When I return - A Red Queen AU

Chapter 7

*Thank you so much for your patience and your support for this series! Here's the next chapter!*

My eyes gently flutter open but are forced shut by a force telling me to sleep more. My only struggle – waking up in the morning without staring at the ceiling for an hour. Sadly, my schedule doesn't allow any procrastination and I would not want to see the Queen's angry face. She is a whisper, one of the deadliest silver abilities, the one who enters your head, reads your thoughts and controls your mind.

She could probably make me go crazy if she wanted to, not saying I am not already a little insane inside.

The sonorous and obnoxious sound of an alarm clock by the bedside table stirs me awake and I sit up, rubbing my eyes in fatigue. My vision swims for a moment and I feel a dull pounding on the side of my skull. Another headache. I have almost forgotten that I slept beside Cal last night and am only reminded when I turn to my left.

He's still asleep, drained from his endless training sessions and battle planning. I wonder exactly when he'll leave for war, to go to the Choke and lead the army into a successful battle against the Lakelanders. I nudge him awake and he jolts up, scaring the living daylights out of me.

"What happened? Are you okay?" He demands, reaching up to cup my face in his hands. The rough material of the bandage on his hand brushes against my cheek and sends me a flashback of what happened last night. I giggle in response, taking his face in my palms. "I'm fine! You just scared the heck out of me!" He releases a breath I didn't notice he held inside before going back to lay on the bed. He brings his hands up to his eyes, rubbing them with his fingertips. "It's 15 minutes to breakfast," I say, leaning down and resting my head on his chest. His heart steadily beats against his rib cage and I feel mine sync with his. "Go dress first, I'll go after," he responds before reaching up to kiss the side of my cheek.

I quickly change in the bathroom and hop out quickly, letting Cal enter. He too changes swiftly into his clothes but I didn't expect him to wear his full uniform. He exits wearing his Royal suit, all his badges glistening in the daylight. His hair has been styled back and he pulls on white gloves and dons on his beret. "What's the get up for?" I ask, walking a circle around him, inspecting his suit. "Father has called for an urgent meeting," he replies, stuffing his fingers deeper into the gloves, "So you'd have to go to your venues alone." I pout and yank his arm, pleading for him to join me. "I'll see you later, though, the Grand ball is tonight." He sneers while saying the 'Grand ball', his tone filled with utter disgust. Maybe even a pinch of sadness.

***

After yet another speechless breakfast with Queen Elara, I scurry off to lessons. I knock on his door and too long after, Julian opens the door for me. But instead of the happy and joyful signature grin of his, I am greeted by frowning, red-eyed Julian.

"What happened?" I ask, only to hear no response. He opens the door further, gesturing that I enter. "I'll tell you tonight, you know what, maybe Cal will inform you instead," he says, his voice strained from the endless weeping. As to what he is weeping about, who knows. "Let's begin."

We do the usual practices: striking the metal pole with electricity, configuring the network system, opening gates with a snap. It's fun to do, just letting my sparks do what they do best. Julian doesn't speak to me, communicating with me with a nod.

Time flies when you're having fun and soon, it's spacer period. Training has been called off for the ball and luncheon is to be sent to our respective rooms. I sit in the emptiness of Cal's room, suddenly frightened by his absence. I hear a knock on the door and drag myself to open it. When I do, Evangeline is standing before me, holding two trays of food. I gladly let her in and I hear her awe at Cal's room. "It's so spacious..." she says before placing the trays on the bed.

We silently take our trays and eat, anxious to look at each other. She's going to be the next Queen of Norta but here she is, afraid to obtain eye contact with me. "So, how are you? You know, after training." She says before taking a spoonful of soup. "The headaches are horrible," I reply, "It's like someone threw a hammer at me." Her eyes fill with pity, giving her the courage to look at me. I smile to lighten up the atmosphere and mood of our conversation.

This is not the time to take pity on the dying girl.

"So, uh, how is your relationship with Cal?" she asks, a grin forming at the tips of her lips. She tries to hide it but fails horrendously and starts giggling like a child. "What?" I ask, staring at her. She wipes the tears away from her eyes, clutching her stomach as she continues laughing. "I noticed his shirt on the floor and the ring on your finger," she manages to say, pointing at it in the distance at Cal's shirt, "and I'm just wondering what you were doing together last night." "EVANGELINE!" I shout, smacking her arm playfully.

"He only took off his shirt before he slept -" "WITH YOU?"

At this point, I smack my forehead and roll my eyes, disappointed at her wittiness, sending her into another fit of laughter.

"How about you? How is your relationship with Maven?" This shuts her up and a blush rushes into her cheeks. "He's great," she says, "I think he's just stressed over the politics a little too much." Her eyes shift to the bed, "I wish he'd spend a little more time with me, I adore him lots."

She is like a sister to me, a replacement for Gisa's absence. I never imagined us being great friends, neither did I think of us talking about boys when I had just met her. But here we are, conversing about our fiancées.

We finish our food and Evangeline offers to take my tray to the kitchen. She leaves and my maids enter to prepare me for the ball.

They scrub me down and squeeze me into a beautiful gown, a vibrant mashup of red, black, silver and yellow, the House colours of Cal's and mine. As I walked across my room the dress trailed behind me, the silk gently kissing the floor. The maids pull my hair into a tight bun and help me put on makeup and when they finish, they step back and look at me as if I were a masterpiece in a museum.

I exit my room and feel an arm loop around mine. I turn to see Evangeline in her own dress, just as stunning as always. "If I was Cal, you would take my breath away," she whispers, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. "You look fabulous too! Nobody should tell you otherwise." I say and we exchange a smile before entering the ballroom.

The guards open the doors for us and we stride inside, turning everyone's heads. We walk to the opposite side of the room and see Cal and Maven staring at us with awe. Cal extends a hand out and I take it, letting him pull me to his side.

He seems slightly gloomier than this morning, his eyes penetrating through mine, seeking for my heart to console him.

"Has anyone told you that you are guilty of stealing my breath?" he whispers into my ear, the heat radiating through his glove onto my hand. "Evangeline said the exact same thing!" I laugh elegantly, doing my best not to embarrass myself in front of our distinguished guests.

"Welcome to the Grand Ball!" The King's voice turns everyone's heads toward him. "May I invite Tiberius and Maven up to the stage please?" He gestures and Cal leaves my side and Evangeline scoots her way to me. "What's the ball for though?" "I have no idea; Cal didn't tell me."

"My dear distinguished guests, as you know by now, the endless war between the Lakelanders and us has been going on for centuries." The King announces, the crowd responding with a gentle nod. "This time, we have the advantage. The Lakelanders are low on troops in the west and our spies have estimated that they are down to 2,000 red soldiers left." Two thousand? "We need to strike quickly before they send in any more to the frontline and thus," he says, reaching up to grab Cal's shoulder.

No, no, no. Please tell me that this isn't where I think this is going.

"I will send in my son, Tiberius Calore the Seventh into the battle to lead our army to victory. We have been planning our strategies for days, and we are certain that this time, we will conquer!" The King raises a glass into the air, the Champaign sparkling in the spotlight.

"Strength and Power!" He exclaims, the crowd repeating after him. I can only stare at Cal through my tears.

He's going off to war.