Allegiance

Chapter 49

Tessia stood up, her eyes locked on Blaine's corpse. She felt no remorse for his death, but realization slowly set in. She had just killed the human king. While killing in self-defense is usually viewed as justified, what she did... could lead to problems between the human and elven kingdom.

"I'm sorry you had to witness this gruesome execution," Priscilla began, and Arthur and Tessia looked at her, slightly confused. Priscilla eyed Blaine's corpse emotionlessly before she looked at Tessia and Arthur seriously. "He was posing a threat to the elven royal family. So, to avoid a war, I had him executed."

Tessia and Arthur looked at Priscilla, surprised.

Priscilla knew that the ramifications of people learning the truth of what happened here could lead to dark days between the elven and human kingdoms. So, she would do what was needed to preserve the peace.

Priscilla's eyes flicked to the two human guards, "My two witnesses can attest that it was my command that killed Blaine."

Arthur and Tessia looked at the human guards, who nodded without hesitation.

"It was your command, Your Majesty," The blonde-haired guard said.

"We saw the entire thing. King Blaine posed a threat, Your Majesty," The brown-haired guard said.

Priscilla nodded, "Good." She looked at Arthur and Tessia, "You two should leave and check on Virion." She looked at Blaine's corpse, "I'll handle this."

Arthur and Tessia shared a shocked glance before they nodded.

"Thank you," Tessia said, genuinely thankful.

Priscilla gave her a nod, "And thank you."

Tessia and Arthur quickly turned and left the council room. They were silent for a few moments as they made their way down the hallway, with Arthur giving Tessia the occasional glance. Her eyes were downcast, emotions storming behind them, and her face was tight, with her brows furrowed.

Arthur knew her mind must be racing, replaying what just happened over and over in her head. "Tessia?" Arthur called to her, but she didn't even so much as look at him. He reached out, took her hand, and stopped walking. Tessia's hand was limp in his as she continued walking until she was pulled to a stop by Arthur holding her. "Tessia," Arthur said gently. "Look at me."

Tessia didn't move. Her body was facing away from Arthur, and he couldn't see her expression.

Arthur could see how tense she was, and he was beginning to feel worried. He had seen her enact her fury before, so he knew her killing Blaine was nothing new to her. He kept wondering what had her in such a spell that it put her in a daze. Beating Curtis? Virion being wounded? Blaine's death? Then it finally clicked.

Arthur sighed and gently said, "Tessia. What happened in the council room wasn't your fault."

"Wasn't it," Tessia snapped.

Tessia whirled around to face Arthur, and his heart cracked when he saw his queen teary-eyed. He hated seeing her cry, but he knew she wasn't crying because she was sad. She was crying because she was frustrated at herself.

"This was my plan, Arthur," Tessia argued, her body shaking and a few tears escaping her eyes, leaving a shimmering trail down her cheek. "It was my idea to split Blaine up." Tessia scoffed, "All so that we could teach Curtis a lesson. If we hadn't split them up, kept them together, then Blaine never would've been able to use Varay, and my grandfather never would've been wounded."

Arthur looked at her sympathetically, "You had no way of knowing what he would do."

"That doesn't matter," Tessia stated, her eyes falling to the floor. "If we hadn't split them up, you and I would've been there to stop Blaine. But because of my plan..."