She's The Enemy (GxG)

(P2) Chapter 5- Mess

There's this horrid tradition in the Unseelie Court, one where they invite Fae from everywhere to witness the brutal slaughter of humans, by humans. It's like a Roman gladiator arena except to the death- primitive and dastardly. It was put on hold when they could no longer cross into the human realm, so my best guess is that it has recently begun again. 

Arriving to the doors of the Unseelie Court accompanied by a full human army is not exactly an ideal situation, in fact, it should be avoided at all costs. Instead, it was my plan to make both armies to stay behind and to invade the prisons behind the arena where all of the humans are kept. I do not know much about the layout of the other Court, therefore; Adrien and Archer will be leading both the human and Fae army using their better and yet still limited knowledge of the layout from when they had both snuck out together to see it at age 11 (They weren't let in but still got a good idea of the arrangement of the place).

Naidia, Casper and I, however, are who this mission is dependant on- we are the distraction. I could not be completely sure whether they would indeed place Emilie in the pit, but I had hope that they would at least keep her nearby. 

I clasp the reins of my horse tighter as Adrien bows his head in farewell, I reciprocate this motion, feeling a wave of sorrow pass through me at seeing my childhood friend for what I hope is not the last time. I bury it deep, turning away from the sight of both armies being led down the mountain in which the Seelie Court inhabited. Naidia turns to me, her eyes full of comfort,

"It'll work." She says sternly, pulling at the right side of her reins which causes her horse to turn towards our destination. I nod slightly, it's not like she can see it, just to reassure myself, to believe it myself. It'll work. We set off in silence, however, this isn't the comforting kind of silence, it's the type of silence that gets under your skin- unnerving and tormenting. And yet, we are all scared to break it; almost like all of us were holding our breaths.

"Is she your mate?" Naidia asks, daring to break the bittersweet veil that had been hung over us. I wait a few seconds before answering, scared that I may show my weakness.

"I don't know..." I answer before I am cut off by the abrupt yells coming from beside me.

"Don't do that!" Casper exclaims, turning to me, "Don't pretend you don't feel anything. Don't hide it from us, we're your friends!" I am slightly taken aback by this exclamation, It was almost as if I had forgotten that I was no longer with the rest of my Court.

"I... I... Didn't mean..." I stutter and am once again interrupted.

"You know what... don't bother. You've changed Isla, ever since you've become 'Queen' or whatever- you treat the people you love as if they don't exist!" Naidia states and I watch her knuckles turn purple as she grasps the reins. I stare at her- clueless. Doesn't she get that I'm trying? I'm too young for this, there's too much on my shoulders, I'm barely breathing under all this weight. They're my friends.

"Cause if you haven't found your mate, I have..." Naidia murmurs and I turn to Casper in shock, but this doesn't seem like news to him. Why didn't she tell me? "I didn't tell you because you were so busy wrapped up in your own stuff that you didn't see. Too busy worried about your own loss to notice the one thing I had found..." Naidia adds as if she can read my mind and I start to wonder how selfish I really have been since I've gained the throne. Have I made this all about me when it really isn't?

"Who..." I mutter softly, suddenly feeling another weight on my chest, this time, however, it burned.

"Their name is Shae..." Naidia says, pursing her lips. Shae... the name resonates within me and suddenly a face appears. They began training for the guard a few years ago and would most likely be among the many sent to the Unseelie prison today.

"I'm sorry," I say, letting the emotion fill my voice just so she would know how much I meant it.

"It's okay... You are my queen after all," She murmurs bitterly, digging her heels into her horses' side and riding ahead of us. It's only a few seconds before her brother joins her.

***

As we reach the entrance to the Unseelie Court around half an hour later, we are stopped in our tracks by a large brass gate towering at least six feet ahead of us. Beside it is a small, golden bell. I dismount carefully, slowly walking over to pull the leather strap which is attached to the bottom of the glistening contraption. There's no ringing noise, no noise except the soft hum of magic drifting through the atmosphere, a hum so rare and so silent that if you had never heard it before, you'd miss it. The gates open slowly, followed by a jarring creak and within the same second, a boy with silver hair appears in a dark cloud of smoke.

"How may I assist you?" He says in a snake-like tone. I turn to him, latching our gazes; a silent warning.

"We've come to witness a few fights in the pit, I've heard it is just... exhilarating..." I say, my voice unwavering. The prince narrows his eyes slowly, glancing at Casper and Naidia beside me. He then chuckles to himself slightly, provoking a retort from Naidia,

"What's so funny?" She demands and the prince just bites his lip fiercely. I watch as a stand of blood trickles slowly down his jaw before he sweeps his tongue across his bottom lip, rendering the trail of scarlet no more. He then lifts his hand to wipe the saliva from his chin and I try to hide my cringe at the sight of it.

"Nothing... make yourselves at home, loves..." He whispers devilishly, almost as if he knows what we are up to.

"Don't call me that," Naidia spits at him causing him to press his hand dramatically to his cheek in order to wipe off her saliva this time. However, instead of looking at her in disgust, he smiles- a cold, daunting smile

I've got a bad feeling about this...

A/N

I hope you enjoyed! Thank you so much for reading, you are all amazing! Stay safe and have a lovely day!