Undead Fate

Chapter Eight

THE COURT

It was the sight that captivated the people. The skies, usually apathetic of the land's business, were now raining down on Athenicus as if reprimanding them of their blunder. It was the first time the common folks witnessed such open intervention of the Gods.

There it was, on the center of the big circle the stunned crowd had made, stood the tall half-burnt wooden pole, with smoking haystacks at its base where it was planted on the ground. On it tied their deity.

Her magnificent white blonde hair was now wet with the miraculous rain and glistened under the glare of the sun. Apollo graced her image with his ray of sunlight, and she appeared to be glowing in front of their eyes.

The crowd looked up with their astounded eyes, hair standing all over their body in wonderstruck. Some wept, some burst into shouts of joy.

The daughter of Apollo had come to bless their land. And they had shown utter disrespect to the goddess.

***

"Release the goddess!"

"The girl is not a witch!"

"Let us celebrate the gift of the gods!"

I watched with total astonishment. Now the people were dubbing me a Goddess. I looked at the king once again and found he was looking at me with inquisitive eyes. I opened my lips to mouth a denial but stopped short.

I was just about to be burned to death, but now it was raining. If it wasn't complete coincidence, then what was it?

Maybe I really was a witch. Or a goddess. Because what happened had to be some work of impressive divine intervention.

I wanted to meet the king's gaze only to realize that he was already returning to the palace, trailed by his parade of soldiers. What happened after that was overwhelming. I felt like a leaf carried around by the strong current of the river. Another hearing in the Court occurred. But once again, I was not given a chance to speak for my stead as the King's subjects argued with themselves.

The only difference was that I was finally free of the cuffs that bound me and I was given a chair to sit on to. I also noticed, much to my delight, that the people had stopped calling me offensive names. But the constant stares were never gone, much to my dismay.

"Your majesty," Circe's strained voice began and the noise instantly subsided, "this is a grave mistake."

Now it was my turn for offensive names. Oh, I knew lots. But of course, I could never say it to the priestess's face.

"...a witch, brother." I realized it was now Heracles who was speaking. I looked up only to see him regarding me with an outright grin. What was he saying? I had to pay attention.

This is a matter of life and death now. If I wanted to go back home, I had to stay alive first.

"The people of Athenicus believe so." The prince continued. So he was on my side. He had to be if he was referring to the same people who were now worshipping me outside the palace. I let out a relieved sigh.

"The people believes everything, your highness," Circe interjected, her brows furrowed and her face reddening in fury. What had I ever done to her to receive this much hatred? This was just our third time meeting, for god's sake! "Even ones which are evidently untrue."

"In what reasons do you so claim the girl is tainted, Circe?" Aleixandre mused, "so far she had not manifested any dubious tendency..." the king spoke slowly and our eyes met once again, "...that requires attention." The amused glint in his eyes was the only hint of what was in his mind. And the way Heracles chuckled beside him only confirmed what I feared.

He was reminiscing that time at the dungeon. My face flushed and I bit her lip, hastily looking down. Why is he doing this to me? Forget about it!

"The fact that she used dark magic in these lands is dubious enough," the priestess argued.

"I don't see what's wrong with saving the lives of our people," Heracles recovered and spoke once again, his smile never leaving his lips. "Isn't it worthy of praise that she was able to cure a disease of what we thought was incurable?"

"As I'd said, your highness, it was done with dark, tainted magic that is forbidden in these lands." She paused dramatically and addressed the audience, "for all we know, it was she herself who constructed the curse." The ministers murmured between themselves.

"You lost me there, High Priestess, what for?" the prince taunted.

"So she could do exactly what is happening now," Circe glared at me, "so she could manipulate the people."

My breath hitched. I knew what the bitch was talking about: treachery. That was the worst offense one could do in one's country, or so what I learned from my history books. Wow, this woman was really dedicated to seeing me dead. The audience's voices grew louder until Heracles spoke again.

"I don't know. Sounds like an excuse to me since you weren't able to do what she so easily did."

Furious, Circe slammed her hand on her seat, "Your Highness!" she yelled.

"Heracles, please," Aleixandre spoke as he massaged his temple with his long fingers. Judging from his weary expression, I had a curious thought that maybe the banters of the king's high subjects were not rare. "Circe, I appreciate your concern for Athenicus but I fear we must hear first an essential speaker before we construe anything."

For a second, I thought they would finally let me speak for once, but when the door opened for the newcomer the thought dissipated like a smoke in the wind.

Yeah, so much for the wishful thinking, I bitterly thought to myself. My down-to-earth mood made a plunge underground. But when I saw who the newcomer was, maybe my case wasn't so hopeless after all.

Medea, now dressed much well than the last time I last saw her, stood beside me and made a low curtsy. "Your Majesty, it is my greatest honor to be in your presence. I am Medea, the leader of the Ahn Village." She bowed again and met my gaze. Medea gave me a quick smile before she stood straight again to face her interrogators.

"As you can see, priestess. We have here the best witness we have of this case." The king explained patiently, eyeing the stricken woman beside him. "Please explain to us what happened in your village." He said to Medea.

"The girl never used any magical means to heal us, your Majesty," she began, "she is an authentic healer and she used conventional treatments to cure me and my people."

"Nonsense," Circe said.

"Continue." The king urged.

"We learned from our savior the reason why we weren't healing." Medea continued on, telling the people about the condition of the village before I came and how we renovated it back to its former glory.

"Tell us more about the disease."

Medea did, parroting the words I recognized were the ones I once told her about the sources of the disease and the signs and symptoms of its manifestation. The crowd took in her words until she stammered for one, "I believe the disease is called..." she hesitated.

All was looking at her and I believed the pressure given by the people's urging did not help her remember the word.

"What is it?" the King asked.

"I think she doesn't remember because the disease never existed in the first place." Circe unhelpfully added. Murmurings arose once again.

"Measles," a voice aided. All eyes swerved to my direction, and I realized it was my voice that finally spoke. They all looked at me as though surprised I could actually talk. "It's called Measles, and it exists! Why won't you believe me?" Tears welled in my eyes.

"I believe you." Now it was the king's turn to receive the dumbstruck looks of the audience. It was like a game of Ping-Pong. But unlike me he did not freak out, he raised his chin and modulated his voice for all to hear.

"As of now, Isabella Murray of America is free of all charges against her."