A Most Dangerous Weapon

Chapter 46: Their Story

"She didn't die after we were born. Our father lied to us to spare us from the truth."

He didn't say anything. Instead he just stared at me in a way that encouraged me to continue. He was leaning forward expectantly.

"Our mother was taken by a group of Galacian soldiers. She wasn't kidnapped in the same way that all the other Romallian people were, not to become a whore or valued member of society, as you recently discovered. She was specifically summoned by request of Emperor Gaius. She should have refused, but instead she chose to go with them."

I was still mad at her for this. Marcus was probably equally annoyed that she would willingly leave us behind, but he kept his feelings to himself.

I continued, "While they were on their way back to their territory, Maximus' men hit their caravan and took our mother for himself. He had her brought to the palace, and she had been there ever since."

After a long pause, Marcus finally spoke in a mumbled voice. He said one simple word, but it held so much meaning. "Why?"

"She had a history with the royal brothers. Apparently her mother, who would be our grandmother, was a Lady's Companion to the late Empress, Maximus' and Gaius' mother. Due to our grandmother's high status and the Empress' tendency to favouritism, she allowed our mother to basically grow up in the palace alongside her boys. What she didn't predict was Gaius' immediate attraction to the girl, and vice versa. Our mother and Gaius fell in love. When they were of age, Gaius asked his father for permission to marry her. The Emperor refused. No one knew why he refused at the time because they all assumed it would be Maximus, the eldest son, who would take the throne and resulting marriage responsibilities. Despite our mother's good qualities and closeness to the family, we can now understand that the Emperor couldn't allow his future heir to marry without political gain. Our mother wasn't meant to be the future Empress of Romallia, so Gaius couldn't have her."

I had to admit that their story was a sad one. Two people who loved each other were torn apart by familial obligation and a quest for power. I'm obviously a little biased on the matter; if our mother didn't leave the palace and fall in love with our father, my brother and I wouldn't even exist. But still, that didn't make her heartbreak any less sad.

Marcus didn't seem disgusted by the notion of our mother loving Gaius, probably because he was now so fond of the man himself. If it was Maximus she loved, Marcus would certainly react more violently. Just wait until he found out who our mother's most recent husband was.

I continued, "Our mother left the palace. Later she fell in love with our father, married and gave birth to us. During this time, the Emperor passed away and the war between the brothers had started. The reason why Gaius tracked down our mother was to take her to Galacia to make her his bride."

"So she was abandoning us when she chose to leave with the Galacians?!" My brother sounds furious. I was hoping that some of that anger was directed at Gaius and not just our mother. If Gaius hadn't summoned her for marriage, our family might still be whole today. We could have lived a much different, if not better, life than we had.

I didn't want to lie, no matter how tempting it was. Letting Marcus think that our mother chose to abandon us would build his hatred for Gaius more, but it felt wrong to tarnish our mother's memory like that. "She didn't abandon us. She went with them so she could confront Gaius one last time. She wanted to tell him that she was happy with the life she had now; that she loved her husband and children. Our mother wanted to make sure that Gaius understood why she had to refuse his marriage proposal. She was afraid that he would think her refusal had to do with the late Emperor's objections or that she held a grudge against Gaius for not fighting for their love. She thought that this was the only way for our family to move on without further interruption from the royals." It sounded like I approved of her decision, but on the contrary I was still annoyed by it. Maybe if it worked out as she planned then I would have been more understanding. But since her little escapade towards Gaius got her caught by Maximus, I chose to hold her decision against her. Marcus could make up his own mind on this matter. "Unfortunately, this was when Maximus took her. He wanted to hurt his brother by taking away his one true love..." It was time to drop the biggest shock of our lives. "... and then Maximus married her."