XIX

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-Andrew's POV-

Where was Hayden? Where was Brent? Who should I kill first? So many questions were running through my head. I wondered where Brandon was. I wouldn't want him to see. I would cover up their deaths, and tell him that they ran away.

I must have looked like a maniac, covered in blood, breathing hard, and stomping down the halls. When I got to the hall my room was located in, a guard saw me and gasped. "K-King Andrew, are you alright?" He asked me, reaching forward. I slapped his hands away. "I'm fine," I snapped at the guard, "but I have two servants who plan to kill me. Where are Hayden and Brent?" The guard pointed in the opposite direction. "They're in the garden tending to the weeds, sir," he answered me. I didn't care to thank the guard, I was too enraged. I hoped that Brandon wouldn't be in the garden.

I turned down the hall, and made a run for the backdoor. Without those two pesky servants, my job would be a lot easier. I shoved the doors open, and tightened my grip on my sword. I could see Hayden and Brent's heads just above the top of the rose bushes. I was so close.

The turned the corner to enter the garden, and immediately, they saw me. The two of them screamed in fear, and began dashing away from me. "Get back here!" I shrieked, throwing my sword above my head. Fortunately, I was faster than the two of them. I had them cornered between a stone wall and I, and they were both shouting out in terror.

"What are you doing?" Brent asked me. He must have been oblivious to the fact that David snitched on them. "I'm tired of you!" I told them, my throat burning. "I'm tired of you rebelling and plotting against me, and I'm tired of you getting in the way of me and Brandon!"

"You and Brandon? What do you mean you and Brandon?" Hayden spit out, moving towards me. Not willing to answer him, I swung my sword down, aiming for his heart. Before I could pierce his skin, my sword was pushed from my hands, and thrown to the floor. I craned my neck to see who had interfered. When my eyes hit him, my heart began to ache.

"Brandon," I said softly. His hands were cut and streaming blood from where he had pushed the sword from my hands. "If you kill them," he told me, his voice deep and sterner than anything I'd heard before. "You can kill me too." I clenched my fists. "They were going to kill me," I shot back. Before I could add on, Brandon spoke again. "Because you abuse them! You kidnapped them and use them as servants!"

He was right, but I wasn't ready to admit it. "And do you know why?" Brandon continued. "Because you're a greedy tyrant who isn't willing to pay anyone for their work!" He had managed to anger me even more. "Be quiet! At least I'm not hurting you!" I shouted, inches from his face. In defense, he pushed me backwards.

"Don't push me!" I shrieked, now livid. "You're just a servant, and I made a mistake thinking you could be anything more! I shouldn't have fallen in love with you, Brandon!" By the time I was finished, I had tears running down my face. Brandon looked as if he were about to cry. "I made a mistake falling in love with you, too," he snapped at me. With that, he turned his back to me, fists clenched, and stormed off into the castle.

Great. I had messed up all my chances with Brandon, and it was my fault.

Actually, I knew it wasn't.

I turned my head to see that Hayden and Brent were still cowering against the wall, shielding their chests. "This is your fault," I told them. "If you hadn't been such idiots, this wouldn't be happening, and maybe I'd still be on good terms with Brandon."

"And I'm sure you won't be on good terms with Brandon if you kill us," Brent interrupted me. I wasn't going to respond to him. "Brandon loves me," I assured myself, clenching my jaw. "No," Hayden growled, "I know he doesn't."

That was the final straw for me. I thrust my wrist forward, and allowed my sword to slide right through Hayden's heart. Within seconds, blood came pooling from his mouth, and I watched as he choked on it. I removed my sword, and watched as Hayden fell to the ground. Brent opened his mouth to scream, but I was too quick. My sword collided with his neck, cutting his head clean off. It rolled to the ground, his eyes glossed over. I turned back, to see Hayden was motionless as well.

The two biggest problems in my life had been taken care of.

•••

Tears. Hours of intense, endless sobbing.

I had forcefully dragged Brandon from his room to mine, laid him on the bed, and tried to comfort him the best I could. Nothing I did stopped the crying.

"Y-you k-ki-killed th-them-m," he told me between sobs. "You re-r-really ki-killed t-them-m."

I tried running my fingers through his hair. I tried holding him in my arms. I even went as far as offering him an entire pie from the kitchen, but the emotional breakdown went on for hours, until Brandon was completely dehydrated. He laid on the bed, sniffling and facing away from me.

"Brandon," I called out to him. He craned his neck only slightly, but once he saw me in his peripheral vision, he turned back. He said nothing in return. I rolled my eyes, and held out a chilled glass of water. "Brandon, you need to drink," I advised. He moved further down the bed.

I was not going to let him ignore me like this. I lunged across the bed, and tackled Brandon. He let out a panicked whimper, before I completely pinned him down. "Get off of me!" He cried out, struggling under me. I leaned down to kiss him, but he spit in my face. He had never acted like this before.

I wiped the saliva from my face, and used one hand to reach for the water glass again. "Please, drink," I whispered. Brandon closed his eyes, then sighed softly. He struggled a bit to sit up, but I allowed him to. He took the glass from me and drank quickly, savoring it.

Brandon wrinkled his nose, then glared at me. His eyes fell back to the glass of water, which slipped from his hand. It landed safely on the bed. Brandon's eyes flew shut, and he fell back onto the bed.

I felt bad I had to knock him out, but if that was what I had to do, I suppose I did the right thing. I wasn't letting dead enemies get between a vivacious love.

(Well, that was pretty painful to write. Only four more chapters and an epilogue left. What do you all think is going to happen now???)

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