Chapter 20: Chapter 20

LUCIUS.

I looked around frantically. There were some sheets of paper on a table, and all I could hear were hearts beating.

"Show yourself. Those of you planning to kill the King" I said, and the heartbeat I was hearing went at a faster rate. Then I felt one coming close to me.

"I might not see you, but that doesn't mean I don't feel you. Make yourself visible as traitors." I said and turned in the direction I felt the one that kept on moving closer to me. I turned, only to be met by something sprayed right into my eyes.

I let out a howl of pain as my eyes grew really hot. I feared I had become blind. I rubbed at it continuously, but it only made things worse.

After about half an hour, I finally opened my eyes slowly as I sat on the floor. Tears had gone down my eyes nonstop, and I swore as I stood up. The papers and everything that had been on the table were gone, and I couldn't hear a single sound. They had fled.

I went straight for my father's room.

There were guards at the entrance to his set of rooms, and they were as sober as ever.

I walked past them to my father's main room, only to find no one at his door. I opened the door and saw him sleeping peacefully. Then I looked around and waited for any sign of intrusion, but there was none, so I left his room and went to the guards at the entrance to the rooms.

"Where are the guards that are supposed to be at the entrance?" I asked, and they nodded.

"The Alpha gave orders for no one to stand outside his door while he slept." The first one said, and I tilted my head in surprise and curiosity.

"Why?" I asked, and they looked at themselves speechlessly.

"He never disclosed the reason to us; we just do as he says." They said, and I wondered what the reason was.

It was a question to ask my father in the morning.

However, when I left my father's quarters, I realised the day had broken already. I walked tiredly to my rooms, and when I fell asleep, my eyes only stayed open for a while before sleep carried me away to lands unknown.

~

The first thing I did after I woke up was get dressed and go to my father.

He was in the throne room attending to matters, and I walked to him and bowed.

"Father, may I speak to you, please?" I asked, and he looked at me for a while before nodding. I looked around at all his subjects, who had not moved at all.

"Privately." I added, and he looked at his subjects.

"You're all dismissed." He said, and they bowed to him and left the room in a single file.

"You look really troubled; what's wrong?" He asked, and I took a deep breath.

"Some people are planning an attack on you. They want to kill you, father." I said and saw instantly that he didn't believe me.

"Hm. And what makes you think that?" He asked as he put his chin on his palm.

"I overheard them last night."

"And did you see their faces?" He asked, and I remembered they had been invisible, and my father wasn't likely to believe me.

"Well, I didn't." I said flatly, and he sat upright.

"Oh Lucius, are you perhaps just trying to let me know you're fit for the throne?" He asked, and I raised my hands in denial.

"The throne's all yours; why would I want it while you're still alive?" I asked, and he gave a little sigh and looked at me.

"If that's all, you can leave; I'm quite busy. Sebastian! Sebastian!!" He called, and a guard came running in.

"Yes Alpha." He said with a bow.

"Call the men. Tell them I'm done and ready to listen to them." He said, and then to me. "You've dismissed Lucius. Thank you for your wonderful information." He said, and I turned around and left. He hadn't believed me. Why did I even think he would? Then I stopped.

"But if I end up saving your life, father, you owe me one." I said without turning, and I heard him snicker lightly.

"Sure son. Why not?" He said, and I walked out of the throne room.

I went straight to the library and began my search. I needed to know what it was that could make a person invisible.

After a long search in the library, I finally stumbled upon it, right when I was about to give up.

“I Found you." I muttered to myself.

It was a leaf; a leaf grew on the branch of a tree; the leaf could make one invisible, and the remedy for being visible was the grounded root of that same tree.

I called for my men immediately, and they came just as quickly as I had called.

"Get me the root of this now." I said, and they looked at its picture, and one of them ran to get a blank piece of paper and a pen and drew a sketch that looked a lot like the tree, and immediately after he was done, they left.

There were lots of voices in the palace, and I couldn't listen to them all, so I knew I had to wait until night. Because those men would surely meet at night.

At night, I stood at the centre of the castle and peeled my ear out for conversation.

They were quite easy to hear. I traced them to a hidden part of the garden. I couldn't see them, so I decided to listen.

"Exactly. We'll kill the King without noise, and then you hand me the potion."

"So... When we kill the King..."

"How many times do I say it? When we kill the King, I turn into him and rule."

"Do we kill his arrogant son?"

"Yes. In fact, I'll let you transform into him; the potion is more than enough."

I had heard enough.

They had a potion that could make one of them look like the King and like me.

It was treason.