Days were passing blissfully for Justus with his mother. He couldn't contain his happiness when Ritha handed her small sword to him. He made some incoherent patterns in the air with the help of his mother and squealed in delight. He had seen his father with a big sword at times and his little heart bursted with joy holding a small replica of it.

His smile was defying the sunshine easily and seeing her son smile, Ritha's heart felt that all the dangers of the palace were worth it.

Justus's wounds from the day of arrow attack were healed but they had left their impressions on his soft hands. Right now, Justus was sitting in Ritha's lap after a tiring day with his little sword. He was fascinated with the idea of it, though Ritha didn't allow him to hold it on his own as she was afraid that he would hurt himself.

Out of the blue, he took the free drape of Ritha's saree and covered his face as if hiding behind it. He tried to muffle his laughter when Ritha pretended that suddenly she couldn't see him. Their hide and seek game was interrupted when Augustus entered in the room. He was witnessing this jovial scene from afar and when he couldn't stop himself, he let them know about his presence.

Justus peeked through his mother's veil lifting it a bit but suddenly pulled it down when he saw his father's eyes transfixed on him. Ritha laughed heartily seeing Justus's tactics and pulled him more towards her chest as if hiding him more. On the other hand, Augustus had a subtle smirk plastered on his face seeing his son's happiness.

Removing his frame from the door, he went near the bed where his family was enjoying themselves. Lingering a slopy kiss on Ritha's forehead, Augustus pretended to not see Justus. He asked Ritha in the playful tone, " Darling, have you seen Justus? I haven't seen him since morning, where did he go?"

Justus clasped his little hands on his mouth when he heard his father asking about his whereabouts from his mother. Before his mother could tell his hiding place, he very carefully took out his one hand from beneath the drapes and put on Ritha's lips.

His innocence made him unaware of the fact that his hand was anyways visible to his father. Without wasting any more time, Augutstus scooped Justus in his hand making him squeak.

Beautiful walls reciprocated back the hearty laughter of Justus making it echo in the room. After playing with his father for sometime and filling him up with all the information of the day his little brain could remember, Justus carelessly went into a deep slumber making the couple smile in contentment.

On the other hand, Eagles got the message through secret messanger that their queen would be participating in the mask procession of the Florence. After the mask procession, she would be staying in Florence, few miles away from the palace. This piece of information was enough to put loads of tension on their head.

They all were ready to face her wrath because King Atticus was still alive. They set their plans on back foot and tried to concentrate on the upcoming mask procession. They weren't assigned any new task in the letter and they knew how dissapointed their queen was with them.

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Finally, the big day of annual mask procession marked it presence with zeal. Royal palace was glowing with unusual brightness and the commotion in and outside the palace was more than regular days.

Colourful ribbons were used to decorate the street of Florence and people were clad in colourful clothes and mask. Various kind of musical instruments like trumpet, drums were being played and many of them were singing local folk songs while others were dancing on it. It was a way of showing their gratitude and pride which they felt for their Roman culture.

Inside the palace, all the royal members were set with their preparations. Being the first time for Ritha, she preferred being a witness rather than participanting in. On the other hand, Augustus was all dressed as Mars, God Of War which was the greatest pride for any warrior.

His attire composed of metallic helmet covering his face, black warrior skirt and a red cloak flowing freely on the backside. Except for Marcus rest all his brothers were wearing a scowl on their face seeing Augustus getting the priveliage of becoming the Mars. They decided to abandon the mask procession which King Atticus gladly accepted. Their wives were furious but not gutsy enough to raise their voices.

Justus's happiness knew no bound when Ritha damped his cheeks with colour. Right now, all the royal members were standing on the terrace of the palace looking down at hundreds and thousands of people who enthusiastically hollered

when they came to know that their favourite prince was disguised in the form of Mars.

Ritha had Justus in her arms and she was drinking in the beauty of the scenario happening around her. She felt proud seeing people chanting Augustus's name. She was overwhelmed by the massive love and respect shown towards Augustus which assured her that her husband was a prince of common people which raised his status in terms of respect and adoration in her eyes.

Cheers erupted from all the directions when royal drums and trumpets were blown starting the procession. Seeing the love of his people for him, Augustus decided to join them down.

No sooner did he join them, people became eager to catch a glimpse of him. There was a lot of hubbub around him but at the same time, people were aware to give him his personal space. They automatically made a clear path for him when he entered in the crowd. He returned everyone greetings with gratitude and it was so unreal for commoners to believe that a prince could be so down to earth. They considered themselves lucky enough to have him as their prince.

Feeling a velvety touch on his shoulder, Augustus abruptly turned around to see a mysterious face covered with mask but he could vividly recognise those orbs. The orbs which became his worst nightmare.

'Am I hallucinating?'

His mind went into a numb state where he was immune to the surrounding. Meanwhile removing her mask partially in a way which just revealed her lips , the queen flashed him a smirk which broke Augustus's trance. Abruptly, squeezing himself amongst the pool of people he followed the lady.