Their Darkest Secrets

Their Darkest Secrets
Emilia’s POV

With the control of the maid, I had the palace returned to normal. All the incense was removed, and with Headmaid Alice’s help, I made sure Sebastian wasn't poisoned again. Every food he ate was thoroughly supervised by Headmaid Alice and me.
All that still didn't quite change the state of things, as I hoped. He was still always lost most of the time, always staring at me with that blank, soulless look, his mind faraway while he mumbled nonsense to himself continuously. He only becomes sane again when I touch him or kiss him, but before long again, his mind switches off again and becomes consumed by the madness in him. But I tried not to feel despair, not to panic. It was still too early. Soon he’ll recover.
Having control of the maids didn't mean I had control of the palace. The palace and the whole of the kingdom were still very much in Aaron and Harrieta's hands. But that was about to change. Yes, it was.
I looked out the window this afternoon at the noise of commotion coming from downstairs. Horses neighing, their shoes stumping the gravel path, horsewhips slicing the air, and carriages wheeling to halts. It could only mean one thing. The Senators were here already.
I pushed the casement windows a little to have a good view of the senators. They dropped down from their carriages, followers closely by their entourages, and they marched down the polished path to the palace.
I turned to the room, to Sebastian then. But he was already pacing about again, to and fro before his bed, muttering aloud to himself, even though a minute before he had looked very sane.
I tried not to let my heart break again at the sight, and I fought the urge not to cry. Instead, I resigned myself to a hard sigh as I reached for him. I grabbed his hand, pulling him to me, and he stopped pacing.
I cupped his chin in my hands, and let both our eyes meet. I slapped his cheek gently. “Sebastian. Sebastian.” I called, slapping his cheek gently to pull him back to me.
For a moment, the blank look disappeared from his face, only to return again instantly. I slapped his cheeks gently again. “Sebastian, Sebastian!!” I called, and I leaned on my toes and kissed him briefly on the cheeks.
That always works best, and it did, because he latched onto my lips, kissing me back. I pulled fast from his lips before it could spiral into something we can't control.
“Are you here with me now? Sebastian.” I asked, even though I could already see the life and spirit in his eyes.
“I am here, wife.” He forced a grin at me. “Are the senators here already?” he asked, and he looked to the door.
I held his jaw, and I turned his head back to me. “You know what to do, right? Don't make them suspect a thing. Just try to get into their minds with your powers and get them to spill their darkest secrets to you. Then we will use that to…” He pressed his thumb on my lips then.
His lips widened with more smiles. “I understand what I have to do, wife. Let's go.” He said, and he grabbed my hand, leading me out of the room. “You have to stay near me, wife. Don't leave. The only way I can stay sane enough to do it is with you beside me.” He said.
“I am not going anywhere, husband. I am here.” I answered, and I snuggled into his arms, staring down at our fingers intertwined with each other's and smiling, while we walked down the hallway.
The senators rose from their seats in the throne room to receive Sebastian and me. They all came—all ten of them, all except Aaron, of course.
They greeted with a bow as formally required, and they sat back on their seats. Though they tried to hide it, I could very much see it in the roll of their eyes, the twist of their lips, and the frowns on their faces. They all wanted Sebastian's throne, wanted his power, and hungered for it. I had no idea what Aaron had promised them to convince them to his side, but I could see that nothing I and Sebastian said would change their minds.
“Rise up to your feet, my senators. I want to speak with you as one and as your duke.” Sebastian said, raising his arm in the air to gesture he wanted them on their feet. He spoke with a somewhat comedic flair that made his request sound harmless.
They looked to each other, trading curious stares, then they shrugged their large shoulders and stood up on their feet. Their decorated chairs squealed from the freedom of their large weights.
“We are on our feet already, my Duke.” Two of them said it in unison, and the others echoed something near.
“Come forward, I obviously don't bite,” Sebastian said, calling them forward with a throw of his hand. His lips framed in a placating smile at the senators. We walked down the dais, strolling close to them too. “Or do I, Lord Blackwater, Lord Wintergreen?” he called, looking from one lord to another, when they didn't move.
They shook their heads at each other and then eventually resolved to step forward and closer to us.
“We have no idea what all this is about, my Duke. If it is about reappointing a new regent or resigning the current one, then we are going to have to disappoint you, my Duke. Because you are unfit to rule, and your sister has been doing a very good job lately.” Lord Blackwater said, hugging his large velvet robe to himself.
“I believe she is, Lord Blackwater.” Sebastian grinned at him. Like the others, he stopped just about four feet away from us. Wearing a hostile look, disguised as a serious one.
This moment was crucial to our plans now, so I squeezed harder at his hand in mine, praying and hoping he doesn't slip into that darkness inside of him again.
His head dropped down to me, and I watched his lips widen in a bright smile. “I am still here, wife.” He said, then he lifted his hand and caressed my hair gently, setting some of the hairpins right.
I looked up at him, returning his smile. Then I leaned on my toes and kissed him gently on his lips, sucking on them gently. I wanted him sane, very sane, and a kiss was the only way I could assure myself that he was right now and wouldn't slip off the next minute.
“We understand you and your duchess love each other, my duke, but you have to understand we are busy men.” Lord Blackwater grunted.
I dropped back then, and I forced a frown at the masks of seriousness that the lords wore on their faces.
Sebastian grinned at them, throwing each of them a placating smile consecutively. “I am sorry, Lords. We just got carried away.” He said.
The next moment, without letting them prepare for his mental intrusion into their minds, he began, “Look at me, lord,” he said quietly in his polished, velvet-smooth voice, but with a strong force that pulled them to do as he said. Staring them right in the eyes as they did his, he said again, his voice low and smooth. “Listen to me, Lords. Hear nothing but my voice and think of nothing else but my command. Let my voice guide your mind as it fills your ears.”
He stopped right before Lord Blackwater, who, like the others, remained glued to the spot he stood, his face locked in a frown, eyes blank, and focused in space.
“Tell me, Lord Blackwater. What is your darkest secret?” He demanded, his tone smooth and gentle, like a flowing river.
I looked sharply at the corner of the hall to confirm that Headmaid Alice was there with a pen and paper to record whatever the lords said. Our gazes collided, and she slipped me a smile to assure me she was active. And just immediately, Lord Blackwater answered Sebastian's question. His lips moved mechanically as he spoke, his voice sounding almost like a robot's, and he spilled his most damning secrets for us to hear.
I squeezed tighter on Sebastian's hand, trying to make sure he was still very much sane as we moved onto the next lord, and Sebastian repeated his questions for him, and then, like Lord Blackwater, he spilled his most kept secrets to us.
Just as we moved to the next Lord, Sebastian blanked out, saying nothing, and staring blankly at the Lords. I was quick to catch the stray in his eyes before it could move on for longer and the men would break off from his hypnotism. I leaned on my toes, and I pressed my lips hard into his. Just before he could grab my head and deepen the kiss, I pulled back, having brought his mind back to the task at hand.
He glanced at me and flashed me a smile as he asked the Lord for his darkest secrets, and the Lord, like the others before him, spilled them. The kiss seemed to hold him, as he didn’t spiral into his madness again until we finished with the Last Lord.
And just as he finished with the last lord, he suddenly broke away from me. I had a brief glimpse of that blank mad look in his eyes as he marched away from me. He walked about before the Lords, like he was lost, muttering aloud, almost screaming at himself.
The noise he was making seemed to break the lords from his hypnotism, as the blankness in their eyes began lifting.
Headmaid Alice was hunched over on her scribe table, writing down what the last lord had said. She looked up at the commotion, and I locked my eyes with her, and I nudged my jaw at the door.
“Go,” I mouthed a scream at her. She had to leave before the Lords found her or guessed what we had just done. Who's to say Aaron hasn't warned them of Sebastian's abilities?
She took the cue immediately, and she packed up the papers she had written on in a bundle onto her chest, and she half-ran out of the hall.
“Goodbye, Lords.” I breathed on their confused faces, all of them having snapped out of the hypnotism. Then I turned and ran after Sebastian as he began to march out of the throne hall in his mad, confused state.
I tried not to let the sharp pain in my insides win as I watched the man I loved march off like a man. Instead, I quickened my pace. My chest heaved, breath coming raspily as I raced to get him before he harmed himself in that state.