Amar to say the least, was confused. Why did Anastacius want his nephew to take over the Empire, instead of the actual heir to the throne himself? Amar laughed, to finish the awkward silence that arised. "What are you going to do, turn back time to make the emperor?" He asked.
Anastacius looked serious. The suggestion made him raise his eyebrows. "No, but that is a great idea" He considered. The nephew had stopped laughing. While turning back time would probably be the more efficient idea compared to what Anastacius would of originally thought of, Amar wasn't ready to look at Claude again. Amar fumbled with his fingers. He looked at Anastacius. "What was your other idea?" He mumbled.
Anastacius seemed to then be looking around for something, and Esta gave him a map. More specifically, a layout of the emperors palace. Anastacius continued, "Before I was going to be executed, I was saved. By who, you don't need to know. But they gave me the layout of what used to be my palace, in case I wanted to come back."
Anastacius still had a supporter? He didn't know of anyone daring enough to disobey the emperor, even if Claude wasn't there to see him. Claude was a monster, a tyrant. When he was angry, he could create a massacre. Amar was lucky that Claude only exiled him, thanks to Jennette, the hypocrite. Amar missed his father. He missed having tea in the morning with the cold and distant man. He missed knowing that Claude wasn't like other parents. He missed knowing that Claude loved his children, even if he didn't show it well. At least Amar thought Claude loved him. The last few days were hell for Amar, and Claude didn't seem to care.
Amar didn't want to think about Claude anymore. Hey, what was in the past, shouldn't be in the future, right? Right? Claude turned his back on Amar. Claude was Amar's world. Not anymore. He wanted revenge, even if he wasn't sure if it was the right choice. He wanted the heartache to stop. The desperate feeling to vanish. Claude had announced Amar was no longer his son. Then Claude was not his father. Did he even have a right to take the throne away from the old man? Could he? Claude was scary.
Sensing Amar's discomfort, Anastacius moved on. "Don't you just love being in disguise?" He asked. This made Amar even more confused.
"What?"
"Didn't you ever secretly go out to festivals?"
"Festivals? No. I wasn't allowed." Amar sighed. "Only Jennette was. Even before she came along. Athy and I were to be at our palaces 24/7." He remembered Athy sneaking out to meet her brother. He used to scold her for not completing her work, but now he wished they spent more time together.
"Claude is stricter than I remembered. Even our parents let us go." Anastacius mumbled.
Amars grandparents had always been a mystery. To him, they were just two people who birthed his father. Not really people. He didn't even know their names. He didn't even know his maternal grandparents, even though they were nobles, and the mother of Penelope Judith, the centre of society herself at the time.