Legacy's Prince

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Monsters

Zahairas?

No answer.

I sigh and knock on the door to Ardan's study. Dezden is leaning against the wall, now in his true form, picking at his teeth.

"Come in," a voice calls from inside. I open the door, motioning with my head for Dezden to go on back. I have a feeling I will be here a while. Dezden shakes his head no, and goes back to his business. He's been oddly quiet our whole journey here, almost like he knows somethings afoot. I shrug as I go inside and close the door behind myself, mind too full to worry about what my roommate is doing.

Ardan sits at his desk, rubbing at his temple as he pours over a stack of letters. The study looks much larger now that it isn't packed with professors. And yet Ardan looks smaller, and more tired. He looks up for a brief second before going about his reading.

"Mr. Gesamere," he states.

"Headmaster," I reply. "I have something I must ask-"

"Our librarian, Mr. Skivinny, told me you were behaving rather strangely during detention today," Ardan cuts me off.

Oh, great! Another lecture!

I manage to bite my tongue, though, and merely nod.

"And that you checked out several books once detention was over, yes?"

"Yes sir," I answer quietly, throat too tight to raise my voice.

"Specifically, you asked for books containing the year 505 K.A.?" Ardan lifts his head again, brow furrowed, though not in an angry manner.

"Yes sir." I feel slightly safer now, though I don't know why.

He sets the letters down, crossing his fingers and pressing them to his lips as he stares at me.

"And?"

I blink, confused. "And?"

"What do you think?" Ardan clarifies, motioning to a chair in front of his desk.

I sigh as I lower myself into the seat. My entire body weight bears down on me, a million emotions threatening to crush my heart and spine. "I think I don't know the whole story."

"Indeed you don't," Ardan agrees somberly, leaning forward on his desk, drumming his fingers on the paper covered wood. "I didn't either when I was your age. Durcardi has taken a great deal of care to, shall we say, 'clean up' your family's legacy."

"But, why?" I whisper.

"How well do you think people would respond to royal law and decree if they knew their kings were war criminals?" Ardan asks. His tone is not accusatory, but sad, sympathetic.

"Hadrian's been dead for almost 500 years now, though. We're not like that anymore," I insist, shaking my head.

Ardan almost looks like he's pitying me as he glances down at his tapping fingers. "Perhaps not. But do you think it's a coincidence that Durcardi has been the leading world power for 5 centuries? Or that of the four original royal families of Benedomin the Gesameres are the only ones still in power?"

I blink as I mull this over. "I haven't really thought about it," I admit, my throat growing tighter and my vision doubling.

Ardan strokes his chin as he stares me down, his gaze causing my hands to ball into fists. "No. I suppose we don't think about these things as children," he cuts his eyes fiercely at me. "And before you try and get snippy, you are still a child."

"I wasn't going to argue," I murmur.

"Good," Ardan nods in approval.

Are the Gesamere's really the only one of the original royal families still in power? Well, the Mundlings lost Lexina almost as quickly as they'd won it and haven't been in power since. The Shavs have sat on the throne of Palob at least four separate times, but always end up knocked from their perch by a more ambitious usurper. But the Rainwoods of Omniphilo. They ruled for a long, long time, as long as the Gesamere's until-