AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"What did she want from you?" Luther had his formal voice on now.
"She claimed my mother kept something for her. Some sort of ornate box. She wanted it returned to her. I looked through what stuff you didn't take, but I couldn't find anything fitting its description."
Luther raised a brow at me. "And she was keen to get it back?"
"She threatened my life when I told her I couldn't find it and therefore couldn't return it. Then, when I suggested you may have confiscated it, as you did many things from the city house, she told me that she most certainly would have known by now if you held her box."
"Did she ever approach you again?" Luther asked almost cheerily. I shook my head. Kissing my forehead, Luther stepped away, motioning to one of his Elite to come forward. After saying something quietly, the Elite disappeared into the crowded room as Luther returned to his throne.
Confused by Luther's reaction, I looked to Anberon and Hartwin. "We have had that box a long time, Princess. Before your parents were executed," Anberon enlightened me.
"It is what got your parents executed," Hartwin added just as quietly as he indicated I should return to my place.
As I stepped back to my place beside his throne, still confused, Luther nodded to Aldous, who picked back up. "Do you wish to say anything before the throne passes sentence?"
"He is not my throne," Blanche scowled.
The elite guardsman returned with a long metal ornate box, handing it to Luther. Blanche took one look at what he held and turned her feral blue eyes on me. "You lying fish! You had it all along, and you gave it to him!"
"This is the first time the Princess has seen this box," Luther stated quietly. "I have held it a long time now. An employee of the Sallees’ brought it to me. It is what alerted me to their intended treason." Luther turned his focus to me. "Is this the box that this woman asked you to find, Princess Zira?"
"Yes, my Prince. She showed me an optic of it. She claimed the box belonged to her."
Blanche Fanchon was glaring at me.
"Is this your box, Blanche Fanchon?" Luther asked politely. Blanche just turned her eyes away in a sign of snobbery. "Councilman Aldous?" Aldous stepped forward. "Please take this box to the Broadcasters and let them see inside."
Collecting the box, Aldous took it to a small table in front of the Broadcasters, where he lifted the lid and laid out the contents for them to see. When I took a step to go see myself, Stark caught my elbow. "I have always tried to limit the hurt you have been exposed to, Princess. But, trust me now when I tell you, that box would break you."
My eyes drifted back to the Broadcasters. They were frowning, shaking their heads, some even hissing their disapproval of whatever it was that laid within the box.
"Blanche Fanchon, you are guilty of treason on two counts. You should have died alongside Eliora and Tobias Sallee for your part in their treason. I now believe you twisted their minds with your poison and led them to their deaths. Had we have caught you then, it might be that your daughter Padget would have escaped your manipulation. Sadly, that was not the case. I will ensure that you poison no other with your personal grudge. Blanche Fanchon, you are sentenced to death for your treasonous behavior."
Taking Blanche by the arm each, the two guards put their weight on her shoulders as they lifted her arms behind her, forcing her to kneel into position.
Commander Stark followed Luther. Blanche babbled curse after curse on Luther, who merely stood before her. Then, taking up the long-handled curved blade of an executioner, Stark swung. It was all over in a matter of seconds.
Silence filled the room as Luther muttered the Cyran execution words. "… I walk the path of justice. Your blood on my soles will show my righteous path. Be at peace, and cause no more harm."
The blood spilled around his boots, and the sight of it caused my breakfast to rise in my stomach. Stumbling backward, hands caught my upper arms. Hartwin's firm grasp stopping me. "Princess?"
"I think I'm going to be ill." My breath was shallow, eyes staring at my own feet, as the black blood of my brother pooled around my own soles.
Lightening cracked over my head, and then I was back in the sitting room of our residence. Running for the bathroom, I kneeled over the waste bowl and purged the contents of my stomach. Behind me, the bath started to pour, and then Hartwin began to rub my back.
A comms unit beeped. Glancing at it, Hartwin typed a quick response. "Just Luther checking to see what happened," Hartwin soothed.
"Stars, they'll think I'm weak," I grumbled, sitting up. Looking at the ceiling, I still couldn't get the memory to release me. Finally, giving up trying, I crawled across the floor and pitched forward into the bath.
"Zira, you are still dressed!" Hartwin scolded, sounding scandalized.
Floating until my dress grew waterlogged, then it dragged me beneath the surface. Closing my eyes, I surrendered to the darkness.
"Let me help, Luther." Hartwin's voice dragged me from the darkness.
"No. She was adamant. No one but her companion sees her uncovered," Luther snarled. Next came the tugging of Luther dragging wet material from my skin. "Just throw me her robe and get the medics."
"I'm fine," I breathed quietly.
