Maven

I finished my morning errands. I got a check-up for Mare set up; I do hope that goes well. Now that I think about it, really think about it, Rei is being very suspicious. When I asked her if I could set up an appointment, she seemed nervous, like she had no clue what she was doing, fumbling with things in her office. Then it seemed as if she was forcing her anxiety down with forced excitement and weird, teenager-like giggles.

After I had scheduled her appointment, I left swiftly. I did other random King things that I don't need polluting my thoughts. I grabbed a small snack for a quick breakfast. Now, I walk to the gardens to find Mare, she should already be sitting, or roaming in the gardens.

While I am walking to the gardens, I let my mind ponder. It isn't often that a King gets to marry for love, in fact, it's been generations since. Kings always married for power, while I married Mare because I love her.

I know we got married only a few days ago, but it seemed like so long ago. Since we got married, Mare's life was threatened, I accidentally spilled out the news of Mare's pregnancy to the world during a meeting, went to see my insane aunt, figured out the genders of the babies, found out the babies were mine, helped a complete stranger have a baby, had an ice cream date, and looked at the stars together.

That is a lot of action for 2 days.

Mare and I deserve a day off. Alas, being royals and running a kingdom doesn't give us any days off.

As I near the gardens, I hear a nightmarish scream. It's Mare, I know it is.

I transfer from walking to a sloppy run.

"Somebody come help!" I hear her scream. I run even faster, my spidey sense spiking.

I reach the gardens in a flash, and I see no one. No screaming. Nothing. No one.

"Mare?" I ask with a raised inflection.

"Mare?" I ask again. No response.

"Mare?!" I yell.

A flank of guards runs into the gardens. I turn to them.

"Where is Mare?" I ask them strictly.

"We saw her come here, we heard her scream and came here as soon as we could," The one in the front middle explains. Two other guards are behind him.

"Aren't there guards already in the garden?" I ask them, a hint of annoyance in my tone. The guard speaking to me raises an eyebrow and walks around me, his other two alliances follow him. I watch them from a distance and look around the garden. I can sense Mare was just here, but it's like she vanished without a trace.

"Your Majesty...?" A guard tells me, shock and fear in his voice.

I walk toward the guard; he is looking behind a bush. I look behind it as well, and my breath catches when I see the sight.

A dead guard with two stab wounds, one in the crotch and one in the back of his neck.

"He was murdered," The alive guard says.

"So was this one!" Another guard says, standing next to a bush.

"Along with this one!" Says the third.

I run my fingers through my hair. "An ambush. This was planned."

The guards look at me in shock. "She was taken, this was planned, we have no clue what these jerks could do to her." A guard states the obvious. I look up at him firmly.

"Find Mare."

Mare

Everything is dark when my consciousness floods back to me. I'm cold, something I'm not used too. Once I open my eyes, I see a stone floor, stone walls, everything covered in stone. I look around, the only light source is a small window at the top of a door in front of me.

I have no clue where I am, the freezing scent of body odor and damp wood makes me grimace.

I stand up from where I was laying, my vision swims and my feet wince in protest for me to sit back down. I walk over to the door, but something snaps at my wrists. I look over at my wrists to see them with a silver band around them, a chain comes from the back, the metal dances to the floor.

The door opens, causing me to snap my head back up. It's the same boy I saw at the gardens.

"Where am I?" I ask him, pushing the fear out of my voice, shoving into my soul.

He chuckles, a low, deep chuckle comes from the bottom of his throat. "That doesn't matter. What matters now is that you are awake."

I flinch, taking a step back.

"No need to be frightened," He purrs, I flinch my head back. He chuckled deeply in his throat; a bone-chilling grin grows on his face. "I'm not going to hurt you, darling."

"Then why did you bring me here?" I demand answers. I bare my teeth at him.

He chuckles again. "For amusement, and because a filthy Red like you shouldn't be on the throne."

My soul flinches, but I keep my quivering down. Don't show weakness. "I'm not a filthy Red."

He rolls his eyes. "You may not be filthy, but you are a red," He looks at me dead in my eyes. His eyes, blue, lifeless eyes are filled with laughter and teasing. "A disgusting, dirty Red."

I quiver. A chuckle escapes his lips.

"Having a child when you have only been married for less than a month?" His voice brimming with provoke, lined with devilry and frosted with seductiveness. "I heard a rumor that the bastard might possibly be the Prince's. Prince Tiberius the 7th, am I correct?"

"Stop," I shiver through gritted teeth.

He laughs as if he is amused. "So it's true?"

"My children aren't bastards," I tell him with my eyes hard on him. My fists clench and my knuckles go white.

"Children?" The boy tilts his head back and laughs a hearty laugh, his chest falling up and down. "Two bastards instead of one, oh, this just gets even better."

I fight the urge to slap his plump face.

"They aren't bastards," I tell him strongly.

"Are the Prince's or the King's?" He challenges.

I look at him dead in the eyes. "The King's."

He makes a pouty face, the face of a child who didn't get dessert after dinner. "Too bad."

I continue to stare him down, but my glares don't give him any visible discomfort.

"I was hoping for a little entertainment in the Silver Houses," He looks at his nails. I can assume that his nails are dirty and chipped. "How do you know that these impures you call children aren't the Prince's?"

I can't tell this jerk about Elena; I won't betray him like that.

"I was already pregnant when me and Tiberius-," I break off, closing my eyes, hating remembering what happened that evening. "You know."

He does his amusing, sneering laughter. "So you admit that you two did the deed?" His lips curl into a crooked smile.

I purse my lips.

"Oh, so you did?" He chuckles deeply. "You not saying anything isn't doing you any favors."

"Why am I here?" I demand again.

He chuckles again before he turns to leave.

"Tell me why I am here!" I yell at him, standing up. The chains that tie me here rattle. He turns around quickly and his hand snaps to my neck, making me gag.

"You will not know why you are here; it is none of your business, do you hear me?"

I try to nod my head yes, but my head is locked in the spot it is in.

"Say that you can hear me," He repeats, increasing his grip on my neck. A whimper escapes my throat.

"Y-yes," I say to him, barely audible.

He lets go of my neck, making me cough roughly. He doesn't say a word as he leaves my quarters. Once I am done choking on coughs, I choke on sobs.