| Chapter 61 Nick sat in one of the parlors. It was early morning, the suns just beginning to rise and shine through the windows. The queen had summoned him here, wanting to get everything out in the open and over with as quickly as possible. Mason sat across from him, and his mother sat next to him, her hand on his knee. Nick was gripping the side of the couch for all he was worth, trying to keep himself calm. It wasn't working though. He glared at his uncle, fury in his eyes, and incapable of speech. He was completely stunned. Sure he never trusted his uncle, not as far as he could throw him, but he never thought he was capable of doing something like this. Never! Mason glanced at LaDonna, receiving a sympathetic smile. He then looked back at Nick, who was still glaring at him. If looks could kill, he'd been dead ten minutes ago. "Nickolas, I can never make up for this. I know that. I just want you to know that I'm truly sorry for my actions," he offered. Nick blinked a few times, flexing his hands. The next thing Mason knew, Nick was on top of him, his hands around his throat, screaming. LaDonna tried to pull Nick away, but he pushed her back, drawing the dagger he always wore and bringing it across Mason's face before he could even blink. It was then that LaDonna stepped in between the two men, "Nickolas, stop!" Nick stood in front of his mother, trembling with anger, the dagger still in his hand. LaDonna turned and looked at Mason, "Are you alright?" He nodded, holding his hand to his bleeding cheek. Turning back to Nick, she reached out and pulled the knife from his hand, "Please give him a chance." Nick stared at her, wondering when she suddenly started to care about anything Mason did. "What do you want me to do? Because of you Brian almost died! He lost his child, for Christ's sakes!" Nick yelled. Mason looked at the floor, still holding his face. "You have betrayed us all!" Nick seethed. "I know," Mason said quietly. Nick walked around the couch, afraid to be that close to his uncle when he was still so angry. He paced across the room, Mason and LaDonna watching his every move. Suddenly he stopped and faced them, "I know the laws uncle. You could be executed for this." LaDonna's face went pale, "No, you can't!" Mason stood up and put his hand on her shoulder, "He is the king, it's his decision." "But..." LaDonna said. Mason stared at her, the love she'd seen before back in his eyes, "I deserve whatever punishment he gives me. Don't fight him on it." Nick stared at the two, completely confused. The exchange between them was one of those that were in love. A partner protesting the punishment of their beloved. He put his hands on his hips, "What the hell is going on here?" The two looked at him, a guilty expression on both their faces. Nick looked from one to the other, waiting for some sort of explanation, "Well? I'm waiting." "What do you mean?" his mother asked. Nick looked to the ceiling and sighed, then looked back at her, "I mean this," he said, gesturing at them both, "When did you two start giving a damn about each other? It's almost like you're in love or something." Mason and LaDonna both glanced at each other, then cast their eyes to the floor. Nick's mouth dropped open, "Nut uh! No fucking way in hell did that happen!" LaDonna walked over to her son, "Come, there are some things I need to tell you." Nick took her hand, glancing back at his uncle as she pulled him from the room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kevin walked into Brian's hospital room. Marie was asleep in the chair next to the bed, her hand laying across Brian's on the bed. He walked up to her and gently tapped her shoulder. She stirred, looking up at him. "Hey, I came to take you to breakfast," he whispered. Marie sat up in the chair and ran her hands through her hair, "Thanks, but I need to stay here." Kevin looked over at his cousin, his heart in his throat. Brian looked so ill, pale as the sheets, a slight gleam of sweat on his face. He scanned all the monitors, taking in their haunting beeps. And the sound the respirator made as it pumped air into Brian's lungs made his skin crawl. Marie reached up and took his hand, pulling him from the sight of his cousin. Kevin smiled at her briefly, "He's still the same?" She nodded. He squeezed her hand, "Alright, I'll go get us something and bring it back here. How does that sound?" Marie smiled, "Sounds good. Thank you." "No problem," he said, turning to leave, silently praying that Brian would pull through. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick let his mother lead him down the hall and into a smaller sitting room. She closed the door, gesturing for him to sit down. Nick took a seat on a small couch and watched as his mother walked over and sat across from him. She was looking down, picking at an invisible spot on her dress. She shifted uncomfortably, and took a deep breath. Nick watched her with concern, having never seen her this nervous before. His heart went out to her when she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. He immediately reached out and took her hand, "What is it? What's wrong?" She smiled at him, brushing away the tears, "I don't know how to tell you this. We've kept it a secret for so long .... I'm not sure I can say it." He squeezed her hand, worry on his face, "Say what?" She took another breath, looking back down at her dress, "I need to start from the beginning." Nick nodded, even though she wasn't looking at him. "When I was young, the doctor's told me I might never have children. So when Frederick asked me to marry him, you can imagine how stunned I was. I mean what king would take a wife that couldn't bare him an heir? Right? We barely knew each other when we were married, see back then marriages weren't based solely on love. It was more of a business thing. My father was of the wealthy high class, and our marriage was what sealed a deal between the royal family and my father's company....." she explained. "So you didn't love him?" Nick asked. His mother sighed, and looked at him, "I cared for him, but I was in love with someone else. We had been seeing each other secretly, not wanting to attract any attention because of who he was. No one knew of our relationship. When Frederick asked me to marry him, I couldn't refuse. My father made it very clear that the marriage was what he wanted." "That's awful," Nick said. She shook her head, "That was how things were done then. I knew that Frederick was a kind and loving man, and that eventually I would come to know him and love him, which I did. But......" "But there was still this other guy," Nick finished for her. "Yes, there was. At first he stayed away, knowing that if we were caught, the consequences would be dire. But after a while, it got hard to avoid each other. Frederick was just named king, and he was so busy with all the daily activities that he barely had time for me. I wasn't privy to the goings on back then, so I spent my days alone here in the palace," she said. "That must have been very lonely," Nick said. LaDonna nodded, "It was. That's when we started seeing each other again. Frederick never knew anything was going on. I hated what I was doing, but I couldn't stop it. I didn't want to feel the loneliness again, and I truly loved him." Nick bit his lip, afraid to ask, but he did anyway, "So what happened?" LaDonna licked her lips, and looked down again, "I got pregnant." Nick stared at her with his eyes wide. She smiled at him, "Imagine my surprise. I'd been told all my life that I couldn't bare children. Needless to say I was frantic. Frederick was so happy. He beamed at me every time he looked at me, and I felt so awful. I had no idea wether the child was his or not." "Um, what did the other man say?" Nick asked shyly. " He was convinced the child was his. He wanted to tell Frederick about us, hoping that maybe he would see how much we loved each other and release me to be with him," she answered, "I begged him not to. I knew if Frederick found out, it wouldn't end well. So we kept quiet..... and I had you." Nick felt the tears stinging his eyes, and blinked them away. Slowly they slid down his cheeks as he stared at his mother. She reached out and gently wiped them away with her thumb, "I'm sorry Nickolas. I know this isn't the life you imagined we had." Nick sniffed and shook his head, looking down at his and his mothers hands, "What happened after I was born?" LaDonna sighed, and Nick felt her hand trembling in his, "We were found out. Frederick wanted to surprise me. He had the servants set up a beautiful candle light dinner for us. He walked in on us kissing ......" she said, tears trailing down her face. Nick looked up, and as his mother had just done moments before, he wiped her tears away. "What did he do?" he asked after a moment. She closed her eyes, seeing the memory play in her head, "He was so hurt. If I live ten lifetimes I will never forget the look on his face. His trust was betrayed, and his heart shattered. He wanted to know why ... how long. We .... we told him everything from the beginning," she shuddered, "He was so angry. He walked over to the crib and picked you up and just stared at you for the longest time. He loved you so much, but at that moment when he looked at you, all he saw was pain. He demanded to know if you were his ... and I couldn't answer him." Nick squeezed her hands, seeing she was having trouble telling him the rest. "He punished us in his own way. He didn't want the people knowing about what happened. He was a new king, and he didn't want this to mark him. So everything was kept quiet," she said. Nick reached out and lifted her head so she was looking at him, "What was the punishment?" The queen shook her head, "It's not important." "Please, I need to know," Nick begged. LaDonna thought for a moment, then nodded, swallowing hard, "The man was given a scar. One that marred his appearance ... that he would see every time he looked at himself, so he would remember what he'd done. We were banned from seeing each other unless it was in a public setting, and then we couldn't speak to one another ... and I was ...." she trailed off, closing her eyes and letting the tears fall. Nick moved to his knees in front of her, pulling her into a tight hug as she cried. After a moment she found her voice, "I was given scars too." Nick pulled back and looked at her perfect face, "Where?" LaDonna wiped her face and stood up, her back to Nick. She unbuttoned her dress and let it drop to her waist, revealing her back. Tears filled Nick's eyes as he gazed at his mothers back. It was covered in scars from where she had been whipped. "Jesus," he muttered, as she pulled her dress back up. After a moment she turned to face him, sitting back down. "How could he do that?! He loved you," Nick asked. She shook her head, "He was so hurt Nickolas. He lashed out at what hurt him. He ... he lashed out at you too," she said, looking back down at her lap. Nick bit his lip, "I wasn't kidnaped was I? I was sent away," he whispered. She nodded, looking up at him, "I'm so sorry. He didn't tell me where he sent you, but I cornered some of the servants and found out. I started looking for you immediately, but ... you were already hidden by that time." Nick rested his elbows on his knees and covered his face with his hands, sobbing. "He hated me because of what I reminded him of," he wept. LaDonna moved to sit next to him, taking him in her arms, "For a time, yes he did. But it didn't last Nick. He soon realized the mistake he made, but it was to late to get you back. Frederick loved you, you have to believe that. The man you met when you first came here, that was your father, kind and loving, and willing to give anything to have you here." Nick closed his eyes, remembering all the talks he'd had with his father before he died. He showed nothing but love for him, and that's how he had to remember him. Nick nodded, sitting up and wiping his face with the back of his hand, "I know he loved me." The queen smiled, watching as Nick took in everything she'd told him. He coughed, then sniffed, looking at her, "So the man you were in love with. It was Mason?" She nodded. Nick sighed, "But wasn't he married? I mean he had Anthony...." LaDonna looked down at her hands, "Anthony isn't his." "What?!" Nick asked in shock. She looked at him, "Anthony isn't Mason's son. He's Frederick's." Chapter 62 |