The Crown I Didn't Want (A Sokeefe Selection)

The Audience

I am so, so, sooooo sorry about the wait, guys!

I got out this update for you guys (though it's not the best), and I'll try to get out another very soon! 

Enjoy!

Fitz.

The man who would most likely be the death of this country. The man who Linh and I were expected to woo. The man that put a price of Keefe's head. The man that we had run away from.

I glared at him with a black rage, red blurring my vision and fire churning in my veins. I wanted to kill him, rid the world of him. I couldn't believe that I used to have a crush on him.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," Keefe said, sarcasm dripping off of his tone.

Fitz gave Keefe an incredulous look. "Bow, peasant."

Keefe's eye twitched and he cracked his knuckles. He looked like he was going to do something he would regret. I quickly reached over and grabbed his hand. I squeezed it soothingly, and he visibly relaxed.

"Would you mind taking a seat over there?" King Alden asked, gesturing to a table to the right. I obeyed, dragging Keefe with me. My eyes didn't leave the King's face, though. He looked weary and tired, not at all like the immaculate man on TV. His hair was disheveled and graying, and there were dark bags under his dull teal eyes. Even more shockingly, his dark suit was rumpled.

I took a seat at the long table, which sat opposite from the table where the royal family and officials were sitting. I was next to Linh, with Keefe on my other side.

For a moment, Biana looked conflicted on where to sit, but then squared her shoulders and sat next to Tam.

I thought Alvar would hurt himself on how hard he was clenching his fist.

"Welcome," Queen Della said warmly, a smile painting her gracious face. "It's lovely to have you here." She looked more put together than Alden, but her cobalt-blue eyes were less bright and her hair wasn't done as complicated as usual. "Would you like to read off why we all have gathered here, Rupert?"

The man she had turned to, a portly man with a slicked mustache, stood up. "We are gathered here today," Rupert read off a paper in dramatic voice, "to discuss the points that the Black Swan has brought to the rulers of Illea's attention. There will be only peaceful negotiation today, as all violence has been banned." He continued to rattle off more guidelines and official nonsense until he finally stopped. "Mr. Forkle, would you mind bringing your first point to the table?"

Mr. Forkle stood up. It was odd seeing him with a suit on. "Firstly," he said in a formal tone, "we think that the caste system should be abolished once more."

His remark was immediately followed by the outbursts and gasps of the Illea officials. Arguing broke out.

"Order!" Alden shouted. Everyone fell silent. "Do you have something to say, Alvar?"

An angry Alvar got out of his seat, his brow furrowed. His eyes were burning into Mr. Forkle. "That's just plain stupid," he growled. "There is only a few fragile strings holding the balance of this kingdom together, and one of them is the caste system. Don't you idiots see? We tried getting rid of it once, and then everything pretty much collapsed. If the rest of your ideas are like that, then we can just call this meeting off."

"Alvar!" Biana yelled, slamming her fist on the table. She looked angrier than I've ever seen her. "Will you just stop being a dense—" she nearly cussed— "a dense moron? You got the chance to choose what you wanted to do, so why shouldn't everyone else have the same luxury? You get to be on top, but others are forced to be on the bottom. It's not fu—it's not freaking fair!"

"You're an idiot, Biana," Fitz sneered. "So naive that you can't see past the glittering facade that our parents painted for you. You can't see the real things holding this kingdom together. It's not kindness and morals, you know. It's the money and laws and everything we enforce!"

My friend looked like she had been slapped. Her teal eyes went from strong and passionate to scared and hurt, and her mouth gaped open.

It was Linh who stood up now. The silver flecks in her eyes looked like the steel in a sharp sword. "My Queen," she addressed Della, "you out of everyone in your family must understand how lower castes are treated. You married into your position. You were a 3, and you must've interacted with lower classes everyday. You've seen how they're treated. Now, the question is, why haven't you done anything about it?"

Tam flashed her a proud smile, while the Queen merely bit her lip, silver tears lining her eyes. "I—"

"Mom, are you really letting this girl get to you?" Alvar asked, rolling his eyes. "She's a filthy Wayward."

Probably for the first time ever, it was Tam holding Linh back. "Calm down," he soothed. "If you get kicked out, then we won't be able to have your great arguments."

Linh scowled, her typically serene face twisting angrily. "What's the point of good arguments if they won't freaking listen?"

The Queen dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. "I see your point, Linh. I'll try to do something about it—"

"No!" Alvar roared, slamming his fist on the table. "You won't, Mom. You won't let the kingdom fall apart because a little girl is making you feel guilty!"

"Oh, shut up," Keefe snapped, rolling his eyes. "Last time I checked, she outranked you."

"Be quiet—" Fitz began, but Keefe cut him off.

"She outranks you, too," he pointed out with a smirk.

One moment, Fitz was sitting in his seat, fuming, and the next, he was in front of Keefe. Then the first blow came.

A scream tore out of me as Fitz's fist connected with Keefe's face, a sickening crack echoing through the room. Keefe staggered backwards, his hand on his cheekbone. But he didn't retreat.

They launched themselves at each other, hissing and fighting like feral cats. Guards tried to intervene, but Fitz called them off.

I couldn't move. I was paralyzed, my limbs frozen. I could only stare, wide-eyed and terrified, as the two boys tried to rip each other apart.

I just stood, in the midst of the panic and chaos, utterly petrified. I didn't move when Keefe jabbed at Fitz's gut. I didn't move when the prince let out a roar of frustration. I didn't even move when he kicked Keefe across the room.

But my mind was shrieking. Shrieking at my body to do something, anything.

Another loud crack, and then Keefe was clutching his nose, crimson blood already seeping through his fingers and dripping down his face.

And that's when I snapped.

My hands shook, and my vision tinged red just like it had before the meeting started. Fire rumbled through my veins. That horrid moment played on repeat in my head—in slow motion, Fitz swung for Keefe, the former's fist slamming into the latter's nose. And then blood—blood, I was so sick of it. I was so sick of worrying everyday about the safety of my friends. So sick of this fight, so sick of these battles, so sick of—

Fitz.

I could make out him from the darkness. A smirk on his lips, a glittering cruelness to his teal eyes.

The monster that was brewing inside of me clawed at the restraints I was using to hold it in. But some sort of instinct within me told me that I couldn't unleash it, I had to control the beast—

The prince smiled dangerously.

The monster broke free.

Okay, so I'll be honest. I've been updating my other stories a lot more frequently than this one, mainly because I feel like you guys like the Sokeefe fluff more than my writing (and there's nothing wrong in that). So it would mean the world to me if you guys checked out my other story, A Summer with the Sunshine Girl, because it would let me know that you like me as an author, rather than someone amusing who also ships Sokeefe.

Thank you for staying with this story, though, despite the wait. I love you all!