Beautiful Rogue

Chapter 14

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Q U E S T I O N E D

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"But why?" Lucas glanced over to his father. "How did we become part of the royal family? This doesn't make any sense." Next, he got up and began to pace back and forth. His fingers were constantly raking through his hair as he tried to get a firm grasp on the reality sitting in front of him. After Octavius had given him the biggest shock of his life (which wasn't an exaggeration at all), Lucas was too baffled and frazzled to make his escape. He had to get to the bottom of this. Get to the bottom of whatever the hell was going on.

"Ashton was a traitor. He was leading Elysium to its downfall and we couldn't allow that to happen," Lord Vanderbilt answered nonchalantly.

"How—how could you address him as though he was some filth?" Lucas shook his head in disbelief. "He was a beloved king, father. How could this have happened to him? I—how could you let this happen? I thought you were his loyal servant? Oh god. Everything I saw that day was real. The execution of the entire royal family. Was that really necessary?"

"It wasn't an execution of the entire royal family," the man defended. "If it makes you feel better, one of his daughters escaped. However, I'm almost positive the Rogues would have killed her by now since she hasn't shown up yet. What's done is done. We can't go back in time and change anything. It's already too late."

"I can't believe this." Lucas's hands had transformed into fists as he stood rooted to the floor. He could feel the anger and spite growing quickly. It was like a fire was burning inside of him while his father was only adding more gasoline to it. The boy admired and loved King Ashton. In his eyes, the elder was a remarkable and magnificent leader. He was kind and wise. He didn't make reckless decisions and always took the path less traveled by others. He made sure his people were well fed and safe. He was a man who fought with words instead of with fists. King Ashton would definitely be the last person he'd suspect of wanting to hurt Elysium. What the hell was his father sputtering on about? Didn't he realize how ridiculous he sounded?

"Lucas, what's the matter with you?" Lord Vanderbilt questioned. "Your uncle is king now while Gabriel is the crown prince. What's wrong with that? It was the people's decision."

"So was it their decision as well when you had the royal family murdered before their eyes?" Lucas shot back. He remembered all of their faces now. From King Ashton to young Michael. "He was only a child." His heart cracked and he could feel tears forming. Lucas was always too soft and kind hearted for his own good. His father was aware of this. That's why he had sent him into isolation for the last two years of his life.

He had hoped the experience would toughen him up a bit. Show him the world wasn't some perfect fairytale where everyone got along and received a happily ever after. He thought that all of the shit he had put his son through would have prepared him for this moment. But, in the end, his assumptions proved to be wrong and his expectations only ended in disappointment. He should have known that Lucas took after his good-natured late wife.

Honestly, he knew the reaction from Lucas could have gone either way. Most people would be overjoyed to be part of the royal family. It meant money and power. Yet, here was his son not caring about either one of those things. Sometimes he wondered if the two of them were really related. "Lucas." His voice became tender and gentle as he approached the boy. "I admired King Ashton as well but everything has already been proven. There was countless evidence against him and the high council had no other choice but to punish him. I know it was cruel that his family had to die as well but if we allowed them to thrive, we could have sparked uproar amongst the citizens of our kingdom. Wasn't it lenient enough that we didn't have them tortured?"