Hey guys! Thanks for everyone who has read/favorite/followed this story so far. Please remember to review. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Also, I'm looking for an artist for this story, someone to draw images of the characters and specific scenes for me. I wanted to turn it into a story book of sorts. If anyone knows anyone, please let me know! Thanks,

Amélie

Star-Crossed Lovers-Chapter Eighteen

Darien wasn't sure how long it took for his brain to respond to what he had just heard. He didn't want to believe it. How could he? The whole idea was so preposterous. He felt like walking away at that very moment. In fact, he had the urge to burst out laughing. In his confinement, the old man had obviously gone insane. That, or he was downright lying.

For one thing, by the time King Julius had died, Thion had already been incarcerated, Darien knew that much just from what others had told him of the incident. For how long, Darien didn't know, but the old man certainly did not have the opportunity to murder the king, not from behind bars.

At least, Darien didn't believe so. Besides, he had to keep in mind what his father had said. He had to take Thion's words with caution.

"That's a likely story," the young Prince finally managed to say. "How did you do it? Burn him to death with your cigar?"

"You don't believe me?" The old man asked, looking both astonished and offended. "Hmm…." He flicked the ashes off of the end of his cigar and took another puff. "Hm! Well, you may not know this, but I was not just involved in the sex trade industry. I first made my living through microbiology, the study of bacteria and viruses."

Yes, Darien remembered that. Nephlite had told him so after having done research on Beryl's family.

"I know," he said.

"And are you aware of how our good King died?" Thion asked.

Darien realized that he was not. "No," he replied. No one had ever told him nor had he ever asked.

"Well," the old man continued matter-of-factly. "It was all my doing. I first discovered the bacteria in the remote mountains of Saturn, a highly unpopulated area, at least by human standards, probably due to the high altitude, the jaggedness of the cliffs, and the lack of fertile soil. But, at any rate, about twenty years ago now, I found myself there, exploring, searching for new microorganisms. You see, the best discoveries are, of course, found where no humans have bothered to look before. I collected soil, water, animal droppings, leaves, you name it, and put each one under a microscope, hoping to find a new species that would, at the very least, make me, if not a wealthy man, then a known one. When I found an organism with which I was unfamiliar, I would test it on animals to see of its effects, and I would document them, not only for my own benefit, but also for that of the scientific and medical communities."

He took another drag of his cigar and let out a cough. "As you can imagine, most of what I 'discovered' was nothing more than harmless poppycock, nothing that couldn't be cured with the average antibody." He shrugged. "Well, one day, I happened to come across a bacteria with—how should I say it?—extraordinary power. It caught my eye because I had never seen the likes of it before. Its form, its shape, its ability to adapt to change and to survive in the oddest of conditions, all were something I could not imagine. Curious of its effects on the living, I tested it on a group of rats and watched what it did."

His eyes grew wide and Darien noticed that they were the same shade of amber as Beryl's.

"It was fascinating! Within a day of exposure to the bacteria, they were exhibiting signs of the common flu, you know, a cough here or there, a mild temperature; but within two days' time, their fevers increased rapidly, they began to bleed out of their eyes, ears, noses, gums, even their genitalia, and they were vomiting blood, followed shortly by a debilitating seizure. Eight days after their exposure, they were dead." His smile was quite odd. It was evident to Darien that he was overly proud of his discovery. He took another puff and continued to speak.

"Of course, I had to perform an autopsy, and I found that the bacteria had completely destroyed their internal organs. Their lungs were ripped apart, their intestines consumed to the core, their kidneys rotted. At that moment, I forgot all about being famous, of telling my colleagues about my discovery, because I knew that I had something with this bacteria, a weapon, if you will, that I could use to my advantage, if the need ever were to arise. So, I kept it hidden, all to myself, for so long, until I was incarcerated. You see, young man, Julius ruined me with his conviction. By the time he caught me, I was building an empire. I was one of the wealthiest men on the Moon, outside of the nobility, and I had everything I could want, including a child of my very own; and so, as soon as I was imprisoned, I knew of the perfect opportunity to call upon the assistance of my little friend, especially after I heard that Julius and his Queen were expecting their first child. After all, his actions had caused me to lose my child, depriving me of the opportunity to raise her and to be a real father, so I thought, why not I return the favor?"

Darien was frozen. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. If he wasn't nauseous before, he most certainly was now.

"And so, I enlisted the help of my younger brother, rest his soul. A few days after I was sentenced, he came to visit me in this dump, and he promised that he would do anything to avenge me, and so I told him of my plan, of my dear little friend, and where to find it, and he consented. It was quite an easy task to accomplish, he later told me. All he had to do was threaten a palace servant with the lives of his family, and the cowardly man did as he was told."

Thion laughed. "Just a few drops of the bacteria in the King's wine, and the deed was done. Of course, I must admit that I was quite afraid at first. From what I was told, it took much longer for the King to die than it had the rats. A total of three weeks or more, if I recall, as opposed to not even nine days' time. I began to worry that the bacteria might not work on humans…." He shrugged. "But, I suppose I should give the King some credit, shouldn't I? For being so strong, that is. He was a very young man, and a soldier in the best of physical condition, at that. I should have expected his immune system to be stronger than most." He shrugged again. "But, of course, in the end, it all worked out in my favor."

The Crown Prince of Earth stared at the wicked man in front of him. It was then that he realized that Thion was indeed telling the truth, for dying men told no lies. Darien used all of his strength to grab the bars and shake them with all his might, but it was no use. Thion just smiled his cocky grin. He wasn't afraid. He had gotten away with murder, and now, with his own death sentence, there was nothing Queen Serenity could do about it.

But, Darien had to tell her. He could not keep this a secret any longer. Without another word, he stormed out of the prison and hailed a carriage for the Moon Palace, hoping that the Queen would be there.