Author Games: The Art of War

Chapter Six: Una Moreau

Una had almost forgotten what it was like to dance. The steps slowly came back to her as her partner, a dark haired man who had introduced himself as Blaise, twirled her, and she forced a wide smile. The bright red of her dress spun out around her before she was pulled in close by her partner, her chin coming to rest just above his shoulder.

From here, she could recognized the dress she'd given Vilola, who was standing mere feet away, while the outfits Philip and Achlys had donned earlier were near the wall, the two of them dancing together. All three took Una some time to find; she had managed to find clothes for all of the Nixes, and they looked very different from how she was used to seeing them. But there was a tiredness and anger that set them apart from the rest of the people here, despite their wide smiles and polite words.

The song ended, cutting off her train of thought abruptly, and Una almost missed the offer of a drink from Blaise. She pasted on a sweet smile as she accepted, looking at the crowd around them for the rest of the Nixes. With each familiar face she spotted, some of the pressure on her chest lifted, her breaths coming a little easier.

"Looking for someone?"

It took everything in Una not to jump at Blaise's question. She laughed breathily, shaking her head as she took the wine he offered.

"No," she said, the lie rolling off her tongue easily.

Blaise nodded, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled at her. Now that they were standing still, Una could better see his sharp jawline, his broad shoulders, his eyes that were a mix of sapphire and painted water and hyacinths. He was gorgeous, danced as though it was second nature, and his words had husky yet pleasant sounding quality. In another time, Una might have loved him. But here, his eyes reminded her of Corina, and there was a softness to the edges of his features that told her he had never needed to work for anything like Corina had. Una inhaled slowly, trying to take in air that seemed to have permanently abandoned her lungs. She missed Corina, missed her so much she couldn't breathe because of it sometimes.

"So, Adri, what sector are you from?" The unexpected question caught Una off-guard, along with the name. Though Una had given her sister's name, prepared to answer to it, she couldn't help the nearly imperceptible turn as she looked for her sister. Nor could she help the way her insides seemed to tighten further at the stolen name. She was glad that her mask covered her entire face, so that nothing of her expression could be seen.

"Sarcelle," she replied quickly. The corner of her mouth turned upwards at the answer, but it quickly disappeared when she thought of Florian and Taliesin, both from Sarcelle, both locked up. She cleared her throat, turning her attention back to Blaise. "And you?"

"I would have guessed someone as beautiful as you was from Rouge," he said, winking at her, and Una smiled. The ring on her left hand seemed to burn on her finger, and she wondered if Blaise had noticed it. "Me, though? I'm from Jaune. Not quite as glamorous, but I make a mean apple pie."

"Really?" Una feigned interest, asking a few mundane questions as she wondered when the Queen would finally arrive. The waiting weighed on her, made her organs tangle up in knots and her palms sweat, the silk of her dress doing little to dry to them. Unable to help herself, Una searched the crowd again, counting each of the Nixes as she found them. Kimchi. One. Achlys. Two. Vilola and Philip. Three, four. Arava. Five.

"Are you sure you're not looking for someone?" This time there was an undercurrent of suspicion in Blaise's voice, and Una gave a small laugh. In the short moment that Blaise waited for an answer, Una wished she could say no and not be lying.

"Well," she said, ducking her head a little and playing with the silk of her dress, "I was just wondering when the Queen will arrive." Just not for the reason you think.

The creases in Blaise's forehead smoothed and his eyes became warm again at her answer. He smiled, leaning down a little as though to share a secret. The scent of his cologne engulfed Una, black pepper and lavender, a sharp contrast to the orange blossoms Corina had favored.

"I'm sure she'll be here soon, after all this is her party," he said, and Una bit back the words trying to escape her mouth.

"I hope," she said, and for once, she wasn't lying.

Barely had the words left her lips when the announcement of the Queen's arrival was announced by a man Una could barely see through the throng of people. Beside her, Blaise gave Una a smug smile. He leaned in closer to her, until there was barely an inch between them, and murmured, "See, what did I tell you?"

Beneath her mask, Una's mouth formed an approximation of a smile. Giving Blaise a poor excuse, she moved quickly away from him. Her heels clicked noisily against the marble floor as she headed towards the long buffet table, still filled with food. Earlier, the princess had hidden weapons in various places throughout the room, and the location of each weapon had been passed along to the Nixes. One of those locations happened to be underneath the last buffet table.

As she waited for the Queen to appear, Una once again sought the figures of her companions, their familiarity calming. Her hand twitched at her side, fingers itching for the gun. She forced herself to wait; she would not be the reason this mission failed. Time seemed to pass as though it was stuck in amber, and when the Queen finally entered the room, Una didn't notice until the first shot rang out.

Jolted into action, Una grabbed the gun from underneath the table. Her eyes searched for the nearest guard—he hadn't pulled out his gun yet. The white of his uniform turned red before he had the chance. Around her, a cacophony of screams erupted, and Una could see people streaming out of the ballroom, leaving behind a room of white and red.

A bullet flew past her leg, grazing her dress and leaving an ugly rip in the silk. Damnit. Una raised her gun as she turned, only for the weapon to be smacked out of her hand. Her arm twisted painfully, contorting into a shape it wasn't meant to form. A short grunt left her mouth and she kicked at her opponent's legs. A grim smile crossed her lips when she heard a grunt of pain. At least these heels weren't completely useless. Taking her advantage, Una rammed her elbow into the guard's stomach before reaching for the gun still clutched in his hand.

She grabbed it just in time for the guard to fall forward, blood coloring his uniform. Una pushed him off of her with a scowl, revealing Arava behind him, a stony expression on her face. Una gave her a quick nod of thanks before searching what was left of the crowd for the Queen, her mouth set in a grim line. The Queen couldn't get away this time. Not after everything that she and the others had been through. Where are you? On her second sweep of the room Una caught sight of the Queen. Achlys and Kimchi were on either side of her, guns raised even though Una knew they wouldn't kill her. Not yet at least. The prince had ordered them to leave the Queen alive—for now.

His order had been widely contested, each of the Nixes having their own reasons to see her dead, but in the end, they had all agreed. Una regretted that agreement with every step she took closer to the Queen. Up close she could see the resemblance that the prince held to her. They both had the same powerful bearing, the same finely shaped features, the same determination in their eyes.

Una's hand twitched, the gun in her hand cold against her skin. The urge to raise her arm, to pull the trigger and watch red stain blue rolled through her. This woman had caused hundreds of deaths. This woman had torn apart families in her quest for power. This woman had taken Corina away. For a split second, the muzzle of her gun pointed directly at the woman's heart.

Achlys' head snapped towards her, a warning written across her face. Una ignored her, her eyes locking with the Queen's. Her finger brushed against the trigger. It would be so easy. So easy to kill her. Then she lowered her gun. Not out of mercy, or uncertainty, or pity, but out of respect for the prince and the promise she'd made him. This was not her decision. It was his. She could only hope that he made the right one.