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As the thought crossed his mind, Marco finished his morning routine, then stepped outside of his quarters to find Draco waiting for him. He bowed to his King, then inquired about his night. All Marco would say was that he was mildly satisfied, but would never be sated until he had Skye.

Draco nodded along, somewhat understanding his perspective. He’d experienced an unscratchable inch not long ago, but his King was gracious enough to grant him the ability to scratch it. Now, he had his outlet, and frequently made Karena beg for death.

As a dark smile stretched across his face, Marco interrupted Draco’s daydreaming when he asked; “Did you fulfill your task?”

“Aye, Your Majesty. Every lord I approached will vote guilty, no matter the integrity of the evidence presented. If not, then, well,” Draco shrugged; “Let’s just say that I doubt they will vote any other way..”

Marco smiled maliciously; “Good. Any word from Sai?”

Draco shrugged; “Not really. Nothing about Skye and Tidas, anyway. Other than the assassin has started training them personally.”

“Good,” Marco started; “The stronger Skye is, the stronger I will be..”

“That also means that I still have plenty of time to accomplish what I need to before my future wife returns. And what about the collar for the dragon? I know I tasked Benzo to handle it, but do you know his progress?”

.....

Draco took in a deep breath; “To be honest, Your Majesty: I don’t think we’ll have enough sealing stone to create one. Benzo is harassing every ship in the port to collect it, but so far he hasn’t fared well. The Fae Nation has applied trade restrictions to anyone that deals with Alcon-”

He would’ve continued, but Marco was laughing too loud to hear him anyway. Once his King had regained control over himself, Marco looked at Draco with an amused expression; “That is interesting! Who knew that the old Empress would move so quickly..”

“Almost makes me wonder if her intelligence is on par with mine, though I doubt it. I take it that these restrictions came about after the incident at Warrick Forest?”

“Aye, My King. From what Stein and Benzo said, the majority of the Fae in the forest fled through a portal before we could kill them. Including the female representative.”

“Ah, Maevis.. The constant thorn in my hand. No doubt she would’ve reported what happened in Dragonhorn as well.. What of Nicolas?”

Draco paused a moment as they passed a few servants before continuing; “He fled to the Highlands with the other Fae that couldn’t make it through the portal. They’re probably explaining what happened in the forest to the Highlander King right now.”

When he’d finished speaking, Marco had noticed Draco’s expression shifting. He clearly wasn’t comfortable with something, so Marco asked him what was wrong. He hesitated for a few moments, until he saw that his King was beginning to lose patience.

“I’m just worried that without the collar, Zazzy will be impossible to capture..”

The two walked along in silence for several minutes while Marco ran calculations in his mind. As they rounded a corner, he paused in his stride. When Draco looked back at him, a dark, twisted grin was plastered on his face. Stepping forward, the Alconian King muttered; “Now THAT would be an interesting turn of events..”

“My King?” the guard sputtered as he quickly caught up.

As they went to round another corner, he replied; “You need not worry, Draco. I just realized that one of the possible outcomes could be quite the spectacle. But that’s only if the dragon escapes..”

When the throne room door became visible, so did Benzo. He was barking orders left and right at some fresh recruits for the regular army when he saw his king and Draco approaching. After shouting for everyone to bow to their King, Benzo followed his own orders, and knelt before him.

A soft grin touched Marco’s lips before he said; “You all seem to be doing very well. Keep up the good work. Benzo? A word?”

Excited about their King’s praises, the soldiers went back to work with a light spring in their steps. Benzo wanted to scoff at the performance, but understood why his King was pandering to them.. ‘Better they get the carrot than the stick, fer now..’

As soon as they were out of earshot, Marco spoke; “I was just talking with Draco about you. How is your search for sealing stone going?”

Benzo glared at Draco before he hesitantly replied; “Not well, Your Majesty. The Fae are makin’ it impossible to find.. To be honest, I don’t think we’ll have enough for the size we need it to be.”

Marco smirked; “Well! If you and Draco are agreeing on it, then it might as well be written off. Which is fine, because I have a backup plan..”

Both Benzo and Draco grinned maliciously after Marco had explained his plan in hushed whispers. Benzo nodded and said that he’d handle the new orders personally after the trial, but Draco had made a face. It annoyed Marco, but knew he would’ve only done it if the thought was important.

“Speak, Draco. Before I lose my patience, and smack that look from your face.”

“Aye, My King,” came Draco’s immediate reply; “I just don’t think our smiths are capable of creating something that large.”

Marco waved his hand at him in a dismissive manner; “Then find other blacksmiths to help..”

Another twisted grin covered his features; “Like the two that Skye and my Brother are friendly with.. Yes, yes that will do nicely.. One more thing to use in my training.”

“Your what, My King?” Benzo asked, honestly not having heard him.

Marco shook his head lightly; “Nevermind. It’s of no importance to you two.”

As they turned back into the main hall, Marco couldn’t stop a massive smile from spreading across his face. Looking down the hall, he could see a unit of armed guards escorting Lucas Moonstone to his trial. With Sheri, Marie, and Lawrence walking directly in front of them.

Lucas had always dressed impressively, and was considered to be a shining example of a loyal, and successful citizen of Alcon. Now, his clothes were dirty, and had a few tears and holes. His hair was slightly disheveled, and a stench rolled off of him that could be smelt from half a block away.

“Oh, how the proud and mighty have fallen,” Marco commented, but Lucas didn’t react.

He was still going over his current state in his head..

Lucas wasn’t sure how long he’d been locked away in the dungeons for, but he was certain that it hadn’t hit Yuletide yet. It seemed like silly reasons, but he’d lived in the capital often enough to know how loud it usually got. There hadn’t been any bells or music played, which could be heard from anywhere in the castle; even the dungeons.

The next thing Lucas realized was that Lawrence and Marie were not themselves. Their eyes looked hollow and empty whenever he spoke to them, and neither had responded to him throughout their entire walk. The only person willing to converse with him was the female guard leading the way.

Sheri introduced herself, and Lucas recognized her from the Mage Trials with his daughter. When he’d mentioned as much, the sullen expression that covered her face told him all he needed to know..

“So yer the Water Mage that’s friends wit me daughter, yeah?”

“.....Aye.”

They had walked in silence a bit before he’d asked with a strained voice; “Keep an eye on her, will ya? She’s bound ta do somethin’ stupid after she hears about this....farce.. Just dinna let her do anythin’ ta get herself killed, alright? As her friend: can ya promise me that?”

“....Aye, I can,” Sheri replied before they turned the corner, and saw Marco and Draco.

Sheri had bowed along with the other guards as Marco had made his snide comment. He seemed a bit irritated that Lucas hadn’t reacted, but brushed it off as him coming to terms with his fate. It was only when Marco snapped his fingers in front of Lucas’ face, did he finally react.

As soon as his eyes fell on him, Lucas narrowed them as he spoke through gritted teeth; “You..”

“Who else But me?”

“A demon would be better than you!”

Marco smirked; “Careful, old timer.. Don’t want your heart giving out before your trial-”

“This isna a trial! This is a bloody witch hunt!”

“Oh, come now, Lucas,” Marco said in a fake-soothing voice; “Are you saying that your trial has already been determined? Because, if so..”

Marco leaned in and whispered so only Lucas could hear him; “Then you’d be right.”

Right as Marco pulled away and was face to face with him, Lord Moonstone head-butted the Alconian King as hard as he could; right onto the bridge of his nose. It had done little more than surprise Marco, but it was the gesture that he became infuriated over.

In that moment, Marco saw red as Draco immediately went to his side. They were both about to snap when the King realized that Many sets of eyes were currently on them. And that beating a restrained prisoner might cause more than just gossip.

Restraining himself, Marco took a deep breath before calmly saying; “I’m fine. Don’t worry about it. It was simply the desperate act of a very desperate man.. He hasn’t harmed me, only his own case. Let us proceed with the trial!”

With those final words; the guards led a defeated-looking Lucas Moonstone into the throne room. Marco was the last to enter, making sure that everyone he needed present, was, before he shut the doors. A malicious grin fluttered across his features as they closed..

************

The trial for Lucas Moonstone took over nine hours to complete. There were witnesses that testified to his illegal dealings with Fire Nation pirates, as well as his dealings with the Highlanders. A few he didn’t even know, but the other four were former business partners of his.

The moment Lucas had found out that they had connections to the Slave trades, he’d stopped having anything to do with them. He’d even gone as far as to report his findings to Tidas, who had gone to Magnus, and had their business licenses stripped. It made perfect sense that Marco had them testify against him, and their doctored records painted him as the slave trader.

They also testified that Lord Moonstone was the most-likely person to obtain the poison used on the previous king, which sent Lucas into a fit of rage. He couldn’t believe the utter crap that the other lords were believing, and told them as much. It got to the point that Stein had to give him an injection to calm him.

The next charge pertained to his hand in the selling of Alconian land to a foreign kingdom, which was a right that only kings had. Magnus had approved the selling of Warrick Forest to the Fae as a Sanctuary, which Lucas practically screamed at the other lords through his fog. But none had witnessed it, and Tidas wasn’t there to back up his word.

That was also the moment that Lucas realized that they were also building a case against Tidas.. ‘My trial will set a precedent.. May the gods help that lad more than they’re helpin’ me.. My poor wee lassie.. PLEASE let Lydia be okay.. Our lassie doesna deserve so much loss at once..’

As the trial neared it’s end, Marco could barely keep the smile from his face. Everything had gone even better than he’d planned, and he had Lord Moonstone himself to thank for it..

What had truly damned Lucas was his own, meticulously-kept records. All of his trades he’d done with the Highlanders before Magnus had publicly declared their peace agreement were seen as a betrayal of his good friend and king. Despite the fact that he had verbal permission from Magnus to do it.

Without him physically there to vouch for their arrangement, Lucas was screwed. Marco knew of it, as well as Tidas, but no one else. To both protect Lucas from certain other lords, and to allow Magnus to save face with all of them.

Since there was no proof of the agreement, he was labeled a traitor in the eyes of the other lords, and was found guilty of all charges against him. After throwing a few sharp words about his traitorous actions at him, Lucas was sentenced to death, and would be hung the following day.

After the throne room had been cleared out, Marco dismissed his remaining family members and guards. Night had long since fallen, and a heavy snow had started to fall. As he sat alone in the empty room, a deep, menacing laugh escaped Marco as his thoughts raced..

‘Now that Lucas has been condemned, Tidas is next. Then, you’re All Mine, my Little Thing..’