Heart's Desire

Chapter 22

"So, what is the plan for this?" I asked as I entered my mother's house from getting stuff from the market.

Odessa, my mother, and Antonius were standing at the small table going over the plans and the written proof to have a trail against my father. It's been a few weeks since the entire empire was shown who Odessa was. And as soon as my father found out that Odessa was removed from the Colosseum, there has been an entire search for her. Some guards came here and tried to ask my mother where she was. We saw them coming beforehand and we made an escape at the back of the house.

Even my father came here to see if he knew anything about Odessa's sudden disappearance. He even questioned her where I was, too, since I had never left Odessa's side after what happened. I wanted to make sure her injuries were healing properly and if there was anything that happened, I would be there for her. And it was just nice spending quality time with her.

"Well, Antonius is going to deal with Aetius and his father as soon as we are done here. There is going to be a council meeting tonight," my mother said. "If he is not there, they have to find another person to be on the council. And your father is going to be there to oversee the meeting tonight."

"Great. So we just need to show up," I said. "Wait, how is that going to work?"

"I also know someone who is on the council who will be helping us tonight," my mother said.

"You know so many people."

"Kind of have to when I've been planning this ever since he tossed me out of the palace," my mother sneered.

"You've been planning this for nearly twenty years?"

"Yes."

"Why do it now?"

"Because we have solid evidence. Do you know what the council would do if I went in with these accusations against your father?"

"They'd think your nuts," I said.

"They'd think I'm nuts," my mother nodded her head. "And it's not just me. An angry wife who has been pissed off for more than twenty years. But you have the daughter of a man who was threatened to kill his own child, and a daughter who was pressured into a marriage of a not great family."

"Can we talk about father?"

"Later. We need to finish prepping first," she said.

I walked over to where Odessa was standing. She wrapped her arm around my shoulder, pulling me in to her.

"Hey, love," she said, pressing a kiss to the side of my head. "How are you?"

"Little nervous. You?"

"Nervous and scared," she said.

"But if this goes through, we can finally be together," I said.

"I know, but at what cost. The entire empire might not follow my rule."

"Who gives a shit about the empire?"

"I kind of do. If I take over, there could be people coming after my head."

"That is true."

"Not only that, I'd also be the champion of the gladiators. I can't really do both in a sense. I mean I can, but I am putting my life at risk for the entertainment of others."

"I understand your fears and worries, Odessa, but we have to worry about this right now."

She nodded her head, "Right. Better get back to the task at hand."

They must have talked the plan over and over again as the sun was starting to dip towards the horizon. When Antonius clapped his hands, I jumped a bit. He grabbed his axe and walked towards the door, opening it up.

"That's our cue," my mother said, handing Odessa and I cloaks to hide ourselves.

"Good luck, Antonius!" my mother smiled at him.

He nodded, closed the door, and walked off.

"Alright, are you two ready?" my mother turned towards us.

We nodded our heads.

"Let's get a move on."

She opened the door and we walked out. As she was locking up the door, Odessa stretched, since the ceiling was quite low for her.

"Fuck I am too young to be having back pain," she chuckled.

We followed my mother to where the council were going to be meeting up tonight.

"Mother, about father?"

"I am still angry with him."

"I understand, but it's been sitting for as long as I have been growing up?"

"Yes. I wanted you more than anything in the world, Y/N. Even if you weren't blood related to your father. He didn't understand my side of it whenever I told him. That I tried to fight him off, but he was stronger, much stronger than your father. And I can take on your father."

"He is a bit of a stick."

"He just called me such crude things to my face. He accused me of cheating on him for someone better. Someone who looked more attractive than him."

"You don't have to worry about this, Odessa," I nudged her.

"I didn't think I had to," she chuckled.

"The pregnancy was hell since he barely helped me with anything. He only tended to the people that were in need in the empire. He went to the shows at the Colosseum and forbade me to leave the palace because he didn't want to be seen with a whore. He didn't want to remember the fact that his child was not his in blood. But his in name.

"And when you were born, he took you from me. He informed the guards to never let me back into the palace, no matter what. He did regular check ups on me to make sure I was still alive, still living in that hell of a place I am in. He just wanted to rub it in my face that he had my daughter. And that he was going to raise you with the intent of marrying you off to someone of his choosing so that what happened to me will never happen to you."

My mother shook her head, "I am so sorry, for missing out on basically your entire life, Y/N. But I watched you from afar. And it pained me not to run to you, to hold you tightly in my arms and to care for you. To pull you away from your father so you could live a life you wanted to live."

"When all of this is said and done, and we are able to take down my father, I will be able to live a life I wanted to live. And it will all be thanks to you," I smiled at my mother.