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Sunday, December 4, 2016

Chapter 14

For the time being, we shall leave Risha, Merees, Leorin and Luke lying on that foreign beach, all four of them seemingly dead to the world and instead return to the nation which the princess and the two siblings had left behind. During the course of this chapter, your humble narrator, will attempt to shed some light on the events which transpired from the moment the trio met with Samuel, to when they, alongside their new companion, escaped from captain Cerewan's ship.

It did not take long for Argath to understand how her sister had duped the guard and manage to leave the palace. The knowledge that Merees had managed to escape her clutches, troubled the older Princess and she gave voice to her vexation by picking up a paperweight which stood on what previously had been her late father's desk and throw it at the wall. Having gotten that out of her system, Argath calmed down and began to ponder the situation: For the moment, Merees was not an immediate threat, being a refugee with no power-base and no support. The important thing was to figure out where she had gone and deal with her before she acquired either of these things. In the meantime, more pressing matters demanded her attention.

The guests, many of which had already been displeased by their confinement had begun to voice their dissent more loudly. Realizing, that she could not keep them in the palace any longer, Argath agreed to open up the gates and let everyone return to their respective homes and so they did, each of them wondering what the future would have in store.

After embracing wife, wishing her good luck and telling her to be careful, Jeraddin too set out for the journey back home, in order to inform Albert about the new circumstances regarding the family. At first, Jeraddin had considered only sending a messenger, but he eventually decided that the old servant deserved to hear the sad news from him personally.

I wonder how he's going to take it, the lynx thought as he walked the path up to his estate. Well, I guess I'll soon find out.

As he entered the foyer, Jeraddin found Albert waiting for him, as usual.

"Welcome home, sir" the goat said, taking Jeraddin's coat and hanging it on the rack. "Lady Nasari and the children are not with you?" He asked, surprised by their absence.

Jeraddin shook his head sadly.

"No, they are not with me. Come with me, Albert. There's something I have to tell you."

Albert followed his master into the living room. There, Jeraddin bid him sit down and poured him a drink. Albert made as if to decline, but Jeraddin insisted.

"Trust me", he said. "You are going to want this."

Puzzled,  Albert accepted the drink. Once he had done that, Jeraddin sat down next to him and revealed everything that happened while they were in the capital.

"There you have it", Jeraddin said, once he had finished.

Albert  did not answer, for some time he had only been staring wide-eyed at the General, hearing the latter's words as if they had spoken from a distance. With an unsteady hand, he raised the glass to his lips and downed it in one gulp. Then, he sat silent, staring down at the floor.

"Terrible", he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. "Simply terrible."

You can say that again, Jeraddin thought.

He stood up and Albert followed his example.

"I'll be in the garden", he said.

"Very good, sir".

Albert's voice betrayed no emotion.

As he walked through the garden, Jeraddin found himself overwhelmed by memories of the past; a past which seemed as if it had occurred both recently and in the distant past at the same time: Here was the apple-tree which had his and Nasari's name carved in its trunk, the same tree in which their children had practiced climbing in and, on occasion, fallen out off. There was the small pond which he had once been pushed into by his better half, as the result of a heated argument between the two of them. The reason for their argument had long since slipped from Jeraddin's mind. What he did remember, however, was how it had ended, with the two of them both sopping wet, lying next to each other in the grass and laughing, gazing lovingly into each other's eyes

In the shade of a tree stood a bench, Jeraddin sat down on it and looked out at the garden.

I had hoped that one day, when I am with my ancestors, one of my children would stay here and fill this place with children of their own. Now those days will never come and I have sold my soul to the person responsible for it, but at least I can take comfort in the thought that my children are safe.

The thought of his son and daughter, still alive but gone forever, proved too much for Jeraddin. He threw his head back and from his throat rose a mournful, wailing sound.

*****

Deep in the palace dungeons, in a dark and cramped cell, Bureno languished. On the floor the bowl of gruel which one of the guards had brought him sat, untouched. Ever since the guards had searched his room and found the money and the letter hidden away, objects which to them proved without any shadow of a doubt that Bureno was guilty of poisoning the king, the former master of the kitchen had felt as if he was trapped in a nightmare, which he couldn't wake up from. 

The sound of keys turning caused Bureno to look up, as he did he saw the door to his cell open and seconds later, he found himself looking up at Lorenzo, who was accompanied by two guards.

"Get up, traitor", the fox commanded.

Bureno obliged, though Lorenzo's insult stung at the very core of his being.

"I'm innocent!" He protested. "I swear it, someone planted those things in my...."

The Boar was not able to finish the sentence, a hard smack on the mouth, courtesy of Lorenzo, shut him up.

"Tell it to the judge."

"T-the judge?" Bureno stammered. "You don't mean?"

"That's right, we're taking you to court. Personally, I think its a waste of time, but do you know what Her Royal Highness, our soon to be Queen said when I told her that?"

Bureno shook his head.

"She said that anyone had the right to a fair trial, including a regicide. After all, its what the old King would have wanted."

These words stirred something inside Bureno. If the Princess was willing to listen then maybe there was hope for him after all? It was a slim chance, but he held onto it, like a drowning man to a piece of driftwood. After all, it was the only thing he had.
Led outside, his hands shackled behind his back, Bureno winced and blinked a few times in the strong sunlight. Once his eyes had adjusted, the first thing he saw was a large crowd that stared with him with hatred in its eyes.

"There he is!" Someone shouted. "There's the killer!"

"Murderer!" A female voice shrieked.

"Give him to us!" A third voice demanded. "There's no need for a trial!"

Although several armed guards stood between him and the mob, Bureno still found himself shaking with fear. He knew that in that mass of people there were a thousand claws and a thousand teeth that would tear him to pieces if given the opportunity. Suddenly, a sharp pain in his shoulder caused Bureno to wince. Then he felt Lorenzo's hot breath on his face.

"Well, Master-Chef" the fox whispered, pronouncing the title in a mocking, sarcastic tone. "What do you think? Shall we oblige these good people and give them what they want?"

He wouldn't, Bureno thought, his heart pounding rapidly in his chest. The Princess wants me to stand trial and he would never defy her orders. He's just toying with me, that's all. 

"Ah, get a move on!" Lorenzo barked, giving Bureno a hard shove, which caused him to loose his balance and land face-first in a puddle, two of the guards dragged him to his feet. With that the march towards the courthouse was continued. However, the mob, feeling that slinging verbal abuse towards the accused was no longer enough had decided to switch to a more physical approach. Some individual had taken the initiative to bring a few rotten tomatoes with them and soon, the unfortunate Bureno found himself assaulted by an endless bombardment of the horrible fruit.

Eventually, tired, bruised and with his clothes covered in tomato-juice and mud-stains, Bureno and his escort reached the courthouse building. He was just about to begin the climb up the stairs which led to the entrance when a shot went out. The next moment, Bureno was lying on his back, his brains splattered all over the white stairs.

As the years went by, two popular theories surfaced in regards to Bureno's assassination. The first theory meant that the assassin had been one of the boar's co-conspirators, who had silenced him before he could divulge any important information to the court. The Second theory instead, proposed the idea that the assassination had been carrying out by a misguided patriot. There was also a third theory, but it never gained much traction. Mostly because in the years that followed, those who subscribed that theory learned to keep it to themselves.

Despite the police combing the city, under Lorenzo's supervision, the mysterious assassin was never found.




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