NOT WORTHY TO BE KING: FEARLESS WARRIOR

18. I'M NOT A KILLER

The queen of Mercy was busy reading a book when Logan and Clayton barged into her chambers. She was surprised to see them by the look on her face.

"Clay? Why on earth did you just barge into my chambers like that? Don't you know a little something called knocking?" She put the book down and went to them.

She smiled at Clayton but when her eyes met Logan's, she quickly dropped the smile and looked at Clayton, probably asking him why Logan was there.

Logan didn't say anything, he just watched as the queen's eyes asked questions, questions that Clayton wasn't providing answers to.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" She asked Clayton when she saw that he wasn't smiling back at her. "Did something happen to you or Arianna and the baby? Why do you look like your whole world has been reduced to nothing?"

Logan didn't know if she was really concerned about Clayton or not but he could see that it wasn't affecting Clayton at all.

His brother was still angry though he wasn't saying anything. He just let the queen say whatever she wanted to say or ask any question she wanted to ask.

"Honey, why are you not saying anything?"

"I'm afraid once I open my mouth I won't be able to stop the words from pouring in. You don't have any idea what I'm thinking right now and you don't want to know."

"Nonsense, I don't mind hearing anything that comes out of your mouth. I would listen to you all day long without a problem. Tell me, what's wrong?"

She took his hand and guided him to the couch. He sat down and she followed suit. Logan decided to stand by the door in case someone came while Clay was still talking to the queen.

"Do you remember when I once asked you why I didn't look like you or dad?" The queen seemed taken aback but she quickly hid it.

"Yes. I told you that sometimes kids don't look like their parents and that's okay because it doesn't matter. I also told you that Kaden doesn't look like your father either."

Hearing that from the queen, something about Kaden suddenly made sense to Logan but he wasn't going to say anything.

"You never told me that it was all a lie, you looked me in the eyes and told me what you wanted me to believe. You lied to me."

"I would never lie to you Clayton, you are my son and I have no reason to lie to you and you know that. Now I don't know why you're behaving strangely, but I think you need to get some sleep and when you're sure that you're okay, you can come to me and tell me what the problem is."

"I don't need to lie down, I know why I'm here. You lied to me all my life and I believed you. I don't care why you did it but I do want to know one thing though. What did you do to my mother?"

The queen looked like someone had just thrown a bucket of cold water at her. She went still for a few moments before she tried to compose herself again.

"Don't even think of denying it, I know that I'm not your son and that I'm not even part of this family. What I want to know is how I ended up with you. Did you kill my mother? I know for a fact that she didn't give me up."

"What makes you so sure that she didn't give you up? You don't know her and you don't even know what she was like. What if I told you that she gave you to me before she died? Do you think I care about how that will make you feel?"

"I know you don't and that doesn't mean anything to me. You don't have to play mind games with me, I'm not going to fall for them.

"I want to know what you did to my mother and I'm not going to ask again. If you haven't noticed, it's only you, me and Logan here so if I decide to do something to you, no one would ever know how you died. Don't push my buttons."

When the queen looked at Logan, Logan saw that she took Clayton's words very seriously. She sighed and took a seat.

"I'm a lot of things but I'm not a killer. I didn't kill your mother and she didn't give you up. I was worried that your father would blame me if I came back and told him that our daughter had died.

"My daughter was born dead and I didn't have the courage to tell the king, he was happy with the pregnancy and I also wanted to save myself from the grief of losing a child.

"My cousin found you in the woods and gave you to me, I wasn't going to refuse. I knew you belonged to someone else but I also needed a replacement for my dead child.

"No one in Mercy knew I was carrying a baby girl, so it was easier for me to pretend you were my baby. I know I should have asked my cousin where he found you but I couldn't risk it.

"I also knew the kind of things he did and I was worried that maybe if I asked him to tell me the truth he would tell me things I knew for sure I couldn't handle.

"I just went with the version he told me, that you were in the woods and never asked about your parents. I know he must've killed them but like I said, I didn't ask him and I never planned to."

Logan stood there and listened to every word she said. He also doubted that the cousin she was talking about found Clay in the woods. It was likely that he had killed the princess and decided to take Clayton with him since his cousin needed a baby.

"You have to ask him what happened, I need to know." Clayton's words took Logan off guard.

"Are you insane? How is that going to change anything?"

"That is for me to decide, not you. I want to know what happened to my mother and you are going to help me. I don't care how you do it but you will have to."

"Are you threatening me? Your mother?"

"You are not my mother and you will never be!" The queen was hoping she could use that to make Clayton drop the subject and it was written all over her face and Logan could see the hope disappearing from her face slowly.

"Even if I wanted to help you, which I don't, I can't because my cousin died before you could walk or learn how to speak.

"I don't suppose you know how to make dead men talk. I have no idea what he got himself into but he was killed and he never told me anything about your mother or your father."

If he died, then how are they going to find out what happened to Clayton's mother?

"I don't even know why you want to know about your parents, you have everything you want here. You are a prince and that comes with a lot of privileges.

"I'm sure your family, wherever they are, won't give you what you have here. You will miss your life here eventually. So why not save yourself the trouble of regretting your decision and just forget about everything?

"I will pretend that nothing happened and I will still treat you like my own son and you will also treat me as your mother. You won't be able to live without a title where you want to go, your mother's family won't be able to give you a royal title."

Clayton wanted to say something but Logan cut him to it, he wasn't going to let his brother ruin the queen's assumptions.

She was convinced that Clay wasn't from a royal family so he decided to keep it like that. He had never been to the Sky Kingdom before but he knew it was probably one of the most beautiful kingdoms.

"If Clay wants to know about his mother then you don't have to stop him from doing that. It is his choice, not yours." Logan spoke for the first time since they got there.

The queen looked at him and then at Clayton before she spoke again. "I always wondered why you two could look so alike even though you aren't related.

"I just never thought you could be more related than I could realise. I used to tell myself that if I didn't compare you then I wouldn't have to be reminded that Clayton isn't mine and I guess I never wanted to say that the king isn't your father."

Logan understood that the reason why she never said anything was because she was scared that her secrets would be revealed as well. She has always been a selfish woman.

He didn't push her though, because his mind was racing with all sorts of questions and doubts. He wondered if the queen was telling the truth, or if she was just saying what Clayton wanted to hear to avoid any further confrontation. He also wondered who the cousin was and what really happened to Clayton's real mother.

"Who was this cousin of yours?" Logan asked, breaking the silence that had settled in the room.

The queen looked up at Logan, surprised that he had asked that question. She opened her mouth to answer but Clayton beat her to it.

"I know who he was," Clayton said, his voice barely above a whisper. "His name was Edmund, and he was a mercenary. He used to work for my father before he was banished from the kingdom."

Logan knew of Edmund, he had heard people talking about him. He never met the guy though, since he didn't spend much of his time in the palace as a child. He was a notorious mercenary who had a reputation for being ruthless and violent. He was feared by many, and Logan had heard stories of his brutality. He wondered what Edmund had to do with Clayton and why he had taken him.

"What happened to him?" Logan asked, turning his attention back to the queen.

"I don't know," the queen said, shaking her head. "After he gave me Clayton, he disappeared. I never saw or heard from him again after that. I just heard that he was killed and since he had been banished, I wasn't allowed to attend his funeral."

Logan didn't believe her. He knew that there was more to the story, but he didn't know how to get the truth out of her. He turned to Clayton and saw the pain and anger in his eyes. He knew that his brother was struggling to keep his emotions in check, and he didn't want to push him too far.

"Let's leave this for now," Logan said, walking towards Clayton. "This is not the end of this conversation though." He said to the queen.

Clayton agreed by nodding his head, his eyes never leaving the queen. Logan put his hand on his brother's shoulder and guided him out of the room. As they walked down the hallway, Logan couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. He knew that there was more to the story, and he was determined to find out what it was.

"Why did you stop me from telling her that my mom was a princess and that my father was a king too? She was insulting our family!" Logan could understand his brother's frustration.

"I know all that but it wasn't going to make the situation any less frustrating. She is convinced that she is the only person who can provide you with a royal title and I think it is safe that way.

"What she thinks doesn't change the fact that you have royal blood running in your veins, even if it's not Morgan's blood but Fairchild's."

Clayton didn't say anything after that. He realised that his elder brother was right.

"I am just worried that we might never get to know the truth about your real mother. I was really hoping that she might know something about what happened to her.

"When we decide to go back home, it is best to do that with all the knowledge we might need. We have never been there and we don't even know what we will be facing as soon as we get there.

"Going in blind will cost us a lot and I don't want us to do anything that will end up costing our lives." Logan knew it was a big risk and that it was something they had to do, which meant they needed to plan first.

It wouldn't have mattered if it was before, at least a few months ago, because Tiara wasn't part of his life then. Now it was different, he had fallen in love with his wife so hard and they were expecting a child.

He wouldn't forgive himself if something happened to both of them and he knew Clayton felt the same. He has a fiance and a child on the way. He would never do anything to put them in harm's way.

When Logan looked at his younger brother, it was clear that he was thinking of the same thing. They both couldn't risk it.

They went back home after discussing what needed to be done before going back to their kingdom.

"You two are back. How did it go?"