Clara coughed once.

Hazel's head snapped up instantly at the sound; seeing her rub her throat with a slight grimace on her face.

"You're sick!"

Clara's head turned towards her friend, her eyes wide. She hadn't noticed that she was in the room with her.

"I just had something caught in my throat!"

"No, no!" She walked closer to her. "You had that grimace on your face; your throat hurts doesn't it?"

"What? No!" The crack in her voice betrayed her lie.

"Clara, you've caught a cold." Hazel crossed her arms. "Will it kill you to admit you're sick?"

"I'm not sick!" She tried to laugh it off, but the burn in her throat was getting harder to ignore. "I feel fine, don't worry, Zee."

"Fine." Hazel sighed and rolled her eyes. "But if I see you getting worse, you have to rest up."

"Yeah, okay." She nodded with no intention of following through her orders. Hazel knew it and shook her head before she left to get back to work.

As soon as she heard the door open; Hazel's startled screams filled her ears. In an instant, Clara was beside her, studying her pale face as she had backed into the now closed door.

"What's wrong?" She asked, putting her hands on her shoulders.

"There's a mob coming this way." Hazel shook with fear of what she'd seen. "They look angry, Clara."

"Get out the back door and run away, before they surround our home."

"But Clara-"

"Go, now!"

Hesitantly, Hazel nodded and left. Clara followed after and watched her leave, making sure she got away safely. Once she was certain she was out of any potential harm's way, Clara made her way back to the front of her house. 

She could hear them yelling in anger. Their words were entangled with each other's as no two were saying the same phrase. However, she could make out how they were all here to protest her being general.

Opening the door, she was met with a large mob of men marching towards her with furious expressions. She clenched her jaw and looked straight at them, her stance not faltering. She walked towards them with heavy steps, her steel eyes staring the men down; momentarily silencing them.

The uproar grew once she reached them and they surrounded her in a small circle. Her breath got caught in her throat at the small space she had. Her head began throbbing with pain at the sound of their yelling.

Her circle of space only got smaller and before she knew it, the men gripped her arms harshly. She fought off their grips, freeing her arms and sending them furious glares.

"Don't touch me." She warned them.

Her words fell on deaf ears as they started to push and pull her around as they walked away, making sure to put her in the front as they collectively kept ahold of her.

Recognizing all those faces made it harder for her to fight back. She couldn't hurt them. She didn't want to.

Clara struggled in their arms, not knowing what to do. She watched with a deepening frown as more and more people joined the march, yelling and screaming about how she wasn't good enough to be their general.

She recognized their trail as the way to the castle. Their ruckus caused most guards and many knights to come see what it was all about. Their protocol was to disband any angry mobs and so they pulled out their spears and swords, walking closer to the people.

"No!" Clara panicked and used the moment of fear to escape their grips without hurting anyone. "Don't harm anyone!"

"What's going on?"

Clara's eyes met with Victor's, who had stepped outside following the noise, some smug looking council members trailing behind him.

The crowd once again began yelling their commands, their words cutting each other off and preventing the prince from understanding anything.

"Quiet!" He yelled, his eyes stern as he looked at them. "You, what's the meaning of this?"

"We cannot allow her to stay as the general!" one of the men pointed at her with distaste in his tone. "She's lost us too many people, she's not right for this, your highness!"

Clara's mind betrayed her by agreeing with him.

"Absolutely not." Victor answered. "There is no one better to be in charge; my father and I made sure of it. There will be no change in leadership, now disperse this before there are real consequences."

No one had ever seen the prince so confident and authoritative before. No one dared to speak again after that, until Rowan made his way to the front, standing beside Victor. The younger man glared at his uncle, warning him but he paid no attention.

"This is your right!" He yelled. "You have to fight for what you believe in! This kingdom is as much yours as it is ours! If you want change, fight for it. Don't give up so easily!"

His words reignited the fire in them, and their mob grew in numbers and chaos.

"What is wrong with you?" Victor yelled at him.

"This is life, Victor." He laughed menacingly, staring into his eyes with malice. "It's time the people had a bit more power, don't you think?"

Before Victor could argue more, Rowan pushed past him and walked away, reveling in the loud yells of the people. Clara hurried to the prince after commanding her knights to keep them at bay.

What she didn't know was that that was her first mistake.

"I have to step down." She said to him.

"What?" Victor scoffed. "You can't possibly let them win!"

"This isn't about winning, Victor." She shook her head. "They're ready to burn everything down. If I step down, they'll stop and it won't go further than that."

"No." he shook his head. "I won't allow it, Clara."

"Victor-"

"Stop it!" He exclaimed. "Stop trying to run away from this!"

"I'm not running-"

"Yes, you are!" He raised his voice. "You're the one always telling me to not give up, so stick to your own words!"

"Victor, this could lead to far worse things than we can imagine!"

"So would you stepping down!" He argued. "Clara, you're the only person who can handle this, why can't you see that?"

Clara clenched her fists and looked away from his eyes.

"You can't keep doing this to yourself, Clara." His voice softened.

Frustration overwhelmed her as she shook her hands and rolled her eyes.

"You're not listening to me, Victor!" She exclaimed with desperation in her voice.

"I am listening to you." He said sternly. "I've always listened to you. All I ask is that you listen to me too."

She let out a defeated breath, looking down at her feet with a clenched jaw.

"What if this is all a mistake?" She asked, finally looking into his eyes again.

"Then we'll fix it again." He reassured. "We're a team, right?"

Clara hesitated; something in her stopping her, but she fought her feelings and allowed herself to nod slightly.

Victor's face dropped at her hesitation but he pushed his hurt aside, instead focusing on the situation at hand. He hoped his father would come back sooner, for he didn't know how long his uncle would stay somewhat civil.

He was terrified of what was to come.

He only hoped Clara would stay by his side through it all.

Hi.

I'm alive wohoo.

Sorry I haven't written in so long...I haven't felt like myself lately.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter tho, even if it was super short lol.

So yeah...

I hope I don't disappoint.

Question of the day:

How do you guys deal with burnouts?

I'd answer but uhh...I don't have one.

I need help lol.