A Dragon's Treasure

Chapter 24 - Threes a Crowd

"So let me get this straight, Roman found his twin, joined a dragon cult in order to break the curse, found out about the fake prince, and is now attempting a coup?"

"Basically," Remus said, "Wow, you catch on quick."

"That is part of my job," They began to pace, and Erni's movement made Roman more hesitant, more anxious. He wanted to tap his own foot, try to drown out his own anxious energy. "I think Logan's plan is a good idea, probably the best idea that we have." They stopped, and Roman relaxed just a little bit. "But what are you going to do if the second scientist that is called doesn't want to corroborate your story?"

Roman looked to Logan who was deep in thought, maybe it was too much to put this on him, but Roman trusted Logan, trusted him to be able to get them out of this mess safely. "I am not sure, the best we can do is hope because things will get messy if the other scientist doesn't want to help. I'm relying on old connections but I know that the queen's might could be a deterrent."

"Are you willing to kill them?"

"No, absolutely not." Logan and Roman said in unison. Remus gave a much more half-hearted, "I guess not."

Roman couldn't help but roll his eyes at his brother, that was not helping their case that twins weren't evil.

"At least you're honest," Erni said with an appreciative nod to Remus. "So, now that we have a bit of strategy, we'll need to wait a bit longer before I request a second scientist, and I should make sure it looks like I have actually run some tests as well. You all might be risking life and limp but I am going to try to have as much plausible deniability as possible."

"And I can respect that," Remus said, causing Roman to roll his eyes. He wasn't sure how much he wanted to trust someone who might be willing to throw them under the bus, but as long as there was a chance that he could take the throne back, he was willing to do it.

"Also, and you didn't hear this from me, but if you end up needing to escape, the cook and the gardener are both willing to help the prince with anything, but like I said, you didn't hear it from me."

Roman was now utterly confused at this person's motivations, but he just bit his lip and nodded silently. "I don't understand," He ended up saying out loud, his voice soft and quiet.

"Which part?" Erni responded.

"You are helping us, but from what you have said, you would be willing to turn us in if we got caught."

"It is actually very simple my prince. I am loyal to myself first and foremost. I won't put myself in dangerous situations if it means that I won't get anything out of it. Putting you back at the top of the monarchy would be very good for all of us, but if you aren't up to the task, I'm not going to risk my position either. I have survived far too much to falter now."

A few weeks ago Roman would have thought that attitude was slanderous, that it completely went against everything he had ever been taught, but he was beginning to understand it now. In some terms, you did need to fight for what you believed in, but people weren't guilty or bad for simply trying to survive, and Erni was right. If they were caught helping him and his mother won, their life would be over. There was no god or dragon who might try to save them.

"Thank you for helping me understand. I appreciate your candidness, and I do hope I am able to instill trust in you when I have the throne."

There was a stunned silence that filled the room before Erni just nodded. "I look forward to it."

Roman nodded, and they all fell silent until one of Erni's contraptions made a noise.

"Showtime," They said, squaring their shoulders.

Logan relaxed when he saw the two people who walked in to 'assist' Erni. "Tobi, August, how have you two been."

"Oh Look August, the bitch remembers our names." Tobi and August were inseparable, always staying around each other and judging the rest of the world around them. Despite that, they were good people.

Logan stopped and it looked as if he was about to defend himself before he relaxed a bit. This was just how Tobi and August were, a bit hot-headed and all in all too involved in themselves. "Did you genuinely believe I would forget someone like you?" Logan asked deadpanned and Tobi laughed.

"So what trouble did you get yourself into that even the great Erni couldn't figure things out."

"It's more of a problem of what exactly happened," Erni looked at Roman, "Do you want to tell them?"

Roman hesitated before stepping forward. "I am currently under a glamour spell because underneath the spell I am actually prince Roman."

"Yeah, and I'm his long-lost twin," Tobi said, rolling his eyes.

"You might not be, but I am." Remus chimed in and the room fell silent again. The two scientists looked at each other. They were about to say something, maybe ask for proof, when the door opened.

"Hello," the queen said, closing the door behind her. "I heard that you were having some trouble so I thought I would come and offer my services," She walked over to Logan, pulling him into a hug that made him grow stiff. He looked at Roman terrified and Roman stood up, walking over and pulling Logan away. This was stupid, he knew this was stupid, but he dropped the glamour spell.

"I would like an explanation mother." The room fell deathly silent, the three scientists attempting to excuse themselves without being noticed, Logan standing behind Roman who stood proud and protectively, and the queen standing there completely confused by the events. She was attempting to process everything when her eyes went narrow.

"You are not my son."

"Are you sure about that?" Roman asked.

"What about me?" Remus also dropped his glamour, and the queen's face paled. "Hello, mother dearest."