𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖐 𝕺𝖓𝖊
𝔖𝔲𝔪𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔶: A high-school project gone wrong sends Astraea Aphelion fifteen centuries back in time, where she has to face a world of dragons, magic, and evil sorcerers. Luckily, she is not alone. In between hardships, she finds a...
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📍 Camelot
⏳ March, 504 AD
"Now, that's just abusive," I mumbled while reading a discarded page from a lengthy document that Uther was going over. I'd grown bored after finishing my work with the horses for the day and draining my tablet's battery; so I'd decided to hang out with him in the council chambers while he tended to his Kingly duties.
"Perhaps it is somewhat unreasonable, but I would hate to lose Lord Everwick's support," he replied as he set down another page next to where I sat on the table. He has long given up on trying to get me to sit on a chair like a 'proper lady'.
I raised an eyebrow, "So you're just gonna let 'em run poor Mr. Harrison to the ground? Six dead cows does not justify taking all that land. Or any at all."
He sighed pensively and took the page from my hands, examining it once more. "Well, Mr. Harrison does not have the money to pay Everwick back for the cows," he stated.
"Wonder why," I muttered under my breath.
The King's eyes shot towards mine as he demanded, "Speak clearly, Astraea."
My lungs froze for a second, then I sighed and grabbed another discarded document. "Look through this again," I said as I handed it to him.
"It seems they have had several incidents over the years," he noted while tapping his chin.
"And I'm willing to bet it's all a set-up," I added while eyeing him cautiously.
The King set the document down and looked up at me again, "What do you mean?"
"Well, Everwick has been slowly chipping away at Harrison's land for decades, one small incident blown out of proportion at a time..." I explained. "The one where Harrison supposedly stole some wood is especially suspicious because there was no evidence whatsoever, but the local judge seems to have sided with Everwick because of his status. Also, if Harrison's dogs are really so out of control, other neighbouring farms would've reported similar cases of dead livestock by now."
Uther's eyes widened and he gathered all the pages again, reading them more attentively this time. "I think you might be right. The evidence for all of these incidents appears vague and inconclusive," he mumbled.
I nodded, smiling a little while feeling proud of myself for my detective work.
"Thank you for your observations, Astraea. I will order the judge to investigate further. Everwick will lose his title if this proves to be correct," the King added, this time speaking more loudly as his grey eyes moved to mine once more. "You have a sharp mind."
I waved him off while saying, "I just learnt some stuff from my uncle." And from watching TV, but, obviously, I could not tell him that.
He hummed and nodded before starting to write something and I watched in curiosity as he did so. He has the penmanship of a drunk doctor – I could only make out a few words, with a lot of struggle.
