Kingdom of Villains and Vengeance

by Laura Greenwood et al.

  I held my fingers to my lips and crept forward. A crash of metal made me jump. I should be better than that. I should be more confident in what we were doing.

  The treasury door stood open, and I knew who was waiting for me inside. "Wait here," I ordered.

  He opened his mouth to speak, but I shook my head.

  "I have to do this alone, I'm sorry."

  Before he could reply, I slipped away and into the treasury room. As I suspected, a lone figure rifled through the shelves, looking for something and cursing herself.

  "Ahem."

  Lucia spun around, surprised by my appearance. Her face hardened when she saw me.

  "Katya." There was so much venom in her voice that it took all I had not to flinch.

  "What are you doing here, Lucia?" I said coolly.

  Why was I doing this to my best friend? What was her father thinking when he made me promise to do this?

  "I came for the crown."

  "Then take it and get out of here," I instructed.

  "What? You're okay with me taking the crown?"

  I shrugged. "The power doesn't come from that piece of metal and we both know it."

  "That's what you think..."

  "I do." I resisted the urge to take a deep breath. This woman knew me almost as well as Gideon did, she'd be able to see through any weakness like that. "Because I'm the one who is sitting in the palace with the servants and the people bowing and scraping, and I've only worn this once." I pressed the amulet and had the gold circlet in my hand seconds later.

  Lucia didn't steel herself as well as I did, and I noticed her flinch. She hadn't realised I had magic. Perhaps letting her know that was a mistake, but the worst thing she could do was tell people and strike more fear into them. It would work on my behalf.

  "That's what you think. When the rightful queen puts that crown on her head, the true meaning of power will become known." Her voice shook.

  Oh, Lucia. She wasn't ready to become the woman she needed to be to lead the kingdom. If she had been, then I would gladly have handed up the throne, though I had no idea how to go about that without being a bleeding corpse.

  "If you think that's the case, then you can prove it to me." I threw the crown in her direction.

  She reached out and caught it, not as smoothly as she should, but it was a start. "And you're going to let me walk out of here like this?"

  "Yes."

  "Why?" Her eyebrows knitted together.

  "I have my reasons." And I needed to think up some better ones before I ran into anyone on her side again, or they were never going to believe that I was against her in all of this.

  "And you're not going to tell me what they are?" she hedged.

  I laughed loudly. "Absolutely not."

  "It was worth a try."

  "It was." I stepped forward, not raising my sword from my side but looking menacing all the same. At least, I hoped that was true.

  "Stay back." Lucia waved her sword in my direction, but it was clear she didn't have anywhere near the confidence I had with a blade. She should have spent her time training in it, but she'd always been more interested in the bow.

  "I'm not going to hurt you." I shrugged as if it wasn't important.

  "Why should I believe you? You've done nothing but hurt my family."

  Pain ripped through my heart. "That's not true."

  "I think we have an interesting definition of not harming anyone. You took my brother away from his true love."

  "You mean Lady Grace?" My shock was real.

  "Who else would I mean?"

  "You really didn't know, did you?" How could she have been so blind?

  "Know what? That you were just using him?"

  "Of course not. I never used Killian. He knew how I felt about him, and I knew how he felt about me. Lady Grace was your father's choice, not his."

  Her expression told me all I needed to know. Lucia had been clueless about her brother.

  "He was in love with Lord Hubert. He had been for several years. When he asked me to marry him, he did it so that he could carry on his affair once we were married." Perhaps I shouldn't be telling her this, but it was only fair that she knew her brother.

  She stepped backwards. "No, that's not true."

  "I'm sorry, it is. Killian barely touched me. We had an agreement in place hoping that we'd get an heir, naturally, but that didn't change where he went when he needed love." It had taken some getting used to, but after a while, it had become second nature. "It was Lord Hubert he went to on his coronation night."

  "Which was why I found you in the stables," she said, realisation dawning on her.

  I nodded. "It was the one place I felt like I could truly be myself." Perhaps that was because Gideon was always there. Just like he was outside the treasury for me now. I pushed that thought aside. The treasury during a raid wasn't the place to be considering my feelings for Gideon.

  "Are you really going to let me out of here?" Lucia asked.

  I nodded. "The time for one of us to kill the other isn't here yet."

  She gulped.

  Oh no. She had so much further left to go. I needed to increase the speed of my plans in order to turn her into who she needed to be or we were going to have some serious problems.

  I turned on my heels, even though it was nerve wracking to have my back to her. "Make sure you close the doors on the way out."

  "You're just going to let me leave?" she shouted. "You're going to let me rob you?"

  I smirked, but didn't answer her. That was exactly what I wanted to happen. I swept out of the room.

  "Are you really going to let her do that?" Gideon whispered.

  "Of course. She's not ready." And I wanted to go back to bed where Riki was waiting for me. The noise of the attack was no doubt scaring her more than it should.

  Chapter 10

  "Was there much damage from the attack?" Gideon asked.

  I shook my head. "Not even any deaths. Lucia really isn't ready to take the crown." Perhaps having the physical thing would help with that, though I wasn't so convinced.

  "Is there anything I can do?"

  I shook my head. "Not while everyone thinks you're the prince. Luckily, Lucia wasn't foolish enough to bring the real Jonathan with her during the attack. If he'd been recognised..."

  Gideon chuckled. "That's because I don't think he'd be much use. From his personal effects, I'd guess that our prince is more of a scholar than a fighter."

  I grimaced. "That's not what Lucia needs though."

  "We can't do anything about that. Jonathan is what she has. If he can't help her, then she'll have to figure it out herself."

  I looked away from him, unable to think of any response. There must be a way to help her more than we were already. Jonathan was just the first piece in the puzzle.

  "What if we do something more drastic," I mused.

  "What do you have in mind?"

  A smirk crossed my lips from so much practice when thinking about devious plans. "What if I caught you?"

  "As an imposter of Jonathan? Or as a spy?"

  "I have no idea," I admitted. "Perhaps we need to go the romance angle instead..."

  "No."

  "I'm sorry?" I rose to my feet and put on my best queen face. Ignoring all of my papers, I stalked around my desk and brought myself face to face with Gideon. I tried to ignore the warmth emanating from him and focus on what I was trying to do.

  "No," he repeated. "You're not going to use that face on me. I am not one of your guards to be manipulated, Katya and I won't stand for it."

  My mouth fell open. "You're the first person who has said that to me in a long time," I whispered.

  "I could have guessed that," he responded, his voice softening from the harsh tone before. "But Katya, I will flirt with you, and I will court you in public, but if you want more romance, if you want kisses and secret moments with me, then they need to be real. It has to be with me, not fake-Jonathan."

  I closed my eyes
, trying to work out the best way to respond. On the one hand, I respected his wishes and didn't want to push them. But another part of me was plotting and trying to come up with a way to use the situation for my own needs.

  I turned away from him.

  "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, show me the fairest of them all," I demanded, desperate for a distraction from the war inside me. It was what I'd come here to do anyway, I'd just gotten distracted by Gideon. He was doing that a lot recently.

  "Wow," Gideon whispered as the purple face appeared.

  "You want to see Lucia, Your Majesty?" the mirror asked.

  "Yes, please."

  The face faded, revealing Lucia and Jonathan sat on a wall talking animatedly. A genuine smile crossed my face. I was right that he was her type. Perhaps sending him to her was good for something other than a strategy.

  "What am I becoming?" I whispered.

  "I can show you," the mirror said, the scene in front of me changing into my reflection. The same long dark hair and brown eyes I’d had my entire life.

  Except that it wasn't quite right. There was a hardness in my eyes that I didn't see in my own mirror. My face was thinner too, as if I'd lost a lot of weight.

  I stumbled backwards, crashing into Gideon. The image vanished as he steadied me, leaving the blank surface of the mirror in its place.

  "What happened?" he asked.

  "You didn't see?"

  "No. When it said it would show you, it went blank for me," he admitted, running his arms up and down my arms. There was a comfort in it that I'd never experienced before.

  "I don't want to talk about it," I whispered. I doubted that anyone could understand. The changes I'd seen were hard to explain, and I didn't want to get into it. Other questions to ask the mirror lingered inside me too, but I didn't voice them, not with Gideon in the room.

  "That's alright. You don't have to tell me anything before you're ready." His words were loaded with meaning, and I suspected he was also talking about his declaration of love. Probably more so than what I'd seen in the mirror. I just wished I knew what to do with any of it.

  "Do you mind going to check on Riki for me?" I asked, desperate for some time on my own. "She's been alone all day, and I don't want her to think I've abandoned her."

  "Of course, but don't think I don't know what you're doing." He smiled knowingly, before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to my forehead.

  I closed my eyes, enjoying his touch.

  "Thank you."

  "I'd do anything for you," he assured me. "And that includes leaving you alone when you need it."

  I nodded, appreciating the support he was giving.

  He didn't say anything else as he made his way out of the room. I stood silent and still as his footsteps retreated. I needed him to be out of earshot for what I asked the mirror next. It might not have shown him my reflection, but I didn't know for sure what he would and wouldn't see at other points.

  Once I was certain Gideon had gone, I took a deep breath and faced the mirror, steeling myself for whatever it was going to show me next.

  The purple face hung in the centre of the mirror, waiting for my question.

  "How do I stop myself from becoming that person?" I'd never used the magic of the mirror on myself, but it had become impossible not to.

  "Take a look, Your Majesty." The purple faded and revealed me once again.

  But this time, I didn't look as tired, or as worn. In fact, I looked almost radiant. I watched myself turn around, excitement written all over my face. Riki snapped at my heels, also looking far happier than she had in a while. That was odd. I hadn't even realised she was acting strange. Guilt assailed me, but it was pushed away quickly when Gideon appeared in the mirror behind me.

  I turned, just to check that he wasn't actually stood behind me.

  I started watching the mirror again just in time to see Gideon kiss the me in the mirror. Alright then, that wasn't what I expected.

  "Is this possible?" I whispered.

  The mirror's face appeared in front of me, it must have thought my question was one I needed the answer to.

  "It is only possible if you give into your heart," the mirror told me.

  I blinked a couple of times, letting the words sink in. Did it really think that was all it would take to get the person in the vision back?

  "But what of my duty to forge Lucia into the queen she should be?" I couldn't be the girl in the mirror and the queen I had to be at the same time, could I?

  "You already know the answer to that question, Your Majesty."

  Yes, I suspected that I did, even if I wasn't quite ready to accept it.

  Then again, perhaps it was better to start living my life instead of simply letting it pass me by. Even if I didn't feel comfortable with that quite yet.

  "Thank you for your guidance," I said to the mirror.

  "My life is in your service, Your Majesty." The purple face shrivelled and disappeared into the centre of the mirror. He'd return the moment I called him, but now I was alone once more.

  And for the first time in a long time, I didn't want to be.

  Chapter 11

  "Spar with me," I asked Gideon in front of some of the assembled nobles. The courtyard was as busy as I'd expected, which was going to come in useful. I'd shown the people I was cruel and cold, but now I could show them that I was also skilled enough with a blade that I should be taken seriously. It might be foolish to reveal my skills, but I needed to act, and now was the time.

  "Are you sure, Ka-Your Majesty?" Gideon asked, catching his slip almost before I did. Hopefully, if anyone had heard it, then they'd just assume that it was familiarity caused out of our impending courtship. If not, then they'd just gossip about it.

  "Would I have asked if I wasn't?" I drew the well-balanced blade Lucia's father had once given me from the scabbard, getting used to the feel of it in my hands.

  "If you're sure, Your Majesty, then who am I to deny you." He bowed deeply, before shrugging off his coat and lying it over one of the low walls.

  "Riki, stay," I instructed, showing her my hand to show her just how serious I was.

  She whined once but sat down like she was supposed to. I'd make it up to her with a bone and plenty of fuss later, she wouldn't be whining for too long.

  Gideon withdrew his sword and stalked up to me. "I hope you don't expect me to go easy on you, Katya," he whispered so no one else could hear.

  "I don't expect you to, Gideon," I replied, keeping my voice just as quiet. A lot of people are paying attention to us, but hopefully this will just appear as if we're two lovers getting close to one another and nothing more.

  "To first blood?" he asked so everyone else could hear.

  Gasps filled the courtyard. The people hadn't expected that, and I didn't blame them, I hadn't either. But now it made sense, this was the best way to prove my skills. Or it would be if I was able to beat Gideon. I wasn't completely sure about that.

  "As you wish, Your Highness." I dipped my head, but showed him no other courtesy.

  We stepped back from one another, each of us balancing our blades with practised ease. It had been a long time since I'd sparred with Gideon, and neither of us had been very good then. Now we were facing off against one another with a lot more skill.

  Blood pounded in my ears, drowning out the gossiping of the courtiers as they exchanged bets on which of us would win, and wondered whether my dress was appropriate for a fight. They were in for a surprise when I started to fight. The simple black dress was lined with red, and as it moved with me, it would give flashes of that. I'd hoped that the nobles would see the whole spectacle and talk amongst themselves about the power I wielded.

  Gideon lurched forward, swinging his sword above his head. I lifted it up to deflect the hit. I moved a little too slow for my liking. It really had been a long time since I'd sparred with anyone, and that was going to go against me. Then again, Gideon had spent more time in the woods than on the training fields, he mi
ght be out of practice too.

  Before long, the two of us were trading blows with practised ease. It was like riding a horse, hard to forget once you had a reminder of what was going on.

  Gideon's blade sliced past my cheek, but I ducked, leaving him to overbalance. He corrected himself, as I knew he would, but not before I'd spun out of the way and put myself behind him. Technically, I had my opening to stop the spar and draw his blood, but doing that while his back was turned would be frowned upon, and I wasn't going to do that. This had to be done the right way.

  "You're going easy on me, Your Majesty," he accused.

  "I don't want to start a war," I teased. "The last thing I need is to have an army at my door for cutting off the hand of the visiting prince."

  He chuckled and began to circle me. "You wouldn't do that; it would make me a less than ideal dancing partner."

  "Who said I'd want to dance with you anyway?" I smirked, following his every move with one of my own. I wasn't going to let him get the better of me through dizziness.

  "Didn't you know, I'm the most eligible bachelor at your court. All the ladies want to dance with me." He winked, revealing a peek at the real Gideon hidden behind his fancy exterior.

  "I think you're the one who is in the dark. I'm not like the other ladies here," I responded. I knew we should still be sparring, but the back and forth between us was too fun for that just yet. Perhaps it was because I knew it came from the true Gideon and Katya.

  "Then I endeavour to prove myself that I'm not like any of the men." He stepped forward, breaking our circling.

  I blocked his sword just in time, before pulling mine away and feinting to the right. This was a trick I'd seen a lot of people do, but never tried myself. If it worked, then I'd end the sparring match and draw the blood that the nobles needed to see. Then I would be cemented as the queen in every sense of the word, just ripe for Lucia to topple.

  He fell for it, and I ran my blade along his bare forearm. Blood welled up from the cut.

  It took him a moment to realise what had happened, but he withdrew his weapon and took a step backwards.