Hello!

YAY! Somewhat long chapter! HEHE!

So some of you may have a lot of questions after this chapter, but no worries, they will be answered soon! heehee! (And yes, thank you for your patience as always <3)

Thank you to everyone again for all your support!! Please continue to vote and comment! I love hearing what you think!

THANK YOU,

Luckycharms <3

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When Meenu woke up the next morning, she was lying on her front and the first thing she saw was Avaryn standing in front of a tall mirror, fastening his sword and sheathe to his belt.

     In her half asleep, half awake state, all she could think of was how handsome he looked.

     His black hair was combed back neatly and it made his red eyes look so bright… like fire… even though the expression on his face looked kind of bored and tired.

     He wore a lot of layers. A black tunic, and on top of the black tunic was a coat and on top of that was his red cape that dragged against the floor.

     He definitely looked like a king.

     But the small frown on his face made it clear to her that he really didn’t like being one.

     Meenu lifted herself up, squinting because of the sunlight. “Morning.”

     Avaryn looked at her and smiled. He walked over to her and gave her a quick kiss. “Good morning. Your hair looks lovely.” He said before he walked over to his desk and shoved some other things into his belt.

     Meenu smirked and rolled her eyes before lying back down on the bed, this time on her back.

     Her hair was always an utter and complete mess in the morning. Easily comparable to a couple birds nests that sat on top of her head. That was a problem with having such curly hair.

     She stretched, and her heart skipped a beat as she reminded herself of how nice it was to sleep in the warm arms of the man she loved.

     “Did you sleep well?” Avaryn asked.

     She nodded. “Very well,” she said with a smile. “Where are you going?”

     Avaryn sat on the edge of the bed and put on his boots. “To do King stuff.”

     Meenu chuckled. “Like?”

     “Like judging criminals and making decisions and convincing all of Raffyre not to start a coup to get rid of me.”

     Meenu watched him as he stood up sighed. He clearly wasn’t having fun.

     But before she could make a comment, he turned and spoke first. “You can’t leave this room, do you understand?”

     Meenu sat up. “What?”

     “It’s too dangerous, especially with that ring still on your finger.”

     Meenu sighed, “when will Master Red be here?”

     “He should be back soon, if not already.” Avaryn said. “I’ll send him to you as soon as I can.”

     She hugged her legs and pouted her lips, regretting putting on that ring because of all the time she was wasting.

     The more time she spent here, the farther away Seliaryn got.

     Avaryn gave her a sympathetic smile before returning to the bed and sitting next to her. “You should really consider staying here.”

     Meenu immediately started to roll her eyes, “I’m not housewife material… or… castle-wife.”

     His smile grew but then it started to look funny, “but you must have surely enjoyed last night.” He said, teasing her, “if you stay then that could become a regular thing.”

      Meenu narrowed her eyes and tried to scowl, however, she couldn’t help but smile as she spoke. “But… we didn’t do anything though.”

     They hadn’t.

     Aside from a lot of kissing and some touching.

     Meenu had kind of thought that it was going to go a little further… but it didn’t. So she had no idea what he was talking about.

     “Well,” his face moved closer to hers, “we could do something if you stayed.”

     Meenu placed her fingers on his forehead and pushed his face away. “Nice try.”

     Avaryn sighed. As he looked at her with his red eyes, it seemed like he was trying to think of another way to bribe her.

     But he gave up. Again. And sighed again too. “Wash yourself up,” he said, pointing at a door in the room, “there’s fresh water in the washroom.”

     Meenu nodded.

     “There’s a new dress in there too that you can change into.”

     She nodded again.

     He stood up and headed for the door. “I will see you soon.”

     “Bye!” She waved at him.

     He smiled at her and nodded his head before opening the door and heading out.

     The second the door clicked to a shut behind him, she fell back into the bed and stared at the ceiling.

     She had to admit, his bribery was somewhat affective.

     She wished so much that she would let herself stay here with him so that they can spend some time together. She liked kissing him and she liked sleeping next to him.

     But every time her heart skipped a beat at the thought, she was also filled with guilt.

     Seliaryn was out there, lonely.

     He was alone and mourning and needed someone to come and help him.

     And there was no one, aside from her and possibly Am, who was willing to help him.

     Meenu started to frown at the ceiling.

     She loved Avaryn.

     But she was quite disappointed in the fact that he didn’t find Seliaryn to be a priority. She understood his perspective though. He couldn’t just up and leave right now. Even if he wanted to.

     However, that didn’t stop her from being a little disappointed.

     She sighed as she got out of bed, trying to push the thought aside and reminding herself to be pleased that she could wash herself.

     Though Avaryn didn’t complain once about the way she looked or even smelled… she could smell her own sweat and she felt like a complete and utter mess.

     She wondered how he managed to sleep next to her last night.

     She sat down on a table in Avaryn’s washroom and combed through her knotted hair before anything else with the comb that Avaryn had left for her. It took a long time, but once she was done, she stripped herself down, got into the tub filled with water that was a little cold, and cleaned herself up.

     Once she felt clean, she dried herself up, put on a corset that was left for her and then fitted herself into the lovely, yet simple, red dress that was there for her.

     And then she returned to the room, sat down on the floor next to the still sleeping Knight, fiddled with the ring that was still stuck on her finger and sighed, trying to think of what she could possibly do until Master Red came.

     Avaryn sat on the throne and listened as a court member tried to justify why he believed that the taxes should be increased. He was the last presenter for the morning and just as he was finishing up, Master Red entered the throne room.

     People were generally frightened by Master Red so when he walked in, Avaryn noticed a lot of people straighten up and avoid eye contact with him.

     But that was a good thing for Avaryn.

     That meant this would all end faster.

     And when it did, everyone cleared out of the throne room for lunch and Avaryn made his way to Master Red.

     He bowed his head before he spoke, “there’s something important I need you to see,” Avaryn said.

     Master Red looked at him before his eyes fell on Heart and Light. “Why do I feel worried?”

     Both Avaryn and Light looked over at Heart who blushed behind his mask and looked at the floor. “Sorry.”

     The four men made their way to Avaryn’s room quickly as Avaryn and Light explained what happened to their Master.

     “Where did she find this ring?” Master Red asked.

     “In Lady Kiaryna’s garden.” Avaryn said.

     “The rose garden?”

     The three young men nodded their heads.

     Master Red narrowed his eyes. “That’s…” After a moment of thinking, he started to walk faster.

     Avaryn, Light and Heart looked at each other before following quickly behind him.

     Master Red didn’t bother knocking on the door.

     He opened the door and walked right in, spotting Meenu sitting on the floor, leaning against Avaryn’s bed and playing fetch with Knight.

     She stood up when she saw Master Red. “Hi–”

     He grabbed a hold of her hand without a word and looked at the ring.

     When he examined it, he started to glare at Meenu. “You fool.” His voice was deep and it almost sounded like a growl.

     Meenu gulped but didn’t say anything. She didn’t mind arguing with Light or Heart or Avaryn… but she wouldn’t dare to argue with Master Red.

     “What’s wrong?” Avaryn asked as he stepped towards Meenu.

     “If Kiaryna finds out that you have this ring…”

     Meenu hesitated.

     “Why won’t it come off?” Light asked Master Red, stepping towards them too.

     “Because it’s a cursed ring.”

     Everyone fell silent.

     Master Red let go of Meenu’s hand and started to pace. “Why did you even go into her garden?” Master Red asked, “why on earth would you want to go into her garden?”

     “It’s my fault…” Heart said softly, “I should have listened to Light–”

     He cut himself off when he noticed the fuming Master Red. “Heart you fool. How could you be so careless?” Master Red growled. “Walking her right into danger–”

     “It’s not his fault!” Meenu defended, “Am told me about the garden and I wanted–”

     “Am?” Master Red asked, sounding shocked, “Ameryna?”

     Meenu hesitated. “Yes. Ameryna.”

     As Master Red looked like he was getting angrier by the second, it was clear to everyone that he knew something that he wasn’t willing to say out loud.

     “What is it, Master Red?” Avaryn asked, sounding worried.

     Master Red looked at Meenu. “Is there anything strange that happened to you since you put on this ring?”

     Meenu shook her head. “Nothing.”

     “She fainted.” Light said.

     “Oh,” Meenu said, “yeah, that.”

     Master Red watched her carefully. “What happened when you fainted?”

     Meenu looked confused.

     “Did you have a vision of some sort?”

     She thought carefully, but couldn’t remember. “I… no.”

     Master Red didn’t look like he believed that.        “Lady Kiaryna can’t find out you have this.” Master Red said. “And that means you leave this castle now.”

     “What?” Avaryn spoke up, “you haven’t told us anything!”

     Red looked at the King.

     “What is this ring? Why is it so important to Kiaryna?” Avaryn asked, “why is it cursed?”

     “If I could tell you, I would,” Master Red said, “but I don’t know either.”

     Avaryn narrowed his eyes. “It doesn’t seem like you don’t know, Master Red.”

     “All I know is that it is a cursed ring that Kiaryna treasures with every inch of her soul.” Master Red said, sounding frustrated, “and I also know that if she finds out Meenu has it, she wouldn’t stop herself even for a second from cutting Meenu’s hand off to get the ring back.”

     Meenu took a breath.

     “And aside from the fact that Meenu’s going to get her hand cut off,” Master Red started as he looked angrily at Avaryn, “there is also the possibility that Kiaryna won’t need to find a replacement forMeenu anymore. Because if Meenu stays here, there won’t be a Meenu to replace.”

     “What?” Meenu asked as she looked at Avaryn, “Replacement? She wants to find someone to replace me?”

     Avaryn gave Master Red an annoyed look. “No.” He said to Meenu without looking at her, “she’s not going to replace you.”

     Meenu looked at Master Red and then back at Avaryn, but before she could say anything else, Master Red spoke up. “Light and Heart, take her out of the Capital.” He said as he turned to the two, “I don’t care if you go to look for Seliaryn, I don’t care if you just go and sit in the middle of a forest and do nothing, just get out of here. Now. And don’t do anything stupid.”

     Heart and Light bowed.

     Master Red looked back at Avaryn, “hurry up and say your goodbyes. You wont be seeing her until that ring is off of her or until things get sorted out over here. And I suspected neither of those options will be happening any time soon.”

     Avaryn watched as Master Red started to walk off. “Where are you going?”

     “To speak to Ameryna.”

     And with that, Master Red vanished.

     Meenu didn’t waste any time. She turned to Avaryn and grabbed his wrist tightly. “She wants to replace me?” She asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

     Avaryn sighed, “no. She’s not. She was just threatening me.”

     Meenu suddenly hated Kiaryna. “She can’t do that!”

     “Of course she can’t.” Light said, “but let’s do what Master Red says before the woman finds a reason to attempt to do it.”

     Meenu was still angry, but she sighed and nodded. “Fine.”

     When Master Red found Ameryna, he made it clear that he was angry.

     “Hello, Red.” Ameryna said as she wiped the sweat off of her head and ignored his glare.

     She was in the castle training grounds, sparring with her fists with a pitiful looking knight who seemed to look like his ego was destroyed by the fact that a woman had beaten him.

     Master Red gave the knight a look and immediately, he picked up his things and left.

     “I can’t find anyone good to train with here.” Am said as she walked over to a bench and picked up a cloth to wipe her sweat. “I need a Lumynos–”

     “Meenu has the ring.”

     Am crossed her arms. “Does she?”

     “She said that you­–”

     “I did.”

     Master Red narrowed his eyes. “Why?” He hissed. “Are you trying to kill her?”

     “No.” Ameryna said, looking away, “I was doing what I was told to do.”

     “Told to do?” Master Red, “who the hell told you–”

     Ameryna looked back at him. “If you didn’t run off with your tail between your legs then maybe you would have been the one who got that ring.”

     “What are you talking about, Ameryna?”

     “You would know what I was talking about if you stayed.”

     “But I didn’t, so explain this to me.” Master Red said, getting more and more annoyed. He hated discussing his past. “You know mother cherishes that ring. Why would you give it to Meenu?”

     “Because I was told to.” Am simply said.

     “By who?” Master Red asked, “mother?”

     Am snorted. “I have no intention of telling you that.”

     “Am.”

     “Actually Vilaryn,” Am responded, “let’s make a deal.”

     Master Red rolled his eyes.

     “I’ll tell you if you tell me something.”

     “What do you want me to tell you?”

     She looked him right in the eyes, “when mother killed her… Seeta…”

     Red flinched and Am saw it.

     She saw that her older brother was suddenly uncomfortable.

     “When she killed her, you left. You left and joined King Kyryn…”

     “What is your question?” Master Red growled.

     “Why did you leave me behind?” Her face suddenly lost all its emotions and it was clear that she didn’t want her brother to see how she felt.

     Master Red’s shoulders lowered slightly. “You were only seven, Am. You would have been safer with mother than with me.”

     “With the woman who we both know killed our father?” Am’s head tilted slightly.

     Master Red frowned.

     “I loved her too, you know.” Am said, “I loved Seeta too.”

     “Am–”

     “And I was there too when mother killed her.”

     “Ameryna–”

     “But you were so selfish that you left your baby sister behind with that psychotic woman.” Am swallowed back something that Master Red assumed was anger. “Left me behind to deal with the anger she felt for you.”

     Despite the fact that Master Red was very good at reading people, it surprised him to think that he never knew how his own sister felt. Not once did he think she was angry with him, even though he should have known it.

     “And look at you know. Your selfishness has turned you into a vengeful, spiteful and aging man.”

     “You make it sound like I ruined your life,” Master Red said, “I didn’t. Look at you know, you’ve grown into a strong woman–”

     “Definitely no thanks to you.”

     “Ameryna,” Master Red started, “I apologize for what I did to you… but this is not about you and this is not about me. This is about the fact that the same woman who killed our father might go ahead and kill the love interest of the King.”

     “And why does that matter to you?” Am asked. “Because Avaryn will feel the same way you did when mother killed Seeta right in front of your eyes?”

     “Ameryna!” Master Red growled, loosing his patience again.

     “Of course not.” Am said, “It matters to you because if that happens, Avaryn will no longer be controllable by you and you wont be able to get what you want.”

     “Why did you give her the ring, Am?” Master Red asked again, ignoring her.

     “Because you can’t have it. I gave it to her because you can’t have it. Because you aren’t worthy of it.”

     Master Red narrowed his eyes. “What?”

     Am started to smile now. “You can’t help us, Vilaryn. Not you. Not me. Not Seliaryn. Not even Avaryn. I gave her that ring because she is the only one who can save our entire clan.”