♕✿~♕✿~Chapter 16//: It's all my fault♕✿~♕✿~

Ahren's POV

Hours later after my talk with Alexis, I'm still a bit dazed by her words. They had really hit home. Not able to sit in my room anymore, I decide to take a break from my work to take a walk around the palace and to just think.

I soon come to a stop in front of a set of familiar double doors. My father's old office. And, I think with dread, now my office.

I hear some noises coming from the room, and frown. The only people who would be here would be Gregory or Juliet. But I could use either of their company to talk about what Alexis has said to me.

Pushing open the doors, I see the familiar white hair of Gregory. He jumps at the sound of the door opening, turning around. His eyes widen as he notices it's me, and he mutes the T.V. he was watching and covers it with his body. "Your Majesty? I didn't know you'd be here. I thought you were working," Gregory says with a nervous edge to his tone.

I frown at his strange behavior. Was something bad happening to make him so nervous? "Yeah, I was but I decided to take a small break," I say slowly, my eyes moving to the T.V. I try to glance at the T.V. screen behind Gregory but he strategically moves his body more so that I can't see. I narrow my eyes at him.

"Gregory, what are you trying to hide from me?" I ask while still trying to look behind his shoulder. I can see glimpses of some video being played on the screen, but Gregory blocks the screen from me every time before I can see anything more. At this point, I was getting annoyed by Gregory's antics.

"Seriously, what are you watching? Why aren't you letting me see?" I ask Gregory as this time, I try to physically move past him. He pushes me back forcefully, and I stare at him in shock as I regain my footing. He looks back at me with apologetic eyes.

I cross my arms across my chest. "As your superior, I demand you to let me see what is on the T.V.," I say to Gregory in an authoritative voice. I usually didn't use the "I'm your future king" card on people, but I was desperate and curious at this point.

Gregory looks conflicted as his eyes go back to the T.V. screen and then back to me. He shakes his head at me. "Trust me, Your Majesty, you won't want to see what's on the T.V. right now. Please, just believe me," he tells me gravely.

I stand still for a minute before my eyes go wide. "Gregory," I say incredulously. "Are you watching something...er...you know." My cheeks heat up as I wave my hands around, hoping he would understand what I was getting at. I didn't exactly want to say what I thought.

Gregory's brows furrow in confusion before his eyes widen with shock. "What? No! I am an honorable man, Your Majesty," he tells me. I narrow my eyes at his answer.

"Then why are you hiding the T.V. from me? This is just getting ridiculous," I say as I move forward and push Gregory away before he can do anything. My eyes take in what's on the screen, and I freeze up.

It's Madi. My hands go up to the screen, but I flinch back as a whip hits her hand. I can see her body shuddering as tears streak down her face. A nauseating feeling wells up in me as someone, a man, continues to whip her hands. A  lump forms in my throat as I take in her bloodied hands and ruined flesh. My chest tightens painfully as Madi continues to shudder with each hit she takes.

I can't hold back the bile any longer. I quickly cross the room and empty the contents of my stomach into a trash can. I can hear Gregory turning off the T.V. before hurrying over to me and placing a hand on my back.

"Your Majesty? Are you alright?" He asks me worriedly.

I stay in my crouched position for a moment before lunging back up, my eyes ablaze. "Who was he? Who was the man hurting Madi?" I ask Gregory as the small segment of the video I had watched plays over in my head. I couldn't get the image of Madi out. Of her getting whipped. Of her crying. And of the man doing so with no remorse.

Gregory purses his lips before saying, "I believe he is the leader of the Rogue Dawn, based on the other videos that have been sent by the group."

My anger at the man hurting Madi slowly dissipates, being replaced by aching sorrow. "Why?" I croak out. "Why is he targeting Madi like that?" I didn't understand. Madi wasn't involved with the Rogue Dawn. She wasn't involved in any of the conflicts between the palace and the rebel group.

"All that the man in the video said was that hurting Lady Madison is one of the ways you and the royal family will pay for what you've done to him," Gregory murmurs while pondering the situation himself.

I open my mouth to point out that I've never met the man before but freeze as Gregory's words start to sink in. My mind comes to a stop as I process his words, my heart hammering painfully in my chest.

Gregory had just said the reason Madi was in a terrible situation was because of something my family and I did to him. So that meant...

My breathing stutters as a horrible thought comes into my head: is it my fault that Madi was kidnapped and is being tortured right now?

"It's all my fault," I whisper, my chest aching as I become slightly light-headed.

Gregory's head whips up at my words. His eyes widen as he takes me in. "No, no of course it's not, Your Majesty," he tries to reassure me. He attempts to walk towards me, but suddenly jumps back.

My emotions have gotten out of control, and it all had gone to my ability, channeling it with power. My arms come alive with fire, but I welcome the heat as the words It's all my fault repeat themselves like a broken record in my mind.

"Your Majesty, calm down. Breathe in, breathe out," Gregory instructs me. I can feel a slight damper on my abilities. Gregory, as a Silencer, was trying to slowly take away my abilities.

It's all your fault. If you hadn't put Madi in the middle of this mess, she would still be here, safe and sound. Her family wouldn't be worried senseless, and you wouldn't have to be dealing with this right now. It's all your fault.

The flames licked higher up my arms at these words being said in my head. Images of Madi getting whipped were ingrained in my head. It was the only thing I could see.

Suddenly, my flames are extinguished. I cough as water gets in my nose, steam rising from my arms as the flames go out. Soaking from head to toe, I shiver at the sudden cold. I glance next to me, seeing Juliet with a large water pitcher, droplets still dripping from it.

Juliet's eyes are wide with curiosity and disbelief. She knew that not many things made me lose control of my abilities like that. She looks between me and Gregory. "What happened?" She questions me.

I ignore her question, too caught up with what I had just learned. I look to Gregory.

"When's the next search party going out?" I ask him.

Gregory frowns, but answers, "In two days, I believe." He narrows his eyes at me. "Why?"

I turn away from him, a grim look on my face. Alexis' words from earlier repeat in my head. She was right; it was about time I did my own things.

"I'm joining that search party to look for Madi. I'm not going to leave her to suffer like that," I tell Gregory as I move to exit the room and end the discussion.

Gregory intercepts me in the hallway, but I don't stop. He walks with me,  looking at me with an urgent look. "Your Majesty, you can't go out there. If you are recognized by them, they'll kill you," he tells me, coming to a stop as I continue to walk.

I don't stop walking as I say over my shoulder in a grim voice, "That's why I'll go in disguise."

♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~

Hey guys! Sorry this chapter took SO long to be uploaded. I was in a small writer's block and literally every time I went to write this chapter, I just felt really unmotivated. But I finally wrote the chapter!

Have a good rest of your week!

Glass_Sword