Last Man Standing

Chapter 24: Extreme Measures

The night before my father was killed in the arena, I was running through the halls of the royal palace in search of Decimus. I was hoping that we could play a game before my father put me to bed.

As I got closer to the Emperor's chambers, I began to hear voices coming from the open door. I slowed my pace and poked my head around the corner to see into the room. Empress Aryanna was sitting on the edge of the bed with her hands folded in her lap and her head held in shame. Her cheeks were stained with tears and her chest was heaving as she attempted to hide her sobs.

It was a rare sight to see the Empress; I could only attest to seeing her a handful of times. But to see her in such distress was even worse than not seeing her at all.

Her husband was pacing back and forth in front of her, more furious than I had ever seen him before.

"How could you do this to me?! To the Empire?! You have a duty as the Empress of Romallia!"

"It was before we-"

"NO! I WILL NOT ACCEPT THAT!"

"I'm sorry you had to find out like this."

"You've embarrassed me! You've tarnished my family name!"

"We didn't mean for-"

"We? WE?! So you've been discussing this with him in private? You've both been conspiring against me?!"

"No! We've-"

"He did not oppose the union when we decided upon it!"

"That's because he didn't know that I was your wife. You've kept me locked up for too long-"

"I DID WHAT WAS NECESSARY TO PROTECT YOU FROM MY BROTHER!"

"Yes, and I thank you for that... but it resulted in this shameful union."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I was afraid..."

"So why now?"

"It's gone too far-"

"You're damn right, it's gone too far! I don't know how I'm supposed to fix this!"

"I know, I should have-"

"When did he find out that you were my wife?"

"He's been fighting your wars... he never had a chance to meet me..."

"WHEN DID HE?!"

"A couple of months ago..."

"How dare he keep this from me! How dare you!"

"We've been trying to convince you to end the union, but our subtle attempts didn't seem to change your mind. And it doesn't help that neither one of us has much of a chance to speak with you."

"Enough with the excuses!"

"I'm sorry."

"Our son will be the laughing stock of the Empire if this were to get out!"

"No one needs to know about it. We can stop this."

"How?! What can I possibly say to justify this?!"

"You're the Emperor of Romallia! Just end it! No one will question you."

"I just can't stand the idea of you and him... I can't believe-... this is all just-... you both betrayed me!"

"Well, what did you expect when you stole me from your brother?! Of course I had a past before your brother plucked me from my home in attempts to make me his bride."