Diamant

Chapter 29 - Unexpected Betrayal

He was never one to wake up late, not with the hard trainings his grandpa gave him but today was an exception. The rays of the sun that creeped into the cave almost blinded him when he opened his eyes. He brought his hand up to shield his eyes and rested on an elbow. He looked around, adjusting his eyes to the light.

He found Diamant who was pulling a shirt on some distance away from him. She tied her long black hair up into a ponytail. She turned to him and he remembered. He remembered their close moment had only happened yesterday. He wanted to smile at her but her hardened face stopped him.

"Finally, you are awake, my Lord. We would have set out at dawn but the rest was needed for you. I have surveyed the area and I have noted everywhere the guards are that is close to the cave. I hunted, so there are some roasted meat for you to eat. We must hurry, Dragon Lord..." Diamant cold voice was cut short.

"Drako" He corrected.

Diamant clenched her teeth. She didn't want to say his name, she remembered what happened when she had said his name yesterday and she was still mad at herself for what she had allowed to happen.

"My Lord, we must hurry." She said.

He stood up not allowing his intial weakness to flatter his steps. He walked to her and she stared coldly at him.

"Diamant, yesterday..." He started.

"There was no yesterday, Dragon Lord." She said back flatly.

"Call me Drako" He said his voice vibrating with frustration and anger.

"No! No! Calling you that puts me in a spot that I don't want to be." She said back to him defensive.

"Like the spot we were in yesterday night?" He asked looking at her, his voice now tender.

"Like I said, for me, that didn't happen. It isn't like it meant anything anyway." She said and walk away from him, her back to him as she tugged on her hair, twirling the pony tail in her hand.

He held his tongue. It had meant something to him. He took in a deep breath as he closed his eyes then opened it back.

"We must start leaving. Shall we go out now, Dragon Lord?" Diamant asked.

He turned to her and nodded. Maybe it would be the best to forget. "Yes but we will not be going out. The passage to the River is through this cave." He replied, banishing the thoughts of what had happened between them from his mind. He took his sword and smiled.

Then he lead the way into the cave but first they would need a torch or two.

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The palace had been weird at least it wasn't anything like it had always been. They hadn't come across any servant and the palace felt deserted.

It was trouble building woods together that could help them go across the river, they had to fight hard to get to Alusa safely and now the palace felt like a shadow of itself.

They approached the throne room and threw the doors open.

All the Ministers of Alusa were there. They all looked at Dragon Lord and each one looked down quickly. He stared back at them questionably. It looked like they were having a serious meeting and he had just intruded on it. But he was the King! Had Goben done something wrong while he had been gone?

He looked at the throne and it was empty as it should be. He sighed relieved. Nana sat down next to the throne and she smiled maliciously at him.

"Nana!" He said as he started walking up to her but he stopped dead in his tracks when the guards all pulled out their swords. They all stared deadly at him.

Was he now the enemy? He was their King!

He looked around quickly now, more observant. Goben was standing next to him and Diamant. How had he even gotten there? Goben's eyes explained sadness and hinted at grieve but he still couldn't fathom what was going on or maybe he was in denial.

"Welcome home, son of Sol." Nana's voice penetrated the silence. "Welcome to hell."

"Nana?" He questioned and looked around again. The members of his Black Mask knelt on the floor and they looked beaten. He just couldn't find Aliyah, Malik and Lewis amongst them. Had they escaped?

He was surprised at how calm he was. His world was falling apart and he still was in control of his own mind.

"The war between the Alusa and Dragons Well had been for a reason." Nana said and he looked at her.

His lips twitched and he said nothing.

She smiled distantly and continued. "Did you think it was because of power that Dragons Well would wage war against Alusa? Did you believe that Dragons Well would ever do that?! Dragons Well is not power thirsty!" Nana said and anger bite into her voice. Her red head was tightly packed in a bun, her tiara sat on her head, making her face look hard.

"That is what history says." He replied, now angry as he stared at her with cold eyes.

"And who told you that history is right? I will tell you what they have lied to you all about. Dragons Well is my home. I fell in love with a man from my tribe. Then one day Lucius came to Dragons Well and he saw me. My father was a close friend of the royal family and I was in the palace. He saw me and abducted me. Dragons Well requested that I'd be given back but he refused. They sent warriors to get me back but he killed them all." She paused, the memories hurting her. She closed her eyes trying not to allow it all tear her apart.

"Lucius murdered the man I loved because he wanted me for himself. He murdered him right in front of him. When Dragons Well saw that he was resilient, they waged the war. My beloved Alec was killed, killed for a love he had no control over." She looked at his shocked eyes and smiled wickedly.

DL felt confusion eating into him. Had he heard this before?

"So, you can't blame me when I poisoned him."

"He hung himself!" DL shouted back, all these was too much for him.

The Ministers were quiet and they all watched the back and forth between them. They hadn't known anything about this history Nana spoke of either.

"That is what you think!" She shouted as she stood up, hitting her fists against the arms of her chair. "My years of suffering paid off. What do you do to someone who wanted you to murder your own son because he wasn't his. Lucius wanted me to murder my son, the son I had with Alec. I was already pregnant when he abducted me and we were about to get married." She laughed wickedly now. "And every night when he had that nightmare, I would give him the bottle and he would drink it."

She laughed again and fell into her chair, her eyes danced with madness.

"He said it made them go away, the voices. Why won't it give him a good sleep? Everytime he drank he was dying, he was drinking poison and one day, it finally killed him. I made sure everyone believe he hung himself. Why not changed his history too, had he not changed mine? Changed everything about me! Had he not changed my name?! I am Liliana Giffred. Here, I am the woman you have been searching for. You can give your Grandpa the credit for not finding me in your books no matter where you searched. Give it all up to him for wiping my maiden name away from history."

DL breathing became heavy and his heart clenched with betrayal. His eyes danced with pain and he blinked vigorously. Different memories flashed before his eyes, the dots all connecting together. This was worse than his nightmares. His Nana couldn't have betrayed him. She was his grandmother! Was she lying about what his Grandfather had done?

Before he could think further, the doors to the throne room busted opened. He turned immediately to see who it was and it was the Masked Man from Canilus followed closely by Malik on his right side, protecting him. Although his confident strides didn't really say he needed the protection.

Lewis, Malik, Aliyah and some warriors followed behind.

DL looked on dumbfounded as the Masked Man walked pass him and towards his grandmother who kissed his cheek. He went to Minister Nein who DL hadn't noticed was sitting at the left side of the throne and nodded slightly at him. The Minister looked a bit saddened but he gave the Masked Man a smile.

Then the Masked Man sat on the throne. DL's throat tightened.

"That is mine." He said venomously.

"Not anymore, just like all the things you will be losing today or shall I say, all the things you have already lost." The Masked Man said back, his voice cold and deadly yet DL didn't flinch.

"You are no longer King. My grandson is now King and now his father does not need to go in hiding."

"Your grandson?" DL questioned.

"Minister Nein is my son and the now ruler of Alusa is my grandson." She smiled sinisterly at him. "If I had known you would be such a hard hurdle in my plans I would have killed you along with your parents that year."

DL's heart broke. His world was crashing down on him and he felt weak. He tried hard to keep standing, he wanted so much not to fall under the weight of this painful revelation. How could she have killed her own son?

"He was your son. Your very own flesh and blood and you loved my mother like your own daughter! How could you?!" He shouted at her, his voice wreaked with bitterness and pain.

"He was also Lucius' son! Everytime I saw him, I am reminded of my pain and suffering and I never loved Aurora like my own daughter." Nana fired back.

"How could you? How could you?!" He shouted back at her.

"You became a hurdle, a pathetic boy seeking revenge from the guiltless. You made this all easy, you lost the people." She said irritation filling her voice. "I had felt guilty that I would be killing an innocent boy if I didn't taken you on that visit to the Star Tribe."

"How could you?! I trusted you, I loved you! You were my only family. How could you have planned all these against me?" He shouted at her broken.

"You were not the enemy." She said dismissively.

"Doesn't look like it, seeing that you feed me with the same bottles you fed grandpa." He said venomously low, hatred filling his blood.

"You were not the enemy, you just became an obstacle." She said back.

DL started walking towards her but Goben restrained him. They were too much and before he could even reach the throne he would be badly injured. The throne was quite a walk.

"I am still King." DL declared boldly.

"While the crown sits on another's head? While the people no longer see you as one? While the warriors no longer obey your command?" He paused and brought up the Specter of Fire. DL's eyes widened in shock. "While you no longer control the Dragon? While I sit on the throne? I don't think so. It is I who is now King." The Masked Man corrected.

DL could hear Goben's voice in his head about the argument they once had.

"Without all of these, you are nothing. Without all these you are not a King." Goben had said on that day and he had denied it.

He could feel everything slipping away from his hands. His mind was filled with craziness and desperation. He pulled his hair and stared madly at everyone.

There was no way this was happening to him. Then he saw Clara who had tears running down her face. She stood behind Lewis like she wished she could be hidden from everything forever.

The Masked Man stood up from the throne. Ironical! The so threateningly Master was in disguise. He walked to them allowing each step to show the extent of powerful aura he conveyed till he reached them. DL pulled Diamant and Goben behind him in the bid to protect them. Although, they refused, only Goben could break away and stand beside DL.

"You are so fond of protecting what isn't yours." The Master said maliciously when he reached them. Goben had his hand on his sword, studying his every move.

"It is you who is so fond of taking what isn't yours. A coward that hides behind a Mask." DL said in utter disgust, the weakness of this Master sickened him.

The Master ignored him and turned to Diamant.

"My Love." He whispered to her.

Her breath caught in her throat and she looked up at him but all she could see was the Mask.

"You have done so much already. You took him away so we could do all these. You sent the bird to ensure that you were already in Canilus, you are a major part of this. Take your rightful place and stand by my side." The Masked Man said, his voice pleading.

Diamant's heart raced, she felt caught in a horrible spot. She didn't even know him!

"I do not deny that I did that." She said looking at DL like she had to explain, she felt the overpowering need to. She looked back at the Masked Man "but I did it all for my Grandpa and Rider. I was no loser to fall at the feet of some distractions. I don't even know you, I only know Liliana Giffred. I wasn't the one who attacked Roc either." She ended, defending herself.

"That was Aliyah but it isn't important." The Master said and Aliyah face twisted in pain.

He pulled his mask away and Diamant looked at him in shock and surprise.

"Aaron." She whispered, staring at the face of the man she had totally forgotten while she was in Canilus.

But how could he be the Master? There was no way he was the Master? It was all impossible.

"You," DL said in surprise. People were surprised to finally see who the Master was. Gasps of surprise rented the air.

"How? Impossible! You are Aaron Whyte, an hunter." DL said trying to fix the pieces together.

"I wasn't even born here. My father had to go in hiding till it was time to rightfully take what is mine." Aaron said as he glanced at the throne quickly and back at DL.

"Aaron Whyte." He laughed "Whyte is my mother's surname and I had taken it instead of Giffred or my father's." He said the last word in disgust. "It is my mother who is from a long lineage of hunters but if you had a powerful person like Nana, what history could you not put in the book." He laughed at DL's dumbfounded face.

Then he looked at Diamant and his face succumb to tenderness.

"Pick me." He said to her, reminding her of what he had said to her the last time they were together.

"I love you. Take my side, Diamant. Do it for your Grandpa, for Rider." He persuaded.

Diamant felt DL's eyes on her but she refused to looked back at him. She started at nothing while she weighed her chances.

DL was still between them protecting Diamant mindlessly. He didn't want any of these that was happening to him. She had betrayed him and that had killed a part of him. Everyone had betrayed him and he was now even doubting Goben.

"Come, take my hand." Aaron said, his eyes pleading.

Diamant stared between Aaron and DL.

The Master. How had she not known a thing? She had known nothing! He was Nana's grandson and like the feelings that went through her the night Liliana Giffred had convinced her to betray DL, she felt exhausted and her head hurt from all of the information. Yet she had made this decision a long time ago. She had decided that she would pick a side that was against the Dragon Lord. Why then was it so hard for her to do?