Starlight

by Nikki Gaspar

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  The trial for Adam Hunte was scheduled early the following day. Vincent joined us for breakfast in the palace so that we could go to the courthouse together.

  The Bellanmuse Courthouse was similar to how the capitol looks like but smaller. There was a small park in front of it with benches and a water fountain.

  “Queen Mother, how did you find out that Mr. Adam Hunte was part of the plan to kill Princess Clarissa?” A reporter shoved his microphone in grandma’s direction, but three guards held him back.

  “Vincent, are you not ashamed to walk with the royals, knowing that your father was part of the plan?”

  “Princess Clarissa, how do feel knowing that your friend’s dad wants you dead?”

  “Princess Sofia, what can you say…”

  “Princess Ysabel, are you still going to marry…”

  The reporters were relentless. They kept trying to get past the guards to ask their questions, but Major Krisham’s men were well trained for this kind occasion and were able to escort us safely inside the building. Thank goodness grandma hadn’t announced Uncle Ant’s crimes yet, otherwise, there would be a pandemonium.

  We entered one of the courtrooms. It was a large room where a long table was placed in front—obviously reserved for the royal court. Two benches were facing them for the prosecution and defense parties, and plenty of armchairs arranged in rows for the audience. Reporters and their cameramen have set-up their equipment at the back, ready to cover the scandalous trial.

  We sat far from Adam Hunte’s assigned seat. We didn’t really want to be within his range when he finally found out that not only was he suspected as an accessory for my almost death, but for killing the king as well.

  “Are you okay?” I asked Vincent. He had been very quiet ever since he arrived in the palace earlier.

  He gave me a small smile. “Yes, I’m okay. I’m just a little sad, but I know that we did the right thing.”

  “It’s okay to be sad because he’s your dad,” I said, then reached for his trembling hand and squeezed it.

  We did not wait long before the door opened, and Adam was escorted by the prison guards. His usual expensive suit was replaced by an orange prisoner’s outfit, and his hands were bound in front of him.

  When he was seated, the prison guards stepped back to stand on the sides, and a man wearing a suit sat beside him. Both men looked confident. They probably prepared arguments that they thought would convince the royal court that he had no idea about Uncle Ant’s plan to kill me.

  “Does your father know that you’re testifying against him?”

  “No, Claire. Major Krisham just told him that evidence came into light that proved the king poisoned your milk and that he was suspected to be an accessory to the crime.”

  “He’ll be super mad at you,” Ysabel said.

  Vincent nodded. “He will be. But I’m sure that my mom would be proud and would watch over me from heaven.”

  “We’re proud of you too, Vincent. We’ll always be your family even if you don’t marry Ysabel. Actually, I don’t mind being your cousin-in-law instead.” Sofia winked.

  Vincent chuckled, and his shoulders relaxed.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Grandma looked composed as she had a discussion with the other members of the royal court. I’m proud of how brave she was in facing her son’s mistakes.

  “Ladies and Gentlemen of the Royal Court,” grandma said to the room. “As you all know, we are gathered here today for the trial of Mr. Adam Hunte. He was accused to be an accessory to the frustrated murder of Princess Clarissa, a crime committed by the late King Anthony Grandis.” The media people at the back gasped.

  “I regret to say that before King Anthony died, some evidence came into light which proved that he killed his older brother Prince Alfred, his wife Queen Luisa, and almost killed Princess Clarissa. A witness came forward and accused Mr. Adam Hunte of having participated in the search for Princess Clarissa with no intention of bringing her back to the royal family. He was also accused of being knowledgeable about the planned poisoning of the same Princess.”

  Adam looked smug. He had no idea that grandma was about to burst his bubble.

  “After Mr. Adam Hunte’s arrest, however, another witness came forward to testify that the accused was the person responsible for the late King Anthony’s death—”

  Adam made a lunge at grandma. “That’s a lie! King Anthony was my best friend. I would never kill him.” The prison guards were too quick for him, and he was forced back to his seat.

  Grandma continued with her speech, as if unaware of the interruption. “Today, we are going to listen to the witnesses’ testimonies.”

  Adam and his lawyer had a heated argument between them, and their smug expressions earlier were replaced with distress.

  ***

  “May we call on our first witness,” Lord Romulo said.

  A king’s guard opened the door, revealing Mr. Bardy. He was dressed smartly and fiddling with his fedora hat as he was escorted by another king’s guard to the witness’s seat.

  “Witness, please introduce yourself,” Lady Ellena said.

  Mr. Bardy cleared his throat before he spoke. “Your Highness, my name is Wil Bardy. I work as a farmer, and I am a citizen of Bellanmuse since birth.”

  “Thank you,” Lady Ellena said. “Now, please tell us what you witnessed the morning that the late King Anthony’s body was found.”

  “I was going home that morning after gathering firewood at the hill. I was at the edge of the trees when an expensive car caught my eyes. It stopped a few meters ahead of me, and I wondered what a wealthy person could be doing in that area, so I continued to watch. The driver stepped out of the car, walked around towards the passenger’s seat, and pulled something that I can’t see—something that looked heavy—and then, a few seconds later, the body of a man dropped on the ground. The driver went back to the driver’s seat, made a U-turn, and sped back to where it came from.”

  “And what happened next?” Lady Ellena asked.

  “I waited a few minutes for the man to move, but he did not. I approached him, and I was shocked when I recognized that he was the king.”

  “Did you call the police immediately?” Lady Bernadette asked.

  “Yes, Your Highness, I called them immediately.”

  “Why did you not tell them about what you witnessed?” Lady Bernadette asked, shuffling some papers to look at her notes. “According to the police report, you said that the body was lying on the ground when you passed by.”

  Mr. Bardy nodded. “I’m sorry that I lied, Your Highness. I’m a poor man; I was afraid to go against a wealthy person. But when I heard that he was arrested for another crime, I realized that the royal court cares more about the truth than a person’s bank account.”

  “Do you know the man who dropped the king’s body?” Lord Thomas asked.

  “I know that he is a wealthy businessman, but I don’t know him personally, Your Highness.”

  “Can you give us his name?” Lord Josef asked.

  Mr. Bardy cast a nervous glance at Adam and took a deep breath. “He’s Mr. Adam Hunte.”

  “Is the man that you said was named Adam Hunte, in this room?” Lord Josef asked.

  “Yes, Your Highness.”

  “Please tell us which person in this room dropped the king’s body,” Lord Thomas said.

  Mr. Bardy looked straight at Adam and pointed a finger in his direction.

  “Lies! Queen Mother, you knew me since I was a kid! I treated Anthony like a real brother!”

  “Enough, Mr. Hunte!” Lord Thomas said before he addressed Mr. Bardy. “Thank you, Mr. Bardy. You may leave.”

  He bowed before the elders, and then the king’s guard escorted him out of the room.

  Adam’s eyes stayed glued to the man until he disappeared behind the door.

  ***

  “Now that we heard Mr. Bardy’s testimony regarding the death of King Antho
ny, we will listen to the witness accusing Mr. Adam Hunte of having participated in the search for Princess Clarissa with the intention of hiding her from the family permanently. And being knowledgeable about the plan to poison her,” Lord Andrei said.

  Vincent stiffened beside me.

  “You can do it, Vincent, we’re here for you,” I said.

  “Don’t look at him,” Ysabel said. “Just say what you have to say. Look at us if you need to look at something.”

  Vincent nodded and then looked at his father who was oblivious that the next witness was his own son.

  “May we call on our next witness please,” Lady Elisa said.

  Adam whipped his head towards the door, but when it remained closed, he turned his head around the room to see who the next witness was. When Vincent stood and walked towards the witness’ seat, Adam watched with his eyes wide and unbelieving.

  “Vincent, son, what are you doing?” Adam’s anguished voice rang in the quiet courtroom.

  Vincent looked at the floor and ignored his dad.

  “Witness, please introduce yourself,” Lady Graciel said.

  “Son! Why are you doing this? Step down from there! Vincent!” Adam stood but was held back by the prison guards.

  Vincent’s eyes were shining with tears as he continued to look at the floor.

  “Witness, please introduce yourself,” Lady Graciel repeated.

  “My name is Vincent Hunte.” He extracted a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the tears from his face. “I am the son of the accused.”

  “Please tell us about what you witnessed,” Lord Andrei said.

  “It happened during Princess Clarissa’s welcome home party, Your Highness. I went out of the ballroom to catch some air when I heard the king and my dad whispering in a corner. I got curious as to why they have to talk there, so I eavesdropped. My dad said that it was unfortunate that the princess came back on her own, and that it would be better if they found her first.”

  “Wait a moment,” Lord Benjamin interrupted. “Did you see with your own eyes that the two people you heard are indeed the king and your father?”

  “No, Your Highness, but I know my dad’s voice, and I grew up around the king to know for sure that they are the people talking.

  Lord Benjamin nodded. “Please continue.”

  “The king said that the princess is only eighteen years old, they still have time, and the plan can still work out. My dad answered that if they saw the princess first, the royal family need not know that anything happened and that their efforts would not be wasted.” Vincent’s voice faltered as he struggled with his emotions. “Then, the king said that he would make sure that the princess would follow her dad’s footsteps.”

  Adam was staring at his son, his face livid. The lawyer beside him grasped his arm like he thinks that Adam would charge at Vincent at any moment.

  “If you think that conversation meant that they were planning to kill the princess, why did you not tell the royal court immediately?” Lady Elisa asked.

  “Because I did not understand the conversation at that time. I only realized that it was suspicious when Princess Clarissa was poisoned.”

  “And did you tell anyone what you realized?” Lady Elisa asked.

  Vincent nodded. “I told Princess Clarissa immediately, to warn her. Then Princess Ysabel overheard our conversation and agreed with my suspicion. She said that the king killed Prince Alfred, and so he’s very much capable of killing Princess Clarissa.”

  “You should have told the royal court immediately, did you not consider that?” Lady Adeline asked.

  “I was scared because I have no proof and the king’s words have much more weight than mine.”

  “So what did you do next?” Lady Adeline asked.

  “We tried to find proof that the king was the culprit behind the death of Prince Alfred and Queen Luisa. And then one day, Princess Clarissa and I overheard the king mention a laboratory when he was talking to my dad. My dad reacted like it was a big secret, so we figured that if we find this laboratory, we would also find the proof we needed to convict the king and my dad.”

  “And you found it,” Lady Graciel said.

  “Yes, Your Highness, we found it. It contains Kloz-Assalire Flowers, which causes very high blood pressure and Banafesti Beans, which is the same poison found in the Princess’s milk.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Hunte. You may return to your seat,” Lord Andrei said.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Vincent stood to go back to his seat. When he passed by his father, he hesitated for a moment but continued to walk towards us.

  Adam Hunte glowered at his son, his face flushed.

  “Mr. Adam Hunte—” grandma started to say, but Adam let out a maniacal laugh and stood abruptly.

  “That’s all you have against me? You don’t know half of my sins!” Eyes bulging and breathing heavily, he pointed his finger at the elders. He looked deranged. The prison guards became alert and were about to hold him back, but Lord Romulo signaled for them to stop. He probably sensed the same thing that I did—Adam was seconds away from admitting his crimes.

  “Did you think that the weak Anthony Grandis would have the guts to go after the crown if not for me?” Adam scoffed. “He had always been jealous of his older brother, but he was contented to be the palace’s doormat forever. What a fool. It was I who showed him what he could do to change his place in the Royal Family!” He pointed at himself, his head held high.

  “What are you talking about?” grandma asked.

  “I made Anthony Grandis a king! That’s what I’m saying! I taught him how to use the Kloz-Assalire Flowers to kill Prince Alfred. For someone who studies a lot, Anthony didn’t know how to use his intelligence to his advantage, so I taught him that.”

  The king’s guards stepped nearer because Adam looked like he was going to go berserk while everyone else sat still, listening to his rants.

  “When Prince Alfred was finally dead, my next target was Princess Clarissa, but her idiotic mother ran away with her. I hired people to look for them, but Emma Grandis managed to evade our men. Too bad her efforts were wasted because she did not tell her daughter not to go to Bellanmuse before she died.”

  Adam turned his head to look at me. Vincent, probably out of instinct, angled his body to shield me from his dad’s eyes. “I guess my son is smarter than me…” Adam pasted a sly smile on his face. “Did you know that it was I who poisoned your milk, Princess? I was tired of waiting for your dear uncle to make a move, and so that night, after your maid followed the king’s orders, I went inside the kitchen and distracted the king. He had no idea of what I did, and I left before the maid could see me.”

  “Why did you do that? Why kill my dad and me? You would never be a king!” I said.

  “I can’t be a king, but I can make my son a queen’s consort.” He winked at me. “I talked Anthony into agreeing that it was in our children’s best interest if they will marry each other. That’s why I did my best to make him a king. I want a future queen as a daughter-in-law!”

  “Then why did you kill Uncle Ant? After your years of hard work, why did you kill the person that could give you what you want?”

  Adam’s lips stretched so wide that they seem to disappear. “That’s why I said that my son is smarter than me! I was so focused on making sure that Vincent would marry Ysabel that I failed to notice his fixation on you. You are all he talked about ever since you came to Bellanmuse, it used to annoy me, but when I saw you together at the palace’s passageway, I noticed how he acted around you. I could have kicked myself.” He chuckled. “I realized that I’m doing it all wrong. Instead of killing you and wait for Anthony to die before my son can become a queen’s consort, why not kill Anthony now and make you a queen!”

  “I can’t believe you are capable of all of this, dad,” Vincent said. “I feel ashamed to be called your son. I would never take advantage of the princesses like that!”

  Adam’s face transformed. He
turned purple as he glared at Vincent and bared his teeth.

  “That’s because you’re weak like your mother!” His booming voice echoed in the courtroom.

  Vincent stood up, looking like he was seconds away from exploding with anger and attacking his dad, but the king’s guards stepped-in to keep him away from Adam.

  “That’s enough,” grandma said. “Please escort Mr. Adam Hunte to his jail cell. We have heard enough to convict him on his multiple crimes.”

  Adam whipped his head at grandma and spat in her direction, but he allowed the prison guards to take him away.

  Vincent stood rooted on the spot, and his shoulders shook as he cried.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  What happened at the trial was all over the news. The Bellan People were shocked when they learned the truth about the beloved King Anthony Grandis and his best friend, the wealthy businessman, Adam Hunte. But even though their parents’ names were tarnished, Ysabel, Sofia, and Vincent received huge respect.

  One person was not very happy with us, though. The day the news broke out, grandma found me just when I went out of the library.

  “Claire, please call your Aunt Emily,” she said with a stupefied expression. “She called this morning—spitting nails—she berated me for almost an hour because we didn’t inform her that you were poisoned, and had to learn about what happened in the news.”

  My stomach dropped. Growing up without any relatives, I wasn’t used to having someone aside from mom and my neighbors that would care and would want to know if anything happened to me. “She must have been blowing up my phone. I left it in the cottage.”

  “She was. That’s another thing she was mad about.” Grandma shook her head. “Your aunt was fierce when she wanted to be. No one dared scream at me like that ever since I became a queen.”

  “Sorry, Grandma.”

  She ran her fingers through my hair affectionately. “No worries, dear. She was right, I should have called her. I would be mad too if our positions were reversed.”

  ***

  Back in the cottage, I saw that my phone’s battery was low—most likely due to the fact that it had eighty-three missed calls, all from Aunt Emily. I plugged it in and pressed call.