Savior Of Power

Chapter 10

As the days went by, I got busier and busier. I barely had time for myself or James. But it was in good cause. I had to set up a privy council which consisted of myself, my brother, James and all lords from the House of Lords
Their roles were to assist me in making crucial decisions about the kingdom. My friends Berenice and Augustus had come to visit again. Helena could not make it because she had matters of state to attend to.
There was a heavy storm one night. It was so heavy that I thought it was going to raise the castle from its foundation...To be honest, I was scared of heavy rains. And it was accompanied by loud thunder....I hated it.. I tossed and turned in bed while James slept soundly...
My mind kept going  back to that night of my father's death and I couldn't bear the thoughts any longer. I decided to take a short walk...
The guards were at every turn in the castle making their night's watch. They bowed as I passed and I acknowledged them.
I decided to see Berenice to see how she was fairing....As I approached her room, I saw a rather odd sight.. my brother was standing outside the room drenched in rain....the door was slightly ajar and I knew this because the candle which was lit in the room had illuminated my brother's face...
I slowly walked to him...His eyes were filled with tears.
"Brother what is the matter"
He didn't take his eyes off the room to answer. He slightly pointed...
I looked in and saw Augustus and Berenice...they were sleeping with each other....the audacity!!!
They didn't hear us because of the heavy downpour of rain and the loud thunder. Her moans and his grunts filled the room...it made my skin crawl...
"What do you want me to do brother? Name it and it shall be done..." I asked. I was furious at this point. The bitch thinks she could play with my brother's intelligence.... She tried to play the prince! Only God knows how long this has been going on..
With clenched teeth and a clenched fist, he replied
"I never want to see them again....make them leave and never return.. sever all ties with them..Berenice has broken my already fragile heart.. her betrayal has left an even larger hole than father's death did.."
I rubbed his back and said
"Leave it to me"
And just like that, I entered the room..
Augustus and Berenice still didn't see me. At least Berenice didn't because she was being fucked against the wall so Augustus had to have his back turned...
"You disgust me"
They quickly jumped at my voice.
"Erm-erm- y-your majesty...." Bernice stammered..
"What were you hoping to achieve with this Berenice? .. you'd marry my dear unsuspecting brother and keep betraying his trust for you time and time again...maybe you'd even go as far as having a child with this one here and say the child was from my brother.....how low of you Princess Berenice of Voumond.."
She pleaded "please your majesty! He mustn't find out, I love him so much"
"And if you truly loved me, you would not have thought of having another man inside you!!" Said Finnegan as he entered in a rush. She was shocked
He turned to Augustus who was struggling to put his clothes on.
"And you... I called you brother... we drank wine together... YOU KNEW SHE WAS MY WOMAN! And yet... you stab me in the chest with a silver sword...."
Augustus replied "you never had time for her Finnegan! You never warmed her bed! She always came to me with complaints! She needed to shoulder to cry on!"
"And obviously a dick to sit on!" I responded..
"I am ashamed of you Berenice... you were supposed to be my friend but you've hurt my brother.. and now you have hurt me" I continued.
She was already sobbing..
I continued "if not for the friendship we once shared, I would have the guards throw both of you out and leave you to the mercy of the beasts that roam the woods outside my castle at night.. but I am not.. I will never be that kind of heartless..I will have the guards prepare a carriage for the both of you... I want you out of my Castle by morning...and Bernice, I shall write a letter to your Father, the King letting him know that from here on our relationship with your kingdom will be solely based on business and no more on long standing friendships with the princess....I have spoken. Let us go brother..."... And with that, Finnegan and I left the chamber amidst Berenices' loud sobbing..
I got back to my bedchamber and James was awake...
"My beloved... i've been searching for you.. where did you go?"
I replied
"Berenice and Augustus have been sleeping together"
James became more awake "Dear God... did you catch them in the act?"
I nodded and looked at him "they'll be out of the castle by morning.. Finnie was the one who caught them first...I met him standing by her door.. you should have seen her face James.."
He sighed and held me close.
"This is shocking news.... how is the prince?"
I responded "broken..shattered..I don't know if he'll ever recover. He was still trying to recover from my father's death and now this..."
"I never knew Augustus was a snake.. He stabbed Finnegan in the back with this action..they are very lucky that they were not beheaded"
I sat up "and risk a war with Voumond? I can handle Glyswig or the rest of the other neighboring  kingdoms but Voumond is different discussion by itself. We had a closer friendship than any of the other kingdoms, that bond has just only been broken and I cannot risk a war, now that I have merely ascended the throne. I am not a mad queen my love."
He scoffed "let us face the facts my queen.. Theria will engulf the whole of Voumond ten times more.. we can beat their forces without batting an eyelid"
I chuckled "let us keep all eyelids closed for now my dear..You know we have a meeting. And by we I mean the privy council to know the affairs of taxes in this kingdom...I shall have your time tomorrow night. Then, you can fuck me all you want. Lord knows I need it".
He smiled as we kissed and slept off..
The next day, while I was meeting with my privy council discussing on different state of affairs.
The royal guards came in holding Flora, one of my hand maids  by her arms
"My queen....we've made a discovery!"
I raised my eyebrow
"What has she done??" I asked in a loud angry tone
One guard spoke "my Queen, as part of the ongoing investigation, we proceeded to search the bags and properties of every servant in the castle. We found bottle of arsenic in her bag"
"Dear lord!" Lord Maximillian exclaimed..
I froze...
Finnegan spoke "What? That was the same poison that was used to murder the king! You traitor!!! You shall hang for this!!"
He was walking angrily so as to put his hands on her but the guards got to him quickly
"Unhand me! Let me show her what we do to traitors in this kingdom!"
I stood up
"Flora.. is this true?"
Amidst her sobbing, she responded "My queen, I would never do such a thing!"
My heartbeats here palpitating... I couldn't believe my own ears...
I had to compose myself and not let my emotion show.
I turned to the guards..
"Summon the Courtiers of the Queen's court and the House of Lords....there must be a trial today and take her to the dungeon"...
They bowed. Flora yelled for mercy and pleaded her innocence but I didn't want to hear any of it..
Justice must be served...