..59...
SHE IS MY WIFE
After the royal physician and his impossible assistant had left, the emperor sat beside his beloved, staring down at her sleeping form.
Her facility features were relaxed, resting in tranquility.
Hyeera came up to them with a bowl of slightly cold water that had been scented with cocolemon.
She also came along with a small white towel.
She stood at the side closer to the lady and began to mop her forehead with the towel after it had been dipped into the water.
The emperor stood up and gave way for her to do her bidding.
'Now that I think about it, he is right First,' the Little Prince said after a short while.
The emperor turned to him and stared at him for a while, equally pondering in the matter at hand.
He finally spoke.
'Call a court for me Little. It was an insider who did this. It is the same culprit that we had failed to catch before.'
The Little Prince nodded, totally in agreement with him.
'I have this hunch. I think it is either the Xing princess or the Draco princess. The former is the most suspected for her last accident but there is also suspicion on the latter. I wonder if I am truly right.'
'The stable boy, Aquila said that she had been in just before we arrived, the Xing princess I mean.'
'Mayhap it was her escort who tampered with the horse My Lord,' Octavia took the initiative to speak. Her master turned to her and nodded in agreement.
'We shall soon know,' the Little Prince pointed out. 'I will go and call the court. It should be all ready by some hours after dawn.'
'I shall go and prepare to have dinner,' the emperor informed them.
Cora made to follow him but he turned and stopped her with a hand gesture.
'No, you cannot escort me. You need to rest. I shall find my way around, by myself,' he enunciated every word.
'But My Lord, how can I let you go about unescorted?' she asked him.
Her fatigue shew in her voice.
'That should be my worry and not yours Cora.'
'Pardon me My Lord but I have to do this,' she told him.
'Do what?'
'You,' she said to Xiera.
'Me?' the lady asked touching her chest with her palm.
'Why is everyone asking questions with every answer?' the little prince joked to himself rather than with the rest of them.
'Yes you Xiera,' Cora confirmed. 'You shall escort my master in my absence you hear?' she said imperatively.
'What? Why? I mean why me?' the warrior asked in surprise.
It was obvious that she was almost dumbfounded by the order.
'You shall escort him,' she said in a that's final tone.
'Yes I shall,' Xiera murmured after an I audible string of jeremaid.
When had she become the emperor's spare escort?
Well looking on the bright side, it was a honour anyway.
She went to the emperor and knelt afore him.
She held her sword horizontally in her outstretched palm, towards him.
'My Master, My Lord, I Xiera shall do my best to serve you. I shall lay down my life for you if need be. Look kindly upon this servant.'
'Oh no need for the formalities,' the emperor told her. 'Rise to your feet so that I may go and have a meal. I am hungry. She has snapped me of do much vigor in just one draw,' he said glancing at the lady sleeping soundly on the round bed.
Hyeera was very busy putting scented pouches under the pillows.
'Yes My Lord,' Xiera said and rose to her feet as she had been ordered.
'Watch over the lady Cora,' he told his escort. 'I shall have the kitchen deliver your dinner here, all three of you,' he said talking about the twin and the healer.
'Thank you My Lord, but I shall-' Hyeera began but was cut short.
'Not a word Vandodara. You will do as I say.' The healer smiled a smile if resignation.
'Yes My Lord.'
'That being said, I shall leave now.' Then, he turned and walked towards the bedroom door.
Xiera, his new temporary escort followed behind him.
The little prince and his aide was also part of the leaving party.
They all left and Octavia closed the bedroom door behind them, being the last to leave the bedroom.
After dinner, the emperor returned to the bedroom to find that they had all also had dinner.
Though, the Zuiderose still seemed to be drained and sapped.
The emperor dismissed them all including Xiera and climbed into bed with the still sleeping lady.
No amount of sound would rouse her until she was properly rested.
He was assured of that one thing.
It was always like that when one was taken with the forgetting spell.
But surely, she would awaken before dusk the day hereafter.
He was not surprised when he sensed Cora outside the bedroom door.
The stubborn lady, there was nothing he could actually do to chase her away.
He only hoped that she was comfortable there and would be well rested by the morrow.
And if she was not, he would stick with Xiera just to get her to rest her body enough.
He gathered the sleeping woman into his arms and quietly went to sleep.
Soon after, the morning came.
He rose before dawn and as usual to Hyeera coming up the stairs.
He got out of bed and sat upright.
'Come in,' he called softly before she could knock.
Though he knew the lady was far in sleep, he still did not want to take any chances with that.
The door opened and the healer let herself in.
'Good morrow My Lord. I have had your bath prepared in the lady's bedroom,' she informed him.
'Good morrow to you too Hyeera. I hope you had a good rest?'
'Yes I did My Lord, thank you,' was her reply to him.
'Well, that is good. I shall go and take my bath soon.'
'Okay My Lord. I shall stay and watch the lady.'
'Go ahead,' he said standing to his feet and heading out of the bedroom.
The healer was left alone with the lady.
'Good morrow My Lord,' Cora and Xiera greeted him the moment he stepped outside the bedroom.
'Thank you both of you,' he told them with a smile.
He made to resume walking and both made go escort him.
He halted and turned to them.
'I shall escort my master now,' Cora said to Xiera.
'No you shall not,' the emperor instantly contradicted her. 'You did not rest last night, therefore you shall do so this morning.'
'But My Lord-'
'Xiera is My Escort until I say otherwise. I am entrusting you with the lady. Watch over her very well. She must be kept in check.'
'Yes My Lord,' she answered him in an unhappy voice.
'Good,' he said and turned away.
Xiera followed him.
He walked down the corridor to the lady's bedroom and went in to have his bath.
The day before, Peter had already laid out clothes for him there.
And so all he actually had to do was to prepare himself.
He had had a quick but healthy breakfast, was already prepared and on his way out of his study.
That was when Peter came to inform him that the court proceedings would begin in four minutes time, just after the post dawn hour.
He rode his horse, Clover to the Court room—where the proceedings was to take place—alongside Xiera who was doing a good job at escorting him.
They arrived in time and went in to meet everyone on standby.
They all stood at his appearance and paid obeisance to his title.
He made his way to his throne and sat down majestically.
He gave Xiera a sign that they had agreed upon while making their way here.
She understood what he meant instantly.
'Begin!' she announced to the court room on his behalf.
A court hand walked to the platform and saluted the emperor once again before he began to recount the record of the submitted matter out loud.
'Regarding the earlier adjourned investigation, Princess Zoë Xing of the Xing Kingdom has been labelled as the prime suspect of the horse saddle case.'
There was several shocked gasps at the revelation.
'Bring her afore me,' the emperor said with a lacklustre tone.
Four court guards escorted her and her aide to the front of the court room, the part that the accused always stood.
'My Sovereign Liege,' the Xing princess paid obeisance with a rather calm expression on her face.
'Princess Zoë Xing of the Xing Kingdom, you have been accused of a crime. What have you to say for your self?' he asked her according to the protocol of the court room, sitting upright in his throne.
'My Sovereign Liege,' she said. 'I am not guilty of whatever i am being accused of,' she simply told him.
'Well well, I shall question you myself then and see,' he said.
'You are welcome to do so My Lord. But you shall find not even a speck of dirt on me.'
'The saddles of the horse in question was cut just before the lady went for a ride. The stable hand who prepared the horse has testified that it was thoroughly checked before being presented. He had more than eight witness to support his claim.'
'They may all be accomplice in this My Sovereign Liege.'
'That aside, what were you doing in the stables?'
'I and my escort wanted to go riding, therefore we went to get a horse at the stables. Besides, how would I have known that the lady was coming in for a ride?'
'That is because you ran into the maid who delivered the instruction to ready the lady's horse on her way to do so. Or did you not?'
His brows lifted.
'Bear in mind that she testified to this. Also, your escort let that slip doing her interrogation. You need not deny that which is blatantly obvious.'
The lady fidgeted.
'I was not about to deny it My Sovereign Liege. I did bump into the maid and knew her purpose of going to the stables.'
'The problem is that you bumped into her while going in a direction that was opposite the stables. That means only one thing, you went back to the stable after she left.'
'I wanted to ride with my escort My Sovereign Liege and nothing more,' she defended.
'This is time wasting!' the emperor said with a loud voice. 'Get the witnesses here so that we can quickly be done with it.'
The witness Aquila was brought in, the stable hand and also the maid, Kriesee.
They paid obeisance on being ushered in.
'Let the female speak first,' he said to her. 'Tell me what you saw?'
'My Sovereign Liege, the royal butler, Peter sent me to the stables to have them prepare the lady's horse ahead of time."
She sniffed.
"I bumped into the princess on my way there and she was headed in the opposite direction. But on my return from the stables, she may have not seen me, but I saw her returning to the stables.'
'Hmm, do you have anything to refute on this Princess Zoë Xing of the Xing Kingdom?'
'No My Sovereign Liege.'
'Very well, Let the stable hand give us his own account.'
'My Sovereign Liege,' Aquila the stable hand began. 'I and all the other stable hand personally inspected the horse after it was all saddled."
He shifted on one foot with his eyes darting everywhere.
He shook, probably nervous.
"There was no problem with it. The Princess from the Xing Kingdom arrived a while after the maid had left and when the horse was almost ready."
The emperor raised his brows, studying the man before him.
"It was quite noticeable that she dawdled around the stables while her escort hung around the already saddled horse for a few minutes.'
He paused to rest his mouth.
'When the lady arrived, she must have suggested the race we all heard in hopes that the lady will fall off the horse if the horse is upset even a little bit because the saddles were hanging by a thread."
He looked up, at the emperor.
"Also while inspecting the horse after the accident, there was a deep knife wound on it. That must have been what caused the animal to rear and not the fireworks which was only there as a distraction."
The emperor nodded, buying exactly what he was selling.
This explanation made more sense to him than what was known.
"That means that someone stabbed the animal up close. And the lady was racing with only the Xing princess. The culprit is very clear,' he finished.
'I am not guilty My Sovereign Liege,' the Xing princess immediately began to defend herself once again.
'The evidence is clearly against you Princess Zoë Xing of the Xing Kingdom. Anyways, my judgement on that is pending because we have to deal with yesterday's event."
He leaned forward.
"Yesterday there was a fire outbreak at the abandoned maze. Such has never happened before in Linamine. It could have been simply overlooked as an accident if only there wasn't so many incriminating things on site after the investigation.'
He paused and looked into the eyes of everyone that was present.
'Someone started that fire, and the culprit is also amongst us, one of our own."
He allowed his announcement to sink in as the crowd processed it.
Murmurs rippled through as everyone wondered who it was and if they had been caught already.
When the whispers were peak, he leaned back and spoke nonchalantly.
"It is none other than... Princess Zoë Xing of the Xing Kingdom once again.'
'What? My Sovereign Liege!'
Zoë Xing of the Xing Kingdom looked up at him in distress.
Her face drained, becoming plain like that of white paper.
'My Sovereign Liege,' she instantly protested at the accusation.
'The accusation is not yet over,' he cut her off harshly.
Fear began to eat the Xing princess little by little.
'Present the evidence to the court.'
'Present the evidence to the court!' Xiera yelled in his place.
'Yes My Sovereign Liege,' one of the court hands said and proceeded to do as he was told.
He brought to the front a golden earring on a silver tray alongside a sash.
'Proceed,' Xiera announced in the emperor's stead the moment he gave her a sign.
He raised the golden earring and then the sash which was partly burnt for all to see, one after another.
And when he had placed them back unto the silver tray, he proceeded to speak.
'This golden earring and sash was found at the site of investigation. It has both been confirmed to belong to the Princess Zoë Xing of the Xing Kingdom by none other than her escort, Jessica.'
'That... That isn't-'
'The sash bears the emblem of the Xing Kingdom and the earring is undoubtedly yours. What more do you have to deny now Princess Zoë Xing of the Xing Kingdom?' the emperor asked her.
'It's mine! Yes it's mine, but I didn't do it My Sovereign Liege. It wasn't me! I didn't do it!' she began in a voice that betrayed her panic.
'Why should I believe you?'
'it is because -My Sovereign Liege- I know who did it.'
'And accomplice? Or do you dare to pin the entire thing on your escort?' he demanded.
'No My Sovereign Liege. It was neither me nor my escort who set the abandoned maze on fire. Yes, I ordered her to cut the saddles of the lady's horse, but it was Hera-Mera who set the abandoned maze on fire. She found out that I cut the saddles and threatened me with it.'
'Princess Hera-Mera Dracon of the Draco Kingdom you say?'
'Shut up!' a feminine voice interrupted them.
It was none other that the Draco princess.
'Do not say another word you fool?!' she backed at the Xing princess.
'Bring forth the accomplice that she has mentioned afore me!' the emperor ordered.
The royal guards did as they were told, bringing her afore him instantly.
'My Sovereign Liege,' she paid obeisance to him.
'Princess Zoë Xing of the Xing Kingdom has named you an accomplice to her crime.'
'It was solely her my Sovereign Liege! I only happened to know it!' Zoë protested vehemently.
'You fool!' Hera-Mera barked at her with fiery eyes. 'What sort of slanderous statement is that? Don't you dare vilify me!'
'You liar,' Zoë snapped facing her head on. 'It was you. It was wholly you! You blackmailed me and then you set me up!'
'Shut up you wench!' Hera-Mera snapped at her with a slap across her white face. 'How dare you say such about me?!'
'Oh no you don't!' Zoë yelled back with a slap of her own, striking her full on the face with all that she had.
Hera-Mera's face immediately fell to the side from the force.
The court watched the unfolding drama.
'How dare you slap me?!' she screamed with spite.
'And how dare you try to frame me?! How dare you?!'
'Silence!' the emperor snapped at the both and the entire court went still at his deep authoritative voice.
'My Sovereign Liege,' Hera-Mera attempted to begin an explanation.
But he cut her off rudely.
'Don't you dare! I have had enough of all that! You both have attempted murder one way or the other and you shall have to pay for it.'
'It wasn't me!' Zoë pleaded.
'Here is my judgement!'
'But My Sovereign Liege, I have nothing to do with this. This woman here only seeks to vilify me. I plead not guilty to any of the allegations leveled against me.'
'Princess Zoë Xing, who set the abandoned maze on fire?'
'My Sovereign Liege, Princess Hera-Mera sent the Lady a letter to draw her to the maze.
Then, she had oil put at the entrance and exit and set it on fire so the lady can die by suffocation and burning with no way to escape,' she explained.
'You bitch! Shut your mou-'
'Silence! That says it all,' he continued after the noise was gone. 'Both of you have been found guilty in my eyes of attempted murder and treason. You shall hereby be burned to death as a punishment for it, just as the Linamine law dictates.'
'But My Sovereign-' Hera-Mera began once again to plead.
'This court is dismissed.'
'No! No you cannot do that!'
This time it was the empress dowager who had stood to her feet with the opposition.
All eyes turned on her.
'You cannot have them put to death for attempted murder on a life that is not royalty.'
'I can because she is royalty.'
'She is not Linamine royalty,' the empress dowager countered. 'And attempt at a life like hers should not mean anything and you know. These ladies are Princess to one of the top three clans of Linamine. You cannot do this to them because of a measly concubine that you keep.'
'How dare you?!' he roared. 'How dare you demean her so with that filthy mouth of yours?!'
'I will do it over and over again because that is what she is, a nobody while I am but the empress dowager of this empire!' she snapped.
'She is not a nobody. And she is also of Linamine royal blood!'
'And how is that possible? Or are you commuting incest with some half sister we know nothing about?!' she inquired with burning eyes.
'She is my wife!' he enunciated every word of the sentence. 'I am married to that woman you keep referring to as such and that makes her far higher than you in status.'
The entire court instantly went silent except for the occasional shocked gasps and surprised faces.
The flabbergasted expression on their faces became the fad in the court room.
...OmaPhinaPhire
GLOSSARY
* POST DAWN HOUR: The time between 7:00am to 7:59am.