"Tell them if someone put you up to this!." Princess Emelia cried.
Lysander frowned. "Enough for now. The council will review all evidence. Princess Emelia, you will remain under confinement until this matter is clarified."
Emelia's chest tightened. Fear and frustration churned within her. She felt trapped by invisible chains, the work of an unseen hand. Yet a spark of determination burned inside her.
"I have to prove I'm innocent," she thought. "But how will I show them the truth?."
Athalia stood in the council hall, her expression composed, though satisfaction lingered beneath the surface. The innocent princess now faced the harshest trial of her life filled with suspicion, deception, and carefully planted evidence working against her.
As Emelia was escorted to a secluded chamber, the Royal Investigator returned to his desk, examining the small bottle again. He ran a thumb along the glass, studying every detail.
"I must be certain," he murmured to himself. "I care for them both… but the evidence is difficult to ignore."
Behind him, Athalia's schemes were already taking shape. Every step, every reaction, every whispered accusation moved exactly as she intended.
The Council members remained seated, tense and silent. The Queen sat beside the King's empty chair, with Athalia just behind her.
Prince Eric, unable to withstand the shock of Emelia's accusation, had collapsed moments earlier. Too weak to protest, he sat on the cold floor as the hall filled with murmurs of disappointment.
The chief adviser lifted a hand. "Lysander," he said, breaking the silence, "continue. Ask him the remaining questions."
Lysander, the chief investigator, stepped forward and faced Talen, the hypnotized witness before him.
"Did you attack the King?" Lysander asked.
"No," Talen replied weakly but firmly.
"Did you kill the eyewitness?"
A heavy silence fell. Everyone leaned forward, awaiting the answer.
"Yes," Talen said.
The hall erupted in outrage. Voices clashed, chairs scraped, and accusations flew until the chief adviser raised his hand again, restoring order.
"I will ask once more," he said sharply. "Did you kill the eyewitness and Lena, the Queen's maid?"
Talen said firmly. "…Yes."
"How?" the chief adviser demanded.
Lysander repeated calmly, "How did you kill them?"
"From the tower… on the west wing," Talen whispered.
The Queen gasped and stepped forward. Her hand struck Talen across the face.
"How dare you!" she cried. "You killed my maid, my loyal Lena! How could you?"
Athalia moved quickly to her side, offering support. "Your Majesty… please," she whispered soothingly.
The chief adviser straightened. "If he admits to killing Lena and the witness, then he must face the penalty for murder."
"I agree," Lysander said, "but understand that he acted under influence. He wasn't in control of himself. Still… there must be consequences."
A minister rose. "But we still do not know who stabbed the King. The people demand answers. The only person who can explain is the last man who stood with His Majesty before the attack."
Several council members murmured in agreement. "Yes. Exactly."
The chief adviser gave a reluctant nod. "Then we question Prince Eric."
"I would never hurt my father. I love him." Eric said.
"See. He keeps denying everything," another minister snapped. "He claims he remembers nothing. That is unacceptable. Force the truth out of him or hypnotize him if you must."
Whispers rose again. "Hypnotize him. Make him speak."
"Bring him forward," the chief adviser ordered.
Two guards seized Eric by the arms. "No...please," he pleaded. "I swear, I didn't harm my father. I didn't!"
His resistance weakened as the guards dragged him toward the center of the hall.
"I really didn't hurt father, you have to believe me." Eric cried.
"Eric…" Adrian said softly, trying to steady the room.
Eric looked up at him, eyes desperate. "Brother, please listen to me." His voice cracked as he spoke.
"If someone ordered Talen to kill the guard, to kill Lena, and to use that fragrance on me… then I would have needed an order before I could ever harm Father. But Talen admitted he left. He wasn't there. So who gave me the order?" He said firmly.
A ripple of whispers passed through the council. The logic struck the room harder than anyone expected.
Even Athalia stiffened. She hadn't anticipated Eric thinking so clearly especially not in his weakened state.
Adrian turned to the council. "If Eric was hypnotized… then another person must have instructed him to attack the King."
Lysander nodded slowly. "Your Grace, the prince raises a valid point." He glanced at the chief adviser. "The sequence doesn't add up."
The hall fell into uneasy silence. Court members looked between one another, searching for answers.
Athalia felt the doubt spreading and she needed to redirect it quickly.
"I remember Eric said he heard a familiar voice," she offered gently, as if merely thinking aloud. "Could it have been Princess Emelia's?"
Eric's head snapped toward her, stunned. Athalia continued in a thoughtful tone, pretending caution.
"I'm not accusing her," she said. "But… if Talen didn't instruct him, perhaps someone he trusted did. Someone whose voice wouldn't frighten him."
Adrian frowned. "She is your sister, Athalia. Why would you believe that of her?"
Athalia lowered her gaze, saying nothing.
The Queen exhaled slowly. "She may have a point. Someone else could have instructed Eric to harm the King."
Eric stared at his mother, hurt growing in his eyes. "Mother… you think Emelia would ever do such a thing?"
"We do not know what to believe yet," the chief adviser interrupted. "But we must find a way to determine the truth."
Lysander stepped forward. "If we hypnotize him again, and ask directly, we may discover whether his memory reveals anything clearer."
"I hide nothing," Eric said quietly. He straightened, offering no resistance. "Do it. Let the truth come out."
The Queen, the chief adviser, and Lysander exchanged a brief nod. The guards brought forth the small vial of fragrance.
Eric inhaled willingly.
Moments later, his posture shifted, his shoulders loosened and his eyes became distant. It was not the first time he'd been in this state. The hall grew silent as he stood motionless, like a statue awaiting a command.
Lysander approached carefully.
"Where were you when the King was stabbed?" he asked.
"I was alone with him," Eric replied, voice flat and hollow.
"And then?" Lysander continued.
"I heard someone," Eric said slowly.
"Who?" Lysander asked.
Lysander, the Royal Investigator, stepped forward cautiously. His boots echoed across the floor, each tap sharpening the tension. The council members, ministers, advisers and nobles held their breath waiting.
"What happened next?"
The Queen sat stiffly beside the King's empty chair. Adrian stood nearby with his jaw clenched. Athalia maintained her position behind the Queen with her face calm and eyes unreadable.
The truth was within reach, or so everyone believed.
"Prince Eric," Lysander said evenly, his tone steady, "Who was it?"
Eric's eyes did not blink. They stared forward at nothing. His voice emerged in a soft, flat tone.
"A man."
Lysander exchanged a brief glance with the chief adviser and the council members shifted uneasily.
"Is he here?" The Chief Adviser said.
Adrian frowned deeply. "Did the man interact with you?"
Eric nodded faintly. "Yes."
"What did he say? How did he interact with you?" Adrian pressed.
Eric's head inclined slowly. "He… sprayed something I inhaled."
The ministers stiffened.
Lysander's pulse quickened. He moved a step closer. "What did he spray?"
"A fragrance."
The hall exhaled in unison. The cursed fragrance. The one used on Talen. The one that had the power to hypnotize a man beyond his will.
"He must be talking about Talen." A minister said.
"Yes, Yes." Another said.
The Chief Adviser calmed the hall.
Lysander steadied his voice. "Then what did he do?"
"He gave me… a knife."
The Queen lowered her head. Adrian shut his eyes briefly. Lysander took a breath.
"And after he gave you the knife?"
"I turned toward the King. But then another man came to me and tried to stop me." Eric said.
"Another? Who? What did this man look like?" Lysander asked.
Eric's head tilted slightly, as if searching through fog. "His face… was covered."
A ripple of disappointment crossed the room as ministers exchanged murmurs.
One of them whispered, "Another masked accomplice?"
Another: "Or he's too far gone to recall."
Athalia simply listened. The rhythm of the interrogation suited her.
"Let them dig in the wrong direction. Let the truth remain scattered." She thought.
Lysander continued. "What do you mean by he stopped you? Did this man attack you?"
Eric's brows tightened faintly. "No. He… tried to stop me."
"Stop you from what?" The Chief Adviser thundered.
"From hurting the King."
The Queen gasped softly, though she had already accepted fragments of this truth. Hearing it spoken aloud still cut through her.
One minister muttered, "So he admits it."
Adrian stepped forward. "So he tried to protect Father?"
"Yes."
The room fell still again. Even Athalia shifted slightly but not enough to reveal anything, yet enough to show she was tracking every word.
Lysander pressed, "Let's not jump to conclusions yet. He didn't admit hurting the king. He tried to."
Another countered, "He was hypnotized. He didn't know what he was doing."
The chief adviser raised a hand for silence.
Lysander resumed. "Did you know the man?"
"No."
"Did he say anything?" Lysander asked.
"No. He just struggled, I injured him and then he left" He said.
"How did he get hurt?"
There was a pause which was a long one. Eric's breath grew shallower, as though the memory resisted clarity.
"I… pushed him. He fell against the pillar and his arm was cut."
Lysander nodded slowly. It aligned with the blood they had found near the west wing corridor.
Adrian took a step closer. "Do you perhaps know why he left? Why didn't he stay to defend the King anymore or call out to someone?"
Eric's voice thickened. "It seems he saw… someone."
"Who?" Lysander asked.
Eric's eyes shifted upward, as though recalling the vantage point. "Someone on the tower."
The hall grew restless. Ministers leaned in and eyes widened.
"The tower?" Lysander repeated. "Which one?"
"The west tower."
Even before murmurs rose, Athalia's hand curled at her side in a fleeting, controlled and invisible way to most. But the truth was unveiling exactly to the edge she allowed and not further.
Lysander cleared his throat. "What did this man on the tower do?"
Eric paused again. Silence stretched long enough to make the Queen grip the edge of her seat.
"He… watched. He was probably a guard on watch."
Watched what?"
"Isn't he talking about the eye witness on the tower that was killed." One of ministers said abruptly.
The council members shifted uneasily. It began to make sense. Watching for the guard implied knowledge. And that knowledge implied involvement.
"No wonder they took him out." The Chief adviser said.
"But why? Why did the man see the guard and flee?" Adrain asked. "I mean he was performing a good deed!"
Eric's answer held a faint echo of fear even in hypnosis. "Because… he was not supposed to be seen."
Lysander stepped back thoughtfully. The chief adviser signaled the guards to stand alert. The council whispered among themselves.
"Then the King was lying in my arms. Lifeless. The knife slipped from my hand and fell to the floor." He said
Lysander's voice remained steady. "Talen never talked about another man. Could it be that he didn't see him"
Lysander took a step back, considering his next question.
Lysander cleared his throat. "Prince Eric… this man who tried to stop you, did he speak to you at all?"
Eric shook his head slowly. "No."
"Did you ever see his face behind the mask?"
"It was fully covered." Eric said.
"Do you remember his clothes, his height and anything that could identify him?"
Eric's voice flattened again. "He had a mark on his forearm and it was not… from the palace."
A collective gasp spread. Ministers exchanged alarmed glances. If he wasn't from the palace, they assumed he must have been an intruder or worse, an external enemy.
Only the Queen knew the truth behind those words but even she did not know the entire picture.
Athalia watched Queen Elizabeth's reaction carefully, storing every detail. She had predicted that Eric might recall fragments of everyone he encountered. But she had also ensured the tower guard's involvement would keep the story twisted and confusing for confusion served her well.
One minister whispered, "An assassin."
Another muttered, "A conspirator."
The chief adviser straightened. "This confirms it. Someone orchestrated the King's attack using multiple agents."
Lysander did not disagree. "Prince Eric was probably used as a weapon. But we shouldn't be too sure. The mind behind this… remains hidden."
"Also if he wanted to harm the king, why will he protect Prince Eric from hurting him?." Lysander said.
The Ministers exchanged glances in acknowledgement.
Athalia lowered her gaze humbly, masking her amusement. Although she didn't know about the masked man who was trying to stop prince Eric, the nervousness of the queen made her suspicious.
"Prince Eric," he said again, "after the knife fell, what happened?"