Cedric made his way to the palace to see his nephew. He heard that the culprit had been apprehended and the heir returned. He was heading there for two reasons. First, was to demand an apology from the Emperor for torturing him despite his innocence and second, was to see the little thing who made him suffer.To his surprise, when he got to the palace, the guards sealed the gates, refusing to let him in. “What is going on here? I am here to see the Emperor so let me in!” He demanded. “I'm sorry but the Emperor instructed that no visitors are welcomed in the palace for now. Only the Lords are permitted to go in so if you have a problem, kindly meet with any of them,” one of them informed him. Cedric couldn't believe what he has just heard. This had to be the height of insult. Who exactly did Styles think he was?“Are you stupid? Do you not know who I am? I am the emperor's uncle and a Lord so open up and let me in before you lose your heads,” Cedric snapped. “The Emperor does not
“Isn't she beautiful?” Ivory asked, gazing lovingly at the sleeping baby. Styles rubbed her shoulders gently. “Of course, darling. She is just as beautiful as her mother which is why you need to go to catch some sleep. You need a proper rest after all the stress she's put you through today,” Styles softly spoke. Ivory shook her head, “But I'm not tired. I will just watch her sleep for a little while.”“Honey, you haven't slept a wink since she disappeared. I thought your body would be more willing to relax now that she is safe,” Styles said to her. “Safe? I don't think so. It was in this very palace that she was taken from us, right under our noses. What are the chances that it won't happen again? I won't make the same mistake twice,” Ivory told him. He understood immediately where the problem was coming from. The PTSD from her baby's disappearance had a strong hold on her mind. Once again, he felt guilty that he couldn't prevent it from happening but he was going to fix all that
The ice-cold water forced her back to consciousness. “How long were you planning to run, Elen? Did you think you could escape after all you've done?” Ragi asked.“I… I don't have a baby. I swear I was just…”“Running for fun?” He interrupted. “I know you don't have the baby, I can see that. But the fact remains that you took her and went ahead to lose her…”“I didn't lose her. I got attacked by cannibals. We were only saved because you attacked,” Elena injected. “And you ran without the child?” He asked coldly and she swallowed. This conversation was not going in her favor. “I didn't take her with me because I knew you would find her. I thought maybe if you did, it wouldn't matter if you found me or not,” she responded lowly, keeping her eyes on the ground.“That is a very twisted logic,” Darell commented. “Take her back to the palace and lock her up. The Emperor will decide what to do with her,” Ragi ordered.Elena didn't struggle or beg. It was useless when her fate wasn't to be
“Are you sure he knows what he's doing?” Archie whispered to Cedric as the artist worked on replicating the seal on the scrolls. “He's been taking hours.” “Hours to make it perfect, Archie. You know he needs to get every detail right because any slight mistake will give this scheme away,” Cedric responded. Archie eyed the artist skeptically before going over to see what he was doing. “He's still on the first scroll! I told you this man is a con. He doesn't know what he's doing,” he huffed and the artist looked up “I beg your pardon, sir. You shouldn't call me names or belittle me because of the time taken to complete my work, except you want to complete the work yourself,” the man spoke. “He has an attitude too,” Archie mumbled, walking away from him. Cedric chuckled at the exchange.“I told you to calm down, Archie. He knows exactly what he is doing.”“Fine, if you say so. He should hurry up though. We don't have all day. It's been almost three hours and he is still struggling t
“Get to work!” The whip hit her back and she let out a shrill scream. She could barely move as the open injuries stung. “I said get to work!” The second lash had her moving like a worm bathed in salt. Earlier, she thought there was no way death could be better than torture, but with the way things were going, she was soon going to eat her words. Mona forced herself off the ground, just in time to avoid the third lash. She struggled to lift the sacks of ash.The guards did not allow her to carry one at the time so she had to move all five sacks at once. Each time she dropped it, she was rewarded with a whip. Gritting her teeth as she lifted the sacks, she dragged her feet in the direction of the kitchen. She prayed to the gods that she could get there before it dropped again.Her palms were already peeling up and it hurt a lot because of the friction. The guards didn't consider her plight. They just wanted her to do the work assigned to her. Finally, she reached the kitchen and dr
“I know you,” was the first thing Mona blurted when she saw him. “I know you do. What are you doing hiding here? You'll be in a lot of trouble if they find you here,” Daniel told her. Mona had been so exhausted from the day's torture so she resorted to hiding out for a few days. Of course, they panicked that she had escaped and sent men into town looking for her. But that didn't bother her. Even though the punishment would be tripled once she was found, her body really needed this rest to heal.So she hid in the last place they would ever check. Their quarters. It was disgusting hearing all the dirty talks they had and irritating living under the bed of a men's room but it was safe. Except someone was looking for his shoe of course and she had to find it as quickly as possible before they would resort to looking under the beds. Fortunately, the spot she had chosen was the cleanest section in the room. Whomever owned the bed was definitely too organised for a man and she was tha
“An increase in tax? When did that happen?” Styles asked Ragi as they rode back towards the palace.“I am just as surprised as you are. I remember when that bill was presented, it was automatically trashed out. How then was it approved and circulated?” Ragi mused. “I don't have the answer to that question either. The whole thing is just surprising. I feel like someone is messing with me and it's not funny. Do they know the consequences of what they have done?” Styles related. “I think so. This was only a peaceful protest. We have no idea what tomorrow might bring if we do not resolve this immediately. Those documents do not look forged in any way,” Ragi said. Styles shook his head and focused his gaze ahead. Never did he anticipate that his life as Emperor would be so complicated?“Your majesty, you don't have to worry. We have sorted it out already with the people. All that is left is to ensure it doesn't repeat itself,” Ragi tried to ease his pressure but Styles didn't share the
“Mona escaped? That stupid child with little to no brains? How was she able to pull such a stunt while I was still struggling to get away from the watchful eyes of these punks?” Elena pondered as she worked on the floors. They suddenly increased the number of guards around her as if the ones around her were not suffocating enough. She didn't understand why until today. The servants were gossiping and she just happened to walk by when she heard them talk about her daughter's escape. She never thought the girl had it in her. She always needed someone to push her to do something. This made Elena livid. She knew Mona wouldn't come back for her. Not after everything. So she was stuck here with the consequences of her foolishness. She scrubbed the floor harder, hoping to scrub away her frustration but it remained the same. She felt so suffocated and these men didn't care that they were invading her personal space. They followed her everywhere, even when she wanted to relieve herself.