Caged Heart

Chapter 25

Darius, Violette, and Serenity all felt helpless as they watched the scene unfold.

The prince and the king circled each other as the clashing of their swords echoed throughout the room. Every offensive attack Emerson would throw, Caleb would be on the defensive and block him; the king was becoming frustrated, and the smug look on the prince's face did nothing to help that fact. His concentration on Caleb faltered as he saw from the corner of his eye Serenity struggle to find some way to intervene in the fight. They locked eyes, and he began to shake his head—as if to tell her that he had everything under control—when Caleb managed to knock his sword out of his hand. Taking advantage of a seemingly unarmed Emerson, Caleb swung his sword for a final blow, but the king moved out of the way and held up his fists. That made Caleb chuckle, his eyes glinting with a murderous shine as he advanced on Emerson once again.

The king seemed to be adept at dodging sword swings, getting a few punches on Caleb in as well, and the prince was skilled at making sure his failed attempts were always followed up by a punch in Emerson's direction. It was a dance that seemed to have no end, and Serenity was getting sick of watching it. Her expression turned into one of determination and she charged at the back of her brother, ready to catch him off-guard by putting him in a chokehold. And it surprisingly worked. She jumped onto him and wrapped her arms around his neck, making him slightly lose his balance and drop his sword, which Emerson noticed and quickly picked it up, aiming it at Caleb's throat.

"Confess," he said through labored breaths, thinking that he had won.

But that was a mistake.

Caleb said nothing as being chocked made it hard for him to speak, but he managed to do one thing: laugh. Through his strained laugh, he was able to confuse both Serenity and Emerson to the point of being able to throw the princess off of his back and grab the blade of the sword the king was aiming at him with his non-dominant hand—his left—, using it to put Emerson off balance. He then kicked the hand that Emerson was using to hold the hilt of the sword and, once the king let go, was able to spin it so that he was now the one holding it. The blood from his left hand was dripping onto the ground, and the pain from it only fueled his hatred for the man in front of him more.

He tossed the sword from his right to his left so that he could punch Emerson in the face. It landed, as the king had little to no time to react, and caused his head to fly back, his nose breaking under the force, and he hit the ground with a thud. His head throbbed with pain and his vision blurred, but he still tried to stand up, which was his second mistake. Caleb kicked him in the back, sending him back to the ground, and then he kicked him in the ribs, both hearing the horrifying crack and snap—which was satisfying to Caleb—of ribs. Caleb could hear Emerson's groan of pain, and that made him smile as he used his foot once more to turn the king over so that his back was now on the floor. The screams from his sister only made his smile widen as he looked down at Emerson.

"Do it," Emerson croaked out, the fire in his eyes still there even though he had been beaten, wincing in pain, "show them I was right."

The corner of his lips lifted to give him a smirk as he moved the sword to his right hand once again. Even though the hilt was covered in blood, he was able to get a good grip on it. His eyes darkened as he held it in his fist, moving it in a downward motion fast, seeming as if he were really going to kill the king on the ground.

"Enough!" yelled Darius, and "Don't kill him!" cried out Serenity at the same time. That, and a voice inside his head, made Caleb stop the sword before it could enter the chest of Emerson, who made a noise that sounded like relief. Without looking at the two people that screamed, the prince let out another laugh; however, this one did not seem to be like the other laughs. It was filled with malice, yes, but it was also filled with a lightheartedness that was more uncomfortable than reassuring.

"I won't kill him, dear sister," he said as he stepped back and sheathed his sword once more, "he plays a crucial part in my plan."

"Your... plan?" The king asked, surprise and confusion most evident in his voice, "Caleb, what are you—"

"They were telling the truth, father," he turned his head to look at Darius, "Everything that has happened has been part of my plan; I orchestrated all of it."

And just like that, the truth was finally out in the open.

Darius' heart was shattered, and his face dropped. He looked at Emerson, who looked at him with pity in his eyes, and at Serenity, who looked as brokenhearted as he felt even though she knew before he, and then his eyes went back to Caleb, who was simply smiling at him—his son had no regrets for the pain he had caused all of them.

"No," he said, his breath getting caught in his throat, "it cannot be."

"Oh, but it is, father." Caleb chuckled, sending shivers down everyone's spines, "And I am sorry to say that you, Emerson and Serenity, were not the first to know of it, even though I do give you props for figuring it out." At that, he looked between his sister and the king, clapping his hands together in mockery of them.

"What do you mean we weren't the first?" Serenity's voice shook with fear.

"Your ex, Godric, his soul rest in peace," he feigned sadness in his voice at that last part, though his facial expression never changed, "was the first. Why do you think that you two were in that garden together at that hour? Why do you think he was the one to die and not you?"

At his words, the princess was taken aback, "But I thought mother and father—I thought..." her voice trailed off as she struggled to hold back tears, "That was you?"

"I'm afraid so. And I have to say, it worked like a charm in the "convincing everyone that Emerson is the bad guy" department. Then," he looked over at Queen Violette, who was still sitting on her throne, her cheeks and eyes wet with tears even though she was staring at the throne room doors, "our dear, sweet, loving mother was caught eavesdropping on me. Don't worry sister, she only found out shortly before father called this meeting, so the hatred in her voice when Emerson was being sentenced and her little stunt that she pulled to tell you that you needed to put the king out of your heart and be with Godric was all her, I assure you; and, she better be thanking her lucky stars that I didn't have adequate time to make sure that she ended up like the prince."

"How could you?" Serenity tried to hold back a sob, but she couldn't, "Godric did nothing to you! He was always nice and loving to you, Caleb; he loved you like a brother!"

"And then he got in my way." Caleb's eyes showed no signs of pain or heartbreak as he recalled the memories that he shared with Godric, "He would've told you and that would've messed everything up, and I could not have that happen; he had to die, Serenity. Plus, he made for a perfect addition in my frame story for Emerson. Of course, I had to change up some details because you weren't dead, but it still worked. Wonderfully, might I add."

Darius, after having been quiet for a long time, finally spoke, his voice soft but still discernible, "Genevieve was your sister, Caleb— your twin sister at that— and you—you had her—how could you do something so sick and twisted as to kill and hurt your own family?" His voice began to rise, "And then you stood there and acted heartbroken and—and normal! You acted as if you knew nothing and were just as in the dark as the rest of us, and you stood at my side and—" the king cut himself off by covering his mouth, moving his hand up to run his fingers through his thinning brown and silver hair, "How could you do that?"

"Genevieve was a vital part of my plan; she simply had to go in order for what I needed to happen to happen."

"Spare me your bullshit vagueness!" Darius roared, anger radiating off him, "What the hell kind of plan entails the murder of your own flesh and blood?"

"The kind that ignites a war and enables our kingdom the chance to invade Hallow, allowing us to take it from the clutches of a ruined king." Caleb glared at his father, "The kind of plan that would enable us to do what should've been done decades ago."