The Maze - Tor's Quest Book 2

Chapter 26

Tor and Cirren found themselves grabbed from behind, their arms pinned behind their backs.

"Impostors?" Tibia asked, her voice full of uncertainty.

"Of course they are impostors," the Duke snapped impatiently. "I told you myself that the real Princes were last seen a long way from here. Besides, they look nothing like the real Cirren and Tor. Unlike you, I know what the members of other royal families look like."

This was something that had been worrying Tor. He had feared that the Duke would deny who he really was and, other than his ring, which could easily be claimed as a fake, he had no way of proving his identity. Tibia smiled sweetly at the Duke, but when she spoke her voice was hard as steel.

"You forget yourself Duke. You organised my education. You should have remembered that it included studying other countries and their rulers, including portraits. I recognised both of the Remeny Princes the moment I laid eyes on them."

The Duke froze and his wife started crying. Tibia continued, casually walking over to the table and sitting down. "They have been telling me some interesting tales about how you have been misruling my country." She sounded calm and sure of herself, showing the Duke that she was not the scared little puppet that he had always thought her to be.

"They are lying," he sneered. "You have known me all of your life. Are you really going to take their word over mine?"

The Queen appeared to think about the question for a moment. "Yes, I think I am." The Duke stared at her in shock. "Guards," she called out loudly and a dozen of the Queen's Guards appeared in the room. "Arrest this man." Her command was instantly obeyed.

"On what charge?" the Duke asked vehemently.

Tibia regarded him coldly. "The last I heard, lying to a Queen is a capital offence, punishable by death. If that is the worst of your crimes, you will merely be exiled, but somehow I think it is not. Take him away."

"You cannot do this," he screamed as he was dragged toward the door.

"Actually, yes I can."

"You will never get away with this. The army is loyal to me, not you. There will be civil war."

Tibia did not waver in her resolve. "So be it."

"Your Majesty, are you forgetting something?" Tor asked once the Duke had been removed from the room.

"Of course. Sorry." She turned to the men who were holding Tor and Cirren. "Soldiers, release them at once."

The soldiers regarded her nervously, unsure of what to do; they were used to following the Duke's commands, not the Queen's. Reluctantly they obeyed.

"Wise decision," she said to them. "Now go and tell your General that the Duke is under arrest for treason and I am taking command."

The soldiers could not get out of the room fast enough. They ran from the palace and quickly found their Captain. They told him what had happened and he instructed them to head to the barracks and rouse all of the men. The Duke had to be rescued. The Captain then headed straight to General Lemell's office.

"Do you hear something?" Commander Galloway asked the General; the sounds of so many men arming themselves for war were unmistakable.

Lemell cocked his ear. "No," he lied. "I cannot hear a thing." There was loud knocking on the door. This, too, the older man ignored. The man on the other side called the General's name loudly and tried to open the door, but the lock held it shut.