Chapter Text
Chapter one
Kiva
Kiva opened her bleary eyes, taking time to adjust to the bright light. She sat up straight and felt the carriage moving. For a moment she didn’t remember what she was doing there, then it all came back to her. The prison riot, her mother’s death , the near loss of Tipp and Jaren. She heard a grunt and looked up, she saw that -like her- Jaren had woken too, due to the blinding light.
“W-Where are we?” Yawned Tipp, he had dark circles under his eyes and he kept swaying. Kiva looked at what remained of his wound and from what she could tell he had healed well, but it would probably be sore for a while.
“We’re at the Winter palace, kiddo,” responded the vigilant guard. Naari stopped the carriage and indicated for them to get off. Jaren hopped off with ease but when Kiva tried getting down she lost balance and, if not for Jaren, she would have fallen.
“Careful there, sweetheart.” He said almost purring the words. Kiva blushed at the realisation of how close they were and she swatted his hands away. She couldn’t get too close, after all she had a mission to complete. Didn’t she? And getting too close was the opposite of what she needed right now. She finally steadied herself and took an awe filled look at the building before her. She’d never seen a real palace, only in the bed time stories her father used to tell her.
“Do you like it? When I'm king it’ll be mine but maybe, just maybe, I can share it with you.” Jaren whispered in her ear. Kiva didn’ her best to roll her eyes and moved away like any sensible person would do.
If Kiva had to describe the palace in front of her in one word she would have said: extravagant.
The palace was tall, it was made from marble, gold highlights curving and twisting into breathtaking patterns. The Front Entrance and the silver gate surrounding the palace looked like it was made of crystal and there were guards stationed at every entrance. They wore silver chestplates embroidered with many jewels, making them shine in the winter atmosphere.
Next to her Tipp inhaled a sharp breath. At first Kiva thought it was because of pain, but when she looked at the boy she saw that he was giddy with anticipation. Kiva’s insides warmed at seeing Tipp so happy and she wished that he had had a better childhood instead of living at Zalindov. Tipp deserved more than that.
Tipp saw her looking at her and he sent her a questioning glance. Kiva just shrugged and turned away.
“Come on, if we stand here all day we’ll catch a cold.” Huffed Naari.
“But-” started Tipp but Jaren cut in, “Sorry bud, but Naari has a point.”
Tipp let out a disappointed sigh and flowed Naari through the crystal-like gates. Jaren slung his arm around Kiva's shoulders and she tried to shrug him off but he wouldn’t budge.
“Don’t think you can get away that easily, sweetheart.” smirked Jaren and he led her towards the Entrance into the palace.
The guards stationed at the door nodded to Jaren and Naari in acknowledgment. Naari paused to say something to a curly haired female guard but Jaren just kept walking on like they didn’t exist. He basically dragged Kiva along with him. Kiva was in a mental dilemma, half of her wanted to return Jaren’s obsessive love and the other half wanted to put a whole kingdom between them.
As they entered the palace, Kiva’s attention was quickly stolen by the picturesque interior design. The laced velvet curtains were a beautiful shade of crimson and the furniture was encrusted with silver. On the walls were large portraits with dazzling gold frames. Most of the pictures were of a radiant woman and a refined man, both people were wearing regal clothing . The king and queen, Kiva guessed, that meant they were Jaren’s parents.
“This way,” Jaren says , “we are meeting Mirryn in the west wing.” Naari nods and her and Jaren walk ahead. Kiva and Tipp hurry to catch up with Jaren’s and Naari’s face pacing.
They walk for a while, climbing up multiple sets of stairs and passing many corridors with white doors each with a gold brass handle. Finally Naari stops before a door with a pattern etched on the handle. Jaren stepped forwards and knocked twice.
“Enter,” said a voice that Kiva had heard once before. Jaren opened the door and they stepped in the brightly lit room.
The first thing that Kiva noticed was that most of the walls in the room were made of large glass panels, letting the natural light enter the room. The coffee table and some of the furniture was also made of glass, making the room blinding.
Kiva had to squint her eyes until they adjusted enough to the glaring light.
A few moments later Kiva was able to see clearly again. She looked around the room again and saw something- or rather someone- that she had missed the first time.
Sitting on a cushiony velvet chair was princess Mirryn, her long gold hair tied back into a flower weaved braid. The princess was stunning, she wore a magnificent deep blue gown and a silver diadem on her head.
“You’ve arrived!” exclaimed the princess. She stood up and embraced Jaren, then Naari and finally Kiva. For a second she just stood there like a log, unable to move. Mirryn let her go and went to greet Tipp. Kiva stood there dazed. The first time she had met the princess she had seemed sarcastic and her tone sounded almost bored. This side of Mirryn left Kiva confused, but who was she to judge first impressions? Mirryn sat back down and Tipp sat on a chair across from her. Jaren gently nudged Kiva into a couch and he sat beside her. Naari remained standing.
There was a moment of silence then Mirryn finally spoke,“So are you going to tell me what happened after me and Cal left? Or something?.” Kiva could tell by the way she said it that she was thirsty for details. Now this was the Mirryn she knew.
Jaren looked at Kiva then Naari. He cleared his throat and gave Mirryn a recap of everything that happened at Zalindov and their escape afterwards.
“So Jaren helped you with all your ordeals?” Asked Mirryn. She shook her head in disapproval and muttered something that very much sounded like: idiot. Mirryn looked up at her younger brother and he looked back at her with a stoney expression.
“So what? If I hadn't helped her she would have died!” Exclaimed Jaren.
“It wasn’t your job to intervene." Berated Mirryn. “Heck! You shouldn’t even have been in that damned place to begin with!”
“I'm sorry that you don’t have a heart, but this might come as a shock to you, we do!” Hissed Jaren in response.
Kiva could see that Mirryn was doing her best not to explode. Mirryn stood up, her fists clenched and she stalked to the door. Just as she reached it Naari spoke, “Stop. We still have things to discuss, especially regarding the rebels.”
Kiva’s stomach churned at the thought of her family and the rest of the rebels. Mirryn groaned and came back to her sitting spot.
“Discuss away,” she said boredly. Kiva was somewhat surprised, in the little time she had known the princess she had never sounded bored when she was about to get information. Mirryn was one of those people who loved gossip and would stop at nothing to get the dirt on everyone.
Tipp yawned and curled up on the chair he was sitting on.
“Don’t fall asleep here bud,” said Jaren, “I promise we’ll be done talking soon.”
“I’ll try,” Tipp half-heartedly muttered and he yawned again. Kiva herself was very tired too but she tried not to show it. Conversations like these would be what her family would want her to hear. So she rubbed her eyes and cleared her mind.
“The Rebels were acting very strange. The newer inmates were acting as if they were looking for something,” -or someone, thought Kiva- “ especially the rebel queen. One thing I’m curious about is why was she blind?” Inquired Naari.
“She was blind because she was deathly ill.” Said Kiva, trying not to think about it too much. Rebel queen or not Tilda Correntine was still her mother.
“Yes, but from what illness is what I’m wondering.” Grilled Naari. Well aren’t we all wondering that, Kiva wanted to say.
There was a moment of silence. “So? Why was she sick?” questioned Mirryn, “did you ever find out?”
“Do you think we would have probably already said that if that were the case. No, we didn't find out!” Bursted Jaren and he snuggled closer to Kiva. Kiva felt like something to help with emotional support. She sighed and let the thought go and she embraced Jaren’s warmth, it was quite chilly after all.
They heard a knock from the door then another and the door knob rattled.