Tyranny of Steel

Hours had passed since the Byzantine Princess had poisoned her brother, and by now the man was showing symptoms. His muscles cramped and spasmed, while he sweated up a storm. After a few hours, vomiting became a frequent occurrence, and the prince was left alone in his room as a dying man. 

However, just when the man thought he would enter the afterlife without his family being the slightest bit aware, the door to his room crept open to reveal a curvaceous purple haired beauty who had a wicked smile on her face. She spoke to the man in a mocking tone, as if feigning her worry.

"What's the matter, big brother? Aren't you feeling well?"

When Decentius saw this, he wanted to scream at the girl with all the hatred in his heart, but only vomit came from his mouth. When Honoria saw this, her wicked smirk settled into one of calm wrath as she listed the symptoms the man was enduring in a taunting manner.

"Muscle cramps, profuse sweating, projectile vomiting. My brother, it would appear that you have been poisoned! Now, just who in this world would do such a thing?"

When Decentius heard his sister's provocation, he scowled; after wiping the vomit from his mouth, he could finally ask the question most present in his mind.

"You fucking bitch! What did you do to me?"

In response to this, Honoria feigned ignorance as she walked closer to her brother, gaining a firm control over the situation with a confident stride.

"Me? I am sure I have no idea what you are talking about. However, I must say whatever has been done to you is much deserved. After all, you are a murdering bastard who not only killed his own godfather in cold blood, but also plotted to assassinate his little sister during the later days of her pregnancy. Such despicable scum deserves only the worst of deaths.  However, far be it from me to act without mercy. I'll have you know that I just so happen to have the cure for what ails you right here!"

After giving Decentius this false hope, Honoria reached into her bosom and pulled out the same vial she had used to poison him earlier. The man feebly reached out to take it, but was ultimately batted away by his captor. 

"Now, now, Decentius, I never said that I would give it to you for free! There is a price that needs to be paid if you wish to save your own hide..."

The Second Prince of the Byzantine Empire gulped down the vomit that had poured into his mouth before nodding his head as quickly as his poisoned body would allow him to. He could only spit out a single word without throwing up his stomach's bile. 

"Anything!"

With a wicked smirk on Honoria's face, she did not hesitate to give her demands.

"Confess your sins to our father and mother. If you do that, I will give you peace..."

Decentius knew that confessing to the murder of Arethas, and the attempted assassination of his sister, would most likely result in either his execution or banishment. It wholly depended on his father's mood. However, if he did not do so, then he would surely die from this poison that pervaded throughout his body. Thus, with great resentment, the man nodded his head and agreed to Honoria's terms.

"Fine! Take me to them. I will confess what I have done to our family if it means I get to live!"

A cruel smirk appeared on Honoria's pretty face as she nodded her head before lifting her fallen brother onto his wheelchair.

"Good, let's go now. The sooner you confess, the sooner I will give you the antidote!"

After saying this, the Byzantine Princess hastily wheeled her crippled and poisoned brother to the Great Hall where Berengar, Besarion and the Byzantine Royal Family were currently engaging in polite conversation. Want to see more chapters? Please visit p a n d a -n o v e l .c o m

When Honoria entered the room with the puke stained Decentius, the entire gathering became silent as they gazed in horror at the second prince and his current condition. Before his parents could inquire about just what had happened to him, Honoria boldly made her declaration.

"Father, mother, Decentius here has something he would like to confess to everyone! Go on big brother, confess your sins to our family and I will give you peace as I have promised!"

The Second Prince had become exceptionally feeble and struggled to proclaim his guilt to his family. However, in the end, the Second Prince admitted his guilt to the Byzantine Emperor with multiple witnesses present. 

"Father... Mother... I confess... I am the one who killed Arethas, and after doing so, I attempted to assassinate Honoria while she was pregnant with her child..."

After saying this, Decentius puked all over the floor and collapsed in his chair, barely conscious, waiting for his father's response. Vetranis was equally shocked and furious at the current situation. Moments ago, he was enjoying a friendly conversation with his allies, yet now his second son was dying in front of him, confessing to two heinous crimes. The Byzantine Emperor could only find one person to blame for this odd occurrence and instantly lashed out at his daughter. 

"Honoria? What the hell did you do to him?"

The Byzantine Princess did not deny her crimes, and instead boldly admitted to her Father exactly what it was she had done, and her reasons for doing so.

"I have only done what you have taught me, to pursue justice against the wicked! Without taking such drastic actions, this bastard's crimes never would have come to light, and Arethas could never rest in peace in the house of the Lord! All I have done, I did to avenge my godfather."

Between his vomiting, Decentius snarled in disgust. However, he could not think of a proper retort. Eventually The Empress of Byzantium gazed upon her dying son with fury in her eyes. She could not understand why the boy had been so ruthless, and thus she asked for his reasonings for engaging in such evil. 

"Why Decentius? Why would you kill Arethas? He was your mentor, your friend! He was practically a member of this family! I just don't understand why you would do such a thing!"

Decentius did not want to answer this question. It was not like the truth was anything but insidious. However, when he remained silent, Honoria dangled the vial that supposedly contained the antidote in front of him, forcing him to reveal his wicked intentions. 

"I killed Arethas because of this little whore! She foolishly ran away from home, and into the arms of this German Bastard. You tasked me to find her, and I failed! Because of this, my standing in the court was thoroughly ruined, and I in the hour of my desperation, I needed something to put me back in contention for the throne. Do you want to read more chapters? Come to p a n d a - n ovel,c.o.m Obviously I couldn't kill Quintus, as he was too well protected for me to get to, so I did the only thing possible: I killed Arethas so that I could steal the glory for the conquest of Egypt and Cyrene!"

The Empress of Byzantium gazed at her son as if he was a stranger, while Vetranis shook with rage. He could not receive he had raised such a murderous cunt. He refused to look at his son any longer, and instead left his fate up to Honoria. 

"Honoria, do whatever you think will bring Arethas justice. I have no son!"

Obviously, Vetranis was being hyperbolic as Quintus was within the room gazing upon the entire scene in horror. However, when Decentius heard his fate was left up to Honoria he smiled, believing he had received salvation and began to beg to his sister for the peace she had promised him.

"Honoria, my sweet sister, you promised to spare me if I confessed my guilt."

In response to this, a wicked smile formed on Honoria's lips as she pulled out the vial containing the liquid poison and opened its cork. She quickly fed the substance to her older brother, who had a relieved expression on his face. However, such a euphoric state did not last long, as within seconds, the man foamed at the mouth before collapsing to the ground. One last phrase escaped his lips before his body hit the stone cold floor. 

"But.... you promised!"

In response to this, Honoria sneered in disgust at her now deceased brother before answering his question for everyone present to hear.

"I promised to give you peace. I never said I would save you..."

Besarion gazed in shock at his purple haired niece as if she were a complete and total stranger. The kind and innocent girl he once knew had so mercilessly taken her brother's life in front of him. He could not believe such a thing had happened, and yet his eyes did not lie. 

Everyone except for Berengar stood silent, in shock at what had just happened in the middle of the Royal Palace. The German Emperor merely watched the family drama unfold as if it were the finest works of Shakespeare, all while sipping on wine. After the deed was well and truly done, he approached his wife's side and wiped the bangs from her mint green eyes before asking the questions on his mind.

"Do you feel better? Have you finally received some closure?"

Honoria gazed in disgust at her deceased brother. There was a hole in her heart she could not easily fill by a simple act of vengeance. Thus, with a downcast expression, she spoke her concerns aloud.

"No, I fear as if this incident has only made me more spiteful..."

Berengar smiled as he heard this. He then grabbed ahold of Honoria's dainty chin and kissed her in front of her family, who were still filled with shock over the events that had just occurred. While standing over Decentius' body, he filled the girl's ears with advice on how to live her life in the future.

"Good... use what are you are feeling right now to strike fear into the hearts of my enemies and create a world where a tragedy like this can never again befall our family!"

After saying this, Berengar gazed over at the Royal Families of Byzantium and Georgia who stared at the couple with fear in their eyes. They could not believe how calm the German Emperor and his bride were as they gazed upon the corpse of the man they had slain with utter contempt. Ultimately, the silence was broken when Berengar uttered the words.

"I suppose somebody should clean up this mess..."

It took them a few moments to respond, but ultimately, Vetranis steeled his resolve and called for the servants to clean up the corpse and prepare a proper funeral for the man. Despite everything Decentius had done, he was still a Palaiologos.

As for Honoria, Vetranis left her alone. He was in shock at what the monster his darling little girl had become, and was quite fearful of her, and especially her husband. The thought that Decentius was responsible for Arethas' death, and an assassination attempt on Honoria's life had never occurred to the man, and he now wondered if he even knew his family to begin with. 

Before adjourning to his quarters for the night, Berengar made one last statement, which somewhat brought him back into the good graces of his hosts, despite everything that had just occurred. 

"Rest in peace, Arethas. For we have avenged your untimely passing."