Double-Edged Words

CHAPTER THREE

"Alright." I looked at the group of people guided inside for their trial and tried to spot her face. I couldn't find her. She must've already gone inside. After a couple of minutes of searching, I gave up and headed to the throne room.

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"Duchess Adelysia. According to your statement, you claim you have been wrongly accused." Said a court official. "Do you have anything to back up that statement?"

She looked toward the man on the throne. "Your Majesty. My family and our household have loyally served the royals for more than fifty years. We even have donated large sums of money to aid the military efforts to protect our country's borders. Why would I betray Your Majesty after all these years?" The Duchess' voice was full of worshipful admiration.

"Duchess, again, you will only address the council directly." The court official's voice was stern. "Supreme Commander Nubilus, will you please provide us your statement."

I stepped forward, "Last winter, we received word that a group of rebels was going to stage a coup. We set out to confront them, and after a month of searching, we found the settlement of the rebels. There was a great number of them hiding in the eastern corner of the forest of Vria. We took over the settlement by force and captured their leader for questioning. He revealed, after some coercion, who was supplying them with weapons and explosives. Duchess Lidya Adelysia. We even found —with the help of the rebel leader— a note stamped and signed by the Duchess. Giving them access to a shipment that was due to arrive the next day at one of her seaports."

The court official stepped forward and I handed said piece of paper.

"I assume you took care of those rebels as the law commands." He said while he inspected the note.

"Yes," The answer came in a low voice and my gaze dropped to the marble floor. "After that, we set out to the seaport to verify the contents of the shipment. Once there, the workers notified us that someone had already taken the crates. So, we went to the estate to confront her. When she saw our cavalry, she attempted to flee, confirming what we already suspected. I detained her and proceeded to question her, but she refused to answer truthfully. My men searched her estate and found a secret storage room in the stables. It had fifty crates full of weapons, all like the ones the rebels had in their possession."

"Grand Commander Acoma, do you agree with this statement?" He gestured to Calim.

"Yes, I agree," Calim answered.

"Very well, the Duchess' household is also present." The court official spoke to the six councilmen as they stood by the platform.

At the top of the steps, the king sat on his throne; without saying a word.

At his right stood High Priest Gustav, a balding grave-looking man with a sour disposition.

"Bring them forward." Ordered the priest and the royal knights guided the servants to the front of the room.

My eyes scanned through the faces in the group. The girl and the maid had their arms around each other. Their faces were pale.

"Your master has been accused of treason. You are all under suspicion of being an accessory to that treason. Do you have anything to say for yourselves?" Asked the court official.

Silence.

"No one has anything to say?" He asked in an annoyed tone.

After a beat, the maid let go of the girl and stepped forward, head bent, shoulders slumped. "We were not ignorant about Your Grace's dealings with the rebels. They used to come in the late hours of the night; to negotiate with Madam for her help. We know that the law requires us to report any activity that could be traitorous." She raised her head and looked at the man with pleading eyes. "But to be honest, sir, what can we lowly servants do about it? If we report our masters, we may lose our livelihood, be thrown out to the streets, or worse. If our master is proven innocent. They may retaliate and ask for imprisonment due to blasphemy. As a noble, they can do anything they desire to us, and we are powerless to stop it."