November 15, 1345.
Stormhold Castle,
The walled city of Rothwell,
Capital of Myknos.
Prince Nicolas Alexander Tutton
Nicolas frowned down at the grinning woman in front of him wishing the baseless trial would be over with quickly so he could see her punished for her crimes.
"Come now, Nicolas, surely you won't give your old friend such a harsh sentence?" Khasi sang interrupting the scribe who'd been reading out her charges.
He ignored her and signalled to the man to continue reading, his eyes leaving hers to the crowd where he spied a still pale Odeya glaring at Khasi.
He remembered holding her as she'd cried her heart out hearing of her mother's death. Another innocent victim of the pointless war.
"How do you plead?" The scribe asked her.
Her smile was catty as she looked around the room.
"How do you plead?" The scribe asked again letting loose his irritation.
"Not guilty." She answered earning murmurs from the assembled crowd.
"Silence!" The man cried.
Nicolas stared down at the unrepentant woman who looked half mad with her matted hair and the ripped beaded dress she'd been wearing since her capture.
"Why now?"
He wanted to ask her. He wanted to understand why she'd broken their thirty year long peace treaty.
As if reading his mind, she answered.
"The peace treaty was a sham attempt by a weak king to protect you from the true power that is Shiv'ra." She spat. "As you can see, it didn't work."
Her cackle was long and loud and earned cries for her death from the enraged crowd.
"Silence!" The scribe yelled again but the crowd was unrelenting.
Nicolas raised a hand and an expectant hush fell over the room.
"She has admitted to her crimes and obviously shows no remorse for her actions." He announced in a voice that showed he would tolerate no interruptions. "She has committed the highest level of treason causing the death of three monarchs as such, she has earned the maximum punishment."
Cries of assent rang out as his words but he wasn't done yet. He raised a hand and they fell silent once more.
"A quick death will not be enough to warn any who choose to go against the might of Myknos or the Tri-Kingdom Alliance." He warned. "Princess Khasi Malik shall be drawn and quartered as punishment for treason."
Her laugh rang loud as she hurled insults at him.
Nicolas ignored her and continued his decree.
"Shiv'ra will do penance for their role in this unrest but as their new king has given us free reign to punish the offenders, their sanction shall only be for a year."
Murmurs of assent rang out from the crowd.
"Hear the words of the king!" The herald announced.
"All hail king Nicolas! All hail king Nicolas!"
His people's cheers followed him out of the courtyard and into the castle.
The doors shut behind him giving him much needed time to breathe.
"Ruling becomes you, my King." Odeya's husky voice came from behind him before warm hands landed on his shoulder easing him into the chair. "How are your legs?"
YOU ARE READING
A Kings Surrender
Historical Fiction"Oh really. I'd say you really enjoyed my visit." He said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He walked closer to her until she had to use her hand to stop him from crushing her against the wall. He bent his head and nipped a small line from her n...
