章節 3: A Duke's Deceit
Marius jolted awake, his head throbbing as consciousness crashed over him like a wave. Cold stone pressed against his cheek, and the musty scent of damp earth filled his nostrils. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, the memories came flooding back - his Luna water turning an inky black, the horrified faces of those around him, and the sudden, violent turn of events that followed.
He winced as he gingerly touched his jaw, feeling the tender spot where a guard's boot had connected with his face. The pain served as a stark reminder of how quickly his world had unraveled.
Stumbling to his feet, Marius made his way to the iron bars that confined him. His fingers wrapped around the cold metal as he peered into the gloom beyond. "Get me out of here!" he shouted, his voice echoing off the stone walls. The silence that followed was deafening.
Undeterred, Marius rattled the bars with all his might. The clanging reverberated through the dungeon, but still, no one came. "I'm not an Omega!" he screamed, desperation clawing at his throat. "This is a mistake!"
"Shut the fuck up!" a gruff voice growled from across the corridor. Marius squinted, trying to make out the source of the sound. A face materialized in the darkness, weathered and scarred, glaring at him from behind the bars of another cell.
"If you're here, your fate is sealed," the man spat. "So quit your wailing."
Marius took a step back, swallowing hard as he studied the stranger's rugged features. The man's eyes were sunken, his beard unkempt, and his clothes hung in tatters from his frame.
"Who are you?" Marius asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
The man let out a harsh laugh. "I'm a criminal," he sneered. "Just like you. An Omega trying to live like one of them." He cocked his head, studying Marius with a mixture of contempt and pity. "Who do you think you are?"
Marius bristled at the accusation. "I will not be lectured by the likes of you," he retorted, drawing himself up to his full height.
The man's laughter echoed through the dungeon, a hollow, mirthless sound. "But we are the same," he said, spreading his arms wide. "Omega scum who deserve nothing."
He leaned closer to the bars, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "You want to know why I'm here? I dared to want a Gamma woman. A woman who wanted me just as much as I wanted her." His eyes clouded over with a distant memory. "But the Kingdom draws the line at an Omega being loved by higher ranks."
The man's gaze refocused on Marius, a grim smile twisting his features. "I know my fate. By nightfall, they'll take me to the Gallows to hang." He chuckled, a sound devoid of any real humor. "It'll be better than sucking dick here just to get something to eat."
Marius felt his stomach churn at the man's words, a cold sweat breaking out across his skin.
"You better stop whining and prepare yourself for the inevitable," the man continued, his tone matter-of-fact.
Marius let out a dry, disbelieving chuckle. "What? Hang?"
The man shrugged. "They can be creative when they want. Hanging, beheading, drowning - take your pick."
"I'm not like you," Marius insisted, his voice rising. "I'm different."
"How so?" the man challenged, raising an eyebrow.
Marius opened his mouth to respond, but the words died on his tongue. He wanted to fall back on his privilege, to explain how he was born into a respected family, how he had been raised alongside Alphas and Betas. But as he stood there, confined in a dank cell no different from the one across from him, he realized how hollow those arguments sounded.
Instead of answering, Marius retreated to the back of his cell, sinking down onto the cold floor. He drew his knees to his chest, trying to make sense of how his life had spiraled so dramatically out of control.
The dungeons fell into an uneasy silence, broken only by the occasional drip of water and the scurrying of unseen vermin. Marius lost track of time as he sat there, his mind replaying the events that had led him to this place.
He didn't get to reminisce about it for long before an orange glow began to seep into the gloomy dungeon. Marius blinked, his eyes adjusting to the sudden intrusion of light. The sound of heavy footsteps echoed off the stone walls, growing louder with each passing second.
Two guards appeared before his cell, their faces cast in eerie shadows by the flickering torchlight. One of them banged his baton against the iron bars, the clanging sound reverberating through the small space.
"I hope you aren't sleeping, Vermin," the guard sneered, his lips curling into a cruel smile.
Marius scrambled to his feet, his legs trembling beneath him as he approached the bars. "I need to talk to the King," he said, his voice hoarse from hours of disuse. "Or better still, my parents."
The guards exchanged glances before breaking into mocking laughter. "The King will be meeting with your family of liars soon enough," one of them spat. "But for now, you can talk to your parents as much as you want."
Before Marius could process their words, two figures were shoved forward. His heart leapt into his throat as he recognized his mother and father. The guards roughly pushed his mother against the cell, causing her to stumble. His father, however, was treated with far more respect, guided with a firm but gentle hand.
The cell door creaked open, and his parents were ushered inside. With a final bark of laughter, the guards retreated, leaving the family alone in the flickering orange light.
Marius rushed forward, arms outstretched to embrace his mother. But instead of the comforting hug he craved, he was met with a sharp slap across his face. The sound echoed in the small cell, leaving a stunned silence in its wake.
"What have you done?" his mother hissed, her eyes wild with a mixture of anger and fear. She lunged for his throat, but his father quickly intervened, restraining her with strong arms.
"It's not Marius's fault," his father said, his voice strained as he held back his wife.
His mother whirled on her husband, her face contorted with rage. "How is this not his fault?" she demanded. "He took the test, knowing damn well he isn't of age!" She turned back to Marius, her eyes boring into him. "Why did you do it? Why did you choose to wreck our family?"
Confusion washed over Marius like a tidal wave. "But the test is wrong," he stammered, shaking his head in disbelief. "I'm not an Omega."
His mother broke free from his father's grasp and grabbed Marius by the shoulders, her fingers digging into his flesh. "If the test confirmed it," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, "then you are."
Marius shook his head more vigorously, as if he could physically shake off her words. "That's not possible," he insisted.
His mother's grip tightened, and she nodded slowly. "It is."
"No," Marius repeated, his voice rising with desperation. "It's not possible!"
"It is," his mother said again, her voice taking on a strange, hollow quality. She paused, her eyes searching his face before she delivered the final blow. "Because I'm like you. I'm an Omega."
The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Marius felt as if the ground had disappeared beneath his feet, leaving him floating in a void of confusion and disbelief. He stared at his mother, searching her face for any sign that this was all some cruel joke. But the anguish in her eyes told him it was all too real.
The silence that followed his mother's confession was shattered by the harsh clang of metal on metal. The guards had returned, their faces twisted with cruel amusement.
"You must have some gift," one of them sneered, his eyes fixed on Marius. "The king wants to see the swines that dare desecrate the crown and the kingdom."
Marius's mother stiffened, her face paling in the dim light. She turned to her husband, the Duke, her eyes wide with a desperate plea. "There's no point delaying the inevitable," she whispered, her voice trembling.
She leaned in close, her words barely audible. "Say I deceived you into marriage. Forged my life, and you were too in love to realize it." Her fingers clutched at his sleeve. "I will go down. But then the Crown will understand. They will spare you. They will spare Marius." Her eyes darted between her husband and son. "Onalith is brutal, but it is fair."
The Duke shook his head, his jaw set in a firm line. "No," he said, his voice low but resolute.
The cell door creaked open, and the guards reached in, rough hands grasping at all three of them. Marius felt himself being yanked forward, his mother's desperate voice cutting through the chaos.
"You have to choose!" she cried, her eyes locked on her husband's face.
As they were bundled out of the cell, Marius caught glimpses of his parents' faces in the flickering torchlight. His mother's eyes were wild with fear and determination, while his father's expression was set in grim resolve.
The guards shoved them down the dank corridor, their boots echoing off the stone walls. Marius stumbled, his mind reeling from the revelations of the past few minutes. The world he had known was crumbling around him, replaced by a harsh reality he could barely comprehend.
As they ascended the stairs leading out of the dungeon, Marius felt the weight of his family's secrets pressing down on him. His mother's desperate plea echoed in his ears, mingling with the sound of their footsteps on the cold stone.
The light grew brighter as they neared the upper levels of the castle, and Marius squinted against the sudden glare. He could feel the tension radiating from his parents, the unspoken decision hanging in the air between them.
When they reached the grand doors of the throne room, Marius realized that whatever happened next would change their lives forever. The truth was about to be laid bare before the king, and the consequences would reshape not just their family, but potentially the entire kingdom of Onalith.
The guards paused before the ornate doors, their hands still gripping Marius and his parents tightly. For a moment, time seemed to stand still. Then, with a resounding creak, the doors began to open.
The throne room fell into an eerie silence as Marius and his parents were brought before the king. The monarch's eyes, cold and calculating, swept over the trio, lingering on Marius with a mixture of disgust and curiosity.
"How is it," the king's voice boomed, echoing off the vaulted ceiling, "that the son of a Beta and a Gamma is an Omega?" His fingers drummed an impatient rhythm on the arm of his throne.
Marius's mother stepped forward, her chains rattling with the movement. "Your Majesty," she began, her voice trembling but determined, "the fault lies with me alone. I—"
"No," the Duke interrupted, moving to stand beside his wife. "The responsibility is mine. I should have—"
The king's hand shot up, silencing them both. His face twisted with annoyance. "I asked a simple question," he growled. "I expect a simple answer."
Marius watched as his parents exchanged glances, a lifetime of love and secrets passing between them in that brief moment. His mother took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders.
"I am an Omega, Your Majesty," she confessed, her words echoing in the stunned silence that followed. "I deceived my husband, forged my identity. The Duke is blameless in this."
The Duke shook his head vehemently. "That's not true," he insisted. "I knew. I've always known, and I chose to keep her secret after forcing her to marry me. If anyone should be punished, it's me."
The king's face darkened with each word, his patience visibly wearing thin. He rose from his throne, descending the steps with measured strides.
"So," he said, his voice dangerously low, "you both claim responsibility. How noble." The sarcasm in his tone was noticeable. "And what of you, boy?" he asked, turning his piercing gaze to Marius. "What tale will you spin to save your skin?"
Marius opened his mouth, but no words came out. He looked from his mother to his father, seeing the love and sacrifice in their eyes. In that moment, he understood there was nothing he could do or say that would save him from his fate.
"I..." Marius began, his voice cracking. "I—"
The king's laugh was cold and mirthless. "How touching," he sneered. "The boy won't speak. A family united in deceit." He paced before them, his robes swishing across the polished floor. "You've made a mockery of our laws, our very way of life."
The tension in the room was palpable, the air thick with fear and anticipation. The king's guards stood at attention, hands on their weapons, awaiting orders.
"Your Majesty," the Duke pleaded, "spare my wife and son. I alone—"
"Enough!" the king roared, his patience finally snapping. "I've heard enough of your noble sacrifices and selfless pleas." He turned to his guards, his face a mask of cold fury. "Take them all to the guillotines. Let their fate serve as a warning to any who would dare corrupt the purity of our kingdom."
The guards moved swiftly, seizing Marius and his parents. His mother's anguished cry pierced the air as they were dragged apart. Marius struggled against the iron grip, his eyes locked on his parents' faces, memorizing every detail.
As they were led away, the king's voice followed them, a final, chilling pronouncement. "Let it be known that on this day, the house of Favier falls. Their line ends here, their names struck from our records. Such is the fate of those who betray the crown."
The heavy doors of the throne room slammed shut behind them, sealing their fate. It was off with their heads.
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