King of Thieves

A Royal Mess

Three days had past since Maren last tried to breach the subject of the visiting Amarian noble with his parents. The knife to the table the other night made it clear his father did not wish to speak of the past; he left that life behind, changed his name, started a new life, and that was that. Prince Kieran was dead and Kane, the King of Thieves, took his place. Still Maren couldn't let it rest. How could he? Seventeen years were spent thinking his father went from life long beggar to second in command of a thieves guild more powerful than some royal families, but now? Now he was the dead prince. Now he was who they stole from. Now he was the man who turned his back on his life and left his country to die.

Maren waited in the hall, pacing frantically. That noble from Amaranthe, Jasper was it? Would be arriving any minute. Maren never thought he would manage to sneak a letter to the man with all the guards Hades had watching him to keep her son from making contact, but he had. Just last night he received a reply. It was simple, Jasper would meet with him today under the guise that he would be meeting Kane, but Maren had a different plan. Before Jasper could meet his king he must first meet the Queen. How Maren was going to convince his mother to meet with the Amarian was a mystery. His silver tongue always seemed to tarnish while speaking to her.

She had made it clear that this was off limits. That life was gone and trying to bring it back was dangerous, but he couldn't shake it from his head no matter how hard he tried. What made his father so willing to leave his throne and marry an Alvarian woman, a woman from the country he had been at war with? He understood that the royal family of Amaranthe had been assassinated on the way to peace meetings and that had been when his father walked away, but what made him so eager to leave? Maren would have stayed, used the throne as a weapon, not leave the nation in turmoil. None of it made sense.

"Maren, what are you doing?" His head snapped up and locked eyes with the sharp gaze of his mother.

He stuttered failing to find the words. "I, um..." He could feel face burning and his normally quick wit escaping him.

Hades's deep violet eyes narrowed. Her slit pupils made an already bone chilling glare turn fatal. "When is he coming?" Her voice cut through him, each syllable a dagger to his resolve.

"Who?" Maren tried desperately to sound sincere in his questioning, but the waver in his voice gave him away.

"The Amarian. The man your father made clear had no business speaking to any of us. The man you so stupidly gave our whereabouts too." She remained stoic, but her eyes gave her fury away. Not mention the fact Maren could practically see the rage seething off of her, heating the air. "Well!?"

He stood frozen in place, a million thoughts racing through his mind. Maybe he could send Jasper away before his mother could meet with him and pretend it never happened. A dead noble wouldn't be great for business after all. But then again, she wasn't the Queen of Thieves because of her looks. She could read someone from a mile away and know their life story within seconds. He couldn't just lie to her. With a sigh of defeat he threw caution to the wind. "Within the next hour or so, and I told him he could meet with dad."

When the nearest tapestry burst into flames, he rushed to finished. He had no desire for his mother to accidentally fry him enough to be confused with a roasted pig; he was dead enough already.

"I wasn't going to let him of course! Not right a way. I was going to bring him to you. You can judge everything for yourself and either let him see Dad, or you can scare him senseless, threaten to find out every secret he has and ruin his life if he even so much as whisper's Dad's name outside our doors."

She stared at him long and hard, clearly debating whether or not strangling your son was good parenting. Maren danced on the tips of his toes, ready to run just incase she decided it was.