A knock sounded on the throne room doors. Regent Nanako sat on the throne with Prince Ryoma at her side.
"Should I allow them in?" Nanako asked Ryoma
Ryoma shook his head. "Wait for me to hide first then let them in."
Nanako smiled and nodded. Ryoma moved from the side of the throne to behind a pillar in the corner of the throne room; he also used magic to make sure his presence was hidden as a safety precaution.
"Come in!" Nanako shouted so the guards outside could hear her.
At the approval, the doors were pushed open to reveal two council members. The two walked forward and kneeled in front of the throne. One of the members were looking around the room as well, apparently trying to locate his prince. Seeing no one besides them and Nanako the members grinned. "Nanako-sama, the rebels from before are requesting an audience."
Nanako sighed. "Again? Did they not have an audience two weeks ago?"
The same member that spoke earlier answered. "Yes, but it seems they were not satisfied with the negotiations and wished to speak with the prince this time."
Nanako glared. "They dare request an audience with the prince!"
The council members grinned once more. "Should I send them off?"
"Of course, tell them that the decisions were final and I will not be discussing the issue further. Neither will his royal highness."
"Are you sure that is a choice you can make Nanako-sama?"
Nanako raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying we should allow a small unorganized rebel group speak with the prince? Are you saying someone from the outside should know of his highness's identity?"
"No, I'm merely asking why not discuss this with the council and see what other choices are available to you. Surely just sending them off with a negative response will not stop the rebels. Obviously, more action is required to deal with them. After all, they have been very persistent lately."
Nanako stole a quick glance in Ryoma's direction; it was so subtle that no one else in the room but Ryoma noticed. Ryoma smirked at this but otherwise did not give any sign to Nanako about what she should do.
Seeing she will not be getting any help from her cousin Nanako decided to voice her own opinion. "The rebels have yet to act violently, their protests so far have been peaceful. There is no need to take action towards them."
The council member that has been silent the entire time growled and shouted. "Are you saying we should wait until they cause harm before we stop them! How nieve!"
"I will not use forceful action on a peaceful group, end of discussion!" Nanako folded her arms in
front of her chest and turned her head away from the two members. "Deliver what I said earlier to the rebels and you both are dismissed."
"Very well." The two members stood and bowed before they left the throne room, shutting the doors behind them.
Ryoma amused at the whole thing finally revealed himself. "You did well Nanako."
Nanako sighed and looked over at Ryoma. "I can only fight them for so long, most of the time they force my hand and get what they want. I have no power over them; I don't even know if they will follow my orders as well."
Ryoma walked towards the throne room doors while waving one hand in Nanako's direction. "Don't worry about the council, just do what you have been doing, and I'll handle the rest. Be the
good puppet they think you are."
Nanako stood up from her throne and balled her fists at her sides. "Stand-in!" she yelled, but Ryoma was no longer in sight.
Ryoma had an idea as to what the council was planning. They had always believed it best to rule with fear. Most likely the council was hoping to use the rebel group to display their power and force the citizens to obey. Ryoma hated that kind of thinking. His father never ruled with fear. Instead, he was just and a kind king. The people followed him because they admired him. The other races never got involved because his father respected them. The council was trying to destroy all that his father built.
There is no way Ryoma would ever allow that.
A month later It was announced that there was a rebellion. The rebel group had amassed a vast army of Twenty-two thousand people. Most were just fledglings, but they were a few Half-breed's, purebloods, and members of other races. Unfortunately, this was the worst possible outcome Nanako could have ever expected. However, some of the council members were overjoyed.
Ryoma, on the other hand, was pissed. The council was trying to force Ryoma into using his power, something he promised never to do. He knew he was only being used by the council and vowed to never use his magic for them. Yet, if he didn't then the rebels will succeed and so would the council. As much as he hated being used, he hated the thought of the council winning more.
So Ryoma clicked his tongue, threw on his black cloak and made his way to the battlefield. The royal army was doing poorly against the rebels, and Ryoma made a note to improve the army's requirements and training in the future. Indeed this display was quite pathetic. Once Ryoma made it to the front of his army he amplified his voice.
"Stop."
Everyone on the battlefield Froze.
Ryoma turned to his army. "Retreat." he said, and they all followed his command. They did not have a choice anyway.
Now that Ryoma did not have to worry about his men, not that he cared much though, he faced the rebels.
"This is a pathetic sight, where is the leader? Come forth."
Noone moved from their spot.
Ryoma stared and realized his mistake. Quickly he deactivated his spell from before. However, his eyes were still glowing brightly.
The leader of the rebel group walked forward timidly. He was scared, and he had the right to be. A strange cloaked figure appeared before them and instantly made his army vulnerable. Noone was able to move an inch after that figure commanded it. The other army had left as well.
Apparently, this figure was someone incredibly strong and influential. How influential, the rebel leader could only guess. He could not see who the figure was because a cloak was coving them. All that the leader was able to see were the golden glow-
The rebel leader's eyes widened. The signature glowing eyes belong only to those of the royal family. The figure standing before him was the one and only Vampire prince.
Ryoma eyed the leader with disgust. "Were you not satisfied with the negotiations?" he asked.
The rebel leader stood proudly in front of the prince. There was no room to show fear. "We feel as if we were not given a fair judgment."
"Oh? what do you believe to be fair then?"
The rebel leader blinked. "Um.."
"You do not even know what it is you want how could you assume my verdict was not fair?" Ryoma challenged
The leader started to get angry. "Does it matter?! You royals only care about what benefits you anyway.
Ryoma glared, and the rebel leader flinched. "That is not true; I only want the best for the people."
"Liar!" The rebel leader shouted and lunged at Ryoma.
However, Ryoma only moved off the side, causing the leader to fall onto the floor. "Pathetic." Ryoma muttered.
Once the leader stood back up Ryoma spoke once again. "This will be your only chance, leave now and accept my decisions or die here."
The leader balled his fists in rage. "I'll never leave!" he shouted and made to attack Ryoma.
"So be it." Ryoma avoided The rebel leader's attack again and grabbed the back of the man's
head. Ryoma threw the leader off to the side roughly.
"Explode." Ryoma muttered. At his command, the rebel leader's body began to convulse until suddenly he exploded.
Seeing their leader die before their very eyes the rebel army became enraged. Ryoma faced them and gave them all the same warning he gave the leader. However, none of them took the offer, too angry and what happened to their leader the army all charged at Ryoma together.
Ryoma just blankly stared at the group and muttered a single word. "Betray."
The rebel army stopped in their tracks, and their eyes became blank. It was as if they were being controlled like puppets by another person. One by one each member of the army turned towards a comrade and killed them.
Ryoma barely had to lift a finger. The rebel army had taken each other out for him. However, there seemed to be one person left. Ryoma walked up to the only rebel survivor and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him up so he could face him.
"Listen, I am going to let you go. Not out of mercy but as a warning. Go against the royal family and suffer the consequence." Ryoma then tossed the man to the side and walked back to his castle.
Afterwards, the bodies of the rebel army were burned, although the deceased members that were apart of another race were sent back to their race's territory. It caused an uproar with the other races of course, but Ryoma ignored it. He felt that is proper for those to be buried or burned in their homeland instead of a foreign one.
Ryoma was still very pissed off, and he was not in the mood to talk with anyone for several months after the rebellion. It was unfortunate that Nanako decided to speak with him about the incident.
"Ryoma are you okay?" Nanako asked worried about her cousin. She had not seen him since the rebellion, and when she finally crossed paths with him in the hallway, she stopped him for a conversation.
"I'm fine," Ryoma replied coldly.
Nanako flinched. "I'm sorry I should have-"
"Enough." Ryoma interrupted. "You did nothing wrong."
Ryoma looked at Nanako and smirked. "You did well in playing the Puppet role, and I expect you to continue. If the council wants to make me their weapon so be it."
Ryoma walked away from Nanako but stopped to make one last comment. "Let's just hope they can accept the consequences of making me a weapon."
Nanako just stared at Ryoma's retreating back in shock. She couldn't even find the will to get mad at Ryoma for calling her a puppet like she usually does. Ryoma was different. He seemed more dangerous, colder. She did not like it.
The council used Ryoma even more after that; it seemed strange to them that Ryoma no longer puts up a fight against them, but it worked out in their favor. The council just assumed that Ryoma finally could see things their way.
Ryoma used his power more often, and since then people started to fear him. Noone would risk upsetting the council or the royal family in fear of the prince taking retribution. It didn't help that this fear was starting to spread to the other races.
Ryoma was glad for it though; it just meant his plans were working just like how he wanted them to.
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A/N: by the way of you haven't noticed yet this was a flashback chapter.
I'm not very good at writing flashbacks or fight scenes so hopefully it turned out well. I was so excited to tell you this part of Ryoma's story though.
Anyway thank you everyone for the support and I'll see ya next update ;)