Chapter 77

Claudia's POV

"Why did you do that?!"
"Don't talk to me in such manner young lady, I am your uncle but I am also your king." My uncle's piercing gaze met mine. "We are at war Claudia, get that through your head. Do you expect me to greet and welcome him in the castle? I did what had to be done."
"But-"
"I don't want to hear it Claudia." I kept my lips sealed after that, though I didn't want too. I was beyond mad. I just wanted to yell at my uncle at tell him that Maxwell wasn't lying but I didn't. I knew my uncle, and I knew that if I did that, it would be useless; thus, it would make him angrier than he already was. I clenched my fists and rolled my eyes at him when he turned his back to me. Uncle Mark sighed and rubbed his temples.
"Come with me Claudia, I want to talk with you about a specific subject." Forced to do as he said, I trudged behind him and crossed my arms.I just loathe my uncle at the moment.
I stomped out of the chamber clenching my teeth. I hate him, I hate him, I hate him; I chanted over and over again. Ugh, I just hate him! Yeah, you heard that correctly, I hated my uncle. I was in one of the chambers sitting with him because he wanted to 'discuss' something with me and guess what he wanted to talk about… Maxwell and I.
At the beginning, I hadn't been really hearing him, I had been too busy thinking of how Maxwell was doing down in the dungeons, I was worried sick. That was until my uncle had brought up the issue of Maxwell and I dating. Right then, I had been all ears. He had said that we couldn't continue like this, actually, he had ordered me to end things with Maxwell like I was his puppet, not a living being that had feeling. He had said that I had to end it and had to forget that Maxwell ever existed and move on saying that I could have much better guys than him.
I had just sat there staring at him like he had grown another head. To be honest, I hadn't expected that at all. Of course, I hadn't listened to what he had to say next because I had told him that I would never do that; that I would never end things with Maxwell and I had ran out of the room after that not wanting to hear what sort of rubbish he had to say next
I opened the door to my bedroom and quietly sat on the bed feeling mentally exhausted. I looked at the ground and bit my lip thinking of what happened today and a tear escaped my eye – it was followed by many others. That was how I spent the next hour, crying my eyes out. I felt sad, frustrated and lonely at the same time.
All I wanted at that moment was someone to rub my back, telling me that everything was going to be alright like – like what mom had used to do. Thinking of my mom just made me cry harder. I need you so bad right now mom, I want you to help me go through this so badly. I want you to be here next to me, caressing my cheek and telling me that the problem's going to be fixed. I covered my face with my hands and tried to calm down. Now is not the time Claudia, you have to stay strong, you have to muster it all up. Letting put a shaky breath, I stood up and opened the curtains of my terrace. I wiped my tears and got up with only one thing in mind, how I was going to see Maxwell.
"Princess, with all due respect but I don't think that's a good idea," the blonde guard in front me said. I mentally groaned but kept a straight face and glared at him
"Are you defying my orders?" I raised an eyebrow. The guard went rigid and I could sense his fear. The guard shook his head and stuttered a no.
"Good, then let me enter." I smiled in satisfaction as the guard nodded and opened the dungeon door for me. Instantly, I was met by black walls. Ignoring the chilling sensation that ran through me, I walked a couple of steps and stopped when I saw a figure a few meters away, on the floor. I quickly ran and kneeled till I was in front of him
"Maxwell? Babe, are you okay?" I cuddled his face in my hands.
"What are you doing here Claudia?" I frowned at that, the way he said it made me feel like he didn't want me to be here and it kind of hurt
"I'm here to see you Maxwell." I caressed his cheeks softly
"Does anyone know you're here?"
"No, not really, only if you considered the guard that's scared to death outside." I tried to lighten up the mood and that seemed to work since Maxwell chuckled. Seeing him smile made me grin, finally, I get to see that breathtaking smile of his again
"What did you do to him?" He looked at me, eyes shining with laughter
"It's rather, what did I tell him." I took a seat next to him and leaned into him and was instantly engulfed by the warmness of his body. I sighed feeling content.
"Are you feeling better?"
Maxwell nodded without saying a word. I knew it was not exactly very romantic to be sitting on a dungeon's floor but, it felt surprisingly good. We spent the next couple of minutes sitting like that, in silence, none of us saying a word; that was until I decided to ruin the moment
"I'm going to get you out of here Maxwell." I muttered looking at him. Maxwell stiffened and sat sideways. Confusion crossed his features making me frown. That was weird, wasn't he happy that he would be getting out of here?
"Claudia, I came here for a reason and I'm not leaving without it." I pulled away and stared at him trying to figure out what was running through his head
"Maxwell, my uncle – he won't-"
"Yes he will." He cut me off
"But how?" I didn't understand what he was saying. My uncle refused to believe what he said so why would he think of it again
"The armies are going to meet in an area called Thaldin, the same area where the past war between demons and witches took place. When your uncle hears that the demon army started moving, things will turn hectic here so it will be the perfect timing to tell him of my plan and convince him to let me do as I want." I looked at the ground and pursed my lips. Okay, so now he got me really curious. What is he planning to do, turn his people against their king
"Exactly." My eyes went wide, no not because I said that out loud but because Maxwell confirmed it. He can't be serious, he must be crazy! How will he turn his people against their king? It's not logical
"I don't understand, how will you-" Before I could say anything, Maxwell pressed his lips on mine. I instinctively ran my fingers through his hair and pressed his lips harder against mine. Before I could deepen the kiss, Maxwell pulled away with a satisfied smirk on his face.
"I will, don't worry." He said. I raised an eyebrow but didn't question him though I had some doubts running through my head. That was how we spent the next half an hour, kissing though I did ask him a few questions and he would always answer me with 'I have my ways' and 'everything's going to be fine'. I mentally sighed, I really wished everything would be fine. I knew what the outcomes of wars looked like and they weren't pretty. Dead people, injuries, destruction and a lot more and I knew that both of the kingdoms would go through that.
But there was one question that I had asked Maxwell several time.
Why is he doing this
And every time I asked him, his answer was still the same
Because I love you.
I won't lie and say that it didn't make me feel good because it did. I looked up at Maxwell and saw him looking down at me with adoration and love shining through his eyes. Right there, I knew that this was the person I wanted to be with, that this was the person that I would fight for, and if I lost everything while doing so, then I wouldn't care less.
Maxwell POV
The sounds of commotion outside woke me. I stood up trying to concentrate of what the people were saying. My eyes went wide and I instantly took my stance to summon up fire. The time had come, the demons began moving.
I got out the dungeon and tried cooling myself down. Everything down there was melted now. I ran up the halls passing many people who made way for me, probably scared. Many guards tried following me but I was too fast and lost them easily. I had one place to go to and I knew where he would be.
I slammed the door open and glared at the person in front of me
"This time, you will listen, whether you like it or not."