by RA Lewis
She watched out of the corner of her eye as Talon stepped forward with Delisa to dance beside them, Delisa’s flowing floral dress a fine compliment to Kalina’s green one. Kalina winked at Talon, her nervousness melting away at the sight of her old friend, back finally from training the troops. The knight grinned back and twirled Delisa around the dance floor. Next, Kari and Jormungand joined the fray, Kari’s jaw tightly clenched. She had argued with Mistress Aynne about dancing but the stewardess was a stern taskmaster and, finally, Kari had relented, saying she would dance but she wouldn’t enjoy it. Despite her grim expression, she absolutely glowed in the red and orange dress that flared around her like living flames. Finally, Calla and Anders cut across the dance floor, their matching ensembles in hues of blue a refreshing sight.
Soon the murmuring crowd was joining them and, as the first song came to a close and the next one followed on its heels, Kalina was feeling much more at home in the center of all the chaos and attention. She took Leif’s arm and allowed him to escort her off the dance floor to a nearby table piled with various finger foods and delicacies. She picked up a few pieces of toasted bread spread with goat cheese and jam before turning to survey the crowd. Leif disappeared for a few moments and returned with two glasses of a bubbly wine that Kalina had never tasted.
“What is this?” she asked, “it’s delightful.” She took a few sips.
“Be careful!” Leif laughed, gently lowering it from her lips. “It’s called Moonwine and it will go to your head faster than you think.”
Kalina nodded and sipped more slowly.
“Where does it come from?”
“Somewhere on the southern continent I believe, but honestly, you know I know even less of the world than you do.”
Kalina knew he hadn’t meant that comment to sting but it did. She had run away to Ablen and traveled further than he ever had. She swallowed a sudden lump in her throat.
“I’m not going to leave again, Leif.”
He turned to look at her, a little stunned.
“That’s not what I meant, Kal.”
He had taken to using a shortened version of her name when they were in private and it surprised her to hear it spoken then, in a public forum. But she had just brought up a sensitive subject. She looked down at the floor in remorse. The last thing she wanted was to spark a fight.
“I’m sorry.”
“I just meant, you’d traveled this world farther than me, and you have read far more books than I have, so you’d probably know better than me about the Southern Continent,” he explained coming to stand beside her and placed a soft hand on her lower back, his warmth permeating through her. Kalina was conscious of the watching nobles around them, so she took a hesitant step back.
“I understand, sorry I got all dark on you. It’s been a long day.”
Leif smiled at her knowingly, and nodded, but put another step of distance between them. He might be a part of her entourage and the general of her armies, but seeing them so close together and familiar in public would start rumors flying. In fact, they already were. They didn’t want to stoke the fire. She took a deep breath and focused back on the swirling colors of the dresses around her as the crowd ebbed and flowed, dancing to the music. She was determined to enjoy this party and not let Terric’s words from the night before and the doubt sitting uneasily in her stomach ruin it.
She smiled as a familiar figure approached. Lord Illeron bent to kiss her hand, before straightening his lanky frame. He smiled back, his close-cropped greying hair and salt and pepper beard hiding the aging wrinkles beside his mouth.
“You look stunning, your Majesty,” he said.
“Thank you, Lord Illeron. You look quite handsome yourself,” she replied with a small curtsey.
He stepped up beside her and turned to the crowd before them.
“Have you given any further thought to Lord Avril’s proposal?”
Kalina made a face at the man and he let out a laugh.
“Of course not. I’ve had entirely too much on my mind,” she retorted. It struck her suddenly that here was a man who might have known about her father. Lord Illeron was her Spymaster but before he had been loyal to her grandfather and after her grandfather had died he’d disappeared, until the day she was crowned. Had he known about her father’s presence in the dungeons? “Lord, Illeron, may I speak with you in private?”
“Of course, your Majesty.” He offered her his arm and walked with her out the two huge double glass doors onto the large open balcony. There was a couple at the far end canoodling, and a set of guards at the door, but otherwise the space was unoccupied. It would become more crowded as the party continued, Kalina didn’t doubt, so she took advantage of their momentary solitude.
“Last night I went down to speak with Prince Terric,” she began, putting her clenched fists on the balcony railing and looked out over the expansive garden below them.
“Was that wise, my Queen?” Lord Illeron had never minced words with her. She’d only known him a few short weeks but knowing he was the only reason she was alive in the first place made her trust him at least enough to allow it.
“Probably not, but he suggested to me something that I can’t quite believe.” She swallowed and continued. “He said that my father was taken from the battlefield and brought back here to be tortured.” Her cheeks were flushed, and she was trying to restrain her panic. “Do you think my father was in the castle? You have spies everywhere, even within this castle. Did you ever hear of Terric torturing a Valdir in the dungeons?”
Lord Illeron was quiet for a moment and when she looked at him she could see a war of emotions storm across his face for a second before he mastered it. Perhaps it was the darkness of the terrace, but she was sure she’d seen fear written there. Finally, he spoke.
“Your Majesty, I don’t want to lie to you. But I also think that the details of the situation you’ve described would not be wise to discuss. It is a viper nest you don’t want to unveil.”
Kalina’s blood ran cold at his words. He may not have said it outright, but he had all but confirmed her deepest, darkest fears about her father’s death.
“I want to move the trial up to the day after tomorrow. Public, in the main parade ground. Can you arrange it?” Her voice was deadly cold, as everything inside her seemed to have frozen solid. Beside her, Lord Illeron nodded his consent.
“I can, your Majesty.”
“Thank you. Now, I would like to be alone.”
Lord Illeron bowed low and left her alone on the terrace, the other couple having gone inside some minutes before. Kalina crumpled onto a bench nearby, removed her mask, and dropped her head into her hands. She couldn’t believe how everything she’d believed had been turned on its head in a matter of hours, all because she’d been stupid enough to visit the prince. Hot tears leaked from between her fingers but she angrily wiped them away, as hesitant footsteps approached.
Calla stood before her on the balcony, wringing her hands before her. Kalina wiped her tears away and put her mask back on before standing up.
“Thank you for the dress, Calla. It is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever worn.” She approached the woman who had taken her in when she’d had nothing, and took both the woman’s hands. “Let’s go dance, shall we?”
Calla didn’t say anything about having seen Kalina crying, she just took her arm and led her back into the fray, where they both danced and ate and drank the night away with Kari and Delisa.
Chapter 7
Waiting for the trial to start was torture for Kalina. She sat on a wooden throne in the early afternoon spring sunshine, waiting for the crowd to finish gathering. She had slept most of the day before on and off, and when she wasn’t sleeping and recovering from the ball, she had been preparing what she would say today during his trial. Her job was to play the judge. Her word was law, but her council was her jury, their job to present arguments about why they believed a punishment for a crime was acceptable.
The people
in the crowd were there to bear witness. And although she had originally fought against a public trial, a part of her was glad that the people would get the chance to see her sentence a tyrant to life in prison. For that was what she planned to do. She wanted him to suffer, and she knew that a long time spent in those cells would break any man.
Dragons lined the edges of the parade ground, causing some of the gathered Ethean nobles and civilians to shift nervously, casting their worried looks as though they were concerned the dragons might suddenly decide to eat them. Kalina had reassured her people repeatedly that dragons had no interest in eating people, and that they preferred cows and sheep, but because dragons were big and scary with many rows of sharp teeth, the general populace still didn’t quite believe her. Fear of dragons was ingrained into human’s brains, just as primal as a fear of the dark. Even Kalina herself had been afraid the first time she’d seen a dragon or even a wyvern, but she’d soon learned to master her fear.
Maska stood directly behind her throne, his bulky green shape reflecting the bright sunlight and sending a cascade of green dancing lights over Kalina every time he shifted on his feet, which was often since he was impatient.
Lord Averil stood to her left, and he kept eyeing her and Maska as they waited. She tried her best to ignore him. He had tried to gain an audience with her the day before to discuss the trial, but Kalina had refused. She had even argued with Leif about the change in date. But she was determined. She wanted this over with and she wanted Terric to suffer.
“The Etheans seem shifty,” Maska’s deep voice rumbled behind her. She nodded slightly, her eyes moving from face to face.
“Do you think someone will try something?” She said out of the corner of her mouth.
“I’d like to see them try.” Maska let out a rumbling growl in his chest and it made Kalina smile wickedly. She would also like to see them try.
Finally, the prisoner was led out of a side entrance and onto the parade ground by Slyvan, her head jailer. The gathered crowd immediately erupted in sound: boos and shouted insults were flung across the yard. Prince Terric seemed to physically flinch back from them for a moment before catching himself and standing up straight. He was flanked by his two usual guards, the same two that Kalina had encountered at the entrance to the dungeons a few days prior.
She sat up straighter in her seat, her heart pounding in her chest, threatening to burst out of her. She wasn’t entirely sure why she was so nervous. She should be excited, even happy, but instead, she felt on the edge of tears. Her council members sat to her right under a large cloth awning, sheltered from the sun beating down. Kalina had no such protection, except from Maska’s large bulk towering above and behind her, but she didn’t mind. She wanted everyone to see her, to know she wasn’t hiding. Maska snaked his head down until it was level with hers, his large clawed forelegs gripping the sides of her throne, gouging the oak.
“He deserves this, Littling. You know this.”
She swallowed and nodded at his words and focused back on the scarcely contained crowd, her castle guards barely keeping them at bay with the shouted orders of Anders and Sir Talon. Right as Slyvan and his prisoner reached the stairs to her raised platform that was to serve as his trial spot, a weak spot in the guard’s line broke, and a small crowd of commoners surged towards the two men, now exposed and unprotected.
Kalina let out a shout, and Arikara, Leif’s huge golden dragon, suddenly descended on the crowd, her bulk enough to cause them to scatter, but not before some lucky person was able to get in a punch. Prince Terric of Askor lay in the dirt, clutching his stomach as though someone had delivered a blow to his guts. Slyvan hauled him up unceremoniously and then marched him up the stairs as Arikara, along with Leif now, helped Anders and Talon regain control of the crowds.
Kalina now felt a public trial might have been a bad idea, but she really had no other choice except to continue. She took a deep breath and looked over to where Prince Terric now stood, a mere half dozen steps away, chained, his elbows held on either side by a guard.
“Prince Terric of Askor. You have been brought here before your peers and your country, to answer for your crimes. You have been accused of treason against the crown, treason against your people, conspiracy to commit murder of a member of the royal family, attempted murder, unauthorized detainment of a member of the royal family, and genocide. There are many more charges, but I won’t bother listing them now, as they will be listed on your formal writ of sentence.”
Kalina was immensely grateful that her voice had not wavered. She turned to Lord Averil and Lord Illeron who stood from their seats. Leif had rejoined the council now and was watching her carefully. She gave him a small smile to let him know she was fine, before turning back to the two Lords.
“Lord Averil, Lord Illeron. It is my understanding that you each have prepared an argument both for and against the Prince’s crimes?”
“We have, your Majesty.” Lord Averil bowed low, and Lord Illeron followed suit beside him.
“You may proceed.”
Lord Averil stepped up first and cleared his throat, speaking as loudly as he could so as to be heard over the continued yelling and jeering of the gathered crowd.
“Your Majesty, I hope you can find it in your wisdom to deal fairly with Prince Terric, and send him back to his father in the North. He was forced into marriage with a woman who was in love with someone else and who had already had a child out of wedlock with another. Surely, you of all people can understand how that might have soured him towards not only her and her child, but against the realm as well?” Lord Averil’s face fell at his own words, his expression displaying a level of sympathy that Kalina knew in her guts was as fake as it could get. She of all people? She didn’t understand the prince at all. Not one bit. Lord Averil’s speech left her with a sick, slimy taste on her tongue and the last thing she wanted was to hear him talk further. But she nodded for him to continue.
“Please, continue to defend the traitor, Lord Averil,” she said with a lazy wave of her hand. She didn’t want him or Prince Terric to know how much he was getting to her. Her eyes flicked to the prisoner as Lord Averil continued. Terric’s cheek was now scarred like her own, and she thought that would give her some pleasure, but it did not. He had tortured her, slicing her left cheek from temple to jaw, permanenting scarring her. But she could never stomach torturing him.
“All he wants is to return home to his own country, to live out the remainder of his life in solitude. At least you can give him that.” Lord Averil spread his hands in supplication. Kalina let out a long sigh.
“Lord Illeron?”
The thin man nodded at her and stepped forward, his hands clasped behind his back.
“If your own father had beaten you, chased you to the ends of the earth, threatened to kill you, stolen your sons, and raped your daughters, would you just let him live out his days in peace? Prince Terric was supposed to protect this realm. He was supposed to lift his people up after a long war, and help them rebuild, creating a stronger and better kingdom. Instead, he preyed on the weak and starving, he chased its rightful queen across the realm and then started yet another war against an oppressed and already depleted people. Then he tore young men and women from their homes for his own personal vendetta against a child he’d never met, who’d done him no harm. A man like that doesn’t deserve a quiet retirement. A man like that deserves death, but if you won’t give him that, then he deserves to spend his life in the dark.”
Kalina nodded approvingly. She looked to Lord Averil and raised an eyebrow.
“Do you have a rebuttal, Lord Averil?”
The plump man seemed to bluster for a moment before regaining his composure. He stepped forward once again, shooting Lord Illeron a menacing look.
“Prince Terric just wants peace, he no longer desires war or revenge.” Lord Averil seemed to be almost pleading now.
Kalina couldn’t believe it. She sat, looking at her council and seeing them with grim,
determined faces. Just as she was about to respond, someone threw something from the crowd and it splatted just a foot away. She looked down at it distractedly, wondering why in the world a tomato was suddenly smashed beside her. Soon, fruit and even clods of dirt and horse patties began raining down from the skies, the crowd beyond the makeshift fence of palace guards launching them skyward, clearly aiming for Prince Terric. Kalina ducked her head and ran back towards Maska and the safety of his wings.
Her council began moving, each launching from their seats, and soon screaming and yelling filled the air around her as she ran. Suddenly something barreled into her from the side and she fell heavily to the ground. Someone landed atop her, straddling her, but instead of protecting her, they attacked.
She looked up through the barrage of missiles and saw that Prince Terric sat atop her, a small dagger shining in his chained hands. His scarred, bearded, and gaunt face grinned maniacally down at her as he raised the knife to stab her. Her blood seemed to freeze in her veins for a moment before she remembered her training. She bucked her hips, arching suddenly beneath him, throwing him sideways off of her. His eyes went wide, as he was dislodged and landed heavily on his side. Kalina was up in an instant, sliding away, putting distance between them and pulling her own knife from her bodice, ready for a second attack. Her council members were closing in, Leif just moments away from reaching her as the Prince stood. The knife was raised again above his head, ready to plunge downward, when a massive set of green jaws descended from the air overhead, engulfing Prince Terric’s thin form.
A scream escaped him just as Maska closed his teeth with an audible snap, and the sound was abruptly cut off. Blood oozed from between his enormous jaws, his dark, star-flecked eyes searching the gathered crowd, now completely frozen in terror, all noise abruptly halted. It was as if, in one swift movement, Maska had frozen the entire parade ground. Not a single person moved, they just watched in abject horror as Maska opened his jaws and the mutilated and bloody corpse of the Prince fell to the cobblestones. Even Kalina’s own stomach churned.