Chapter 25
25
The next day brought news that the high court was preparing for Althea’s trial. Since they were moving faster than expected, I needed to move faster as well to prove her innocence. More than ever, I believed that someone was pulling invisible strings that led to some kind of trap. Whoever the mambabarang was, they were fully ensconced in court life. I had to cut through the spiderweb by freeing Althea.
I summoned Elias. Calling a councilors’ meeting was my first official, independent act as the impending sovereign, so I chose a gown that commanded attention: a dark-green satin butterfly dress with a cape back that created long, drapey sleeves, accessorized with scrunched white satin elbow-length gloves and a delicate tiara with radiant pearls from our seas. Underneath, I wore my father’s amulet as I usually did. I feared less for my safety knowing I had the anting-anting.
Jinky entered the room, and, remembering my conversation with Lucas and Nix, I instinctively reached for the amulet around my neck. Then I realized she’d come in contact with it many times already while helping me get ready, and nothing had ever happened. I was right; Jinky did not mean me harm.
I stepped in front of the mirror. The gown and tiara made me look (and feel) like I was in charge. Good, if I was going to be respected—especially by a bunch of older male encantos who would be fast to dismiss anything I said.
Elias arrived, looking drawn. “At your service, Princess. What can I help you with?”
“Thanks for coming so quickly. I’d like to call the council to discuss the upcoming trial of Althea Ramos, the healer currently imprisoned in our dungeon.”
His left eyebrow raised. “Oh. Why?”
Instead of answering, I changed the subject. “Elias, when your patianaks fetched me, you asked if the insurgents had a mambabarang with them.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you suspect they had a dark witch among their ranks? As I understand it, the Kalahok was disbanded and exiled years ago.”
He sighed. “Yes, but there is always the possibility...”
I waited for him to continue.
“That they survived and are hiding among us. Their Babaeng Pinuno was never captured.”
“I see,” I said. “That was during the war, yes? The one my father ended by winning the Battle of Biringan.”
He nodded. “Your father won the battle decisively. The witches surrendered immediately. Everyone remarked on it.”
“Why?”
“Because we were prepared for a protracted battle, everyone assumed the war would go on for years and years—but then the coven just surrendered.”
“What happened to them?”
“The witches? Most of them were killed in the battle, but those who remained chose exile from the realm. They left Biringan. Why do you ask?”
“I was just brushing up on my history,” I said. “I should know our past if I am to be queen, shouldn’t I?”
I had promised Lucas and Nix that I wouldn’t tell Elias what we had discovered about the beetles and how they tied to the three deaths. I didn’t want Elias to worry, and I also didn’t want him to tell me to stop investigating the source of the dark magic. He would probably lock me in my room till I was senile to keep me safe. Especially since he was already cognizant of the threat of the mambabarang.
“Anyway, I’ve called you here to arrange a special meeting of the queen’s councilors. How do I do that?”
“You would send a formal invitation to each of them by page, with the date and time of your choosing.”
“I was thinking right now.”
Elias looked startled, and hesitated before he replied. “That’s your prerogative. However, I must caution you, they may not be agreeable.”
“They don’t have a choice.” I was getting tired of being told how I had to behave and how I had to bend to “the way things are done” when no one else seemed to do the same.
“They’ve become accustomed to doing things their own way, without interference. Let alone from someone so young, even if you are to be our queen.” And a hapcanto, no less, I thought, but didn’t say.
“I understand.” I already suspected as much anyway. I pulled myself as tall and straight as possible and tilted my chin up. “But they’ll have to become unaccustomed to the old ways of doing things.”
***
The meeting took place in the Aquamarine Room. It was a beautiful space, with iridescent blue gemstone walls and a massive rectangular white stone table right in the middle; a vaulted, beamed ceiling with skylights let in sunshine so it bounced off all the surfaces, making everything shimmer and sparkle, as if we were under the ocean.
I had been told my father always met with his council in the Oak Room, which looked exactly how it sounds: masculine, dark, with lots of wood and leather and the lingering notes of fire and cigars. It was a place where the councilors were definitely comfortable. Which was why I decided to call them to order elsewhere. I didn’t want them to be comfortable. I didn’t intend to try to fill my father’s shoes and come up short either.
I stood in a small room off the side of the main one. I was shaking on the inside but determined to project nothing but calm leadership. I took stock of my reflection in a glass window. Nothing gave away how I actually felt. I might not have felt like a queen yet, but I was starting to realize I didn’t need to; I only needed everyone else to believe I was ready to rule. Fake it till you make it, my mom would tell me when I worried that I wasn’t good enough. I had to believe in myself, and then everyone else would, too.
Once Elias let me know the ten councilors—nine men and only one woman—had arrived and were seated at the table, I let ten minutes pass before I finally made my entrance.
When the doors opened and I strolled in, a hush fell over the room. Even if the spell didn’t last a long time, for a few seconds, it still had the effect I wanted. I could tell the councilors were thrown off by the abrupt invitation, the new room, and my appearance.
“Her Royal Highness, the crown princess of Biringan,” Elias announced as I strode in to take my place at the head seat. I’d even had a special chair brought in for me. It was bright white and had a tall, arched back.
The councilors stood and waited until I reached my place, greeted them, and sat down before they followed suit. So far, so good.
All their faces were focused on me. “I...” I cleared my throat. “I asked you here today because I want to discuss the unfortunate incident—”
“Are you referring to the murder?” one of them interjected. He was the oldest one there, or looked it anyway. I could barely see his actual face, though; it was covered by a long, bright silver beard, flecked with gray. Unlike the others, he wasn’t wearing a barong Tagalog but a Western-style double-breasted suit.
“Yes, I am,” I answered. I decided to let the interruption go.
Just as I opened my mouth to continue, he said, “The murderer is in custody. There is nothing else to say.”
I gritted my teeth and forced a smile. “Well, I think that there is.”
“Are you accusing us of imprisoning an innocent person?” the only woman there besides me chimed in, her tone defensive and borderline hostile. She definitely wasn’t going to be an ally, then.
“No, I’m not,” I said, trying to keep my patience. “However, I do have concerns about the rush to judgment and prosecution.” The councilors all began exchanging knowing looks.
“With all due respect, Princess, we’ve been doing this a long time. Some of us, longer than you’ve been alive,” one of the men said.
I didn’t appreciate the condescending tone. I was thinking of a way to address it, but before I could, yet another councilor joined in the dissent. “The healer had access to the poison that killed the girl. There’s nothing more to say on the matter,” said the man.
“And she was captured at the scene!” the woman added, emphasizing her exasperation by throwing her hands in the air.
Lots of agreeable murmurs spread around the table. The old man—the head councilor—seemed to think he was the leader in the room, not me. He stood and said, “Once more, Princess ”—he stressed my title to make it clear I was not a queen—“as Lord Beron said, if there are no further concerns at this time, we must get back to more pressing demands. I’m sure the issue of the healer is quite exciting, but there are many other things needed to keep the kingdom running.”
“Sit. Down.” The words popped out of my mouth unexpectedly, but I didn’t regret them. In fact, I was proud of myself for taking back control of the room. To his credit, the old man didn’t argue. He returned to his seat immediately, chastised. And everyone else got quiet, too. They all stared at me again, still with contempt—but also with thinly veiled fear.
But now my mind was spinning. After seeing how unfriendly they all were toward me, I was hesitant to share much of anything with them. Or to make them hate me more. Fear is not the same as respect, I reminded myself.
A wild thought crossed my mind then. What if the old man himself was behind the killing? Maybe that had something to do with his animosity toward me. Elias told me none of the councilors were near the palace when the mambabarang struck, though, so it couldn’t be him. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t working with the witch or the insurgents. They seemed determined to have an heir who would listen to them and do what they said. Someone unlike me. It was almost like they actually wanted a war—because then they could install whoever they wanted at the throne.
“I hear you,” I continued. “And yet the healer proclaims her innocence. Is it possible she tells the truth?”
“She’ll say anything to save her skin,” a council member sneered.
I tapped my fingers against the table. “If you’re going to imprison someone, I want to know what proof you have. And more than that, I want to know that, in your quest to punish someone for this crime, you haven’t allowed the actual murderer to walk free with the opportunity to kill again.” That did the trick. They looked ashamed of themselves. “Because if you’re putting my household in danger, then you will be held accountable, to the fullest extent of the law, should anything happen.”
“Yes, Princess,” they all murmured.
“I want all the information concerning this case brought to me by this afternoon,” I declared.
The old bearded man squinted at me. He did not like me. That was fine; he didn’t have to. He just had to learn to respect me. Even that was going to be a stretch, though.
I dismissed the council while I was ahead. Then Elias escorted me back to my rooms to have merienda and await the papers I’d requested.
“You did great,” he told me.
“Thanks. It was getting away from me for a bit.”
“They’re going to test their limits, like small children, though they think they are the elders, and therefore, in charge. They’re also used to the relationship they built with the king. You’re a wild card. They aren’t sure if you’ll be compliant, rebellious... though after today I think they have a much better idea.” He smiled.
“Let’s just hope they actually do what I said.” I fiddled with the anting-anting. “Elias—about the insurgents—you still believe they are from Sigbin?”
He sighed. “It’s hard to believe, but we found one of their safe houses, and it was filled with chaos magic. Their signature. As you know, most of our munduntug hunters are from the Sigbin Court.”
I thought of those winged warriors who had come for me in that California school. It felt like a distant memory, but it had only happened a few weeks ago. Elias cleared his throat and looked uncomfortable.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Your young man, Sir Lucas,” he said. “He wrote me asking for permission to court you.”
“Yes?”
“I gave him my blessing for strategic reasons.”
“Oh?”
“If the insurgents are from Sigbin, it’s best to have their ear,” Elias said. “And if his courtship is a ruse, we can keep close tabs on his movements.”
Ah. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.
“You understand, Princess?”
Could Lucas betray me? Was he part of the insurgency? I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it. But what if—what if he had taken advantage of the opportunity? I initiated our first kiss, after all. What if he was just playing around? Pretending to like me? If he wasn’t with Amador, why was he around her all the time, then? What if I was just the butt of a cosmic joke? Pretend to fall in love with the princess, while we scheme to take her throne. I was the new girl, the newbie. I didn’t know anything about Biringan, or about him.
“I understand,” I whispered.
***
The Council of the Courts never did send me any of the documents pertaining to Althea’s trial. They ignored my request, essentially thumbing their noses at me. The message was clear: I was not yet their queen. And until I proved my viability by taking the scepter and all the power imbued in it, my words meant nothing.