30_ Making A Tough Decision.

"What he plans to do is madness!" Chi Hun said in boastful anger as he whispered in low tones to the other Ministers. They were all Five in number

"I agree with Chi Hun ." added Bao Xian ."What the Emperor wants to do is pure madness. The result of a rash folly! Why on earth would he want his Sin to become the Emperor while he still lives? The Kanerria Dynasty can not have two rulers. It is not done!"

"Keep your voice down Xian " Another elderly man named Lan Sheng with long graying beards and a smallish expression. His eyes were sunken in to his head and his brows arched in a wicked demeanour. "Walls have ears. We do not know which one of the Emperor's Spies may be lurking around."

"We are not plotting against him, just voicing out our thoughts and ideas."

"Those thoughts may get you hanged or exiled. "The man beside him replied and turned to face the man directly opposite him. "What do you think Hao Zixin?"

Hao Zixin bowed his head in deep thought. He did not want to utter any wrong  word that might land him in trouble. Aurora was deceased and right now that meant he was dispensable. He had only been there  at her behest but now that she was gone meant that he could be sent out from the palace any time from now. But even so Li Huang was still Emperor and hearing such treason would get him sentenced to Instant death and then on the other hand if the Emperor was successfully assassinated , It would work for him.

"I think that Lan Sheng is right. If we are to do this , we must do it right. Perhaps the Emperor has plans he has not informed us of. Beside the other Kingdoms want to wage war against Li Huang. We shall wait and see the result before any proposed action."

All the elderly men nodded in agreement as they quietly dispersed to their various location and the hall of their assemblance was left empty excerpt the looming whispers of the imminent betrayal in the air.

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Blood....

Screams....,

Death.

Lucian roused in his sleep , turning over as his fore head creased, lines of frustration over his features. It was all like fragments, broken pieces. What were these pieces? His mind. Different thoughts, ones he had known , others he had not were trying to man them selves inside of his head. Then in the midst of all the chaos, he saw a dragon, floating towards him , unlike any he had ever seen before...

He woke up.

Lucian had heard of dreams being a mirror into the future and in some cases the past.

The only puzzle now was...

Which was the past and which was the future?

He felt an unbearable headache hit him but he suppressed it with an iron will as he had always done. It was a thing of impropriety to show weakness.Lucian saw Kaya sitting up , her knees drawn up to her knees as she gazed into the crackling embers that had burned over night. She was next to him and first wondered on how she had been able to make her way back to them but when another question clouded his mind.

Why?

She was free. To live out the life she wanted , to make her own decisions, free to love whomever she chose , so why come back? She was risking her escape , her life , her future _ to follow him. He did not know much about Caring, Self-Sacrifice and Loyalty. He had been thought by Li Huang that he was good as worthless trash to be discarded if he did not brace up and take up the position of Emperorship and he had given up on trying to prove him wrong. But Kaya believed that he was still worth having around.

'Why base it all on chance? ' Lucian asked himself. If she knew the truth about him , her captor as well tormentor was his Father , She would think that the same wickedness courses through his veins.

"How do you feel?" Kaya asked as she straightened her twisted shirt and finger combed her hair.

"Like I have been through hell and back." He answered as Dizziness forced him to lie back again , feeling strange and tight on his face. "Surprisingly enough, I have no idea what occurred ."

"A slight brawl perhaps but..."

"Why did you come back?" Lucian cut her short.

"What?"

"You could have stayed behind." He weaved his hands behind his head and watched the clouds drifting by in the clear blue sky. "Made a life for yourself. Instead you chose to come back. You do not know us, our mission, our goal, whether they align with yours...but you still came back. Why?"

Kaya took in a deep breath and she rose from her earlier seated position. Her eyes seemed far away as she spoke , her hand knotted against her arching chest. "I have no body in this world and no body cares about me. Dead or alive I am of no meaning to any one."

"But you saved me Lucian. You have my back, taking control of my life and thus gave me reason to live once more despite my horrible past." She fell to her knees and bowed her head to the floor in reverence, her heart filled with emotion . "I am bound by my oath of loyalty to you and I shall never leave you for as long as I live , in Life as in Death."

Kaya gasped lightly as he felt a hand cup her chin and found herself staring into Lucian's Handsome eyes as his breath rushed over her face. His gaze was searching and she looked back at him intensely. Kaya felt something pull In her but she pressed it back inside , catching her breath as He leaned in...

She was the first to pull away as Hikaru came cutting through the trees, leaves rustling under his feet. He had held his sword, almost uncertainly, something that had happened only once before in the same situation. Only then he was contemplating to kill Lucian as then was a prince and the son of his sister's murderer.

Now Lucian was his friend, one he had fought with side by side for years.

But that had all changed. He had seen Lucian kill people them , slaughter them , hack them to pieces without feeling a trace of remorse but this...He had decimated a man from head to toe and turned him to ashes with only a glance. What if one day, that could be him?

Hikaru knew he had to make his decision as fast as possible. He could act quickly and strike Lucian down , saving himself and Kaya from any impending calamity.

He took a deep breath and raised his sword....

"How are you feeling?" He asked with clenched teeth , as he brought down his weapon.

"Sore but well enough to ride astride horse." Lucian smiled in response and moved to where they had tied down the horses in order to free them and to continue their journey.

No. Hikaru sighed as he got up on his saddled horse. He could not do it.

'