Hey! Thank you for reading my story, it means a lot to me. Please submit a character to me. Heck, even submit two. I know the form is long and tedious, but it's really useful for me when writing about the girls. -Jess

Chapter 2

Alexander's pov

After the report, the Royal the family proceeded to try and enjoy a nice family dinner like they did every Friday night. Alexander picked at his food and only ate a bite of the tender meat that was in front of him. Only Justin seemed to notice his brothers lack of appetite, but it brought pleasure to the young prince knowing that his brother was in turmoil about being the crown prince.

The room was silent except for the clatter of silverware on plates and the occasional servant leaving or entering the room. Nobody dared to speak except for the current king himself, and it was only to bring bad news to the family.

"I know that all of you miss Adam and that all of you are grieving in your own ways," Max's piercing green eyes met the old kings but he said nothing as he sensed the mood of the room. "But it brought me peace to know that we've caught Adams killer."

The dining room dropped to an icy temperature and every pair of eyes in the room were trained on the king. Lillian began to silently weep and Genevieve looked down at her perfectly manicured hands. Only Alex had the audacity to speak.

"And the others," he whispered trying not to cry, "what about them, have you gotten them all into custody?" Alexander's Amber eyes sparkled in the dimly lit room and reflected the shadows of the flickering wax candles that sat on the table.

The king sighed and set his fork down, giving up eating the meal that sat in front of him. "After the rebel attack, many guards had captured who they assumed to be rebels. I took precautionary measures and had every guard in the palace, besides my personal guard, questioned and detained until we could do background checks. Nearly thirty of the guards were unregistered men who had killed other guards and had stolen their uniforms."

The king paused to let that sink in, and max climbed into Alex's lap afraid of the news and not fully sure what it meant. Alex snuggled max with him and motioned for Tiberius to continue.

"The rebels weren't in the palace posing as guards for long, less than a day, but it was still long enough to cause a death in our family. We will have the twenty-nine traitors to Illea publicly executed and televised. Adam's killer won't be so fortunate."

The king looked at Max and then up at Alex. He scratched his beard, a habit he often did when contemplating. He motion for Alex to cover up Max's ears and then whispered, "We have...other things in mind for him, such as torture. I'm going to personally make sure he pays for Adam's death."

Alex got goosebumps and was thankful to have Max on his lap. His nephew hadn't heard what the King said, but he was still glad that Max was right there so that he could ensure Max was safe.

"What..." Justin trailed off, not sure if he should say something or even if he was allowed to say anything. "What was his name?" Justin's pale skin was almost white and he looked haunted even before Tiberius spoke an answer. "Felix Illea."

Lily started to sob and ran, well tried to run but in her high heels it was more like a slow gallop. Justin, seeing the panic in her snow blue eyes, took off after her. He had made it his mission since Adam died to look out for her until the baby came. He was so worried about the stress she had and how it would affect her pregnancy.

Genevieve politely excused herself shortly after, with a thin line of tears running down her cheek. She took Max from Alex and left with her shoes echoing on the marble floor.

"Why?!" Alex snarled at his father. "Why'd he do it?!" Felix Illea was one of the descendants of the Gregory Illea. At one point in time, the Schreaves and the Illeas had been friends, but that was along time ago when Illea was a much happier place to live in.

Tiberius had witnessed his father and Calvin Illea, felix's grandfather, fight all of his life. They disagreed on everything and constantly fought over the smallest things. Calvin stormed out of the palace one day furious at Tiberius's father for not respecting his opinion on how to fix the debt Illea was in; he never returned. The Schreaves hadn't heard from their distant relatives since, but now they knew where the Illeas loyalty lied.

"I want to see him." Alex said through gritted teeth and tears. "No," Tiberius stated. "I don't want that monster near any more of my family members for as long as I let him live, is that clear?" Tiberius's voice boomed and echoed through the big dining hall.

Alexander turned around to face a large window where the last essence of sunlight struck the sky in a burning, colorful sunset. "You're not the only one who misses him you know?" Alexander's voice broke at the end of his sentence and he turned his anger on his father. His golden eyes resembled the sunset and reflected parts of the red from the sky.

"I need answer too! And not the ones that you tell me, I...I need to figure this out for myself. You aren't the only one who's suffering. Do you really think that I wanted any of this, to be this?"

Alex stormed out of the room without waiting for his father to answer. He was too angry at him, too angry at the rebels. And Alex was even angrier at himself for letting Adam out of his sight that day of the rebel attack.

Alex slammed the door to his room shut and started screaming. "Why did I do it?!" Smash! There went a vase full of flowers from the garden. "Why didn't I go with him?!" Crack! Alex punch the headboard above his bed and the wood went splintering away.

He stopped and looked into the full length mirror he had. It was dark cherry wood around a spotless shining mirror, a masterpiece really. But because of what was standing in the mirror, all Alexander saw was trash. "You!" He shouted at his reflection. "You did this! Felix may have killed him, but you let him go. Your just as much to blame."

Alex lunged at the mirror and it shattered into a million tiny pieces. Each one still reflecting Alex in them as he stood there and looked down at them. "I killed him." Alex began to cry. He knelt to the ground and didn't stop crying in the pools of glass that lay around him, until sleep finally overtook him.

Justin's pov

Justin stroked Lily's back as she weeped into a pillow on a velvet couch in the women's room. Normally, all men except for Max had to ask permission to go into there, but Justin knew there was no way he was going to stand outside as Lily cried for the loss of her husband.

Justin knew that Lillian wasn't okay, so he didn't bother asking if she was, like many other people would've. Justin hated that people could be so inconsiderate that they ask question they already knew the answer to or could find the answer to if they just looked.

"Justin, he's gone isn't he?" Lily asked calming down. Justin nodded. "Yes he is. I don't care if people say he's still with us if he's in our hearts and if we keep his memory alive, that doesn't change the fact that he's dead. Nothing will or ever can change that."

Lily soothingly rubbed her belly as she nodded her head. "And to think, his own cousin killed him." Another tear streaked down Lily's pale face. Her black hair had nearly all fallen out of the tight bun it was put in at the beginning of the night. Her black dress was rumpled and wrinkled. She leaned her head against Justin's strong shoulder and they bith looked out the window at the milky white stars spread throughout the sky.

"You know something, Just?" Lily said as she calmed herself down. "What?" He asked seeming less curious than he really was. "We...We found out that I'm having a girl a while back. Adam and I had been brainstorming baby names. It...It was almost even a game to us." Lily put both hands on her stomach and received a kick in return.

"Everyday we'd both come up with two names. One would be serious and one would be a stupid name we'd never consider. I'd tell Adam my names in the morning, but he'd wait until a serious moment in the middle of the day to tell me his joke name. He knew it'd make me laugh and that it would make your mother mad that I was laughing so hard."

Lily paused to smile and snicker a little at the memories. Justin could only imagine the most impossible baby names Adam would come up with. The thought of it almost made Justin laugh and he hadn't even heard any of the ridiculous names.

"Then one day Adam told me a baby name that he thought was perfect for our angel. He said it meant most beautiful, and even though he hadn't seen her yet, he knew that she would be the prettiest girl, besides me. Then the next day he mentioned the same name. This went on for several weeks and the name has really grown on me."

"So what's gonna be her name?" Justin asked brushing his fingers against the baby bump. "Calista." Lily whispered. She teared up again and said she was going to go to her room for the night.

After Lily left Justin made his way down into the library. He picked out several new books he'd never read and sat down in one of the plush armchairs. He tried to get into each book and focus on what he was reading, but Adam kept making his way into Justin's head.

"He would've been the best king." Justin said aloud to himself. Justin knew that Adam could strategize and look for every angle in a problem. He'd come up with multiple solutions for problems before deciding what option would be the best. Justin was just like Adam in that way.

Justin observed and noticed before doing anything rash. He was smart and calculating and well rounded. Justin shook his head at the thought of Alex becoming king. "It'd be the end of Illea." Justin chuckled to himself.

Alexander was strong and a giant brute like Adam was. Justin was smaller and paler than both of his brothers. Adam was a combination of Justin's brains and Alexander's physical attributes.

Alex didn't inherit any of either of his brothers brains though, in Justin's opinion. He was too hotheaded and to attached to his emotions. He was selfish and wanted what was best for himself. No, Justin couldn't stand by and watch his brother take the crown that should be his.

Justin set aside the books he was reading and pulled out a notebook. He began writing and devising a plan to take the throne for himself.