Where It Went Wrong, A Red Queen Fanfiction: Completed

Chapter 38

Mare's name makes my heart skip a beat. Several. She was the blip that my mother never asked for. Something that my mother had to work around. It would be wrong to say that I worked with Mare. I didn't work around her, or with her. I worked for her love, hoping that it would be returned with equal passion. I can't just let Cal take her. Not when she finally comprehends me for who I truly am.

The hottest flame burns blue. The hottest flame burns blue.The hottest flame burns blue.

Little does she know, most everything Mare says to me can become a mantra. I have a strong memory, and that's why I delved into politics while Cal was more interested in the military. I remember many things. Too many things. Things that would make some people destroy themselves. Just as I did until Mare stopped me.

Now Cal wants to take everything away from me, with his perfect voice and perfect disposition. Even as I loved her and was right there in their presence, she let Cal tell Atessa they were together. He broke her heart and mine simultaneously. He dared to try and mend hers, again. She couldn't have agreed to marry him - could she?

The thought swirls around in my head, and I feel my mother's strange serendipitous presence for a moment before I banish it. I take my first blow at my brother, not aiming to injure. A brother is just a title with blood securing it down. He's a supercilious little King, waiting to take my Lady away from me so that I can take my rightful place behind his towering shadow.

Anger comes in waves, numbing any other emotions. Voices penetrate me, but I can't hear what they're saying. I grin with a senile expression, letting my brother believe that I'm crazy. He has both Atessa and Mare wrapped around his finger. Once I am locked up, nobody will remember me. Poor Callista Skonos tried to help me, tried to understand. She wasn't aware that I could make my way around, and so I did. I grabbed a bottle anyways.

Something scorches my leg, and I yell. "You take everything, Cal. Everything." I lower my voice, using what mother taught me. It will never match a Silver Whisper's power, but I can try. "If that is what Mare wants, then fair enough. Just don't taunt me anymore, alright?"

Blue flames hit the ground, and I vaguely recall that they are mine. They lick up the golden ones, eating the ground nearest to Cal so that they might consume him in one gulp if I let them. I would be exiled. Just as poor Cal was.

No Maven, stop. He's your brother, Maven. Stop. An image of two toothless children flits through my mind, giggling as they look at some newfangled toy. Identical hair, even though one set is curlier. One boy has bronze eyes the colour of the statue in a fountain, and the other has the pale water flooding his irises. Another flits by, the two comparing uniforms. The taller one shows the other a medal, and hands it down to the slightly shorter one so that he can try it on. Then another, the bronze eyed boy ruffling the other's hair with a grin. The blue eyed boy looks irritated for a moment before grinning too.

A shriek and more shouting pulls me as I realize that these people are Cal and I. Just as it did before I fell ill, my head begins to throb. Waves of pain pull through, rattling so that I can't hear anything that is going on around me. Something's happening, I can tell. Then the voices start echoing.

She doesn't love you.

Give up, shadow prince.

You'll never be as good as him.

Who could love a monster like you?

They repeat, and I try pressing my palm against my head to quell them. The flame still sits on it, and I can feel a slight twinge of pain before I realize and it disappears. I beg the voices to go away, becoming more and more aggravated until I order them away. The voices swirl around as if they are disappearing in a whirl, going down the drain. Unwanted. Slowly, everything begins to come into focus.

A blood red throne, the stains of wine from nights ago. A shocked man wearing a crown, blinking with disbelief. To my horror, Mare stands in between us, safely to the side. Her eyes are wide, mouth almost agape. As I look closely, I can see the edge of doubt, fear overcoming her senses as she begins to realize what a monster I truly am. She hates you, Maven. She hates you, Maven. You've really done it now.

Something has thrashed a wound into my heart, and I collapse onto my knees. Caressing the cold ground with my fingertips, I ball my hands into fists and try to convince myself that they'll leave me alone. You'll just hurt yourself more if you try to help. The thoughts begin to whirl again, and this time, I let them control me.

Voices call my name, over and over until I can't ignore it. "Maven. Mav. Maven. Mavey. Please, Maven."

"It's true, isn't it? He's proposed to you, hasn't he?" Fear overtakes me as she doesn't respond, but I know that she's too frightened by me at the moment. "If it makes you happy, then do it. I don't want to be the one who ruins it all for you. Listen to your heart. I took it too far. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Mav, calm down. Sir Lerolan said it was all stupid joke. A stupid, harmless joke."

A joke, Maven. A joke. I begin to laugh, closing my eyes until my stomach hurts. I can hear Mare laughing, even my brother chuckling. Cal. Fear takes a hold of me, and I stop. "I'm sorry, Cal. I don't know what happened-" I'm broken off as he gives me a sturdy hand and pulls me up, pulling me into another hug. I hug him back, remembering that Cal is the only family that I have left.

"I'll tell Lerolan off about that. He was supposed to tell you both that I wanted to call you here. The country is becoming restless, and my becoming King will help to calm them down. I figured that we would need something else, and everything has been going well between Atessa and I. Given that her family has passed away and you are her closest friend, Maven, I am asking for your permission for her hand in marriage," Cal explains, leaving me speechless.

When I finally know what to say, I know it's the right thing. "Cal, are you sure that will be alright with Mare?"

I can already feel her gaze on me, and I feel a flame of pride in remembering how she must be feeling. "I will be her bridesmaid, then," Mare proposes quietly, no doubt in her tone. Cal grins widely, winking at the newblood with a sparkle in his eye. "Then yes, I fully support your marriage," I confirm.

If possible, Cal's grin grows even wider at the prospect. "Alright. I'll propose to her, but I'm not sure when the wedding will take place. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

A/N: So, I included our first Maven point of view! Hopefully this can help you see how he thinks and his mother might have changed him. I hope you enjoyed it, please give me some feedback. Comment if you want more of Maven's POV. Thank you all so much for reading!!