Chapter Thirteen

After being shown to her rooms, she had just walked inside, when there was a knock at the door. Opening it revealed Dorthe's smiling face. Ashelynn practically dragged her into the room, and gave her a big hug. Dorthe giggled and said,

"I'm glad to see you also, My Lady."

"Dorthe, we have been over this. Just call me Ashelynn."

"Is Lord Vayne in here?"

"No he is not." Ashelynn replied. Then catching on to what Dorthe was implying, added, "We need a signal so you know which terms to use." She thought for a minute. "Now that I think on it, just call me My Lady until I say he isn't in here. That should make things easier." Dorthe nodded, then started helping Ashelynn remove the gown. Finding a suitable outfit from the very large closet, Dorthe helped her put it on, while they talked. Dorthe was just finishing rearranging Ashelynn's hair, when Vayne walked in. Pinning the last few tendrils in place, Dorthe asked,

"Is there anything else I may assist you with, My Lady."

"I think that is all. Thank you, Dorthe." The maid bowed and left the room.

Over the next few weeks, Ashelynn had to learn how to run the Solidor household, a task usually reserved for the Empress. But the Empress had died giving birth to Larsa, so the task fell to her since she was the only living female left in House Solidor. It was during this time, while overhearing the maids talking, that she first heard the rumors of what had happened to the two eldest sons of the Emperor. Not wanting to believe it, she waited until she was alone with Vayne in their room before she brought it up. As Vayne pulled the covers up after climbing into bed for the night, she said,

"I heard rumors that you killed your brothers. Please tell me they are not true." She pleaded, climbing into the bed.

"I did kill my brothers." Vayne stated, matter of factly. Ashelynn stared at him, her mouth open in shock.

"I . . . what . . . how . . .?" She didn't know what to say. Vayne sighed.

"What exactly did you hear?"

"That your brothers were traitors, and the Emperor asked you to kill them."

"And what part of that do you not understand?"

"It's not that I don't understand, it just doesn't seem believable. I can't see your father having one son kill his other sons. Even if they were traitors. And you wouldn't have agreed to do it, without good reason. Why you? Why not have someone else do it?"

"Welcome to Archadia with dual sided politics where deceit, cover ups, and secrets run rampant. The senate hates the fact that House Solidor exists and would love to destroy us so they can have complete control of the governing of Archadia. House Solidor has very little control over political matters with the senate controlling what we can or cannot do. My brothers had been meeting with one of the senators to discuss ways to dispose of the Emperor. I happened to overhear one of their conversations and was trying to convince them not to go through with it for to do so would be treason. Senator Gregorath overheard the conversation and reported it. But he went a step further, and tried to convince my father and the rest of the senate that I was involved in it also. My brothers denied that I had anything to do with it but admitted to the conversations. The senator claimed his intentions were to get my brothers to agree to kill my father and then he would turn on them, effectively removing them from ever becoming Emperor. My brothers claimed they were intending to turn on the senator and accuse him of planning to overthrow House Solidor, effectively causing distrust of the senate and giving more control back to House Solidor. I think they believed they would not be guilty of treason since all they did was talk and their argument was they never intended to follow through. The rest of the senate and my father didn't believe their excuses. I didn't believe it either as other previous conversations I overheard were about wishing the Emperor would step down from power and were made when the three were not together. All three were found guilty of treason and stripped of their positions and titles and sentenced to death. Their wives and children were also stripped of their titles. Then, as the senate didn't completely believe I was innocent, they convinced my father that to prove my innocence I had to kill the senator and my brothers. If my father or I were to refuse, I would also be found guilty of treason and put to death." Ashelynn lay there watching him during the whole explanation. After a few minutes of silence, where she seemed to be thinking it over, she said,

"And now the senate will use you to their advantage, under the guise of doing what's best for Archadia. You will do their dirty work, but will be the scapegoat if things go wrong. And if you try to cross them, they will be able to discredit your ability to rule." Vayne nodded, his gaze on her scrutinizing. He realized he had underestimated how intelligent she really was. While intrigued, he was also wary, realizing that with her ability to dissect and understand more than what was said, she could be a threat to his plans.

Please review! Next chapter will be out in the next few days. Enjoy!