American Royalty

Chapter 13

It had been three long days since Rose was tossed into the tower, the frost from the cold nights icing the bars in thin layers. She had cried more times than she could count, begging to see her daughters and to understand how her trial was coming along. Rose sat silently in her wooden chair by her desk as she began to write letters to both her daughters and her lawyer. She begged countless times to have an audience with Evan, hoping there was any shred of kindness left in him. She knew however, that the temptress had her talons in too deep already. Rose sat upright as she heard the door to her cell opening, watching and waiting for the guest to enter.

"My Lady, Sir Elliot is here to pay you a visit," Sir Rodrick the guard said monotonous. All the guards had orders to not be kind to Rose, no matter how terrible it made them feel to disrespect their true queen. Rose stood to greet Elliot as he entered her cell, curtsying to him as she beckoned him to sit at her table beside her.

"Have you any news of the trial Sir?" Rose questioned with nervousness lacing her voice. If she could convince the king to give her a royal pardon, she could continue living the rest of her life banished from the capitol. Elliot sighed as he opened his leather briefcase, pulling the papers and testimonies out from a flimsy manila folder.

"My Lady, Sir Jude will be here later on in the week to question you about the allegations. As far as I can tell however, the trial is still in a months time."

Rose sighed in frustration, covering her freckled face and holding back a sob of despair.

"I am not guilty of any of these charges, you have got to know that. You have to make them see that I am innocent," Rose pleaded as she looked back at Elliot, sadness filling her eyes as she blinked tears away. Elliot handed her a handkerchief, distressed at seeing the scared woman in front of him. He believed her innocence, yet he knew convincing an entire court of that fact would be harder to accomplish.

"My Lady, I believe you are innocent, yet the formalities and the law have to be carried out. I will do my part to help you, but you must do yours as well," Elliot whispered as he patted her hand gently. During the short time she had been in the tower, he had been the only kind hearted person she had encountered. While everyone looked at her with pity or sympathy, he looked at her in gentle kindness.

Rose nodded curtly, wiping the tears from her eyes as she watched Elliot walk through the door, leaving her alone in her cell once more. The impending trial weighed heavily on her mind, bringing her nightmares and sorrows on a regular basis.

A few days had gone by with Rose looking on at the villagers and the noblemen roaming freely outside of the tower. She longed for the freedom to go where she pleased, as she pleased.

Footsteps approached the outside of her cell, a nauseating sense of dread filling her gut. It was time for the questioning, and she knew it would be a tough conversation.

"Lady Rose, Lord Jude is here to question you," announced Rodrick, holding the door open for Jude to enter the cold and quiet cell. Rose turned her face away from Jude, building courage enough to not be suede into false guilt.

As the door shut, Jude walked to face the fallen queen with confidence. He knew if he questioned her with intensity he would be able to get the answers he desired, regardless if they were truthful or not.

"My Lady, I'm sure you know why I am here. Let's not waste any more time," Jude began as he sat his briefcase down. Rose exhaled in sarcasm as she straightened her back, preparing for the ludacris questioning to begin.

"You come from Louisiana correct?"

"Yes."

"Did you ever learn voodoo while you were there?"

Rose rolled her eyes as she stared into his.

"Of course not. These questions are beginning to get ridiculous."

"While you were pregnant, did you use a ritual to miscarry your child?"

Rose's eyes filled with tears as she remembered the pain, both emotionally and physically, the miscarriage had caused her. She wiped her eyes before continuing to answer Jude's question, regardless of the pain it brought her.

"No. I did not kill my baby, regardless how much the temptress wills you and the king to believe it," she answered with a shaking voice, tears continuing to fall from her eyes. Jude smirked as he watched the poor woman begin to cry, knowing if he continued to press he would make her more emotional and surely convict her of guilt.

"We found the paper with a spell written on it placed under your pillow on your seat. I urge you to tell the truth madam," he pleaded with false sincerity.

Rose glared at him, anger filling her senses as her fist balled beside her.

"I did not murder my child, that paper was placed there by some other person. I did not write that paper. You can believe me or you don't, but as God as my witness I did not murder my child."

"Then how did the baby pass?"

"I had complications in my pregnancy, though shockingly it was a surprise and not my own doing. I was sitting and eating dinner then suddenly there was a sharp pain in my abdomen. I thought nothing of it, then went to bed. When I awoke I fell to the floor and then there was a puddle of blood on my sheets. I am unsure how it happened, but I can tell you this much Lord Jude. I did not kill my child, I am innocent of all these charges." Rose spoke with a mixture of anger and pain intertwining her words. She stood abruptly as she marched to the door and knocked for Sir Rodrick to open it. Jude stood and collected his papers, frustrated at her lack of guilt. He knew if he was to convict her, it would have to wait for the official trial to take place.

"Another thing my Lord," Rose spoke as she paused and looked Jude in her eyes.

"Whether the truth comes out and I am pardoned, or whether I am convicted of these false allegations, I believe in karma as well as justice. Know that just as justice will eventually prevail, karma will also follow. Tell the king and the seductress that they will get what they surely deserve. My conscious is clear and my soul is innocent, if I am condemned by these false statements, they will have to atone for these wretched sins."

"Are you threatening the king?"

"No sir, I love the king with all of my heart. I am just hoping to enlighten him that his true and lawful wife is fully and irrevocably innocent. I fully intend to show this in court, and I hope with every ounce of my soul that he sees the seductress for what she really is. She's a succubus as well as a demon, if my husband has any wits about him left that she has not bewitched him of I do so hope he sees the truth of all of this. Good day sir."