Chapter 2 - The Betrayal

The next morning Fei woke up in a jail cell filled with dirt and rot. "What's this?" Fei wondered, rubbing his eyes for clarity. The prince's older brother Ricardo showed himself right then and there. 

"Why am I here Ricardo!?" Fei asked upon seeing him. 

Ricardo's face was an absolute mess. Traces of tears could be seen on the man's cheeks, his hair was all over the place and his eyes were red. Clearly, he did not have any sleep last night. 

"Let me out Ricardo! This isn't funny" Fei demanded. 

Ricardo sighed then threw Fei a photograph. "I can't bring myself to say anything, so I'll just show you" said Ricardo softly. 

The photograph was an image of a black-haired woman with her hand tied up to the ceiling and her hair covering her face. The woman had whip marks and swollen bruises all over her skin.

Fei examined the woman in the picture more closely, and then realized that it was his fiancée, Shawna Matar covered in injuries.

Fei never questioned the why or when, his only concern was finding out who was responsible. "Who did it?" he asked. 

Ricardo answered "The one who whipped her was me. The one who tied her up and imprisoned her was also me. I hope you learned your lesson from this"

BOOOMM!!

Fei forcefully kicked the iron bars, causing them to bend outward. With another kick in the same spot, he managed to create a hole in his cell. After breaking free, Fei smoothly ascended above and firmly grasped Ricardo's hair. He then hoisted Ricardo up to the ceiling, making sure his face made contact with it. 

As Ricardo fell from the ceiling, Fei swiftly caught him in mid-air and delivered a headbutt. The enraged prince didn't stop there, he held Ricardo in his left hand and landed punches on his face with his right. 

Ricardo quickly grew tired of getting pummelled so he caught Fei's right punch, then pushed him off. Ricardo uttered one word to turn the tide of the fight. 

"Nature's Blessing", suddenly the wounds Fei had inflicted healed itself instantly. Ricardo then pointed at his younger brother with both index finger. 

"There Shall Be Light!" 

Two beams of light, struck Fei in both of his knees. They were too fast for him to react. "Be Confined!" 

The very air around Fei gradually turned into a massive water bubble capable of restraining Fei. Being trapped did not stop Fei for he sliced the bubble with wind blades and pressed onward. 

He quickly got in range and swung a kick at Ricardo, but it missed. Fei followed up with an elbow, then right hook but none of his hits landed. "I think you should stop moving, and accept your punishment Fei" Ricardo said, confident in his position to beat Fei at any time. 

Ricardo's gift was once considered the most powerful skill in the world for its versatility. Anything the First Prince orders, it comes to fruition. Nevertheless, the restriction is that he can only issue commands with a maximum of four words per statement. Simple yet impactful.

Fei realized he stood no chance against his elder brother. However, what he witnessed in that photograph was unforgivable. Shawna, the woman he adored and treasured, had been brutally injured without any justification. Fei's anger was understandable, overshadowing his ability to think clearly.

"Jeez, you were always one to give people a hard time, whether ally or foe" Ricardo complains. He proceeded to shout, "Engulfed In Flames!"

The area became hot instantly, and flamed burst out from Fei's shirt, quickly beginning to burn his upper body. In response to this, Fei tore off his shirt, and charged Ricardo once more. 

Ricardo dominated the fight in various aspects. Firstly, his ability surpassed Fei's, and secondly, the environment greatly favored Ricardo. The underground prison where they clashed lacked adequate ventilation. Should Fei decide to utilize the limited air available, many distant prisoners would certainly succumb to the lack of oxygen. Even in his fury, Fei prioritized the safety of the inmates above all else.

The last thing Fei wanted was to kill someone because he used up the limited air in the vicinity. This causes him to rely mostly on hand to hand combat, in which Ricardo could read like a book. 

"I know you're angry but face it Fei. You really deserve this for telling her our secret" Ricardo told his brother. 

"Secret?" That word stopped Fei in his tracks. 

"Don't play dumb, you're the only one who would dare to tell Shawna about our family's secrets" said Ricardo, disappointedly. 

"Was this so called secret that severe, for you to harm her like that!?" Fei shouted. 

"Behind him!" Ricardo spoke, and just like that he instantly teleported behind Fei and grabbed both of his arms. After getting put in a strangle hold, Fei was force to listen to Ricardo's next words. "Be honest with me Fei. You will be free from this jail cell within a week's time I assure you so let's calm down for a moment. I don't want to kill my brother over nothing" Ricardo demands. 

Fei nodded, agreeing with Ricardo. His head was finally cooling off after hearing Ricardo's sincerity. "Did you or did you not tell Shawna about our family's secret?" asked Ricardo.

"I don't know of this secret you're talking about. And no, I would not tell Shawna anything confidential to us Royals" Fei answered. 

Ricardo used his gift on Fei once more, "Tell the Truth!"

"I didn't, I didn't tell her anything" Fei answered truthfully, even under Ricardo's gift his answer has remained the same. 

Ricardo let go of Fei, and begun to hold his head confused. "No, then, did we just to conclusions?" Ricardo realized. "Shit! Shit! Shit! This is bad!" Ricardo began to panic. 

"I did this out of the assumption that it was your fault Fei. We really gotta move" Ricardo panicked. He held Fei's right hand and said "To the Royal palace!"

The two brothers teleported to the Royal Palace a second later. At the very bottom floor of the Palace, was an private execution room. A room where executions took place outside of the public's eye. Inside the room, currently every member of King Alex's family was present. Ricardo, Fei, Flora, Dawn, Miguel, Fugo and Alisa were all present and accounted for. 

The King sighed at his two son's sudden appearance. "You sure took your time Ricardo. Did you get the valuable intel off of Fei" the King asked. 

Behind the line of siblings and father, was an unconcious Shawna hanging in the air. "Is she still alive?" Ricardo asked.

"For now, she wont be if she isn't treated though" Flora answered. Ricardo wasted no time giving Fei another command "Don't Move!". 

The sight of his beloved hang caused Fei's blood to boil over. Before he could attempt anything, Ricardo swiftly shuts him down with his command. "Why are you guys doing this, this is too cruel!?" Fei screamed out.

"What's your deal? This is your fault for telling Shawna" said Fei's younger brother Fugo. 

Dawn and Flora were particular distained with the events unfolding. Dawn worriedly questioned Fei, "Please say it ain't so big brother. You didn't spill the beans did you?". Flora asked Fei as well. 

"Spill what beans! Have you all gone mad, this is a dream. Wait, Fugo this is your doing right!? I told you many times not to use your powers on me. Free me from this" Fei yelled out in frustration.

"This is real life" Fugo confirmed. 

Ricardo silenced everyone for a moment, then confronted his father about the main issue. "Father, why didn't you tell Fei about our secret? I confirmed for myself and he clearly does not know it. To make matters worse, we were about to execute his fiancé over a crime he did not commit"

Everyone started to whisper with each other. Flora asked her father, "That can't be true right father, you wouldn't leave Fei out of the loop would you?"

"This execution is unfair, Shawna does not deserve this" Flora begged for her friend. 

The King answered, "You all have mistaken, we are not executing this commoner because Fei taddled on us. We are executing her because of suspicious activity"

"Suspicious activity?"

"Why yes, tell me if Fei was not the one who told us our secret, then how did she find it out. And how did we find out she knew of it. Please enlighten everyone Dawn" The King ordered. 

Dawn stepped up, and explained this morning event's to everyone more clearly. "Well, this morning I was heading to the restroom. On my way there I walked passed Fei's room where I heard some tumbling noises. When I peeped inside, I saw a distressed Shawna. She was panicking over something. I thought I was being undetectable as trained, but Shawna still noticed my presence by the door. She brought me inside and confronted me about our secret head on. Since I was the youngest of the family, she thought I would be the most reasonable to speak with". 

"GAH! Tell me the secret already!" Fei shouted, tired of hearing the term secret being tossed around. 

"Hold on Fei, we still have not gotten to the suspicious activity part" said Flora, waiting for more. 

....

"Is that it Dawn?" Flora asked, still waiting.

"Yes, that was it. After she asked me for confirmation on our secret, I quickly told father about it" said Dawn. Flora grabbed the girl by her collar and glared dead in her eyes. "Why did you go to father you fool!?"

"Let go of your sister Flora, before you get punish as well" her father glared. 

"Her suspicious activity was trying to get information out of a teenage girl on confidential information. Why didn't she go to Fei? Or even her friend Flora? She decided to question the youngest of the Royal Family, is that not suspicious?" asked the King.

"You have gone senile old man! Dawn just happened to be there peeping on her, it's not like she looked for her specifically and questioned her. Besides, my woman knows better not to wake me up before 8 am" Fei blurted, still unable to move. 

"Even now, you behave disrespectful. Off with this woman's head then" the King ordered Ricardo.

Ricardo stood still, hesitant of the consequences. Should he follow his father's orders and lose his younger brother's love, or should he side with his younger brother and abandon his father's love. Everything rode on Ricardo's decision now. 

"Ricardo, please, don't take her away from me" Fei started crying. Fugo handed Ricardo a sword, and said "You better kill her future King". 

Throughout the whole commotion, Shawna's eyes finally opened up. She could not turn her face, only look straight from the aching pain she feels. She saw Fei stucked to the floor, and could not help herself from shedding a single tear. "I knew it, I knew I shouldn't have gotten involved with you people" Shawna chuckled to herself, devoid of all sanity.

The King added "You should have known your place, this is what you deserve you common goat"

"Common goat? Hmm, you're right" she continues to giggle at herself. 

"Shawna! I'm coming, hang tight!" Fei shouted. The veins on Fei's face were expanding to the point, they could pop. The continues to apply more force on his body, trying to break free from Ricardo's command. He was dead set on not giving up until the very end. 

"Shawna! Please, just wait for me. YOu aren't going to die" Fei continued to scream. "Ricardo, cut her rope" Fei pleaded. Ricardo still stood there, unsure of his next course of action. "Ricardo! What's their to think about!?"

....

"Save her damn it!" he screamed, while crying. 

Shawna closed her eyes, accepting her fate. Ricardo charged forward upon seeing that and swung his sword once, beheading her swiftly and painlessly. Once the execution finished, Ricardo spoke, "The Secret our family was willing to kill her over was Our current Life Project".

"Flora is conducting research on our own people in the slums. Draining their life force and killing them in the process. Our aim of this project is to see if us, The Royal Family could attain immortality"

"Ricardo!" the King yelled, furiously. The old man walked up to the prince and slapped him in the face. "Imbecile, why did you tell him!?" the King yelled. 

Ricardo replied, "You just said it. I am an imbecile". 

In the end, Ricardo chose to abandon Fei's love over his father's. "Father, you disgust me but I will still continue on with our Life Project. Don't ever speak to me again" Flora said, charging out of the execution room. 

Dawn tried following her, but Flora strongly pushed her away. 

Before Fugo left as well, he asked his father, "So why wasn't Fei in the know until now?"

Ricardo turned his attention to that question, also curious about it as well. The King decided to keep his mouth shut, forcing Ricardo to use his gift on him. "Answer his question!" he demanded the King.

The King was forced to reply and honestly too, "Well, Fei is a special child. Sue warned me to never get him involved in dark Family affairs. Back then I held her tuition in high regard and I still do". 

"Sue? The first born child who ran away from home" Ricardo stated, surprised to hear the name. 

"Yes, the eldest child of you lot, who is no longer with us" said The King. 

"So do you have any idea how Shawna learned of our project father? Fei did not know of it so it coudn't be him, nor did Dawn do it. I didn't either. Fugo and Miguel just came back from official business today as well. I can't imagine Flora of all people revealing that project to her either. There is nothing inside the palace that suggests our secret, so explain" Ricardo asked.

"Now that's asking for too much my son" King replied. 

"I just cut ties with my brother for you. The least you can do is satisfy my curiosity" Ricardo states. 

The King whispered the Ricardo's ear, so that Fei could not overhear from the floor. Once the King stepped away, Ricardo sighed then proceeded to bring Fei back to outside of Arcland, outside the border entirely, far away from the Royal Palace. At this point, it was the only place Fei could stay. Once Ricardo's command wears off, Fei will surely cause chaos over Shawna's death. As he was pulling Fei along, Ricardo spoke. 

"Listen, I know this is incredibly unfair. Please don't forgive me for what I have done. I am begging you. I was fully aware of how commited you were to living with that woman, but I still executed her. I'm sorry, we just weren't born with a heart to trust commoners" Ricardo spoke softly. Ever since Shawna was beheaded, Fei has been in a state of silence. 

Even as Ricardo pulled Fei's body, he could not feel any reaction at all from his brother. He was still alive and breathing, that was it. Fei had no energy for anything, not even to utter a single word to his brother. 

Once they made it very far away, Ricardo threw Fei in a grassy plain. "I hope the wind can cheer you up" Ricardo said, before teleporting away. 

With Shawna's death and Fei's mental shutdown, what will come of Arcland's future?