In early hours of the morning, when the sky was still dark and the sun was just about to begin shining its light over the horizon, Aeron woke up and decided to take a walk around the castle. He walked from floor to floor looking at the décor of each wall and admired the architecture of the castle. As he made his way to the top floor, he saw a door that was cracked open and he heard voices coming from it. Aeron began to eavesdrop on the conversation.
"The letter the king gave us, finally gives us the authority to force the nearby villagers to work for us as soldiers." Said one of the voices
"It also tells us places the king wants gone, if you know what I mean" said other voice.
Aeron tries to stay as quite as possible, so nobody finds him listening in because the letter seemed to have a much bigger importance than just its delivery.
"I think if we strike the places with more farmers, we will be set on food for a long time" said the first voice.
Aeron realizes that one of voices sounded like general don's voice. "Innocent or not this is war we must do what we can to survive and all who are weak shall parish" said the other voice. The two people start walking to the door and Aeron makes his way around a corner to in the next hall so they couldn't spot him. After they walk past, he then sneaks into the room to read the letter. When he opened the parchment, he saw that it wasn't only orders but a detailed map of the Area with villages marked. He then reads the words above the drawn map "I give general don full control over the forceful recruitment of soldiers within all marked villages in this map. If the villages do not want to cooperate, I give you full authority to extort or destroy them."
Aeron was shocked after reading the letter, but it wasn't because he was surprised his father wrote those orders. He was shocked that he was right about his dad. He finally saw proof that King Emeric wasn't as good as everyone else though he was. He wanted to take the letter back, but he knew that general Don would ask around looking for it. Aeron left the letter there and went back to the room where Pierre and the other were sleeping. When he entered the room, the others were awake talking to each other.
"Hey Aeron, where have you been?" Asked Rose then the others stared waiting for his response.
"I was walking around the castle." He then starts frowning and to hold back his angry he clenches his hands into a fist.
Alana walks to over to Aeron and grabs his fist. "what's wrong Aeron, you can tell us about it."
"The king, our father, is a terrible leader. He has ordered our military to force innocent villagers into become low ranking knights to fight our battles and if they do not join willingly, the military can do whatever they want to the village, even slaughter them." explained Aeron.
Pierre states "I understand how you feel Aeron, but there's nothing we can do about it."
Rose agreed by shaking her head but didn't say anything because she didn't know how to respond to the information she was just told.
"When we return to Kingsfall, I will call out the king and expose him for what he really is." Exclaimed Aeron
While they were talking, one of general don's intelligence agents was listening to their conversation through the door. After she hears them talk, she goes to report back to general don.
Aeron and the others get ready to leave and have their horses at the gate, when some of the guards came to stop them.
"What is the mean of this?" said Aeron, he then spotted General Don standing on the battlement.
"The prince and his party are to be captured for treason against the king. Don't let them escape." Commanded General Don.
They all get on their horses and rush out the gate before anymore guards could react. After this close encounter they make their way back to the capital riding swiftly on the road back.
When they arrive back at the kingdom, Aeron request an audience with the king to challenge the king once more.
Aeron Enters the throne room ready to expose the king. His whole family and a lot of nobility was in the throne room wanting to hear of Aeron's mission.
"Aeron, I hope you bring us good new here today?" asked the king ready to hear of Aeron and the others exploits to the eastern border.
"My king, I have delivered your important letter to General Don as you have requested."
"Very good, but now we must speak of another matter" Said the king in a more serious tone.
"What's is it you wish to talk about father" asked Aeron.
General Don and his agent enter in the doorway behind Aeron. He looks intensely at Aeron then speaks out to everyone in the room "My lord, the king, your third son Aeron is accused of slandering the name of the king and conspiring against the Empire."
Everyone was shocked of the accusations made by the general and started to mumble amongst themselves. Alana, Rose, and Pierre yelled out to deny these accusations made against Aeron and the throne room was in a loud chaos.
"SILENCE in the kings court." Yelled king Emeric "Aeron what do you say in your defense."
"He's lying father, I never tried to slander your name" yelled Aeron in disbelief of his accusation.
"I overheard him talking at the fort sire, he discovered the orders in the note and wanted to expose the kings plans to the public" said the mysterious agent
"Aeron is this true," asked King Emeric.
Aeron quietly nodded his head and replied "yes, it is."
The room once again fell into a loud chatter of voices of Aeron friends and family talking and harshly judging him.
"Well Aeron, with a witness to back up the act of Treason to the kingdom and to me." Guards come and circle Aeron. "You will be placed in prison until I determine your punishment" Said the king.
Alana started crying, then she ran over to plead with her father "Please father rethink this, I beg of you"
Enzo and Endre go over to her "Alana, Aeron has to pay the price just like anyone else. I'm sure father won't do anything too rough" said Enzo trying to reassure her.
Endre said "I don't believe Aeron did this."
The guards then take Aeron away to the prison. When they go inside to the prison, yelling and the rattling shackles is all that could be heard. The floor was covered in dirt and it was as cold as ice. The guards took Aeron to the very last cell and threw him in. One of the guards said "You're a treasonous bastard you know that, I hope the king executes you." The guard spits in his cell then laughed and walked away. Aeron was in the cell for two weeks and was only allowed visits from people in the royal family. The only one who came was Alana; she came every day trying to help Aeron come up with an apology even though she thought he was innocent from the start. On the last day Aeron was expecting to see Alana at the usual time, but this time some guards came and grabbed him from his cell. Aeron thought that he was about to be executed for his crimes and started resisting and fighting back. The guards hit him a few times in the chest and stomach before he gave up. When they take him into the hallway Captain Mason was waiting for them. He looks at Aeron in the face with disgust in eyes and then says "Today you will be punished for your crimes. You are at the mercy of our lord, the king. Between you and me, I believe the only thing for a treacherous dog like you is death." Then he signals the guards to follow behind him while they are dragging Aeron.
As they approach the Entrance of the city, Aeron could see thousands of people lined in a circle around the main gate. He saw Enzo, Endre, Alana, and his other two younger siblings, Cemil and Cleo, in the crowd. He also saw his friends Rose and Pierre standing around, then he saw his mother, Queen Amelia, and his father. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of rain hitting the ground as if the city was abandoned. All the attention was on the accused. Aeron looked at his father, but didn't say a word. The guards throw Aeron into the middle of the circle with his shackles still on him so he couldn't try to escape. Captain Mason then says "It is time for the king to select a punishment for the accused, would anyone like to try and persuade the king to lighten the punishment?"
Alana steps forward and everyone gets ready to listen "I believe my brother is Innocent. He has done a lot to help this nation even if people don't believe it to be true. He has connections with a lot of people in this city good or bad, but we all know he is not capable of committing acts of treason." She then turns to look at her father "So my king, my father, please remember he is your son, your flesh and blood when you decide his punishment."
Captain Mason then says "Thank you Princess Alana, are there any more people who want to speak." Nobody says word for the next few seconds as they wait for another brave soul to speak their mind. After no response captain Mason then reads a letter "The guard known as Pierre Kessler has written a note to me that says, "I stand by Prince Aeron and his claim of Innocence"". He then says, "Now that is all. My lord, have you come to a decision yet?"
The king clears his throat then says "Yes I have. Aeron you are my son, an heir to the Venied Empire, but you betrayed my trust and the trust of the people, which is why I have come to this decision. I, King Emeric of the Venied Empire, hear by Sentence Prince Aeron of the Venied Empire, to Exile. You will leave the Venied Empire and never return."
Everyone is in complete shock because they thought Aeron was going to be hanged. Aeron then looks at him with soulless eyes and responds by saying "Yes lord."
The king then walks away with his guards back to the palace. Aeron's brothers and youngest sister all follow behind them, not saying a word to Aeron. His face had not emotion no one could tell if he was distraught by his punishment or if he truly felt nothing. The chains on Aeron were taken off and he was given a ragged brown cloak, a bag of bread, and a short sword. When the guards brought him to the gate Alana, Rose, and Pierre were waiting at the gate for him. You can see the sadness in her eyes as they start to water up. She runs towards him while trying to hold back her tears.
"Aeron, you don't have to go, I'll ask our dad to reconsider," she said while tightly hugging him.
"There is no reason for you to do that. I don't want to stay here, even if he gave me another chance," replied Aeron.
"Well then, let me come with you, living in the place won't be the same if you're not here" she then said.
"The king and our family will miss you Alana, you have to stay here," replied Aeron.
"Don't forget we are twins Aeron. We've been together from the start and when our dad lost faith in you, I lost faith in him," said Alana, wiping the tears from her faces. After hearing that, Aeron felt she was right and then said, "Alright let's go and leave together." Pierre looks at Aeron and says "I will stay with you for as long as I live. We have been friends for far too long for me to abandon you now." Rose then shakes her head in Agreement and says, "If we left you on your own who knows how you'd end up."
Aeron Laughed and said, "Thank you so much, the journey ahead has no clear path and will have a lot of challenges along the way, but as long as we have each other we can survive anything." Alvis Harpis walked toward the four of them.
"It saddens me that my favorite student has been wrongly accused of treason and is being forced to leave his home." He then puts his hand on top of Aeron's head and says "But I know that you're not weak, and you will be able to survive out there. So, Aeron and the rest of you, get stronger and break your limit. Prove everyone who calls you guilty wrong and come back and do what you think is right." After listening to Alvis, Aeron gives him a hug and Alvis who is a little shocked then hugs him back and says, "Good luck to all of you on your journey." They thank him and then after saying goodbye to their friends and family, the group set off from the kingdom with no destination or direction in mind, only with two goals in mind, to survive and get stronger.