"Father," Jade bowed to him. "You called us?"
Viktor was sitting by his table, studying the tax documents that his minister had sent him. There was a thick pile of the documents. Most of it was in place, but there were some villages where the tax was not paid in time because they didn't have good crops. He scoffed. Wilyra barely had good crops because of the perpetual snow it was covered in year long. Still many grew yam, kale and carrots apart from spinach and potatoes and onions.
Viktor turned his head over his shoulder and saw both Jade and Jasper. They were dressed impeccably, something he always liked. Their dressing sense was very fashionable and it was mostly because they liked to be in the company of women.
Viktor got up from his place and clasped his hands at his back. He gestured to them with his chin to sit down on the couch at the corner of the room near the hearth. Jade and Jasper sat down obediently as he walked to the long table where there was an assortment of whiskey and wine kept in several decanters. He poured two glasses and brought them to his sons. He sat down opposite to them and stared at fire that crackled in the hearth.
"Was there something you wanted to discuss with us, father?" Jasper said, pushing him to speak up.
Viktor took a deep breath in. He shook his head and said, "What is going to happen to you if Lazarus takes over as the king of Wilyra?"
Jasper jerked back. The thought was repulsive. He looked at Jade and knew that he too was thinking the same thing. "That is not going to happen," Jasper said, gritting his teeth.
"We will make sure that Lazarus never ascends to the throne!" Jade added.
Viktor took a deep sigh and leaned back in his chair. He brushed his hand over the necklace he was wearing. "Lazarus is slowly gaining advantage. Have you noticed that out of the eleven children I had, only six remain who are still roaming in the palace?" He narrowed his eyes for a moment to see if his words seeped in his sons.
ƥαṇdαηθνε| Jade and Jasper bit back a growl. "We know," Jade replied.
Viktor rolled his lips between his teeth. "I am scared that if Lazarus becomes the king, he will cut down your expenses. You all will live like beggars in his regime or…" his voice drawled. "…You won't live at all."
Both of them stiffened.
Taking advantage of their emotion, Viktor carried on. We have to stop Lazarus and in order to do that there is one thing very important that has to be done."
"Tell us what it is, father," Jasper responded. He knew that this was why his father had called them both. Anton wasn't in the palace and Magnus was like a shadow of Lazarus, so everything now depended on them.
Viktor scratched the back of his neck. "I know it would be too much to ask you both, and you might think that I am not a good king, but you see that's how politics is played. That's how we secure our thrones. You should learn from me." His gaze darted between both of them and he knew that he had their full attention. So he leaned in front and placed his elbows on his thighs. In a very serious voice he said, "The rebels in the village have mellowed down mainly because Cora and Nora are in the prison. Your sisters were the ones responsible for the mayhem."
"We are aware of that, father," Jade said, glancing at Jasper.
"The villagers are happy about it and their rebellion has mellowed down. The rumor is that it was Lazarus who caught the vampires who sucked the humans dry and threw them near the blood forest," Viktor said. "Do you know what that means?"
Jade and Jasper looked at each other, not quite understanding what their father was getting at. They remained quiet and waited for their father to finish it.
Viktor knew that they were both very handsome, but dense in head. They wouldn't understand what he was getting at in a thousand years. He said, "That means that Lazarus is getting popular in the villages."
Jade and Jasper became ramrod straight when realization dawned upon them. "Oh!" Jade rasped. "We need to do something about it quickly."
Viktor smiled. "Exactly. We have to do something about it." He leaned back on his chair. "You see the rebels are against the royal family. So the royal family has to do something that would make it unpopular, but it has to be temporary. Do you understand?"
They both blinked in a way that it was clear that they didn't understand. Viktor cursed them on the inside but he had to use them as his pawns. They were perfect to be used. They were his sons, didn't have enough intelligence to question his moves and were too blinded by the money they received from him that they would do what he wanted them to.
Viktor knew that Emma's father was the leader of the rebels. He also knew that Drogo was hot headed. If a fire was sparked, he was surely going to convert it into fire. He pointed at his table. "There are tax documents sitting over there. I want you to take the tax papers related to two villages that haven't paid taxes yet and go to those villages to make noise about it. Don't relent even if they beg you on their knees. Whip them, jail them or do whatever you want, but ask them to give taxes to the kingdom."
"How will it help?" Jasper asked, totally confused.
Viktor stopped himself from gritting his teeth, frustrated by them. Instead he smiled and said, "Leave that to me. Just focus on what you have to do, okay?"
The princes took a deep breath in, filling their lungs with an air of importance. "Don't worry father!" Jade said with a serious voice. "It will be done! We will go to those villages tomorrow."
"Yes, we will do everything we can to stop Lazarus from taking the throne," Jasper added. "And this is nothing."
