A Tale Of Votara

Chapter Twenty Two- Why?

After they left the cell, they immediately ordered a combing operation. They collected all the clues in potentially hiding spots of Bertha. They knew that since she is on the run with a baby, she will definitely need a lot of access to baby products. But they were very vigilant because they knew that Bertha is a very clever woman. After all, she had been the head of spy training once. She is capable of hiding within plain sight. But Romana was not very incapable either. She was trained well to catch traitors, and she is the first Queen-To-Be in the country who was well-trained in all security departments of the Kingdom. They started to gather information on the hiding spots that Bertha might use. They searched areas such as very old royal houses which were used to hide in the olden days during wars and were nearest to markets. They searched her old houses where she grew up, and finally, they found her in a village near her the country's border. They caught her while she was about to escape the country. When the guards informed them about her capture, Romana, Xena, and The Prince ordered them to take her to the nearest police station and sent additional troops for security.
They flew to the place and reached there in no time. When they saw her tied to a chair, Romana and The Prince were heartbroken. However, Xena was infuriated and kicked her so hard that she fell to the ground. Although Romana wanted to stop her, she couldn't do so because she knew that Xena's anger was justified.
After she fell down, Bertha laughed like a madwoman, which made Xena even angrier. She picked her up from the ground to slap her again, but that did not stop Bertha from laughing. After a few slaps, Romana stopped Xena. Although Xena was furious, she stopped. Romana approached Bertha and asked, "How could you do that!?" To which Bertha questioned, "How could I what!?" Xena became impatient and pointed a gun at her, saying, "Woman! If you don't open your mouth, I won't hesitate a moment to shoot you! I'm not as patient as Romana! Answer her questions properly right now!" After hearing this, Bertha sarcastically said, "Wooo! You've got yourself a energetic girlfriend, Romana. I'm sure she'll be good in bed! Hahahaha." After hearing this, Romana and The Prince were not taking her bullshit anymore. The Prince grabbed her as if he was about to beat her but couldn't do so because he still loved her as a mother. Romana came so close to her and said, "ANSWER ME, GODDAMN IT!!! HOW COULD YOU KILL MY FATHER!!?? HOW COULD YOU KILL YOUR HUSBAND!!??" Even after all this, Bertha was still silent. This made The Prince even angrier and he said, "Listen here, woman! I don't have as much patience as my sister, and I'm not as ethical as her! If you don't open your mouth right now, I won't hesitate a moment to kill you! So now, open up!!" This made Bertha a bit scared as she always thought of The Prince as a kid, but when he showed his anger, she couldn't take it and she started to speak.

Bertha: "I will tell everything, but promise me one thing. The safety of my son. Whatever I have was on me, not him. He shouldn't suffer because of my wrongdoings. I don't care anymore if he isn't going to be a king. All I want right now is his safety, so promise his safety, Romana."
Romana: "He is not just your son. He is our brother, and he shares the same blood with us. So rest assured, he will grow up as my brother and as a son of the former king, not as the son of a traitor,"
Bertha: "Thank you! Now I don't really care about anything anymore." After a short pause, she continued, "I wasn't always a power-thirsty woman. I was once a lively young girl with a lot of joy and hope in life. I became like this after your father killed my parents!"