"Welcome back your highness."

Anne-Marie walked behind him weakly as Aiden stormed down the room quickly, not paying any attention to the court maids and royal guards that greeted him on his way to the King's study. He only had one thing on his mind and one thing only, meeting his father and telling him about the situation in Niyagra.

"Announce the prince." Elijah ordered one of the royal guards that stood at one side of the door. The young man turned to Elijah and then Aiden, he could see how Aiden was not even paying them no mind. He bowed.

"I'm sorry your highness but the king is currently in a meeting with the prime minister and the queen, he gave an instruction not to be disturbed-"

Aiden walked closer to the door and pushed it open before the guard even said anything else. He stormed in quickly with Elijah, Anne-Marie, Ivanka and the guard running in after him.

"Your highness-"

But Aiden didn't stop. He found his way quickly to the other part of the room after the golden glass, the King's laughter was louder the closer he got. He always had such a loud laughter.

There they were, all three of them, seated on the sofas around the round glass table at the center of the room, taking sips from their coffee mugs. Vanessa was the first to notice him,

"Aiden,"

The king turned and Oliver turned too, Aiden suddenly stopped walking towards them, pausing for a second as he looked at them one after the other. How could they? How could they be so happy, laughing at their own jokes while the country was facing such a disaster? Why?

He turned to Oliver, the more he saw him, the more he hated him with all of his heart. It was him, the man that was slowly crawling his way into his fathers head, the mastermind behind all his father's bad decisions, the reason there was so much bad blood between him and his father. He could never accept it, he could never accept the country his father was trying to build with this man as his right hand man, Oliver Vutron was going to be the end of Breton, his selfish and greedy desire to control the country by whatever means necessary without considering the thoughts of the people was not only going to ruin the relationship between the people and the royal family, but ruin the lives of all the people of Breton.

Oliver bowed his head slowly to pay his respects and Elijah bowed his to pay his respect to the king and queen.

"Your Majesty." The guard ran to them, standing right behind Aiden. They all turned to him. "Apologies your majesty, I tried to stop the prince but-"

The king raised his hand to stop him, forcing a tiny smile on his face, he directed his gaze to Aiden, who wasn't smiling one bit.

"I'm so glad you joined us," he said. "You came right in time, we were just talking about your engagement with Paris."

He shifted his gaze to Anne-Marie who just stood behind Aiden, numb and pale, not sure she had the words to say. She was still so suffocated from what she saw at Niyagra. She could also feel Oliver's burning gaze on her, she took a quick look at him and bowed her head just a little bit.

"It looks like you both have been busy together already." The king laughed again right before he turned to Anne-Marie, "I hope you are adjusting well in the palace," he asked her, "I hope you're comfortable too, I know life at the palace is not the same with your life back at home, but if you can get used to it, it would be really good especially since the palace would be your home really soon."

Anne-Marie forced herself to smile a little bit as she watched the king and queen chuckle right before they turned to Oliver.

"I'm sure you miss having her at home." The queen told him. "I feel a bit sad for separating you both temporarily after you just got her back, I know it must be frustrating for you not to see her everyday, considering how close you both are."

Oliver bowed his head slightly.

"Not at all your highness." He said. "I'm sure it's my daughter's greatest desire to be here with the prince, it's only right that I support her in fulfilling it as her father."

"Good, good," the king said. "It's our duty to support them as their parents, I'm sure the prince is thrilled with the idea too."

Aiden rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe his ears in the slightest. Vanessa turned to them, focusing her eyes on Anne-Marie.

"I heard you went to Niyagra with the prince." Vanessa said to her. Anne-Marie raised her head to meet the queen's. "Did you have fun?"

"Oh, Niyagra," the king took a deep breath and then he let it out. "I almost forgot it's that time of the year again."

He reached for his cup of coffee while Aiden just stood there, shocked at what he just heard. Did he just hear him correctly? Did he just hear his father say he had almost forgotten about them?

Albert raised the cup to his lips to take a sip out of it when Aiden scoffed.

"You almost forgot?" Aiden asked him, his frown even worsening. "Did you just say you almost forgot?"

Albert froze, and so did everyone else in the room, including Anne-Marie, she turned to face him, did he just talk to the king like that?

"Aiden?" Vanessa was shocked too.

"How can you be so proud of yourself even after saying that?" Aiden went on, not minding the fact that everyone was shocked by the situation.

Albert took a sip from his cup and then slowly dropped it on back on the table.

"Do you have any idea what the situation in Niyagra is right now? Do you have any idea what is going on to them over there? While the three of you sit here laughing over tea, half of the people of Niyagra are dying and all you can say is you almost forgot? What kind of rulers are you?" He asked with disgust laced in his eyes and voice.

"What kind of a king abandons his own people and not even care what happens to them?"

"W-wait." Vanessa shook her head in confusion. "Where is this coming from Aiden? Did anything happen in Niyagra today?" She turned to Elijah when she was sure she was never going to get an answer from Aiden.

"Explain this." Vanessa ordered.

"Y-your highness." Elijah started, contemplating on the right way to start. "The people of Niyagra, they- they-" it was even harder saying it than thinking it. "They-"

"They have a pandemic, the plague." Oliver cut in immediately.

Silence,

Vanessa found her head slowly turning in his direction.

"What?" Vanessa glared at him just as Aiden turned too, Anne-Marie and everyone in the room except the king. Oliver kept a straight face. "What do you mean they have the plague? You mean the nineties plague? The V virus? The one that almost wiped Breton out?

"I'm afraid so your majesty."

Vanessa slowly raised her hand to her chest. She couldn't believe it neither could she wrap her head around it. Her hands were trembling slowly.

"So you knew?" Aiden asked Oliver, furrowing his brows and eying him. "You knew about the situation in Niyagra all along."

Anne-Marie couldn't believe it either.

"How long have you known this?"

"Some months back." Oliver answered, raising his head to Aiden. "About three months ago."

"Three months-" Aiden scoffed and raised his head, Good lord, what on earth was it about that day?

"You did?" Vanessa asked him. "Did you report this to the royal court?"

Oliver let out a weak exhale.

"Of course he didn't," Aiden said before he gave Oliver an opportunity to answer the question. "But I'm guessing he told Dad, seeing that he's not in the least surprised about any of this." He glared at his father. Vanessa slowly turned to Albert.

"Your majesty-"

"The people of Niyagra have long been a forgotten and insignificant part of this country." The king said as he retraced his gaze to Aiden. "They have shown this kingdom and the royal court a number of times that they would rather die, than be associated with the royal family, they have constantly reminded us that they want no part in me or in my administration, in my people and in our governance. They chose their path, what does their current situation have to do with any of us?"

Vanessa let out a breath to show her disbelief.

"We have been able to take preventive measures to make sure the disease stays within their boarders alone." Oliver said. "For now, they would not be allowed to make contact with anyone outside their village or leave their village, we have involved the local police to ensure they are obedient to this rule."

"So what?" Aiden asked him. "You're just going to leave them? Trap them in there until they all die from the virus? Can you listen to yourself right now? How on earth can you be the prime minister of this country?"

"What would you have us do Aiden?!" The king asked him, turning to face him again. "It's not like you don't know the kind of resentment the people of Niyagra have against me, against the royal family, do you think they are ever going to want my help or the help of my government?"

"Don't they have the right to?" Aiden glared at him.

"What?"

"Are they resentful for no reason? You killed half of their people."

"They were terrorists-"

"They were people." Aiden corrected him. "They were people, your people, your people to protect."

"No people of mine would harbor a terrorist, no people of mine would refuse leadership under my administration for doing what was right for the country, Caleb and his organization were dirt that had to be eradicated, have you forgotten what they did? What they took from us? Are you so blinded by your soft heart and willingness to share in their pain that you've forgotten what happened? That you've forgotten her name? Your sister-"

"Dad, Ariana is gone," Aiden raised his voice. "I know how much you loved her and what she meant to you but she's gone and she's never coming back. The people of Niyagra are not responsible for that, they never were. That was all Caleb and his people."

"But they sheltered him, after he escaped, he sought refuge amongst them and they sheltered him."

"You don't know that. It was just one woman, one woman that claimed she saw someone like him go into the village. You took the word of one woman over hundreds of people, burnt their village down, burnt them alive and ordered your guards to brutally murder those that tried to survive and then you imprisoned the majority that survived for months until Caleb showed up again. What was worse, you never even apologized for it. You never went back to apologize for what you did."

"I did what I had to do-"

"Sending them gifts and allowing a public holiday in their name does not cut it. You took everything from them. They were humans, they were women, children and you just killed them, what kind of a king does that? What kind of a monster!"

Vanessa shut her eyes and took a sharp breath.

"That's enough." She said.

Silence.

No one made a sound after that. They both gave it a few seconds. The tension in the air grew worse, everyone could feel the heat between the king and Aiden. Aiden took a deep breath and another. He tried to catch his breath, Lord, he was so upset.

"You have to help them." He told Albert. "You must help them. You can't repeat what you did seven years ago, you can't just leave them to die, they need help, they need your help-"

"Are they willing to submit?" Albert asked him. Aiden froze for a second.

"What?"

"Are they willing to bow to me and submit to me as their king?"

"D-dad, how can you even-"

"Until the people of Niyagra bow to me and submit to me, until they accept me as their leader, they are not my people and thus, do not deserve help from me or my court, or my country. You should stop going there too. This has gone on way too long."

Wow.

Was he serious?
Aiden was in so much shock to believe anything that had just come out of his father's mouth. It was like that for Anne-Marie too. He slowly turned to Vanessa,

"Mum,"

He really prayed in his heart, he really hoped in his heart that she said something, that she told Albert just how wrong his choices were but she didn't, she just sat there, exhaling and slowly reaching for her coffee mug to keep her shaky hands warm with the heat.

He scoffed.

What on earth was he even expecting from them?

"You know, there was a time I really looked up to you." He turned to Albert. "Up to the both of you. Do you have any idea how much the decisions you have made have ruined my life? Do you have any idea how I've lived and felt my whole life knowing what you did? Knowing how you executed an entire village? For nothing?!" Aiden's voice broke. He had a lot of tears in his eyes.

"It has been hard, really hard the past few years being your son, being the prince of this kingdom after what you did. I always waited, waited for some sort of explanation, waited for you to explain why you did what you did, waited for you to make up for your mistakes but you never did, instead the list kept getting longer but still, I never gave up on you. 'He did it for the people, he must have had a reason why he did it, a reason we don't know about yet' that was how I lived but I'm tired. I'm tired of making the same excuses for you, I'm tired of feeling guilty for the sins you commit. Fine, leave them all to die, watch and let one of your subjects die again, it wouldn't be the first time you did anyway."

"Aiden," Vanessa called him immediately.

"What did you just say to me?"

"You disgust me." Aiden went on, clenching his fist and gritting his teeth. "And I've never seen a man less deserving of the title King as you. You're a terrible father and a despicable king. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"That's enough Aiden!"

It took a lot from the King, to keep his anger in check, to stop himself from pulling up from his seat immediately but from the way Anne-Marie saw it, it didn't look like it was the first time Aiden and the king were on a rift, it looked like they disagreed about a number of things in the past.

"Your highness," Oliver went on. "I understand your concerns for the people of Niyagra but you shouldn't trust them so easily," Aiden slowly turned to him. "The King is right. They are a group of terrorist who do not share the same goals with the rest of the country. What happened seven years ago had to be done to save us all-"

Aiden rushed to him immediately and grabbed him by his shirt's collar, pulling him slightly up the sofa with it. Oliver coughed just as Anne-Marie and Ivanka gasped. Elijah and the other guard rushed to stop Aiden but it looked like he was doing a good job at strangling Oliver.

"What did you just say to me?" Aiden glared at him, tightening his grip on him so hard that Oliver's glasses were tilted on his nose bridge. He kept struggling to breathe. "Terrorists? It had to be done?"

"Aiden stop it!" Vanessa yelled at him.

"Go on, say it again." Aiden told him. "Say such nonsense again, I dare you!"

"Y-y-your h-h-highness." Oliver could barely get his words together, he was choking.

"Your highness, let him go." Elijah beseeched him.

"Aiden," Albert called for his attention. "Let him go this minute."

"Aiden please, stop."

Aiden tightened his grip on Oliver and pulled him further up the chair, still glaring at him while Oliver coughed.

"If you ever, do as much as breathe those words to me again, I will behead you myself." He made sure his words were clear as crystal and then he let Oliver go immediately, causing him to fall into the sofa again helplessly.

"Aiden, what has come over you?!" Vanessa yelled at him but Aiden turned to walk away. He was done. He was done talking to them, he was done pleading with them, now he was going to do whatever he wanted.

Anne-Marie held her breath as she felt him walk past her so coldly without even looking back.

He was going to do what was right, with or without their help.

*************************************************

"Welcome Miss Vutron."

Anne-Marie didn't even pay the court ladies any mind when she got to the front of her door. She was doing a great job holding all that sadness and pain in her heart in, burying her gaze on the ground so she didn't just let them out when she looked at something, or someone. She walked into her room and stopped immediately, turning to stop Ivanka from walking in after her.

"Is everything alright Miss Vutron?"

It was as if she could notice something wasn't entirely right with Anne-Marie. She had been exceedingly quiet ever since they got back from Niyagra and her hands kept trembling too.

Anne-Marie nodded, still leaving her gaze on the ground.

"That would be all for tonight." She said. "You can go and get some rest now, I wouldn't be needing you assistant for anything else. I'm tired now and I'd like to sleep and not be disturbed."

Ivanka narrowed her gaze on her. That was quite unbelievable but she couldn't do anything about it.

"O-okay Miss Vutron-"

Anne-Marie reached for the door and pulled it close immediately before letting Ivanka even finish her sentence. She needed it, she needed to be alone at that point because in any minute, she was going to break.

She slowly started to find her way towards her bed. She was already past her breaking point. She walked up the stairs lazily, the tears in her eyes blurring her vision still. She was going to get sick at that rate holding all that anger and sadness inside of her.

There was no one there, there was no one watching. No one was going to judge her for being weak for once.

She threw herself on the bed making sure her face was covered in the huge pillow and then she cried her heart out, crying into the pillow and yelling as hard as she could to her heart's content.

She was broken and being in that village just showed her how much she hadn't let go of yet, it showed her her greatest fears.

She missed them.

With all of her heart she missed them.