Beautiful Lies

Chapter Twenty: The Scheme

Hey guys! We did it! Finally to chapter twenty, with a fun musical reference in the story to boot! Now is the time to relax and calm down, because the real shit show is about to go down in the next few chapters. Be prepared for angst, blood, angst, and death. Oops, did I say angst again? Get ready for so fun folks, and make sure to keep all hands and legs inside the cart at all times. There's no getting off this rollercoaster-😈

"Wait, so killing him is off the table now?" Remus demanded. He threw his hands up in the air. "Can you just pick a side and stick to it already?" Roman looked up at him, sinking back into the chair. They've been at this for hours now, and Remus wasn't loosing steam anytime soon.

"Remus, he apologized-"

"An apology doesn't fix what he did to you or this uprising Roman," Remus said firmly. "He ruined people's lives, and could have gotten us all killed." Roman looked at him pitifully.

"But Remus-"

"Roman, stop, this is over. Next Thursday we launch our attack on the wedding. There we will take Patton Hart, Emile Hart, Logan Hart, and Medea Hart into prison, and have them executed in front of the country," Remus said coolly. He opened his plans. 

A cold shot of fear crawled up Roman's spine. They were going to kill people. True, these people weren't innocent, and Patton Hart had never been the most understanding employer, but the idea of killing someone, anyone, was jarring. Especially someone like Emile, who Roman was so certain had a good heart just by looking at him. He was at very least a good parent, who was being killed for the crime of being married to Patton Hart, who he undoubtedly loved.

"As for Janus, since you don't want to hurt him, he will simply be imprisoned for his traitorious actions against the rebellion." Roman swallowed. At least it was better than Janus's death.  Anything was better than that.

 Roman stared at his brother in the dimly lit room, candles dancing as he sketched out the plans methodically. He had never seen him this calm, this relaxed, and the fact that he was so relaxed about killing people, of all things, was so awful it made his stomach churn. Remus looked up at Roman, as though sensing his thoughts. His look softened.

"It will be a quick death Ro, we promise. The uprising members aren't monsters. Though the bastards deserve worse," He muttered. Before Roman could say anything else, there was a knock at the door. Remus got up. "I'll go get it." The door crept open, some of the lighting from the hallway sneaking in.  Roman tensed up, just in case the guard came in to arrest them for treason. "Oh Loyalty, how are you? I was just outlining the plans with my brother, come on in."

Roman exhaled as Loyalty, in a cloak and a deeply shadowed face, sat beside his brother, who had noticeably been a little closer than he would have been with anyone else, even Janus, and those two were practically joint at the hip. Before.

"Hello," Loyalty said simply. "How goes the plan?" Remus grinned, smiling ear to ear.

"Well, we have associates stationed in the following positions at the wedding," Remus said, pointing them out. Funnily enough, he seemed very excited to show this off, turning to Loyalty every few seconds to show him. "They'll let us all in, they have to since everyone's a wedding guest anyway. Security is going to be high, like you said, but weapons are easy enough to conceal. Once there, everyone has a target. Janus, alias Deceit, is not to be touched. He will pay for his crimes another way. Loyalty, you have whomever sits next to you. Roman, yours is Logan Hart," Remus said sternly, looking at him. "You will hold a knife to your target's throat, and, if necessary, kill them."

Roman wished he could feel more guilty about this. Truly, he did. But the possibility to kill the person who stole Janus, who married him and took Roman's love away from him, made him grin, glorious vengeance making him seem leagues above the noble. His revenge would be worth the stained conscience.

"Of course."

"You got it," Loyalty grinned in the shadows, elbowing Remus. Remus nodded.

"Good. Now, Roman, do you know how to keep a victim trapped or did you skip that lesson I specifically created for this purpose last week," Remus asked. Roman rolled his eyes.

"Yes Remus, I know how." Remus exhaled.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes I am," Roman said, annoyed. "I won't slip up! Logan Hart's going to get what's coming to him."

"Janus too," Remus said firmly. Roman stood up quickly, slamming his hands down on the table, as his eyes flashed with rage.

"Remus, it isn't his fault!"

"Roman, for the last time-"

"Alright, this feels like it'll be escalating into a brother argument, so I'll just go check in with Logic before going home," Loyalty said, stretching as he stood up. Roman waved at Loyalty, who waved back, walking out the door.

"I'll see you around pretty boy," Remus teased, flirting. Loyalty stopped in surprise, turning back to Remus.

"Sure a thing thief," he said, leaning down and kissing Remus's cheek before shutting the door behind him. Remus let out small indecipherable noises, staring at the space where Loyalty stood as Roman laughed.

"Oh you're totally whipped, aren't you?" Roman said, in a teasing tone, mocking the way Remus spoke to him when he had a crush on Janus. Remus turned red, completely flustered, waving his hands, glaring at Roman before grumbling and storming away.

"This argument doesn't end because you're an asshole about Loyalty. Which is STRICTLY a business relationship, I'll have you know. Completely platonic," Remus insisted, ears bright red as he put out some candles. Roman smirked.

"Of course. It's TOTALLY platonic."

"Yes it is!" Roman let out a small laugh, shaking his head. Remus sounded exactly like he did when he first met Janus. Before the lies, before the betrayal, before the love of his life became nothing more than a lie, ash and dust. 

Before the light had enough time to rekindle itself, just in time to hopefully see the light.