Chapter One:
puppet

♚

SCARLETT leaned over the banister, wondering what it would feel like to fall. She also wondered if there were anyone in the room willing to save her if she were to fall over. She eyed the people in the room, and laughed in her head. They were Silvers, they looked down at her kind. They would never go out of their way to save a Red.

The palace was a mixture of excitement and tension. Today was the Queenstrial. The daughters of the High Houses, the great Silver families, have all come to offer themselves to the prince.

Scarlett was lucky to be there, to be able to work during one of the most important days of the year. She didn't know how much she'd be able to watch, but to even catch a glimpse of the future king would be exciting enough.

She walked to the back of the kitchens after given orders to fetch more trays to transport the glasses around, that's when she ran into someone. She jumped and put her hand against her pounding chest.

"You scared the hell out of me."

The person turned around and smiled. "My apologies. I didn't mean to scare the ... hell out of you."

A boy, with fair skin and the darkest hair she's ever laid eyes on, which was saying something because her own was nearly as dark. She had never seen the boy around before, but then again she hasn't been there very long.

"Can you hand me those trays behind you?" She asked.

"Let me make it up to you," he said as he handed them over.

She raised her eyebrows. "You scared me, not attempt to murder me, it's not a big deal." She looked down at the trays and counted them. "You only gave me 7 trays."

"They're heavy," he added.

"Move over," she rolled her eyes. "I'm petite but I can handle more than 7 trays."

He stepped off to the side and watched as she piled 10 more trays onto the others. As she was walking out he said, "Don't tell anyone you saw me back here."

"What would I say?" She looked back. "I ran into a boy in the back room and he handed me trays? Bet loads of people will want to hear that. It'll be the next huge gossip."

"Please," he said, missing the sarcasm in her voice.

She stared back at him. He genuinely looked worried, maybe even afraid that she would tell someone. "Okay," she nodded. "You have my word."

"Thank you." His shoulders relaxed.

"You owe me," she said. "I could get into a lot of trouble if word got out that I helped aid a boy in getting out of doing the work. I'm not interested in finding out what punishment Silvers give to slackers."

"Yeah," the boy nodded, deep inside his own head. "Me either."

She could tell something was bothering him, but she had things to do and didn't have the time to ask him, so she left without another word.

Her work went by in a blur, and before she knew it she was on the servants platform with the other Reds, watching as the king and queen appeared. Scarlett weaved her way through to reach the front and get a better look.

"Today we honor tradition," said the king. "Now is the rite of Queenstrial, to bring forth the most talented daughter to wed the most noble son. In this we find strength, to bind the High Houses, and power, to ensure Silver rule until the end of days, to defeat our enemies, on the borders, and within them."

"The time has come again to uphold this ideal, and both my sons honor our most solemn custom." He waves a hand, and two figures step forward, flanking their father.

She cannot see their faces, but both are tall and black-haired, like the king. They too wear military uniforms. "The Prince Maven, of House Calore and Merandus, son of my royal wife, the Queen Elara."

The second prince, paler and slighter than the other, raises a hand in stern greeting. He turns left and right and she catches a glimpse of his face. Her heart leaps.

Sharp-featured and blue-eyed.

Scarlett shook her head in disbelief. It couldn't be. She immediately thought back to the boy behind the kitchens and tried to find something, anything, to prove that it wasn't the same boy she was staring at now.

But, they were identical... and she was nauseous.

"And the crown prince of House Calore and Jacos, son of my late wife, the Queen Coriane, heir to the Kingdom of Norta and the Burning Crown, Tiberias the Seventh."

The girl beside her dropped the glass goblets in her hands, but Scarlett was too busy staring at the younger prince, trying to think about every word she said to him but it all went by so fast she couldn't remember.

The Silver daughters came and went, showcasing their power in hopes to win the heart of the future king. Scarlett thought she would be excited to see what they could do, but there was nothing in that moment that could take her eyes away from the prince.

Until the ground started shaking.

The whole box lurches, causing her to hold onto the edge to keep from falling over. She could hear the shouts and screams coming from the other servants as the floor tilted forward. People from behind had nothing to hold onto, so they fling forward, knocking against the girl beside her, pushing her over the edge.

Scarlett lunged toward her but in the action she loses her footing and her feet leave the ground.

A small gasp escaped her lips and her arms flail, gravity taking her down.

The world rushed by in a blur and she knows the pain is coming. It goes by fast, yet slow, almost suspended. Then impact. She felt her bones move in a way they shouldn't, jangled. Without looking, she knows there is blood seeping from skin that seconds ago was smooth.

The pain was impossible to ignore but all she can think about is the girl who fell before her. She used whatever strength she had left to stand up. Immediately realizing she shouldn't have. She cried out in pain as she leaned against something.

It was a statue. Her blood smeared against the once perfectly clean stone, staining it red for all to see.

For the first time since she fell she sees the Silvers, but their eyes aren't on her.

They're on the statue.

She looked behind her just in time to see it come alive. It's arms and limbs moving in a way statues shouldn't be able to. The stone crumbled as it detached itself from the stand it was connected to. The once lifeless eyes now shined bright grey.

Its limbs moved as if some inexperienced person was controlling them remotely and his eyes were wide, looking right at her, but not. The Silvers are afraid and of course, she was too.

She didn't understand and she couldn't seem to make her legs move, so instead she stared wide-eyed up at it and it stared back.

And then she remembered the other girl.

She limped away, moving as quickly as her broken limb could carry her until she reached the balcony that loomed above the arena. Her eyes search for the girl, just hoping she wasn't dead.

She got there just in time to see bolts of lightning come out of the red girl' hands; and the silver girl isn't happy, ready to fight back with flying metal.

The ground shakes— Scarlett' head shoots up, watching wide eyed as the statue jumps over her and into the arena. It lands between Mare and the flying metal, shielding her.

The metal smashes against the statue. Huge pieces of stone and dust burst like a bomb.

Scarlett staggered backward, her mind swirling, her breath shallow. Then with one step backwards she crumpled like a puppet suddenly released of their strings.

AN:

This book is making a come back.
I changed a few things, like having Scarlett meet Maven instead of Mare. I know it's a little too much like Cal and Mare' first time meeting, but I needed a way to connect Scarlett and Maven without changing the chain of events that were in the first version. Please don't hate me. If it wasn't clear, she has the ability to bring inanimate objects to life!