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Lucas Moonstone hadn’t been the most patient, or honest man throughout his life. People with deep pockets rarely were, but up until that point; Lucas felt like he had lived a decent one. As memories long past had filled his mind throughout the night, he realized that he would die with many regrets..

The biggest one was, of course, not seeing his family a final time. Not that he actually wanted them to witness him in such a state, but his pride meant nothing compared with his regrets..

‘I had so much ta tell her about Sorcha.. So much I wanted ta say, and I’ll never get the chance to now.. Not about how we met, nor our friendship, or why she picked me over Magnus..’

‘On top of that, I didna tell her about her Warrick side.. The forest, the loch; none of it.. Ima such a fool fer pushin’ it off fer so long.. I shoulda just told Skye everything when she learned about Sorcha from the start! Ima damn fool fer wastin’ the time I had chasin’ coins..’

As Lucas was lamenting, the door to his cell rattled, then swung open to reveal a smug-looking Marco. Draco was about to enter as well, but his King dismissed him. If his overprotective bodyguard wasn’t there for their little talk, then Marco wouldn’t need to mince his words.

As the two stared at each other, a silent conversation of animosity occured. Lucas knew that the man before him was responsible for his friend’s death, and wished looks could kill. Before he could stop himself, the question slipped out.

With absolute disgust in his voice, Lucas narrowed his eyes on the false king; “How could you kill yer King? Yer our own Father?!”

Marco scoffed; “Much slower than others that I’ve done away with. I had to make it seem natural, you know? Otherwise, the wrong people would start asking the wrong questions, and my plans would’ve been discovered.”

.....

“Ya willna win. Yer brother is five times the man you are.. When he and me daughter return-”

Marco barked a sharp laugh as he paced, interrupting him; “Ohh, my Brother.. I must admit that he is a very good person. If I’m being completely honest: he Should be the next king. And he’s your daughter’s match in the best of ways. But..”

Marco leaned forward slightly; “That doesn’t mean shit to me.. She belongs to me.”

“I’ll KILL Ya before ya ever touch her!”

“Don’t you mean that I’ll kill you before I touch her?” Marco replied as he started to pace the room again.

Suddenly, he clapped his hands together; “Oh come on, Moonie! Tell me you figured it out?”

“Figured What out?! Ya bloody nutbag!”

“Tsk, Tsk,” Marco waved his finger at him; “There’s no need for name-calling. We’re both civilized men.. Think it through, Lucas. Your trial...Warrick Forest...The poison.. Come on..”

Lucas glared at him; “I ken yer goin’ after Tidas-”

“Tidas, Tidas, Tidas.. Why does it Always circle back to him? I don’t Just want Tidas gone: I want any threats to my future dynasty gone. That means I need to clear the board, so to speak. Go back to how things were..”

It took several moments for Lucas to understand, but when it donned on him..

“Ya wanna restore Alconia?!”

Marco chortled; “You think too small, old man. I don’t just want This continent: I want the world..”

“Ya mad bastard! The Fae will Never-”

“The Fae will do as I SAY,” Marco screamed over him; “Or they’ll face the same fate at the ones who stood against me in the forest!”

Marco paused to smooth his hair back, and regain his composure; “Besides, once I kill the Empress, they won’t know What to do..”

Now was Lucas’ turn to laugh; “Ha ha! Good luck with that, laddie! She’s like Skye, a force of Good in this world. You’ll never be able ta take her down.”

“You are partially right,” Marco smirked as he replied; “If this was even as little as ten years ago, I wouldn’t have stood a chance against her. But Titania is quite old. So old, in fact, that her powers are waning..”

“By the time I finish re-conquering Alconia, she’ll be on her deathbed. And without her mother to guide her, the new Empress Celestia will be...quite vulnerable. After them, the lands to the north will be my last fight.”

Lucas scoffed; “The Highlands are a part of the continent.”

Marco glanced at him placidly; “I didn’t say the northern part of this continent. I said the north. Did you not know that there’s another continent to the north?”

Seeing the confusion cover Lucas’ features, Marco chuckled again before continuing; “Did your precious daughter not tell you? There’s a continent bigger than ours up there. It’s mostly covered in snow, but that doesn’t matter. I just want it’s inhabitants gone.”

Lucas wanted to inquire further, but Draco banged on the door before calling out; “The stage is set, Your Majesty. They’re simply waiting on you.”

Marco clasped his hands; “Excellent. I’ll be out in a few moments..”

Turning to Lucas, he grinned smugly; “Well.. Are you ready to die?”

Lucas thought for a moment, then answered; “Ya ken something, Marco? I think Ima good.”

“Aww. And here I was, hoping that you’d panic at your end. Disappointing..”

Lucas scoffed as he slowly got to his feet; “Speakin’ of endings, did ya ken that moonstones represent new beginnings? Ya should keep that in mind, the next time yer face ta face wit me daughter.”

Marco scoffed; “And why’s that?”

Lucas grinned cheekily; “Cause she’s Yer end..”

Marco tried to laugh it off, but the conviction in Lucas’ eyes had actually unnerved him a bit. It angered him that such an insignificant man could get such a rise out of him, but he brushed it aside and replied; “Or I’m hers..”

************

It had been uncountable days since Lucas had had a breath of fresh air, and he inhaled deeply the moment his feet touched the cobblestones. Snow was still falling, though it had lightened considerably. Instead of thick, fluffy flakes that clung, small and intricate ones danced through the air as they fluttered down.

Lucas was admiring the pattern of one that had landed on his sleeve when he felt a sharp yank from his chains. He collapsed to the ground easily, having little strength to do more than walk straight forward. Looking up, he saw Benzo glaring at him as he said; “Take off your shoes.”

“What?”

“You heard me,” he stated as he slammed his boot into Lucas’ ribs; “Take Off Your Shoes! Now!”

“Take it easy, Benzo,” Marco called out as he climbed into his heated carriage; “He is my future Father-In-Law, after all. Treat him with....respect.”

Benzo grinned; “Aye, My King. He’ll get my utmost.”

As the door to the King’s carriage shut, Benzo attached the chains to the back of it.. ‘Seems I’m ta walk barefoot to the gallows..’

As the thought passed, Lucas was yanked along throughout the city. His feet hurt at first, but once the frostbite set in, he could no longer feel the pain. The only reason he even knew that he should be feeling it was the trail of bloodied footprints he’d left in his wake.

As he walked, Lucas focused on the sparse Yuletide decorations hung every ten or so buildings. It saddened him to see so few, especially since he wouldn’t be around to see them the following year.. ‘Must be gettin’ close ta the holidays.. Skye always loved Yuletide.. I pray me death doesna ruin the season fer her..’

Lost in his thoughts, Lord Moonstone hadn’t registered the gathering people. Not until he’d heard them asking who he was. Looking down at his clothes and dirty hands, he could understand why they didn’t recognize him right away.

When they did finally realize who he was, the not-so hushed whispers turned into various forms of yelling. Lucas Moonstone wasn’t just a friend of the previous king, but had made quite a few friends within the capital as well. As more people gathered along the roadside, the more shouts of protest could be heard.

By the time they’d reached the arena, hundreds were screaming for the release of Lord Moonstone. They even had to change where the announcement was happening last minute because of the number of supporters who had gathered outside of the palace. It had greatly annoyed Norvis and the others, but they’d set up and secured the arena in record time.

As Marco exited his carriage, he glanced back at Lucas and smiled before extending his hand. When he saw Marie and Lawrence exit the carriage, Lucas knew that there was no getting out of it.. ‘They were the only other people aside from the Pillars themselves, who could’ve stopped this.. Damn that Marco! What the fuck did he do to’em?!’

Before he could form another thought, Benzo detached and yanked on his shackles while yelling; “Move your arse, traitor! There’ll be no stalling justice!”

Lucas quirked an eyebrow at him for his ridiculous statement, but shuffled forward. The people that lined the path leading inside the arena we’re a mix of supporters from both sides, but mainly Lucas’. As he limped towards the entrance, the arguing turned to shouting, and continued to intensify.

Port merchants, shop keepers, and various others called out for a retrial while the few others demanded ‘death for all traitors’. They were mostly lower nobles, attempting to incite chaos under the guise of promised favoritism by their king. And they had succeeded..

Just before things turned violent for the pot-stirrers, Benzo pulled out a small whistle from his pocket, and blew it. In an instant, hundreds of soldiers were surrounding the ever-growing crowds. Once their path was clear again, Benzo yanked Lucas along, and through the arena’s threshold.

As the doors to the competitors’ section closed behind them, panicked screams erupted from outside. Lucas turned back to see what was happening, and saw several people that he’d known and dealt with for years, being beaten and murdered. When they latched shut, the screams intensified, then rapidly faded.

He wasn’t sure if it was the growing distance, or if they had all been killed, but a heavy silence hung in the air as they walked either way. Lucas recalled that there were women and children in the crowds, and he had to cover his mouth to stay quiet.. ‘Those poor souls..’

Benzo pulled on his chains every few seconds, nearly making Lucas trip a dozen times. It continued until they’d stopped near the rampart leading out of the fighter’s locker rooms. After Benzo had attached his shackles to a thick pipe, he turned towards his prisoner with a cocky grin..

“I’ll be back for ya in a bit. The King’s got a few announcements ta make before we kick things off, so behave yourself. This pipe’s not goin’ anywhere, so don’t even try to run. You’ll be killed on sight, and we wouldn’t want to ruin the Yuletide fun for the crowds.”

Lucas looked at Benzo with wide eyes; “TODAY is Yuletide?! Yer executing me on Yuletide?!”

His grinned widened; “Aye! The King thought it’d be a treat fer the masses ta see a traitor punished. Ya know how crowds are. The bigger they are, the more blood-thirsty they get.”

While Lucas was busy being stunned, Benzo laughed; “You should see your face right now! Oh man! My King’s gonna be disappointed he missed that! Hey..”

Benzo leaned towards him; “Why does it even matter? The dead don’t concern themselves with life’s problems, do they?”

Lucas glared at him; “Don’t know.. Ima not dead yet.”

After straightening up, Benzo replied with an overly-smug smirk; “But ya will be within the hour. See ya in half that! Lord Moonstone -sorry bout that- Mr. Moonstone. Can’t call a homeless, broke, deadman a lord, now, can we?”