“Still, he never tried the whole stare thing with anyone,” Oprix said. “It was hard to tell if either of them was even paying attention.”
Yes, it was. Neither of them had human or animal faces that showed emotion, but that didn’t mean neither of them wasn’t paying attention.
“I think both of them were listening and forming opinions. Nick Chopper wouldn’t be made of Tin if it weren’t for Locasta. The Scarecrow was right there with Dorothy most of the journey her first time in Oz. They both have reasons to see Locasta pay.”
Idris just leaned further back in his chair. “They both benefitted from Locasta’s plot too. Nick Chopper wouldn’t be Emperor in the West, and the Scarecrow wouldn’t be king of all Oz if they hadn’t been involved in this plot. It’s not like the Fisher King could have stolen their magic or cursed them further. Maybe they don’t care about what happens in this trial because if the Sentinels are restored, they lose their cushy positions.”
“I don’t think so,” Francesca said. “Nick Chopper wasn’t lying when he said he was happy to see me restored and give me my family home back. Didn’t the Scarecrow not want it when they wanted to make him king?”
“He didn’t,” I said. “Everyone had to convince him they wanted him, and the only reason he agreed was that people started badgering him a little. The Scarecrow was a fair ruler once he accepted, but he never wanted to be king. I think he’s grateful Ozma will take over.”
It just hit me. Galen was worried about their voices not being heard, but I already knew my father had a plan.
“Galen, Esiro will have to take the stand. I’m almost certain my father intends to call her tomorrow. Their Sentinel has betrayed the North. Esiro needs to get up there and talk to them. She needs to settle their minds and ask if they want her to take Locasta’s place.”
Francesca yawned. “You can normally feel it when a curse is broken. I was blasted half across the room when I broke the curse on Ozma, Dorothy, and Esiro. I haven’t felt the forgetting curse breaking, but I don’t know if I’m supposed to.”
That was a good question. I’d watched her fly across the room for two curses. The hair on the back of my neck stood up when the curses were broken. I had felt nothing similar throughout this entire trial. Was it broken, or did this trial need to continue further?
Francesca stood up to yawn and stretch. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m exhausted. I trust Daxar and Daxar says his father won’t pass sentence without talking to you and your siblings. I don’t think mine will either. Let’s table this and get some sleep.”
She didn’t have to tell me twice. I think all of us were exhausted. I got why my father and Pridius tried to seize the moment and call Locasta right then, but it was the wrong call. I knew everyone was fired up, even if they were exhausted. I promised everyone in this room my father would make it right when it came to sentencing, but so much of this trial had already gone wrong.
I hoped I could keep my word and wasn’t proved a liar tomorrow. I really hoped my father wasn’t so out for blood, he didn’t ask Illyna’s children what they wanted before they sentenced her.
Chapter 41
Frankie
T
hey delivered a message with breakfast that the trial wouldn’t continue until after lunch. I really hoped that didn’t mean they were deciding fates without talking to Galen, Esiro, and Dorothy first. I understood that Illyna hurt more than just her children. Saffron hadn’t said a single word when Galen was saying they all wanted her to live. That could have been several reasons. My cousin really liked her sleep and she could have just been exhausted or she just didn’t want to say anything in front of Galen. I needed to talk to my cousin alone.
Saffron wanted to be alone with Emarus after breakfast, but I made him sit with everyone so we could talk alone in her bedroom.
“Saffron, I know how Galen feels about Illyna, but you said nothing last night. What do you think now that she’s testified? She killed your mother.”
Saffron just shrugged. “I mean, she aimed the house, but she wasn’t lying when she said she hoped my mother got out of the way in time. There was no way to ask her, but Locasta was in the East when my mother died. It’s pretty easy to get out of the way of a house caught up in a tornado. I really think Locasta did something to her that she couldn’t.”
I hadn’t even thought about that. I could hardly even visualize a house just falling out of the sky, but Saffron was right. Adora would have seen it falling and had time to get out of the way.
“You’re probably right. We know Locasta didn’t trust Illyna, and Illyna didn’t want to do it. Locasta probably did it so she could brag to the Fisher King it was actually her that killed Adora.”
“Look, I get that Galen is your boyfriend, and we are both friends with Dorothy and Esiro. I don’t want to see Illyna die any more than they do. She didn’t want to do it, but it’s not like she had any good options to get out of it. I wish it hadn’t happened, but I wish none of this had. My mother wouldn’t have wanted a woman operating under duress to die for her murder. I even understand how she could get confused enough to let him out. I can’t imagine being as old as she is and I can’t imagine going that long without someone to talk to. I get why the other Sentinels wouldn’t replace her, but why did no one just go talk to her? Not even the North visited her until it was too late.”
“I suppose we can imagine all the scenarios where someone visited her before it was too late or Locasta feeling like she wasn’t looked down on and turning against the Sentinels. They never happened, and that’s why we are here today.”
“Our mothers never looked down on Locasta or judged her for being weaker at magic. It was just something that has always been known. My mother never said a single bad thing about Locasta until she kept refusing to help with the Wizard, then she really said some things after the forgetting curse, and Locasta got the Good Witch title. But it was never anything about her being weaker. My mother thought she was an ass for refusing to help and thought she was conspiring against the other Sentinels. My mother called her a bitch, not weak.”
I found myself laughing in the middle of this totally fucked up situation.
“My mother used much more colorful words, but she said the same thing. The only reason I know the North had weaker Sentinels is because I asked my mother why she kept offering to help Locasta with her black market problem.”
“That’s the only reason I know too. My mother talked about the black market in the North all the time, and she always told me she wished Locasta would ask the other Sentinels to help her put a stop to it for good. I asked why she didn’t put a stop to it for good and my mother told me she didn’t think she could. I don’t think any of us knew she kept telling our mothers no because she was providing the ingredients.”
“What about Locasta? I think we all agree Illyna shouldn’t have to die. What kind of punishment should Locasta get?”
“Are you serious? You heard her. She’s completely insane, and she’s not even sorry about a single thing. If we stuck her in the Emerald City jail, we’d have to feed her and see to her needs. She didn’t afford that courtesy to any of the people she took prisoner. Even with her magic bound, she’d spend her entire time plotting revenge.”
“She’d probably never get it. That jail is impossible to get out of.”
“You seriously think we should let her live?”
“I don’t have the stomach to watch another person burn.”
Saffron just shrugged. “You have a sword, and I have a bow. We could make it quick.”
“I don’t know if we’ll be asked to do that, but I have a feeling Locasta will not live through this. I don’t know if the trial was put off through lunch because they are still deciding on Illyna.”
“Daxar said his father wouldn’t without asking her children. Daxar wouldn’t lie.”
“I know this, but his father might act out of character because of how this trial has been going. He might just wa
nt to get it out of the way.”
“We’ll drive ourselves crazy trying to figure out what they are doing. Come on. Let’s go join everyone else, or they will think we are talking bad about them.”
I tugged at her ponytail. “You just want to be with Emarus.”
Saffron tugged my hair right back. “Oh please. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you drooling every time Idris plays dolls with Elore.”
“Because it’s sexy as fuck.”
“You’re surrounded by sexy. You have your pick of sexy for whatever mood you happen to be in that night. You’re greedy, Frankie. It shocked me you didn’t get up there and pee on him to mark your territory when all the women in the audience acted like they wanted him to shift to see if he was as sexy as he was acting with Elore.”
“I don’t need to pee on Idris to know he’s mine.”
“I’d kill Emarus if he flirted as Idris does.”
“That’s just Idris being Idris. Can I get jealous at Idris for flirting when I know he’s coming home to me, and I’ve got other boyfriends?”
“I honestly don’t know how you deal with all four of them.”
I decided to poke at my cousin and make her blush. I knew just the thing.
“Saffron, I haven’t even begun to explore what dealing with all four of them is like.”
As I expected, Saffron turned as purple as my hair. I grabbed her hand and yanked her off the bed. “Come on. Let’s go in the living room and pretend like none of this awful stuff is going on for a few hours.”
Chapter 41
Frankie
W
e all managed to fake it and pretend like we weren’t thinking about the trial for a few hours before we were called right back into it. I honestly had no idea what was going on. I hadn’t been talking with my father about the trial because I thought I was influencing his decision enough, just being his daughter. I didn’t want him to think I wanted special treatment from him as a judge just because he was my father and a lot of this plot involved hurting my loved ones and me.
I took my seat, and all the judges looked exhausted, like they either hadn’t slept or only had a few hours’ sleep. Roxar looked tired as he took the stage.
“I realize after that last testimony, everyone wants a swift resolution, but we don’t just need justice. We need to heal Oz. So, before we deliver sentencing, we have one more witness. Esiro, can you come up here, please?”
Esiro sat in the chair, and she didn’t even wait for them to ask her a question.
“Before you say anything, I know it’s a lot to ask, but I lost a lot being the Fisher King’s daughter. Locasta wasn’t exactly kind when she raised me. I don’t want to lose my mother now that I know she loved us this entire time. She helped us beat him. I’m asking for mercy for my mother. The rest of my siblings feel the same way.”
“Duly noted. That’s not why you’re up here. I know you were meant to give witness to what Locasta did, but you gave us what we needed with that chest under the floorboards. Their Sentinel has betrayed the North. From what I understand, there are three of you that could take over as Sentinel of the North, but you’re the one who volunteered. Talk to the North, Esiro. Let them ask you questions. Earn your place as Sentinel of the North.”
Esiro looked out at the crowd. “I know you don’t remember the Sentinels. I know you have no reason to trust them after hearing what Locasta said. But you’ve heard two Sentinels give testimony, and you heard their words about what a Sentinel’s duty is supposed to be. I wasn’t just Locasta’s servant. I grew up thinking I was a Gillikin peasant. Locasta wouldn’t let me have friends, but she brought me everywhere with her. I felt like I got to know all of you. You might not have noticed that servant girl with Locasta, but she noticed you. I felt your pain when your family was sick and I cried with you when you lost your loved ones. I always wished there was someone better than Locasta looking out for you. I’ve found out I have the power to do that and I hope you’ll let me.”
Pridius stepped forward. “It’s time, Esiro. Drop the glamour and let them see you for real.”
“Before I show you this, know I wasn’t deliberately deceiving you. They cursed me. My magic was bound, and they put a glamour on me that I always believed I looked as I do now. It wasn’t until the curse was broken that I felt my magic for the first time I knew what I really looked like.”
I don’t think anyone in the audience had ever seen a glamour drop before. They’d certainly never seen Locasta drop hers. A shimmery white light surrounded Esiro, and when it cleared, I was seeing her again with her green hair. There were a few gasps from the audience, but it wasn’t a bad reaction.
I heard a Gillikin woman scream from the back of the crowd. “You’re just as pretty as your mother. Can we trust you?”
“I watched Locasta treat the Gillikin one way and treat me another. I knew what she was doing in her prisons, but I couldn’t do anything about it because she never let me out of her sight, and it would sound like sour grapes coming from her servant. I always said if I could change things, the Gillikin people deserved someone better than Locasta. I had no idea I could change things and that person might be me. I want the North to succeed. I want the black market shut down. I want the North to help Oz recover from this. But I need your help. I need the help of all the Gillikin people.”
I think the entire audience broke into applause. When the applause died down, and Gillikin man in the back decided to be heard.
“What’s next? Do we crown you?”
Esiro laughed. “I have to finish training first. I have a lot to learn. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I would love for my mother to train me.”
Pridius scratched his chin, and I knew he was only pretending to think. “It would make sense. Glinda is pregnant and only has two tutors for Francesca and Saffron. Your mother does need a punishment for what she did. I say training you is her punishment. Is Oz in agreement?”
It shocked me. All of Oz yelled yay, and not a single person yelled nay. That was, until Pavius just had to go open his big mouth again.
“That’s not really a punishment,” he whined.
Roxar just glared at him. “I’d say living with the Fisher King was punishment enough. Would you rather us be at this trial with several dead young people, Munchkins, Quadlings, and Winkies? No dead people. She ended this with no casualties except the Fisher King.”
“No casualties? Let’s ask Saffron about casualties.”
Saffron rose to her feet, and her slim form managed to take up a lot of space.
“Don’t assume to speak for me. Don’t assume to speak for my mother, either. I think teaching Esiro is perfect and so does the rest of Oz. Just because you’re a bitter shit that Locasta turned out wrong doesn’t mean you need to punish the next Sentinel.”
“Well, I just don’t think it’s fair. We wouldn’t even be in this mess if it weren’t for Illyna.”
Esiro stood and glared at Pavius. She might not be fully trained, but she looked every inch a Sentinel.
“She was beaten, raped, watched her babies murdered in front of her, and she lost the three children the Fisher King let live. She still pulled her bootstraps up and helped us kill him. I’d say she suffered enough.”
There was this rowdy Gillikin in the back. The same one that asked Esiro about crowning her was yelling again.
“Oi, piss off, Pavius. You’re making the North look worse. You’ve been trying hard this entire trial to make us look like right arseholes, and now you’re doing it again. You give that girl her mother back and shut the fuck up.”
“Why don’t you let them announce Locasta’s fate and tell me if you feel any different?” Pavius snapped.
Roxar glared at him. “There are stark differences between Illyna and Locasta. You saw it in their testimony. Illyna showed remorse and is trying to atone. Locasta is just upset she lost her lover and didn’t get to kill all of us. She’d do everything again in a heartbeat. The judge's panel was almost unanimous. We in
tended to ask Illyna’s children and the audience what to do with her. There is no redeeming Locasta. Locasta must die.”
This time, it was me that stood. I couldn’t sit through another burning. Locasta’s screams of pain until she died would haunt me in my dreams. The only reason we didn’t hear the Fisher King scream was because he still had that rag stuffed in his mouth. Watching his body burn was still awful.
“Locasta is not immortal, and I can’t sit through another burning. It needs to be quick. I have a sword.”
Now, Glinda was standing. Soon, everyone would be standing and trying to make a point.
“I agree with Francesca. Locasta wanted us to suffer, but if we do the same to her, we are no worse than she is. It will be quick for Locasta, and it won’t be Francesca or Saffron that does it. I will be the one to do it and it will be done with my scythe.”
Holy shit, now Ivia was standing. She was back in her woman form instead of her monkey. When she had her human skin on, she had to be even taller than Glinda was.
“You will not do it either, love,” Ivia said. “You are pregnant with a special child, and you need not be swinging your scythe. A Flying Monkey can snap her neck quickly. You are one of us now and these are my orders. Francesca and Saffron will not dirty their hands with this and you will not risk that baby.”
Glinda just gave a curt nod. “It’s settled then. Locasta will die at sundown at the hands of the Flying Monkeys. Anyone who feels like it would be too upsetting to watch can stay at home. No one will judge you.”
Pridius face the crowd. “Does everyone agree with the judgment issued here today?”
I heard a Winkie in the back. “Does that mean we get Frankie as the Sentinel of the West?”
Oz Has Spoken: A Reverse Harem Academy Romance (Emerald City Academy Book 3) Page 24