FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE

by S. K. Ng

  “Story _ it is a long one of this. Explain _ I shall do of this later, but more importantly, what are you doing to prepare for your trial?” asked Serene.

  Thorn’s facial expression turned into a frown.

  “You mean my court martial? Well, what is there to prepare? I shall go and speak the truth and accept whatever punishment they give, after all, I did desert my post,” reasoned Thorn.

  “Aware _ are you of this that you could be sentenced to death?” she pointed out.

  “If that is their judgement, so be it,” Thorn concluded.

  “Stubborn _ you are still of this as ever, sir!” said Serene.

  Thorn shrugged his shoulder and gave Serene a fake smile.

  “What else can I do? What else should I do?” he asked.

  “Fight _ you could do of this, make them see that you were trying to protect the civilians who were in danger; and that what you did was actually true patriotism,” she pleaded.

  “No, that would be pointless. The law is the law. I deserted my post. There is no changing that fact. I shall accept whatever punishment I deserve, but only after I have executed a Liberation Raid,” expressed Thorn firmly.

  “Expect _ do you of this that the court will just grant your request? Expect _ do you of this that they will just unshackle you, shake your hand and wish you good luck, then re-shackle you when you come back and then finally hang you?” questioned Serene rhetorically.

  “I shall ask and find out,” answered Thorn anyway.

  Thorn and Serene sat there in silence. He gave her a gentle smile. She shook her head and gave him a serious frown. Obviously, Thorn did not mind that he was going to be hung. Obviously, Serene seriously did mind that her mentor was going to be hung! Then he asked about Fort Eastguard. She recounted the entire battle to him and updated him as best she could on the whereabouts of those who had survived.

  The following morning finds Minvians Ray Iddell, Clover Genox and Serene Genox in a private meeting with King Fulmar Patrum in his private study. The Sollenthars sat facing the king across a large, low table and except for Ray who was leaning in his seat, the others sat with their backs upright.

  “Are you sure about this, Minvian Iddell?” the king asked.

  “Absolutely!” Ray answered.

  “Verbena Romar is an excellent staff. She is smooth and efficient. As a matter of fact, she is so indispensable to Prime Minister Trex that she is one of the few royal secretaries allowed to have quarters here in the palace. And you accuse her of being an accomplice to those who plan my son’s assassination? Surely, you are mistaken!” said King Patrum.

  “Mistake _ we have made none of this, Your Highness,” said Serene.

  “This does not make any sense! She was put through an extensive background check before she was allowed quarters here. Are you sure it is her? And why would she want my son dead anyway!?” questioned the king as he sat up straight.

  “Agent _ we believe that she is one of her who facilitates the events on behalf of someone, whom we have yet to identify. Motive _ hers of this, it is still unknown, Your Highness,” answered Clover.

  King Patrum was just stunned. He had never expected this. How could it be that there was a traitor in his midst? How could it be that the Royal Guards have failed to detect her treachery until now? Was his palace security so lax?

  “Come to think of it, certain things now begin to add up. As Prime Minister Trex’s secretary, Verbena has access to my son’s itinerary. After all, she had to liaise with the organisers of the events that my son had to officiate. She was also responsible for arranging the lodgings for my son and his guards when they go out for such events. Ray, do you remember the incident of assassins breaking into the palace seven months ago, the night when Minvian Farhan was killed?” asked the king.

  “Remember _ I do of this,” answered Ray.

  “And you said you suspected the cloth-wrapped item could have been a book?” asked the king again.

  “Yes,” replied Ray.

  “What if it was a book that contained the details of my son’s itinerary? Such a book would not have been allowed to be taken out of the palace grounds. There was no way she could have smuggled such an item out. The only way for her to get the book out was for the assassins to break in and get the book themselves. No wonder they knew exactly when and where to ambush my son!” concluded the king.

  “Conclusion _ we came to the same of this, Your Highness; and with the demon, Lord Deathclaw, being involved somehow, we suspect that there are other parties involved in this conspiracy as well,” said Ray.

  The Cousins Genox nodded in agreement.

  King Patrum shook his head. He still could not believe that Verbena was helping someone kill his son.

  “What about the one that escaped, Dawn Breven? Did she reveal anything useful during the interrogation?” he asked.

  “No,” Ray answered casually.

  “So what is your plan, Minvian Iddell?” queried the king.

  “Plan _ mine of this, Your Highness, is to interrogate Secretary Romar over and over again until we find something useful, or even offer her leniency if she cooperates,” responded Ray.

  “And what of Dawn Breven?” queried the king further.

  “Posts _ we have set up observation of these to try to locate and track her, Your Highness,” answered Serene.

  “How sure are all of you that she will not make another attempt on my son’s life?” asked the king.

  “Attempt _ of this, is not likely, Your Highness, because her last effort was one of pure desperation and yet she failed; so she has accepted the fact that she will never succeed in killing Prince Patrum. Abandon _ it is most likely that she will do of this to the clan and go into hiding,” answered Clover.

  King Patrum took in a deep breath and shook his head again in disbelief. He leaned back against his seat, lost in his own thoughts. Ray was still leaning in his seat casually, for he was a true Elementhar, and paid no reverence to kings or leaders of any kind. Clover and Serene, however, still sat with their backs straight. They were born and bred in a family that had served the crown in a military capacity since the very birth of the kingdom, and reverence to royalty as well as military discipline were infused into their blood. The Royal Guards who guarded the king had thought it rude that Ray should behave the way he did, but King Patrum understood Ray’s mentality and his distaste for hierarchy. He knew that for Elementhars like Ray, hierarchy was meant to allow efficient coordination during teamwork and joint efforts, and had no reference whatsoever as to whose blood is nobler or whose breed is more superior. To the others, the king is THE KING, but to Ray, the king is just another man with a job to do. The Royal Guards looked at Ray with disgust, and they hardly took the effort to conceal it, but the king gave them a stern look and finally, they understood that the king did not care for such reverence, or at least, did not expect such reverence from Elementhars.

  The very same afternoon Ray, Clover, Serene, Lance and Spirit were in the palace infirmary. As they walked through the door, they could see that Prince Patrum and Convian Rod Sayson’s beds were set opposite each other. They were transferred here from Fallsgreen Citizen Healing Centre only two days prior. Prince Patrum was restless and flipped through the pages of countless books set by his bedside. Rod, on the other hand, looked weak and lethargic. Spirit’s presence seemed to pump some life into Rod, who broke into a wide smile and patted the white wolf on the head.

  “Feeling _ how are you of this, Your Highness?” asked Ray as he, Clover, Serene and Lance sat down.

  “Like a useless piece of wood! My leg is almost healed, yet they would not let me out of this infirmary. I am like a prisoner in my own home!” replied Prince Patrum.

  “Feeling _ how are you of this, Rod?” asked Serene.

  “Hurts _ my leg does of this, but other than that I am fine,” answered Rod feebly

  “Arrested _ we have done of this to Royal Secretary Verbena Romar, for it was she who had helped the assassin
Dawn Breven get into Castle Greenbloom,” said Ray.

  The revelation shocked Prince Patrum.

  “What?! Bena? This cannot be! Are you sure, Minvian Iddell!?” he asked.

  Ray nodded. Clover and Serene nodded as well, thus giving confirmation.

  “Traitor _ so, she was of her, and who would have thought?” Rod commented.

  Serene turned and looked at Rod. Her eyes were tearing slightly.

  “Met _ I have done of this to Thorn Sayvion,” she said.

  Rod froze in disbelief. Then he broke into a big, wide smile.

  “Alive _ so he is of this, and how is he?” he asked enthusiastically

  “Imprisoned _ he is of this in the dungeons here, on charges of desertion,” Serene said.

  “Do you mean Minvian Thorn Sayvion of Fort Eastguard?” asked Prince Patrum.

  “Yes, Your Highness,” replied Serene.

  “I had met him on several occasions. Experienced warrior and reasonable officer. Very uncharacteristic of him to desert his post,” the prince expressed.

  “Reasons _ he had his of these, Your Highness,” Serene said in Thorn’s defence.

  Prince Patrum did not pursue the subject. He sensed the deep loyalty Serene had for Thorn. Then he remembered that Thorn was her mentor and she was his protégé.

  A short moment of awkward silence followed. Ray and Lance were not familiar enough with Serene and Rod to understand how Thorn Sayvion was important to them, and so they decided not to get involved. But Clover understood. When she had reconciled with Serene, they had shared all their experiences and memories of the time when they were apart. So she knew what Thorn meant to her cousin.

  “Books _ of these, which are the interesting ones, Your Highness?” asked Clover, attempting to change the subject.

  “Storybooks and war manuals make good reading, Minvian Genox. On the other hand, the books on Reception are boring, especially the book of the Receivers of Light. Truth is a bitter thing, and this book is full of bitter things. Why would anybody ever want to read such a book!? I could never figure it out. I can give you this copy if you want,” said the prince as he handed Clover the book.

  Clover shook her head politely. Prince Patrum offered it to Serene, who also refused it politely. He then offered it to Ray, but amazingly enough, Ray pulled out his own copy from one of his uniform pockets.

  “Copies _ I have one of these, and I brought this one for Rod, actually; in the hopes that it would comfort him,” he said as he handed his book to Rod, who took it graciously.

  Prince Patrum was surprised. But then again, he realised that he did not know much about Elementhars.

  “Does this book comfort you, Minvian Iddell?” he asked.

  “Comfort _ it does of this, Your Highness; but more so there is much wisdom in the bitterness and the guidance that it offers is invaluable,” answered Ray.

  “If that is the case, I shall need to reconsider my opinion on this book, or even the whole subject, for that matter,” expressed the prince.

  Ray pulled out a sheathed dagger from a pouch on his belt and handed it to Prince Patrum.

  “Souvenir,” he said.

  “This was hers, was it not? The assassin who almost killed me. Dawn Breven. This was her dagger,” asked the prince.

  Ray nodded his head. Prince Patrum pulled out the blade from its sheath. It was a straight blade that had a long oval shape, with sharpened edges on both sides, which made it well balanced for throwing. The prince wondered how many humans had died by the tip of this blade.

  Rod scratched Spirit behind the ears. Spirit seemed to enjoy it. He wagged his tail wildly.

  “School _ how was it of this, Lance?” asked Rod.

  “Boring. Irritating. Consolation _ of this, the only one I have is that Spirit accompanies me sometimes,” answered Lance.

  “Attention _ pay of this to your lessons, Lance, for the knowledge will be of great use to you someday,” Rod advised.

  “Understand _ I do of this, but it is still boring!” expressed Lance, and Rod and the others laughed lightly.

  The following evening Ray, Clover and Serene got back to handling the various issues at hand. Serene had ridden out of the palace to check on the various observation posts that she had set up. Ray and Clover were in the dungeons, interrogating a very sly suspect.

  “Reason _ what is yours of this for trying to kill Prince Patrum?” asked Ray.

  “What are you talking about? I am not a killer. Why would I want to kill Prince Patrum? Do I look like a killer to you, darling?” answered Verbena Romar as she batted her eye-lids at Ray.

  “Deny _ do not do of this, for we know you are involved, so why do you want him dead?” insisted Clover.

  “I do not know what she is talking about. Please release me! These questions are awful, and it is cold and scary down here. Please, Minvian Iddell! Is it right for a lady like me to be kept here?” Secretary Romar pleaded.

  “Identity _ whom of this are you working for and whom are you working with?” Ray demanded, but with somewhat less of a resolve.

  “I work for Prime Minister Trex! I am his assistant, for goodness sake! You have seen me working here day in and day out! Who else do you think I was working for?” Secretary Romar pleaded her innocence.

  Clover slammed her fist on the table. Secretary Romar jumped in her seat. Clover had wanted to put fear into her.

  “Identity _ who is it of him who is the culprit who wants the prince dead and who are you working with in this plan?” she asked.

  “How dare you threaten me? How dare you arrest a royal secretary? I shall see to it that you are fired, the both of you. Now, release me!” demanded Secretary Romar.

  “Information _ of this, what have you given to the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan and to the one whom you work for?” asked Ray.

  “Shadow Deathmerchant Clan? Who I work for? I have no idea what you two are talking about! Release me now!” demanded Secretary Romar.

  Both Ray and Clover sat down. They stared at the attractive but dangerous woman in front of them. There she was, the perfect ‘Venus Fly Trap’. She had used her beauty and charms to seduce men, high-ranking soldiers, for information that had indirectly led to the death of hundreds, yet she sat there pleading innocence and ignorance. The Royal Guards had, since her arrest, received quite a number of ‘confessions’ from soldiers whose tongues were loosened by her. Minvian Beufall was the worst of them. So bad was his breach of operational secrecy that he was to be tried for treason.

  “Protect _ of this, who are you doing of?” asked Clover.

  Clover’s question caught Verbena Romar by surprise and broke her soft, pretty smile. Clover saw the change and so did Ray. This meant that the mastermind of the assassination plot was not just her employer, but he meant more to her than that.

  “Help _ we can do of this for you, perhaps a lighter sentence or even a full pardon and relocation, but you must cooperate with us,” Clover offered.

  “Protect _ we can do of this for you, but you must tell us all you that know,” Ray added, hoping for a breakthrough.

  “Protection? Why would I need protection? You do not have the slightest idea of who he is or the extent of his influence. He is mine and when he comes for me, I shall make sure you two suffer for what you are doing to me,” sneered Secretary Romar.

  Both Ray and Clover sat silent. They knew it was pointless to question her further. Clearly, Secretary Romar had been delusional all along. She was so blindly loyal to whomever the mastermind was that no amount of persuasion or threats could ever change her mind. Another month or even another year of interrogation would not yield any result, but they would be going ahead with it anyway, as it was their duty.

  They had also wondered who was going to be the prosecutor in this case. He needed to be slick and more importantly, mentally strong; or else he would fall prey to this ‘Venus Fly Trap’ just like so many others did. It would probably be better if the prosecutor was a woman. Then came the next question. Wh
at about the judges? Would they be females as well, or if they were males, could they switch off their ‘maleness’ and stay focussed on the subject, and not on ‘other things’. Ray decided that he would send in a recommendation to the king to appoint a team of female prosecutors and as many female judges as possible for this case. Meanwhile, he and Clover would have to go through the whole list of questions again.

  The evening crawled into early dawn as Ray and Clover interrogated their impossible subject. The sun’s rays broke through the horizon and the birds chirped away while the rooster called on all to rise from their beds. Another team of interrogators took over from Ray and Clover and the cycle of questioning began yet again.

  Lance stood at one end of the open air training area at the Elementhars’ camp. This section of the palace had been officially named Sollenthar Section. The hot mid-day sun was drawing sweat from all the pores in his skin. Spirit sat by the side, his eyes scanning left and right as he was wagging his tail. This was always the fun part for Spirit, watching wooden targets burst into flames. It had been quite a while since Lance practised his Elemental Sorcery skills, so he figured it was time to get it going again. Focusing his mind and energy, he let forth a Heat Burst Spell that slammed into a wooden target and smashed it into several broken, burning pieces. Next he tried the Advanced Heat Spear Spell. The condensed, almost solid shaft of pure, intense fire bore through the first wooden target and exploded upon impact onto the second target which was behind the first.

  Lance shook his head. He was not satisfied with his execution of the spell. The Advanced Heat Spear that he had conjured up was not dense and solid enough. He decided to try again. Out flew a second Advanced Heat Spear, burning through its first target to detonate the second one. This time around, the spell was far more condensed and solid.