Poison

Chapter 5: Plan B

40 days after the king's death. The people are going back to their normal lives and the palace is getting ready to name Leona Kingscholar as their next king. Alongside his spouse, Ruggie, who was fitting right in; much to everyone's surprise. People brushed it off as the result of years living with Leona and spending some holidays in the palace. But Leona knew better. "You're having fun, huh?" He smirked as he approached his... fiance. God that felt weird to even think about. "I have so many duties and three escape roots for when one of us fucks up. It's not much different from when we were at NRC, just that no one calls me senpai." He laughed and melted into Leona's touch.

Leona stared at the mountain of papers in front of Ruggie. "Are these about the people that weren't arrested after the coup d'etat? Do we have any clues?" Even though they managed to get the council back up again (Somehow, this time with younger and seemingly wiser people) but Ruggie still wanted to deal with this one himself. Was it his trust issues? Or did he know something he just hadn't told Leona? "Hmmm... maybe? I'm not sure. It's getting too complicated."

"Tired?"

"Yeah..."

Leona smirked and grabbed Ruggie's hand to help him up, then carried him to their bed. "Then I don't know why you're still here." Ruggie looked around as they entered. It had been so many days and he wasn't used to it. They hadn't done it ever since, too sad and too busy. And he just couldn't get used to the royal life. The king's palace, the king's room, the king's bed. He felt like he didn't belong there. Guilt and unexplainable excitement washing over him as Leona took his shirt off. He thought of the coup d'etat as Leona kissed him, thought of the letter he received that morning as Leona's hands explored his body, and whispered into Leona's ears as he made his decision.

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When Ruggie opened his eyes, it was already midnight. It wasn't exactly dark, as the full moon lightened the room. He stared at Leona's sleeping face for a while, admiring his now softened features. He didn't seem to be having nightmares, which was good.

He put on a shirt and walked onto the balcony. It was bigger than his grandmother's house. The thought made him smirk, how twisted of a fate.

"Oh, the expensive shit really does suit you." Ruggie flinched at the familiar voice. The voice he missed for years, yet consciously buried in his memories to never think of it again. He took a deep breath and turned around. "Nice seeing you again, ma'." The woman was almost as tall as Ruggie, her eyes and hair were identical to Ruggie's. One difference Ruggie notched though, was the unfamiliar scar on her face. "What happened?" He questioned, trying not to burst into tears.

"Oh, this? I don't remember. What, do you have a thing for scars? I mean I get it but I'm your mom, you know?" She laughed loudly, not caring if anyone would hear her. 'That's her unique magic.' Ruggie thought. She could make it so that only Ruggie saw and heard her. Not that she was invisible, more like she was just Ruggie's imagination. What a convenient talent for a thief who liked to prank people. "Enough about me. How are you? How's life been since I died?"

How was it, Ruggie wondered. He stared at her corpse for a full day before deciding that he needed to run away and hide from all the soldiers who were looking for him. "Do you feel betrayed now that you know I'm alive? Or are you happy to see me? You know, I wanted to bring you with me, but we couldn't find you. Not us, not the government. You got that skill from your grandma'. She ended up being the one who found you." The Ruggie back then didn't know why people were looking for him. He only knew that they let his mom die like that and he was scared of them. He ran away. Hidden in between large groups of people, back of the big trucks, and other children at the same age. This woman probably had no idea how many old men and women chased him down just because they could tell he had no one looking for him. She had no idea how many had caught him.

"I've been a lot better than you think, considering where I'm standing right now." He smirked. Looking at her was like looking at his worst self in the mirror, it scared him. "Oh yeah, you managed to get a big one. Aren't you glad that we killed the others? Now you're up there, standing above everyone." She mockingly bowed to him. "You guys would make a cute family. It would be a shame if someone poisoned all of your meals, with only you miraculously surviving." She got closer to him.

"Yes, that would be a shame," He glanced at the sleeping Leona. "But what if I refuse? What's your plan B? It's not like you could win if you killed me as well." She made a fake hurt expression in response. "Ruggie, honey, I'm not going to kill my own son! No matter what, we would never throw each other away. You understand that I took the easiest path to survive all the people chasing me down, and I know why you want power. I want the best for you, baby." Her voice was sweet and kind, like the times she used to whisper to Ruggie about how great hers and Ruggie's dad's love was, about how someday they'd rule the world. The voice that didn't suit the power-hungry woman standing in front of Ruggie.

"It's shame, ma'. I might've accepted your offer if you were better at your job." With that said, something around them broke. It looked like glass, but it was just the effect of someone's unique magic. Very helpful, he was surprised after learning someone with that talent had studied political science instead of making mountains of money by pursuing a career in entertainment. They made an illusion of a peaceful night around Ruggie and her mom, none of them noticed Leona standing next to her until now.

Leona smirked. "This is why you always need a plan B. Oh, I'm the guy marrying your son, by the way. It's kinda your fault that we had to meet like this, though." Truth be told, Leona wanted to snap her neck and be done with it. From Ruggie's research, she was the one behind all of it. She failed years back because Lilian was too greedy and full of herself. She lived years in misery with his son and escaped alone and now she was back. Lilian's death was according to her plan, she wanted Ruggie to be the last man standing. Unfortunately, for her, she had miscalculated something. Ruggie wasn't the person she thought him to be.

Leona was observing Ruggie that whole time. He looked like that every time he tried not to cry. No one but Leona knew what Ruggie had been through, and he probably hated her more than Leona did. Nothing could make up for the trauma and pain Ruggie had to put up with. How dare she even assume Ruggie would take her back?

Arresting her wasn't easy, of course. She was more skilled and more experienced than most of them, but she was also older. Leona caught her after she had her fun playing with some soldiers. "I can't put up with this anymore, just take her away." He wasn't even paying attention. He just wanted to get back to Ruggie. Ruggie who was standing in a corner, staring at nothing. Leona grabbed his hand and took it to the other room that was prepared for them. They cuddled for hours. Saying nothing, just with their eyes closed and their minds racing.

Eventually, Ruggie fell asleep. He dreamed of a quiet place, where only the two of them and the sea existed.