Burntout

Red for Enemies

I pushed away from the table, the chair making a loud screeching sound as I stood up, stabbing a finger at the map. Voice shaking, "What do the colors mean, Theodore. What. Do. They. Mean."

He was taking me seriously enough to not make a smart-ass comment because he said, "Blue for blood family. Red for enemies-"

"Purple! I don't care about the other damn colors I just want to know what purple means." I was practically shouting now, anxiety and horror taking over me and battling for who would have control. Anxiety was winning at the moment but horror was quickly overtaking it. Another emotion, I couldn't tell which one it was, was trying to join the party and gently creaking open the door.

Theodore gave me a look, scared before turning to the stone-cold look he had been giving me lately when my emotions overcame me. "Friends, allies, whatever you want to say that relates to those words. Did you expect it to be a love interest or something, Andromeda?"

The emotions were slowly simmering down now but I could practically hear the sound of them letting in this new emotion- relief. But why the relief? Shouldn't I be anxious that I was once friends with him, the one trying to kill me and Theodore? I looked at him, "I was once friends with him?"

"You were once upon a time. But after you disappeared the line faded and the line connecting the two of us grew darker." He pointed to something on the map and I saw a blood-red line between the two of them. After a moment, Theodore pointed to another line and said, "This one also changed after I-"

He didn't finish what he was saying, instead, trailing off but I knew what he was going to say. Propose. The line between us was purple but a darker shade, darker than the other lines of the same color. Comparing it with the line connecting the queen and my mother, I saw theirs was more of lavender while ours was a royal purple.

I cleared my throat, the tension always seemed to choke me, and asked, "What is it, and why are the lines changing?"

"The Laurier family ties," he said with a wistful voice while tracing his finger over his surname, "Each ruling kingdom has one, a gift from my ancestors when our world was first created when magic was at its peak. Once, all lines between the kingdoms were purple but as you can see, times have changed."

"Only noble families and royal blood appear?" I scanned the map, seeing groups of surnames.

He nodded his head, absentmindedly tracing the line between the two of us, "The dull shade of gold is for deceased, bright gold for the one at the head or leader of the current family, and silver is heirs."

I looked back at my name and realized something for the first time. I could read my full name. With a gasp, I read it, "Andromeda Claire Holloway."

Theodore gave me a weird look but I ignored it as I focused on my name once again, waiting to see if it would blur or if the name would vanish out of my mind. I could still fill my name on the tip of my tongue and for the first time, I knew my full name. Not stopping to think about why it hadn't come back sooner I met Theodore's gaze and uttered, "I-I know my name now."

His face turned white and he ran his hand through his hair. I mouthed my name again to myself and he jumped back, his chair falling to the ground. He looked shaken and he said loudly, rushed, "Get out. Guard! Escort her out of my room."

Protesting, I tried to ask another question but the guard put his hand on my mouth, muffling me. Theodore gave the guard a dirty look, "Don't put your hands on her." I was about to turn around and run back to the desk but the guard pushed me out of the room with the butt of his sword, technically not touching me. Before I could even glance back at Theodore, I was out of the room, on the ground in an undignified way, with the guards glaring daggers at me.

"So much for him wanting to meet me," I muttered as I stood up, brushing my hands down the stiff dress and spitting out the piece of hair that had gotten in my mouth. Making my way back to the door, prepared to barge in and demand answers, the guards guarding the door pulled out their swords and made an "X" in front of it.

Sighing, I walked away and headed towards the stable, lost in my thought. Hopefully, Cassie would be there as she said that she liked riding before lunch but late after breakfast so that she would come home to food. Based on where the sun was in the sky, I assumed it was around this time. I repeated my name in my head as I walked, sounding almost foreign.

Why had Theodore been so frightened by my revelation? He should have been happy or at least not given me a glare because it seemed like he wanted me to refind myself as much as I did. Except, he kept hiding stuff and trying to force me to marry him. But, he wasn't a terrible person.

And what about Regulus? As his name came into my mind, a sharp pang ricocheted through my head and I closed my eyes. Instead of being greeted with the black and darkness a blurry image was on my eyelids. My eyes flew open and with a gasp, I closed them again instead, finding the black. Groaning, I threw open the door leading to the outside, grabbing a riding cape that was kept near the door.

Fastening it around my neck, I hiked towards the stables, trying to spot the stable boy. He wasn't there so I grabbed the harness of a horse and walked to the end of the barn. A chestnut-brown mare came into view and she let out a cry, shaking her head so that her glossy hair flew around her to make her look like a madman. I took a carrot from a through and walked to the stall.

After hitching up the horse, I clicked my tongue and we set out for the woods and our usual trail. Cassie wasn't in sight anywhere so I was by myself. But it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, my thoughts overwhelmed me too much to have a conversation. Grasping the reigns tighter, we went further on the path than Cassie and I usually went, the autumn leaves crunching under.

Suddenly, I heard a loud snap behind us and before I could turn around to see who it was, I was pulled off the horse. The mare reared up as a sword's butt hit it, rushing away and back to the castle. I felt somebodies arms wrap around me, their face a little too close to mine.

"Look at what we have here," a man's voice said, his hand reaching down and grabbing the Riseria crest emblazoned on the cloak. I struggled against the person's grip, trying to break free but he just gripped me tighter.

Another man came into view, oily black hair and warts covering his face, he chuckled darkly and looked at me, "The prince will be so happy we found an enemy in our territory. He's been needing a board for shooting practice and a pretty little thing like you-"

Before I could hear the rest of what he was saying, the one holding me pulled out a cloth and pressed it to my face. Fumes filled my nose and I felt my limbs go limp, black dots started to fill my vision again, and I could feel myself blacking out. The last fighting instinct in me went into the closet and the voice screaming in my mind to stay awake was getting choked up. Just before I lost consciousness I thrust my leg out, weak as it was, and kicked the man in front of me, square in his crotch. The yelp of pain was the last sound I heard before all the lights went out.

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A/N: 

Early update for today, my Ravens! Isn't it amazing we're so close to 100 reads? I'm leaving to go to the beach right now but I'll check in later and see all of the funny comments y'all leave (I'm looking at you  theleahfisher ;)) 

Question: #TeamRegulus or #TeamTheodore? <333

-Rae