looked around the room and immediately wished that I was back in the prison.

I was back here, in the worst place imaginable. The place where I was stripped of my identity and forced to be someone I was not. The place where I was told that I would never see my family again. The one place that reminded me that I was only a doll.

Red and black littered the room. From the red and black bed to the red walls with silver laced into the pattern. Above the bed was a very large portrait of a girl in clothes fit for the queen.

Me.

I was back in the castle.