by Allison West
He wandered toward the end of the hall, pausing in front of James's door. Was it too late to pay him a visit? It was well past midnight but what good time would there ever be?
Aaron knocked softly. James wasn't the lightest sleeper, if the former prince was asleep, he didn't think it would disturb him.
Footsteps padded across the floor. The lock clicked and the handle turned. James poked his head out, glancing his brother up and down.
"I wasn't sure if you were still alive," James said. He stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind him, careful as he shut it to ensure the latch was quiet.
Aaron suspected he probably had a young woman in the room with him. "I want to stop Rhys." He knew it was risky speaking the words aloud. If anyone was listening to them, surely they'd be detained right now!
James snorted under his breath. "Good luck with that."
No one came. Not a single soldier wandered the princes' corridors. They probably cared little about what happened to them.
"Will you help?"
James shook his head no. "I've got something good going with Aria. I won't risk it."
"What about for our father and August?" Aaron knew the trial and sentencing would be soon. He couldn't stand on his own denouncing Rhys and the rebels without facing some sort of retaliation. Two princes had to be better than one.
"August is an ass, always has been." James folded his arms across his chest. "Our father is the reason Aria was sold into the courtesan slave trade. I'm not about to rescue him when he threw away the one person I loved."
Aaron didn't quite know what his older brother was talking about, but didn't want to argue with him either. He was the last family he had, expect for Henry, but he had no idea where he was at or what he was up to. "It wouldn't have to be a rescue," Aaron said, trying his best to reason with James. "Maybe our father and August deserve to be punished, but is it absolutely necessary for them to face death?"
"In case you've forgotten, Aaron, we're not in charge anymore."
How could he forget? "I know that." He fumed, running a hand through his hair, feeling just about ready to pull his hair out from frustration. He dropped his hands to his sides, trying to calm his racing heart. "Rhys and his men will destroy Brayleigh. Don't tell me you're okay with that."
James frowned. "I'm not, but what can two of us do against an entire army that the rebels have built? If we're not careful, we'll be forced to join August and our father."
"So you won't help us?"
"Who is us?" James asked.
"I brought a girl back with me, it's a long story." Aaron didn't want to explain himself to his older brother right now, certainly not about Lorelei. "We need to build our own army to fight for Brayleigh."
James hung his head. "I can't do it, Aaron. I'm keeping out of this fight. I suggest you do the same."
"It's over that girl, isn't it? That's why you won't help?" Aaron asked. "She wants you all to herself and is afraid if we become victorious, then she'll have to share you?"
James stepped closer to his younger brother. "Don't be foolish. We can leave at any time. Start something with Rhys and we might find ourselves on the other end of that gun."
"I thought you were different," Aaron said. "That you wanted change." He stormed back toward his room, slamming the door as he entered the bedroom.
"Aaron?" Lorelei lifted her head from the pillow. He'd awoken her.
"Sorry. Go back to sleep," Aaron said. He climbed into bed beside her, wrapping his arm around her waist. He hadn't intended to startle her awake. What he'd done, reached out to James, had been in her best interest. He was trying to save them both. Who knew what would become of the world Rhys attempted to create.
Lorelei rolled over to face Aaron. "What were you doing?"
"Trying to convince James to help, which was a stupid idea."
Her hand fell across his hip and slipped beneath the hem of his black t-shirt. Her fingers rose slowly higher, her motions against his back soft and calming. "Maybe in the morning he'll think differently about what's going on."
He knew she was right. It was the middle of the night. Even so, he couldn't just watch Rhys take over Brayleigh without doing something. How would he stop him with just the two of them? They could bomb the palace and destroy Rhys and the rebels inside, but they'd also be killing or injuring too many others that didn't deserve that type of fate.
"Sleep on it," Lorelei said. "Close your eyes and try to relax."
Telling someone to relax was one of the hardest things for a person to actually do when they were wound up tight, ready to explode. He shut his eyes though and listened to Lorelei. She knew a thing or two about winning a war, even if it had been a long drawn out process. She'd battled her uncle and the man that had bought her. Together they were a force that no one would see coming, especially if Rhys believed they were on the rebels' side.
The mere thought of Rhys discovering their betrayal when they wanted him to know lulled Aaron to sleep. They may have been outnumbered but they weren't outsmarted. Aaron knew all of the land, the people, and the food supply. Tomorrow they'd destroy all the maps and any information that would help Rhys lead the nation. He would have no help from the royal family. Aaron would make sure of it.
Chapter Four
Morning came far too quickly. Aaron wanted to sleep longer, but Lorelei was up and moving around the bedroom. He didn't blame her for not wanting to wander around the palace. This place didn't feel like home any more.
He wondered what became of the paintings and artifacts he'd collected throughout Brayleigh. Had the rebels removed them from the premises or just stored them away for safe keeping? There was still violence daily, with glass being broken by stones or flaming bottles of old beer. Being at the top of the palace and in the back offered a huge measure of protection. Had it been intentional when the palace had been constructed? Had Gideon thought enough of it to protect his sons no matter what happened to him?
Little good it seemed to do. His father may have brought the nation together after the Gem Apocalypse but Rhys was in the process of destroying it.
Rolling out of bed, he was quick to shower and change. Lorelei waited quietly for him, reading a book until he was ready.
"I want you to stay in the dining hall, have breakfast with whoever else is in there, and wait for me."
"No."
"No?" Aaron repeated.
"I thought we were working together, that you'd let me help you?"
Aaron sighed. The last thing he wanted was to ruin her life. If he got caught, he'd be sent down with August and his father. Lorelei didn't have to follow him, in fact it was better if she didn't. "What if you get caught?" He couldn't live with himself if he put her in that position.
"Then we'll make out together. Blame it on the hormones of a fake pregnancy," she said, patting her belly. "I can improvise. Do you trust me?"
Of course he trusted her. "Fine," he said. He wasn't thrilled that she was tagging along but it had more to do with his concern for her safety than her inability to perform. She'd saved him before, she very well could be responsible for saving his life again.
"We destroy the files then we swing by and have breakfast." His stomach grumbled in protest, demanding food now.
"Maybe breakfast first?" Lorelei asked.
Aaron shook his head. "No. The longer we wait, there's a greater chance someone will have made duplicates or memorized the information."
"I'll follow your lead." She put her book down, placing it on the bedside table before she stood up. Lorelei walked behind Aaron, her eyes scouring over every inch of the palace. She snaked her arm in his as they walked down the stairwell and past two rebel soldiers.
"Good morning," Aaron said and nodded politely at the men.
Neither paid them any attention as they headed past.
Aaron silently breathed a sigh of relief. His heart leapt with each step he took forward. He couldn't cower now, they were getting closer to his father's war room that
held the maps of all of Brayleigh. Most had been destroyed during the Gem Apocalypse and anything left wasn't entirely accurate in regards to population.
Lorelei kept her voice down to barely above a whisper. "How will we destroy it?"
"It'll be dangerous. If you're not up for it, you should go outside," Aaron said.
She locked eyes with him, her gaze unwavering. "I'm not leaving your side."
He wouldn't argue with her. He'd learned it had done little good when he tried to tell her what to do. Besides she was probably safer with him, should the fire grow out of hand.
With ease, they stalked into the war room. It had been left unlocked and unattended. Had no one cared enough to keep a soldier guarding the door? Or had they perhaps felt the palace was safe?
The war room was situated on the first floor and Aaron shut and locked the door, needing privacy for what he planned to do. Blinds covered the windows, leading to the outside world. Would they be forced to flee? He couldn't leave yet, tomorrow his father would be on trial along with August. Aaron needed to hang in at the palace a little while longer.
Opening desk drawers and cabinets, he placed all the maps and detailed information onto the table. Digging into his father's desk drawer, he knew Gideon kept a set of matches for when he felt the need to smoke a cigar. It may have been a nasty habit but no one would have ever told him not to do it. That was an advantage to being king.
"Shouldn't you put the papers into a metal wastebasket?" Lorelei asked.
"Grab the trashcan," he said.
He lit the papers one at a time, using the fire to catch the additional pages as it turned to ash. Lifting one map toward the fire alarm, he waited for it to wail to hide his next plan. The insistent wail burned his ears worse that the fire's smoke that watered his eyes.
Dropping the map before the fire licked the tips of his fingers, he took the metal bin from Lorelei and slammed it into the glass window. It shattered on impact. The blare from the alarm made the blow of the glass impossible to hear. He placed the metal bin back where he started and grabbed her hand, slipping out of the room. Aaron shut the door as they skirted down the hall.
There were no fire engines or a distant siren of help coming. The king had enforced his own army of men that doused fires and protected the palace or nearby communities when necessary. With Rhys in charge, those men were no longer ordered at their stations. They'd gone home and returned to their previous lives, most likely to be with their family. Aaron knew it wasn't an easy job, forcing someone to battle the blaze of a building or the forest when the land grew dry and there were brush fires, but ignoring the flames and letting them grow was far worse. Homes and families would be destroyed. Everyone made sacrifices for the greater good. They took volunteers first, and anyone unwilling to volunteer would be selected on an as needed basis. Rhys mustn't have decided to continue to keep the men to aid their country.
"Where's the fire?" A soldier rushed through the halls, searching rooms, looking for the source of the interruption. He carried his weapon on his shoulder, no bucket of water or even a blanket to douse the flames.
Aaron and Lorelei were quick to turn down the hall, getting out of sight as the soldier opened the door and saw the source of disarray. "Fire! In the war room!" His voice echoed through the first floor. "We're under attack!"
It had been what Aaron wanted the soldiers to think, with the broken window. They'd fallen for it, albeit a little too easily.
Lorelei shoved her fingers in her ears to drown out the sound of the fire alarm as they headed for the kitchen.
His stomach grumbled and by the time they opened the door of the kitchen, the siren stopped.
"Think everyone's okay?" Lorelei asked.
He hoped there weren't any injuries. That hadn't been his intention. At least everything he wanted destroyed had gone up in the blaze, without question.
"Let's hope so." A small part of him wished something had happened to Rhys. Maybe then Aaron would find a way to rise in power as king. He knew it was an impossible feat. He didn't even try suggesting it. Lorelei would probably laugh at him.
"I'm starving," she said. Her stomach grumbled louder than his had earlier. "What have we got to eat?"
Chapter Five
Every night stones pelted the walls of the palace and some cracked windows on the first floor. A few Molotov cocktails were thrown, forcing the rebel soldiers to work diligently to put out the fires.
No one had suspected Aaron of starting the fire in the war room. There were no investigations or questions launched. Rhys had assumed an outsider loyalist to the royals had destroyed the room.
Had Rhys held any suspicions, surely he wouldn't have invited Aaron and Lorelei to be the first to announce their judgments against August and Gideon. Unlike the king that had given the verdict and sentence, Rhys was letting anyone that chose to visit give their vote. It sounded ideal, but Aaron was unsure how it would work. Would the ballets be cast in silence, and was Rhys ultimately responsible for the outcome anyhow?
Aaron clutched Lorelei's hand as he escorted her down the hall of the princes' corridor.
"Tell me again what you're doing," Lorelei said.
"Inviting my brother to join us." Aaron knocked forcefully on James's bedroom door. There was no response. He leaned closer, careful to make sure he wasn't interrupting anything intimate. "James!" He tried again, pounding hard as he knocked repeatedly.
Again there was no response.
Aaron turned the handle, finding the bedroom unlocked. "James?" His brother didn't respond because the room was empty. "Shit," he cursed under his breath. Where could James have disappeared off to? Didn't he want to be there for his father, even if they couldn't do anything to stop the execution?
He rubbed at his temples feeling a massive headache coming on. Aaron shuffled down the stairs, Lorelei a few steps behind him.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"The royal harem." Aaron had to make sure that James didn't return to his old harem or the new one that all the girls were residing in. Though right now, he suspected the rooms were empty as was most of the palace.
Everyone stood outside on the lawn, watching in captivation as the former king and prince were brought out in handcuffs and chains, making it difficult to walk.
Aaron glanced out the window, catching sight of his father down below. "Shit." The vote was beginning. "Check the harem for James. If you find him, send him straight away downstairs. We don't have much time."
Lorelei squeezed his hand and separated as he descended the stairwell for the front entrance. He hated knowing that everyone would be watching him, scrutinizing his every move. Had that been why James had opted not to attend the vote? Aaron didn't blame his older brother, he didn't particularly wish to attend either. Though at least his father wouldn't be able to redden his backside for staying away from the palace for so long. If only he knew the truth.
Stepping out into the sun, the warmth of the rays made his stomach flop. The heat nearly unbearable and it was mildly warm. It was in fact the thought of his father's fate resting on the people of Brayleigh that made him sick. Would they wish for their king to be sentenced to death? Gideon hadn't been a great king, and he wasn't an honorable man either. However, did that mean he should be beheaded? Aaron didn't agree with Rhys. How could he convince the rebel to let his father go free in exile?
The former prince rushed through the crowd of citizens, forcing his way to the front. He locked eyes on his father, brother, and Rhys. Aaron swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Good of you to come, son." Gideon's top lip snarled. He didn't seem pleased to see Aaron at all. Probably because he wasn't also in their custody. It didn't mean he was a trader to his nation or the people. His father had to realize that about him.
Aaron merely nodded, unable to voice anything further.
"Aaron, would you like to go first. You'll give your verdict of guilty or not guilty for both Gideon and August. My guard will keep a tally and the
final count will be the verdict," Rhys said.
Aaron couldn't voice the words not guilty aloud. Not because he didn't agree but because he worried how Rhys would respond. He was playing the rebel, and he couldn't knowingly do that. Besides would the people of Brayleigh find it easier or harder to denounce their former king to his face? "Everyone should be allowed to write their vote on a ballot," Aaron said. "No one should be forced to give their verdict in front of everyone. When this is over, we all want to be united. I believe this is the fairest option."
Rhys stroked his jaw as he considered Aaron's request. His eyes squinted slightly and Aaron didn't know if it was because the rebel leader was examining him or the sunlight was bothering his vision. Perhaps a bit of both.
The rebel leader ordered one of his soldiers, Peter, to return with a table, ballot box, pencil, and several pieces of paper. The guard tore the pieces into tiny shreds, enough for several hundred people to write down their verdict.
"Shall we try this again?" Rhys asked. "Please write your verdict for August in the box on the left and Gideon in the box on the right. Both are being tried for treason against the nation of Brayleigh, for not acting in their country and people's best interests."
Aaron approached, taking a slip of paper and pencil, writing his verdict of not guilty onto the paper for his father and brother. He folded it twice, making sure no one could see what he wrote before dropping each slip into the ballot box. Did he feel his father was guilty of some things? Yes, especially the courtesan slave trade, but he wasn't being put on trial for owning slaves. He was here for treason and nothing he'd done had betrayed Brayleigh.
August was a different story. He was arrogant, self-righteous, and possibly even aided his father in the slave trade, but there was no evidence and he wasn't being questioned and convicted on those charges. Had Aaron been in charge, he would have had the punishment fit the crime. Beheading both men was arrogant in itself. There was a chance of retaliation for those not in favor. No, if he put his family on trial, it would have been for their involvement in the slave trade and they would have been forced into slavery, sold off to the highest bidder to teach them a lesson. Like the old days of an eye for an eye, Aaron didn't think that so morbid considering the circumstances.
