Gwendolyn

I don't think my head has ever hurt so bad in my whole life.  Everything is fuzzy, everything that's happened in the past hours are too much for my burning head to take.  I sit up from a bed that creaks every time I move.

I remember what happened.  I'm with the Scarlet Guard.  I burst up and look for a place to run.  But soft hands grab my wrists.

"Sit down, or calm down at least," The voice is familiar, but I can't point out who said it.  I turn my head to see a girl with blond hair and fair skin, with a slightly bloated stomach.  Diana Farley, the one who dragged me here.  I meet her eyes.

"Don't touch me," I yank my wrists away from her grasp.  Emotions, I need to keep them in check. 

"I'll respect that," She says, taking a step back, I don't mind that, she's protecting herself and her child. 

"Why am I here?" I question. 

"Because we need newbloods," She says blankly.

"I know that, ever since you lost Mare and Princey Blowtorch dude you are low on leverage," I snap, even Farley twitches.  Diana, call her Diana, she's your enemy.

"You aren't wrong, but Mare is still in on our cause, I know that for a fact," She states.  "She has been betrayed too many times to betray us."

"Don't get all sappy with me, I know her story," I snap again, showing her that her words don't affect me.  Deep down I want to cry and scream like a petulant child that didn't get their way.

"Everyone does," She plays along. 

"Why me?" I ask, letting loose, maybe she will see my pain. 

"You are a shiver, you have ice, we don't have anyone that powerful, I've seen you use your abilities once, you create things, not control," She acknowledges my power, going on from my fit last night.

"But I can't control it," I blurt.

"That's what we are here for, we can help you, we've helped many newbloods throughout this," She sounds like a silver with stone skin, unemotional, but comforting all the same.

She looks like she's about to speak again, but the door opens more to see a man, the man who jumped me here.  I recognize him, but I can't classify his name. 

"How's it going in here?" His voice is soft like honey on chapped lips.

"Fine," She meets eyes with the figure, he struts over to Farley- Diana, and stands next to her, and hugs her softly. 

I put the pieces together.  The baby, overprotective dude.  Ew. 

"So the rumors are true?" I cross my arms.  "Diana Farley, with child," I say while resting my posture on one hip.

"Yes, it is," She also rests on one hip, the man lets go of her, serves him right.

"With help of the famous Shade Barrow," The boy says his name.  A Barrow.  If I tilt my head far enough I can see the resemblance. 

"Do you know when to shut it?" Diana changes her tone to something more playful, obviously, these two lovebirds need to get a room, it's disgusting.

"Apparently not, I'm going to get the others," Shade says while he leads himself out.

"Others?" I ask.  "Don't tell me Blowtorch is here too."

"Blowtorch? Who's that? Cal?" Diana is taken back.  I scoff. 

"I'm good at nicknames," I say with an egotistical chuckle.

"Mine's Farley, if you didn't know," She plays along.

"Yeah no, your just Diana to me," 

She nods with pursed lips.

"Who are the others," I change topic. 

"Your friends," She says.  "Genesis and Coro."

My face perks up.  "May I see them?"

"Shade is going to get them,"

"Shade doesn't fit him, I'm calling him loverboy,"

Diana laughs, then has a stern look.  I like this nickname game, it's funny.  Diana, blowtorch, and loverboy, what's next. 

The door opens and I see Genesis, with her emerald green eyes and dirty blond curls.  I want to hug her, but with Diana here it seems like a crack she can use. 

"I'll leave you to it," She leaves the room, the second she's out of earshot, I wrap my arms around Genesis, and I crack, sobbing into tears that run down my cold cheeks.

"Gwen?" She asks me.  I nod.

"We are going to get you out of here,"

Mare

"Oh my god!"

I am jolted awake by a voice, Maven's voice.  He's running around the room, scrambling to get ready.

"What?" I sit up, rubbing my eyes.

"We slept in," He says in a huff.

"What?" I ask.  I glance at the clock, a few minutes after nine. 

"I have a broadcast, live, your in it too," He seems stressed. 

'What? Me?"

"Yes you, put this on, come on," He throws a black dress at me that is starred with rubies and diamonds. 

I get out of bed and examine the dress.  It's beautiful.  I take off my nightie, not even going in the closet. 

Maven looks at my half-nude body.  I'm only in my undergarments. 

"Stop looking and get ready!" I scold him with a giggle, he nods and goes back into his closet and closes the door.

I put the strapless dress on, it goes just above my dress and the black silk goes to the floor.  The perfect dress to trip in. 

I move my hair to my left shoulder to zip up my zipper but I can't reach. 

Maven walks out of the closet and walks towards me.  I can feel his warm hands on my back as he zips me up.  I turn to face him, his white button-up shirt is crinkled and half-buttoned. 

"Here," I button up the rest of his buttons. 

He thanks me and walks back into the closet to grab a blazer, I walk into the bathroom to brush through my knotted hair. 

I grab the diamond spotted brush and attempt to brush it, all that happens is a snagging sound of my hair being ripped out of my scalp.

I continue to rip my hair out until it's good enough to braid. I split my hair into 3 equal parts and crossing them over and under until it's a braid on my left side.

I walk out of the bathroom and I saw Maven watching me. His blue eyes like frozen waves examine my body.

"You really are beautiful,"

***

We walk through the halls and into a balcony surrounded by cameras and eyes. I'm walking next to Maven, it's been so long since I've been surrounded by this many cameras, but my face isn't painted, its me, Mare Barrow, not some false silver, it's me.

"Mare, your not even painted an you look pale," Maven points out, hes looking over his shoulder and down at me.

I nod, I feel my blood rush to my feet.

"I can help with that," Maven looks me in the eye and kisses my lips, making my face blush into a bright pink, possibly red. Our lips move in sync for a second, I can hear the cheers of people below, thinking that this kiss is just a show.

His lips break away from mine. "There's the flush," Maven says, I restrain myself from hiding my face in Mavens chest.

The room goes silent when Maven begins to speak.

"Hello my people of Norta!"

People boom out in cheers, whether it real or fake I can't tell.

"I have some announcements! But before I get to those, I have to address soemthing first," Mavens voice echos, people nod.

"Or more or less, do something," Maven looks over again me and smiles. I smile a quick smile back, wondering what the heck he was doing.

"Mare?" He asks me. I raise my eyebrows. He turns to face me, I turn to face him, looking up so I can see his eyes. "It didn't take me long to realize how much I love a girl that I could never be with," he continues, I can feel the sweat go down my neck. Stay calm.

"I love you, Mare," when he says those words, people in the crowd "awe".

Maven shift, he grabs a black box from his pocket, and gets down on one knee.

"Mare Molly Barrow of the Stilts," he opens the black box to show the ring, the ring with a diamond in the middle, and obisian and rubies around the middle. "Will you be my Queen?"