Chapter 16
“I guess we know what’s going on.” Eriz rolled his eyes. “I suppose we should go out there before things devolve into mayhem.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Good idea.”
We stood up together, and Reggie helped one of the prime minister’s guards open the tent flaps for us.
The situation outside had changed drastically in the ten minutes I’d been inside, and nearly everyone, leaders, advisors, guards, and servants alike, had crowded the grassy field.
So many people were clustered in front of Queen Sybil’s tent that I couldn’t see anything except the pointed tips and the bunting around the edge of the top.
“This is an outrage!” Sybil shrieked from beyond the crowd. “How dare you? Get out of my way this instant!”
She sounded like she was on the edge of a mental break, and I had to force my face to remain in a neutral mask.
“This should be interesting,” Eriz said with a dry smirk.
“A real hootenanny,” I snorted dryly.
Eriz furrowed his eyebrows at me, and I chuckled at the confusion in his eyes.
“Sorry,” I said. “That’s from my home… region.”
“Hmm,” Eriz hummed thoughtfully. “Interesting. I take it to mean a good time?”
“Yeah,” I chuckled.
“I like your humor, Ken.” Eriz grinned.
I smiled in return as we reached the back edge of the packed crowd.
“Tiberius, if you would?” I gestured for him to make a path through the tightly packed bodies.
Tiberius nodded once and started to part the crowd like Moses. He spoke in his deep, gruff voice a little, but after the first few layers of onlookers stepped apart, word quickly spread that we were trying to get through.
The noise level was somewhere between a rock concert moshpit and jet engines warming up. Hundreds of voices were mixing together, but Sybil’s shrill outrage was impossible to miss among the cacophony.
“Queen Sybil!” Doria shouted. “Will you please calm down?”
“Calm down!” Sybil raged back. “You want to hold me captive in my tent and then tell me to calm down! You will all pay for your deplorable treachery! I am the Queen of the Silver Coast, you cannot imprison me and expect me to stay calm!”
With every word, Sybil’s voice rose in pitch and rage, and by the time Tiberius led us through to the front of her tent, her face resembled a hothouse tomato that was ready to be plucked.
“What seems to be the problem?” Eriz asked in a loud but steady voice.
I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling.
“Finally,” Sybil sagged with relief at the sight of the prime minister. “Someone with some sense!”
“What’s the trouble, Queen Sybil?” I asked. “Why are you screaming like this?”
“These cretins are trying to forcibly hold me!” Sybil stabbed an angry finger right at Doria, Enken, Horus, and Laylia. “They’re claiming I can’t leave, which is the most insane, preposterous–”
“Actually,” Eriz interrupted her. “It’s not.”
Sybil’s face somehow became an even darker shade of red, and it looked like she was going to blow every blood vessel in her left eye. She sputtered in an attempt to get words out of her mouth, but the only thing that came out was a bunch of nonsensical consonants.
“Have we missed much?” King Mannie asked as he and his queen emerged from the crowd.
“Not much,” Eriz answered.
“We were about to explain to Queen Sybil what’s going on here,” Doria said. “But she wasn’t capable of staying calm enough to understand anything.”
“It seems like she’s capable now,” King Horus observed. “Shall we?”
“King Ken?” Doria turned to me. “Would you like to do the honor?”
“Um, yeah,” I said.
I cleared my throat, took a step forward, and faced Sybil with my blandest face.
“Queen Sybil of the Silver Coast,” I announced in a clear voice. “You stand here accused of crimes against the people of Kelshar, the murder of Ambassador Dadan…”
There was such a loud gasp of shock from the crowd of onlookers that I had to pause for a moment before I could be sure my voice would be heard when I spoke.
“And attempted assassination,” I finished.
“Attempted–” Sybil scoffed and shook her head. “Of who?”
“King Giles,” Eriz answered.
“What!” Sybil shrieked again. “What insanity have you all fallen into! This is ridiculous. I’m leaving–”
Sybil turned and tried to stalk into her tent, but a group of Doria’s and Horus’ soldiers had formed a solid wall of muscle directly behind her. There was nowhere for her to go.
“This is insane,” she repeated.
“Where is King Giles?” Queen Laylia asked. “We haven’t seen him this morning. Is he well?”
The most recent update I had on the King of the Silver Coast was from Carissa’s snooping earlier that morning, but I kept my mouth shut to protect her. Everyone looked around in search of the missing king, but we didn’t have to look for long.
“I’m here!” King Giles called from somewhere off to my right.
“Make way!” a man shouted. “Let King Giles through!”
The crowd parted again, and the King of the Silver Coast appeared. His bright, brown eyes were filled with fire, and he looked like a man on a mission. His movements were steadier and more certain than I’d ever seen him, and he marched right over to stand beside Prime Minister Eriz.
“Giles, darling…” Sybil practically cooed at him like a fawning dove.
The sight made my stomach turn over in disgust.
Sybil stroked her hand delicately over Giles’ sleeve, and she stared into his face with an Oscar-worthy look of innocence on her face.
“Giles,” Sybil pleaded with him. “They’re trying to accuse me of the most insane crimes. Please, you must–”
“I’m sorry, my dear,” Giles said, and he pried her fingers away from his sleeve with deliberate motions. “But I cannot help you in this matter.”
Sybil’s face fell in shock. Her mouth hung open, her eyes went wide, and all the color drained from her face for a second. It didn’t last long, and two heartbeats later, the rage flooded back into her expression.
“You fucking traitor,” Sybil hissed. “After everything I’ve done for you–”
Giles ignored whatever else she was intending to say and turned to look between Eriz and me.
“I suppose we should begin?” he asked. “There’s an official process here, and I believe it would be in everyone’s best interests if we proceed as tradition and old law dictate.”
“I agree,” Eriz said, and he turned to look at each of the other monarchs. “King Ken?”
“I agree,” I said.
“Hear, hear,” King Horus said.
“Yes, let us begin,” Queen Doria added her voice.
“Yes,” King Mannie chorused.
Queen Sybil blustered some more and made her opinions about what was happening very clear.
Anders took the initiative, and together with King Horus’ general, he worked to move the crowd back to the edges of the grassy inner field of our encampment.
Servants slid into work mode, and the thrones we’d sat in for our meeting appeared from all around, including one for King Giles.
They were placed back in the same positions as last time, except for Queen Sybil’s throne.
Her throne was positioned smack dab in the middle of the ring of seats, and a pair of guards from every other nation stood around it. Ten soldiers for one woman seemed a little like overkill to me, but I wasn’t about to complain.
Sybil had been brought to sit in her throne of shame, and I took the tiniest bit of petty joy in the sight. None of the soldiers touched her, but they stood so close to her that she couldn’t look the wrong way without one of them being able to grab her.
Her lips were pressed so tightly together that they’d pretty much disappeared, and while her face had almost returned to its normal color, her neck and upper chest were still pretty flushed.
I spotted my three queens and Carissa in the crowd, finally. They were standing near our thrones with Vannesh and Master Gelm. Francis, Otto, Rubin, and several soldiers who were commanded by Captain Greer stood around them, and it gave me comfort to see my women so well-protected.
King Horus and Queen Laylia were first to seat themselves, and King Mannie and Queen Lucita joined them a few seconds later. King Enken walked over and sat down, but Queen Doria remained standing with Eriz and me.
“How do we start?” I asked them in a hushed voice.
“Prime Minister,” Doria looked at Eriz. “Your nation has the most recent experience with a Trial of Peers. Will you begin?”
“Certainly.” Eriz nodded.
Doria smiled her thanks, and I gave Eriz a friendly pat on the shoulder before we both headed off to our seats, too.
“Honorable monarchs.” Eriz started to walk in a slow circle between the ring of thrones and where Sybil was positioned.
“It is with heavy hearts that we gather this morning. A most disturbing turn of events has become evident, and as the leaders and caretakers of not only this land, but of these people, it is our solemn duty to call out heinous crimes when we see them.”
Not a single sound could be heard beyond the chirping of morning birds and the droning hum of the insects in the grass.
Eriz spoke a little more about the weight of responsibility on all leaders’ shoulders, and I looked around at the crowd.
Directly beyond the circle of thrones was an ocean of people. Advisors stood side by side with the lowest house servants, and people from all six nations mingled together like it was nothing. The various colors of each country’s uniforms were dotted throughout the entire crowd.
I tried to discern the mindset of the servants from the Silver Coast. Were they shocked by this turn of events? Did they still support their queen? Were they happy she might end up imprisoned or maybe even beheaded?
There were a few very worried-looking people who wore the silver-and-purple uniforms of the Silver Coast, but I couldn’t tell if they were worried for their queen or just worried in general about what was going on.
“King Ken,” Eriz said and caught my attention. “Will you come forth and present the evidence you have gathered?”
My heart lurched like I’d been summoned to the principal’s office, but I breathed through my nose and stood up.
“Yes,” I said.