Cherry looked over at Marie as she stood towering over her.
"What were you thinking?" Marie demanded.
"I needed to get rid of Aurora." Cherry eventually opened up. "She was going to find out that Jasmine was a member of the royal family. She would have told Xaden about where she came from and how she was not Luna Maria’s wife. And you know Xaden. Xaden would have dug deeper. He would have discovered the entire truth, and then it would have been the end. He would have discovered her mother everything would have come to the Open."
"So bloody what?" Marie asked as she gently put her fingers against her chin and held it tightly.
Cherry felt her teeth grind in pain as she tried her best to suppress how she felt.
"I was the one who put you on. Everything you have is because of me." Marie said. "I told you when it was time to collect I would. Do not forget that I am more powerful than you are. And I would be the most powerful that you have ever met."
Cherry breathed heavily.
"Let us act like all you cared about was getting ride of Aurora." Marie said letting go of her chin and then walking to the window and overlooking the entire kingdom.
"You put the hex on her. You could have easily killed her, but no, you left a trace down the entire mess. You ordered her to kill her because you know Xaden would go the extra mile for Jasmine. And then so you calculated it and added two and two. Xaden would rather lose Aurora than lose Jasmine. You wanted him to do the job himself. You wanted him to kill Aurora himself, but not before Aurora had stabbed Jasmine."
She turned back to look at Cherry.
"You planned this. All of it. And it worked in your favor." She said. "But you forgot something."
Marie started walking up towards Cherry.
Cherry, who feared no one, who never wavered before anyone, could now feel her heart racing in fear.
"Jasmine is mine," Marie said. I told you no one would touch her—not while I was alive and close to immortal. You could not disobey me."
"What does Jasmine have to offer to you?" Cherry asked. "She is useless and a pest."
"She has great Magic. You do not understand it, do you? She is the one that the gods prophesied. She is the greatest ruler this world has ever seen."
"But you only take things that will be of benefit to you. What does Jasmine have that I can not offer?" Cherry asked. "You know that from the moment I came to see you, all I wanted was my rightful place. I will never get it if she becomes queen. I will offer anything you want. I assure you that I will prioritize you over anyone and everything."
"You will never be a powerful Queen. Not as powerful as Jasmine." Marie said.
"We could use dark magic," Cherry said, trying to be smart. "I could fulfill it."
"NO!" Marie snapped at her. "You had already made a mistake, and now it had to be cleaned up."
Marie was not going to tell her neither did anyone know.
But she knew the prophecy.
She needed Jasmine’s power to be materialized because she was going to take what belonged to her.
Because she knew that what was coming was going to be even greater than Jasmine.
"If you were wise, you would have taken the offer that I gave you. Sat on the throne until it was the right time." Marie said.
"But even if I do, she will still come and take it away from me," Cherry said. "I can not let that happen. You are aware that the prophecy says she will bring our doom."
"Or our salvation." Marie finished.
She smiled and winked. "I like the sound of salvation more."
"But you can not deny the fact that she will be the one who might bring our end," Cherry argued. "It was meant to be that I will be the one who rules over her."
"Enough," Marie said. I have made my decision. You have overstepped your boundaries. If you do not steer clear of Jasmine, I will take away everything you are slowly beginning to have, and believe me, I will."
Cherry swallowed. "For a mere slave?"
"For the true Queen of this kingdom, I would," Marie said, and then the place began to become windy, her wrath evident in the weather.
There was thunder and lightning.
And then, when Cherry believed that she was going to kill her, she closed her eyes and waited for the impact.
But none came.
She opened her eyes and saw that Marie was calm and that the wind was gone.
She looked at her, surprised.
"I will not kill you, cherry. Not now, at least." Marie said. "But you have to pray that Jasmine lives. If she dies, I will end you in the most brutal way ever. I will not just kill you; I will expose you and make you lose all that you had spent those miserable years working hard for."
Cherry knew what Marie did to her enemies and she was wise enough to know that the last thing she wanted to be was her enemy.
"You will stay far away from Jasmine." She said. "Are we clear? Do you understand me?"
Cherry nodded. "Of course."
Marie smiled. "Good girl. At least you have Aurora out of the way so everything is clear for you. No one will come your way and expose Jasmine. But you will stay away from Jasmine."
"I thought she was dying," Cherry said, acting like she did not know what was happening.
"Cherry you and I both know that you are on a day to day basis of keeping pads on everything that goes on." Marie said.
She started to walk towards the balcony.
A dark wind evolved her, and she disappeared.