Work Text:
The deaths that were happening were very strange. Or rather, the 'disappearances'.
The police couldn't explain it. No one could. How were so many people disappearing in such a short time? People who had no direct connection to each other, people who didn't even know each other.
Were there multiple kidnappers acting at the same time?
Mattias wanted to be wrong. Everything pointed to him being right, but he didn't want to believe it. Terrible things had happened to people around him, and now similar things were happening again.
She's dead. There's nothing to worry about. There's no way this is her doing. He thought about another sleepless night.
His grandmother's diaries, which had been found, had clarified many things. They explained how much everyone loved her, but also why Mattias, his brothers, and his father had always been wary of her.
She had done many cruel things. How could she have done all that to her own family? And even documented everything as if it were nothing? Yes, there was the suffering. Spending all that time alone and so young in a place she didn't know must not have been easy. It's no wonder that, even with so many diaries and so many things written, we still don't know what she went through there. But -
"Matti?" A distant voice called his attention.
"Hi." He smiled weakly, looking away from the window, watching his husband approach. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
"I could say the same for you. Why are you awake?"
"I... " He took a deep breath, giving Alexandros room to sit beside him on the window bench. "I don't know. I just couldn't sleep."
Mattias didn't understand how he could still be impressed by how Alex always seemed to know what was going on in his head.
"We'll find out what's going on," the younger one comforted him. "And it's not her. There are still dangerous forests around the places where people are disappearing. Everything will be explained and we'll get through this."
"Yeah... I hope so," he said, resting his head on his lover's chest and accepting the offered embrace.
But things weren't getting resolved. In fact, they were far from it.
People close to the royalty were still disappearing. Not kings, queens, princes or princesses. But their advisors, friends they considered family. People who, from the outside, seemed random enough, but having read everything Mattias had read, were completely connected and made perfect sense. And to the wise, half a word is enough (or he could jus be paranoid).
“Matti, you're going to drive yourself crazy if you keep thinking like that!"
"No, Al! It makes perfect sense. Think about it: she wouldn't start at the top. We all think she's dead. She's definitely with some new puppet with a plan to take over a kingdom.” He exclaimed his explanation, which, in his head, made perfect sense. “If not all of them, right?”
“Mattias..." Al tried to interrupt.
"Oh! And that's if she has a new puppet. She might just be exploiting the weaknesses she already knows." he continued, glancing at a specific person. Allan knew who his brother was talking about. Anyone would, really.
He still hadn't forgiven Luka for everything that had happened. Something that could have been avoided with a sincere conversation.
"Mattis, stop being paranoid!" Allan grabbed his brother's arm to get his attention. "She's dead, Luka has nothing to do with what's going on, and this will all be resolved! I was talking to Dari, and he said they're on a good track to solve everything."
"But..."
"No!" the younger one interrupted before his brother could add anything. "I'll talk to Alexandros, you'll spend a few days resting with me, and in the meantime, everything will be resolved. We have to believe in the safety of our kingdom."
Mattias just accepted it in silence. What else could he say? He didn't want to worry his brothers or his husband any more with everything that was going on in his head.
And he might be wrong, right? Everyone was telling him to calm down. That they would find out what was happening and punish the guilty one for all this.
So Mattias just had to calm down and let his husband and the guards, who already had plans to make everything calm and safe as before, handle it.
Right?
Maxence should be happy. Didn't everything go according to his plan?
He managed to take the attention away from himself. He managed to get back what one day would be rightfully his.
He deserved to be the king. No, not king. He deserved to be the emperor.
He no longer cared if he didn't have the support of people who were once so important to him. He no longer cared about anything.
After going over the top of having betrayed his other half, nothing could stop him anymore.
He had everything. The power, the kingdoms, the people's trust. Even other leaders were on his side.
He had everything he had always dreamed of and had always been promised.
Maxence should be happy. Unlike his brother, who would never suspect what he was capable of doing.