Inside the grand throne room, Adric and Oriana, refreshed and dressed in their regal attire, sat on the throne. The room was bathed in the warm glow of morning sunlight and an eerie silence. Assembled before them were all the ministers of the royal court.
"Welcome back, Your Majesty! We are happy to see you have returned victorious," one of the ministers decided to speak up, breaking the tense silence.
Adric’s eyes lazily settled on the minister who had spoken, before moving on to the others.
"I’m interested to know if you attended my funeral..."
The minister cleared his throat. "Your Majesty... it was... we all..."
"You’re right." Adric nodded. "You all attended my funeral, but what? Happy to see that I’ve returned? Bring another joke, and I will laugh at it." His voice dripped with disdain as he sneered at all the ministers.
The minister who had tried to speak sweetly shamefully retreated, his face bowed in utter disgrace while the other ministers looked down, trying not to meet Adric’s gaze.
"Happy to see me return victoriously, and I come back to see my entire family treated worse than thieves. I won’t ask where you all were when it happened, because you all agreed to bury me, proclaiming me dead," Adric’s words were cold, designed to instill fear in the minds of all the gathered ministers.
He raised his hand. "Rowan, bring in the main masterminds."
Rowan bowed, giving the guards at the entrance a small nod. The heavy door was pushed open, and three persons were dragged in chains. Nicholas now had one of his eyes closed, with dried blood covering it. His hair was disheveled, and the injuries Adric had inflicted on his face made him almost unrecognizable.
Gwen tried to hide her face with her hands, but the chain that bound her hands and feet together made it difficult to do so. Adelaide, on the other hand, still held her head high, walking proudly down the aisle towards Adric. When a guard pushed her to walk faster, she scowled.
"I am still a princess; don’t you dare touch me with your filthy hands," she spat, before following her mother.
As they got closer to the throne, Nicholas grinned when he saw Oriana, causing her to flinch. Her grip tightened on the chair she was sitting on. The memories of the previous night came flooding back, causing her to breathe heavily. She had thought she wouldn’t be scared if she saw Nicholas again, but seeing how her body shook at the moment made her realize she was still terrified.
Though nothing had happened eventually, as Adric was quick to take control of the situation, the thought of what might have happened if Adric hadn’t returned made her feel as though she was locked in a dark room. Oriana held her hand to her throat, trying to push her dress to the side so she could breathe.
This movement didn’t go unnoticed by Adric. He noticed the panic written on Oriana’s face the moment Nicholas walked in. Taking her small hands into his, he squeezed them gently.
"I’m right here... beside you," he whispered just for her to hear.
Oriana turned, looking into the reassuring brown eyes of the man she loved dearly. She nodded gently. "You’re right here... beside me," she repeated.
"Yes..." Adric nodded. When he turned to meet Nicholas’s eyes, his jaw tightened, knowing Nicholas was the one who had instilled such fear in Oriana.
Adric didn’t let go of Oriana’s hand as he began to address the Royal Court.
"There will be no need to spell out the crimes of these three individuals, as everyone here has witnessed them. Today, I shall give my ruling and their punishments. Here are my orders."
The ministers bowed deeply. "We await your orders, Your Majesty," they chorused.
Adric began, looking directly at Nicholas as he spoke. "The Prime Minister’s family shall suffer greatly. His children and siblings shall lose their claim to inheritance, succession, or family wealth; a penalty that shall extend to his sixth generation. All members of his household shall be imprisoned and stripped of their titles, their influence and status utterly eradicated. His wife shall be subjected to the ultimate humiliation, sold to the brothels to be used by travelers at their whim. And as for the Prime Minister himself, he shall be punished in a manner fitting his crime. First, he shall be forced to wear the Crown of Thorns, a symbol of his hubris. Then, he shall be dragged outside and displayed before the village. Finally, he shall be torn apart by two horses in the village center."
Nicholas shook his head, the pride that had been there earlier now vanished, replaced with fear. "No... just kill me! My family did nothing! Kill me right now Adric!"
Adric continued, ignoring Nicholas since he still had some personal scores to settle with him. "As for Gwen, who went against the orders of the former king, returned to the palace, and dared to lay her hands on the ruling Queen, she shall be flogged and tortured every morning in the village center. On the sixth day, she will face death."
Gwen quickly dropped to her knees, scrambling to reach Adric, but the guards stopped her.
"Adric... I’m still your mother... please... I know I did so many terrible things in the past, but I never wanted to kill Oriana or Fidelis... please, not death... I don’t want to die, please..." she begged, rubbing her palms together.
"And as for Adelaide," Adric’s eyes were now cold, devoid of any emotion. If given the opportunity, he would have wanted to do more after thinking of everything Oriana and other members of his family might have gone through at the hands of these people.
"Killing her brother-in-law, trying to kill her father and King, and attempting to kill the Queen, along with the other crimes she has committed, she will face the same punishment as her mother." When Adric said this, Rowan walked closer and whispered something to him.
Adric nodded. "Since Adelaide is the wife of the Prime Minister, she won’t die until she is done serving in the brothel, as I have ordered."
"Wife? No! I’m not his wife... Brother Adric, I’m still your sister... please... I just wanted to be useful in the royal court, to show you that I can also rule. I didn’t mean for everything to turn out like this... please don’t let me die as Nicholas’s wife; it was him who planned everything..."
Nicholas sneered. "Me? I only fed into the evil you schemed. Now you’re talking about what?... should we really start pointing fingers?"
Gwen’s eyes darted left and right as if deep in thought. Then she raised her head. "Let me live as Nicholas’s wife."
"Mother!" Adelaide shouted, shocked by her mother’s response.
Gwen continued, "It’ll be better if I live as his wife; that way, I’ll get to live longer. I don’t mind staying in a brothel..." Turning to look at her daughter, she scowled. "Why? You didn’t want to..."
"You’re the reason I am like this, if only you had advised me better," Adelaide said, trying to blame her mother.
Adric turned his eyes away from them. "Send these people out; their punishments start tomorrow. When my wife is fully recovered, as she is now carrying my heir..."
"Heir?" Everyone asked in unison, looking surprised.
Adelaide shook her head. "It can’t be... she lied to us... it’s not fair... I didn’t even know she was pregnant... how did I not know..." The princess muttered to herself as guards dragged them outside.
Adric turned to the ministers. "As you all already know, Avon and Eridor are now allies. I left for a battle that was orchestrated by my own ministers, risking the lives of my men out there, only for my Queen to be cast aside. For that reason, I shall dissolve all the ministers and handpick new ones myself."
"Your Majesty!" the ministers shouted, most of them afraid they wouldn’t be chosen again, knowing the crimes they had committed or the ones they had turned a blind eye to.
Adric turned to Oriana. "Let’s leave," he said, ignoring the pleas of the ministers that now filled the court. He left the courtroom, holding his wife close.
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