Beyond Human: Queen's Shadow Series

30.) A Cruel Truth

~~~Apollos

'You murdered them all, you son-of-a-bitch!' I calm myself as I pack my clothes, I hear Darla's voice and I hear Henrietta trying to stop her but I ignore them. Yes, I know what I did but I was not about to explain myself to them. 'You murdered them. They were children, just children,' Her bloody tears streamed down her face, 'Yes. Yes, I killed them. As a royal prince, their death was my responsibility." 'You're just like her, the butcherer. She butchered so many people and justified it. Are you going to justify it too?'

It's then that I think about Ali's smile as I say, "I don't have a reason to justify anything to you." It was then that she spit on my face, 'Of course, you can't. You're just like Lilith, a bitch who likes to murder.' 'Darla, you shouldn't have done that. He is-' Because the truth of the matter is I felt even worse than what she was saying. 'You murdered so many innocent people. You murdered four innocent children whose sin,' "Yes, I murdered them because they were dangerous for the world." 'They're children,' she yells. It's then that I lose my temper as I say, "Yes. They were children, innocent children but yet they were damned to being immortal. They were dammed to live their lives, fighting off other people but you don't want to think about that, do you?" I say to her.

All the priests and nuns look at me as I begin to wipe the blood off my face. "They were children, yeah but how many of you have seen the horrors of war like those children had? If you all truly loved them, you would have understood why they chose death but instead, you blame me and I blame myself. I will never see those children again, damn you, just like those children I knew in another life, those lives are gone and we aren't getting them back. If you hate me, hate me but if you ever think that I did it because I wanted to, you need to do a reality check, woman. Be honest with yourselves," I say, feeling their eyes on me, I could see Henrietta's eyes on me and they were the most damning, I could see so much sadness in her eyes.

And I then say, "I'm not justifying killing children. God knows I will burn in Hell for it but don't think I did any of the things I did because I wanted to." As I finish packing my bags, I see all of them, their eyes shift from pain to guilt. It's then that I say, "The children wanted me to say one last thing before they died. They wanted me to thank you, Henrietta, Darla, John, Marcus, and the rest for everything they've done. They wanted to thank you all for being there on the nights when they were tortured from the past, they wanted me to thank you for everything you did for them. None of you have to forgive me, but I am the new baron of this city, though and this city will be provided for and protected for as long as I'm standing. If you can't forgive me, I understand. I don't expect to forgive myself, either." As I feel the spit run down my face, I grab a handkerchief and wipe my face.

It's then that I leave and I see Lucian and Saul waiting outside for me. I see people follow me outside as I begin to leave, there was one other thing that happened. I turn and I see Darla's scornful eyes but then I see something else. I see Henrietta's forgiveness as she mouths, 'Thank you.' It's then that I hear their thoughts, 'He had no choice.' one person said, 'If it was me, could I have that strength?' 'What if it was his own children?' I hear someone's thoughts. 'That murderous bastard.' 'Thank you.' I hear another voice and then as I look around for a second, I see all four of the children, holding hands. I blink and then they are gone I get in the car and get ready to exit the small town.

You've been through a lot, I take a moment to answer then I respond "yes, though I'm glad Richard was able to pick you guys up." Lucian chuckles as he says 'also a pretty good chauffeur.' I Smile as I say yes, he is also my first progeny. Saul raises his eyebrows as he says are you serious? What about the others at the mansion?' "They aren't officially my progenies. They are loyal to me because of my blood." 'How does that work?' I hear Lucian ask. "It's simple, brother and it's through my will that they will serve me and no one else. If I tell them to submit, they will do it without any questions asked." 'You know the only reason why they're not piles of blood is because of your word of mouth.'