Blake had talked to Dimitri about Joaquin. Dimitri was able to find every dirt and history about him. He had more enemies than he had friends, most of the people around him kept quiet most of the time because they did not have enough power to go against him.
Dimitri was able to meet with the King of the Maple kingdom, Benedict. Dimitri told him of Joaquin's plans to steal all his treasure and take over his kingdom.
The king dismissed Dimitri's claims, saying that Joaquin was a minor king and would not be able to do much damage to his kingdom, but the evidence Dimitri had gathered proved him otherwise. Joaquin was going to use the same tactics he used when he took over his father's kingdom. The king was shocked and was now wary of Joaquin.
Their plan was to kill Joaquin but both Dimitri and Benedict knew that would be hard to accomplish because Joaquin was always surrounded by his security. So they came up with a fullproof plan to trap Joaquin.
Every year the maple Kingdom celebrated the Lunar festival, and this year Benedict decided to invite all the kings to his palace. And that meant that even Joaquin was invited. He was very happy, he didn't even need Sara to get into the palace. He thought they were fools and did not know what was coming to them. His plan to steal their treasure and take over their kingdom was going to happen sooner than he thought possible.
The party was going to be a good diversion for him to take their treasure, he had everything planned for this very wonderful day.
He had a group of soldiers to help him gather the treasure and another group to guard and kill everybody in his path.
Joaquin had never been invited to the palace before, and he could understand why everybody gushed about how the Maple kingdom was the richest and strongest kingdom in the world. It looked like a very strong fortress with thick walls and high towers. The opulence can be seen everywhere, on the furniture inlaid with gold, the heavy and expensive curtains, and the gold utensils and drinkware.
His eyes sparkled with anticipation. Today was the day he would fulfill all his wishes. Once he takes a hold of all their treasure he would be able to rule the world. His power would be limitless. Everybody will be under his rule. One by one, they will all suffer.
He was shown to his room to get ready for the party and he was not going to disappoint, he wore the finest silks money could buy so he could show off his wealth.
"Your highness thank you for inviting me to your palace," Joaquin said as he bowed to Benedict. He detested bowing to anyone, but he had no choice. He snickered to himself, "I will make you bow down to me later when I get all your treasure."
"It's our honor that you could come and visit us," Benedict said, giving him a fake smile. He wanted to kill Joaquin, but for now, he had to wait.
"Enjoy the celebrations, we have anything and everything your heart desires, food, women, and wine," Benedict said.
Joaquin nodded and pretended to mingle with the other guests, but in the shadows, his men were waiting for his signal.
Benedict had a lot of entertainment scheduled for the evening, acrobats, musicians, singers, and the most popular attraction for the night were the dancers.
These dancers were the most beautiful and most alluring creatures anyone has ever seen, their skin was soft and golden, their bodies were flexible and very enticing. Tonight they were covered in very shiny, semi-transparent clothing that left little to the imagination, their midriffs were bare, long shapely legs showed through the different slits in their skirts every time they moved, but to keep some mystery only their eyes were revealed on their faces.
Even Joaquin was mesmerized by their beauty. A woman in a red dress came and danced in front of him, enticing him to look into her eyes as she wove her magic on him. Her perfume was intoxicating, it had heightened all his senses, making him dizzy with lust, so he followed her, forgetting everything he planned for the night.
But she was elusive, she kept weaving in and out of the dance floor. He would lose her from time to time and then find her just within reach. But she was playing a dangerous game he thought because nobody can escape me.
So he pursued her vigilantly, and when he was finally able to get his hand on her, she pushed him away.
"How dare you keep on teasing me?" Joaquin said angrily.
"I am the most sought after dancer here, you should be glad I pay attention to you," she said, trying to get away from him.
"I am the King of Cadiz, nobody does this to me, I need to teach you a lesson," he said, grabbing her towards him.
"You don't need to hurt me, I will come, but you have to show me what you got," she said, smiling sheepishly. He took it as a signal to take advantage of her, so he kissed her very roughly.
She broke the kiss, and said, "Not here. I know a better place," as she guided him to one of the bed chambers.
Joaquin did not know that the lady he was with was very skilled in pleasing different sorts of men, so he was surprised that she was able to withstand all the things he wanted to do. They made each other come so many times he had lost count, and just when he thought she was satisfied, she went at it again.
He felt humiliated that she was outdoing him in something that he was an expert in but, he had to throw the towel at some point, so he slept, and by the time he woke up it was already morning, and the lady in red was nowhere to be found.
"Shit!" he cursed. Last night he was supposed to attack the castle, but he got distracted by a woman.
Nevertheless, he did not regret it, as he had the best night of his life, he had never known anybody to match his stamina and his strength. He was still going to steal the treasure. It was way better than he planned because he learned from his minister that Benedict had decided to boast about his treasures and show everyone what he had.
They had a tour of the castle and Benedict showed everyone a room where it looked like some of his treasure was kept. It was not the treasure horde he was anticipating but it was enough, he will come back for the big haul later.
This was a huge room that had several gold and jewels piled high on tables. There were coins, goblets, and crowns that were accumulated over the years. In the middle of the room, encased in a glass box, was a very rare and expensive crown that was made only for the queen, this was one of his most treasured items, the king said.
Joaquin waited until sundown to gather his men and go raid the treasure room. He had his hand on the glass box when a voice from behind him shouted, "Stop!" It was Benedict, here to guard his treasure.
This will be easy Joaquin thought, I'll just have to kill him before I take all the treasure. "Benedict just let me go, or else you're going to die. I have you surrounded with my men," Joaquin taunted.
"Let's see who will die," Benedict smirked.
"Attack!" Joaquin screamed, but all his men were just standing around. "What are you all doing? You damn fools. Did you not hear me? Are you deaf? I said Attack!" Joaquin screamed again.
Benedict let out a laugh and said, "They are my soldiers now, and they will never listen to you."
"What are you talking about?" Joaquin looked around, shocked.
"Yesterday, when you were busy enjoying your night with one of the dancers, I brought all your people. It looks like they don't really want to work for you. I just offered them money, and they switched to my side. I don't think any of them respect you, they didn't even ask for more money, they were just glad to be rid of you," Benedict said.
"Minister! Say something! You are all my servants, how can you switch sides so easily?" Joaquin's eyes were dark with hatred.
The minister always hated Joaquin, and he only served him because he was there when he took over the throne, so he said nothing and just looked at him.
"Arrest him!" Benedict commanded.
"No! You cannot take me! I am the king of Cadiz, you bastard! I'm going to kill you all," Joaquin screamed as he tried to fight his own soldiers, but he was outnumbered, and they subdued him easily.
"Take him to the underground dungeon," Benedict said. He knew that Joaquin was a snake, and he will always try to bite you when you let your guard down.
Joaquin screamed as he got dragged all the way down the stairs.
When he got to his cell, Joaquin was surprised to see Blake Anderson, the Aristocratic heir waiting for him.