"sic semper tyrannis."
(Thus always to tyrants)
Iftia: Royal Palace, Queen's Bedchambers
• Matthias •
Matthias stood in front of the door leading to his mother's bedchambers, unmoving. His palms felt cold and clammy and a small sigh of anxiety leapt out of his mouth. With a heavy heart, he nodded slightly and the Queen's guards opened the door to let him through.
His eyes peered towards his mother who was sitting in the long couch with her hands folded tightly across her chest and her fingers tapped her elbow impatiently while staring at the space in front of her.
"Your Majesty, Prince Matthias is here," one of the maidservants announced and Mother turned her head sharply to face him. Her hazel eyes had turned into a piercing shade of green as they zeroed in on him, making him shift uncomfortably in his position.
"Kneel down," Mother's voice was calm but cold as ice. Dissatisfaction and disappointment loomed above her as she kept her stare on him. Seeing that he had not complied with her command, she warned, "Don't make me repeat myself, Matthias."
Then, he lowered himself, knees on the ground as he placed his hands on both thighs. He felt anger radiating off Mother but he remained firm in his position, believing that he had done what he deemed was right. Even if it was at the price of turning his back against his own mother.
"I'm sure you have something to say." Danger screamed in Mother's tone and he gulped nervously.
"I did what I felt was right for the people," he said in a dreadfully quiet manner, trying to hide the tremble in his voice.
"Did you even know what you are saying?" Anger rose in a violent and intense manner as she moved her hand towards the table in front of her and grabbed a crystal wine glass. Hurling it towards him, Matthias made no attempt to avoid. The glass shattered upon contact with his head and glass shards pierced through the skin of his forehead. Warm, sticky liquid glide along the side of his face, down his jaw and to the tip of his chin. He looked down and saw a droplet of crimson splatter onto her lush and immaculate carpet. Damn, this actually hurts.
"How could you betray me?" He watched as her eyes widened in bitterness and resentment and he pressed his lips into a thin line. Unable to refute, he remained silent, hoping that he was enough for her to vent all that rage in her system. "Matthias, I did all of these for you! AND THE LAST THING I EXPECTED WAS MY OWN BLOOD BETRAYING ME!"
Those yelling did not cease, his head hurt from the loud noise and his vision was blurred slightly from the profuse bleeding of his forehead. Pushing himself off the ground, he said weakly, "I'm leaving."
"Leaving?" Mother laughed dryly. "You better think it through about whose side you would like to take. That bastard is only your half-sibling. If he were to become the Crown Prince, that will be the end of you."
"Do not call him that!" he fumed. He believed that his brother will never kill him if he became the Crown Prince or even the King. Rowan was never that type of person and even if he did, that was what he deserved. As his mother's son, that was his price to pay. "I had never wanted to fight for the throne. It belonged to him!"
"Foolish son!" Mother screamed. Her exasperated lament was getting on his nerves and he turned to leave the room without turning his head back even once. The moment he was out, he ordered Ray to take him to Lyx.
※
His body leaned against Ray as he pounded nervously on Elianna's office door.
"Please come in!" A muffled shout sounded from within and Ray swung the door open in one hard push, startling Elianna when she dropped the documents in her hand. He laughed weakly at her clumsiness but her eyes went straight to the blood-drenched cloth he held against his head.
"Matthias?" she gasped. "What happened to you?"
She quickly ran towards her work station and grabbed all the necessary equipment before rushing towards him. Removing the cloth, she carefully inspected the wound and said, "The cut is too deep, I would need to stitch it up."
"Does it hurt?" he shuddered at her words.
"No time for you to blabber, it's either I tend to it or you'll bleed to death," she scolded. "Matthias, close your eyes. Ray, hold him down."
As usual, she's harsh and straightforward to her patients. The moment she saw his eyes close, she poured alcohol over the cut to wash the blood away and disinfect his wound. The freezing cold liquid burned at his wound and he gave a grimace of pain. He wanted to stop her but Ray had pinned him down on the treatment bed.
He swore to himself that he would avoid anything thrown towards him in the future.
━━━━━━━━━━
Iftia: Royal Palace, Throne Room
• Rowan •
Entering the throne room, Rowan made his way down the onyx rug that ran from the throne down the centre of the passageway towards the door that he had just walked through. Crystal chandeliers hung low from the ceiling and he passed the long altars full of candles that illuminated the entire throne room with a soft warm glow. His feet advanced forward in the direction of the chair that was carved of fine oak and crested with several jewels and decorative metals that formed an elegant coat of arms. The King, Gadiel, sat in his seat, his eyes stayed locked on him.
"I heard you have requested my presence." Rowan nodded slightly and spoke in a tone void of any emotions.
"First Prince, Thethia had sent another message regarding the Royal Marriage. You will do as said," Gadiel stated.
"I did not remember agreeing to marry anyone," he raised his brows.
"You will not defy me," Gadiel warned, his tone dangerous.
"Do you think you could control me?" Rowan glared at him, bringing the temperature within the walls of the throne room down into a freezing point.
"Rowan!" Gadiel exploded, slamming his hand on the throne's armrest.
"You have no rights to call me that!" Rowan lashed out. "You can forget about getting me to obey you. I am not Mother, I will not be a fool and listen to you."
Gadiel sighed in exasperation, "I've already said that the thing with Valeria—"
"Do not speak her name," Rowan spoke through clenched teeth and his jaw ticked in annoyance as anger simmered within him.
Gadiel fell silent and composed himself again. This time, he smiled, "From Thethia's message, I heard about a Royal Doctor."
Rowan flinched internally. Then, he closed his hands into fists, placing them by his sides in an attempt to suppress his emotions. He refused to show any reaction and allow Gadiel to gain an upper hand. More importantly, he would not do anything to bring harm to Elianna.
"What about her?" Rowan asked, his voice was tinted with masqueraded nonchalance.
"A female aide?" Gadiel revealed a contemptible smirk. "That's very unexpected of you."
"Her exceptional skills were the only reason she's staying in Lyx."
"Bring her to me now," Gadiel raised his arm and threw the command at his knights.
Then, a sudden gush of strong wind rushed into the throne room from behind Rowan, blowing out most of the candles and dimmed the room into ominous darkness. Gadiel's knights struggled to move but their bodies were stopped by an unknowing force.
Whenever Rowan took a step forward, the pressure of the air increased with the intensity of the wind. The wind howled fiercely and the desperate clatters of the chandeliers above them was an indication that they were struggling to hold themselves in place.
"Do not test me, Gadiel," Rowan spat, his blue eyes staring right into the pair of obsidian eyes in front of him. Eventually, Gadiel raised his hand again to withdraw his order.
The wind and pressure within the throne room vanished in an instant when Rowan turned around and marched his way down the passageway, leaving the room. A thought came to Rowan.
Looks like I had laid too low and everyone forgot their place.
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