Chapter Twenty-Six

 

 

 

Shane

 

Laura is asleep in my arms when Ryan comes to wake us up. She is the one who breaks her strict ‘no cuddling’ rule the most. Every time I wake up, her arm is thrown over me in some form or fashion, and her head is generally nestled up against my shoulder. It’s kind of sweet.

“You two look cozy. Sorry to wake you,” Ryan says. I sit up and shake Laura awake.

“I’ve been awake. She’s been out like a light,” I say, as Laura stretches her arms and sits up.

“I have not. I’m always awake,” she mumbles sleepily, rubbing her eyes. “I’m always alert too.”

“No, you’re not. You sleep like a rock,” I say.

She seems to question this for a second then shrugs. Lucky for Ryan and me, it’s apparently difficult to be snarky thirty seconds after you’ve woken up.

“What’s up, my dearest father?” I ask.

“Meeting. You, Laura, Taeler, Izzy and me. My apartment. Get dressed,” Ryan replies, rolling his eyes.

Laura sucks in a shaky breath. She already knows what this meeting is about and so do I—the fate of her father.

“Got it. Give us a minute,” I say. Ryan nods, and shuts the door behind him as he leaves.

“I can’t do this,” Laura whispers. She’s wide awake now, and fear is plain in her golden eyes.

“It’s just a meeting, Laura. You can go to a meeting. It’s all going to be okay, I promise. No matter what happens, you’re going to be okay,” I say.

“You can’t promise that,” she says, sighing.

“I know.” I smile sadly.

“But it sure is a beautiful lie,” she admits, climbing out of bed. “I’m going to go get dressed. I’ll hurry.”

“No rush,” I say, rummaging through the closet to find a T-shirt as she disappears into the hallway. Basketball shorts and a T-shirt are proper determining-the-fate-of-the-Emperor meeting attire, right?

In a few minutes, Laura emerges from the bathroom in a pair of skinny jeans and a red shirt, a leather jacket pulled over her shoulders. Her long hair is braided to the side, and fabric sandals cover most of her feet. That reminds me—shoes. Shoes are important.

After I throw on a pair of fabric tennis shoes, we trudge down the hallway to Ryan’s room in silence.

When I push open the door, Taeler, Ryan and Isaac are already waiting for us, sitting in the living room in a circle. Ryan takes his usual chair, Taeler sits cross-legged on the floor next to him, and Izzy sits at the end of the couch, his head hung in despair. Laura sits down next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder, and I take my seat next to her.

“Good. We’re all here,” Ryan says. Laura settles down in her seat, interlocking our fingers. I give her a small smile and squeeze her hand. She’s not doing this alone, and I want her to know that.

“I’m sure that no one’s in the mood for baked goods, but there are cookies in the kitchen,” Taeler says.

“I’m always in the mood for baked goods,” I say, standing up to grab some cookies. Then I remember that we’re meeting to discuss what we will do with Laura’s crazy father, so I sit back down. “But I’ll just get some later.”

“All right. Because of recent events, it has been determined that we need to take action against the Emperor. We need to determine what exactly—”

“Kill him,” Izzy says simply, his voice monotone.

“There are other options—” Ryan begins, but Taeler intercedes.

“No, Dad, there aren’t. We all know it. This is way past getting out of hand. He killed his innocent granddaughter, and he’s coming for you and Laura next. We have to stop him or there won’t be a rebellion left to keep him in check.”

Laura doesn’t say a word and stares at the ground as we discuss her father’s punishment. I don’t know how she can bear to hear this. I don’t even like the Emperor, and their words make me cringe.

“We do need to stop him. But we don’t have to kill him to stop him. We could imprison him—” Ryan begins.

“What if he escapes? Then what?” Izzy asks. “Are we really going to sit by while he continues to kill innocent people like my daughter? Because that’s what is going to happen if we allow him to live. We just can’t.”

Ryan sighs, shaking his head. “I had always hoped that it wouldn’t come to this. Peter was truly a good man once, and I had hoped that he would change.”

“But he hasn’t, Dad. He’s not going to. We have to end this.” Taeler puts a hand on her father’s shoulder.

“All right, everyone. Let’s put it to a vote,” Ryan says softly. “All in favor of killing Peter, raise your hand.”

Izzy’s hand shoots into the air first, followed closely by Taeler’s. Minutes pass before Ryan’s eyes brim with tears as he raises his arm in the air.

Then up goes Laura’s hand, shaking furiously. She grabs it with her other arm to steady it, tears rolling down her cheeks in a fury.

I’m the only one who doesn’t raise my hand.

Peter is a terrible ruler. I know that. And maybe some think that he does deserve to die for what he’s done. But I don’t. I won’t condemn this man to death. Laura loves him so much, and if there’s something to love about him, then there’s something worth saving. My vote won’t spare his life, but at least I tried.

“It’s decided, then,” Ryan whispers, his voice quivering.

“We need a plan,” Taeler says, taking control of the situation. “It’s going to be very difficult to breach the palace’s security now that my dad isn’t head of the guard. Few rebels remain employed at the palace, and it’s going to be really hard to get in there. Let alone to get the Emperor alone.”

“It won’t be difficult for me. I can do it,” Laura says, staring at her feet.

“Laura, no. That’s out of the question—” Ryan begins, but Laura shakes her head.

“Let me go. I can pretend to apologize. There’s a chance he won’t let me come back home, but I have a strong feeling that he’ll forgive me if I ask. Or I could lie and say the rebels kidnapped me. He won’t hurt me. He really does love me, deep down in his heart. It’s his weakness. That’s why he taught me not to love anything,” she says.

“Are you sure that you can do this?” Ryan asks. “That you want to?”

“I can do it. This is what I was raised for, right? To not let my love for someone get in the way of protecting my country from them. I’ll do it,” she says, devoid of emotion.

“All right, Laura. If you’re sure,” Ryan says, pursing his lips.

“I am. I’m sure. Just trust me. I have my reasons for volunteering,” Laura says. “Can Shane and I be excused while you finish discussing your plans? I’d like to visit Alicia.”

“Sure, go on,” Ryan says sadly, waving Laura and me out of the door. Quietly, she walks into the hallway and I follow behind her, echoing her silence.

There are so many questions that I want to ask her, but I don’t. She’ll tell me when she’s ready. I follow her until we reach Alicia’s hospital room, where she stops at the wooden door and turns to face me.

“Thank you for coming with me, Shane. I just… I need you right now,” she says, biting her lip.

“Anytime,” I say, opening the door for her as she enters the room. Alicia lays in a small bed in the center of the room, hooked up to an endless array of beeping machines and tangled cords.

“Hey, sis,” Laura whispers, sitting down in the red chair next to her sister’s bed. “I’m sorry that this happened to you. I don’t know if you can hear me or not, but I came to tell you that I’m going to end it. I’m going home to put a stop to Father’s reign of destruction. I just needed to remind myself why I have to do this. Your current state is a pretty good reminder.”

“Oh, Laura,” I mutter to myself, watching her as I stand in the doorway.

Laura squeezes her sister’s hand. “Wake up soon.”

“You don’t have to do this, Laura,” I say, as she walks over to where I stand.

“Yes I do. No one else can do it. It has to be me,” she says, determined.

“No it doesn’t—”

“If anyone else were to kill my father, I would never forgive them. I wouldn’t. I’d try to get past it, but I would hate that person for the rest of my life. And I love all of you far too much for that.”

“Okay, then hate me. I’ll do it. If it spares you from pain.”

“No, it’s not just that. This is the only way I’ll get to say goodbye to him. And I have to say goodbye to him. I have to,” Laura whispers.

“Of course,” I say, pulling her into a hug.

“My dad seems like an awful ruler, and I know he’s caused a lot of pain. But really and truly, he had a good heart. Not a lot of people have seen it, but I have. He cares very deeply about Karkonia. He just has a really bad idea about what’s good for it.”

“Yeah, I think everyone agrees with you there.”

“I wish you could’ve met him when I was a little kid. I mean, some people would say that it was foolish to teach me how to use a sword at age five, but it was so much fun. He was so good with weapons. I got that from him. And I swear, he was the funniest person you’d ever meet.”

“Hey, stop saying was. He’s not gone yet,” I say.

“Yeah, he is. That man has been dead for a long time,” Laura says, tears filling her eyes. “Oh my gosh, how am I ever going to do this? How do you kill someone you love with all your heart, Shane?”

“I don’t know, Laura. I couldn’t kill you if my life depended on it,” I say.

“You love me? Really?” she asks, a small smile forming at the edge of her lips.

“Yeah, I guess I do,” I say.

“Good,” she says, laying her head on my shoulder. “I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. Dad could abandon the whole idea of forgiving me and just kill me. Or I could chicken out and ruin everything. How am I supposed to do this?”

“I don’t know, Laura. You’re the one who volunteered.”

“You’re being unhelpful again,” she says, tears filling her eyes. “Gosh, why can’t I stop crying?”

“That’s generally what people do when they lose things, and you’ve lost a lot. You know, it’s okay to cry. It doesn’t make you weak. Nothing could make you weak, Laura. And if you think you have to do this, you’ll do it. Because that’s who you are. You do what has to be done, and you persevere through everything that’s thrown at you.”

“I hope you’re right, Shane.”

“I am,” I say. She lays her head on my shoulder and cries softly, wrapping her arms around my neck. I don’t know why she thinks she has to do this. It’s a burden that no person should have to bear. But I promise this. If she breaks under the weight, I will be there to pick up the pieces. She will never have to fight her battles alone again.