**3rd Person POV**
All the ministers looked at Prince Ashton. It was quite clear at least to Lord Alderman and Lord Augustine that Prince Ashton was guilty in part if not fully responsible for the death of his father. They wanted to prove his treason but they did not have enough evidence.
The two ministers exchanged looks; Ashton had managed to outsmart them once more. Their goal was to bring Rosaline forward. They knew that now that she had turned on her master, she would have a wealth of valuable secrets that could ensure Ashton never saw the light of day again. They were aware that the only reason Ashton was pushing to have Rosaline murdered was because he did not want her to reveal his darkest secrets.
“Bring him here! Let him confess to his crimes before all that is present here!” boomed Ashton with anger.
A few minutes later, a man was dragged before the ministers. It was apparent to all that he was a human. The ministers looked at him with a questioning gaze but Ashton kept his sights on the human at the far end of the room.
“Tell me, who told you to do it?” Ashton asked the man.
The human being was too terrified to say anything. He was not even sure how he had got himself into this mess. How had he come about to be in the middle of mean-looking vampires?
He looked at the face of the man who had questioned him and he was going to respond by saying that he had no idea what he or anyone was talking about but he suddenly became dizzy and fainted.
“Humans, they are weak, aren't they?” chuckled Ashton as the man collapsed on the ground.
“We did not get his confession,” commented Lord Alderman who was not fooled by Ashton's theatrics.
“You will have to take my word for it,” said Ashton.
Lord Alderman and Lord Augustine said nothing this time. If they opposed Ashton openly now, he could accuse them of being complicit in the crime.
“He will be executed tonight. I will bury my father tomorrow morning and then I will bring Rosaline’s head home,” said Ashton with a tone of finality in his voice.
****
Aurora was not anxious. She had just received word that Prince Ashton was headed for Mount Shasta. She was not comfortable with the situation because it was premature; Mount Shasta was not ready for his coming. Their new Queen was not ready yet. Nydia was still undergoing her transformation. She could not be awakened from her sleep yet.
She had sent word to the ruler of hell and Regina and was now waiting for their assistance. It was the only way to stop Ashton from getting to Mount Shasta.
****
Regina received Aurora’s message minutes after arriving at Emily's palace. When she announced that she would be leaving just after getting home, her children gave her a concerned look. No one knew why she had taken so many frequent trips in the past couple of years. She had not told them she had been assisting Lucian get the Faes settled in. It was a job that required the utmost secrecy.
“You cannot leave, Gina. We have my wedding to plan,” said Emily with a note of frustration in her voice.
Regina smiled at her sister and replied, “I will not be long, I give you my word.”
“Can you tell us where you're off to this time?” quipped Reginald.
“I’m afraid not.”
****
Ashton had rushed his father's funeral and put a stop to the investigation. The ministers were worried it was all in an attempt to cover his tracks. He had told them he was on a revenge journey. He wanted to get vengeance for the one who murdered his father. However, he had refused to tell them how he intended to get it done.
****
Jude had trekked for hours. He looked ahead and knew that he had hours more to trek but he was now very tired and in need of water. He looked around him but there was nothing for which to quench his thirst. He fainted from exhaustion and was out for several hours. When he woke up, he could not believe his luck.
Right beside him was a golden egg. In fact, he had fallen asleep right beside the egg. He wondered what the egg was doing quite a distance from the vale of dragons. However, he was not one to question his luck for long.
So he had found a dragon's egg, how was he to retrieve its yolk?
****
There were only two days now before Rosaline could reveal to the world the true nature of her former master. She had been bound by oath all these years and she had not been able to tell the world that Ashton was not a threat alone to the werewolves.
She watched from the window she sat, how Dagen was ordering his soldiers to guard her. She wondered what would happen if she were to decide not to reveal anything even after her oath was no longer relevant. The daring thought made her chuckle a little bit. Dagen would strangle her himself if she tried to do that.
She heard a knock on her door and she told the person to enter the room. They had given her a room but she was more or less a prisoner. It was better though than being a prisoner in Ashton's palace. He would have tortured her slowly until she had met her death. She shuddered when she remembered what happened to the last servant who had defied him.
“We are aware that while you cannot tell us everything you know now, you can give us an idea of what we would do to Ashton in retaliation?” quipped Lord Edvin.
Rosaline was tired of explaining to them until day seven, she could really not say anything.
This time she tried to show them what would happen if she revealed anything.