Betrayal and Trust Part II (different writer) - AU fanfic

Speak up.

[I do NOT own this art]

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"The king strongly requests your presence in the throne room this morning, your Highness." Arianna lifted her head, her chin held high. She was not going to let Nigel see how insecure she felt. She hadn't seen Frederic since the last evening, and she wasn't sure if he'd already found out. She entered the throne room, attempting to look as calm as ever. Standing straight up. Standing perfectly still, waiting for the storm. As she met the king's gaze, she could notice some muscles twitching in his face. Uh oh, she thought. Brace yourself. 
Arianna decided to speak up. "Frederic," she started, but before she could decide how to finish that sentence, he burst out: "You have committed treason and endangered our kingdom! You know that boy is a criminal, a murderer, and he clearly has you under his spell! Explain to me, how can you be so blind for obvious FACTS!"

Arianna suddenly felt her cheeks burning and her blood boiling, fury building up inside her. She suddenly felt Varian's anger, how betrayed he'd felt, falsely accused and abandoned. He has kept this rage under control for months until he finally gave in and let it consume him, she thought, astonished. It was an alien sensation she had never felt before, in all her life, and she couldn't contain it. 
Arianna took a step forward and looked directly into her husband's blazing eyes. "THAT IS ENOUGH, FREDERIC!" she shouted in a shrill voice. The king took a step back in surprise. "Did it ever  occur to you that being the king DOESN'T equal being right?! Probably not. You are too stubborn to see that we are also to blame for what happened!" Her voice sank until it was barely more than a whisper, but it sounded even more threatening this time. "If you had bothered to just listen to him, even once, you'd have seen that he's not insane."

Frederic composed himself. Ignoring everything Arianna had thrown at him, he said: "I've heard enough. We will continue this conversation when you've come to your senses. It doesn't matter anyway, my soldiers set out at sunset. They'll catch up with him before tomorrow evening. In the meantime, you are to remain inside the castle. I will not allow you to cause any  more trouble." 
Queen Arianna stared daggers at him, her fists clenched.

"You're making a grave mistake, your Majesty", she hissed, before storming off. 

Not knowing where else to go, Arianna went to the infirmary. She sat down next to Pete's bed and burst out in tears. What was she going to do now? For the first time, she was about to give in to despair. 
Then a spark of hope came. Pete suddenly opened his eyes and sat up straight. "Where am I? Where are the others?
Arianna quickly brushed away her tears and tried to hide all the loose strands of hair that fell over her face. "You're at the infirmary. Please, do you recall what happened?"
Pete responded "I'm not sure. I remember feeling a little dizzy." Frowning, he said: "Earlier, Varian had asked me to hand him something in his house, a blue sphere. Later, he mentioned that it was poisonous. So at first, I thought that... maybe that caused my dizziness." 
Arianna's eyes widened in fear. It couldn't be... right?  
Pete continued. "But then I heard a voice in my head. It sounded familiar, though I couldn't quite place it. She- she warned me to stay quiet, or she'd..." he twitched as he relived that moment. "Or she'd hurt them, she'd hurt Stan and Varian!" He shivered. "And then I began to feel ice cold. I can't remember anything else." 
Arianna practically jumped out of her seat. Pete asked "is everything alright, your Highness? Where's Varian?" 
She only managed to respond "don't you worry. Get some rest." This had been the last push for her. She knew what she had to do, and now she wasn't scared of doing it anymore.

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