FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (104 page)

     The courtroom burst into a loud buzz again. There were a number of Thorn’s comrades who stood up volunteering for the Liberation Raid. They stood up, placed their chair in front of them and started lifting them up slightly and slamming them down in tiny hammering motions to signify their support for Thorn. Orgavian Scallern leaned back into his chair, clearly at a lost for words. He had never encountered such a thing before. It was then that the true weight of justice fell upon his shoulders and the pressure was severe and unpleasant.

     “Minvian Sayvion,” he said finally.

     The courtroom quietened down.

     “Minvian Sayvion, I appreciate your compassion for our fellow Fallsians who are trapped and suffering in Serpentia, but your request is of a magnitude too
enormous
for this court to grant. Therefore it is with the
greatest
regret that I am required to
deny
your request,” said the orgavian.

     Thorn Sayvion stood silent, showing neither surprise nor disappointment. The crowd went wild and many threw their chairs at the orgavian’s desk. The Royal Guards, who guarded Thorn, lined themselves up loosely in front of the judge’s bench facing the crowd and drew out their swords. Serene and the others drew out their daggers in response.

     “Stop, please
!
Let no Fallsian blood be spilled on my account
!
I accept the orgavian’s decision. There shall be no Liberation Raid. And I accept to be hanged,” said Thorn to his supporters.

     “Will there be another request in place of this, minvian
?
” offered the orgavian.

     “None, Your Justice
!
I await my hanging
!
” declared Thorn.

     Orgavian Scallern stood up and announced that the proceedings were over. Then he hurried out of the courtroom. The Royal Guard escorts marched Thorn out in a hurry. Then chairs flew and tables shattered as the crowd went wild with anger and disappointment. By the time the anger subsided, not a single piece of furniture was left intact.

     The noon sun shone brightly over the Kingdom of Free Falls. Specks of cumulous clouds formed overhead. Ray and Clover stepped into the interrogation room that was in the same stone-made building Thorn was imprisoned in. Sat shackled to a heavy wooden desk was Verbena Romar, looking pale and withered. There were dark circles around her eyes, her skin was dry and peeled and her lips had cracks in them. Her hair was untidy and her blank stare was eerily lifeless. The constant and continuous interrogation that she endured, coupled with the lack of sleep, had taken effect on her physical and mental health. Ray and Clover sat themselves down facing Verbena.

     “Coming _ he is not doing of this for you,” said Ray.

     Verbena was silent.

     “Abandon _ he has done of this to you,” added Clover.

     Verbena was still silent.

     “See _ of this, what do you in him
?
” asked Ray.

     Verbena was still silent, but her lips twitched a little. Ray and Clover saw the reaction and knew there were some ‘embers’ from which to draw forth a flame.

     “Valuable _ if you are of this to him, why has he not even visited you; but he leaves you cold, lonely and harassed, with your youth and your looks withering away like a dried-up flower
?
” added Clover, stroking the psychological embers, hoping for a reaction.

     Verbena opened her mouth, but no words came out. Ray and Clover sat silent, hoping not to ruin the opportunity. Verbena began mumbling soft unintelligible words. Slowly, their patience bore fruit.  

     “You… you do not under… do not understand…. Special, what we have is special…special…special, A... a fairytale,” mumbled Secretary Romar.

     “Special _ how is it of this
?
” asked Clover encouragingly.

     “You do not understand. He is handsome. He is rich and powerful. He loves me. He is to be king and I am to be his queen. He promised me all the jewels that I could dream of. All the dresses which caught my fancy. Servants to do my every bidding. A life of luxury, nay,
ROYALTY!
But now, it is gone
!
You have ruined it. I have worked so hard, done so many things, sacrificed so much and you have ruined it all
!
” screamed Verbena.

     “Royalty _ you mentioned of this, who is he and what is his claim to the throne
?
” asked Ray.

     “He will come for me. Then as queen, I shall make you suffer
!
” said Verbena in a slightly delirious tone.

     “Identity _ tell us his of this, so that we can help him become king, so that he comes for you faster and saves you from this torment,” pleaded Clover, stroking the delirium in Verbena.

     “No, I shall wait for him. Show him my loyalty. He will love me even more for this. He will reward me. He will spoil me with gifts and all manner of luxury. I will become queen. I… I will become queen
!
” Verbena said in a delusional state.

     Ray decided to try a different angle. Instead of preying on Verbena’s desperation, he decided to attack her pride instead.    

     “Feel _ does he do of this in the same way for you
?
” Ray asked.

     “Of course he does, who can resist my looks
?
I conquered him with my smile and charm. Melted his heart with my flirting. Enslaved him with my seductions. He is mine
!
All mine
!
” Verbena stated in a smug manner.

     “Old _ what if you are of this and your looks fade; and your smile and charm withers and your flirtations and seductions falter, do you think he will still love you
?
” asked Ray, hoping to go in for the kill.

     “How dare he
not
love me
!?
I have given so much
!
Sacrificed so much
!
Endured so much
!
Why, I shall have him killed
!
I shall have him poisoned and disposed off
!
I am queen
!
I can do whatever I want
!
” expressed Verbena angrily.

     “Command _ do of this then, my queen, tell us who he is so that we can poison him; dispose of him, as how you wished,” Clover said, playing along with Ray’s plan.

     “Poison him, yes
!
Poison him, but not before he makes me queen, Ha
!
Ha
!
Ha
!
But be careful. He has many bodyguards. Suspicious men. Cautious men. You must be stealthy. But do not stab him
!
Do not kill him with the knife or shoot him with an arrow
!
Do not stain his clothes. He does not like that
!
Let him die looking elegant. It would have been his dying wish, yes, let him die in his elegant clothes,” said Verbena like a mad woman.

     Ray was getting excited. Verbena was close to disclosing Lord Destiny’s identity.

     “Elegant _ he will be of this when he dies, we promise you this, but tell us now who he is so that we can poison him,” encouraged Ray.

     “He is…. He is…. He …. My love, my Lord Destiny,” Verbena said as she passed out and slumped her body on the desk.

     Ray slammed his fist on the desk in frustration. Clover covered her face with her hands and shook her head. They were so close to exposing Lord Destiny’s identity. So close
!
But it mattered not. In a few hours they would try again.

     A flash of lightning streaked across the darkening, cloud-covered late-evening sky. The sound of nature’s anger followed suit like an explosion from the heavens. Cold liquid pearls dropped from the sky above. Then it poured. And on the soggy ground below, the lonely and weak figure of Dawn Breven sat shivering with her back against the trunk of a large tree. Her horse was tethered to one of the branches. Dawn had entered Tower Forest two nights prior. Tower Forest was the border between North-western Falls and Eastern Falls. She had constructed a simple and wide raft that carried her and her horse across the river that separated this forest from Shadow Forest. After the crossing, she had dismantled the raft and scattered the bamboo that she had used to construct it so that they looked just like random debris.

     Dawn looked up at the pouring sky, unsure whether to curse the heavens above or thank them. The rain not only made her cold and wet, but forced upon her a difficult decision. Her horse would be leaving clear footprints in the wet, muddy ground and this would be detrimental to her escape. She would have to abandon it. She would have to set it loose to run wildly so as to misguide her pursuers, while she made her way by jumping from tree root to tree root so as not to leave any footprints of her own. If her plan fails, she would have lost an excellent mode of transport. But if her plan succeeds, she would be totally free of her pursuers.

     Dawn reached for a canvas bag that was attached to the saddle and removed it, and then set her horse free to run off wildly. Dawn looked at the canvas bag in her hand. It had a strap with which she could sling over her shoulder for carrying. She sat back down against the trunk of the giant tree and examined the bag’s content, which up until now; she could not manage to do properly as she was so preoccupied with evading capture. She knew there were slices of bread wrapped tightly with long, waxy leaves because she ate a few of them over the past week in addition to the few wild fruits that she had managed to find.

     Dawn’s detailed examination revealed a hunter’s knife sheathed in a wooden scabbard, a bamboo water container, a small rectangular cooking pot, and two small canvas pouches, the first containing rice grains and the second containing a flint rod, fishing hooks, needles, threads, bandages and a bottle of salt. There was also a neatly folded, small, thin canvas blanket.

     The bottle of salt was immediately useful. She had some cuts on her face, arms and legs and applying some salt to the wounds, although it would sting, would help them heal faster due to the salt’s antiseptic qualities. She covered herself with the blanket to keep from the rain and applied generous amounts of salt to her wounds. Her face cringed as she held back her screams from the pain of the sting. She also discovered that she had picked up quite a few passengers on her, for when she rolled up her pants, there were a number of leeches on both her legs. A generous dab of salt dealt fatality to these parasitic creatures. Then she closed her eyes and went to sleep for the first time in a week. Her mind shut down immediately and she was drawn into a temporary blackness where neither the cold nor the wetness bothered her.

     As the sun rose again from the horizon on the
17
th
Day of Fourth Month of Dry Season
, a runner approached Ray in his office to deliver a message. Ray, Clover and Serene were summoned to the king’s private study immediately. The trio made their way with haste. They walked through the open door of the study, bowed to King Patrum and took their seats when offered. The king was seated on his favourite chair and wore a worried expression.

     “Matter _ of this, why are we summoned, Your Highness
?
” asked Ray, breaking the silence.

     “This is regarding Verbena Romar. Her solicitor had approached me with a request. Hah
!
Request
!
More like an
ultimatum
!
We must set a date for her trial and the date must be before the 22
nd
of this month, or we shall be required to release her,” said the king.

     “Reason _ of this, why is it so, Your Highness
?
” asked Ray.

     “We are required by law to try the criminal within 15 days of her initial arrest, and in failing to do so, we are required to release her. Forget not, she is a civilian. She is not military. So the laws which she falls under are different from that of your friend, Thorn Sayvion,” explained the king.

     “Delay _ surely, Your Highness, you can command that the trial be done of this, after all, you are the king,” said Serene.

     “Possible _ I do not think it is of this, cousin,” interjected Clover.

     “Your cousin is right, Minvian Genox. The law
is
the law and as king, if I do not conform to the law, then what sort of example am I setting for the people
?
Even kings are subject to law, lest we be seen as tyrants and cause an uprising against ourselves,” King Patrum pointed out.