The Royal Secret

~On Second Thought~

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Cassandra bowed before the crowd. The new King placed the heavy crown on her head with a half smile on his face. Cassandra and Tobias Kiramman. Now the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Piltover. Newly wedded as well.

They walked hand and hand through the center of the crowd and towards the exit.

Oh, how the light within them would leave just six years later...

~~~~~~~

The castle looked dead. As dead as it had always been since the Queen was executed. The stones were faded, the gardens were dead, the windows were tinted from not being cleaned over the years. And there was only one worker: Viktor.

"Is it just you?" Caitlyn asked him.

He coughed before saying, "It is. The Talis' have left."

"Would you happen to know why?"

"I'm afraid not. They said that they were given instructions to go to Noxus. Then Jayce said that he would take the Prince with him."

"He brought Christopher to me. He told me how my father was poisoned shortly after Eudora succumbed to her illness."

"Yes. I was never too fond of her, but I must say... the poor girl looked so frail over time. She looked dead before she even died. It was horrific."

"Where are their corpses?"

"I moved them to a place under one of the cherry blossoms in the woods. I buried them so no one else would have to do the job." He coughed again.

"You moved them yourself?"

"I did, yes. Now, I've just been waiting for someone to notice the condition of this place. After you exposed your father, I'm afraid no one wants to walk within it's vicinity."

"This has never happened before... there's no one to take my father's place."

"If Christopher were thirteen, he would've been crowned the new King. He is just an infant... I suppose there's only you."

"I've been told that, but... I'm afraid I would be no better than my father."

"That is not true. You're just young you've been recovering. Having the Prince brought to you after your father's death is a stump in the process."

Caitlyn sat on the steps next to Viktor, "I've been the Princess since I was born and I've done nothing for the Kingdom..."

"Excuse me for saying this, but your father was King since before you were born and he has done nothing for the Kingdom."

"I suppose you're right... I still can't believe I found out about my mother's fatality so late. How it happened, that is."

"None of us knew. Only the King, Mr. and Mrs. Talis, the Parliament, and the Justice system."

"Mr. and Mrs. Talis knew...?"

"They were sworn to secrecy. Bribed."

"Of course..."

"The next person to the Crown is you. Just think about it. If you don't step up to the Kiramman tradition, the Parliament will decide for you. A foolish boy to become King. That's what happened with your great great grandfather."

"I've heard things about him... But I just don't want to be anything like my father. He was manipulative and harsh. A dictator more than anything. Did you know he would force the peasants to pay more taxes just so he could throw that ball for the new Nobles?"