Chapter 19

Carlo

It had been several days since he left. The library was back to being lifeless, and appeared to be more dusty than usual. I didn't realize how much life Lee had given me. I laid in bed at night, tossing and turning at the thought of him.

He had secrets. There was no doubting that. I knew he had something to hide, but that didn't matter to me. Working for the Loyalists or not, he was a good person. I loved him. He didn't want me to say it, but I did. We both knew it.

I was in bed, alone. It had been about four days since he had left. I was sleeping. Then, I heard a loud knock at my home. They didn't wait for me to come to the door. It was the Vendov guards. They forced down the door, several of them scattered.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"SEARCH THE LIBRARY! GO UPSTAIRS!" He commanded. They ran outside to break into the library. Two others ran upstairs.

I spoke up.

"What is going on?"

"Someone reported seeing you with a wanted person affiliated with Loyalists. Have you seen this man?" The captain interrogated.

He shoved a piece of parchment in my face. On it was a drawing that somewhat resembled Lee.

"No. I don't know him." I lied.

The guards came from upstairs.

"No one else is here."

The captain shoved me into the wall.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know who you're talking about." I said.

"Don't lie to me! How dare you lie to the crown!"

The men from the library returned.

"No one in the library, sir."

"CHECK AGAIN! He has to be here!" He screamed.

"Boy, you better tell me. Do you know what happens to traitors?"

"I'm no traitor."

"You don't even realize what you're doing. Helping a loyalist's sentence is prison, or even death. But you, boy, have committed a much worse crime than helping a loyalist."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're not helping just any loyalist. You're helping the Lafayette King, Zander Bray. The punishment for helping treacherous royals? You don't just get death. We will torture, starve, and beat you. We will torture your family and everyone you love. Then, we kill them as you watch. Is that what you want?"

My stomach dropped. His words didn't feel real. Lee wasn't a king. He couldn't be. He was mysterious, yes. But what would a king want to do with me? Even a fallen king, I wasn't worthy of.

"That's not going to happen. I didn't help any loyalist, let alone a god damn king for that matter."

The captain drew his sword and pressed it against my neck. My heart thumped. My head spun. I had never faced any immediate danger before.

"Sir. There's no one here. We have no proof. We cannot harm him." Spoke up one of the guards.

The captain gritted his teeth before pulling down his sword. He then made a fist and drilled it into my face. I fell back to the wall.

Crack!

A river of blood poured out of my nose.

"Beat him." The captain commanded.

"But sir. He isn't-."

"OBEY MY ORDER!"

They reluctantly did as he said. I tried to fight back, but three guards were too strong for me. They used their firsts to hit me, and their legs to give sharp jabs into my stomach. I laid on the ground, my eyes blackened, blood spewing from my nose.

"Still nothing to say?" Said the Captain.

"I told you. I know nothing about a loyalist."

He went in for another kick.

"Sir, we can't do anything more until we have proof. The sun is rising, we must complete our rounds."

"Fine. If I hear anything about you helping the ex king, if you are seen with a loyalist, your family is as good as dead."

He left after one final blow. His men followed. I laid on the ground, beaten. I couldn't move, everything hurt. My mind was still processing what had just happened. I wasn't helping anyone, I was helping the exiled King.

I understand why he did what he did. I was always taught Vendov was the superior kingdom, that other countries treated their people poorly. I couldn't believe that were true. Lee, well. Zander was good. I thought. He was doing what he did for a reason. He had a purpose. It was good he left when he did.

Oh Zander Bray, the young, foolish, and fallen king of Lafayette.

He was alive.

I helped him.

I loved him.