Chapter Six

Zephyria took a deep breath deciding straight forward may be the best bet. "The demise of King Jasper," she said solemnly."He was gone before we got here. There was no way for us to save him. I am sorry father." She looked at the ground and began to feel tears fall down her face again.

For a moment, their father stared at them, confusion written on his face. Brenna knew the moment he realized what they had said, for his face went white. She could feel a lump in her throat as he began to sob. Through his sobs their father asked, "Does Christophe know about his father?"

"No," Brenna said softly. "He had left with you and Jesse by the time we... we found out." She didn't want to tell him about the state his body had been in... It was clear they had made him suffer first out of pure spite. "Speaking of, Father, are you alright?"

"I will take vengeance. Be the enemy my son or not he will pay for the good king's death with his own life." Their father went from sobbing to outrage and anger. Zephyria contemplated telling her father she wished to be the one being wed to the Prince but did not know how badly it would upset him.

"Father, you need to calm down," Brenna said, becoming alarmed at his fast breathing. "You know this isn't good for you."

"He may need to lie down and rest a bit. At least until his breathing is regulated again." Zephyria said quietly to her sister as she leaned her father back slowly to the laying position.

"I'm fine," he snapped, pushing his daughter away from him. "Just give me a moment." They sat in silence for a few minutes, and his breathing slowed. "Now I want to hear about Jesse and Christophe." He looked at Brenna, who blushed.

"Whom would you like to begin first father and where do you want us to start from?" Zephyria asked slightly scared of her father's response to them not following tradition.

He thought for a moment. "Why don't you start with what I saw today," he said, looking at Brenna. "I gathered that you feel something for this servant's boy?"

"I do," Brenna whispered. "I didn't mean to! It just... it happened." She placed a hand on her stomach, afraid to tell him about the baby.

"And you?" he asked, turning to Zephyria. "What are your feelings on this?"

"My feelings toward what father?" Zephyria asked slightly confused . Did he mean Brenna and Jesse or how she felt about Christophe?

"Believe it or not, daughters, I loved your mother once. We have our differences now, but there was a time I would do anything for her. Be honest, to me and to yourselves. If given the choice, what would you do?"

"Honestly father, I love Christophe and there is nothing that will change that. I am unsure if anyone noticed but even when we were younger it was there. It always has been there, and when you announced his engagement to Brenna, I was hurt and scared to lose him," Zephyria whispered softly.

"I can't marry Christophe, Father," Brenna whispered. "Even if I loved him, even if Zephyria didn't." She bit her lip nervously. "I'm expecting," she blurted.

Lord Henrie sat in disbelief staring at his oldest daughter. He then smiled and said "Looks like we have a lot of preparations to make. Gather our workers and let's get moving. Brenna I am placing you in charge of cooking." He had a knack for barking orders. It was definitely his strong point.

"What?" she whispered, staring at her father in confusion. "You're not mad at me? I dishonored the family!"

"You my daughter have done nothing compared to your brother Lukas. There is no higher dishonor than turning against the crown." He looked at the ground, then began barking orders again.

Brenna then did something she hadn't done since she was a child. She threw her arms around her father and kissed him on the cheek.

"Now," their father said. "I want to hear how this began." He turned to Brenna. "How on earth did you meet Jesse?"

"I met him during the illness last year, but we didn't become friends until one of the visitations to the palace," she said, a smile forming on her face. "We ran into each other in the courtyard, and I accidentally knocked him into a puddle."

Lord Henrie glanced at his other daughter. "And you and Christophe?"

"Well it began when Brenna would hang out with Jesse and I would be alone in the palace. I started to go to the library. I was reading one day and sat down on the couch only it wasn't the couch is was Christophe." Zephyria laughed to herself remembering how embarrassed she was.

Brenna laughed. "I remember that day," she said. "I was sitting in the corner watching you, wondering what you were doing on his lap. I teased her for months," she added to their father. "She got to where she refused to talk to me. Until they finally got together."

Their father laughed his familiar light-hearted laugh seeing his daughters' eyes light up as they talked about these boys he could tell they were in love and who was he to interfere with that?

Brenna hadn't heard her father laugh in over a year, and it lifted her heart, until a soldier hurried over to them. "My lord, your son is here. He wishes to speak with you."

Zephyria wondered if it was Lukas or Daniel, whom she hadn't seen since before dinner the night of the attack. She hoped it was Daniel rather than Lukas because who knows what that vile monster of a man would do to their father, after all he was a murderer.

"He has an army with him," the soldier added. Brenna looked at Zephyria in horror. No. "Father, Zeph and I will go speak with him," she told Lord Henrie. "You stay here."

"No," he said. "I will go. You may come with me, if you wish."

"Bren, stay here. I will go with father. I promise we will be fine. I am more worried about your safety than mine." Zephyria said in a quiet but firm voice hoping her sister got the point.

"I'm coming," she said firmly. "If father insists on going-" she glanced over at him and he nodded. "Then I am coming as well." She followed her sister and father out of the cave, to where Lukas was standing, the sun glinting off his helmet.

"Father," he stated. "Sisters."

"The guard said you needed to talk, Lukas. Start talking, otherwise if you would be so kind as to leave." Zephyria, who was sick of Lukas lying to her, went off.

"I am here to inform you that if you are not off these lands by sunset tomorrow, you will all be hung for treason against the crown."

Brenna narrowed her eyes at her brother. "How dare you," she whispered. "After everything you've done!"

"I suggest you start moving now because otherwise you won't make it by sunset tomorrow. Unless you want to be hung." Lukas sneered at them.

The look on their father's face scared Brenna. She had never seen him so angry. "Very brave," he growled. "Hiding behind your little friends. You can't even speak to your own father face to face, can you?"

"I don't have to talk to you alone," Lukas growled. "You are no longer in charge of me or anything I do or say."

What happened next made Brenna's heart skip a beat. Her father started towards Lukas, only to have Rueben grab him so fast she nearly missed it. Next thing she knew, the leader had a knife to her father's throat. She cried out in fear.

"If anyone moves, he will cut his throat," Lukas informed the rest of them.

Fell asleep yesterday, and since Sarah R doesn't know how to upload chapters, you had to wait until today. I'm kinda sad that hardly anyone is reviewing. But I hope you enjoyed this chapter still.