Banned

Lou's POV-

"Hello" I said when he answered.

"Yeah Looney I'm on my way to your room now" Jason said from the other end.

"Turn around and head to Dad's office" I said rather quickly before hanging up.

He's going to give me an earful for hanging up on him. I thought as I made it to the doors of the castle. The two guards standing near it pulled it open. "Allow us young master" they said in unison."Thank you" I said, appreciative of the door being opened for me, but no matter how long I've lived away Prince I swear I'll never be ok with that young master thing. If I'm King one day. That's the first thing that will have to stop. It's weird.

I made it to my Dad's office to find him sitting at his desk with Jason sitting across from him. Both patiently, waiting for me. "I don't know why you told your brother to come to my office but I'm going to take a wild guess and assume this is about Sky" Dad said his brows furrowed. "Don't refer call me, and then hang up the damn phone on me again" Jason said annoyed.

"Language!" Dad said with a somewhat authoritative yet somewhat playful tone. "Yes well it's about her and Dakota and us too" I said taking a seat in the chair next to Jason. "Look I know she's lying and we will figure out why but can we discuss this later? I have urgent business to attend to" He said as he started to get up from his chair. "No no Dad you don't understand I know why and this... this is urgent. Will you just listen to me for once!" I shouted and nearly sank in my chair when I noticed my Dad's confused and hurt expression. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to yell or... He didn't get mad, his expression quickly changed to worried and he sat back down. "Go ahead Lou we're listening" Jason said. I Toka deep breath. Telling your dad and brother that a family member hired a hitman to take their lives seemed harder to say than I thought.

"Dad Dakota hired a hitman to take our lives, everyone except Sky that's including guards or anyone else that gets in his way. That's why Sky lied. She pretended to be into him to protect us' ' I said. There's a brief silence, both of their expressions puzzled as if they were trying to determine whether I was sick or joking. I mean I get it. If I didn't hear it from Sky there's no way I'd think it was true. "Are you... Feeling okay Lou. I get that Dakota is... a lot of things but he's no killer and to kill us? Come on. Does that make sense to you?" Jason asked, sitting up straight. "Honestly Lou I have to agree with Jason. I mean It doesn't make sense. I get that you're upset about him and Sky but come on this sounds insane" Dad chimed in. "Well, no shit! He's insane!" I yelled again Frustrated that neither of them was listening.

"Again Language! And I won't be so damn generous the next time either of you swear or raise your damn voice in my presence. Do you understand?" Dad asked sternly. Clearly annoyed. "Yes Sir '' Jason sang out. I got up pacing. I need to convince them quickly. "Lou, I asked you a question. Do you understand?" He asked once more. "Yes dad I understand. Fine you two think I'm crazy what about Sky? Do you think she's lying?" I asked, annoyed. They didn't need to think about that. "No" Dad said firmly. "No, she'd never lie to us," Jason said. "But how do you know this? When did you talk to Sky? And why isn't she here?" Dad asked. I continued to pace my thoughts in a turbulent storm. The room, draped in the heavy silence of old wood and the faint scent of my father's cigars, felt oppressively small. The gravity of the discussion hung in the air.

"This isn't just about Sky," I began, breaking the silence. "It's about the safety of everyone in this castle. Dakota's actions have become too unpredictable. We need to act now." I voiced. My Dad's eyes, sharp and discerning, met mine. "And what do you propose, Lou? Banning him from the castle isn't a simple decision." He stated firmly. "I've been thinking about this too. Dakota's influence is corrosive. We can't trust him around Sky or anyone else." Jason agreed. -Knock knock We all fell silent momentarily until Dad answered "Come in!" Thinking it was Dakota. It opened and in walked Uriel. We all sighed in relief and relaxed a bit. "Hey... Is everything okay? What's with the serious expressions? Wait, was I getting dissed?" He asked, causing all of us to laugh at him.

"No you were not but I'll let Lou fill you in" Dad said motioning for me to continue. "It's about Dakota," I said. "Oh boy" he breathed out taking a seat next to Jason. Both of them turned their chairs slightly towards me. I spent ten minutes going over everything. And after we spent about two hours discussing the problem, which is Dakota and what we felt was the best solution which was to ban him from the castle. Again there's this silence while everyone wrapped their heads around heavy conversation. "Dakota's behavior has escalated beyond what we can manage internally. If we don't take decisive action, we risk more than just Sky's safety. Besides no one hesitated to make me vanish from the castle and I did nothing wrong" Uriel voiced, causing Dad to shift in his chair. His expression filled with sorrow and guilt.

I exhaled slowly, gathering my thoughts. "Then it's decided. We will ban Dakota from the castle. He'll have to find somewhere else to stay. It's the only way to ensure peace here." My Dad said. I could tell this was hard on him. I mean he has to now ban his own child from the one place he raised him to one day take over

The creak of a floorboard caught us all off guard.. Dakota stood at the doorway, his eyes cold and calculating. I'm guessing he had overheard everything. "So, this is how it is, Dad? Like you're so innocent," Dakota said, his voice laced with venom. Dad didn't respond. Instead he held a deadly glare. "Don't worry, I won't give you the satisfaction of throwing me out. I'll leave on my own accord." With that, he turned and stormed out of the room, the echo of his footsteps fading down the hallway.

Hours passed, and the tension in the castle remained palpable. I felt exhausted from the confrontation and its aftermath. I finally made my way to Sky. I found her pacing, worry etched across her face. "What took you so long?" she asked, her voice tinged with concern. "You scared me. I thought you wouldn't come back"

I pulled her into a hug. "I told you I'd come back. You don't need to be afraid of anything or anyone anymore. He's leaving the castle. He has been banned." She took a step back. "He's really gone?" She asked. "Yes he's gone. Don't worry" I reassured her. She nodded, relief and anxiety warring in her eyes. "I'm just glad it's finally over." I sighed. There's a small smile that forms on her lips before she hugged me. "Me too"