Chapter 23 #2
“Well, and what may I ask was your crime to have been placed in such a place? If she is as caring towards nature as you have described, how could she treat her own flesh and blood with such disrespect? Unless you truly do deserve to be imprisoned, in which case we would be most happy to take the law into our own hands here at the Palace.” His slow spreading grin and slight tilt of the head reminds me of a jackal about to pounce on a newly found rotting carcass.
“There was no crime, your majesty. It was simply… Uh… sibling rivalry. See I had done wrong to her when we were much younger and I suppose she just needed to make a point. I played along.” Embrys looks to Oleander, who is still looking straight ahead trying to keep her cool.
I can see flames flickering behind her eyes and pray that she can keep it together.
She would surely write her own death sentence if she exploded on any member of the court like she did with her father a few nights ago.
“I see… Sibling rivalry.” The Wolf stretches out the words, earning a few laughs from the crowd.
“Extreme, but I suppose if you went willingly then that was your own prerogative. Nevertheless this has just proven that you were incapacitated at the time of the origin of the fire and would not have had any means of ascertaining who started it. Therefore, my esteemed citizens, you must take his account as one of judgement of character only.” The Wolf’s grin has turned into another feigned look of pity as he opens his palms to the sky and shrugs his shoulders as if to show he is sorry that this is the case. Shit.
“And if I find there is any untruthfulness to your words, Mister Pyralis, believe me there will be just punishment.” Embrys’ face goes pale but he keeps his chin up and nods in acknowledgment of the threat.
Embrys looks to Oleander and takes her hand in his, whispering something inaudible before he leaves to sit back in his seat. Oleander lifts her chin a little higher and squares her shoulders to the crowd. Bless her strength and stubbornness.
“I call my father, Lord Pyralis, to the dias,” she calls out and judging by the way that Pyralis’ head swivels from side to side, he is shocked. He slowly rises and walks up the steps to stand between her and The King. Fear emanates off of him. Good, be afraid!
“Father, is it not true that you apprehended and enslaved an Elemental fae recently?” Oh Mother, what is she doing? Pyralis’ eyes go wide with flames as he stares at his daughter. There is a long pause before Pyralis clears his throat and turns to the crowd.
“An Elemental owed me a debt so we agreed upon a time period of servitude as her repayment,” he says through gritted teeth.
Agreed upon, my ass! They both seem to be avoiding the usage of my name and which Elemental house I belong to, thank The Mother.
“Right, and did she not escape your household on the very same night that the Heartwood fire started?” Oleander’s tone has turned cool and silky, the fire in her eyes still blazing. It is scary how similar she and her father can be when provoked.
“She did leave the same evening, yes,” Pyralis’ tone turns into a warning.
“And judging by which direction the horse she had stolen returned from, would you say she fled to the Heartwood Forest?”
“The horses came from the south-east, yes but she could have gone anywhere in that direction or she could have left the horse and changed course on foot. There is no way of knowing for sure.”
“Yes, of course, but would it not be the first place to look if you were to search for her, as it is the biggest landmark south-east of your estate?” Oleander’s smug grin says it all. She thinks she has him cornered.
“I suppose. I sent my men out to search for her. I had other pressing matters to attend to at my home; our gromlins had a united flip that needed to be resolved,” Pyralis scoffs, waving his hand at her as if she is an irritating child asking useless questions.
I don’t think I told Oleander about the gromlins and I can see the cogs turning in her mind as she ponders this new piece of information.
It gives him an alibi I bet she did not expect.
A moment later I see her cool and calculated grin form on her lips once more. She has found the solution.
“I am through with my questions. Thank you.” She nods to Pyralis who looks to The King for his confirmation before returning to his seat.
The Wolf does not question Pyralis about whom the Elemental fae was, I am not even sure if they are allowed to enslave the Elementals. Why is he letting that slide?
“If I may, to bolster these statements, I will call Lord Clayborn to the dais for a few questions. I believe he was present that evening as well,” Oleander says coolly.
Pyralis pauses before taking his seat. He is facing the crowd and I can see the split second of worry cross his brow before he turns and sits.
The portly Lord Clayborn, who had been sitting a few rows back, waddles up the steps and takes his place.
He gives The King a nervous bow of the head at which The King shows his teeth, something halfway between a smile and a snarl. Clayborn starts shaking.
“Lord Clayborn, we have established that there was a gromlin flip the evening of the forest fire and I would just like you to help us with the timeline. How long did the situation take to resolve?” Oleander is speaking more gently to Clayborn, as if he is a scared child she is trying to coax the information she wants out of.
“Yes, it was a frightful event. I hid under the dining room table as the servants handled the gromlins. It took around an hour for all of them to be doused.”
“An hour you say? Well now, that is fairly quick. You have very efficient servants, Lord Pyralis.” Oleander smiles and narrows her eyes in her father’s direction.
“Did you happen to see Pyralis after the event?” Clayborn starts wringing his hands and looking to The King for direction.
The King merely stands there with plastered on pleasantry.
“Y-yes, I saw him mounting his horse and taking off with a small pack of vargs.” Clayborn is now visibly sweating.
“Which direction did he go, Lord Clayborn?” Oleander’s excitement is now palpable.
“S-south… east.” He bows his head, avoiding everyone’s gaze. The crowd gasps and a whispering murmur spreads.
“Thank you, Lord Clayborn, I have no more questions for you. As you can see, my fellow fae, Lord Pyralis, the head of House of Flame, was seen riding towards the Heartwood, in an angry pursuit of his Elemental slave. You decide for yourselves whether a man who was seen riding towards the forest with reason to burn it in order to smoke her out is more likely the guilty person than I, someone who had no motive and who has always cared for The Divine Mother’s creations.
” Oleander does not hide her smug excitement, she even goes as far as crossing her arms and tilting her head as she looks at The King as if to say, bring it on.
She would have made a good lawyer in the human realm. I am now vigorously chewing my nails and looking back and forth between The Wolf, whose smile has turned sinister, and Oleander who is still exuding smugness.
“A fair argument, Miss Pyralis. You may return to your seat Lord Clayborn, I have no further questions for you," The Wolf snarls, Clayborn quickly stumbles back to his seat. “Instead, I shall call upon my chief witness to attest to Miss Oleander’s crime.” He claps his hands together and narrows his eyes at the crowd.
He looks like he is up to no good. Who is this witness they have been going on about?
I am now destroying the nails on my other hand with my nervousness.
“I call upon Miss Lillian, a servant from Lord Pyralis’ house, who claims to have seen Miss Pyralis in action.” I am the only one who audibly gasps. I duck down behind the pig fae again to hide from The Wolf, who is now searching the crowd for who made the sound.
Shit… Lillian? Is she the spy that Oleander mentioned? She knew of my plan to escape… She knows what I am!
Lillian appears through a side door that leads onto the dais.
She is no longer in her servant’s uniform but instead is in a dusty pink gown that cinches at the waist before it puffs out into a long tulle skirt.
Her hair is braided into a coil on top of her head and she does not prance in like I half expected, she walks, with poise.
Who the heck is this version of Lillian?
“My dear Lillian, might you recount the events of the evening of the horrific fire for us all?” The Wolf motions for her to step beside him and gives her a gentle, fatherly smile while placing a hand on her shoulder.
They look awfully comfortable around each other and my confusion about the difference between the Lillian I met and this Lillian is making my head swim.
If she was planted in the Pyralis estate, I wonder if The Wolf knew of me all along.
“I will do my best, your majesty, as it was a very frightful evening indeed.” She clasps her hands in front of her and lowers her head. An act? Or is she scared of The Wolf? Is he forcing her to do this?
“I was busy helping some of the servants polish the silverware and keeping out of the way of the fancy dinner Lord Pyralis was holding, when I heard a loud racket coming from the lower levels of the house. I peeked around to the servant’s hallway and saw massive gromlins tumbling out of the kitchens!
They were frothing at the mouth and flailing their arms in the air.
You see, when a gromlin is flipped they are huge, maybe three times bigger than me!
So I did what anyone would have done I suppose…
Well any ten year old – I ran away.” Her acting is very convincing.