One True Queen

“I didn’t!” Elizabeth exclaims as Angelica watches her with narrowed eyes.

“She’s not wrong.” I reply. All eyes are on me now.

“You have Witch blood?” She asks, surprised.

“Not me. There’s another in this room, who is related to the Barslows.” I say. I don’t want to sell him out, but...

“Her?” Angelica points to Rachel and I laugh.

“Elliot. His father is Lord Thomas Barslow.” I correct.

“Strong power. But you’re a Red!” She questions, and Elliot nods in confirmation.

“But...”

“It’s impossible?” Elliot guesses, but Angelica shakes her head.

“The Red tribes live in Harnesk.” She says finally. Harnesk is the area of Tork that the Camaranians invaded.

“Captured?” I inquire.

“Enslaved.” She corrects, “How did you escape?” She finally asks after hesitating for a question.

“He was born here-” I start to say, but Elliot interrupts.

“They took me when I was five. I was trained to serve the King himself when he came to Harnesk to study the weak points of Tork. They knew my powers, and taught me to control them, to never use them.” He says. Pain fills his eyes and I can tell it’s not a nice story. But he knew about these powers and never told me?!

“Whenever we misbehaved, we would be whipped. They did not care how old we were, we were rebels who could easily fight back. My friend helped me escape.” He looks at me now, “She was much like you. She had a tough life too, been enslaved since she was two. She knew every patrol, every shift. Every passage. She had a plan to escape, and she gave it to me. She covered for me as I ran. She died for my freedom, and I have never forgotten that.” A tear falls from his cheek as he finally whispers, “A Silver killed her.” So that explains why he hates Silvers.

“What was her name?” I ask him and he blinks away the tears.

“Isla. Isla Dovan.” He says, his voice catching. I freeze at his words.

“She isn’t dead.” I whisper. I know that for a fact. This girl that saved Elliot, I knew her. She’s one of my best friends.

“What?!” Elliot yells. Angelica blushes in embarrassment as we ignore her.

“Isla was, is one of my best friends.” I tell him.

“But she’ll be fourteen soon! We have to save her from the war!”

“First, let’s get some sleep. We’ll plan tomorrow.”

“Good night Isla. We’ll save you..” Elliot whispers before settling to sleep...