Third Person POV
The news spread far and wide. 'The Queen Mother killed her daughter-in-law, the Jade Princess, the eldest daughter of the Palk Kingdom, Poloria Jade. Both bodies were burnt in a fire but identifiable.'
Representatives from every Kingdom quickly made their way to Regila Kingdom. Few Kings or Queens went personally. The King and Queen of Palk, the second Princess of the Feri Kingdom who announced her engagement to the First Prince of the Palk Kingdom were the first to arrive.
The King of Lino and Third Prince of Heln arrived a month later. A nobleman from Yalki was sent five months later but was denied entry. A nobleman from Ojun arrived three months after the announcement was sent out by travelling on horseback. Everyone except Yalki Kingdom did their best to arrive as quickly as they could.
When Poloria's parents arrived, a private funeral was held for the family. Kai suggested a celebration for his mother when the other Kingdoms arrived to honor her, since she didn't like people getting unnecessarily sad over death. His siblings agreed.
His grandparents and father disagreed at first but eventually gave in when Lion suggested that when each Kingdom arrived, they would pay respects at her grave for as long as they wanted to until the day of the celebration and then until they decided to leave.
"Lion, Lia." Palari stooped down in front of them "Will you stay here?" She asked them. "Where else will they go?" Kasian asked as he approached them. "They aren't your-." Kasian glared at her. "They are mychildren. If you wish to visit or wish for them to visit you then there is no problem, but they are mine."
Palari stood up. "I'm their aunt. Aren't I allowed to ask that question? Suppose they don't want to stay here?" Kasian stepped in between her and the children. "I already asked them and they want to stay. I am their father regardless of what you say. Open your mouth about it again and I'll cut out that useless thing making noise."
Palari sighed. "Fine. I won't say or ask anything like that again." She turned and walked away. Kasian turned to the two. "Don't let anyone pressure you. Make your own decisions about staying or leaving." Kasian said before walking away.
"Are we staying?" Lia asked her brother. "Mother wouldn't have left us in his care if she didn't think he was trustworthy. We'll stay." Lia nodded at his words.
"Lion!" Kai called out to him from the end of the hall. "I'm going to train with older brother." Lia nodded and watched him leave. She sighed. "This is worse than not seeing her for months. At least we knew she was alive. Now-." Lia wiped the tears.
"I'll go join training." She mumbled to herself before running in the direction Lion and Kai had left in.
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"The children are taking it better than I thought." Malari said as she stood on a balcony overlooking the training field. "Ria wouldn't have wanted any of us behaving especially distraught over her death." Railin said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
"With everything that happened, I didn't think that she would actually die. Our baby girl." Malari hugged her husband, burying her face in his chest.
"Dad is right, Mom." Kasian said as he walked onto the balcony. Malari looked him. "Kasian. I know the whole situation, and you don't have to worry about us hating or blaming you. We know this had nothing to do with you."
Kasian sighed. "If I had acted that night, this wouldn't have happened." Railin patted his shoulder. "If you had acted sooner or later, your mother would've still gone after Poloria. This has nothing to do with you."
"What do you mean?" Kasian asked. Malari wiped her tears. "The real reason Ria left home at such an early age was because we were attacked when were on a walk through the streets. Assassins, fifty of them." Kasian was confused. He didn't know about this.
"We didn't tell anyone because the children were still small and Ria was afraid that they'd attack again so she left. In that attack, her face got scarred as she blocked a blow meant for me." Railin ran a hand up and down his wife's back as she began to break down.
"We'll tell you the details another time but, in the end, Ria found out that it was your mother who sent those assassins." Railin said before leading his wife away.
Kasian felt as if his entire body was breaking into pieces. His mother tried to kill his wife when she was younger and made her flee her kingdom. Then she proposed a marriage between her and his younger brother, Ria decided on him and they married. They schemed and got him out of the picture, then killed her.
Kasian laughed softly. "This is unbelievable." He never thought things went this deep. He thought his mother went her extreme way because things weren't working out the way she wanted. It was also her go to. He never imagined that it was his mother's plan all along.
If he wasn't transparent that night, would things have changed? Would she still be alive? Kasian suddenly remembered Lia's words. Ria and the children had stayed in Regila for a year before they got married. Which means that she knew something wasn't right. Kasian couldn't help but to chuckle.
"What if she's actually alive? What if someone took her away and she's somewhere sick?" Kasian mumbled to himself. "Who could do it? None of her people have made any movements." He paused and scoffed. "As if I would know if they made moves." He sighed.
"I should've followed what she said. Then things wouldn't have gotten this bad."