Fate's Prisoners

chapter 42

Luna

I dressed Leon nicely as I thought in my head. There is no way I can be wrong and all the proof is here. I just need to calm down and stay focus. "Mother, you look worried." "Mother is fine, just a little anxious is all," I assured him. "Leon, you love Xander, don't you?" "Of course, he is my older brother and he loves me." I smiled but I felt bad for the children of what might happen after today. "I want you to remember how much you love him after today okay." He nodded his head cutely.

We walked to the throne room after getting ready and there waiting for us was the Emperor, the Empress mother, Lady Jane, Xander, Suzan, and the royal council. "Before we begin I would like for the princes to be taken elsewhere until called upon." I requested. The Emperor granted my wish and had one of his trusted advisers take them both out. "Tell us Luna why have you requested an audience?" Empress mother asked from her seat. This is it, no turning back no backing down. Just think of all the horrible things she has done to the people here and even myself. "I asked you all here to report a crime." The atmosphere in the room changed drastically when I spoke those words. "What crime?" The Emperor asked. "I am here to accuse Lady Jane of Fraud and kidnapping." Everyone gasped at my words. Jane shot up from her seat. "How dare you, are you mad?" She says. "No, I'm am very sure that young Prince Xander although sweet and lovable is not the Emperor's child." "You!" "Stop, Luna why do you believe Xander is not my son?" The Emperor asked trying to see where I would go with this. "A lot of the things surrounding the prince's birth do not add up correctly. They don't add up correctly because he is not the child of Jane and your majesty but he is the child of madam Suzan who I have brought into the palace.." "Your majesty doesn't listen to her, she is crazy and jealous of my Xander," Jane says panic to the Emperor . "Quite Jane! Luna please go on!" The Emperor yells angrily. "9 years ago Lady Suzan had given birth to her only son. However, a few days after he was born he disappeared. It was confirmed by lady Suzan that her son what sold to someone without her permission. For the next 9 years, she looked for him until I ran into her the other day." "That is just a coincidence, not something you can blame my son for," Jane says angrily. " I am not blaming Xander because he was a baby and could do nothing about it. However, let's have a time check. Suzan's child is born and taken away in a few days however that same night here in the palace Lady Jane going Into the quickest labor for any woman who is giving birth for the first time. It is so quick that the Emperor is not able to make it in time to see the birth." Jane couldn't say anything about that. "It is known that Xander was a silent baby and after birth did not cry, unlike normal babies. Your majesty, may I ask what Prince Xander looked like when you saw him for the first time?" I asked making the Emperor look at me before he explained. "I don't really remember well." The Emperor confessed. "Well, if Xander really had just been born he should have been the same way anybody was. Wrinkly with very delekt skin because it was not developed yet. However, all description of Xander is that he had already gotten used to being outside the womb."(tbh idk if this is true) " that is all just a coincidence," Jane says again. "Okay then let's go back in time a bit. I left years ago because I was upset with the Emperor for sleeping with lady Jane. At that time I didn't know I was pregnant, but everyone knew lady Jane was because she was showing very much. However, that night you and Emperor had sex." People started to whisper. "What does this have to do with anything?" She asked. "Does Xander have any birth defects?" "No, why would you such a question?" She asked " you were at least 5 to 6 month pregnant but you had sex with the Emperor. It is more likely for a child to be born with a disability with doing that. So tell me why didn't you think to protect your baby at the time?" I asked her and I saw her struggling to find an answer. "it was luck like you said. I was lucky Xander was born healthy because I was too caught up in the moment when the Emperor came to me asking me to help him forget you!" She fired back and it hurt a bit thinking of his words again but I didn't let it get me. "Shut up! I never wanted to forget Luna. I was drunk and didn't think straight." " Exactly your majesty, you were drunk and couldn't remember anything from that night. Therefore, you would not remember her losing her belly before you two did anything sexual." There was a realization in the Emperor. "Had she really been with a child her belly would have prevented you two from doing much. However, since she was using a fake, she could take it off have sex and put it back on before you even realized." "That is impossible, you can't make such things up and expect to get away with it!" Jane shouts but I didn't care. "Allow me to show you evidence to prove my claim." The Emperor nodded his head. A man walked into the room holding the fake belly from Jane's wardrobe. Not everyone knew what it was but the thing that will tell them the truth is Xander and Leon. "I would like to call back Prince Xander and Prince Leon." The Emperor called them in. "Boys I need you to tell me the truth okay." I told them before I showed them the belly. They nodded their heads before they looked. "Have you two ever seen this thing before?" They looked at each other before Xander spoke. "I showed it to Leon on his birthday when he came to play with me. Mother had to go talk to father and I had found this before when Woori brought it for her." Xander explained everyone was surprised by the boy's words and Jane was on fire. "Xander, how many times have I told you not to go into my room! And you brought him in there with you!" She yelled at him surprised everyone. Xander was scared at his "mother's" explosion. "I'm sorry." He says but I stroked his head. "It's fine, it won't matter soon. Go ahead and play with Leon." I told him to stop his crying. The boys were taken away and I kept going. "Your majesty this is all a setup you have to believe me. How do we even know if she got that from my room? The boys are just children they couldn't have told her I had a fake pregnancy belly in my room. Please stop her, she is just trying to get revenge on me!" Jane says. "Almost everything you said is true. The boys know no better so they don't know what this thing is but they know they saw it in your room. You could have used that argument if you haven't scolded Xander for going into your room a second ago. This proves it was in your room. Now onto my next piece of evidence, may I go on your majesty?" I requested and without looking away from Jane with his soul freezing eyes he spoke. "Continue." "I would like to introduce Suzan and her husband who were affected by this. I will tell you now that Suzan's husband sold their child for money but it still considered kidnapping because he did not ask Suzan's permission to do so. She is just as much of the child's parent as he is and he had no right to do such a thing on his own." The two spoke about what happened and Suzan's husband was to be punished for partaking in the crime. "I finally bring in my last piece of I've since that proves to everyone that Prince Xander is not the child of neither the Emperor or Jane. A few days ago I took a walk with head guard Lucas when I overheard a conversation between lady Jane and her lady in Waiting Woori about Suzan. They wondered how she could be in the palace and lady Jane sent Woori to find a man by the name of Roman. I saw Jane's eyes grow big with shock as I mentioned the name. " your majesty." She called weakly but he didn't answer her. Romand entered the room and bowed to the Emperor respectfully. "Please tell everyone what it is you had to do with this case." I requested. "I use to live in a town not too far from here and worked under a gang boss. One night a lady came up to me and asked if I wanted extra money so I took the job. She said I needed to find a family that didn't want their child, buy it and bring it back to her. While looking I found Suzan's husband who was worrying about how he was going to care for a baby when he is so poor. It was the perfect opportunity so I took the chance and offered him the money for his child. He didn't think twice before he agreed. I was told to wait until the child was born and after a day or so I took it and brought it to the lady who asked me to do the job. She paid me the money and I moved farther away because she didn't want me to rat her out." He explained. "Tell me why did you tell the truth today?" I asked him. From the corner of my eye, I could see Woori having a panic attack. "Your friends told me if I came here and told the truth I would get more benefits in the long run." I smiled. "That's true, but now I want you to tell me if you see the woman who bought Suzan's baby in this room and if she tells me who she is." His eyes only went to one person and it was the one who was trying to shut him up with her eyes. Next to her Jane had her head held high to prevent tears from coming down. "Her." He pointed at woori and she lifted her head. "YOU TRADER. I PAYED YOU GOOD MONEY TO KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!" Woori yelled at the man and fell to her knees before Jane. Woori just made it worse. Instead of keeping her compouser, she let all hands point to Jane for her crime. "That concludes my evidence." I finished the Emperor was red with anger and mingling didn't know what to do. "This is impossible!" She yells at last. She gets up from her seat and runs over to me. "How could you be so cruel!" She yelled before she tried to slap me but the Emperor yelled at her. "STOP! If you lay a hand on Luna you will only make it even worse." The Emperor says. The Emperor is in a state of anger and heartbreak knowing that Xander was not his child. Jane hurries over to him and fell to her knees with her head to the ground in a bow. "Your majesty have mercy on me I beg of you." She cries. "Jane, can you deny any of the proof that Luna has shown us today?" He asked not yelling but still a strong voice. "I..I" she couldn't say anything. "Your majesty, I would also like to ask on behave of Xander and his mother to come if a fairground for the both of you. I know you truly love the child but his mother loves him as well and she had been without him for 9 years " They couldn't say anything but nodded his head with a deep breath. "You! This was all your fault!" Jane shouts at me. "You are the one who lied and committed the crime what does this have to do with me?" "It was all because of you. Had you never come to this palace I would have never suffered the way I have because of you!" She yells. "You can't blame all your problems on other people Jane." "If you had never come to the Emperor would have married me a long time ago and I would have been Empress !" She says. "No you would not have. Without Luna here you never would have come up with this scheme and gotten the crown. Must I remind you, after all the times you sleep with the Emperor you never for pregnant. That means if Luna had come or not you still would have never been Empress !" The Empress mother shouts at Jane. "Enough, I can't look at her any longer! Guards, take her and her lady in waiting to the jails to wait for their punishments." The Emperor ordered. "NO! Your majesty, I have been in this palace since I was a child and I never once betrayed you, how can you do this to me. I love you will all of my heart." She yells but he says nothing. I can tell he is thinking about that but it is not hurting him as much as she wants it to. "Luna Pain, you will pay for this. This isn't the end! I will get you one day. I'll get out and I'll kill you myself!" She yells when she is dragged to the doors of the throne room. When she is gone, the Emperor falls back into his seat. "Your majesty!" The Empress mother and I rushed to his side to check on him. He is stress and frustrated and didn't know what to do. "Your majesty, are you okay?" I asked him feeling bad that I made him this way. "I am fine." He says with a heavy voice. "No your not, come on. I'll take you back to your room, you need to rest and calm down." I said he nodded his head before he dismissed everyone. "What about Xander?" Suzan asked worried about what will happen to her and her son. "For now, until we make a compromise, Xander will stay in Luna's palace." He declared before he took my hand and we left to his room.

When we arrived, he walked back and forth drunk off of his emotions. "Youngbae, I'm sorry I had to do this to you but. I couldn't let lady Jane keep getting away with these things." I felt guilty as I sat on his bed and watched him after he refused to sit down with me. "Don't apologize. I am hurt that Xander is not my child but you have also rid me of a pain in my side that has been there for too long." "Don't worry, you won't lose Xander and he will still see you as a father figure. Just make sure you come up with a solution that is fair to Suzan as well." I advised him. "I want her to move into the palace." "Really?" "I don't want Xander to leave the palace, I am attached to him like I am Leon and if he leaves I'll be a mess." I smiled relieved. "That's a relief. We all can be a family. What about Jane and Woori?" I asked, "who knows how long they will be in jail." He says. "I am glad you said jail and not death." "I was thinking that at first but when she reminded me of how she was in the past I didn't have the heart to do that to her." I rubbed his shoulders. "Now that this is over with I feel much better," I confessed because this whole case was stressing me out beyond belief. "Then this means we can get started on plans for our wedding." He says with a smile looking at me. " must you bring that up now. We just finished something so hard and you just have to be like this right after?" I asked. "Well do you prefer me to be happy thinking about our wedding or sad thinking about what happened. You can't have both." He says I huffed before I opened my arms for him to hug me and he smiled before he did as I wanted him to. We had ourselves a little fun before we were disturbed by a hurried knock. It sounded urgent so the Emperor answered it. A guard rushed inside and haded the Emperor a letter while attempting to not look at me from where he was in the room. The Emperor dismissed him and sat on the edge of the bed. "What's wrong?" I asked him crawling over to him. "It's from Oden. They are at war and need assistance." He says. "War, when did they go into war?" "It doesn't say but they are on the losing side right now and needs as much help as they can get." He says. "Well, you should hurry and go meet with your generals to see what you all will do to help them." He nodded his head before for dressed, gave me a kiss and left.

The Emperor did as much as he could while he was still here in Won but eventually, he had to go to Oden himself to help with the action after a few months.