Chapter One #2
“There is a lot you can do. You can join in on the council meetings and provide insight considering you are the only one who has lived in the palace. You could provide ideas. Anything that isn’t just sitting in here and draining the wine cellar.
” I shake my head. I have no use, no purpose, to their crusade.
“I have nothing to offer.” I whisper, eliciting a groan from him. He quickly stands and crosses the room.
“You have two choices, Scarlett. You can either help or you can leave. I have spent the last six months defending you, but the kings who currently run this palace have very thin patience and they will not allow you to stay and drain resources if you aren’t of use.”
“Enzo–” I turn in my seat to look at him standing by the door.
“Choose wisely.” He doesn't even spare me another glance before slamming the pale wooden door behind him. I throw my head back on the cushion and close my eyes.
I don’t know what he expects me to do. I can’t see the future, I can’t fight, I can barely even talk battle strategy. What does he think I am capable of doing?
A soft knock echoes across my room and I open my eyes as the door opens again.
Laenie walks in, wearing a loose beige dress that flows around her like liquid.
Her chestnut hair is braided into a long braid that hangs down her back, her brown eyes looking more amber today, more alive.
Erik walks in behind her, shutting the door.
His ginger hair is cropped close to his head, his skin looking tanner by the day.
He’s wearing a black tunic cut close to his body to show off his stature, seemingly copying Nithe and Enzo’s wardrobe choices.
He has his sword strapped to his belt like always, the hilt a beautiful forest green.
The color of Chatis, of home . He offers me a smile as they both walk over to the couch.
“It isn’t even noon yet Scarlett, please tell me you aren’t already drinking?
” Her voice is soft, she’s always been the quieter and more reserved person out of the three of us.
However, her time here in Rakushia has brought out a new side of her.
She’s happier, smiling more, and has even been learning how to ride a horse.
I hate to admit she has been more attentive towards Bijoy than I have.
“Not enough to count.” I murmur as she collapses next to me. Erik sits in the chair across from us, propping his feet up on the table.
“Is today going to be the day you get off your ass?” He smirks and a little bit of light enters his soft green eyes. He, too, has been flourishing in Rakushia.
It seems I’m the only one that hasn’t.
“What would you have me do, Erik? Train with the guards like you and Emery, plant flowers like Laenie, discuss battle strategy with Enzo and Nithe?” I snap, narrowing my eyes. I know I shouldn’t take out my frustration on them, but I have no other outlet.
“Anything besides getting drunk would be great.” He grins, flashing his teeth, before winking at Laenie.
They have grown close over the last few months.
She used to have feelings for his brother, Lord Danieas, but he stayed in Chatis and was part of the casualties after the bombing.
Her and Erik were able to escape with Enzo’s help, the knight in shining armor for everyone.
Elaenor and I thought Erik was dead, at least that’s what Tobias had said.
Turns out he was alive and thriving in Rakushia instead.
Erik was here before Laenie or I. Enzo intercepted him on his way back to Chatis and brought him here, after ensuring Elaenor’s letter was delivered.
King Viktor and Tobias knew he was taken by Rakushia, but they thought he was killed, so that is what they said happened.
I hate admitting that Tobias thought he was protecting Elaenor by saying he succumbed to his injuries instead of being tortured and murdered.
But he wasn't, he was brought here where he has been helping ever since.
Sometimes I wonder if Tobias truly believes he is the good guy in all of this. Does he genuinely believe Rakushia is full of psychopaths torturing families and beheading kings? Or does he know which side of history he is on?
Laenie was next. She arrived shortly after Rhea’s death.
She was walking the grounds of the palace checking on the flowers, like normal, when Erik and Enzo took her.
She was terrified, of course, but as soon as she realized what was happening and that Rhea was dead, she came willingly.
She’s become quite attached to Emery and Erik since then, and I don’t blame her.
Her entire family was murdered, as was all of ours, but she was alone here.
I have them, and in Noterra I had Elaenor.
Enzo truly is a white knight, and it pisses me off even more.
How he knew they were important to Elaenor, I have no idea, but he seems to know a lot.
He says he’s a seer and can see the future.
He can hone it to get a certain idea of a specific timeline, but everything has been fuzzy for him since Elaenor arrived at Noterra.
He doesn’t understand what it means, but his father, Kassius, has been helping him adjust quite a bit to the changes in his abilities.
Kassius is just another one of the surprises I found when I arrived here.
I spent the last nearly ten years thinking he was dead, but he wasn’t.
He was helping to create a council, an army, for Elaenor to wield when she became ready.
When she became queen . He always knew what would happen, but I don’t think he expected the death toll to grow so quickly.
He was blindsided like the rest of us, doing what he could without gaining attention.
However, that didn’t stop me from giving him a piece of my mind when I saw him.
Despite the predicament we are all in, everyone here in Rakushia could have done more.
Could have done more to stop this, more to protect Elaenor, more to reduce the number of deaths.
Even Theo could have done more. He expressed his concerns about Tobias to me when we first met.
I should have listened, and he should have done more to convince me.
Maybe none of this would have happened if we all did more.
“I saw Enzo leave; does he have any news about Elaenor?” Laenie’s soft voice is the only thing keeping me from throwing something at Erik.
“No, he had nothing to say about Elaenor .” I scoff .
“Have you seen his hair?” Erik asks, his voice quieter. I meet his gaze and nod. I still hold hope that maybe we are wrong, that maybe Kassius truly doesn’t know what the light hair means. “He said he can’t feel her anymore, whatever that means.”
“He’s said that for three months, Erik. Nothing has changed other than his hair.
How do we even know if he is telling the truth?
What if they really are the enemy? How have you both come to trust them already?
” I question as irritation and nausea bloom in my belly, fighting for dominance.
I run my fingers through my long hair, but they get caught in the tangles and I abandon it, throwing it back over my shoulder.
I really should bathe; I can’t even remember the last time I changed clothes.
“They have been nothing but kind, Scarlett, how can you even say that?” It seems Laenie has taken that as a direct insult. I think out of all of us, she has fully become a subject of Rakushia in more than just name. She loves it here.
“We don’t know if what they say is true. What about what Tobias said and did? What about what Viktor said and did?”
“We always knew they weren’t good people, Scar.” Erik interjects.
“Doesn’t matter. We were still fooled. Tobias still killed Rhea, and Theo, and Donovan. He is still torturing Elaenor while we sit here and drink expensive wine and wear nice clothes.”
“No, that is what you are doing, Scarlett.” Laenie’s voice raises in volume, iciness replacing the usual warmth.
I turn to face her to see her brows are furrowed and her jaw is clenched.
“ You are the only one who is doing nothing to help. We are all trying to get Elaenor out of there. You are the one wasting away in here being nothing but an almost -royal pain in the ass.” My eyes widen in shock as she stands and heads to the door.
“Get your shit together and do something or do us all a favor, and leave.” She steps around the table and Erik stands to follow her out.
“Laenie–” I start, but Erik raises his hand.
“She’s right, Scarlett. You’re going to lose her too if you don’t change. You’re going to lose everyone, and there aren’t many of us left.” His lips press into a thin line before he steps into the hallway, closing the door behind him.
I scream and throw a pillow at the spot in the doorway they just vacated, but it barely makes it across the table.
That’s twice now that someone has given me an ultimatum and I fucking hate it.
There isn’t anything I can do. I am powerless, both figuratively and literally.
I have nothing to offer. I have no skills, no strength and no stupid magic that everyone else seems to have.
I have nothing. I blink away the tears filling my eyes as I lean back into the sofa.
Birds are chirping outside, the wind lightly whistling through the trees. It sounds peaceful, like what a normal life would entail. But that is not what I feel. I don’t feel peaceful and happy. I don’t feel content.
I feel lost.