ROME
Rome had been by the lake for about an hour and had no desire to leave just yet, not with the tranquility the cool shade and fragrance of the lake’s flora offered.
Everything felt different there; the serenity, the birds, the view of the Castle, the grass, and the lake itself. He couldn’t imagine a place that held as many positive memories in the entirety of Hanaerum. He remembered coming down often to the lake with Mother and Skye on long picnics where she’d tell them stories of her childhood. It was where they came to be away from all the problems existing within the Castle and court.
To Rome, it was the most beautiful part of the Castle as it was away from people and noise. The grass lining its marshy edges stayed green all year round sporting small red flowers that transported one into a land of fairies and rainbows with its almost hallucinating perfume.
If one wanted to escape everything, Red River was the place.
He lay back on the grass and closed his eyes, worry somehow creeping into his mind again as he remembered the deadline the Court had given him was fast approaching and he didn’t have a mistress yet or a woman to present as a candidate to be Queen.
If he had all the time to decide, he wouldn’t be bothered to look for. He didn’t want to have anything to do with a gender that used their weakness as weapons, but the snakes in court were willing to use the opportunity to be rid of him once and for all. Rome knew that Kain would spearhead that movement and he couldn’t let that bastard destroy the kingdom his ancestors had built.
He shoved the thoughts out of his mind and focused on the fragrant wind hitting his face and body. He could revisit the issues plaguing him at a later time, for now, he desired to enjoy the peace the lake offered.
Rome felt himself drifting into much-needed sleep when he heard the voices. At first, it had sounded far away, like the beginnings of a dream but the more he listened, the sound of a woman weeping and her approaching footsteps had him wondering.
Her voice got louder jerking him awake and he looked around seeing he was still on the bank of the Red River.
It hadn’t been a dream.
Someone was indeed crying.
A female.
“No! I can’t do it!” She cried.
He got up, training his ears towards the direction of the voice but before he could rush off to help her, she came into view. Ran into the lake area, her long hair blowing in the wind with the upper part of her dress torn open, exposing the tops of creamy skin familiar to him.
Elora.
But Kain had taken her.
Had she escaped?
Two men were in hot pursuit of her, Lycan men from the looks of it closing the distance between them quickly. Rome knew she didn’t stand a chance against them, as they would eventually catch up with her.
She reached the lake and fell a few feet away struggling to get up before they’d catch up to her. She was close to where he was sitting now but she still hadn’t seen him yet as she was busy gathering the torn parts of her dress.
The men reached her and began to pull her up from the lakeside but the little fighter screamed and kicked, trying to get away from them.
“I can’t do it. Please…I cannot let him. Please!” She cried sending a pang of worry that hit Rome low in his belly.
On one hand, he wanted to ignore them and let them have her. After all, her father had broken the law he himself had written but the weak part of him that wanted to nurture the attraction he felt to her wanted him to save her.
The battle raged in his mind as he watched them struggle to lift her, his body acting before his mind when he saw one lift his hand to strike her.
“Stop!” He commanded, walking towards them.
All three of them were shocked as they hadn’t known anyone else had been in the area. The moment the men saw the king, they let her go and bowed, muttering curses at their ill luck.
“Your Majesty!” They chorused and bowed, Elora, joining amidst tears.
“Speak, Elora.” He addressed her taking care to control his tone, “What is this? Why are you back here?”
It wouldn’t do well to give her false hope that she was safe or give anything away that these men could report back to their master.
He already had his plate full with the monster.
“Your Majesty. Kain…” She wept. “Kain has my sister… she’s fifteen… he forced me to be the old king’s mistress, or he’ll have her be used in his brothel. He threatened my mother too but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
At this point, she broke down and began to sob. Her face had black lines tracking down her face, from where the tears had rubbed off the eyeliner they had probably painted on to make her attractive to her new master, yet her hair was in perfect shape, its full length moving about her face as the wind blew through it. Despite the mess her tears had made, she still managed to look every bit as beautiful as she had before he had sent her away.
“Is this true?” Rome asked the man even though he suspected she was telling the truth. It was the least of what Kain could do.
“Your Majesty, not…” One of them began to explain, but Rome was quickly running out of patience.
“Your Majesty… we were asked to bring her to your Father.” The other answered firmly looking at him but his eyes were glued to the ground like mentioning his father was supposed to make him not interfere.
If only he knew he had only dug a pit for himself.
Rome knew she had to be telling the truth then. Kain had been doing much worse for years and had enjoyed immunity because of slavery and his connections with the royal family, Nathan specifically. The bastard was running underage girls in his bar.
He wanted to smile because for years he’d been looking for strong enough evidence to ruin the man but had failed because of how tightly the man ran his business.
Elora had provided him with the ammunition he needed to put a dent in the man’s armor even if it wouldn’t be enough to destroy him. At least that was the only reason he felt sensible enough to give as an excuse to help her now.
“Let her go! I will speak to my father immediately. Return to Kain and tell him he has been summoned.”