《Qaya: the tale of the singular duo》 Why am I here? "It hurts, it hurts so much" Qaya winced Her vision was blurry, but she saw the sad, regretful eyes of her murderer. "was she being sympathetic" Qaya mused as she felt life leaving her. In her mind, she screamed "how pathetic! at least own up to your actions, goody too shoes". She spat blood and waited for death to take her. As she looked at the ceiling, she thought about how she had spent her life. "This is my wake up call" she joked in her mind Everything seemed so slow. *BEFORE THIS* "You can''t keep doing this" Melinda fumed. "who are you to tell me what I can and can''t do? I am not harming anyone" Qaya stood up from her typewriter and gave her friend the stink eye. "you don''t think anyone is being harmed? you defame people in your articles" "and?" this was Qaya "You really think you''re not doing anything wrong." Qaya sighed and chugged a small bottle of rum, making a stank face. "when did I say anything like that? I''m aware that I''m not righteous but what exactly do you think you can say to make me change" "This will eventually backfire" "I''m tired, I just finished tomorrow''s story. I want to sleep early so I can send it to the press." she yawned and slumped into her bed. Melinda stared at her snoring friend and looked at the story her friend wrote. "you really aren''t redeemable, are you?" Qaya broke out of her reminiscing and looked around, it was pitch black. "is this death? disappointing, really" But it was peaceful, the cold wind titillated her eyes, she drifted to sleep, could someone die after dying? "Qaya!!! for this evil you''ve done..." the woman could not complete her sentence, she was dragged away by the prison guards. Qaya picked her ears nonchalantly and turned to the king. "leave us" his baritone voice prevailed through the court, and while there was visible disapproval of his conduct, the court officials started leaving one by one. "when I told you to get rid of dame Marie, I did not envision that you would dig up such heinous things on her" "of course because I didn''t" the king feigned a frown and shook his head disapprovingly "No, you mustn''t say that, it was clear that Dame Marie obviously was involved in the arms trafficking case" The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Qaya smirked understanding the King''s words, the lies she had fabricated had become truth, after all, the King''s word is law. "seeing as I proved to be responsible, I trust you will deem me fit for more responsibilities" "of course, the office of minister of information has been vacant for too long" "I had no idea that Sir Milton had resigned" "not yet, but soon" he gave her a malicious grin "your efficiency proves that you are worthy to be king" the king giggled "I am glad you think so." Qaya left the court feeling giddy but she made sure to maintain her composure. her countenance became bitter as she saw Melinda. "sadist..." Melinda mumbled but when she noticed that Qaya did not care to confront her, she spoke louder. "Guilt must be an unfamiliar feeling to you. You destroyed a woman''s life, destabilized her household but your eyes sparkle" "it would be stupid of me to do those things and feel sad, after all I meant to do it." "so you admit to setting Marie up, how? with what resources?" "what exactly are you expecting? that I give you a long monologue about the execution?" "you''re doing this for what?" Qaya sighed "Melinda, I respect you, you manage to make money without killing people and all but no one cares about the good or tame news...people feed on gossip, I provide that for them. I''m content with that alone." "it''s...the king...you know you aren''t indispensable to him, right?" Qaya rolled her eyes "see you at home" In Easteford, survival was based on either or both of these things: Family or Status. Qaya was an orphan, at least that was the better thing to say against being a child bought out of slavery by the king. she did not have family to rely on, so she had to build her status. "I guess it''s bad that I decided to take the easy route" she mused Qaya, even though she was far from the goal she had in mind, was known by everyone in Easteford, especially the capital as "the Harbinger" This alias was actually a standalone news agency, solely managed by Qaya. Despite being a commoner-owned-newspaper, it was immensely popular for exposing corruption among the nobles, this was the reason why commoners loved it. the nobles also loved the paper but for different reasons; the paper was a front for saboteur. Nobles with grudges came to the Harbinger with requests to ''dig up dirt'' on their foes. One would think with such patronage that Qaya was well off, she was but "it could be better if that King did not monopolize my services. What do you mean, I can only work for your people?" Qaya grumbled. "it''s alright once I get a place in the ministers'' council, I''ll be a noble" *** "what''s this? why do I keeping thinking about my lifetime, is this what death is like? is this a way to punish me for my misdeeds? am I supposed to feel regret or guilt?" "why am I..." her voice trailed off as she closed her eyes again. "I promise this is the last time, this isn''t for me but for you...this is the only obstacle keeping you from being the information minister" The king pleaded Qaya shook her head "this is hard, must I do it?" "Sir Milton gave Melinda the power of attorney and resigned. I may be king but there''s nothing I can do to put you there, you just have to dig up dirt on her" "you mean plant dirt" he gave her a stern look "will you do it?" "of course" she responded dryly. "can I sabotage Melinda?" she thought to herself as she left the King''s office and her inner voice replied "do you need to actually make up stuff" "of course there''s always the possibility that overly-righteous-Melinda has a dark secret but I can''t bring myself to actually do that. I''m so pathetic" Later "DOES THIS STILL COUNT AS NEPOTISM? THE MILTON-MELINDA AFFAIR" This was harbinger''s top headline, everyone was talking about the woman in an affair with a man old enough to be her father. "it''s one issue to fornicate and an even more serious one, to do so with your father''s peer." "to think she did all this for a measly information minister post, utterly disgusting" "she was probably hoping to climb higher once she got into the council" Melinda grimaced as she heard all the slanderous statements against her. But these people were not her enemies after all. She stormed into the house and met Qaya lounging. "Really? Qaya! really?" "what is the problem?" Melinda scoffed and slumped into the chair, her head in her hands. "I thought this would be better than actually uncovering a deep secret of yours" "My real secret is tame compared to this. I wouldn''t mind one bit because it''s not Harbinger-worthy" Qaya scratched the back of her ear "so why exactly did Milton give you power of attorney?" "what right do you have to ask that?" "did you not come here to change the news, give a new insight and clear your name?" "what?! this is my house, I will eventually come here" "oh..." Qaya looked on absentmindedly. "Did you really think you''ll get the information minister post by doing this?" Melinda asked scornfully but did not get a reply. "you make me sick" Qaya''s eyes were closed, she shrugged at her roommate''s comment, she didn''t really care after all. in Qaya''s mind, she knew that Melinda was above her own despicable standards, she was the kind of person that always thought Good will prevail over evil...but, now, as she lay in a pool of her own blood, the knife in her heart taunted her for believing in Melinda''s piety. "I get that what i did was mean but even I could have been spared a gruesome death" Even after being stabbed, because Melinda was a novice in handling a knife, her wound was not fatal. So for a long time, even though she lay motionless, Qaya was breathing, she was alive. she could hear her heartbeat fainting, fighting against the sharp metal pushed into it, she could feel blood leaving her. "who put you up to this Melinda?" That was the last thought in Qaya''s mind when she died. *** "Do I also get to be in heaven?" Qaya muttered, her mouth was bitter. she looked up at the most splendid ceiling in the world, her eyes scanned her surroundings. she was in a luxurious bed with comfortable bedding. she heard a woman shriek "the young mistress is awake" "that hurt my ears" Qaya paused and turned around so fast. someone said the same thing as her, at the same time? she was certain that wasn''t her voice, surely... "what in..." Who am I? "Do I also get to be in heaven?" Qaya muttered, her mouth was bitter. she looked up at the most splendid ceiling in the world, her eyes scanned her surroundings. she was in a luxurious bed with comfortable bedding. she heard a woman shriek "the young mistress is awake" "that hurt my ears" Qaya paused and turned around so fast. someone said the same thing as her, at the same time? she was certain that wasn''t her voice, surely... "what in..." Qaya was stunned by her complexion, she was normally tan but now she had fair and pale skin with occasional freckles. she looked around for a mirror this was not her but this was her reflection, not her face. A plump woman rushed in with a younger lady following behind her. "in this trying time, God has decided to bless us, he has returned Ms Heris to us" the woman sobbed. Qaya looked on at them in a daze and the first words that came out of her mouth were "I''m starving" "it''s a given you''ve been taking nothing but sugar water" the younger woman commented and went out. but she came back inside almost immediately. "what day is today" she asked smelling her own breath, and shook her head in repulsion. "oh my, how you have suffered" the plump woman fell in hysteria and wept. Qaya was still in a daze and watched in curiosity at the drama before her. "I doubt the afterlife is this theatrical" the crying woman paused, looked at her master in shock and wailed. "the afterlife?! The heavens rebuke it" "forgive nanny" the younger lady chipped in "it''s only natural she acts this way, everyone else was certain you''ll die" "you were sleeping and wouldn''t wake up no matter how hard we tried to wake you" Qaya just nodded "so what''s today''s date" "Monday the third day of the seventh month in the tenth year of King Awin" " the same day I died" Qaya noted in her mind. "I would like to speak to a physician, one versed in psyche" "we have sent word to the family physician of your consciousness, he will come with his colleagues and disciples soon" the plump lady answered cleaning her face. A servant walked into the room with a tray of custard and omelette. Qaya wiped the drizzle of saliva and waited patiently for her food to be set. as soon as the food landed, she devoured it. "you''ve been asleep for a year, do you not want to know what happened all that time?" the younger lady, Jaslin asked In between mouthfuls, she replied "I don''t think I missed much". Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. "The Heris household is nearing collapse and it''s all because of that darn Harbinger" this was nanny Qaya paused and swallowed her food "what?" "they set up madam Marie Heris as an arms trafficker sponsoring treason and now the head has..." "what did the head of Harbinger do?" "the king put the head of Harbinger as the new information minister and now she announced in her paper that you''re an illegitimate child, that did not learn from your mistakes..." "what?!" Ms Heris bellowed in the ugliest voice "the Harbinger has told the whole of Easteford that you''ve been absent from the public gaze because you''re pregnant" "what? I didn''t do that?" "of course, you were in a coma all these while" "the head of Harbinger? when did she become information minister, I thought..." "my lady, the information minister told the whole world this morning, that she was the one handling the Harbinger, singlehandedly too, at least until today" Qaya no longer felt like eating, as everything sunk in. suffocating nausea overwhelmed her "you mean Melinda Charmale said that?" "my goodness how did you know that Melinda was the information minister, she just took the post a week ago" Nanny asked in shock but was cut short by Qaya retching, she had thrown up. they hurried to clean up the mess. "I''d like to be alone" an exhausted Qaya muttered as she slumped in her bed, rubbing her throbbing temples. the two women wanted to protest but when they saw the grave look on her face, they left. " I am Miss Heris, Dame Marie''s daughter. but... I am..." she shook her head, this was too much, was her mind fractured. This situation was something out of a children''s tale. her mind went to the king. "what exactly is Awin playing at?" she thought for a while and chuckled "he promised the information minister post to the owner of Harbinger, not Qaya Wright. slimy bastard" "why didn''t I die? I had completely forgotten about The Heris legacy and anything else while I was Qaya Wright so...." she shook her head violently hoping that the jigsaw of a situation before her will be solved. A knock on the mahogany door broke her out of her reverie. "young master, the physician and his companions are here" "they may enter" the physician was an older man in his fifties, he used a cane to support himself because he had a limp. Behind him were about five people, men and women alike. the man gave a bright smile "Qaya, you are well" she froze at the man''s words "what did you just call me?" the physician looked around confused and slightly embarrassed "my apologies Ms. Heris, I watched you grow and took care of you, so the urge to call you by your first name was..." "No, do not apologize, it''s just... that name felt familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. it almost felt wrong that you called me that, but I like it, you can call me that" The old man took a seat beside her and gave her a pat on her dark curly hair. "I made sure the maids tended to your hair, we all know how much you treasure them" Qaya smiled brightly at him "I am one lucky niece, aren''t I?" The physician smiled back "your mother would have been so angry if she heard you say that" "Uncle Francis, I need to consult you on a matter... privately" the man scrunched his face in worry and slightly hesitated. He signalled to his students and they quietly left. "what is it?" "I was scared to say this because I thought you would deem me mad but..." "it''s okay, you can trust me" she nodded "is it possible that someone in comatose can live as another person, in their state of unconsciousness?" "what?" "as I snapped out of my daze, I was certain that I am The Heris Heir, Qaya Heris but I am also certain that just this morning, at dawn, I had completed a twenty-year-old life as Qaya Wright" Francis looked skeptical "it''s possible that your brain concocted that story, that would explain the unusual passage of time" "I can tell you things that happened this past year while I was unconscious. For example, eight months ago, The King signed a treaty with the boarder countries that for military assistance, the Kings of the other countries will pay dues... everyone estimated that this was the King''s sly way of taking control of the other countries, but then again a country that can afford military supplies shouldn''t be on its own in the first place and again..." Francis was still doubtful "Jaslin was reading the news to you, everyday...you were probably hearing and this influenced your comatose dream" "oh really" she sulked "don''t be angry, I don''t think you''re mad, but think about it, you can''t be two people at the same time, you were unconscious for one year and lived a twenty year life as another person in that same space of time and in this same period, it''s highly unlikely" "I am certain that my life as Qaya Wright was real" the man looked on in silence for a long time, "you haven''t left your bed since you woke up? try and take walks around the estate, it will help" "okay" "I''ll be sure to visit outside of working hours" he picked his cane to leave, limping away. she didn''t reply, she was thinking about what he said. he spoke the truth but she was also convinced of her own experience being real. she climbed down from her bed but still her legs felt wobbly, Nanny entered and became frightened at the sight before her. "calm down, nanny, I wanted to take a warm bath and walk round the estate, that was the prescription I was given" "very well" the woman replied. Qaya noted that she seemed more level headed now. After her bath, she sat down in her robe, her hair dripping. Jaslin entered into the room "you will catch a cold like that" "what are you doing?" Qaya asked in an alarmed tone,as she saw Jasmine taking out all her clothes "I thought you had outgrown wearing outfits with trousers" "I will surely inform you when that happens" "I assumed you were wearing clothes like these because of Dame Marie. forgive my impudence" "it''s no problem" Jaslin started drying her master''s hair " the family physician told me and nanny of your...um" "do you think, I''m running mad?" "of course not, it just seems rather..." "far fetched? I understand how absurd this is" "especially since I''m technically behind my families mishap" she said the second part in her mind "Qaya wright, you say that''s who you were yesterday and twenty years ago, when you are in fact nineteen??" "I am getting irritated" "forgive me master" Nanny burst into the room looking frantic. "so much for being level headed" Qaya mused. "The Harbinger has struck again and this time..." "The story of Qaya Wright: The Milton-Lackey" "Why???" Qaya wailed in her mind I was right after all Nanny burst into the room looking frantic. "so much for being level headed" Qaya mused. "The Harbinger has struck again and this time..." "The story of Qaya Wright: The Milton-Lackey" "Why???" Qaya muttered as she stared at the bold print before her. "Qaya Wright was a real person after all" Nanny remarked. "read it to me" Jaslin nodded and obliged. "Sir Milton is unarguably one of the most respected men in the country, not just because of his vast wealth but for the commendable deeds and sacrifices he''s made for this nation. one can almost say that a noble like him is too good to be true and that''s right. Behind his nice and polite demeanor sir Milton has been using one Qaya Wright as a lackey. further investigation into his personal enterprise revealed that Sir Milton would pimp his lackey to his competitors in business, find intel on their enterprise or personal issues and either blackmail them or use this information to their advantage..." "that''s enough" Qaya snapped "my apologies, it seems like they are using Qaya Wright to get rid of Sir Milton" Nanny interjected "surely no one will take her seriously, not too long ago there was an article about her affair with this man. that means..." she was cut short by Jaslin. "It says here that Qaya Wright was found murdered at a barn managed by the Milton family" " they are trying to set him up with my death." "wow so Melinda could actually stoop to my level, no this is beneath me because I would never defame a dead person and tarnish their dignity like this" Qaya mused. "So Qaya wright was a real person that died just when you regained your consciousness. this is too much to be a coincidence but how is this even possible" Jaslin asked as she dropped the paper and went into the closet to bring out Qaya''s outfit. "we can think about that later, for now we have to keep The Heris household from collapsing, get my mother acquitted and clear my name" the two women nodded. "this will be a load of work" Nanny added "I am fully prepared" Qaya and Jaslin decided to visit Hillian House, it was a recreational house, that all the nobles visited to catch up on gossip. she was hoping to meet Esquire Rachel, she was one of the most reputed barristers in the capital, and Qaya especially liked the woman because of her cunning and wit. when they got into the building, people immediately started talking, it was first of all about her dress. she was dressed in a decorative grey jacket and trousers, it was aesthetically appealing but not socially appropriate. she waited in the Grade-A lounge, hoping that she would catch sight of the Esquire before she left. she heard mutterings of people around her, peering at her. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "Jaslin I am feeling peckish can you get me some pastries" "yes Ms. Heris" "is this a craving of yours" a man jeered as soon as Jaslin stepped out. "that only happens when you''re pregnant not after you''ve given birth" another, a woman joked. they all laughed but Qaya rolled her eyes, refusing to entertain their rubbish. "she must be feeling shy because after all pregnancy out of wedlock is not something to be proud of, at least she has some shame" another woman added spitefully. the others nodded in agreement "you must envy out-of-wedlock pregnancies, seeing as even after being married you are unable to conceive" Qaya replied, never raising her eyes from the book she was occupied with "how dare you?" "it was just a guess, I know that the last time I saw you you were yet to conceive, and even now you don''t look like you''re expecting or have had a child at all" she lied, after all it wasn''t a guess. "what do you mean ''guess''?" "I guessed, I have been in a coma for over ten months, even a year now but I mean what does that matter, everyone was hoping i had a child." "I wonder how that happened, where did such news come from?" She faked a confused look and scratched her head. "Ma''am, I came with a dark chocolate cake" Jaslin came back into the room, feeling the hostility that pointed towards her master "thank you" The first man laughed heartily "of course she couldn''t have been pregnant, who could impregnate a man" they all burst out laughing. "forgive my impudence, Ms. Heris, obviously a man will not see a fellow human with such build and want to bed them" another added they all laughed and were pleased with their retorts. this time Jaslin stepped in "I expected more from you Sir Gome, after all you are married to Madam Gome" Everyone kept mute. Mr Gome was infuriated. "how dare you speak of my wife in such a manner" "who''s she" Qaya asked feigning ignorance, Jaslin whispered into her ear. "ah yes" she exclaimed excitedly "I would never say anything against Madam Gome, I know people say she looks like a boar and that it''s impossible for anyman to be with her, but I for one know not to throw stones from a glass house" Jaslin added "Mr. Gome, I hope you can also apply that to yourself." As everyone stared in awe at how Qaya and her friend handled their taunts, a woman walked in, she had a pair of glasses resting on her nose, her blonde hair was beginning to be gray, but you could tell she was a beauty in her youth. "Excuse me, I''m told Ms. Heris inquired of me" "yes, I did" "let''s talk some where else" Rachel looked over at the people in the room almost condescendingly "I would love to" they got to Rachel''s suite "allow me to serve you" "there''s no need, I have just finished eating cake" "as you wish" the older woman put away her glasses and sat in the chair opposite Qaya. "I would like you to represent me, I plan on suing The Harbinger for Libel and defamation" Rachel nodded "I see, but I must have you know that it''s an unspoken rule that, that news agency works for the King, the man that will precede over the case." "I am well aware of this, I don''t plan on winning the case, I just want...." she swallowed back, she felt a sharp pain in her throat, even though she knew who she was, she couldn''t bear the thought of Qaya Wright''s work going down the drain. "I just want The Harbinger to lose credibility" "..." "I know that even that is hard seeing as the king uses it to spread his own agenda but even the king can''t control what everyone thinks" "I''m afraid people can no longer think for themselves" Rachel retorted "Then I will do so for them." "that''s all for now, Jaslin will tell you everything I know. I just woke up from a coma , so I need to rest and think, get used to reality. " Qaya left alone, leaving Jaslin to attend to Esquire Rachel, ironically she was in a better place to account for Ms. Heris life, this past year. Qaya closed her eyes, craving sleep but the arduous road and the rocky path, would not let her sleep. "what can I do? there''s so many questions that need to be answered, why did Melinda do that" she sighed, "I really want to rest. I was so caught up living as Ms. Wright that the succor I wanted, was to leave a quiet, stress-free and drama less life, you would think living as an heiress would get me that but....Argh" Soon, everyone caught word of Qaya''s audacious appearance at Hillian house. And word had begun to spread that Qaya was in fact in comatose the past year and was not pregnant, people had begun to question what mal-intentions Melinda had against the Heris family. "see, it eventually backfired" Melinda grumbled and put away the cup of coffee, fuming. "I am beginning to lose face over what? a family that was bound to fall anyway" "calm down, you have the backing of the king after all, what better reputation is there?" Awin joked while scribbling in his journal "why does the Heris family cause you so much headache?" Melinda asked as she flicked a speck of dust away. the king gave a patronizing smile almost as if to shut down the matter. "I don''t think our partnership has matured that much for me to tell you that" "you would have gladly told Qaya, I reckon?" "too bad she is dead" Melinda did not know why but the King''s presence left a bad taste in her mouth, he said she had his support but it was obvious that he was only supporting his own cause. But she also knew that the king dealt with her with such levity and friendliness, that even Qaya had not experienced. she would endure the bad taste, it would have to become the norm for her. "Very well, I plan on going to Hillan to salvage what''s left of my reputation" The king looked up from his journal, shrugged and continued with his work. "I''ll see myself out" she curtsied and left his office going straight to Hillan. she was not prepared for what met her there; what was waiting for her. As she entered, she could feel everyone being feverishly excited, they could almost not contain their joy and expectancy. she stopped at the great lobby, as it was called, not bothering to book a suite or lounge. "is anything the matter?" she asked loudly enough for the whole room to hear, and the room was indeed large. "forgive them, they''re expecting a showdown" Melinda froze, she felt unfamiliar feelings today. As she heard the lady''s voice, she spun around. A tall lady, with dark curly hair and grey eyes looked at her. Melinda instantly knew that she was Ms. Heris, the lady she had slandered. she knew how she looked, among their age grade, She was notorious for being a hypocrite, there was no proof of Ms. Heris hypocrisy except for the fact that everyone collectively felt that beyond the facade of a quiet, introverted lady that avoided social gatherings as best as she could, the thinly veiled truth was that she was filled with disdain for the rest of them, others even said that young mistress Heris avoided people because there was no other way to hide the hatred and ill-intent she had for humans. "Good day Ms. Heris, I imagine you''ll handle this matter with civil discretion" she said between a feigned smile Qaya equally beamed back "you are definitely right, I plan on acting in the most civil way possible, that''s why I''m taking you to court for your misconduct" I was right after all (2) "Good day Ms. Heris, I imagine you''ll handle this matter with civil discretion" she said between a feigned smile Qaya equally beamed back "you are definitely right, I plan on acting in the most civil way possible, that''s why I''m taking you to court for your misconduct" Melinda''s jaw dropped, what was happening? this, in itself wasn''t unpredictable but still she was taken aback. "Ms. Charmale, endeavor to keep your poise, My family name has been grossly tainted by your paper, I am not resorting to unruly methods because I want to be gracious. so do not make me feel like I have done wrong" "I did not lose my poise, I was just impressed that you thought to sue someone that enjoyed immunity" she replied with a smug look. the smile on Qaya''s face immediately fell, her gaze darkened and she almost looked disgusted "to be honest, I feel insulted. You berate my intelligence, I know that you know that I can sue you based on Eastefordian entity laws, because you acted in a capacity outside your political duties or did you not know? do you really think because the king ''backs'' the Harbinger, it has now become a government institution? surely you can''t be that stupid, so why then did you say such rubbish to my face? you must have thought my brainless self would run away." some people snickered, the sight before then was just what they wanted. who would win? everyone was eager to find out. Melinda kept quiet because she could not give a fitting reply to Qaya''s rants, she felt cornered. Esquire Rachel appeared "from now, anything regarding this matter should be addressed to me, I am Lady Heris''s representative. Melinda cleared her throat and looked away "My representative will speak to you" Melinda left in anger. "this is not why I came". her mind went to Awin, what would he say to her? she''s overreacting and needs to calm down, that''s what he always thought. "so annoying" she breathed "then again I AM overthinking it, King Awin will handle this" Meanwhile As Qaya got to the family residence she met her uncle''s carriage. "word really spreads fast" she mused. Her uncle was in the garden, he was reading a book and fumbling with the handle of his cane. "you must have heard" "this is only a stupid thing to do, if you just plan to really sue the Harbinger and expect justice to be served" the girl snickered "I am almost heartbroken, uncle...I must be stupid then" the man frowned and she burst into more laughter. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. "I only kid you, that is not all I want from this" "Qaya, I hope you take my counsel" "I feel like I might not" "your father, not just him but the whole family can help" Qaya almost jumped out of her seat from shock, she looked around "what you ask for is taboo, uncle Francis...the least I can do for my mother after everything I''ve done is not defy the only rule she gave me" "do you think your mother cares about grudges or principles in the state that she is? think about it, there are so many benefits. you''ll enjoy protection since our family is a foreign family of diplomats, you can utilize the chain of businesses to your advantage, ''Hear'' that''s the name of your father''s newspaper agency, it is influential outside of Easteford, so it''s also useful" "you sound very convincing but I still can''t do that, my mom will never regain her title, she''ll be Madam Mariale, do you know how much her title is to her?" the man shook his head, he looked disappointed "your mother is in prison, she''s not a mistress in there...at least having the great Mariale family backing you will ensure that your mother is acquitted and you''ll have a real shot at this litigation matter." she fell into deep thoughts and after a while finally spoke out "so you suggest that..." "yes... that you initiate an alliance between the two families" Qaya was silent, she knew that joining hands with one of the most powerful families in the continent would be advantageous but she couldn''t defy her mother, it was bad enough that she was the reason why all these bad things had happened. "I''m tired, uncle Francis, I am genuinely tired. The day of the hearing the court was filled with the palace officials, some journalists and people related to the litigants. "there''s a great chance that I''ll get something from this" Qaya whispered to Jaslin, she looked over , not many people were siding with Melinda. it was only her right hand woman that sat down... Qaya''s gaze stopped on someone else sitting behind Melinda "what are you looking at?" Jaslin shook her, when she noticed that she was no longer listening. "what?" " I asked why you were confident that something good will come from this" "oh, well because people hate the Harbinger, they also fear it because they know that it''s only a matter of time before it comes for them, so deep down they want it to fail" Jaslin nodded in understanding. Qaya continued "and see, the other journalists from competing papers will have to paint the Harbinger in a bad light" "I understand but..." "it''s okay, Jaslin, worry about nothing" The king walked in everyone took a bow and waited for his signal to take their seats. the proceeding started, the air wasn''t stiff but everyone felt uncertain, the king was known to be flexible with how he conducted cases, it was almost arbitrary. he gave a cheerful smile. "so does The Harbinger accept that it defamed Lady Qaya?" Melinda''s representative spoke up "the article was written without ill intent, my client was only acting based on Intel and was well in the confines of free press" The king gave a sarcastic chuckle "without ill intent you say, a great number of nobles will disagree. you say you had Intel, are you sure it wasn''t hearsay? can you prove to me that you had reliable Intel? well not reliable seeing as Ms. Heris wasn''t with child" Everyone looked on in dismay. what was the king playing at? But no one was as shocked and betrayed as Melinda. her representative turned to her, she had told him not to bother doing extra work because the king will take care of it but now he was bombarding her with so many questions. Awin looked at his pocket watch "I do not intend to wait long, I will deliver my judgement, I will leave The Harbinger''s fate to Ms. Heris" he turned to face a dazed Qaya. she regained her composure and flashed a knowing smile. "thank you for your fair judgement, your majesty, I will like the Harbinger to drop a disclaimer clarifying that they had made a blunder about the pregnancy issue, AND that for two months, they be put on probation, the Harbinger will be unable to drop expos¨¦ articles. "quite a generous punishment" if you ask me "what?!" Melinda did not know when she screamed this, she caught herself and sat back down. "anyway, I accept this punishment on behalf of the Harbinger and I issue the injunction that the Harbinger acts accordingly to Ms. Heris''s demand" "court dismissed" everyone stared on as the king left, they had expected the battle to draw out, with the king trying to protect his lackey but it seems no one was indispensable. Melinda left immediately, she almost ran to the King''s office, she needed an explanation. when she entered, the king greeted her with a smile like he didn''t just serve her to the dogs. "I know you don''t think much of me, but even this is too much" she wanted to continue ranting but she felt her voice break, she wanted to cry, but she couldn''t, she wouldn''t "your representative prepared haphazardly if I might add. he couldn''t even prepare anything, maybe falsify evidence" "you and I both know that it''s within your power to rule in my favour" "likewise, I am in no wrong ruling in Qaya''s favour" "Qaya? what does she have to do with anything?" "I believe he was referring to me" a third voice called out. "what?" Melinda turned to see the visitor in the King''s office "Don''t tell me, you didn''t know my first name, you keep hurting my feelings every time we meet" Qaya joked Melinda looked at the fourth person in the room, that accompanied Qaya, he was an older man with grey hair stopping at the base of his neck "who''s he?" Qaya ignored her question and turned to Awin "I wanted to ask if you could make an adjustment to the judgement...to be specific my name" "what is it that you like? but isn''t it too late? the public should have been informed of this" "I have done well to inform other journalists...ah yes, Ms. Charmale is also here so I trust that even the Harbinger will make this change, I will like to be referred to as Heris-Mariale" Theres no villain here Melinda felt like an outsider watching everyone in the room, she finally understood why Awin acted the way he did, Mariale was the grand ambassador and the fourth most influential man on the whole continent, he owned companies that significantly affect Easteforde''s income. Between her and a person of such standing, it''s obvious who Awin would pick, how presumptuous of her to think the king would protect her no matter what? She felt a tug at her heart, it was violent, almost like the intent of the tug was to displace her heart. she could feel her eyes. brimming with tears. "I will see myself out" she mumbled dejectedly and walked quietly like a defeated dog. "I''d like to have a word with Ms. Charmale" Qaya announced after seeing Melinda leave. she didn''t know why, or what she wanted to see but she knew that, that was the best thing to do Melinda stopped as she sensed Qaya following her "I presume you would like to make your victory sink in and revel in my misery" Qaya snickered "surprisingly I feel no such thing Ms Charmale" "then why are you here? since you''re so kind as to not feel resentment, I wonder if you plan to convert this villainess" this time Qaya burst out laughing "you? villainess? I''ll have you know this much; I am in no moral capacity to rebuke or advice you" she suddenly became somber "let''s just say we''re even and do not think I do not hold any resentment" "what?" "when I see you Melinda Charmale, head of the Harbinger I feel nothing but resentment and anger" Melinda felt cold and rigid as Qaya said this in a bone chilling smile. "I came here to let you know that I do not care for you whether you live or die, or be the richest or poorest person but I will make sure that the Harbinger becomes useless in your hands" "that is what I really want" Qaya thought to herself "Qaya wright cannot claim The Harbinger back, I also have no right to it, it hurts that the very thing I had cared for my whole life to elevate myself from a peasant to a rich commoner was taken away. The Harbinger was my own brain child but Melinda for some bizarre reason usurped it. if I can''t have it, I will not let her benefit from MY own hard work." Qaya after being certain that she had made her message clear, turned to leave. As she came out of the building, she met the Esquire and jaslin conversing. "Esquire Rachel I would like to ride with you, we have matters to discuss." the older lady paused, thought for a while and turned to her servants "be on your way, I will meet you later" When she was sure that that the Esquire was settled down properly, she spoke up "thank you for today" "I was hardly allowed the avenue to show my skills, this case was easier than I had anticipated" "maybe, you could get another chance to REALLY help me with your dexterity and intellct...on a long term" If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "I don''t suppose..." "yes Madam Rachel, I would like for you to become an advocate and solicitor working for my family, I assure you, your skills will be much needed and used" "I do not know if I should be excited or worried that you''d be needing my services frequently" Qaya chuckled "I''ll be needing you for official business, I plan on entering a venture" Rachel rested her head against her fist. Qaya could read the very visible look of scepticism on her face and her thinking of how to refuse Qaya without breaking the cordiality between them. "it would do you well to be the legal representative of the Mariale family as much as it will do us well" "..." "I am certain you must have an idea that the Heris Household and the Mariale house have merged" "I am aware of that and also the fact that my conditions for accepting would be tiresome for everyone." "that''s a given, you are the great Esquire Rachel, one of the greatest authorities on law in our time" "so I will prepare the contract" "seeing as you have consented to the arrangement, I feel it''s only fair to inform you that I''ll be making an appeal to acquit the former minister of information" Rachel looked up in shock but quickly recovered, "I''ll prepare for this immediately and we will sign the contract on the day he''s acquitted." "I look forward to our cooperation" Dylan Mariale walked around pensively. he almost felt jittery, he was usually a stoic man but family matters tend to make an overly emotional man, he slumped into the chair he was offered. he had just left the King''s court and gone straight to the prison facility with a document requesting Marie''s release. he was both excited and scared that he would be seeing the love of his life who hated him to the bone. "what in heaven''s name" the voice of the utterer made Dylan Mariale spin so quick "Marie" "what is this? I told you that you had no right to appear before me" "as horrible as this may sound, I had no intention of putting myself through this misery but fate had different plans" "fate" Marie scoffed Dylan rolled his eyes and handed the document the king assented to, over to her "that bastard let me out on bail? and what is this? Dylan why am I called Marie Heris-Mariale here?" "I also didn''t agree to the order, is Mariale-heris not more pleasing but Qaya wanted otherwise" "Qaya?" "yes, she was the one who made me sign the family merger and she also struck a deal with King Awin to release you" "what? she''s awake and the first thing she did was all this? and what kind of deal did she make?" "don''t worry I will bear the brunt of the deal, all we offered was a waiver on the rights to tax the King''s men on the Mariale territory north of here, apparently that was a tempting offer the king couldn''t refuse" Marie nodded "it''s all because of me that my baby has a hard life" "do not sulk, let''s get you home so you can meet your daughter". **** "it''s not yet time to celebrate, nanny. we are yet to prove my mother''s innocence" Nanny pouted and put away the wine she brought, just then Jaslin walked in "Nanny isn''t usually one to revel like this" "what can I do when the Almighty has been so good to me, Madam Marie and Qaya are back to us" Jaslin chuckled and turned to Qaya "what do you plan to do" "bring Harbinger down" "hmmm?" the other two women turned to look at each other confused. Qaya, on the other hand, ignored their confusion and continued her monologue. "Melinda will release an official statement retracting their statement causing them to lose credibility, I will have to take advantage of the probation and take over the market" "how..." "My father has made me head of ''Hear'', I plan to use it''s influence abroad to my advantage" Jaslin nodded "that''s all well and good but will that help Madam Marie clear her name?" "of course I''m aware that the king would not just acquit my mother, so the only way we can remove the blame from her is to find someone else. In this time that The Harbinger is not writing expos¨¦s, ''Hear'' will bring to light the real person behind the weapon trafficking and we can also leverage on Qaya Wright''s murder and prove Sir Milton''s innocence that''s enough to make people put the faith that was once in the Harbinger in us" "wow, that might just work" "the time window is short, we must get people to find evidence" Jaslin cleared her throat "my lady, I understand what you said but it will prove hard to uncover the truth, because whoever is behind this would have taken great care to cover their tracks" "who said anything about uncovering the truth" Qaya smirked A servant ran in, looking jittery and excited "the madam has arrived" Qaya sprung from her seat and made her way to greet her mother. Marie had changed into more befitting clothes, Dylan on the other hand stood away from Marie. "welcome mother" Qaya embraced her mother and swallowed her guilt "I''m sorry" "why should you be sorry? you couldn''t help it after all" qaya nodded and sighed she turned to Dylan "father, how did the meeting with Awin go?" "father?" Marie looked in horror Qaya sighed "yes, I have to call him that, after all he IS my father and in exchange for such wealth, prestige and luxuries, addressing him by such appellation seems more than fair" Marie shook her head "I must have been gone so long. Qaya you sound nothing like you used to." Qaya flinched "I also hardly believe who I am nowadays" Marie stared at her daughter for a long while " I wanted to make a joke but you became serious all of a sudden" "I think my mother''s making excuses" "I think my daughter''s offended" Dylan sighed and muttered to himself "Francis, this is hardly a better life" *Five days later * on the terrace to Qaya''s room, a figure slipped in and tip toed cautiously into the room. "you''re not asleep?" the figure whispered in a gruff voice that was blatantly feigned Qaya was initially in surprise then horror. "I was at least hoping to give you a painless death, sadly fate as decided to deny me that too" before Qaya could yell for help, he lunged at her. Darkness hides in the light On the terrace to Qaya''s room, a figure slipped in and tip toed cautiously into the room. "you''re not asleep?" the figure whispered in a gruff voice that was blatantly feigned Qaya was initially in surprise then horror. "I was at least hoping to give you a painless death, sadly fate as decided to deny me that too" before Qaya could yell for help, he lunged at her. Qaya was quick to dodge but he was able to hold her before she could flee and his grip was strong. "tell me, what do you want?" "I have come to kill you" "sorry I can''t take you seriously with that voice" Qaya giggled and simultaneously tried to wriggle her hand from his stronghold. "tell me, if you''ve come to kill me. shouldn''t you do so immediately?" "you must not fear death" "of course I fear it but more than that is my hatred for living a worthless life" the man kept quiet and his grip became loose, Qaya removed her hand and frowned at how red her skin was. "I came here in a temporary lapse of judgement" "I see, you''re not an assassin; you decided to do the deed yourself. that''s either prudent or reckless" "I''ve heard that you''re a sadist who hates people but isn''t too mean to do the same evil that was dealt to you to someone else?" "who are you? and what are you talking about?" "I am what my friends call a morality police and I came to dispense justice because you falsely accused a family for something they didn''t do" "oh!" Qaya exclaimed and sat on her bed "you speak of Oseanria?" she mumbled inaudibly "Jaslin, it would have been better if I had framed them, then this assault would have been fair" "do you intend to speak to me? because I cannot hear you" The man''s weird gruff voice asked "you come to my room in the dead of the night to kill me for something I didn''t do. So morality police, what would your own punishment be?" *five days ago* "Qaya may I have a word with you?" this was Jaslin "what''s the matter?" Qaya asked softly and motioned for Jaslin to sit by her side "I take that you don''t plan on finding the real perpetrators, you just want to shift the blame from your mother" "well, you said there''s no time to uncover the real culprit after all and I cannot have my mother walking around as a traitor for long" "my lady, if we go that route it will eventually backfire. you intend to upstage the Harbinger but this will make us no different from them" her voice became more solemn "Qaya, to have popularity one can try and leverage on scandalous stories but to have credibility, trust and longevity one must use the truth" Qaya sighed and looked defeated"I would be a monster worse than the king if I didn''t heed you after such a compelling monologue" Jaslin inspected her lady''s face, she appeared deep in thought. Qaya looked up. "since you insist, I give you three days to find the culprit because time is not on our side." Jaslin first of all appeared frightened by this order but she understood where her lady was coming from, so she conceded. "to make the search easier, limit your investigation to the King''s supporters in the noblesse circle" "why? the King''s own supporters? planning treason?" "planning treason is highly unlikely because the king was aware of the arms trafficking case but decided to pin it on someone else, so that could only mean he was protecting his own while removing the opposition" "that makes sense" "it will be easier to focus on the families with enough capital or the ones close enough with the king to be able to afford such a large scale enterprise and in secret too" "I understand" *back to the present* "just who are you , morality police to come in here and try to kill me" Qaya was trying her best to envision more than the silhouette of the assailant but he had his face covered she snickered and looked at him in disdain "quite the gall you have here, coming to my house and trying to murder me on some stupid pretext of morality. did you even investigate the truth or wait...are you the son of the family; come to take revenge?" Stolen novel; please report. she caught him flinching and pushed him away he staggered but was quick to get back on his feet, now defensive and ashamed. "what do you have to say for yourself hypocris?" "hypocris?" "I know not your name and I doubt you''d give it to me and it''s better fitting than whatever appellation you may have" she strolled to her vanity table and picked an issue of ''Hear''; the one that featured the expos¨¦ about the arms trafficking case and waved it at him. "everything in this paper is true, and I tell you this truth was not easy to come by. but indeed the Oseanria family has been sponsoring a whole black market for guns and cross bows as early as five years ago. the reason why they were able to do this is because apart from siphoning funds meant for the people under the care of their estate, they have a secret sponsor, one I can''t possibly uncover" "nothing that is written here was fabricated and even if it was, it''s not by my hands" the man was utterly confused and ashamed, he wanted to go out so bad. he was right about this being a lapse in judgement "but did that mean Ms. Charmale lied" he thought to himself feeling betrayed "it can''t be" Qaya was not done with her lecture "And even if I did lie, on what grounds and in what capacity do you have the right to decide my punishment" he stuttered at first but later found words "in truth, this revelation makes me completely disgraced and ashamed. I wasn''t in my right senses..." "surely, you do not think that is all you''ll do for recompense?" he shook his head "I should decide your punishment, since you are ever so excited to do so for others" the man knelt down in surrender and dropped his weapon, he couldn''t speak for the humiliation was much too great and his stupidity was now biting him in the back but this single gesture made Qaya understand. "I am gracious, I''ll have you know. so I''ll instead take a favour but not now, in due time I will ask for my pound of flesh " he looked up startled, she reassured him "no worries, I have no idea who you are but on the day I need you I will display a scarlet performance so loud to see that you will hear of it, and come for recompense. for now, I will enjoy you wallowing in your guilt" she turned knowing well he wouldn''t dare leave while her eyes were still on him. and in a split second she felt a cold swish of the wind...he was gone. the morning of the next day Qaya and Jaslin made their way to Hillan house to enjoy delectable pastries and catch up on gossip. Qaya especially enjoyed being here because she could arrange her thoughts and think of the next step of her plan, which was surprisingly hard to do in her own home because of the tension that now existed with the Heris-Mariale merger. she also wanted to build connections, people were beginning to see what she wanted..to replace The Harbinger. she didn''t necessarily want to converse with them but she had to build a better standing. in the Grade-A room: the gossip center of the Hillian house, Qaya''s mind wandered to Qaya...Qaya wright. She''d been preoccupied with restoring reputation and all but she still hadn''t got to the bottom of the bizarre lives she lived and is living. "things will fall into place eventually" she sighed "people are always trying to be hopeful even when everything is hopeless, so pathetic" a voice from the other side of the room said, the utterer was audibly irritated another responded "of course, everyone knows that Milton or whatever he calls himself killed the lady so why ask for an appeal?" Now Qaya had her ears pecked up, people had gotten word of her appeal to reconsider Sir Milton''s conviction? "I wonder who spread it" she asked herself but had a rough idea "heavens know what Awin is planning now" "why do you seem so agitated? were you acquaintated with the lady, Wright?" Qaya asked, the people turned to her stunned that she had joined in on the conversation, she wasn''t one to talk if it didn''t concern her. "genuinely I do not care for the lady, I heard she was a middle class commoner with close relations to high nobles, people like that are never up to good" Qaya gritted her teeth but she couldn''t deny that, maybe that was what upset her. "but I also do not care for Sir Milton, he''s overbearing and likes to act like he''s all perfect and blameless. so it''s satisfying to see that he''s nothing but the scum of the earth" at that moment Melinda walked in, she was accompanied by a lady and a lad. Qaya inspected them. the woman seemed quite controversial in Qaya''s mind as she seemed to be of higher standing than Melinda, her clothes, disposition, gait everything spoke volumes that she was not just a low born person or an ordinary noble but she stayed behind Melinda almost like a servant...that seemed degrading, rather, a lady in waiting. Qaya''s gaze moved to the man that accompanied them. She''d seen him before at the defamation hearing. he overall seemed uninterested, save for the occasional looks of admiration at Melinda, he held no other emotion in his face. she inspected him, he was not very tall but then again she was tall for a lady, so that may be why she viewed him that way. he looked unruly with his tousled hair, she didn''t know if it was because of the light but she could also see occasional grey hairs, that intrigued her, she was convinced only elder people had that but this man was barely thirty, he could even be younger. "earth to Qaya" Jaslin teased "I feared you might steal his chastity with your eyes" Qaya shook her head, showing disapproval at her own actions "forgive this vile child, it''s just that it''s not very often that you meet a man so pleasing to the eyes" "I understand my lady, but you were no different from men who hoggle at ladies" "I should disagree, I held no lascivious thought, I only looked in awe" "might I join in the conversation?" this was Melinda addressing the whole room. Qaya smirked "how was she always readily available when I seek to embarrass her" she thought to herself in delight "Ms. Charmale, you need not ask. your insight is much needed in the matter" Qaya answered giving a subtle nod of courtesy. "thank you and it is Minister Charmale to you" Qaya smiled "we were just talking about your predecessor, I am aware that he gave you power of attorney and it was you who revealed his misdeed...I don''t want to plant seeds of doubt but the situation doesn''t leave me without questions" she lied everyone began murmuring "Sir Milton gave her the power of attorney? that changes everything" Melinda twitched, she looked to her companions who seemed to be looking at her for an answer. Before she could rebut Qaya''s statement, she cut in "Ms. Charmale see that you do not misspeak, the truth will come out eventually" "what makes you think I will misspeak. it is true that Sir Milton and I were on good terms, so good that he gave me power of attorney and deprived his own children but when I found out his misdeeds, I simply couldn''t look away" Qaya snickered "I see. surely his ministerial position must be the only thing you took, you are not living on the ''murderer''s'' luxuries?" "what are you infering?" Melinda asked now defensive. "it''s just that you have made two false claims in the past, one about my pregnancy and another about my mother''s involvement in treasonable arms trafficking, it''s only reasonable to be doubtful of your claim taking that into consideration, especially seeing as you benefitted immensely from his conviction" this time Melinda was mad with rage " just who are you? who do you think you are to be questioning me like this? what right have you?" Qaya laughed heartily "sorry for not clarifying earlier on; I am the one who moved for the appeal " Justice accompanies the main dish... Melinda walked briskly into the premises, she was at the King''s palace. She breathed heavily because the quarters where he enjoyed spending time was quite far from the main palace. But it wasn''t the only reason that made her heart race, it was the thought of what would happen if she was uncovered as Qaya''s murderer. "Stupid, stupid.... you''re just so stupid, Melinda" she scolded herself. A guard stopped her from entering the chamber were the king was. "The king will not see anyone today" he mumbled, not even bothering to look her in the eye. He had delivered the message, he didn''t care how it met the recipient. "Tell the king that it is I and that it''s very urgent. I require his audience" The guard sighed. What was so urgent? He stood still for a while, contemplating if he should take her serious. Before he could make up his mind, the king called from within the room. "Let her in" Melinda, upon hearing his words, quickly rushed into the chambers. She was so frantic that she was embarrassed by her own disposition. She gaped at the king as soon as she entered the room, he was laying lazily on his bed with his top half bare, she looked away bashfully. "What''s the matter?" Awin asked, his eyes closed; this made Melinda frown, did this man take her serious? "I''m here because of Sir Milton''s appeal, Ms. Heris is the one pushing for it, so I''m forced to believe that there''s cause to worry" "Have you no faith in me" from his voice, all she heard was drowsiness "Should I come back another time?" "You mean after I''ve given my verdict" he mocked "Your highness, forgive me for being ''unnecessarily worried'' but I have to be sure you will be by my side because as it is you have a fondness for Ms. Heris" The king snickered and opened his eyes "fondness? You''ve been nothing but bizarre today, lovely Melinda. I just wonder why you are so perplexed someone could hear and actually think you''re the real culprit" he ''tsked'' and got up from the bed. She froze for a while and after she managed to compose herself, she nodded "I must just be overly emotional concerning this case, seeing that the victim was my friend." Awin nodded in approval of her response "exactly! minister Melinda, I will make sure the perpetrator pays and no harm will come to you" He stretched and put on a shirt "it''s a pity that dear Qaya died really" Melinda flinched "it really is" "Your highness what do you plan on doing" Awin couldn''t help but scowl "why do you ask? Of course I will deliver justice" "The hearing is tomorrow" You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. He rolled his eyes and dismissively waved "Melinda, be at ease and go home, I want to rest" She stood for awhile and looked at the king, just why was she tolerating this man, even he didn''t ask for it...so why in earth was she doing this. She resigned to her fate and retreated back to her home. after all there was a lot of preparing to do. The hearing The King''s court was full to the brim and many commoners were waiting outside the building hoping to get a glimpse of what was being said. Sir Milton''s family didn''t even make an effort to come, Qaya and her family sat in their place instead. Qaya was deep in thought, she knew that the king wouldn''t possibly throw Melinda out to the dogs, at least not like this. Among all of his minions, she was the only one that was genuinely loyal to him, without eyeing his riches or authority. "So what will he do? He''ll want to appear like a just king but this situation might prove troublesome for him and myself" she thought Marie''s light tap broke her out of her reverie. "Arise, the king is here" She was about to oblige but the king was already seated and motioned for them to seat, his eyes locked on her. "Guilty" Dylan Mariale joked as he nudged his daughter. "We are here to reconsider the conviction of Milton Carlson, the fifth knight of the imperial order and former minister of information for the murder of Qaya Wright, he was convicted on the grounds that the victim''s corpse was found in the premises of which he is lord of." "I request that the convicted''s representative give a defense" Rachel stood up and bowed before the king "The evidence against my client is strongly suggestive and not sufficient enough to declare his conviction. There is lack of motive and he has an alibi at that" The king looked offended but shrugged it off with a smile, she had subtly questioned his capability to dispense justice, he wanted to punish her but she was within her means to say it and she was a foreign woman who was the widow of the Galaruan family, the most powerful family, even her late husband''s father was his mentor, so he would overlook everything. "Go on, don''t tell me why he shouldn''t be convicted, tell my why he''s innocent" Rachel flashed him a wry smile and turned to look at Qaya, who gave a nod of approval in return. Awin caught this and became pensive and excited at the same time. "I will like to first of all quash his conviction and redirect the court to finding the real culprit and I will do so by firstly summoning a witness" The king smiled, he knew where this was going, he waved his hand and Rachel understood immediately "I summon Ms. Charmale" Melinda Stood up, went to the front and bowed to the king. She looked utterly expressionless, but she was nervous inside. "I summon you because you play a pivotal role in this case" The other woman nodded in understanding "What is your relationship with the convicted" Melinda swallowed, she slowly looked at Sir Milton but he didn''t even look her way, she deserved it. "He was my mentor, before I became a minister myself, I admired his uprightness in business and government affairs and approached him to be my mentor" "You say you admired his uprightness and yet you published an article on YOUR newspaper, announcing a sacrilegious relationship between the two of you" The king couldn''t help but cover his face in annoyance, he was regretting his past decision. Qaya chuckled "stupid people" Melinda did not flinch "I didn''t" Everyone gasped; did this woman think them fools? "You see, I used to have a partner, this person was the one who made this claim, this person was infact Qaya Wright, the victim. That was why I was certain that Sir Milton had killed her in a fit of rage for her actions" "So you lied initially about you being the sole operator of the news agency?" Rachel turned to the audience ignoring the king "it''s almost as if, Miss here is a compulsive liar, she has a track record of making false claims." She then turned back to Melinda" I could also say that you yourself had killed the young lady in a fit of rage, you after all benefitted the most, you had Harbinger all to yourself and with Sir Milton''s conviction you became the minister of information" "Wrong, I became minister of information before that, he had already resigned from his post" Melinda corrected "I see" Rachel replied and smiled at the woman "This woman all the same lacks credibility..." Melinda cut in "I am very much aware that perjury is a grave crime, so I do not lie when I say that I believe that Sir Milton killed Qaya" "Okay then tell me, how did you find this out and what made you come to this conclusion" "I saw her body and a few hours before that Sir Milton had gotten rid of a bloodied shirt and when I queried him, he said he visited his son-in-law''s abbatoir" Rachel laughed heartily, it startled the crowd. "forgive my behavior, sacred court but according to the account of Harbinger and by proxy Ms. Charmale, the body was discovered in the wee hours, Ms. Charmale claims she discovered the body herself and alerted the authorities and that she had seen the convicted getting rid of bloodied clothes few hours ago, am I right?" Melinda nodded "So my question is what was Melinda doing in The Carlson residence at such unholy hours, because as it is, the only plausible reason I can think of is if there was a overly high level of inappropriate intimacy between the two that would cause her to be in his house at that time or she was there disposing of the body" The people gasped, either way did not speak well of Ms. Charmale, what was she to do. Melinda was about to speak when Rachel cut in "remember Ms. Charmale that if you do perjure and are caught you''ll not just be stripped of your title but imprisoned for no less than five years, if you were legitimately in his home, servants will be able to attest to it" Melinda''s face fell and she could no longer speak. The king cut in "I have other pressing matters to attend to, the hearing is adjourned to two days from now, seeing as Ms. Charmale is brought to light as a reasonable suspect, she shall be placed under total house arrest with no form of communication." Melinda did not flinch. This time she would totally trust the king no matter what. She had no other choice. ... Justice is the side dish... After the first hearing, it spread like wildfire that Melinda was probably the culprit. And everyone started doubting everything the Harbinger ever said, people started making appeals for all the other people that had been exposed by The Harbinger''s expos¨¦ column. Awin was so upset, that he completely disappeared from the palace. But no one bothered looking for him, they didn''t even know he left because of how angry he was. "I''m just happy that you could get Sir Milton out of prison" Qaya said as she drew Rachel into a hug ."I am hardly impressed with myself, after all he''s still under housd arrest" she pointed out "It''s much better than his previous state" Rachel shrugged "He''d like a word with you, Sir Milton" Qaya sighed and looked over at the older man from afar, he was now in better clothes and was waiting for his carriage, a few guards from the prison were with him. "I presume this is the only time we''ll have to speak before the next hearing" Rachel answered in the affirmative. " Then, we shall speak after his acquittal, there are matters I must tend to" Qaya, deed down could not bring herself to speak to him or anyone she''d wronged whilst she was living as Qaya Wright, not even her own mother; the guilt was too much. She shook her head as if to scatter the thoughts of self pity and hatred and turned to Jaslin "Where''s the journalist that came from ''Hear''?" "I''ve called for her already" She beckoned a young lady to come and the other woman in turn scurried, her face mirroring anxiety. Qaya smiled and looked at her fondly "you must have been so scared, thinking they would catch you" she said this because the press was not allowed to join the hearing on the King''s orders, while sneaking in here would elevate ''Hear'' as they would have an exclusive expos¨¦, the journalist could not help but fear what the king might do to her if he found out she disregarded his order. "No" the reporter lied Qaya laughed again "anyway, do not speak of the court proceeding" "What?" Both Jaslin and the journalist asked in unsion and confusion "I mean when you speak of this, do not refer to the hearing. Just provoke the public by asking stirring questions about whether or not The Harbinger, or rather Ms. Charmale was responsible for this in the first place and raise a question on whether or not The Harbinger has ever spoken the truth" The journalist''s face was blank at first and this annoyed Qaya "Don''t you understand?" "Oh...infact I do. I was already picturing the article" Qaya smiled in satisfaction "how old are you?" The journalist blushed "twenty four" "I imagine I should speak to you with respect, there''s a five year gap after all" If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The woman shook her head vehemently "please do not do so, you are much higher in standing and people may misunderstand" "I only said this, because when I met you, you acted so young and bashful that I myself insinuated that you were younger and if you didn''t notice I was addressing you in such manner" Jaslin laughed "I doubt someone younger than you could have taken such a station in life as to be head writer and junior editor in ''Hear'' " Qaya pouted "I am sure a gifted eighteen year old could do such things" "Indeed" Jaslin added in a sarcastic tone. As they were walking out of the court, Qaya bumped into someone, he was the man that followed Melinda into Hillan house the other time and he seemed to be arguing with a man. She stopped and turned to them "I simply ask that before she''s put under arrest, that I speak with her" the man declared, the other man that he was speaking to, the head of the prison did not seem to budge. "Excuse me" Qaya chipped in "apologize" The man turned and looked at her in confusion "for what matter?" "You bumped into me" He shook his head "I have not moved from this spot, you came from another point does that not mean YOU were the one who bumped into me?" "I see then I apologize, dear sir" she turned to go then turned back again "I really advise that you don''t tire the head of prison affairs with obnoxious demands, if there''s something you need to know, ask from me. I will prove to be reliable information" Once they were in the carriage Jaslin asked "why did you drag that matter? It was unlike you" "I''m happy that you know me so well, I was finding out something" "I see, you must be upset that the one you are enamoured with is in love with another" Jaslin teased and laughed when she caught Qaya recoiling in disgust "Unrequited love is not something I''d like to add to my burdens" She commented, the rest of the journey back home was silent. When they got home, they met Marie tending to paperwork and murmuring. She raised her head up and smiled as she saw the two girls. Qaya''s breathed hitched, she''d been avoiding her mother since her arrival, what was she doing outside sitting in the living room. "Welcome, why didn''t you join my carriage after the court hearing? I''ve missed you" she asked and opened her arms requesting a hug Qaya loosened herself and embraced her mother. "I had to speak with different people" "Oh really, I thought you were avoiding me" "Mother, I could say the same, you never leave your room or join us for dinner, this is the first time, I''ve seen. You outside your room since you came back" "I was avoiding someone but not you" Everyone in the room knew who she was talking about. "I take he''s not around" Qaya asked looking around "You must like him more than me" Qaya had no idea what she was meant to say, for the past three weeks that she''d woken up from her coma, she couldn''t sort her feelings, she was still very much Qaya Wright emotionally, she couldn''t see Marie as her own mother yet, even though she was certain of it. She didn''t want to lie or say the truth, they were both dumb options. "Mother, it appears that way because I have been away from him my whole life, I just want to spend the time I have missed with him" "I take it that you blame me" Qaya rubbed her eyebrows together "you had your reasons" "I still do" Marie interjected but she was shocked when Qaya walked away not even bothered to continue the conversation. Jaslin bowed in apology on behalf of her lady and ran after her. Qaya slumped into her bed and sighed "Jaslin do you know what Ive craved since I woke up?" "Tell me" "A life where I can just lazy about, eat, sleep and make money and after this whole saga with bringing Qaya Wright''s muderer to book, i can have just that" she smiled. "Do you really think so" Jaslin asked and Qaya''s eyes snapped open (cause they were closed before) "I hope so" "I heard that the Lord won''t be coming home tonight" Qaya gave a sigh of exasperation, if her Father didn''t come home, her mother would wander round the whole house and then ask to talk to her. Suddenly, an idea sprung into her head, she gave Jaslin a mischievous smile, the other looked from tge magazine she was reading. "What''s with that look?" Qaya rushed to her side and gave a more mischievous smile and poked at her playfully .Jaslin giggled and pushed her hands again. "What do you want?" "I''m planning on going out...alone" "Then why tell me, you want me to dissuade you?" "I''m not coming home till dawn , tomorrow and I can''t go out in the clothes I have" " oh you mean the ''i am a trend-setter and rebel'' clothes you have" " You know I mostly wear clothes like that because I don''t look good in ladies attire, I am much too burly. I missed that about being Ms. Wright" Jaslin frowned "so what should I get you" "You know that one time when Uncle Francis bought me a dress to wear on my birthday" "You told me to keep it as it gave you bad memories" "Did I say that? I remember being pretty in it" she averted her gaze from Jaslin ''s shocked look. "I''ll go on and bring it but it might be small" "Let''s pray it isn''t" The dress fit and Qaya could sneak out of the premises. She went to a popular shack in the ''slums'', that was popular as it was both a bar and an inn. She used to visit regularly when she was Qaya Wright and fought with Melinda. She ordered bread and cheese with rum, something she used to complain about but had recently been craving. The inn was full of that''s what Qaya thought, so she sat at the verandah at the back about to wolf down her dinner when she caught a man sleeping with a ''peaky blinder'' covering his face, she stared at him, inspecting him. She was startled when the man suddenly spoke up whilst his face was still covered. "Just who do we have here" he moved and removed his cap, getting up. Qaya scowled, of course she just had to forget that she used to come to meet Awin. Justice is the side dish (part 2) The inn was full or that was what Qaya thought, so she sat at the verandah at the back about to wolf down her dinner when she caught a man sleeping with a ''peaky blinder'' covering his face, she stared at him, inspecting him. She was startled when the man suddenly spoke up whilst his face was still covered. "Just who do we have here" he moved and removed his cap, getting up. Qaya scowled, of course she just had to forget that she used to come to meet Awin. Then again even if she remembered, she wouldn''t think he''d decide to make a journey the same day as her and seat in the same place. "Quite the surprise seeing your highness here" she muttered and turned to eat her meal "Awin is just fine, I am here incognito" "Oh I see" she replied and kept to herself. Awin couldn''t help but eye the food she was eating suspiciously "Stale bread and dairy is not something I imagine a noble of your standing to enjoy, did you order it yourself" Qaya groaned in her mind, why was this man making small talk? "Someone recommended it, this is my first time here after all" He nodded and didn''t probe further even if he wanted to, he wanted to ask who made such a recommendation but already caught the exasperation on Qaya''s face. "I do not usually come here you see" Qaya unconsciously squinted, doubting what he said. "I only come here when I am I in need of release from life''s burdens" he walked over and sat beside her and held her bottle of rum inquiringly, asking for permission. She obliged and he took a swig. "Why do I feel like you lie?" Qaya teased. She knew that the idiot was lying. This was where they would meet up to scheme and it was very frequent so how could he say he didn''t usually visit, and was he always burdened every time they met? "I do not lie, for what reason do I need to lie? I am just in the spirit to share my own burdens with someone else" Qaya rolled her eyes, the king caught this and chuckled "there was once a time I came here often that it worried those close to me" "Why?" She asked wondering if he would infer to Qaya Wright "The burden of the crown is much and the throne seat is tiresome, for a young man that''s been seating on it for ten years, I was but a young teenager when I ascendes the throne, I was not initially fit to shoulder the problems and concerns of a whole nation, so I would sneak away here and help the owner cater to his customers. That is how I spent my rebelling years" "I see" "You appear uninterested" "I do not intend to be rude but your words do push me into slumber" The king laughed and stood up, going back to his initial seat. Qaya''s eyes followed him. "You come here to seek release, so what burdens you now?" He smiled and looked her in the eye "you" "I must correct you, you mean the court case" "I make no mistake, you make me pensive and restless, it annoys me" "I am honoured to hear that, but I must say that I am also restless thinking of how you would rule this time. Surely you don''t wish to let go of Melinda" He scoffed "you also think she did it" "Why shouldn''t I? It seems the most logical and probable conclusion. I am just worried that once Sir Milton is acquitted then you''ll have to pin the blame on an innocent person" Awin shook his head and gave Qaya a look that resembled mockery "I do not intend to acquit him, so kill that pipe dream of us" This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. .... She didn''t know what came over her but she found herself in the Galaruan Hotel, where Rachel resided. Just as she stood in front of the suite that Rachel stayed, wondering why she was here, Rachel came out, stunned by her presence. "Qaya? What are you doing here" Qaya blinked as if waking herself from a daze "may I come in?" Rachel shook her head, "the room is being cleaned why don''t we take a walk in the garden" The walked quietly to the garden, safe for the occasional greetings to people they met on the way to the garden. When they finally got there, Qaya found herself admiring the garden "I think I have found my new favorite place" Rachel looked amused and held her companion by the shoulder "when I met you just now, outside my room, you looked so pale" "That''s just how my skin is" Rachel laughed at the comment "you looked like anger drained all the color from your body, you looked deathly pale, I was worried that''s why I suggested you come here to put your mind at ease" Qaya sighed and stopped twirling her hair "can I join your counsel for this case" "What? No!" "Why? Tell me what I''m lacking I''ll see to it that I fix it" For a moment Rachel was quiet and inspecting Qaya''s face "what''s the matter, it past midnight, did you suddenly get this idea and rushed over here?" Qaya kept quiet, it was because of Awin, he had challenged her so, telling her that he would see to it that Sir Milton was not acquitted. He spoke down to her like he knew she couldn''t achieve anything. She couldn''t sleep in the same place where her worst enemy was, not after that ''threat''. Even if she decided to disregard it, worry wouldn''t let her sleep. Her legs brought her here without her mind''s consent and she''d made this request on a whim. She finally replied "I just want to take an active role in this case, it is the only way, my mind can be at ease. It''s not that I don''t trust your capabilities but I don''t trust myself to rest easy just sitting in the sidelines" Rachel nodded "I see but I also can''t let you be in my counsel, you are no barrister" "Can I not join as a student, I won''t speak up, I''ll prepare the paperwork and give places to poke at, I am more involved in this case than you think" Rachel looked around almost frantically "go home, tomorrow morning, you''ll follow me to the directorate of legal studies and I will register you as my student" "Why must I go home?" "What?" Rachel asked in disbelief "This is a hotel after all, I will take a room and sleep there, it will be much easier and faster to do this" Rachel sighed; what could she do? Her mind was made up. The next day After the formalities of registration at the directorate of legal studies, Rachel and Qaya made their way to the Heris-Mariale mansion. It was Rachel who insisted; while Qaya wanted to stay back at the hotel to discuss the case, Rachel worried about her being away from her home for too long and suggested that they discussed in Qaya''s residence. By the time they arrived, Jaslin was waiting outside with Marie. One looked scared, the other seemed disappointed. They came down from the carriage and greeted they other women. "You snuck from the house" was the first thing that left Marie''s lips, she seemed hurt and this confounded Qaya "I apologize mother" Marie''s gaze moved from Qaya and Rachel "where are you coming from?" "The Directorate of legal studies" Rachel answered "your daughter has offered to be my student and a member of my counsel in tomorrow''s hearing" "Yes mother, we plan on discussing the case here, so I''d hardly have time, so how about both of us have breakfast together" the only reason why Qaya suggested it was so that her mother would not catch on the fact that she was avoiding her. "That aside, it really bothers me, I mean the level of interest you display on this case, because in truth, I am only sympathetic towards Sir Milton, my dear friend, I really do not like Qaya Wright" "Why''s that?" Jaslin asked confused and looking at Qaya "She''s just like her friend, Melinda_stabbing their benefactors in the back" "You were close to her" Marie nodded "I regret it, it''s just that when I met her, she reminded me, so much of my Qaya who was at the time in a coma, I treated her like my daughter...only for her to frame me" Jaslin turned to Qaya "are you alright?" Qaya shook her head "for some reason, I suddenly have this splitting headache. Mother I might not be able to join you for breakfast after all, I think the excitement of becoming a barrister got the best of me, I will take a short nap" "I might have to stop you" Jaslin announced "you have a guest" This alarmed Qaya "at this time, its the fourth hour of the day***" "It''s Rivan Ceric" "And who in heaven''s name is that?" Qaya exclaimed now getting annoyed. Jaslin inched closer to whisper into her ears "the fine lad that you''ve been eyeing" Qaya turned away in disgust "I will see him in the East terrace send some refreshments for him and juice for me. I don''t intend to wait long" "Madame Rachel, forgive this stupid child but our meeting will have to wait till the afternoon" Rachel waved dismissively "do not worry, take your time, I am sure your mother will take care of me in your absence" Marie nodded in agreement and watched as Qaya begrudgingly went to meet her visitor. When she got there, he was fidgeting with his pocket watch and brushing his hair with hands, he looked upset and frustrated. "Surely my tardiness isn''t the one causing you anger" she called out. He turned to look at her, his face in a smile "Of course not, an old habit of mine. I find it hard to just sit still and have nothing to do. I am quite scared of boredom" The refreshments arrived, Qaya sat down and took a sip of her juice "I was merely bluffing when I invited you to seek answers from me, I didn''t really think you''ll come" "So you don''t have any answers?" " That''s not what I said or rather, not what I meant. It''s just that nothing goes for nothing" "What do you want?" He asked putting away his pocket watch. "Who are you to Melinda and what affections do you hold for her?" His left eyebrow twitched "for what use is such information" "I need to know, the higher your expectations of her, the higher my use of euphemism to narrate her deeds" "I immensely respect her" "You also admire her" He kept mute but Qaya didn''t care, she kept talking "it''s much better if you admit to that if you only respect her, with the revelations that have unfolded this past day, you''d have lost any bit of respect for her. But something makes you too stupid to understand it... love" "I''ll have to correct you, this is not love but trust" "Blind trust is born from love" Rivan rolled his eyes "please just answer my questions?" "Ask them" He took a pause "I find it absurd that I am coming to you for information on Melinda when you people aren''t close in the slightest" "That''s a lie, everyone keeps their friends close to them and their enemies in their heart. Ms. Charmale and I are rightly close" "I met her fairly recently when she was working for Sir Milton and she had nothing but respect for this man, that''s why I find it hard to believe she framed him. If she did, Why?" Qaya smiled and looked at him in a forelorn way. After meeting Melinda a number of times, she now had a rough idea of why she did everything she did " I can tell you the answer but I am far too kind to put you through such torture" "It will be much better to admit that you had no idea" "But that would be lying, because I do. I can only tell you two things" she stood up to leave. "Melinda is the real culprit and it''s not that she''s a horrible monster, ''she''s just blindly trusting''" Revenge is the main dish The day for the hearing came and most people anticipated that it would be the last hearing for the case, since ''Hear'' had successfully convinced the majority that Melinda was the most probable culprit. But the people who were aware of the king and the head of ''the Harbinger'' friendship doubted this. They were certain the king would fight tooth and nail for his loyal minion. This time around The Carlson family came along with Sir Milton, thought their relationship seemed frigid. Qaya looked around for Melinda and Rivan but she only saw Rivan and the other woman that had accompanied Melinda to Hillan house the last time. "What exactly are you planning?" She muttered to no one in particular and took her seat beside Rachel. The king strolled in twenty minutes late and bowed in apology. "Seeing as I have taken much of your time, we''ll solve this speedingly" "I smell foul play" Qaya whispered to Rachel, who just lightly patted her, telling her to calm down. Awin inspected the room "where is Ms. Charmale?" The lady, who Qaya now presumed to be Melinda''s lady-in-waiting stood up "as she is under arrest, she has decided to remain in her home" The king didn''t even hide his smirk "I see, as she is now a suspect, wouldn''t it make sense for her to be here?" "Yes, but she''s acted well in the boundaries of law by staying in confinement in her home" The king nodded "then we will just have to carry on without her testimony or statement" Rachel stood up "your highness, I ask that there be a five minute recess, as it is the court has been put in mild disarray not just by your tardiness but the absence of a prime suspect. I believe five minutes will be substantial to regain decorum" The king flinched; this woman was testing him in all the possible ways. "I see, ten minutes recess is granted and once again I apologize for my tardiness" "Even if I gave your an hour recess, you''d still not be prepared for what I''ve planned" "Ms. Heris-Mariale, I have asked for recess because there are some things I have taken into account" Qaya nodded, she was feeling restive. She really wanted to acquit Sir Milton and bring The Harbinger down while doing that but Awin wouldn''t let her live. "Our initial plan was to present Ms Charmale as the culprit but with her being absent and not being able to defend herself, it could be charged as libel and the whole case will be dragged." "So what are we to do, we have no definitive evidence to convict her, we were going to just rely on our questioning" "Calm down" Rachel said as she held Qaya''s hands "what we can do now is prove that Sir Milton is innocent and we have the report of the forensic physiologists* and his alibi, that should be enough. But I don''t want to be blindsided again, so I want you to draw up possible attacks against the King''s prosecution, seeing as you know what happened" she pointedly nodded knowingly. Qaya nodded and got to work. "Recess is over, we shall resume the proceeding" the king announced and started sifting through documents. "Evidence has been submitted against Sir Milton" Qaya looked at Rachel in confusion. The other woman continued as usual, making notes like she wasn''t nervous. Qaya decided to do just that and waited eagerly for the evidence to find plot holes. "I summon Lazarus Peom" A thin scrawny man in his thirties came up to give his testimony Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "You submitted a statement yesterday morning,is that not right?" the king asked "Yes, my king" "Recount what I read here to this sacred court" "I am Lazarus Poem, a servant in the Carlson estate, I hold a supervisory role as the head of stables. That night, I didn''t go home because a horse was in labour and I had travelled far to get a doctor. And it was much too late to return home also I couldn''t possibly leave the horse like that...so I waited behind" The man wiped his forehead with a handkerchief and continued. Awin frowned. "I was hungry because it''d been long since I sought nourishment, so I went to the kitchen to inquire for a meal, when I saw a young woman that wasn''t a servant in our manor, I was certain and I even asked to be sure. She confirmed this and told me, she''d been summoned by the Lord of the house" He wiped his forehead again and Qaya began scribbling. "Much later, when I went to the store close to the barn to get nourishment for the new born calf, I heard Sir Milton and the woman arguing and it became rather violent, I got concerned and tried to step in but the lady stopped me from entering by assuring me all was well. I did notice that she sounded exhausted but I alluded it to exasperation or fatigue from the argument..." "I couldn''t imagine that..." "Stop there, we only need eyewitness report do not make your own conclusions, that''s my job" Awin interrupted, he eyed Qaya and Rachel nervously, he had to. As much as he already knew in whose favour he was going to decide, he wasn''t going to underestimate them, he could never. Not with the rubbish testimony the help had given. His nervousness was so evident and he didn''t adhere to the script. "This is what I get for holding his family hostage" he mused. "Can you refute this statement" he asked, turning to Sir Milton''s counsel. The two women got up. Qaya was holding a slim package, she got to unwrapping it and showing the people in the court. Awin inched forward, pensive; he wanted to know what she showed them but she had her back to him "From your testimony, you saw a woman but how are you certain that it was Qaya Wright you saw? With this testimony, one could assume that you had seen Ms. Charmale because if her testimony holds any truth then she might have been the woman you met." The man frowned, he was thinking hard for a response "please do not confuse me, as I said when I saw the woman, I knew she didn''t work in the estate because I''d never set my eye on her, I am quite familiar with Ms. Charmale" "Still how are you certain the woman you saw was Qaya Wright?" "Because it was the corpse of the woman that I saw " "So you saw the victim after her death? Are you certain of it? Take your time you may be confused" Lazarus gulped, what was he to do? It was true that he didn''t go home that day and had gone to the pantry by the barn to get the new born, food but nobody was there and he left at dawn to take his bath and take a short nap. He didn''t set his eyes on this Qaya Wright. "Are you confused?" Rachel asked with a smug smile "The man got slightly aggressive "no, you must be treating me like this because I''m no literate like you but I am certain of what I saw, my memory does not fail me." "So you''re certain this woman was Qaya? A woman with brown hair and eyes and a petite build" "Yes I am sure" "Did you see anything of note on her like a mark on her nose?" "Yes" the man answered, bopping his head with such confidence. The audience watched on in shock. For a minute everyone was quiet, even Rachel kept mute and looked at him skeptically "Mr Peom, are you certain of this?" "Yes, I am sure of it" Upon hearing this, Qaya turned to face him and behold in her hand was a portrait of a woman. "This is Qaya Wright" Rachel commented "She looks nothing like your description, instead the person you described was Melinda, but you should having known you see Melinda often or it didn''t occur to you that I was describing Melinda" The man bowed his head; offering his last prayers for his family. "Seize and imprison him for perjury for fifteen years" the king declared. Qaya chuckled, Awin was a piece of work. He didn''t hesitate to dispose of the man to cover his tracks but she shook her head. Did he really think so little of her? This was all he prepared, surely there''s more to come. "But honestly, I''m not in the mood to continue this goose chase" she thought to herself as she took her seat to let Rachel handle the rest. "Your highness, in the two proceedings we have had, two people have offered false testimonies and we''ve had another prime suspect, it''s safe to say someone is trying to frame Sir Milton and I will provide proof She waved a document; I got a report of the forensic physiologist and it was proven be expert deduction that Qaya died from bleeding out not being stabbed, the knife wound wasn''t fatal but ghastly enough to immobilize her, no grown man especially one as dexterous as sir Milton in handling the blade would have made such a wound. And he has an alibi, Sir Milton was seen by not one but five servants sleeping in the Knights'' quarters and he didn''t leave the building until when he was arrested. This is his doctor''s diary, sadly his personal doctor was so badly wounded that he couldn''t testify but according to his diary documenting his patient''s health, around this time, Sir Milton''s health suffered. Because of the news published by a news agency that Melinda Charmale Co owned, his relationship with his wife soured and he was forced to sleep in the Knights'' quarters, no one but the occupants of the building was aware of this not even his family. His heartache was causing him bouts of fever throughout the night and it greatly troubled him, so the doctor had to check on him in intervals." Awin sighed. "Why should..." Rachel turned to the court "compared to the unreliable and fabricated evidence that has been presented against Sir Milton, our evidence holds more. It is scientifically endorsed and there are many eyewitness that can attest to Sir Milton''s whereabouts at the alleged time of the murder, it makes us think that Sir Milton is definitely being framed" Awin rubbed his temples, he so badly wanted to get rid of Sir Milton because the older man disapproved of his dealings with Harbinger and was beginning to influence the others in the ministers'' court. He also did not like the man''s entire being but it seemed the resilience of Qaya and the impudence of Rachel would be his saving grace. "I''m about to give my verdict, close your argument" Qaya sprung up "I''d like to take that" The king turned to Rachel frustrated "what''s this?" "She''s my student, I want to give her an infield experience" Awin ''s frown deepened "this is not the place or time for such" "I am very sure, she''s allowed to do this little" "You mean she''s allowed to do this much" "Your gracious majesty, I request that you let my student close the argument" "You may" he finally conceded Qaya got up and started her speech "we are here to ask that the sacred court of order declare this man innocent. He was wrongfully convicted, with no grace of a proper trial or proper thought. He had an alibi but was still maltreated as a murderer. From what has played out today, it seemed that someone purposefully put him in this situation. Mr Poem said that he''d met the victim or more appropriately a woman in the kitchen but the existing relationship between The late Ms. Wright and Sir Milton was not cordial enough for her to personally walk into the kitchen, our prime suspect is not even here in our midst. It''s sad that the person who sought to sabotage Milton Carlson did it so haphazardly. I fully believe that this sacred court of order is inclined to wisdom to act on this evidence and acquit him" Awin smiled, she''d just threatened him, if he was to rule otherwise, he would be deemed a fool. Inside him, he was grateful it was Qaya that took the closing remark and not Rachel, he could only take such attitude from her. Revenge is the main dish (part 2) Awin groaned. Everyone was awaiting his judgement. "To be honest, I find this case exhausting" he declared "it''s all over the place and I just realized that I am getting tired of presiding over these cases, I''ll have to delegate to my aide eventually" Everyone gasped but no one was in more shock and despair than Qaya, anytime he acted contrary to her estimation, she felt blindsided and immediately scared of his intentions. But truly Awin was tired, there was the court of justice presided over by the religious head of Easteforde, the purit* but everyone kept bringing disputes to the King''s court; the sacred court of order. It was so annoying, despite being the one to steer the course of Sir Milton''s life, his hands were tied. "It''s nonsense, really" he mumbled "I will now give my judgement, seeing that Sir Milton has a strong alibi and there''s no concrete proof to show that he indeed killed Qaya Wright, he is found innocent of the charge of murder and the court of order will grant him a consolation price of 500 Fordes** to apologize for his wrongful conviction" Everyone cheered but he waved his hand signalling that they keep quiet. "The best way to get to this matter is to find the real culprit" Suddenly someone stood up "Arrest Melinda Charmale" And this one statement triggered a whole crowd. Immediately everyone safe for the nobles and court officials were clamouring for Melinda''s arrest. The king signalled that they keep quiet and they held their peace "When have I ever acted contrary to what is right? I am your king and I will not make reckless decisions as everyone has seen Ms. Charmale seems the most probable culprit but we once thought that about Sir Milton. It will be incredibly foolish for us to make the same mistake again. So I will take my time and personally head the investigation" The people seemed placated, Awin was grateful he was able to reason with them. "The court is dismissed" The people started seeping out, eager to share the event''s occurrences with their friends who did not come. Qaya sighed, she was relieved. All she wanted since after she awoke from her coma was to bring Harbinger down and then live a peaceful and uneventful life. She hadn''t fully succeeded but she was close. "You look relieved" Rachel noted "It''s almost done" Qaya replied in bliss. Rachel gave her a light slap on the back of her shoulder "do not say that, your training is just starting" "Of course I know that" Qaya laughed "wait how long is it? I mean my training" Rachel shrugged and began packing her things. "You don''t know how long my training is" "It''s not that, the directorate of Legal studies holds an induction examination every year, if you pass it, you get inducted into the profession as a junior officer and then if a reknowned teacher vouches for you, you''ll be registered for the Barrister-Esq exam" A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. "The thing is you can do it all in your pace, some people do all this in five years, some just three and others ten, it all depends on you" "When is the induction exam? I might be able to prepare and write it" "It''s ten months from now. The reason why a single examination can induct you into the profession is because it covers everything you need to know on legal studies and it culminatively takes twenty hours to write. If you''re a genius, you''ll be able to prepare and pass the exams well but I emphasize that you take your time. I won''t have my student resit an examination." Qaya nodded. Her eyes suddenly caught Rivan leaving panicking. Qaya was certain that he wanted to see Melinda and he heart grew heavy for him because she knew he was pursuing the impossible. *** Some days had passed since The hearing and everyone was beginning to return to their normal lives, even the people that clamoured for Melinda''s arrest now kept quiet. Awin chuckled as his carriages drove into the Heris-Mariale compound. Qaya would be so shocked. He''d given an impromptu news of his visit to the family yet, with the sight before him, it seemed they''d been awaiting his arrival or this was just how their house looked, befitting of a king. His stomach churned and he felt a slight bout of nervousness. As he came down, no one from the family came to welcome him and he expressed his distaste at this quite audibly. "I apologize, your majesty. The Lord of the house is not in the country at the moment and Lady Qaya was not made aware of your arrival. So I am here to stand in their place" this was Jaslin, her head was bowed as she waited the King''s response "I hope you will deem your humble servant worthy of hosting you" Awin inspected the small lady before him, trying hard to conceal his scowl. "And who exactly are you?" "I am Jaslin Heris, the niece of the Lady of the house. My father is Gareth Heris" "I am grateful, for I thought a lowly servant was sent to host me but I see that I was mistaken" Jaslin straightened up and did not hide how offended she was by his comment " are you not Qaya Heris''s lady in waiting, if I was to assume you were lower in standing, would I be at fault" Jaslin smirked "but I am, your majesty. Aside from you, no one is above the Heris-Mariale family" The king flinched. He knew what she meant and it annoyed him. She reminded him that the Heris-Mariale family was a respected family in the continent, they had power, the kind he should fear. "Now that you mention it, I do not deem you fit for the business I have come for, I wish to speak to a member of the Heris-Mariale family. Bring one to me or the whole family will have to express their power elsewhere" Jaslin knew that he was trying to offend her but she didn''t mind, she''d dealt him a blow that he was desperately trying to recover from, so she was content with just that. "I will do as you asked" she bowed and left in a bright smile that made Awin uneasy. "Your majesty, it''s not advisable that you come to the house of someone who is planning to usurp your throne" Awin turned to see Marie looking at him with contempt. She came down from the stairs, didn''t even bother to bow and took her seat. "I was informed that you were going to banish us, if a family member didn''t come to greet you" she said in between snickers. "It''s been a while Ms. Heris-Mariale" Marie rolled her eyes "why do you wish to see us?" "No serious reason, just a king wanting to meet with one of his subjects" Marie cringed. This was a very suffocating situation. "What have you been up to these days?" "Managing the estate and overseeing the business" "It seems you no longer have any interest in overseeing the ministry of industry" Marie shook her head "no your highness, I wish to protect my remaining dignity" "You were such a competent official, and I really respected you. You just had to have conflicting beliefs" "So that''s why you had me framed by someone I took as my daughter?" "I had no idea you were that close, you don''t even mourn her unfair death. No one cares for that poor child. No one came to ask for her corpse to bury her, I was the one who handled her funeral rites" he remineced "What?" This was a second voice, Qaya''s. She''d return home from her lesson with Rachel only for her to meet this man in her house and stating such an off putting revelation. "Young Ms. Heris-Mariale, you are home. To be honest, you are the one I yearned to see" he stood up and walked up to her. "Now that I''ve seen you, I will take my leave" as he was about to leave, Qaya held him back. "Tell me, what''s your plan?" "What?" He asked bewildered by her disposition "At the bar, you said you had no intention of letting Sir Milton go out of prison, so I can''t help but worry that you''ll do something..." "Calm down" he gently loosened his hand from her grip "I believe your earlier statement was a joke or a badly put rhetorical question, as there''s no way I''ll willingly divulge them plan" He turned to leave but stopped abruptly; letting out a exasperated sigh-she held onto him again "about Ms. Wright, you said you were the only one that performed her funeral rites... why''s that?" "Oh I am she has, but that''s something I can only say in this house" "Well...where did you see her? I mean which slave market did you..." "Young Ms. Heris-Mariale, I''d like that you mind your language, Qaya was an orphan" He then inched closer, pulling Qaya into a hug that frightened her "but it does worry me how you came about an information" "You''d be surprised how much I know" she brazenly whispered back into his ear as they remained in the hug. "I trust you to keep this secret for the deceased sake. Qaya...I mean Ms wright wanted more than anything to keep that a secret...but even that, even what she knows is false" Qaya''s breath hitched. Before she could inquire further Awin withdrew from the hug and walked away briskly leaving her behind with questions. "...even what she knows is false" "What did he mean by that? If I wasn''t a orphan or an emancipated slave, who am I? And why don''t I remember anything" The mirror of the heart Rivan ran his hand through his hair as he sat in the waiting room of Minister Melinda''s house. He''d been waiting a long time. After much probing and bickering, he''d managed to convince the head of prison affairs to let him see Melinda. He brought out his pocket watch and checked the time, he''d have to be at work soon but he was determined to meet Melinda before he left. He fiddled with his pocket watch. After a while, he sprung from his seat as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs and put away his watch. Melinda came in, she seemed well, there was no sign of mistreatment but she''d lost the colour in her face and the spark in her eyes. She took her seat not bothering to greet her visitor. "I would have visited earlier but access is abysmally minimal" "I am being imprisoned after all. It won''t make sense to just be able to dily dally about" she noted "Are you well, is there something that bothers you" he managed to ask but was shocked when Melinda let out a soft chuckle "That''s what you want me to say...to you, because that''s how you feel." Melinda knew that she was being disrespectful to a friend but she didn''t have many choices. It wasn''t like she was in a position that permitted her to be sunshine and rainbows. Rivan cleared his throat "I talked to someone recently and they made me understand that I had the veil of trust preventing me from understanding reality and while I believe I have every reason to blindly trust you, I still hold connection to basic critical thinking aptitude...and I sense foul play with you" Melinda stared for a while "what do you mean?" "It''s either hypocrisy or dishonesty. When I met you, you strongly criticized the work of the Harbinger, while I understood that you were greatly affected by the newspaper''s feed because of personal reasons when you revealed yourself to be the owner, I wad taken aback and it even annoyed me" "I sat down to think and it safe to say, you were never the owner or co-owner of Harbinger, but you were personally affiliated with Qaya the original owner. Which has led me to deduce that you are greatly involved in her murder" Melinda opened her mouth to speak. She was frightened greatly by his discovery and the apathy she earlier exhibited began to elude her. Rivan was someone who looked up to her and had made plenty sacrifices. He was such a selfless man always ready to give and never demanding anything in return. If he left her side, she couldn''t recover from losing such importance. Rivan cut her short before she could confess "do not feel insulted, I did not mean to insinuate that you are the culprit...whilst I feel that you''ve strayed, murder is such a long way" he clarified Melinda nodded, she agreed with him. She wasn''t a horrible monster and she''d never kill someone, everyone could vouch for her. If she was to turn bad, it would be by doing other things...how can someone has kind as her just go straight to killing someone....if only she could still say this. Why did she kill Qaya? And why doesn''t she regret it even with all the trouble it''s causing? "Ms. Charmale" Rivan tapped her "why are you quiet? Answer me" Melinda smiled, she would have to clear any doubt in his mind, Rivan must not think her a murderer. "You''re right" she finally managed to say "What?" Rivan asked confused but their discussion would have to come to an end, the king himself entered into the room. The both of them got up to greet him but he stopped them "I am not here as the king but head of investigation I have come to interrogate prime suspect, Melinda" Rivan got up to leave, leaving the two of them to talk. Melinda looked at the king with apathy, but he returned a genuine smile at her. "Tell me, how has confinement been?" She shrugged "nothing special" "I''m surprised that you didn''t send word to me, threatening me" "I trust you to help your loyal companion" Awin winced and turned to the men that accompanied him, signaling them to leave. When he was sure that no one would listen in their conversation, he slyly turned to Melinda "I want us to be on the same page as you know..." *** "The court investigation will reveal their findings tomorrow" this was Rachel talking to Qaya. The younger woman was perusing a document intently and groaned when her teacher distracted her. It''s not really my business, though I am curious about what the king is planning, so I''ll attend but I don''t want to be too involved with Qaya Wright. Rachel raised her eyebrow "was she not the reason you''d did all this in the first place?" Qaya sighed "things change" This was the best thing she could do for everyone. When things were beginning to look up for her; living as a member of an influential family and being on her way of becoming a barrister. Guilt hit her in the gut- -After the king left the house the day before, Jaslin had confronted her. "I take it that your mother doesn''t know about your coma rendezvous" Qaya stopped in her tracks and turned to her cousin. "You...Ms. wright... heavens I''m so confused, whoever but Qaya Wright, someone you claimed to be, was responsible for our family misfortune..." "That''s why I''m strove so hard to right my wrongs" Qaya answered trying hard ti clarify herself. She knew Jaslin would confront her ever since that day that Marie had spoke about her relationship with Qaya Wright and it even upset her when it seemed like Jaslin wasn''t saying anything, she thought she''d be relieved when Jaslin finally brought it up, but she felt everything but relief. Jaslin scoffed "so everything you''ve done up to now wasn''t out of love and duty but guilt and vengeance" Qaya could not respond, why would she defend herself when there was no use. Before waking up, she was certain she was lowlife commoner, Qaya wright but now, she''s come to know that she''s lived as Qaya Heris her whole life, her memories were proof of this. This was so absurd, so many things upset her. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. "My loyalty to this family makes me what to seek retribution against you but that same loyalty respects you immensely as the young lady of the house" Qaya swallowed saliva; she was slightly frightened by Jaslin''s dark gaze and cold voice. "If you want my support please live as Qaya Heris and forget everything about that woman" That was what Jaslin had told her day and whilst it seemed like a very reasonable and perhaps the most probable reaction, Qaya knew she couldn''t forget or condemn her last life but she would try to, "that''s the last act of repentance I can do as Qaya Wright." The court investigation disclosure The kings court was not as filled as during the days of the trial, the people were no longer intrigued and went about their daily lives. Even Qaya had attended it as part of an assignment, or at least under that guise. She looked around; Melinda was there, she looked forlorn and tired. "Poor girl has not been eating" Qaya mused as she saw Melinda pinching her knuckles something she''d seen her do during the days they were too poor to eat. Rivan was not around and this threw Qaya off, what could possibly have happened. Once again Qaya saw the the woman she presumed to be Melinda''s lady-in-waiting, and she was looking dignified as ever. This time the meeting started right on time because it was the King''s aide that proceeded over the disclosure meeting. He was a stern no-nonsence person and was the same age as the king, he himself had abdicated a title as the archduke and next in line to the throne of a country, one that Qaya''s father came from, his name was Zachary Harill and he was standing on business today. "I summon the head of investigation" he called as he looked on at the whole court with perusing eyes. Awin stepped forward with someone, the deputy head of investigation, following behind him. He took a bow, something everyone must do to the judge but everyone had expected Zachary to stop the king but he looked on unfazed and returned a slight nod or what Qaya deemed to be a returned bow. "What were the findings of your investigation?" "We visited the barn and from what we found it seemed that the body was killed in a different spot and then moved to turn the blame to someone else" "We decided to ask everyone if they''d seen Qaya Wright, the day before her murder or more conveniently the hours preceding it but nobody had seen her, she''s someone who kept to herself" Zachary squinted and this caused Awin to stop talking "Is anything the matter?" "Nothing investigator, Awin. It is just that I''m sure I''ve seen this Ms. Wright a few times...at the court and ministers'' meeting that you preside over" "Does she?" Awin asked feigning ignorance "then again, seeing as she was a journalist it would make sense that she attended this things" Zachary nodded in approval "my point exactly, you said testimony said she kept to herself but a journalist cannot afford keep to themselves" Awin frowned "I am recounting the testimony of her neighbors, she was reported to be someone who was cordial with her neighbors and if she wasn''t working, she stayed in her house the whole day" "Okay, continue" "Seeing as no one saw her and there weren''t many people she was close too, we perused her belongings and found her personal journal, even though it is seen as utmost disrespect to inspect..." "I doubt her corpse will hardly care for such courtesy when you''re solving her murder" Zachary interjected in a sarcastic tone, he motioned for the journal to be handed over and Awin passed it over. "From the diary, we had a huge revelation but I''d like to summon someone, Ms. Charmale" Qaya turned to look at Ms. Charmale; her knuckles were red and she looked panicky. She reluctantly stood up and dragged her feet until she got to Awin. Her whole expression screamed uncertainty, she took a rickety bow before the court and raised her head. "Please truthfully tell the court your relationship with the deceased" "We shared a living area but we weren''t close" "But you were close enough to be partners in a business venture" this was Zachary Melinda flinched "we maintained the minimal level of cordiality. We could have grown to be close friends but difference in values stopped me from pursuing genuine friendship, Qaya was an extremely selfish woman, who''d go to any extent, no matter how despicable, to get what she wants" "Did you notice anything peculiar about her?" "Her family was a touchy subject, anytime I asked she would get irritated and say she was an orphan but I had caught her giving her wages to someone in a guild to investigate the whereabouts of her parents" Awin took a deep breath and sighed "so tell me, why did you kill Qaya Wright?" Melinda paused and turned to him astounded, she was frantically shaking her head. "I didn''t kill her, no I didn''t" she burst into tears and shook violently and grabbed Awin for support falling into his arms, then in what seemed to be a loud whisper she said in a defeated tone "it wasn''t my fault" Everyone gasped. Qaya just stared stunned, What were they planning, it seemed like Awin was going to throw Qaya to the dogs but that would be stupid. She held on to her notebook like it was her dear life and watched in anticipation. "Tell her to compose herself" Zachary declared in an irritated tone "It wasn''t my fault...that day" Awin let go of Melinda and turned to Zachary "from that Journal, Qaya Wright admitted to hating Melinda Charmale so much, that she wanted to kill her, for no less than 17 consecutive pages, the deceased passionately described her hatred for the suspect" "She also told me to my face" Melinda spoke out, she''d somewhat recovered but she was still shaking "we''d been on bad terms because of the horrible article she''d made about me, so that fateful day, I finally spoke up and let her know I wanted us to go out separate ways...and when I told her about breaking the partnership of The Harbinger, she became furious" "I was the rightful owner but she felt like I stole something from her and she was blinded by rage so she launched at me..." "So what?" Zachary scoffed "Did you want to say you killed her in self defense and then framed Sir Milton?" "No, no, I managed to get help and run to Sir Milton for help but I couldn''t get there, she''d caught up with me and just when she was about to kill me, someone came to my rescue. She was a woman in her forties who worked in Sir Milton''s estate, she hit Qaya''s back with a rod but then we later found out that the rid had a 9 inch nail that the woman missed and it had impaled Qaya" "Obviously, we could tell that Qaya was still alive, so she suggested that we take her to the barn and tend to her wounds and we did just that, she was recovering that''s why I thought it was Sir Milton that killed her out of fury at the article she wrote" "But you withheld this information" "I was scared. Everyone was suspecting me so if I said this it could implicate me and everyone kept saying my testimony wasn''t reliable" Zachary shook his head "you could have let the police know when he was being arrested. How am I to even believe you? Is there anybody who could defend what you said like the woman who rescued you for instance" Awin spoke up "she committed suicide a day after the murder" Zachary scoffed "She left a note" Awin handed it over for inspection "this along with the journal have been verified as authentic" "So the two people who can prove this claim are dead?" Zachary''s tone was skeptical. He looked at the note and was quiet for a while "She died of guilt?" "Yes, she admitted to killing Qaya out of fear for punishment and when she found out her master was blamed for her misdeed she couldn''t cobta6tge guilt" Awin exposited "And so she killed herself?!!!" He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, he seemed to be in deep thought. "Is this the extent of your investigation?" "Well there''s nothing else to investigate concerning this matter" Awin replied smuggly "Do you have any other evidence?" "Yes, the forensic physiologist confirms that the knife was handled by a woman lacking skill and that there was a sign of perforation beneath the stab wound. Also the doctor testified to treating wounds on Ms. Charmale that came from the tussule" he brought out more papers and handed it over. Zachary''s frown deepened "the investigation disclosure has ended so I must give my declaration" "With the evidence before me, I first of all convict Melinda Charmale of the crime of withholding information and as per the tenets of the laws of the court of order, she will pay a fine of 3 Fordes* and be on citizenship probation. Seeing as the culprit of the murder has killed herself, the only punishment we can give her is to change the location of her grave to the prisoner graveyard." "Court dismissed" As everyone started leaving, Qaya looked on bewildered. She stared at the effigy before her, a long haired person holding the world on its back, it seemed like it weighed down on the marble person but he held on strong. She looked at noticing every speck of dust, all the intricate lines and mistakes the sculptor made and as she was the only one left in the room, the first of many to come; a tear rolled down her cheek. ...is the eyes Zachary entered Awin''s office with an ugly scowl, he was the only one in the room. His mind was frantic, he was annoyed by the whole case. Two women would have their name sullied because of the King''s cheap tricks. Awin entered the room with a blank expression and scoffed at his aide. "Days like this make me regret why you abdicated your title" he commented and put away documents. "You were so commanding I was almost offended" Zachary kept mute and just stared intently into nothingness thinking "You''ve always been a quiet one, I just hope you aren''t distressed by this one case when they are so many ones you''ll be presiding over" "I''ll leave first" was the only thing Zachary said and he left the King''s office. As he neared the court''s exit he saw Qaya Heris sitting like a statue, the only sign that she was a living being was the stream of tears that flowed down her cheek. Zachary was stunned by this sight because Qaya Heris was someone that had been making headlines and from his observation, she was a stern and relentless woman, so he couldn''t fathom that she''d be crying in such a space without reserve. He walked up to her and tapped her. She didn''t respond but she let out a slight heave, almost like she was annoyed that someone had seen her. "Ms. Heris-Mariale?" His baritone voice shook her from her daze "Go home" She stared at him for a while and finally got up and as if she was hypnotized she made her way for home. Zachary looked on at her in concern, she seemed so invested in this case. If only he could do anything but his hands were tied. As he watched the lady go, he muttered under his breath "Sometimes I too regret abdicating my title" Qaya walked home in a daze, everyone was worried because the coach man had reported not seeing her and she''d been five hours later than one would normally come. They were all stupefied when she came in, shoes in hand, blisters on her feet. She didn''t look like she was crying but she seemed dead in the eyes. "Where have you been?" "We were so worried" "why are you like this?" "What happened?" "Where you attacked?" She quietly swarm past the sea of complaints, questions and words of concern that were thrown at her. She walked up to her room and slumped into her bed. "I wish I died, why do I have to live this torturous life?" The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Qaya was sad but most of all livid and it hurt her more to know she no longer had the right to be angry as Qaya Wright. *** Everyone was worried ever since Qaya came back from the court, it''d been almost a day and she never left her room. She turned away all the meals that were sent to her and she became greatly annoyed when they insisted on her eating. Rachel had come to visit. Seeing as Qaya has failed to submit her report on the court disclosure meeting, she had no choice but to come to her house and scold her. So she was surprised when everyone told her of the state she had returned in. She strolled into the girls room, she was sitting in the same clothes she wore the day before, in complete disarray. "Ahem" Rachel cleared her throat. Qaya slowly turned to see her, no surprise was evident in her gaze. She stood up and walked over to greet her. "How are you?" Rachel warmly asked as she drew Qaya in a hug. "I assume you came because of the report, I apologize I was unable to get on it" "I reckon you did just that" As they broke from their hug, Qaya slumped into her bed. "Is anything the matter?" Qaya sighed and scratched her head. She covered her face in her palm. Rachel opened her bag and brought out documents and books. "You seem to be very concerned about the ruling in the disclosure meeting, were you close with Ms. Wright or do you know what happened- I mean how she really died?, I assume it''s the latter, since you''re not the friendly type" Qaya kept mute for a while not knowing the appropriate way to answer, the whole time, she''d let Rachel Esq. Know that she was heavily involved in the case and knew what happened to be certain about who was in the wrong but she didn''t give a reasonable justification for her claim, but seeing that Rachel isn''t one to probe someone even if her vocation demands it, Qaya hoped she wouldn''t have to explain. "It''s neither and both" she said trying to hide the irritation she felt with herself. "It''s that complicated?" Rachel chuckled and started making notes from the documents before her "I can''t even explain it to someone else, when I''m still confused myself" "But Rachel didn''t you see what happened? The proceeding was flawed, there were obvious holes, the whole evidence was very obviously haphazardly put together but the whole world is going to ignore it? It''s suffocating" "I understand where you''re coming from but as a woman of law and taking all the technicalities into consideration, order was upheld. There''s a reason the King''s court is referred to as Court of order and not justice" "I see, people are looking for justice but the king only restores order" Qaya replied, spite heavy in her words. "People can''t go to Gainili''s court of justice because as it is, the sanctuary is quite meek, they do not succumb to the extreme levels of retribution the society believes in, the king however will go to any level to see that his power is not undermined even if he ends up trampling on justice, I am not just talking about Awin but all other Kings that have presided over the court." "It''s so annoying, I should have appealed to the Gainili''s sanctuary court, it''s too late now, the sanctuary can''t treat a suite that the king has already decided on" "Why are you hurt? Tell me" "Because my death was played down to be a repercussion of my actions" Qaya shouted in her mind "I am certain that the evidence the king presented was fabricated and so two women will have their name sullied even in death" she said, pushing her initial answer back in her mind Rachel looked on skeptically for a while "tell me, how are so sure?" Qaya sighed "for starters I have Qaya Wright''s diary" **** Zachary''s horse galloped through the thick forest it was already dark and he was relying on his instincts and the trust he had in his stead to navigate. He was a good distance away from the capital, he was journeying through the ruined city; it was a big town that was devastated during a war, the enemy country having a weak military used biological warfare, sending contaminated livestock and launching air missiles that shot up vile viruses, the people who were not infected fled from the city and as it was a time of war, the infected were left to rot and die;die and rot. Zachary passed by a monument in the name of the victims and former inhabitants, it was a calm serene place. With close to a century of human absence the ruined city or as others called it, guilt land became a beautiful haven. Despite this many people refused to visit there or even look at the direction. Because despite it had become a beautiful place with fertile land, the place was believed it to still be infected and there were stories that some of the corpses or rather skeletons were as they were before they died. The picture the whole of Easteford had painted was a sickness ridden place with corpses in different poses;praying, sleeping, vomiting, commiting suicide and all the things they imagined people doing in that scenario. People couldn''t settle there also because of the guilt, those people were abandoned to die on their own, no help was sent their way and they were the only place the enemy nation were able to hit. So just why was Zachary in such a place ... To be continued Repercussions Melinda turned in her bed. She looked up at the wall clock, it was in the twenty second hour (basically 4am) and she''d not slept a wink. She left her room, candle lamp in one hand and made her way to the kitchen to get water. As she took a gulp of water, her headache didn''t seem to reduce. She leaned on the kitchen counter and cursed at herself. She heard someone walk in and looked up. It was a petite woman, a cloak veiling her appearance. She stood a reasonable distance and did nothing, Melinda could not see her face but she was certain that the woman was peering at her. "What''s the matter?" She called out and got surprised by her voice crack and massaged the front of her neck. The woman didn''t move or respond. Now, Melinda was offended "Remove that cloak and show yourself" Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. For a while the woman stood still and then eerily began to make her way to Melinda. Melinda on the other became defensive and backed away. "Such insolence will not be forgiven, show me your face at once" The woman did not stop until Melinda was backed against the wall and could no longer do anything. This greatly startled Melinda but she was of the opinion that a stupid servant was making a prank. "I swear...who are you?!" She yelled this time around, in her frenzy she looked down and almost became paralyzed. The hem of the woman''s cloak was dripping with something, something dark, pungent and offensive, something red...blood "Who are you?" She asked again, this time in apprehension. The woman moved to remove the hood of the cloak and Melinda unconsciously flinched. "It''s me, your secret" the woman said in a sweet, whispery voices that sent shivers down Melinda''s spine. As she unveiled herself, Melinda beheld a disfigured woman, blood and dirt obscuring any detail that could point to who she was. Blood oozed from her mouth and nose. Her face was grotesque that it took Melinda a while to know. The woman said again this time no longer with a sweet facade "it''s me Qaya" As realization swept across her, Melinda let out a terrified shreak that spoke her whole body...out of the bed she''d been sleeping in. "My lady what dream causes you such discomfort" her lady in waiting, Ginele asked with a cold but worried tone. "It''s just a dream?" Melinda asked herself as she took in her surroundings, she was in her room. "It''s just a dream" she said again this time a voice tinged with relief and worry as she stared at the nail she''d bitten off, the bloodied bedding and then the wall clock. It was the twenty third hour. Repercussions II "I''ve always wondered how my life was before my emancipation. It''s one thing that I was at the age one would remember such things seeing as the king freed when he was a teenager and we''re in the same age grade yet for some reason I have no recollection of my days in the slave camp or market. Did I have parents? Or was I born in slavery? Well, the possibility of the latter is low, so where are my parents?" Qaya wright sighed as she closed her diary and stretched. For the past five years, she''d been using her wages to investigate her parents whereabouts. "If only that stupid king let me take other customers, I''d be rich enough to afford more extensive investigation" she pouted and took a gulp of rum and squirmed "It''s lost it''s fire" Just then Melinda walked in, the air seemed stiff and everyone became awkward. "Don''t tell me you''re still angry about the article" Melinda watched her roommate in shock "you slander my name, ruin my integrity and expect me to just whine for a short while and forget about it?" "So you want to whine for a long time?" "You know, you''re despicable right" Qaya shook her head "okay, I''ll take it down just tell me why on earth that man gave you power of attorney? It''s...even if you''re are very cordial it''s insensitive to his children" Melinda scoffed "I''m telling you this to satiate your curiosity but the power of attorney is for ten months, I convinced him I will stop the nonsense the Harbinger is pulling but really... that''s a lie" Melinda chuckled and collected the rum bottle in Qaya''s hand and poured it''s content away into a plant pot, Qaya frowned. "You say you can pull the article down when you didn''t put it up on your own accord in the first place" If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Well, you underestimate the influence I hold..." "Shut up" Melinda cooed "since you itch so much, the journalist in you just wants gossip I will let you know, I don''t like what you''re doing with the king, so I approached his number one antagonist for support, to be honest I don''t really care for Sir Milton''s beliefs, they are quite suffocating" Qaya cocked her head to the side, she was confused as to why Melinda was acting like her wits had been exchanged with that of a chimpanzee but she watched on at the other''s dramatic play. "I went to meet the king today..." Melinda paused as if choking on saliva or tears "he is a heartless man but do you know what I heard him say; he said you were more than a sister to him,your relationship transcends blood relationship" she ended the sentence in a high pitch, scoffing "Tell me, why will a heartless man say that?" Melinda was now sitting down and looking at Qaya inquisitively "He lied, if he indeed saw me that way he wouldn''t make me do what I did" Melinda adjusted in her seat "let me rephrase the question, why would someone reputed to be heartless and insensitive choose to put on such facade?" Qaya rolled her eyes "why are you asking me? Couldn''t you ask him yourself or where too scared?" She stood up to go, she didn''t know or care about what came over Melinda but she couldn''t tolerate her weird and stupid actions. But Melinda would not let her leave she viciously held her back, both of them now standing "I couldn''t talk to him...not after what I heard" Qaya looked stupefied "and what does that have to do with me?" "Do you realize that you never once apologized for slandering my name" now her gaze had darkened "Has the deadline for an apology passed" Qaya answered nonchalantly. She winced as Melinda''s nails dug into her flesh "Well, I have no need for your apology, I will get my revenge...I will bring your name and everyone associated with it to ruination" "Let go off me" Qaya did not want to admit it but she was getting increasingly scared of Melinda''s actions "Why should I? You''re a horrible person. now I''m asking you to take responsibility for your actions and what do you do?" She reached to her pocket with her free hand and brought out a knife. "Oh is this your secret? That you''re not a kind person" "No" was all Melinda muttered "I thought as much, because if it was, I would have told you that you did a real bad job hiding such a secret and then that means my speculation of your secret is right after all" she said with a smug look "What?" "Oh you didn''t think I knew about your ''big'' secret" Qaya feigned a gasp putting on airs. She then inched closer to Melinda and whispered in her ear. The other shook at Qaya''s words. Qaya drew back to take a good look at Melinda. "I reckon that my speculation has become a fact, with this reaction. Now that you know I know your little secret, trust that I see you in a different light and will cooperate with you. I won''t cause any more trouble, so let go of me. How are you so stron..." The sentence was cut short with a sharp gasp, Qaya''s eyes widened at the pain she felt. She looked up at Melinda''s apologetic look and down at the knife protruding from her. And slowly, she fell to the ground. Melinda heaved. A wave of relief and anxiety blew her. For months she''d been fighting her hatred for Qaya and Awin. She wanted so badly to snatch from Awin what he held a valuable asset, then the veil over his eyes would remove. She so wanted badly to see him in pain, so she could be the one to take it away, she wanted to see him vulnerable, defeated, weak and useless and then give him a new purpose. She wanted to shatter this deity and make him nothing but a man chained by emotions. As she looked at Qaya''s body lying on the ground, she stared apologetically "I did no wrong this is just the repercussion of your actions" The truth about guilt land So just why was Zachary in such a place ?... He stopped at a run down building that was once a Gainili sanctuary, but trees had subdued it and all it was, was a cave of bricks and leaves. He looked around and let out a loud, sonorous whistle and the door creaked open, a man in his fifties peered out. "Master, you''re here" the man called out and moved to lead the horse inside "Manuel, are you drunk?" "No, the heavens forbid it" he answered whilst nodding "Have someone else take your place. You need all your senses to guard" "Booze put my senses on guard, master" Zachary shook his head. And watched as the man led the horse away. What seemed to be a rundown building outside, was a completely different story inside. Rows of ornamental and medicinal plants lined at the wall of the building, the vines of the trees that crawled into the building and onto the ceilings even made the place look more mythic. The place was well lit with lanterns lining the walls and a chandelier beautifying the whole room. This was the reality of guilt land, a beautiful and humane place masked with a ghostly facade. A young girl ran past almost bumping into Zachary, he held her up, steadying her. "Be careful" he said in a cold but endearing manner She shrugged "I''m happy to see you, it''s too bad that I have to return home" "Cara be careful" another voice called from a distance running after her, Zachary''s right hand man, Luciuz. He was of average height but an impressive build and his immaculate dress sense increased his attractiveness. His blond hair was in a buzz cut and with his beard, he was the most attractive man in a room....that Zachary wasn''t in. "Forgive the child, she''s late for dinner" Zachary turned to his friend and drew him in a hug "what''s she doing here in the first place?" "She likes coming here, administrative work interests her and she''s also a good assistant" "Do you pay her?" Zachary asked as they walked through the hallway and into the main building, people greeting them on the way. "Luciuz?" Zachary asked again as he watched his friend try to dodge the question. "Exposure is all the range" he joked "and that''s ignoring the perquisites she enjoys by staying here all day" "By the way, why are you here? You certainly did not come to see me, your overworked assistant... also did you know that an assistant assists, not take over the whole workload..." "How has the cash flow been recently?" Zachary cut the other off, Luciuz frowned "It''s been flat recently and we had to actually dip into the Treasury but why are you here?" "The capital suffocates me" "Or do you mean your benefactor? The king? I don''t understand why you''re still with him" "I am indebted tohim and I stick to my promises no matter how troublesome it may be" "This will teach you to not to trust anyone you see, just giving out promises left and right" Zachary was quiet for a while, they were in his office and he took his seat "what if I became king?" Luciuz shot his head up from the desk "what? How?" "I mean the king of Occident Coast*" "But you abdicated..." "I met with father, he wanted to reinstate me" Luciuz gasped "and when was this? And you were there being that idiot''s lackey" "Mind your language" "You can''t blame me. You knew you could potentially be king and let yourself work for..." Luciuz shook his head and kept quiet, he could not find words to express his surprise and anger. "As I said, I want to fulfill my promise" "Zachary, you can''t say one thing and do the other, if you''re so loyal to Awin then why ask this question? Why consider being king?" The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "Because of...her" Zachary thought to himself. He ruffled his ginger hair and sighed, Luciuz on the other hand gave up and tended to the work on his desk. *** Zachary had met Awin when they were both teenagers. He was what people referred to as a cowardly wimp. His whole life people had tied his worth his gender. Everyone didn''t even bother to hide their disdain for him. They made it clear that he was incompetent and was only made heir because he was the only male child, his relationship with his half sisters had also strained because they all felt like he''d stolen from them. And being the child of a mistress did not help matters, the queen hated him to the bone. The day he was made archduke, the queen called him to her chamber. "How are you enjoying the ceremony?" His timid eyes strayed from her piercing gaze "I don''t know" She scoffed "is that question too hard for you?" He kept quiet and looked around the room, everywhere was dark because the room was dimly lit. "Tell me is this question too hard? Do you wish to live a normal life?" The statement made him turn in shock to his adopted mother. "I spoke to the king to make our eldest daughter archduke but he said there''ll be no need for that because you''re here-and I see that as a problem" Zachary gulped and subconsciously distanced himself from her, she noticed and smiled. "I will do you no harm, at least not the kind that will threaten your life. As much as I despise you, I am still sane enough to know you''re not at fault, so that''s why I''m accessing the problem from the root" She brought out a lock of ginger hair from her dress pocket "when last have you seen your mother? I heard she''s staying in the countryside in a manor MY husband pays for" she kept quiet again and abruptly spoke again, eerily admiring the thick lock of hair "Not many people are blessed with such pretty looking hair" She said as she waved the lock around and placed it in the boys hand. She stooped down to whisper to his ears, a bone chilling aura emanated from her words "I might be too generous and not just give you a lock of hair but the whole head from which it grows" Zachary stumbled and fell, his face contorted in fear, his head felt light and his insides churned. "Stand up" the queen yelled but as much as he wanted to oblige her, his legs would not move. She crouched down this time and caressed his hair "Do you wish to live a normal life? I believe the answer is yes" The boy nodded. "Zachary, an archduke cannot live a normal life" That night he hurried to his father''s room, the man''s face lit up at the sight of his son. "Where were you? I was looking for you during the party?" "I don''t want to be archduke" he cut in "What?" "I''m much too young, can''t you make sister the archduke" The king was quiet for a while and then motioned for his son to sit by his side. "I want you to be king, I can''t live a long life because of my illness so I want you to be prepared, so you aren''t caught unawares" Zachary shook his head "why me? Why can''t you give it to someone capable" "Because..." the man kept quiet, what he was about to say was something too horrible for a parent to say. He was about to admit that he loved him more, he couldn''t help himself, Zachary was the son of the love of his life, he loved his other children but things seemed to rigid between them became of their mother''s uptightness and the fact that they never loved each other. Was he wrong to do what he did? He asked himself and Zachary confirmed his fears. "If you''re doing this because you love me, then you failed. I can''t breath here, everyone hates me. You used your love to pit me against my sisters. Why did you do this to me?" The king looked alarmed as he saw his son violently shaking and crying. He took hold of him "Zachary calm down, calm down" "Please I don''t want to be archduke, I don''t want to stay here" The king drew him in a hug "I''ve been a horrible father without knowing, forgive me. I hope my daughters can forgive this foolish man" "Just...I want....let me...I want to live a normal life" The old man sighed and looked Zachary in the eye "I understand you, I really do. But I will also not totally erase the chance of you being king. In my heart I know you will be a better king" "Father" the boy whined "Calm down, you can relinquish your title... temporarily, I will let everyone know that you gave up your title but I still want you to have that window of possibilities. You should also have a fair chance and right to the throne. All my children should have a fair chance at the throne" Young Zach was quiet, though he was young, he knew his father well. the man would not give up so easily, he couldn''t even tell him the real reason why he so badly wanted to get the title behind him. "Can you not let anyone know that it''s a temporary arrangement, I might never compete for the throne after all" The king sighed "I will do that much for you" When Zachary left the the palace and the kingdom all together, he had a bitter sweet feeling. He was thrilled and nervous to just delve into the big world. Maybe it was his naivety or recklessness but just as he left his kingdom, he had managed to lose all his money and was now working odd jobs. His closed up personality didn''t help matters, that was when he met young Awin. He''d spent a year and a few months away from home and was working his fifth job as a delivery boy. The bourgeois and Gentry class were inhumane and didn''t care that he was a child they would find fault and report his excesses and adequacies alike to his superiors threateningly to stop patronage. This would usually end in him being beat to a pulp, it was so sad and he regretted leaving the palace, he hated the queen so much but would always be content with the hope that his mother remained unharmed. That day, Awin had returned from finalizing a contract in the Occident Coast, his home country and stopped at an inn to rest, that is when they met. Zachary was supposed to be executed that day for beating the county head''s son and stealing. All these allegations; he was guilty of, but Awin stepped in and stopped them from killing him, he offered to send him back to the Occident Coast but Zachary would not break his promise so he followed the king home. Even if he was a secluded type, he did his best and became the King''s confidant but as time went by and Awin grew greatly fond of him and opened up to him, he found out Awin was a person of questionable character. He(Awin) would often manipulate and frame people and corruption was the blood that flowed through his veins. Many a time, Zachary would secretly go and puke because of how disgusted he would be with himself aiding such a horrible man in horrible deeds. One day, he could no longer tolerate it. A county lord under the jurisdiction of the King''s ally made a complaint against the ally and moved for his resignation from the viscountdom and so Awin sent Zachary to wipe the man''s entire family and his supporters. That was the limit of Zachary, he instead moved them to a safe place and lied about their deaths. This was also when their relationship began to strain, Awin came under reasonable suspicion that Zachary didn''t carry out his order and started investigating the latter. Thus Zachary had no choice but to hide them somewhere he was certain the king would never fathom... guilt land With secret support from his father and assistance from his childhood friend during his odd job days, Luciuz, Zachary was able to turn Guilt land into an asylum for people that had suffered the King''s wickedness. He duly made a grave sanctuary for the initial inhabitants and made sure to keep the charade that the place was not inhabited. Zachary understood the mere meaning of his actions and the consequences, the people in the town were growing rapidly, having an economy and government....did this not count as rebellion? Was this treason? *** The two women stared at the thick book before them. "How did you come about Ms. Wright''s diary" Rachel scrunched her nose. "I have no ties to Ms wright whatsoever" she lied, this is what she had to do, what she promised Jaslin. "But I have a deep hatred for Ms. Charmale, I cannot share the reason. It was in attempt to find evidence against her that I went to the home she shared with the victim, I only took it because it seemed an interesting article" "So why didn''t you present this and refute the claims his majesty made?" "It seemed wise not to submit it because at the end of the day, everything would end in Melinda''s favour and it''s not wise drawing the King''s attention to me" "You must be obsessed with bringing Melinda down" "What?!!" Qaya exclaimed stupefied "The state you were after the hearing, made me think you were quite close to Qaya Wright but now that you say it''s all for Melinda''s downfall, I say it''s a rather unhealthy obsession" Qaya nervously chuckled "as it is I just want to focus on my studies" "...and bring Harbinger down" she said the second part in her mind. "You easily give up your obsessions" Rachel Quipped "What would you have me do, Esquire?. I just want nothing to do with Qaya Wright, I mustn''t" The person that she was, did so many bad things because she was blinded by money. So now, that she''d been given a new unsolicited chance at life, she had to do away with anything that concerned the old her. "Give up finding my parents" she somberly thought but pushed it to the back of her mind. "Anyway,I might have to put our lessons on hold" Rachel commented "that''s why I dropped off these documents and notes for you to read" "Why...why are our classes on hold?" "Oh there''s an annual event that takes place in the countryside, majority of the nobles attend it, I have to meet up with a client who will be in attendance" Qaya rubbed her eyebrows. "Oh the king will most likely invite your family but I still implore you to read the document, after all you plan to write the induction exam this year" Qaya shook her head "I might not attend..." she paused and thought to herself for a while. "Where do you say the event will be held again" "The King''s countryside Palace in Cralville" "Forgive my foolishness, I will definitely be attendance" she declared, a bright smile on her face and a brilliant idea in her mind. Well an idea...not much can be said about it''s brilliance. The great treasure hunt arc The great treasure hunt was an annual event that took place in the countryside, the tradition spanning for nothing less the five centuries. The whole head and tail of the event was to find a trophy hidden in the heart of the forest and the task in itself was so demanding that it took two days to conclude. Families would send representatives; people having high intellect and/or brute strength as the forest was laden with wild animals. Two riddles were given, one on the first day and the other on the second. It was a greatly entertaining and thus everyone looked forward to it. The Heris-Mariale family was invited to watch and there was no need to participate. Just as Qaya saw her teacher off, she ran to the West wing of the house, the space Dylan occupied. Thankfully, he was around. She knocked on the open door, getting his attention. The man looked up from his work and the furrow in his eyebrows disappeared. "Come in" he said smiling "How has work been?" She asked as she settled into the couch in the study. "As it should be" "Are you very busy?" Dylan looked up in confusion "is anything the matter? What are these questions? And by the way I wanted to speak to you about ''Hear''. How''s administration going?" "As it should be." Qaya promptly answered with an air of pride, the man laughed "I will confess that I have not be that involved but the workers report to me and everything seems to be going well" "I am glad because your mother has been on my neck lately saying I''m burdening you with work when you''re studying" "Um that aside, I heard you received a special invitation to the great treasure hunt" "Yes, I plan on sending the letter declining the offer tomorrow" "What? Why would you do that?" "I don''t care for such events..." "But I wish to go, I want to go the country side" Dylan sighed and massaged his eyebrows "I''ll have to speak with Marie, and it will be burdensome because the country side is at least a five day journey. But we''ll go if that''s what you desire" "Thank you" she yelled and ran to her room giggling. She stopped in her tracks as she met Jaslin in her room, setting her food down. "I am glad to see that you''re cheery again" Jaslin said in a quiet voice. "I am glad too" Qaya was so distant with Jaslin ever since that day "I have brought you food" "I am grateful, I will eat it" As Qaya savoured the sumptuous meal, she grew weary under Jaslin''s watchful gaze. "Is anything the matter?" "It''s just...I perceive you are upset with me" "Jaslin, what wrong have you done that I should be mad at you? All is well" "I am relieved. If I might ask, why are you excited to go for the great treasure hunt" "I simply want to go to the country side, I have business I want to attend to" "If I may ask..." "I am done with my meal" Qaya cut in and Jaslin knew that the other woman was not in the mood to entertain her questions. "I will have a servant take the dishes" she said and left. Qaya sighed. She had thought to herself if she should let Jaslin know her plan, after all she was the only friend that she had but at the moment she couldn''t help but feel resentment in her heart. She also couldn''t trust if Jaslin would support her or try to dissuade her. In Cralville lay the largest correctional facility in the country and just by the side was a large mass of land were mistreated prisoners were buried without respect. Qaya had done the math, the verdict declaring that, that poor innocent woman be excavated from her grave and be sent to the prison graveyard was two days ago. At the moment, she would have been let out of her grave and will be in the process of preservation, so that the corpse smell won''t kill its transporters. All things being equal, the corpse will start it''s journey to Cralville, three days before her and by the time she arrived Cralville, the corpse will just have been buried in the ground. "It''s stupid if I try to dig up the corpse myself, so I should try and arrive a day earlier, by that time the grave would have been dug but the burial won''t have taken place. That''s the best chance I have" Qaya knew she was being stupid and reckless but she didn''t want that innocent woman to be so disrespected in her death, still Qaya was curious about why she committed suicide just like that. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!Qaya gasped "was she killed?" Either way, she would ensure that woman slept in a grave befitting of her life. Maybe that will console her and she''d be able to live past the injustice that Qaya Wright faced. In the days that followed, the family took great care to prepare for the departure to Cralville. As Dylan Mariale was a meticulous man he made sure that no stone was left unturned, especially in matters that concerned his only child''s comfort. So imagine the shock that hit him when she said she would leave a day before them and on horse at that. "What?!" "Calm down, I am not a child. I know my way there" "No you don''t, why would you even want to do that? You''ve waited patiently all these while, waiting an extra day shouldn''t be too strenuous" Dylan pointed out "I promise that I''ll be fine...just let me do this. It''s better that you give me permission so that I don''t have to do this behind your back" Her father stared on in dismay. What was he to do with this child? "Okay I''ll send you an escort, my most skilled guard" Qaya smiled, she would eventually lose him once she got to Cralville "thank you so much, father" she smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. And so the journey started. The journey was fast because they were on horse and they only made two stops in the whole four day journey, the escort was in agony as he was feeling sleep deprived. But it was nothing compared to the agony that he put Qaya through by talking non stop. The girl was thankful that at least she could gallop away but this man managed to still talk no matter the situation. "Does he not tire?" Qaya thought to herself. After hours of burning her ear off with small talk, Qaya managed to get him off her back. As she saw town of Cralville up ahead, she abruptly stopped. "Is anything the matter, my lady?" "Let''s take a break here" "What? But Cralville is just up ahead. We can rest when we get there" "I get your point but I have been feeling drowsy, I might just collapse out of exhaustion, you don''t want that and even you, you don''t look so good" "Well we only took two breaks and that was at the beginning of the journey so it''s not unusual that we both feel tired" "Then let''s just *yawn* sleep" she came down from her horse and started to clear space for her to sleep. The escort looked on skeptically. She stretched and made herself comfortable "are you not sleeping?" "I must guard you, my lady" he answered Qaya didn''t coax him any longer. She instead lie down and pretended that she had fallen her sleep. Once the escort fell into slumber, she got up and tapped him. He was as lifeless as a sack, he didn''t even budge. "Forgive your evil employer, I did this purposely" this was the note she left in his breast pocket. She raced to Cralville and everywhere seemed quiet, it was night all ready but she hadn''t expected that everyone be sleeping at this time, at least that worked to her 0advantage. She left her horse at a stable and ventured out on foot to the prison yard. Thankfully she didn''t have to walk far, the prison was close. "The heavens are being generous to me" she exclaimed to herself as she saw the carriage that brought the corpse, the arrived late. She stealthily crawled into the prison compound and walked over to the carriage. The coachman was smoking a cigar by the carriage, she peeked at him and assessed the situation. The man must have been so engrossed, he didn''t notice when Qaya moved under the carriage and tapped it "Praise God there''s a hidden compartment " She muttered. She was getting nervous because things were going very smoothly and it felt like they would soon become awry but she had follow through with her plan. It was too late to be having second thoughts. She crept up to the man and hit him on the head with a baton. She nervously checked if his skull was still intact and if he was still breathing; safe for the wound she caused, she was certain he was fine but she still felt uneasy what if he died from bleeding too much. She stripped off his clothes and wore them. It was moment like this she was thankful for her build. She headed out the gate and the guard stopped her. "You leaving?" The man asked Qaya frowned and assessed the guard''s statement, there was a hint of familiarity in his voice, so even if she mimicked the coachman''s accent, he would catch her. She looked away, the cap, she was wearing, was doing a good job of shielding her face but she still couldn''t risk it. "I have to leave? There''s someone I must visit" "You sound funny" "The cigar... wasn''t some ordinary cigar" she retorted and let out a laugh that was borderline maniacal and depressing at the same time" The guard shook his head and opened the carriage, it was empty "be careful, so you don''t hit someone" "I understand. Also when I went to use the loo, I met a man, unconscious, he seemed to need medical attention" "Uhn" "Hurry, I don''t want him to die he has a wound in his head, I thought to tell you" She led the carriage away, meanwhile the guard hurried to see who needed medical attention. When he saw the coachman, he immediately knew he was done for. He informed the soldiers and they set out to find the corpse theif. Qaya decided to pass a path in the bushes to avoid detection. "I have to find a place to bury her" As she moved though the trees and shrubs, a bullet grazed her ear. She winced and that brief moment caused her to veer. She regained her composure and increased the pace but the prison guards and soldiers were hot on her heels. "Halt" the soldiers screamed but she disregarded their orders and kept going. It was dark and they were in the woods, a thorned plant grazed her and some of the thorns even clung to her skin, she yelped and this frightened the horse. Another bullet flew and this time right through her shoulder, another into the horses side. The horse let out a cry of pain and fell to the side. The force caused the carriage to detach and fly further into the bushes. Even Qaya was nowhere to be seen. The soldiers rushed to the dilapidated carriage, but both the corpse thief and the corpse were no where to be found. *** Qaya grunted as she pushed the corpse on wooden wheel barrow she miraculously stumbled upon. She was regretting all her choices. Just what right did she have to steal a random woman''s corpse. For what purpose? Did it matter if she was buried in a prison yard or normal death? Would the woman or her family even care for something like this? Qaya rebuked her stupidity. All her body was in pain and soldiers were looking for her, yet she kept on moving. Her mind went to her family and her heart ached as she thought of how sad her mother would be. She was increasingly getting scared, because of her wounds she was moving at a discouragingly slow pace, the soldiers would sooner or later catch up with her. She collapsed. "I really was sleep deprived" As she drifted to sleep, she heard footsteps but she was too weak to budge. A man stood above her, looking in surprise. "And just who do we have here?" The great treasure hunt arc II Qaya opened her eyes and squinted at the bright light. She was in a room and beside her, a woman sat, soundly sleeping. Alarmed, she straightened up from the bed she was lying in and looked down at herself. She was in new clothes and her wounds were bandaged. She moved to get out of bed but the woman flinched and woke up. "Good morning. Are you feeling well?" She asked with a warm smile Qaya silently nodded and tried to leave the bed but with help from the woman. "Thank you for nursing me" "It''s no worries, after all I''m not the real hero, you would have died if that young man did not perform first aid and tend to your wounds" Qaya suddenly remembered, there was a man she met the night before while... "The corpse" she blurted out and shocked the woman "What?" "Don''t mind me, where''s the man that brought me here?" "He''s just outside having his lunch" Qaya didn''t even wait for instructions, she ran out of the room and tried to navigate her way around. "Just where are you going?" A man called out. Qaya turned back to see Rivan holding a plate of food. "You?" "Let''s go inside" he said as he pointedly nodded at the room. "you know better than to show yourself in public in such a state" Qaya nodded, she understood what he meant after all just the night before she was being chased by soldiers. As they entered inside, the woman quietly left the two to discuss. Rivan set her food before her and Qaya did not think twice before devouring the food. "I brought you here and seeing the circumstances of how we met, I lied to the inn keeper that you were uncovered from a raid at a human trafficking raid" Qaya almost choked "what?" "Or should I have said: ''hey this is a noble lady that stole a criminal''s corpse and thus had to be shot by soldiers''" Qaya rolled her eyes. "So that was the best excuse you could think of, or am I not fit to be your fake lover" Zach scowled "saying that won''t put me in a good light. If you were my lover, you wouldn''t be with such bruises because if anything I would die before the slightest harm comes to my lover" "Dying''s too much, but anyhow, Ms. Charmale must be so lucky" For a brief second, his expression soured but he was quick to hide it "you won''t even ask for what you stole?" "To be honest, I didn''t really care for the corpse now that I think about it. Everything I did was out of foolishness and selfishness" "Still won''t you be happy to hear that she was buried in a safe place and not in a prison graveyard" "Where''s she?" "I won''t tell you ... I''ll show you" They left the inn with Qaya still travelling as a male traveler. They went to the Ceria countryside home. It was a large manor that was popular for having a history museum and it''s revenue came from the visitor''s fee and lodgings. At the back of the museum, there lay epitaphs of Cralville''s Martyrs and those who''d fought for the good of Easteford. Just outside, the Martyr memorial was a plot of land. A humble looking epitaph stood in a little corner. "Blown by the currents of life, she''s come to stay home" "You buried her in your family''s grave yard?" "Yes..." "That''s so stupid, why would you incriminate yourself like that, you could easily have bought a small land anonymously, that''s what I was going to do. If you do this you''re going to be punished for my crime and then I''ll feel guilty" "You speak like you''re sure that the King''s men will retrieve her body. And I''ll honestly do this than have her removed again from her resting place...ah, the disrespect" The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "And I am certain of this, the king will never check my family''s graveyard, I doubt he even cares enough for the poor woman to have soldiers look for her corpse" "Okay... I''m sorry for calling you stupid, it''s just I really hate people taking the blame for someone else''s misdeed...but the headstone, how did you prepare it so quickly" "I had it already. It was made for my sister who hung herself" "Uhm? Then" Qaya stuttered, she didn''t know how to feel with such revelation. "We could no longer use it when we read her suicide note and found out it was an elopement letter instead . She faked her death so there was no need for a burial" "But ...how?" "Let''s not talk about it, to be honest I must have been excited to use it because I really wanted to kill her but thank God I don''t have to, we''ve found much better use for it" Qaya almost found it amusing but knew that it wouldn''t be appropriate to chuckle. She cleared her throat as if to clear the awkwardness. "It''s rather chilly, can I have some tea" "Forgive my inhospitality, let''s go inside" As they sipped on their tea, Qaya seemed to be in deep thought. "Is anything the matter, Ms. Heris-Mariale?" "Well, it just makes me wonder. You''re such a a law abiding individual, so why did you help me instead of giving me up so I can be apprehended. It''s confusing" "It just seemed the right thing to do at a time" he lied. But how was he to tell her the truth. The day he visited Melinda and the king interrupted their meeting, he had waited behind in the room next door because he still wanted to talk to Melinda. The King''s guards must have missed him because he heard their whole discussion, how they were going to frame an innocent woman. He was deeply hurt by this revelation and the heartache that came with it was so severe that he was severely sick. Guilt and fear couldn''t even let him attend the court investigation disclosure. His plan was just the same as Qaya, he planned on recovering the woman''s body and burying it elsewhere, he just happened to be later than Qaya. "Your family must be looking for you" Qaya shrugged "this tea is splendid. For now that''s what I''m going to focus on" Rivan chuckled and poured her more tea "anyway, is it even a good idea to appear like that...all perforated" Qaya snickered. "All is well, Ceria" A butler emerged and whispered into Rivan ''s ears. "Have him come in" "Yes, sir" "Do you have a visitor?" She asked as she was feeling self conscious, someone should not see her in such a state and in an unmarried man''s house at that. "No, YOU do" Just at that moment, a tall fellow followed behind the butler; he was Qaya''s travel escort. He fell to his feet "my lady I have been searching for you, day and night" "Oh forgive your cruel master, there was a matter I had to attend to, my family must have gone mad by now" "I doubt it " the escort answered, Qaya frowned. "I informed the staff that you wanted to go on a short sight seeing and that you''d lodge at an inn" "So you lied" Qaya teased "With what you''ve done. I assumed I had that much liberty. I want to keep my job and my head" Qaya smiled widely " I didn''t like you much when we first met but with what you''ve done, you''ve certainly moved into my good graces, I will reward you handsomely" "Will it be too greedy if I ask you never put me through such" "I''ll try my best to put my days of foolishness behind me. Come let''s go home" She stood up to her feat and curtsied to Rivan "you''ve been such a generous host, I''ll take my leave" "Hold on" Rivan called out "let me be an even more generous host, I can''t let you live like that" He said referring to her attire, they were dull looking men''s wear, it was oversized and you could tell that it was commoner''s clothing. Now they had to take a detour and find an appropriate dress. Qaya thought it would take long to find a dress her size but she found one easily and went out to show her escort and Rivan. "I might get attacked for cross dressing" she quipped but instantly regretted it when she met the unamused looks of the men. "What do you mean?" Rivan asked not getting the joke "Well...uhm...cause I''m so tall and bulky" "My lady, realistically speaking, while you are huge for a woman, you''d at best pass for a small man, there''s an evident contrast between you and the average man. You still have soft feminine features even though you''re tall and big . Therefore no one will think you''re a man crossdressing" her escort exposited "I think you look okay either way" Rivan shrugged and continued with his work. Qaya left there embarrassed. When they got to the Chatelet Dylan bought for the event, no one was around safe for nanny. She appeared tired and was helping herself to juice. "Where''s everyone?" Qaya called as she sunk into the soft couch. Nanny got up and rushed to attend to Qaya "the king summoned them, he didn''t even let them come home, he just sent word that they must appear before him as soon as they reached Cralville. It''s scares me" Qaya raised her eyebrows, she really didn''t want to get involved with Awin and Melinda but they just kept crawling into her life. How annoying. "I am hungry, has food been made? "Yes, I''ll have the table set" "Bring a plate for my escort, he''ll join me" Nanny paused but nodded in understanding. As she ate, her mind wandered to Awin, what did he have up his sleeve? Anyway seeing as she wasn''t summoned, it must have nothing to do with her, Awin has always been interested in the Mariale fortune, so he''s probably proposing some stupid partnership: this is what she thought. Either way, she''ll find out in the right time. When her family returned, they didn''t have a pleasant expression on their faces. "For what matter did the king summon you" she said as she hurried to her mother''s side, giving her a light peck. This startled Marie who broke out in a shy smile but quickly frowned again. "I imagine the King''s meeting is the cause of your frowns" Dylan sat down and smoothened his hair. "I don''t know how to say this" he sighed and handed Qaya a letter, it was purple with red accents* Qaya gave her family a questioning gaze and proceeded to open the letter. For a while she was quiet, then she fell into a chair, her gaze had darkened. "What nonsense is this?" "Qaya..." Jaslin tried to step in but her cousin was not having it "And what right does he have to command such arrant nonsense, does he not know who you are? Have YOU forgotten the position you hold?" "I can''t abuse my power as a diplomat and as long as I''m live here I must respect the King''s authority and this seems to be a reasonable request" "Reasonable? If it was so reasonable why come in with such looks? He''s asking that you participate in the great treasure hunt and have me seat in the King''s canopy?!!" Qaya shook her head "this is going to set lots of tongues wagging and you know it, it''s one thing for an expatriate and diplomat to fight for a measly pathetic trophy with all the other lords and a completely different ball game to do that with his daughter sitting in the King''s company" "This is an insult to etiquette and if our family condones such rubbish only God knows what horrendous rumours the nobles are going to start manufacturing" "Qaya, it''s just a matter of etiquette, it something that can be overlooked" Qaya paused and eyed her family carefully "why are you going along with this? Is he holding anything over you? I''ll oblige if you tell me the full truth" Marie sighed and signalled Jaslin who in turn had all the servants leave the room. Marie spoke up "he told us the reason why you left early" Jaslin added "he could have you arrested, you know" Qaya snickered "is that it? I''ll go see the king then" "What? don''t be stupid" Marie called out "I might have been doing stupid things up till now but this is different" **** Awin smiled as he saw Qaya sitting in his waiting room. "For what matter do you wish to meet me?" "I reckon the king is too smart to not know the reason" Awin chuckled "you have a rather piercing way of speaking" "Do not think because you''re king that I''ll forgive your discourteous behavior, that request of yours was against the norms of etiquette" "But your actions yesterday proclaim good proprietary and sound etiquette?" Qaya laughed heartily then she threw him a sharp cold gaze "both of us know, I did no wrong. If anything you''re the one who''s been doing nothing but wrong things" "..." "You use Ms. Wright as your dog, have her killed then replace her with her own murderer, make her death seem like retribution and then frame an innocent woman for the murder- or did I word it too poorly" "You speak without proof, Qaya" Qaya scoffed "we are not in court, so I don''t care to prove anything because both of us know the truth" "Either way, you still have to accept my request after all it is a royal command" "I came here to tell you to renege that stupid request of yours" "I''m afraid I can''t, if you don''t answer my wish, I''ll have you arrested" "Just try, Awin, just try. I will bring everything you''ve done to light, I have enough evidence to cause you to forcefully abdicate" His heart skipped a beat, he wasn''t sure if it was because of our brazenly she threatened him or how she called him by name without regard but he was shocked and concerned. But he didn''t show this, he remained calm and collected. "Okay, let''s agree that I am a horrible person but that still doesn''t excuse the fact that you stole a corpse, a frightening act and a crime too" "Then do you want me to decide my own punishment?" "I fear you may be too hard on yourself" he said with a sly smile "It''s better than being too lenient" Awin let out a light chuckle, he felt her burning gaze as she said those words. It was a shot at him. "So what do you propose?" "Switch it? Have my family sit in your company while I join the great hunt" Awin laughed and stood up to look out the window "you must think me a fool. I ask that you let me punish you and you propose a way I should honor your family?" "Forever discourteous" Qaya shook her head disapprovingly"I was not done speaking, when you acted like a vagabond and interrupted. If I fail to win then you can ask of anything as along as it is in the circle of etiquette and moral proprietary" Awin smirked "I liked that" Humble beginnings The day of the great treasure hunt finally arrived. The atmosphere was bustling with festivities and fanfare. Beautiful prints of dresses and coats were all about. All the nobles in attendance were dressed to the nines. This was no surprise, after all, the treasure hunt was a highly anticipated event. The watch field that the event was going to be hosted on was vast. In the middle, there was a wide stage with gravel and asbestos flooring, and at the far end of this stage lay a screen, it was a vision display device connected to its counterpart vision pick up device. All the guests were being served delicacies of all kinds from steamy rice buns to spicy meat dishes to sugary deserts and many more; food was in abundance. There were a total of fifteen canopies; Eight canopies were for the normal nobles of humble rankings, four were for the high ranking nobles, two were for the extended family of the royal family and the last canopy hoisted on a grand podium and beautified with regal decorations was the canopy of the King''s company. Everyone looked up at the people sitting there with envy; wow! To sit side by side with the king and dine on the same table. But one family was not happy to ''enjoy'' such a privilege. The Heris Mariale family sat beside the king and he kept on trying to make small talk with them. As the nostalgia of the festivities gradually subsided, representatives of contending families started to seep into the stage. There were six contenders in all, they were all from high ranking noble families. This by implication was that, they were not only remarkably powerful but they all had cordial relations. Awin pouted as he turned away from Dylan Mariale, the man didn''t seem to converse with him. "How sad?" He mused. His eyes wandered through the gathering before him searching for Qaya, she had refused to sit in his company. When she had made the proposal to join the hunt, he was taken aback and slightly irritated by that request. He wasn''t sure why he felt that way but he wanted to immediately refuse her but the cunning part of him wanted to indulge her. After all, her failure offered a very tempting reward. His eyes stopped their search when Qaya stepped into the stage, a lone contender. He heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed into his throne but the crowd had an opposite reaction. The sight of Qaya threw them into agitation. The problem was not that Qaya was a contender but she was a solo contender. It seemed conceited because while other families presented two, three and some, four people to contest for the treasure hunt, she came alone, almost as if she was making an open declaration that she was better than all of them. Qaya shrugged, she knew this was the only probable reaction and whilst she understood their point of view, it still irked how everyone or at least almost everyone concluded she was putting up a prideful display, "if I was to do anything like that why would it be through this means?" She whined. A lanky man with a bubbly aura came up the podium, he was the King''s advisor, Betram. His singy singy voice caught everyone''s attention as they stopped their small talk to turn to him. "You''re all welcome to this year''s great treasure hunt, an event that gives nobles the avenue to not only enjoy themselves but prove their loyalty to their nation. This year''s trophy is the golden box, an object that has been deemed as nothing but a legend until our King''s great father, Lazarus the courageous found it during an expedition, for its long standing with the royal family, no one has ever known the contents of the box except members of the royal family. I hope this exposition is enough for you all to know the great importance of this trophy" Everyone nodded in agreement. Qaya could see the contenders bustling and discussing in excitement, she rolled her eyes. "Today, I will present to you your first riddle; the box of gold comes from humble beginnings, some might even say it has lowly leanings, like every of its kind, it doesn''t stray far from it''s home Like a man will return to the womb in a tomb." As he finished speaking, the King''s advisor went back to his canopy. The first half of the treasure hunt was about to start everyone was supposed to answer the riddle and get half of the puzzle and return by evening for the second riddle to find the last half of the puzzle and win the trophy. The way the treasure hunt trail was, there was only one acceptable path to tread and it was about 5 miles. There were seven people at designated areas who reported the happenings of the treasure hunt and they were supported by an overhead vision pick up device that was played at the watch field (even though the footage would be two hours behind). Qaya waited for a while while the others dispersed. Her eyes moved to her family members and she smiled up at them, waving happily. She turned to leave. She smiled to herself as she heard some teams arguing among themselves, no doubt it was a tiresome riddle but she had an advantage from her time as Qaya Wright, Awin had shown her the box. Has she walked through the trail, she tried to assess if she could discern the position of the designated reporters because she wanted to do something against the rule, she wanted to go off course and off the trail. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on."It''s surprising how this riddle is, it''s almost unsolvable, you''d have to be excessively knowledgeable or close to the king to understand it. Even I, I''m stuck on certain things" she mused as she bit her nail. "The golden box was discovered by King Lazarus before he became king, thus it''s not the golden box but the person who found it that has ''humble beginnings'', the king was buried in his hometown but that''s a thirteen day journey at least so i doubt, we are expected to travel that far, this is where the riddle gets tricky" "What I must do is, make a connection between Lazarus, the box, the womb and a tomb" Qaya gasped, the solution suddenly dawned on her. She turned around in a frenzy, hoping no one saw her as she sped into the forests, derailing from the stipulated trail. "It''s just a guess but since Lazarus was born of strumpet woman, it''s possible the answer to the riddle is in a nearby brothel. After all..." "...that''s the only way he''d return to the womb through his tomb" *** It was already getting dark and Qaya grew fearful, if a competitor failed to make it in time for the second riddle, it constituted an automatic disqualification. I can''t just fail, at least not this early in time. Her face lit up as she stared at the door of a simple tavern, the walls, though old looking seemed to be properly maintained and one could just sense from the music being okayed inside that the place was extremely lively. Beside the building stood an inconspicuous sign "a good night''s sleep INN" "Inn my foot" Qaya spat as a couple rushed past her almost pushing her to the ground, she turned to look at the drunk frenzied duo as they hurried off. She looked around as she stepped in. She almost became breathless as her face became pale in a second and flushed the next. "Is this what brothels look like? To imagine the first one I''ll stumble upon is in the countryside." She mused as she brushed past the people indulging themselves. When she got to a space that was not crowded, she let out a sigh of relief. Now how would she retrieve the first half to the treasure. She looked around, this time more fervently for anything that could point to the answer and even though she didn''t get an answer, she was shocked by what she witnessed. A young lady in a cloak suspiciously moved towards the male toilet. And Qaya immediately knew to follow her, not because she was some lady depraved with curiosity but she knew that the lady was a member of the competing family. She had to hide because she wasn''t sure what to expect. As the lady entered, there was a gruff man already waiting with a parcel in his hand. "You''re late" he complained "It''s hard trying to traverse this place on foot, and a horse would have caused the designated reporters to spot me" The man threw her an uninterested look and stretched out his hand demanding something. "Why are you asking for money?" The girl was now annoyed. "Should I not?" "Fine" she abruptly replied and took off her jewelry "even if you pawn in at a low rate shop you''ll still get nothing less than 1 Forde, and you know that''s a lot" "Wow I wish all my customers were generous like you, I was expecting a few hundred Ests but all this for a useless box? Good luck" he happily threw the parcel at her and rushed off. "Wow, here I was expecting some rendezvous in the male lavatory" Qaya announced as she stepped out of her hiding place. The lady flinched and hid the box behind her. "Have you been following me this whole time?" She asked, disgust all over her face. "I came to this ''inn'' excited I was the only one that solved the riddle, how sorely I had to be proven wrong" "You know of the treacherous beginning of Lazarus the courageous" Qaya shrugged walking out of the restroom and the ''inn'' "''Treacherous'' is just being dramatic" she noted "It''s funny that a man who strove hard to make a name for himself and erase his shameful past would have an even more shameful ending" "What?" A stunned Qaya queried. "I see you don''t know the full story" the lady chuckled "Lazarus did not care for the title or kingdom, all he wanted to prove was that he could make a great man out of the little society had handed him. Would you imagine that a man who tried so hard to run from his questionable birth will be so enchanted with the likes of harlot? As often as he tried to erase his past he would find himself going back to it, seeking comfort in the bosom of harlots. The queen heard of this, everyone heard of it, the government was in disarray so the queen had to take matters into her hands." "She had Lazarus favourite courtesan poison him, the poison was so vile that Lazarus became unsightly, he was alive but in horrible pain so the former Queen and his courtesan arranged to lie to the people that Lazarus had been struck with leprosy and could no longer function in his duties, Lazarus never left the brothel, his pasty, sticky skin wouldn''t let him and he died there in the brothel. His wife didn''t even bother to bury him properly, that was the punishment she gave him for his infidelity" "Ms Heris-Mariale, this riddle is one of reproach, a reminder to never forget where you stand, to never underestimate yourself no matter how pretty or loved you may seem" Qaya flinched "is this the message Awin wants to pass across...to me?" She thought to herself but she was determined to put him to shame. "Thanks for the story but I''ll have to take that off your hands" The lady shoved Qaya away "over my dead body". She didn''t even hesitate she rushed away, trying to make it in time for the second riddle. "''over your dead body''? Isn''t that too much for a children''s game. So this is it? I didn''t even make it to the next day, I''ll just lose " With dropping shoulders, she trudged into the inn for a drink. She''d given up; there was no use trying to make it back in time, it would be too humiliating to return without the box. She slouched into a seat and a young man walked to her. "Evening my lady, is there anything you''ll like to drink" he handed her the menu. A sad Qaya suddenly burst into laughter "what''s with the names of your drinks? Cat''s saliva, whispering fire, freezing coals, tired endings, hungry raven..." she stopped reading and looked at the man''s face stunned. She''d figure it out. "I haven''t lost yet" Tired Endings The watch field was quiet, everyone waited in anticipation for all the contenders to arrive for the second riddle. Awin smirked as he watched the entrance and there was no sign of Qaya. "I''m disappointed but still, this is good" Betram the King''s advisor got up "it seems that we are missing a contender, it is time for the second riddle and I regret that I''ll have to announce the disqualification of Ms Qaya of the Heris..." He was cut short as sounds of running hooves reverberated through the field, and through the forests and trees, a hooded Qaya appeared. "I am here" she breathed as she dismounted from her horse "I''m sorry but you were a minute late" Betram noted "Still you can''t disqualify me, not when I''m the only one with the correct answer to the riddle" "What?" This was the lady from the inn "I assure you, Ms. Qaya that you''re mistaken" Qaya shrugged "I doubt the decision is one for you to make" Betram turned to the king for help. "I will request Lady Daluan''s answer first, since she arrived on time" this was Awin talking The lady bowed to the king and unveiled a box. "I present to you, the coffin of the golden box" Awin gave her a satisfied smile "tell me how you arrived at this answer" This was where she could no longer talk, she looked away and her hands started trembling. Everyone was confused as to why she was acting this way because they were certain that as the most respected scholar in the country she knew the answer. Qaya shook her head, of course lady Daluan knew the answer but it wasn''t something to say, how could she reveal the sacrilegious life of a respected king. She would be branded an heretic and a traitor. "Did you not answer the question yourself?" Awin answered annoyed "I did. I will first of all recount the riddle and provide you with an answer the box of gold comes from humble beginnings, some might even say it has lowly leanings, like every of its kind, it doesn''t stray far from it''s home Like a man will return to the womb in a tomb. Here you were referring to the king, it is common knowledge that our king did not have the kingdom as a birthright but worked hard for it, so I was supposed to find the tomb of the king as he is the box being referred to in the riddle...uhm so this box is the answer to the riddle, now , I posit the answer: With apotheosis and glorification comes Gold But they all come to naught at the end of the day people with humble beginnings and those with lavish ones will all have humble endings" The king nodded and slowly clapped causing the field to erupt in applause "I must say that you are very intelligent and you gave a thoughtful and thorough analysis that''s why I regret to tell you that your answer is not what I seek" Lady Daluan looked on in shock and embarrassment "so you mean to tell me that Ms. Qaya is right" "I can''t say until I''ve heard her answer" Awin turned to Qaya as if asking for her reply. "Lazarus the courageous was born in a brothel" this statement that fell from Qaya''s lips threw the entire party into disarray. Qaya stole a look at Awin, who seemed taken aback by this, but gave her a wry smile. "I do not see why everyone must fret, our beloved King had no power over his birth but he directed his life and made something useful of the cards, life dealt him. This riddle and the exposition provided by Lord Bertram makes us understand that the term ''box'' is a term that simultaneously means the king and his achievements. After all Lazarus the courageous believed a man is defined by his deeds. Nothing strays from home: is the expression to mean that at the end of the day when you excel as well as king Lazarus did, your roots will start to call out for you, in this case the brothel wanted to lay claim to glory and so the box had to return home for rest. So I went to the closest brothel and found this" Qaya stretched out her arm and in it was a rusty key. "This ordinary key opens the magnificent golden box and so I present the answer to the riddle: A box with such humble beginnings, meets tired endings" For a while everywhere was quiet, all eyes were on the king for his reaction. He let out a pleasant smile "I couldn''t have said it better" With that everyone softly clapped and began murmuring to themselves, how could such a controversial answer take the cake? "While you are the only one with the right answer, by the provisions of the rules, you have been disqualified" Betram cut in Qaya scowled and turned to the king "will it not be unfair to me and to the whole world if others were to benefit from my own hard work, I was only late because I was the only one that bothered to find the real answer so wouldn''t it be wise to let me participate" "She makes a good point Lord Betram, today we shall make an exception, that''s the least we can do for such a brilliant answer, don''t you think" Betram seemed offended but he reluctantly agreed to let Qaya remain in the game. Begrudgingly, he announced the second riddle "Humble beginning, tired endings The box seeks to break free With what''s left of it, it''ll flee This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Into the arms of one you would deem evil The box lies in the bosom of the devil" That was it, the second riddle was announced and Qaya was still a participant. Everyone started to retire to their homes in preparation for the next day. Qaya heaved a sigh of relief and trudged to the carriage that was to take her home. The riddle stirred her heart, it rend her heart. The closer she was to uncovering the riddle, the more torn she felt. She felt like Lazarus. She was consoled by his story. While people like Lady Daluan and Awin believed that things should remain as they were and people should remain where they are in life, she knew they were wrong, Lazarus, no matter how perilous or sacrilegious the life he lived, was a testament that one should do well and rise in spite of his background. That''s all Qaya Wright wanted to do. "Though she might have gone about it the wrong way" Qaya said out loud. Her heart pounded as she thought about the next half of the hunt, this was when the real work began. She knew that Awin would try his best to sabotage her and the fact that he''d done nothing the first day only made her anxious. "I''ve really fallen into his hands this time" she murmured as she caught sight of the family chatelet up ahead. *** Melinda pouted as she stared at the painting on the corridor wall of the king''s countryside Palace. The painting depicted the depressing sight of a child offering his mother as a sacrifice to the gods. She could not seem to understand why such an eerie thing was placed in a glamorous place. "Here you are?" A voice called behind her "Rivan, it is you. It''s been quite the time since we last met" she stated flashing him a warm smile He nodded, he seemed taken aback but quickly regained his composure. "I''ve been looking for you, your carriage is about to leave" "Then it should" she responded still gazing upon the painting. "Pardon?" "I asked and the king let me stay in one of his chambers" Rivan''s gaze fell "you''re close with the king" Melinda turned to him, surprised "why do you say that?" "I only say what I see but it is troubling how swiftly you change sides, what conviction are you? Surely it''s not the same as your former mentor''s?" "Are we talking about Sir Milton?" The lady laughed heartily "people are allowed to evolve, you know that much" "Not this radically, it''s not normal" Melinda rolled her eyes "maybe, just maybe, I''m tired of being normal" "And why''s that? What''s wrong with being normal" Melinda walked away, she could not talk but she knew the answer to Rivan''s question; she couldn''t be normal because normal didn''t work on Awin. ** The second day of the hunt began, and everyone was excited for the outcome, the participants had reduced because some families either decided to drop out of the competition or lost the game the day before. Qaya was beginning to regret being a sole contender, because in this portion of the competition she needed teamwork. She had already answered the second riddle, in fact, that was the simplest part of the hunt. From the riddle, she knew that the place to look for the golden box was in the Canary''s nest. The Canary''s nest, do not be deceived by its sweet sounding name, was the lair of the great beast. The beast was known by all of Easteford and the whole continent as the bird of punishment, because in the days before, tyrants would send ''offenders'' to the mouth of the cave where the beast lay. Hence being an instrument of punishment the beast was nicknamed the devil. Qaya was thinking long and hard; why would they put the treasure there? How would they even do that? It seemed unreasonable to have influential nobles risk their lives for something no matter how precious. She needed a plan because she obviously could not dream of battling the great beast. She thought hard, the person who had the greatest chance of winning was the duke, he had numbers on his side and then all the members of his team were trained soldiers that fought in the top ranked unit. It might be a little difficult but they could manage to retrieve the golden box. If they did, she would make a trade with the duke, he wasn''t that desperate for the King''s affection and being the daughter of the wealthiest man in the country, she could make an enticing offer. That being settled all she had to do was wait for the duke (or any family for that matter) to win and then make the trade. She waited close by the mouth of the cave called the Canary''s nest. It seemed the safest bet, she couldn''t risk following the Duke''s team everywhere. The sunlight was becoming harsher as she waited. "I''m patched" Qaya muttered as she searched for her water flask. After taking a gulp of refreshing cold water, she sat idly waiting for something interesting to happen. "I should pack my hair, it''s becoming a bit annoying" she thought and suddenly remembered that someone had given her an ornamental rope for her sword. She smiled as she looked at the pretty ornament. The young girl who gave it to her was so meek and nice. She''d said something about how she admired Qaya''s bravery, how she could emerge successful on the first day even when she was a sole competitor. Qaya blushed as she tied up her hair, that girl had called her, her role model. How nice. Everywhere was becoming boring and Qaya was reconsidering her whole plan. What was taking everyone this long to come to Canary''s nest? Or did they forfeit because of how insane the challenge was? These thoughts that were crossing her mind came to a halt as the first drop of rainfall touched her scalp. The rain was heavy but brief. It stopped after about ten minutes but it was already too late, Qaya was soaked from head to toe and was beginning to feel feverish. "At this point, I should go back and see if I can find what the others are up to, because they shouldn''t take too long to get here" Qaya turned to leave, squeezing out water from her clothes as she walked away, but suddenly she felt a mild vibration from the earth. An eerie feeling swept through her, and a tingling chill went down her spine. She hastened her pace and was almost running when something pushed her forward and threw her against a bush. "Oww" she lamented but worse was still to come. Before her was a creature about nine feet tall and as wide as a hill. It was ghastly looking with fearsome eyes and a haggard wing, the master of Canary''s nest, the great beast. With great agility, Qaya got to her feet and ran for her life but the beast was quick to block her path. Maybe it was fear that skewed her senses but Qaya could sense a desire in the monsters eyes. She trembled as she held onto her sword for dear life. The beast made a move to chomp at her head but she dodged and lodged her sword into its jaw. It stumbled back in pain, this time Qaya made sure to run quicker but the birds scaly tail got a hold of her. At this point she had resigned to her fate, her mind wandered to the golden box, it was nowhere to be seen, it must have been inside the cave but why did the beast leave its lair. "Not like any of that matters when I''m about to die" she said and closed her eyes in resignation. A bullet flew past her and into the space between the beast''s two eyes. The pain made the beast let go of Qaya and just when she thought she would fall to her death. Something or rather someone caught her. In that short moment, Qaya fainted. She heard faint words being said above her. Was she in a slave market? She saw haggard people, dressed in rags, wailing and fighting each other, she sat down watching them in spite and disgust. Her clothes were bloodied as the sole of her feet and her body was riddled with wounds. Qaya wright muttered at the sight before her "I wish you''ll all die" she snapped out of her trance. She slowly opened her eyes to see a tired Rivan panting and using all his energy to hold her up. He placed her down and took time to recover while the beast nursed it''s wound. "Thank you ..." Qaya was interrupted "Take it off" he said in between breaths "Excuse you?" Before she could process his demand, he drew her close and ran his hand through her hair. "Just what are you doing?..." He didn''t answer her, he just yanked out the rope she used to tie her hair and her curls graciously fell. He threw the ornament and dragged her, running with all his might. Qaya thought she would faint they''d been running so fast and her fever only increased. Thankfully, Rivan stopped and she could catch her breath. "What just happened?" She breathed and fell to the ground. Her knees failed her, she couldn''t keep standing. "You were framed" "What?" "The person who sent you that sword ornament wanted you dead" Qaya immediately started shaking, she wasn''t sure if it was the fear or the fever but she felt horrible. She was in such a panic as her mind went to the day when Melinda killed her. "Qaya calm down, Qaya breath. Please, don''t be scared. Canary wasn''t after you but the ornament." Rivan assured her as he saw her hyperventilating, he wanted to console her. "What do you mean? How''s that even possible?" "The ornament was made from the stem of the Oculius plant, it emits an ordor that becomes incredibly pungent only to the canary beast after rainfall. Even if you were miles away, if the rain hit the ornament while it was with you, the beast would have found you." Qaya broke into tears, she wanted to be strong, she wanted to be an invincible force that would destroy Awin but this encounter greatly shrunk her resolve. "Was she really up to the task? She was better off just living ordinarily and minding her own business, would have family have gone through this if they went instead of her? Rivan gently shook her "look at me, you can cry here as much as you want but you must show your enemy that you came out of this unscathed" Qaya absentmindedly nodded and stood to her feet. She wiped her tears and gave Rivan a sad smile "of course, I might have lost the battle but the war is far from over". *** The duke returned to the watch field with the golden box and was named the winner of the great treasure hunt. And people began to merry but Awin couldn''t celebrate yet, he scanned the environs searching for Qaya but she was nowhere to be found. Shortly after, she appeared looking defiant and proud like she didn''t just lose. He smiled as their eyes met and mouthed "you lost" but Qaya smirked and looked away, and he was certain that her smirk had been replaced with a scowl. He stood up and congratulated the duke again, drawing the older man into a brief hug. He then took to the podium. "I am grateful that this event ended smoothly and to celebrate not only the Duke''s victory but the Kingdom prosperity, I invite you all to the grand banquet." Everyone cheered. Awin smiled as he saw Qaya rolling her eyes. He muttered to himself "now, it is time, Qaya" A banquet of jackals and stench The Heris-Mariale family rode quietly in their carriage, as they headed to the palace to celebrate the King''s banquet. They had left Cralville and the banquet was to take place back in the capital city. The atmosphere was stiff because of Qaya''s foul mood. Ever since she lost the treasure hunt, she''d been bitter and annoyed with everyone. Dylan cleared his throat "I hear that today the king will show everyone the contents of the box" Qaya turned away from them as if she hadn''t heard and looked at the view outside the window. She did want to attend the stupid party. She''d managed to recover from the wounds she got when the great beast attacked her but it was too much of a burden to have her attend a ceremony commemorating her defeat. "I must say you look stunning in your dress" Jaslin noted and Qaya nodded "Thank you, I am flattered" she answered drily. When they arrived, the banquet hall was bustling with people. The family went to greet the king and the duke; the stars of the event. "Isn''t it my dear friend, Dylan Mariale" Awin said cheerfully and turned to see Qaya''s scowling face. "How cute?" He thought to himself. "We''ve come to give our greetings and congratulate you" Dylan said with a feigned smile. "Well then, enjoy yourselves" Qaya sighed as she watched her family mingle with people at the party. She felt suffocated but what else could she do? she''d have to endure and face the consequences of her actions. *** Marie sipped her glass of wine merrily. The mood was nice, she thought. The whole mood since she was acquitted and released had been tense, maybe alcohol was what she needed to ease her senses. Just when she thought to enjoy herself to the fullest, Lady Daluan walked up to her flashing her a coy smile. "Evening, Madame" lady Daluan called, a plate of buttered cookie cupcakes was in her hand "the wine is nice too but I wanted you to try the pastry, it''s almost heavenly" Marie eyed the other woman suspiciously, but took a piece and bit out of it. "What do you think of it?" Lady Daluan asked expectantly For a moment, Marie almost let out a laughter of sheer happiness but she had to maintain decorum. She smiled and closed her eyes enjoying the soft buttery goodness sweetly melting in her mouth. "It''s marvelous" she took another piece. "I am glad" lady Daluan muttered and took a seat beside Marie. "How has life been? Hope it hasn''t been tough since your release" Marie paused. Was this genuine concern or was she looking for a means to insult her? She wasn''t sure but she didn''t want to make any assumptions. "Well, as expected, adjusting isn''t exactly like breathing, it requires conscious effort but I''ll be fine" "I heard you lost your title, you were Dame Execurium**, what''s your new title?" Marie studied Lady Daluan''s face and was still unsure if this woman was just harmlessly curious or otherwise, but she didn''t mind much; she didn''t care at all. "I don''t have any special title, as my family is now joined with the Mariale family. Even if we aren''t legally married, we have a binding contract of loyalty between us, so I''m just the lady of the Heris-Mariale household" "Do you despise Dylan Mariale?" "Is anything the matter, Lady Daluan, you keep asking me questions, this isn''t just out of mere curiosity, you have an ulterior motive" Daluan smiled "did I come off as disrespectful? Forgive me if so, I was just interested in the mother that birthed someone as brilliant as Qaya. She kicked me off my pedestal but I''m too impressed to be angry, so..." "Still, you should control yourself..." her voice trailed off as she caught sight of Dylan approaching them. "Is anything the matter? Lady Daluan" Dylan asked as he stood between them. Lady Daluan blushed "nothing, I might have a tad bit rude, I wanted to know about your family because I''m curious about your daughter" "Oh I see" he said and turned to look at Marie but she didn''t even acknowledge him, she stuffed another cookie cupcake into her mouth. "Wait a minute, how do you know my name?" Dylan raised his eyebrows at the absurdity of her question "not only did I see you at the treasure hunt, you''re a person of reknown" "I know but I didn''t think my fame would spread to the Occident Coast" "Then you are mistaken, I especially love your literature on the philosophy of socital change. You provide commendable insights" Lady Daluan chuckled and lightly slapped his arm "I''m flattered, I''ll also have you know that you''re quite popular in our circle" "What circle?" "In my academic and social circles. But it''s no surprise, you''re a man of impeccable standing" "I am glad you think so" "If it''s okay with you, can I call a couple of my acquaintances?" "Do as you wish" Lady Daluan gleefully went to look for her friends and left Dylan with Marie who was staring daggers at him. "Is anything the matter? You look... constipated" Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Marie scoffed, would she just ignore this man''s disrespect? "wow, you see me now? You were chatting so freely with Lady Daluan, I thought you couldn''t see me or I had just turned invisible." "What? What are you going on about?" Marie shook her head. I will go and refill my glass. She walked away and groaned as she saw Lady Daluan coming with three other women. She was annoyed at the audacity of everyone. How could they just go chatting like she wasn''t standing there? Did Dylan have no regard for her? Marie stopped in her tracks. Why was she angry? Dylan did not owe her anything, he wasn''t married to her, he was free to converse with any woman. She was beginning to reason logically and see the faults with her early actions but she couldn''t help but still be angry. "No man has approached me for romantic prospects but look at him, without any effort, younger women were swarming around him. So of course she''d be jealous, it was the only natural thing to do. But why did she feel hurt and betrayed. Suddenly the buttery cookie cupcakes felt bitter, and all she could do to wash away the bitter taste was to drink wine. *** Qaya sat down looking spitefully at the party. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, she couldn''t blame them. Her heart skipped a beat as Awin tapped her shoulder from behind her. "Your highness, what''s the matter?" "Nothing" he took his seat beside her and offered a glass of juice that she accepted out of courtesy. Qaya winced as she caught a few pairs of eyes staring in their direction. "If you need nothing from me, am I free to leave? I do not wish for unsavory rumours to develop" "I understand the term, ''rumours'' but why say they''re unsavory? I want to talk to you, it might end up being a long one infact." Qaya cocked her eyebrows "for what reason?" "You shall know in good time. But I must remind you that today is the day I demand my reward. So be ready" She fidgeted with the pearls on her dress. She was beginning to realize the folly of her early actions. Just when she decided to live a life devoid of revenge and things that reminded her of Qaya Wright, she goes and entangles herself with the king. Awin''s voice broke her from her reverie "I must say you look breathtaking, it irks me" "Excuse me?" "I can''t imagine someone else discoverin..." "What do we have here?" A third voice interrupted. The innocent aura of Melinda enveloped the atmosphere, that it was almost suffocating. "Lovely evening, Ms Charmale" Qaya exasperatedly saluted "Your highness, I''ve been looking all over for you" "Why is anything the matter?" Awin asked, his voice mildly tinged with concern. "It''s no big issue really, I just can''t seem to find Zarela" "Really?" Awin muttered looking around the hall pensively. Qaya, confused by the exchange, asked "who''s that?" "Your highness, we came together, I promise but she said the coachman was having a problem with the gifts I brought for you, so I let her go tend to it" Awin sighed and answered Qaya "Zarela is my sister" "Oh, I see" Qaya was mute and seemed composed. But she was shocked by this revelation. She was certain that while she was Wright, she knew practically everything about Awin but how would he have hidden something of such weight from her and now easily divulge it to Qaya Heris. She inspected Melinda''s look, she kept a stern poker face but Awin couldn''t succeed, he looked restive. It made Qaya wonder just how important Zarela was and the kind of power she had over her brother. "I imagine Zarela is your lady-in-waiting, Ms. Charmale. How honorable! to have the King''s sister be your lady-in-waiting" Melinda feigned a cheerful laugh at Qaya''s remark. The three of them knew that what Qaya said was intended to be a jab but they kept on the charade of a friendly chat. Melinda was especially annoyed with Qaya. Awin sighed and held Qaya''s arm "I''ll have to step out for a moment to find Zarela" "I understand" Qaya muttered trying her hardest to not allow her excitement show. She was grateful, she could finally breath fresh air. Awin left and Melinda followed in tow. "You must enjoy Ms. Heris''s company" Melinda noted "She''s an interesting woman, a treasure begging to be unveiled" Awin commented as he briskly snaked through the party guests, out of the hall. Melinda clenched her fists. For a long minute, she couldn''t think clearly. Her breath felt so hot within her that she wanted to dunk herself into a cold lake to cool away her fury. "She''s not even done anything to make you think such a thing" Melinda said this in spite the overwhelming urge to choke. Awin paused and turned to his companion "that''s the thing Melinda, Special people don''t have to do anything extra" **** The night wind wifted through Qaya''s skin and her whole being. She let out a satisfied sigh. "This is the life" She had used the opportunity that Awin''s departure created to leave the banquet hall and sit by the garden. The scent that the night pollen created lifted her spirits. She ruminated about the past events and one that especially stood out to her was the dream she had while she fainted. She had recalled a fragment of her childhood as Qaya Wright. It was eerie and the hatred she felt in that memory was almost infernal, it was so strong that it made her foul for days. "Seeing that my life is bound to be entangled with all these people maybe I should try and investigate everything" But then, Qaya remembered the promise she made to Jaslin and shrunk away from her early statement. She perked up as she heard approaching footsteps and scurried away to hide. The whole commotion of deciding where to hide caused her to stumble and fall on her face. "Thank God for the soft grass" she mumbled against the ground and heard an amused chuckle. "This is a baffling sight" Qaya flinched at Rivan''s voice and wished for the ground to open up and devour her. He helped her up and dusted her dress. "Thank you, I can help myself" she mumbled embarrassed. "I understand" he withdrew from her and sat down "I actually came out to look for you" "Me? Why?" "I was worried because I see that you''ve dabbled in something dangerous" Qaya snickered "how honorable of you to assume the worst of me? Can you not fathom people acting unprovoked" "The duke doesn''t act unprovoked" "What?" Qaya paused confused. She had nothing to do with the duke why would he be acting against her? "How do you think I came to know of the sabotage? I heard one of the Duke''s men talking to a young girl about the ornament?" "He might have acted alone, overzealousness is intoxicating" "I''m certain he didn''t, do you know the effort it takes to come upon the Oculius plant? The closest one should be in Canary''s nest. That''s the only place you get it in the whole continent, another source is on the second continent and you can''t legally import it because of how it is used to lure the beast. To acquire something like that, one needs more than zeal" "...." "And I suspect the king is behind the duke. Winning the gift of the great treasure hunt is not something the duke is desperate for, he would only do something of this nature, if the king demanded it" For a while, she remained silent. She wasn''t surprised but this didn''t mean she wasn''t confused, why would the king go so far? It''s almost as if he was certain that putting her in that kind of danger wouldn''t kill her. "Ms. Heris are you fine? You seem to be greatly distressed" Qaya chuckled "of course I''m not, I just wonder that you seem versed in the matters of the great beast" "It just seems that way" "Really? I will take your word for it" she added sarcastically. "I didn''t just come here for that actually, I wanted to give you this" he gave her a round marble the size and shape of a coin. "What''s this?" She asked, inspecting the object. "It''s a stone" he answered matter-of-factly "That''s debatable, but why are you giving me?" " I imagine your perils are far from over. It should serve as help" "That makes no sense...." "Ms. Heris, I risked my life for you. Trust me. Do not let this stone leave your person. That''s the most I can do for you" She smiled content with his words, and it felt comforting that there was someone who was concerned for her. She giggled and playfully pushed him "I have no choice but to oblige you" "This is what I can do? The least you should do is stay away from unnecessary trouble, I have come to learn that the king is not someone to be toyed with, so try to steer clear of him" "If only I could" Qaya thought to herself and kept the coin in her dress pocket. Heavy footsteps were heard approaching them and Qaya grew pensive, what was happening? Was the whole party just gradually moving there? "I am Zachary, the king requests for your presence, Ms. Heris-Mariale." Qaya whined and turned to Rivan who just shrugged as if to mean "I can''t help you". "I will leave you, I have accomplished my mission" Rivan muttered as he adjusted his outfit "be careful" Qaya followed behind Zachary, and the silence was frightening. Qaya knew very little of Zachary, even from her days as Ms. Wright. He always kept to himself and he had this sorrowful gaze, it was even more evident at that present moment; she caught him stealing glances at her. "You are a stern judge... that''s good" She stated, trying to make small talk but was surprised when he abruptly stopped. "I request that you only make respectful comments" "I take that to be an advice and not a warning, I haven''t done anything to imply that I would be disrespectful. I was even complimenting you" "Is that what you meant? Then why doesn''t it sound that way?" "Please do not blame me for your guilt" she interjected annoyed. The rest of the walk was quiet. When they entered the hall again, Qaya scanned the room looking for Awin. "He''s up there?" Zachary pointed at the gallery, there the king stood and watched the people from above. "This man is the bane of my life. Why have me hike in these uncomfortable shoes just to have a chat with him ?" She whined and begrudgingly made her way to the king. "I have been looking all over for you" Awin declared and dragged her into a hug that turned quite rigid and uncomfortable for the lady. "Why do you ask of me?" "Are you playing dumb or it just comes natural to you? I obviously want to ask for reward" "Reward?" Qaya Snickered "well I guess it is your reward for sabotaging me" "Is that what you think? That I sabotaged you?" "Just tell me what you want" Awin kept quiet for a long while and then pulled closer to Qaya, so close that his breath scorched her ears, then he whispered "You keep speaking like you''re contemplating granting me a wish but you well know it is my right, no matter what I ask you can''t refuse me, or else, even all of Dylan Mariale''s riches won''t be able to protect you from the havoc I will wreck in your life." Qaya froze and just surrendered to him, there was no use proving stubborn. Suddenly, Awin wrapped his hands around her waist, but no matter how disgusted she felt, her body could not recoil from his graze, it just grew limp almost as if it could tell it was being led to the slaughter house. Awin, with Qaya in his arms, called for everyone''s attention. Everyone looked up to him "this banquet has been such an interesting and enriching event...it makes me incredulously happy and to make things better, it is the day my beloved accepts to assist me in handling the mantle of governance and life" "This joyful day is the day, Qaya Heris-Mariale agreed to be my wife" Exploring the world of 3TSD* Hey I''m pen-elope (get it? Cos the author is dancing pe... Let''s just get on with this.) I am a character created by the author just for the purpose of info dumping and lore dropping...so I thought about doing my work in the earliest. This might just be the writer being lazy but I understand, making stuff up as you go is chaotic and you might just forget all about it, so let''s just have a set system. And apparently, I heard the danc1ng pen saying something about having all her stories in this setting...real lazy, I''ll have you know????... LET''S GET INTO IT: GEOGRAPHY Northern Continent - Arayle (northwest): A vast territory covering nearly half of the northern continent, with diverse landscapes ranging from snow-capped mountains to lush forests and expansive rivers. It is called the "baby empire" by other countries because all the districts in it are nations in their right. They have a financially vibrant economy that is propelled with their diplomacy relationships. They are known to be pacifists even though they are the largest in military strength. - Kusuk (northeast): A smaller country nestled between Arayle and Siera, featuring a mix of rugged coastlines, rolling hills, and dense forests. This country is nicknamed; "the doormat of the world" due to them being stuck in a circle of subjugation and emancipation, at the moment they are an independent nation. Their population is scarce due to most of them emigrating or being forcefully trafficked through slavery. Thus country''s economy stays afloat from selling their own people. - Siera (central north): A nation with varied terrain, including arid deserts, towering mountain ranges, and fertile valleys. This nation values two things above all philosophy and religion, the ideal job is to be a scholar and discover the secrets of the world, most of the world''s phenomenons are revealed by them and thus, they are stereotyped as impeccably smart people and 50 out of 50 times this is proven true. Their economy is just right, as the people are simplistic in nature. Southern Continent - Easteforde (southeast): A vast country occupying the eastern half of the southern continent, characterized by tropical rainforests, vast savannas, and meandering rivers. The country that perpetually colonizes Kusuk and initiate the most wars. Easteford is a superpower country that tends to try to trample on the other nations but is a little weary of Arayle. The country is impeccably wealthy, though the government makes it so that the nation is always in a controversial light. - Occident Coast (southwest): A slender nation along the western coast, marked by rocky shores, scenic beaches, and a chain of islands. The hermit nation, it is called that out of a play of words referring to its tourist attractions (beautiful beaches) and it being a city that accepts people from all works of life but never having diplomatic relations with nations. The nation''s economy is single handedly propelled by tourism. A/N: Can you guess which country devasted the place that is now known as "guilt land"? CULTURE: People who live in a diverse society with rich culture just like this, have similar values, regardless of the disparities that may be evident in their cultures. All societies and cultures uphold honesty, kindness, morality, piety, intelligence and like attributes as virtues and scorn wickedness, depravity and ignorance as evil. It is unanimously believed that all life is sacred and must be respected, especially human life. Human life is no commodity, it is precious not only because of the people around them and the deeds they make, life is valuable because it is something that is not easily stumbled upon, it is believed that all life is the universe conscience effort to reach perfection and mistreating a single life is tainting the effort of the universe; ironically there are people and groups that are too selfish to uohold this belief and fact (cough Kusuk cough Easteforde cough). If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. (Pen-elope: it is funny that this is a fantasy story but...) In this world, magic is ruled as illusion and anything that happens out of the ordinary is termed a wonder, that is, the people do not rule it as a supernatural event but something that occured according to the rules of nature that has not yet been known to man, and causes you to ponder more on it. Magic is not something that is practiced everywhere, in fact no one practices magic...yet. But still religions like Gainili believe in a God that performs miracles, a God that temporarily suspends the rule of the nature to benefit his beloved. The religion''s main creed is that the Almighty wanting a family made humans to be his beloved children but he gave them free will, because he wanted them to love him of their own accord and thus he let them stay on earth to try and "woo" them into loving him and being his children. The people of this religion are known to be caring but somewhat seclusive as they''re so embroidered with loving their God that they condemn the world; others try to let people know of their God and others only have the title as proof of their faith as they live dastard lives that are contrary to the beliefs of their faith. Gainili originated in Siera but presently has more influence in Easteford and Occident Coast. Other nations, that is, Arayle and Kusuk, practice a religion based on the claim that people should do good deeds to enjoy a good life, this religion is termed, Tuhsim. It is based on practicing virtue for no other reason than for humanity''s and posterity''s sake. Even though there is no spiritual or sentimental aspects of this religion, they celebrate festivals and pray for good health. Few people become apostate after seeing that good deeds don''t guarantee good lives and the religion does not have a great influence in the countries, especially in Kusuk. Regardless there are many faithless people, or the appropriate term is atheists, in all nations and societies. The major festivals celebrated in Easteford are: 1. The great treasure hunt banquet see episode 15 2. The harvest festival, Abunumas, this is the biggest festival. It is to celebrate a successful farming season and it marks the start of the year. The whole month of Abundumas is one big celebration, where there is merriment and feasting. Every night, little children will come outside, singing and chanting whilst wearing hats made from fresh straw and carrying baskets, passerbys will then drop a fruit in this basket. This is to show the sheer abundance that the people enjoy as they are blessed with enough food to share with others everyday but since everyone is sharing no one is lacking. There are two other harvest seasons, that have smaller celebrations, there''s a great feast and children and parents alike prepare a meal for each other. Things you should take note of for when you visit Easteforde. 1. For no reason must you walk backwards, there is a superstition that these who walk backwards are cursed with regression and don''t prosper. Some people might ignore this but don''t be shocked if elders keep their young ones from playing with you. They also believe that bad luck is contagious 2. If you don''t greet someone, it is an open declaration of a grudge, you are simply saying ''hey I don''t like you'' or ''you offended me''. If that person makes amend or you settle your differences, the next time you see you must give each other a peck on the cheek and exchange gifts to let others be aware of your reconciliation but if your relationship remains sour, after sometime of not greeting each other, the next time you see, the person or peopld holding the grudge tend to turn their face away from the other person and cover their nose like they smell something bad. 3. You can''t eat pudding in the night, there''s no reason just don''t eat pudding, whatever you do, don''t eat pudding at night. Currency 1 Forde= 8,000,000 Dollars 1 Forde= 250,000 Ests 1 Est= 32 Dollars 1 Forde=1000 OCM (Occident Coast mani) 1 Forde=200 Dero (the official currency of the northern continent) As said earlier in the story the attire and lifestyle of Easteford gains inspiration from 18th and 19th century Europe, but the technological advancements is not the same; remember the projection screen from the hunting competition. To be continued. The sheep that followed the wolf home "I hate everyone" Qaya bitterly muttered and woke up from her dream. Ever since the treasure hunt, she''d kept dreaming of the memory she had of the slave market. She stood up from her bed and rubbed her temples. She looked out of the window, it was still late, infact, she had just come back from the King''s banquet, that evil place. She sank back into her bed as her mind went back to the event that unfolded: Awin had announced to everyone, something obscene that she agreed to marry him. And then he put on this bizarre show by unveiling the golden box which was the Duke''s trophy for winning the hunt. The duke, in order to be in the King''s good graces and show his loyalty surrendered the trophy. "I am incredibly grateful to the duke who had given me this gift" He opened it to reveal a beautiful crown, it was the symbol of elegance and grace. Just merely seeing it screamed that it was made thoughtfully made with diamond wires, so it wasn''t so heavy, the crown was made with intricate eye-catching technique and was riddled with saphires and amethyst pearls, the whole party gasped in astonishment. "This is my gift to you, Qaya Heris-Mariale." Qaya stood in horror at Awin''s display. She stumbled backwards and shook her head. "Just what do you think you''re doing in front of everyone" "This is my price, your folly. You promised me this" "You''re just being absurd, do you know that? I know that you are not well in your mind but don''t you think this is pushing it far? What made you think that when I made the wager, I made my body part of the spoils?" "Well, there was nothing really to make think otherwise either" Qaya scoffed and looked down at the people below them, the people couldn''t hear what was being said but the hostility between the two of them was too evident. "Still, I refuse to partake in such tomfoolery" "Qaya" Awin called out in a way that filled her with dread, chills ran through her like she had just been called upon by the grim reaper. "You don''t really have a say in this matter, you may decide to walk away and embarrass me and I will devastate all that you love" Qaya looked at him with burning rage, rage so immense she had to take a seat and drink cold water. "Just what are you thinking, Awin? Do I look like the stupidly selfless person that will believe your threats and destroy my life for the sake of family?" He walked up to her where she was sitting and crouched down before her, "you don''t, and you might not even be the type. But like all creatures, I can subdue you with frustration and bend you to my will, and it won''t take much time for you be a spineless dog waiting at my beck and call" "Your confidence is sickening" "Try your best and tolerate it, you''ll have to endure it for the rest of your life" "Stop it, stop it" Qaya screamed and broke out of her reverie, she couldn''t think about how she disregarded her pride and common sense and received his proposal, it would break her. The night before was surely eventful and she had no choice now. Everyone was shocked by this revelation, but no one was as crippled with surprise like Marie, Qaya''s mother. All night, the night before, as everyone went home crestfallen, she kept questioning why her daughter would go and do this. "What is this? Why did you agree? Tell me, is he blackmailing you?" "Mother, that''s not it, really. I know he doesn''t have influence over me or this family because of father''s political standing" "What nonsense are you sprouting? You know how evil this man is, you weren''t blackmailed and chose to accept his proposal. What even is this? Because I know saying something stupid like you fell in love won''t cut it. Qaya tell me, I am your mother I will cause the universe to turn on itself and turn to dust if it''s for your sake" This was getting too much for Qaya to beat, with each second she could feel her resolve dissolving and she was beginning to hate herself with a passion for making such a decision. "Leave me, you keep saying you can help, you can help, but when have you ever helped. I think back to everything and can''t see anything you''ve done that could make me trust you if there was actually a problem I was facing. Your own empire was about to collapse under your watch safe for my and father''s intervention..." Qaya paused, she had caught of a hold of herself but it was too late, the damage was already done, she sighed "I see that I have crossed a line with you, mother. I apologize for my misconduct but I''ll also have you know that I didn''t just spew nonsense, there is some sense of truth in what I said. If you''ll excuse me I''ll have to pack for my matrimonial home" Marie winced, she looked down at herself as if staring at imaginery holes in her body that Qaya''s devastating bullets called words had caused. With that kind of humiliation, she couldn''t probe further and silently and pathetically walked to her room. "I was harsh last night" Qaya thought as she dressed up, she''d been wearing more dresses recently. But what could she do, this seemed like the appropriate thing to wear to move to a matrimonial home" She grew dizzy just thinking of it, never in a billion years would she have conceived the thought of Awin''s house as her matrimonial home. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation."But fate scorns me, and entertains herself with my peril" Ever since her large outburst at the lady of the house, nobody was talking to her and even the servants under Jaslin''s instructions had stopped attending to her. "That''s much better, it will make my departure easier on me, such a selfish thought" It might have been selfish, but it was also a futile thought, because Qaya was not consoled in anyway. When Zachary and the King''s convoy came to pick her up, her whole family had refused to show them hospitality. Qaya looked back at the mansion as it kept getting smaller and farther, it looked like a home in mourning; they were mourning her. And with the painful realization that she was entering a cruel stage of her life without familial support and her mother''s warmth, she bowed her head in sorrow. She has caused this with her own hand, blaming Awin would just be an attempt to ease the burden. All her rash decisions; stealing a corpse, wagering in a competition she had no chance at winning, all these were the cause of her downfall. "Oh how stupid I have been" she said with her eyes brimming with tears, and her body started shaking, not from the turbulence of the carriage but the heart wrenching emotion of dread, regret and sadness that permeated her whole being. Qaya wept, and no one has ever wept has bitterly and no one should, but Qaya wept. *** "How dare him do this to me? Why?" Melinda''s voice caused all her servants to turn from her chambers and run in hiding, because she was out for blood. Since she came arrived from the party, she refused to eat anything and has been thrashing her anger on the furniture and novelties in her room. The Melinda Charmale that was always graceful, with innocence emanating from.her looked like a someone who''s been deranged half her life. She fell to the ground, clawing at her skin and crying profusely "Awin, you fool, you monster, why would you do this to me? Arghggh" she screamed again and this only caused her servants to fall into deeper fear. "I''ve done everything in power to be seen and this is what I get?" She sat down exhausted, debris from what was furniture, and novelty decorations surrounding her. She slowly muttered to herself, with blood shot eyes and injuries all over her body. "I crave Awin with a maniacal urgency, I thought winning his heart would give me...what am I even saying? When has ever being innocent gotten me what I want" "Just when?" And she repeated that over, and over and over again. Laughing such a soul crushing laughter that the servants feared that they may have stumbled upon the devil''s lair, yes they must have stumbled on hell. *** The sun frowned and the birds had drooping wings, time dragged his feet, water tasted foul, it seemed that the whole universe was in unsion and agreed that nothing was good. At least that was the sentiment in the Heris-Mariale household. The servants found themselves constantly walking on eggshells, for fear that a slight misstep would earn the anger of the masters upon them. Everyone kept to themselves and while they all seemed to go about their daily activities with no problem, the atmosphere was now cold. When they ate together, everyone was quiet. Jaslin was the one trying her best to hold the family but there was only so much to do. Truly, anyone that stumbled upon their house would think they were bereaved and to the family they were indeed bereaved. Something so untoward and evil had happened and they could do nothing but watch as everything unfolded and life collapsed against itself. Marie''s health had become terrible, she lost her appetite and kept to herself. If she was not working herself to the bone she was wallowing in self pity and alcohol. This night was like every other night. She sat down in the verenda, her face flushed as the aggressive night wind blew against her, drinking gin. She felt someone put a shawl around her. "You''ll catch a cold" this was Dylan, he seemed calm but his eyes told a different story, he seemed angry almost as if he was staring at Marie with disdain. "That''s what the spirit''s for" she said waving the bottle at him and adjusting the shawl so that it could cover her properly. "It''s been three days" Dylan muttered as if to remind himself but he was talking to her. "And?" "Nothing, it''s just you could achieve so much instead of looking pathetic" "Watch yourself, Mr Mariale. We''re you not there when I wanted to protect her, were you not there when I was humiliated and belittled by my own flesh and blood? My daughter said she wants to live with that monster for the rest of her life, she tells me there''s nothing I can do about it.... Argh" she screamed and smashed the bottle against the wall. Dylan frowned as he watched her walk back into her room and settle into the sette. "That was quite the tantrum" "What are you even doing here? What right do you have to stand here in MY room" "I didn''t come here for you, I came for the good of this family, mind you Qaya is also my daughter" "So what does that mean? I''m over reacting? How is the chicken to react when she sees her young in the fox''s jaws?what should a mother do when her daughter readily communes with the devil? Forgive me, ''lord'' Mariale that I cannot maintain decorum and be a respectable matriarch but I''m trying my best" "That''s not what I meant Marie and you know it. I''m tired of this, tired of being your punching bag, I''m not exactly a perfect man but that doesn''t give you the right to continuously transfer your aggression to me" Marie scoffed "since we''re on the topic, you have quite the gall, Mr. Mariale. To appear before me after what I told you, after everything you''ve done" "Marie..." "No, I will talk, I must talk, because living with you has been so suffocating. Do you think it''s easy for me to continually look at the man that abandoned me with child, act like a perfect father. You disgust me" she spat "You know I apologized and I came back for you, my family..." "You lie, Dylan. You only came because your perfect princess wife died and you needed a replacement, Qaya and I were nothing but spares. Dylan you left me, forget me, you left your daughter. We were living from hand to mouth, on the whims of humans. For my daughter''s sake I built up my estate with my blood, sweat and tears, for what? For you to swoop in and play Hercules" "This seems like a convoluted account, you refuse to mention..." "You are not to decide for me, I know what I went through it is not for you to say if it''s convoluted or not" "I''m..." "You know what? Do me a favor and leave" Dylan did not protest, he knew better than that. But with this the atmosphere becoming more asphyxiating. Everyone was tense as if an executioner''s knife was against their necks. Voices from Zajey Everywhere was loud, sounds of people shouting in horror and yelling the names of their loved ones rent the air. Women were being beaten and men were being maimed. children were swiped left and right. The sky was red. A young girl ran through the chaos evading the grip of countless scary, evil-looking men with bruises all over her body. She knew not where she was running to, only what she was running from. She stumbled and rolled into a muddy pit. A woman screamed her name, alerting her of the incoming captor. The woman screamed in blood-drying horror "Run, RUN!!!" Qaya gasped and jolted from her bed. It was a dream. She wiped the tears from her face and stood up. She''d been having these dreams ever since the attack at Canary''s nest but this one was particularly violent and felt real. She broke down in tears, she felt so sorrowful, the pain from being torn away felt new and recent. Maybe it was the new environment, because she was now in the vile place known as the King''s palace, but she was shaken mentally and psychologically. All she wanted to do was heed the voice of the woman and run. *** It was already morning, Awin sat at the dinning table and uninterestingly watched as the servants set the table. "Where''s Qaya?" "The lady is in her room" "Has she had breakfast?" "Not yet, she refused to heed any of us" "Such insolence, why would an intending queen listen to servants?" Awin spat "I deeply apologize" the servant hurriedly bowed in fear of what the king might do to her. "Tell her that I request her presence at breakfast and the king of Easteford will not eat until he sets his eyes on his queen" The servants passed this message to Qaya and that did the trick, she appeared looking tired and worn. She curtsied and sat at the table. "You came" Awin smiled and took a bite of sweet wheat cake "You must have been starving" she said not even trying to conceal the mockery and disdain "What?" He raised his eyebrows in confusion and amusement at her harsh statement "I heard that the king will refuse to eat till he sees his queen, as far as I''m concerned, we are yet to be married, you have no queen. But you must have been so hungry that reason eluded you and caused you to discard your threat" Awin chuckled and dropped his spoon "you''re so cute, it''s baffling. An engagement with the king will always result to marriage and can only be stopped by death. But I imagine you''re desperately trying to find something to grasp unto, a false sense of hope, that you''ll escape" "It''s pathetic but also cute, so I''ll allow it" Qaya''s countenance grew sour and she got ready to leave the table "I have no appetite, I''d like to leave" "I didn''t call you to eat. This is the only time I''ll have today to talk to you. I wanted to talk." "My mistake" "It''s nothing, I''ve reigned as a queenless king for a long time, so I''m afraid the subjects won''t be patient for a wedding ceremony, you''ll have to resume your duties as soon as possible." Qaya sighed and settled again into her seat. She massaged her temples and reached for a glass of water. "I understand, but Awin, while I don''t know what possessed you to propose marriage to me, I want you to understand that I''m trying my best. So, doing things like this; inviting me for breakfast and things like these...is pushing too far." "You seem to have adjusted to your role as queen, telling the king what and what not to do." she shrugged and motioned for a servant to meet her and quietly spoke to the lady, she turned and looked at Awin "I reckon you''re done with your meal?" She asked pointedly nodding to his abandoned plate. He chuckled and stood up "Your audacity is alluring" The servants waiting on them began to wish for death with what they had witnessed. The queen had spoken to the king dismissively in the presence of his subjects, so they feared that they would be cruelly punished for witnessing the King''s humiliation but he only malevolently chuckled and left for his office. Qaya quietly ate, she had asked for spicy pig intestine to be roasted for her, it was something she suddenly started craving, she didn''t know why, it was something that she hoped will make her feel better. Alone on the dinning table, with servants and guards waiting on her she solemnly ate her meal. It was to everyone''s horror when they heard first heard sniffing, then sobbing and then the sad sounds of their future queen bawling. The servants out of respect turned aside, knowing that this is what she wanted, to mourn. Her tongue was on fire, her temperature had increased and her mind was numb, she wanted to believe it was the spicy meal. It was much more comforting to believe that. When she was done with her meal, she went to visit the office she would soon be working in. The queen was normally in charge of intra-kingdom matters like business affairs; when people wanted to complain or make pleas concerning business and social issues the queen was the person to tend to them. While the king was in charge of governance, military and executive duties, the queen would normally concern herself with citizen well being. She sat down and sipped on the tea that was left for her. She was still flushed from her meal and was tired, so she rested her head on the table. Just when she was about to drift to sleep, she heard a knock on the door. "Come in" she sat up. The person entered, it was Zachary. "What does your king want now?" She breathed in exasperation. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. He was quiet and just approached her. "What''s the matter?" She asked, now alarmed by his actions He handed her a bottle and looked away as if he was scared to meet her eyes "it''s lemon yogurt, I saw you during breakfast, it helps with the pain from the spice and I assumed you''d want something sour because of your mood" Qaya raised her eyebrows in amazement. "Was I mistaken? I thought so because you''ve been crying a lot recently, I thought that''s why you asked for something so spicy. I apologize for my mistake, I''ll take it back" "No, I''d love to enjoy some lemon yogurt." She took the bottle and took a gulp, amd let out a satisfied sigh. "I thought you came on the King''s order but I was mistaken" He was quiet, he looked at the lady''s face. He didn''t know what else to say or do, normally he should go and resume his normal duties but after seeing what she''d been going through he couldn''t just leave her alone. But what was he to say? "Will the king have your head if you sit?" Qaya''s question interrupted his nervous thinking and he sat opposite her. "I apologize for..." he stopped himself, what right did he have to apologize on Awin''s behalf to Awin''s wife. Qaya noticed his conflicted expression and laughed "It''s okay, I brought this upon myself. It must be tough on you, I see you are loyal to the king but don''t agree with his methods. Quite the paradox" "My loyalty is from a debt I should pay. Still, I am eternally grateful to the king for my own reasons" "I understand, even Awin has done some good things in his lifetime" "Do you feel better? Oh....wait, I''m sorry for overstepping" Qaya laughed again and drank the yogurt again. "What''s this? You must really pity me, Why? Are you normally this apologetic to your master''s victims or is it just because I''m your kinsman" "You were heartbroken" "What?" She asked taken aback "After the court investigation disclosure meeting, you looked so sorrowful. I normally try to be insensitive to people King Awin tramples upon because doing otherwise would mean disloyalty but that day you were in sheer pain, almost as if you were wronged. And normally the people the king tramples upon are nobles, that have also done horrible things, so I try not to care but you..." He paused as he saw Qaya crying, he couldn''t go on and just let her cry. She bowed her head and continued crying. For so long she''d been trying to put Qaya Wright behind her but she''d been living such a conflicted life with the constant dreams from her days in slavery. It was at this moment, with Zachary''s help that she realized something; she was Qaya Wright and Qaya Heris; it was absurd but it was her absurd reality, that she couldn''t run from. "Zachary, I''m grateful for your kind words and gestures. It''s because of this that I''ve come to a crucial realization and I will never forget what you''ve done for me" She got up and left hurriedly. "Where are you going?" Zachary asked "I want to reconcile with an old friend" **** Outside the palace walls was festive and bustling. It helped to boost Qaya''s mood. Awin had been adamant to let her leave and in a male disguise too but she told him she was preparing for her duties and kept throwing cruel retorts at him. He had to let her go but she was also certain that he sent someone to trail her, but she was content with being let out to travel freely. She strolled in the busy marketplace, she could feel her mood getting better. She came outside for many reasons; she came for her mental well-being because if she continued to stay in that sad and sickening place she would go mad, also this whole time she''d put the life she lived as Qaya Wright behind her but what if something happens and she has to put aside this life too and live as another Qaya or a totally different person. She wanted to know the reason for her existence, why she started having these dreams or rather, this memory recollections and why she couldn''t remember them in the first place. And the first thing she had to do was be at peace with herself as both Qaya Heris and Qaya Wright. She found herself standing in front of a food stall and ordered a kebab. "What''s a noble like you doing here?" A gruff man in the next stall asked, even with the distance between them Qaya could tell the man was drunk, he reeked of alcohol. "Young man, don''t try and pretend. It''s so obvious, look at him" he said to another man sitting by him "the lad''s skin is so smooth and pure-looking, you could even entice me..." "Watch your tongue. You said it yourself that I''m a noble and I''m at a station where I can have your head for misspeaking" Qaya managed to say in her most threatening male voice, which was somewhat convincing. The man laughed heartily and ignored his companions chiding. "If I you kill me for admiring your beauty and yearning for a taste then I will die an happy man" "Then die" a mysterious voice responded and a figure appeared behind the drunk and slammed the man into unconsciousness. "Don''t fret, I just quickened his sobriety, he''ll be in his senses when he wakes" "But... he''s bleeding" the drunk''s companion wined. "I imagine that''s what happens if your head is violently smacked against an oak table" the man retorted He walked up to Qaya and held her "let''s go" "What?" Qaya asked but was cut short when she found herself walking through the busy marketplace once again and into an isolated alley. What was happening? Why did this man drag her here? Would he do something horrible? Was he the person Awin sent to watch over her? This was what she was thinking as she looked around her, frightened for her life. "Let go of me" she shouted and he obliged, immediately releasing his grip "Were you uncomfortable? You should have said so?" "What?" Qaya was now more confused "just who are you?" "You don''t know me..." the man paused and scratched his head "I''m your savior" She rolled her eyes at his words and turned to leave. "I believe you need my help" "Mr. Man will you shut up and let me work in peace" "Ah" he sighed as he brushed through his hair with his fingers. "I really didn''t imagine you treating me like this after saving you twice" "What?" Qaya was now taken aback, she squinted hard and looked at the man before her,his hood had come down but his face was still masked, why would anyone walk like this in broad daylight and not be mistaken for someone who has dubious intentions. Now that she thought about it he did sound familiar. "Rivan?" He nodded and put his hood back on. "What''s with the attire?" "I can''t say, just know I came here for personal business, I was about to leave for someplace else when I saw you" "So you want to help me?" "I think I can help" "I don''t know, I want to investigate something about Qaya Wright but ..." "I''ll help regardless" "Okay, so won''t you take off this...uhm, I don''t know, mask?" "And let the king know that Rivan Ceria was seen in the same market as you? Besides I just can''t" "Anyway I figured, you came looking for information, good thing I brought you here" Qaya looked at him flabbergasted and uninterested, what was this man talking about what was so good about this dejected area. He smiled and walked over to a brick wall and like it was an everyday action, he pushed on a brick, a pair of eys looked through the empty space, that the brick once filled. "Who goes there?" The man behind the brick wall asked "Business and drinks" Rivan answered to the confusion of Qaya. The man was quiet for a while and then a door in the wall opened. "Welcome" *** The room was dimly lit and people were silently conversing over alcohol. This place was very obviously a shady place. Qaya nudged Rivan "you don''t come of as someone who''d dabble in illegal things, much so have the audacity to bring me here. He shrugged "I thought you needed information promptly, I must have been mistaken" "Young man, I''ll have you know that we are no illegal organization" this was the man that was to attend to them and he had a office, so Qaya assumed he was high ranking. "Really?" "Yes, our work is so noble and extensive that it couldn''t contain the laws and constitution of the land" "I see, so what do you do?" "A lot but they include trafficking your goods and consignment to help you evade tax and tarrif, selling your money in other countries and we basically do anything for you that you don''t want the government to be aware of. We have an extensive network of staff and partners, any transaction that you don''t want to show in the records, we''re the right guys" "So why did you bring me here?" She asked Rivan "I imagine you-know-who worked hard to not let anyone find about Ms. Wright, so he''ll definitely know if someone is investigating, they can do that without tipping any of his alarms" "Oh, I hadn''t thought of that. But I''m genuinely curious to know why you patronized them" "We aren''t that close" he turned away. "Anyway, I need to know how quick you can get this information" Qaya asked "Well, it depends, somethings we can give you immediately as you''re seated, others, we give after a while. It all depends on the nature of the information you''re seeking. Let me hear you first, then I''ll decide" "Do you have an idea of any slave markets around, tell me about all of them" "There''s only one slave market, though it has two ports that the people were trafficked from, but in the past seven years, the ports have been out of operation because the new governments ruling the territory of the ports frowned against slavery." "These ports, where are they?" "The slaves come from the port in the northern continent country, Kusuk and reach the port in Easteford but some slaves were Eastefordians that were sold by enemies or loved ones that were starving and needed food." "The slave market where is it?" "All the slaves all stayed in one village, a wasteland in the backyard of Easteford, Zajey" Qaya was quiet, that name made her heart skip. "What I really want you to investigate is this; the king on one occasion emancipated a slave from that market, I need to know everything about her till the very moment that you set your eyes; from her birth to date" "that will prove difficult, an emancipated slave that''s either in Easteford or Kusuk or someplace else, and slaves don''t have much records of life, even if it is practiced, it is still a crime that earns capital punishment" "It''s still practiced?" Qaya asked in dismay The man let out a bitter chuckle "the ports are not operational but some people still sell and treat their fellow human beings like beasts of burden, sadly" Suddenly Qaya felt a painful headache, it felt like a thin, long and sharp needle stabbed her head. "I don''t feel good" she muttered and looked at the man "I understand that the job will be difficult, so I''ll reward you heavily" ''okay, your fees are 300,000 Ests" "I understand, I''ll give you in our next meeting, you have my word" "It''s okay, I know. We are never owed" he answered, baring his teeth in a malevolent grin. "We''ll sell your properties until we get your money" he said in a singsongy manner, a contrast with his earlier menacing countenance. "Who''ll let you do that?" Qaya was getting offended by his audacity. This time it was Rivan who answered the question "one of the documents you signed was a loan agreement, they can always present that as justification" "What?" She gasped in shock and slapped his arm "why didn''t you tell me?" "Sorry for assuming that you had good eyesight to see and read the document" Qaya smirked at the Rivan''s sarcastic remark "This son of a-" **** "Remember to keep me posted" Qaya said to Rivan as she got into the carriage that will take her home, he nodded and waved as the carriage disappeared into the distance. He sighed and looked forlorn, he started for his way out of the market. All day there was a face he wanted to see, but the fact that he knew the feeling wasn''t mutual stung. But that''s the thing about love, it causes you to act against reason, it makes you tolerate humiliation. With a sad but expectant heart, he made his way to give sucuor to his wounded ''friend'' despite his own weeping heart. One step is all it takes Rivan looked at the building before him, it looked like the very symbol of a ghost house, no one would have imagined that a building that was once bright, a home that was so happy would turn to a place of broken dreams. He entered after knocking to no avail, the lights were all out, he looked to inspect the bulbs or rather the broken shards that now remained. "Master Ceria" an elderly man came limping in with an injured arm, he was the head steward of the house "when did you arrive?" "Not long ago? I knocked but no one answered" he asked inspecting the house, he caught sight of some servants peeping, fear in their eyes, they looked like they were begging for help. "How is your mistress?" he turned to the butler The older man kept mute for a while fumbling for what he might say "would you like to see her? I will take you to her" With that they went up the stairs to Melinda''s room. The butler wanted to announce Rivan''s presence, but the latter stopped him and sent him off. He stealthily slipped into the room, shocked by the scene. Melinda, who was still unaware of the second person, in the room was drinking, and by the looks she''d done nothing but drink, her face was puffy and her eyes were red. "It''s funny how violent and shocking a fall can be" Rivan''s voice startled Melinda who feverishly turned. "What do you want?" She asked in a tone impressive for someone who was drunken to stupor. "It''s a miracle that you''re still alive" he commented as he picked up the many arrays of bottles and put them aside. "Answer me?" She yelled, throwing the bottle in her hands at him, he dodged but a shard hit him in the brow. He groaned as if he just encountered a minor inconvenience. "Are you out of your mind? What am I even asking?" Before he himself could think, he went to her bathroom and picked a bucket of water that looked like it''d been left out for days. Melinda cocked her head confused at the sight before her "just what are you do¡ª" SPLASH!!! Cold water slapped her senses out of her and in the speed of light back into her, and warmth was violently snatched from her. She screamed and fell down shivering. Rivan swallowed hard, guilty at his actions but he knew it had to be done, he stepped outside and called loud enough for anyone to hear "Draw a hot bath for your mistress" three maids came scurrying "Be fast, she''s shivering and let her know she must see me when''s she''s done" He went downstairs and was met with an apologetic and grateful look from the butler "In the short time, she''s getting ready, bring this house back to a semblence of it being habitable, I want to be able to see her face when I talk" "Understood" the butler answered and quickly went ahead to see that Rivan''s orders were carried out. Sometime later, as the maids hurried to arrange the house, Melinda sat facing a disappointed Rivan. She looked at his wounded eyebrow sympathetic "I''m sor¨C" "Here, have it" he cut in handling her a red tablet "detoxifying medicine for all that alcohol" She took it shyly and looked away, still embarrassed. Rivan sighed and looked around "let''s take a walk outside I can''t think with all this walking about" he said referring to the haphazard restoration work that the house was undergoing. As they quietly walked, Rivan slowed his pace taking his time to look at Melinda''s silhouette, his heart ached, he was distraught and traumatized to see the woman he loved drive her self to the point of self destruction. He wanted to the bigger person and the better man but a big part of him wanted to know why she was so ready and why she so quickly wanted to destroy herself. Would it bring himself peace if he knew the reason? Would he be able to understand her better if she explained herself? He sighed, he knew deep down that he wanted her to say a particular thing that would make him feel like he was wrong and that she wasn''t becoming a monster and even if she was, he wanted to stop her from reaching the point of no return. "How many days has it felt like to you?" He called out making her stop walking "What?" "I said; how many days has it felt like to you?" She wryly chuckled and sat down on the soft grass, looking at the sky. "I lost a grasp of the meaning of time, some moments went by so fast it seemed like it never happened or so slow that I thought I was living on loop" "Did you feel cold or hot?" Melinda raised her eyebrow at his question and just shrugged "I can''t remember, I don''t exactly know but, I felt like i was stripped naked in a furnace but I thought I would die of hypothermia" Rivan clenched his jaw, he was feeling bitter; she had gone through so much but for what? He could ask all the questions in the world but not that. "How are you so ready and willing to answer my questions?" "I just...maybe it''s my feeling of gratitude. The fact that you were here for me in my hard time" "Do you hate Qaya?" He stuttered knowing this was not what he really wanted to ask. "You mean Ms. Heris? Why would I?" "Did all this not happen because of her engagement to the king? Or am I mistaken, is this love for her, because you''re aware the king is a terrible person" Melinda laughed and for a oddly long time too. When she stopped her expression was sour. "There''s only so much information my gratitude to you, can get you" she stood up and headed for her home. Rivan held her back and immediately regretted his actions but he couldn''t just look like a fool. "What is the matter?" She asked coldly "Get yourself together, you once told me that above all you wanted to be happy. You can get happiness just living like...I think you understand. And the king summoned you at the last minister meeting, meet him as soon as possible and be strong" And with that, certain that he had delayed his ''friend''s'' impending doom, he left with his heart now with an extra crack. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. **** Qaya smiled in happiness as the heavenly steak melted in her mouth, she gave a hum of approval and shook giddily. Zachary laughed, charmed at her display "I am glad you like it" he commented and went back to reading his book. Qaya had now been living in the palace for over a week and was in better spirits, she''d won the hearts of the officials and vassals and was doing her job well. And to make things better, she had only seen Awin once since she arrived. "Where is Awin?" She asked between mouthfuls of food "He travelled for a meeting with the world leaders today, we might not see him for a month" She smiled and pushed her plate away, she wasn''t so happy especially since she knew that once he came back he would ask that their marriage take place but at least she had time to put her life in order. She was done with her meal and stretched, satisfied with the feast. "Will you keep reading? You must have nothing to do" she asked curious as to why he was waiting with her. He sighed and closed his book "I asked for leave, I''m supposed to leave for my home country, my father summoned me" "And you''ve not left?" "Don''t fret, I''ll leave when it''s time" he chuckled and rose to his feet "But now I''m worried that my absence will serve you an ulterior motive, you seem eager for me to leave" he half joked She flinched and nervously laughed "it''s just, you visit me too much people will start to talk" This seemed like a reasonable concern but Qaya lied, she didn''t trust him well enough to let him know what she was up to, after all, he was Awin''s loyal servant. The earlier he left, the easier it would be for her to visit the guild and get information about the slave market. Zachary nodded understanding her argument, "do not worry, I won''t do anything to sully the throne''s name" Qaya grew quiet and looked at him with thorough scrutiny "is your loyalty to the Awin or the king of Easteford?" He kept quiet for a while looking confused and lost "would differentiating change anything?" "No, it won''t" she said dejectedly and walked over to the window, peeping at the man who was smoking just outside. "Zachary, do you think Awin is tailing me?" "I imagine, he would want to know everything about you" "I don''t want that, though" she pouted "may I ask for a favour" Zachary bowed his head "I have to know what you want" "Just 1 hour, 1 hour where I''m left alone, that''s what I want" Zachary sighed *** "You''re here?" Awin smiled as Melinda walked in, an uninterested expression plastered on her face. "Well, you called for me. Why are we meeting here though?" She asked. They were in a shabby hut in a local farm, it was where Awin''s stable hand lived. "I''m supposed to be out of the country you see, so I can''t appear anywhere for now" She shrugged and tried to shake off the utter disgust she felt. Yes, she was once poor but it wasn''t the bad. "Why did you call for me?" "Should there be any special reason? You refused to show up in any of the meetings and You haven''t done anything of worth with ''the Harbinger'' since, Qaya Wright would never have neglected her duties" Melinda winced, with each passing second she wanted to erupt, to scream in this man''s face that Qaya Wright was long dead and he should shut up, but she couldn''t crack in front of him and let him see her as less of a human being than he already sees her. She managed to force a smile. "Forgive my negligence, I will get to work immediately" Awin rolled his eyes unimpressed "there''s someone I need you to take care of" Melinda swallowed. ***** "What do you mean?" Qaya almost shouted at the lady before her. She was in a restaurant with a young lady from the people investigating the slave market. Thanks to Zachary''s kindness, she''d managed to leave the palace without anyone tailing her and went to a dessert parlor where she was now talking to this soft spoken staff of the guild. "You heard me, ma''am" the lady confirmed whispering to remind Qaya that their conversation was a private one. "It''s just shocking" "I understand your feelings, our investigation just got harder" Qaya sighed, she had not expected this revelation that; at the same time she was emancipated, Awin had freed all the slaves in Zajey. "What about the people that were freed, how are they living now?" "That''s the thing....they are nowhere to be found" "The ones we managed to find out about either committed suicide or died from illnesses contracted in captivity" Qaya bowed her head and thought hard, what on earth was Awin planning? As time passes, she began to realize that there were so many layers to Awin that she could never understand and worse was that she couldn''t shake the conk feeling of apprehension, no matter how she thought about it, something untoward was happening. She passed a decorative bag to the other lady. It, on a first glance, appeared to be a shopping bag but when the other lady checked it, she found money in it. "This is more than we agreed" "It''s only fair you get more money, the work has become more complicated amd demanding" The lady nodded and took a bite of her souffle. "I''ll try and help your investigation but I require the utmost user privacy meaning I''ll need to speak directly to your boss" The lady looked around apprehensively and gave a dry smile. "I''m the boss" "You are?" She asked surprised by the fact that the boss was talking to her "We''re actually three" Qaya wanted to ask more questions but she didn''t want to offend the young woman. Also, she didn''t just want to trust the words of just anybody but the more she thought about it, the more she felt it didn''t matter. Even if she got ratted out, she had this gut feeling that Awin wouldn''t kill her, at least not immediately. "Well, the person that I wanted you to investigate is Qaya Wright, you might have heard of her, she was the person murdered in the recent court case" "I want to know how she got in the slave market" The woman paid the bill and kept quiet until the server was out of sight. "This will take a lot of investigating so we might not be able to give you feedback on time, are you okay with that" "I won''t lie, I need the information as soon as possible, but then again I said as soon as possible" The other lady raised her eyebrow for a second and smiled in understanding. As Qaya left the building grateful that she used her one hour judiciously with time to spare. But she met Rivan at the door, looking troubled. "What''s the matter?" She asked looking round hoping no one was looking at them. "Someone wishes to see you" he answered. Old wounds cant heal again Qaya looked at Rivan apprehensively, she tried to guess who wanted to see her and for what reason the person needed to talk to her that could make the normally uninterested Rivan pensive. When she could no longer tolerate the suspense she groaned "who''s this person I''m about to see?" They were riding in Rivan''s carriage away from his residency and she was in a very uncomfortable disguise made to make her look like an elderly nanny. Rivan frowned at her outburst, but he couldn''t blame her, she had very little time to be away from the palace before her designated spy would start searching for her. "On the bright side with the one hour headstart and my disguise, it will be difficult to find me" she consoled herself and turned to Rivan annoyed "Answer my question" The man sighed "I secretly got into contact with the family of the person whose corpse you stole?" Qaya gasped "are you dense? For what reason would you do that?" He rolled his eyes and continued "I wanted them to at least know where to meet their mother and not go and mourn some carcass that Awin had his men throw there" Qaya sighed, she understood his point but boy, was Rivan reckless, or more accurately put, he was too trusting. "Her daughter said she wanted to say something about Ms. Wright, so I naturally thought you would be the best person to meet for that" Her interest was piqued and she was a little bit apologetic for insulting him when all he was doing was helping her investigation. They got to the house, it was in a secluded place in the outskirts of the main town, and by the looks of it, the occupants had moved to this residence recently. A woman came to greet them, she was swaddling a baby and seemed very busy. "Welcome Lord Rivan" "A tad excessive, don''t you think?" he replied shocked by her display, she was practically prostrating before him, at least she should consider the child in her bossom. The lady turned to Qaya deadpan, it seemed she was waiting for an introduction. Rivan cleared his throat "she''s a close friend of Ms. Wright and the one who sought for the justice of..." "Ma''am, I want you to know that my mother was innocent" she cut in, desperately holding unto Qaya, the latter gave her smile and took the child from her hands, the baby was quite the beauty. "I know that she was framed, after all I know the actual culprit, I see Rivan did not tell you I was the one who broke out your mother''s corpse, I hope you''re not too offended" The girl managed to chuckle and lead them into her abode "I normally would, stealing a loved one''s remains is a sensitive matter, but with the circumstances it happened and the end result, I feel more gratitude than anger towards you" "I am glad" Qaya answered tickling the baby "how old is he?" "My nephew, ah I''m not exactly sure, he should be around 10 months to a year. You see he''s my elder brother''s son, he was left in my care three months ago" "Where''s your brother?" "That rascal? He ran away along time ago, he got some girl pregnant and they abandoned the child. He didn''t even properly meet me, just dropped the poor boy on the threshold, with a letter." "It''s only the both of you left, is it?" The woman sighed and nodded in resignation. "It''s been hard ever since my mother died, especially since it was avoidable" Qaya raised her eyebrow and turned to Rivan "what do you mean?" "That night, she appeared very scared and guilty when she got home" "That''s natural, by my calculations, the corpse was put there to frame Sir Milton, your mother must have seen the corpse" Qaya reasoned The lady shook her head "no, that''s not it...she was different. And the guilt she had was not something about that particular night but something she had done a long time ago" "Could you explain further?" Rivan cut in, settling down. The story was becoming interesting. "That night, she came home pale and cold, as cold as a dead body...I warmed her some ginger ale and we sat here... exactly where we are sitting now" "She asked me if I had done something bad, the kind, I couldn''t forgive myself for. I answered no, she seemed pleased and begged it remained that way because even if I tried to atone for my sin, it''d be too late" "Naturally, I was perturbed and I probed her asking that she tell me what happened and all she said was this; ''today, I visited the farm of sins, I''ll reap what I have sown''. That night she was quiet and fearful throughout, looking around. Then I heard her praying for one Qaya to forgive her, not long after...I discovered her..." She broke down in tears, Rivan handed her an handkerchief, that she gladly accepted. "I''m really sorry" This was Qaya "it''s okay... really. While I am certain that my mother didn''t kill that lady, I know that in her youth, she dabbled in disgraceful things" "Are you certain of this?" She nodded "you see my late father was a top personnel at Zajey and that''s where he met my mother...do you Zajey? It''s a horrible, horrible place and my parents did so many evil things to innocent people. I imagine all the things our family has passed through is the price of my parents'' actions" Qaya was quiet for a while, she handed the baby back to his aunt and got lost in thought. Things just got more complicated. For a moment it seemed that she was close to uncovering the truth but she just came to the realization that all she had done was just untangle a measly portion of a giant convoluted net. The lady''s voice brought her out of her thoughts. "I''ve witnessed things, and I know i should not defend my parents actions but they were a product of their environment, they only had an illusion of choice when in truth their hands were tied. I plan to absolve and repent of their sins, on their behalf" "Morgan, what do you mean?" This was Rivan asking "I''ll help investigate what my mother was so guilty of. I don''t know why but I think what she was involved in was bigger that just human trafficking, as bad as that sounds" "This is risky, you know that" Qaya asked walking up to Morgan. "As long as my nephew is safe, I''m alright. Though I have a selfish request to ask" "Tell me" "You''re the future queen, you can guarantee the safety of my nephew and..." "And what?" "I do not want him to be related to this despicable family, he''s so precious, he does not need to share in our punishment. Please..." Now Morgan was shaking, basically convulsing with held back tears and desperation. She really was about to make a shameless request. A request so shameless, she couldn''t dare utter. "I do it, I''ll adopt your nephew" Qaya''s statement shocked everyone in the room. "What?" Rivan and Morgan asked in unison. " I just wanted you to give him a noble name and have a family adopt him" "And I did just that. Didn''t I? But one thing still concerns me" "What?" "Won''t this child need a nanny?" *** The whole room was tense, at that moment it felt like a crime to breathe. In the future queen''s room were a row of servant praying fervently that at the end of the day, their heads were still on their necks. And the cause of this fear and newly strengthened faith in God was none other that Awin. He was seething with rage. "So you all could not keep one woman? Are you that incompetent?" He thundered trying his hardest to not hit the closest person to him. "What''s all this ruckus about?" This voice gave everyone mixed feelings; the servants were not sure if they should be happy or fearful that Qaya had returned and to make matters worse, she had strange company. The king was too angry to even notice that. "Where were you?" He asked, his voice grave "My, this information must be gold. If you have a problem with me having freedom of movement you should have locked me in the room or be more liberal and just chain me" Awin snickered "maybe I should do that next time" "But I doubt you''d be competent enough to do that" Qaya''s statement made the servants stiff, with each passing moment, they felt like this woman was pushing them to their coffins, why was she being so disrespectful to the king in their presence? You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author."If you wish to have something, just say it, I''ll have someone get it for you" Awin stated trying to keep the peace but Qaya was hardly interested. "Point taken" she answered nonchalantly and turned to a servant, the room across this one, prepare it for the child. "The what?" Awin asked in shock Qaya laughed and took the baby from Morgan''s arms "you must have thought I was holding a doll. Awin don''t you think you have too much faith in our technology?" "What nonsense is this?" This time Awin was mad with rage. "Everyone out!" Qaya commanded and settled down as every other person scurried out of the room in relief. With only her and Awin in the room, she didn''t fear anything. "I apologize, I thought our relationship was one where we didn''t need to consult the other, I mean, that''s practically how this relationship came to be" "I am a king! Why would I need to consult you?" "I''m not surprised, that''s what a queenless king would say." "Excuse..." A servant''s knock interrupted them. "What''s the matter?" "Rachel Esquire is here to see you, my lady" Qaya''s expression changed immediately from spiteful to glad. "Really? I''ll be down in a minute. My king, why don''t we put a pin on this and continue some other time?" As Qaya skipped away paying no heed to the king, he turned to his personal bodyguard, who recently entered the room to inform the king of a meeting. "Call off the person tailing Qaya, I think the person I should pay more attention is that foolish rat, I don''t know what but his loyalty is declining" The bodyguard nodded and got to work. *** "It''s been long, Madame Rachel" "How are you?" Rachel asked in a tone that showed that she was asking a genuine question. "Like I''m in a rat trap" she answered wistfully but quickly laughed not wanting to ruin the mood. "Are you not preparing for the exams?" Qaya kept mute, she''d almost forgotten about that, she didn''t know if she wanted to be like Madame Rachel anymore, so much was happening in her life, she couldn''t have time to study. "I came to let you know that we''ll resume lectures tomorrow" Qaya was about to object when she had an amazing idea, she could have her meetings with the guild now, with ease because she had an excuse to leave the palace. "Shall we have them in your office?" She asked with a mischievous smile. *** ".. So you see, unlike other societies, Easteford correction system is based on the principle of remorse and penance, we may operate a secular legal system but even that is heavily influenced by the Gal..." Qaya sighed, Rachel was overhauling her with so much information, she must really be serious. "Madame, I thought we would just start with basics" "Basics? Did you not read the books I gave you?" "Well...you know so much as been happening in my life ..." "Pen this down, I need you to give me a 1000-word essay, commenting on the relationship of the topics of the books I gave you" "What?!!" "That''s not all, submit it two days from now" "Madame Rachel..." "I do not care for your sob stories, I''ve been more than generous giving you two days" Qaya groaned, this was too much even for Rachel. "I''ll try my best" As the class went on, with Qaya hating herself, it seemed like there was a commotion outside. Rachel paused and tried to access the situation. "Why on earth are they making so much noise?" She mumbled Just then, someone walked in, anxiety and excitement on his face. "Madame Rachel, your attention is needed in the board room" The older woman cocked her head, annoyed by the interruption. "What for?" "Apparently, a serious allegation has been brought to light and we need your insight" "What''s so serious that a board meeting is being called?" "The Harbinger...is saying that the Ceria family is guilty of tax evasion and embezzlement" Rachel rolled her eyes and put her teaching paraphernalia away "are we really taking Melinda Charmale serious?" "No, this time...it might be true and what''s unsettling is that there are claims that the Ceria family is siphoning this stolen funds into something much more devious" "I see this matter has become complicated, that''s why my help is requested" "Yes" Rachel turned to Qaya "see this as more time to prepare for your assignment" she briskly walked out of her office, leaving Qaya to her thoughts. "Madame Rachel, I really wish that were the case, that I could focus on my assignment" but she knew in her heart that that was a false hope. She just heard more distressing news. She thought after the whole case with Sir Milton, that Melinda would take a break...so what was this? And why would she pin it on Rivan''s family? The best thing she could do was lie low, if she went to visit Rivan, she could get tied up in the drama and that was the last thing she wanted. "Maybe I SHOULD really focus on getting the assignment done" *** It''s been three days after The Harbinger''s most recent publication about House Ceria''s misdeeds and while they vehemently denied the allegations, many people were giving testimonies against them, so the people that normally didn''t take the Harbinger serious still decided to look into the issue. An adhoc investigation team was made comprising of Esquire Rachel, competent accountants, police, detectives and auditors. And the whole situation was looking like there was no end to the string that they were untying. "I still feel that there''s a strong probability that House Ceria is actually guilty" one of the police said. Rachel shook her head "there''s no concrete evidence, we''ve checked their account books, there''s hardly any irregularity and we''ve interrogated everyone, there''s hardly anything that suggests foul play." "Then what about the people that came out to testify?" Rachel snickered "this is the Harbinger we''re talking about don''t you remember the Sir Milton case? So many false testimonies were made that day, what''s the guarantee that Melinda Charmale isn''t doing the same thing all over again?" "That makes sense" the head detective added "The Harbinger has a track record of making false allegations, and is particularly vindicative to people you would think she should be close to" "Exactly! she has a fallout with her allies and then punishes them in this manner, in her eyes we''re just tools for vengeance" "Still, the reason why we''re conducting this whole investigation is because of the proof that the Harbinger provided" the head detective stood up and looked through files. "Oh, that" Rachel seemed to understand his sentiment, after all that was the same reason why she still bothered with the investigation. The Harbinger built it''s whole claim on the fact that there was an offshore hotel, a front for all forms of trafficking that was receiving funds from an unknown source, the Harbinger declared House Ceria as the hidden sponsor. "I''m certain we will progress in this whole investigation, if we can get our hands on just one person from that hotel" one said "You make a valid point but they all fled after the publication, our men are working on arresting as many as possible as we speak but it''s no child play" one of the policemen replied. Just then, like it was premeditated, one of the policemen designated to search for the hotel workers, rushed in. "We''ve got a lead, a major lead" he declared happily, trying to catch his breath "We caught one of the top guys trying to flee the country, he is currently being interrogated" "Really?" This was Rachel, she seemed skeptical "you couldn''t find the lower members, but somehow caught one of the bosses?" "You''re reading too much into this. It''s not out of the ordinary" the head detective assured "Exactly let''s go and see" *** Qaya frowned, how could her favourite food taste so foul? "Is anything the matter?" The reason for her food tasting bad, asked "Nothing" "Really? Someone would thinking you''re eating stones" Awin asked and chuckled at his own joke. "Why are you here? Was the dinning area recently under attack that you could not eat there?" "I just wanted to see the face of my future wife" Qaya winced and dropped her cutlery "I''m afraid, I''ve lost my appetite" she stood up to leave. "Where are you going?" "Have you forgotten? I have classes with Esquire Rachel, today is the day she comments on my assignment, so I can''t miss class" "Really?" He asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. This time Qaya wasn''t even in the mood to amuse him. She got ready to leave but was met with a shocking sight as she got downstairs. Madame Rachel was downstairs waiting for her but not just her teacher, several other individuals were there. "Just what is this?" She asked looking at the unwanted visitors "Lady Heris-Mariale, we have to put you under investigation" "Excuse me?" She asked not believing her ears. "We have reason to detain you as concrete evidence has adduced you to be sponsoring a trafficking business" "What?!" 25: Vultures "What?!" Qaya looked on in utter shock, as she tried to steady herself and stomach everything, she just heard. What was she to do in this situation? She took a sharp breath and quickly composed herself. "I am still confused by all this, how about we all take a seat" "Excuse me" one of the investigators asked confused by her request and turned to Rachel "Well, it is her right to be made to understand the gravity of this situation...not to mention she is the King''s fiancee" "Are you sure this isn''t just preferential treatment?" Qaya cut in as she strutted to her seat "sadly, no. Everyone has that right" "So you want to arrest me because there''s reasonable suspicion to think I own an illegal business, me??" She laughed heartily and shook her head "Evidence was provided against you" someone added. Qaya just rolled her eyes at the comment "every day I spend here just reminds me that I''m surrounded by fools" Everyone gasped and tried in futility to suppress mumblings of disapproval "Whoever tried to frame me, obviously didn''t think this through. Until just recently my family was financially struggling and I was in a coma" she paused and gestured waving around invisible evidence "am I the only one seeing the stupidity in this claim?" The head detective cleared his throat "you make a very valid argument but so was the evidence provided" "And what''s this evidence?" "You have to follow us, that''s why we need you to come with us and aid the investigation" "I refuse" she answered flatly and stood up annoyed "this is just disrespectful, if I''m found to be innocent, is there anything you''d do to restore my reputation? No! There isn''t" "I know nothing about this whole situation, and I''ve told you that it''s barely been months since I awoke from my coma, there''s nothing else I can help you with" "But...my lady" She didn''t answer, she walked away from them into the palace library locking their voices away and the whole world. In truth, she didn''t have the energy for all this drama. *** It spread like wildfire that the future queen might be responsible for THE heinous crime and the fact that she refused to cooperate with the investigation team did not help matters. The whole populace were now divided, angry at the fact that she was using her station to evade protocol and justice. Qaya on the other hand did not care for anyone, she secluded herself to the palace library, reading and preparing for her exams. It was at this point that she wished Zachary was in the palace, he was such a thoughtful human being and friend, in this world where it seemed like she was always the bad guy, Zachary would have at least given her a glimmer of happiness. Her family had abandoned her and she was literally living at the mercy of her captor; so as much as Qaya tried to console herself with reading, her heart still bleed and she yearned for someone to comfort her and vindicate her name. Meanwhile Awin was beside himself with rage in Melinda''s office. "Are you dense? What did I ask you to do?" Melinda flinched, the man before her looked like a full blown maniac, and he was just two paces away from strangling her but she wasn''t scared neither did she regret it. For a change it felt nice that he wasn''t just neutral about her, the Awin that would treat her like an inconsequential given was looking at her like she was a plague. She couldn''t show it but she was on the moon. "This was just the way it appeared, I didn''t mean to drag Qaya into this" "Do not lie! Any sensible person can see that this is a setup" "The evidence produced says otherwise" she answered still holding a pokerface Awin snickered "really? The man that produced this evidence, where did he materialize from?" "Your highness, why would you ask me?" "Why?" This time he shouted slamming on the table "who else could do this besides you? Do you know any other person? I swear Melinda, if things go awry because of this...I will make you pay for this" Melinda kept mute as she watched him stomp out of her office. And slowly her pokerface morphed into a sour expression mingled with a hint of pride. "How could I be pinned as the perpetrator?" *** Qaya grumbled as she snaked through the many people in the market, it took tremendous willpower to leave the palace but she knew she had to, to keep herself from running mad. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. She was going to meet someone she was beginning to miss and hoped will make her feel better. She arrived at an open-air cafe and sat down with a sad smile. "Was it hard to find this place?" Jaslin asked as her cousin settled down "Not really" she wanted to say she was a regular when she was Qaya Wright but she held back. They sat down quiet for a long minute, until Qaya awkwardly broke the silence. "Didn''t think I would be the first person to reach out?" She nervously quipped as she ate "Why?" "Don''t worry" "So...are you ready to reconcile with your mother?" "We were never fighting" "But you never apologized" "Jaslin, if I wanted to talk about my mother, I would have met her, not you" "I understand" "I don''t know if you noticed but then if that were the case it would be very concerning" she chuckled "I was battling with resentment towards you" Jaslin kept quiet, within her she was relieved that Qaya was beginning to open up to her. Qaya continued "You have every right to be angry at Qaya Wright, but that day when you told me off and basically told me to kill Qaya Wright, I was hurt." "I was going through a rough phase, trying to separate and ascertain realities and I thought that as my cousin, that your love for ME would been have greater than your hatred for Qaya Wright. And that time, I couldn''t even express my sentiment because you made a point, so all I could do was mentally struggle" They were quiet again, and awkwardly ate their snacks. This time Jaslin spoke up. "At the time, it felt like all you were doing was atone for your sins as Wright, it made me realize that you might not love us as Qaya Heris...that was my attempt at getting you to love your family and not see us as a way of making penance" Qaya nodded. She understood what her cousin meant. That was the kind of relationship between them. All was sorted once they reached a mutual understanding. "How are you handling things at home?" Qaya asked trying to lighten the mood "What do you think?" Qaya sighed "Thank you for taking care of everyone" Jaslin smiled and held Qaya''s hand "how are you?" "Tired" Qaya bowed her head, trying her best to hold back tears "I couldn''t tell mother and father why I agreed to Awin''s proposal because it was so embarrassing" "It''s not too late, you can summon courage and tell them, you know they''ll do anything to make you happy" "It''s okay, Jaslin, my stay at the palace isn''t so bad, the food is amazing,no, it''s heavenly and i have a nanny, a friend that cares for me and even a child" "A what?!" Qaya laughed heartily "that''s what Awin said you should have seen his face..." As the girls were chatting and catching up, someone bumped into their table. "I knew that you looked familiar" the voice belonged to a gruff man, that looked like he invested all his money for toiletries into hair products, as his beard was so huge his lips and neck were almost non-existent "And you are?" Qaya asked, trying to veil her repulsion "Of course, our highness wouldn''t know me. Please don''t sell me into slavery" he said feigning fear "how dare you come and show your face here after all the evil things you do?" Jaslin was quick to understand what was happening, she grabbed Qaya''s arm "let''s go someplace else" The gruff, hairy man yanked Qaya "just where do you think you''re going? I''m not done talking" At this stage, a commotion was already created and everyone''s attention was on the scene. "I implore you to let go of me, you have no right treating me this way I''m innocent" The man rolled his eyes and pushed her so hard that she fell to the ground. Another man stepped in, holding the man back "are you crazy? Rough handling a woman, and the King''s fiancee at that?" "The king? marry a vile woman like her? Impossible!" Jaslin helped her cousin up and stared daggers at the man "I will make you pay for this outburst, mark my words" "Really, what are you going to do, sell my wife into slavery? I was looking for a quick..." WHAM! The man was shut up with a resounding slap. "Utterly disgusting" Qaya spat The man looked around, everyone stared on in shock, others whispering among themselves. The man felt defeated and insulted and this only infuriated him the more "You this evil woman!" He yelled He motioned to hit her back but was held back by a hand, then a violent kick, he flew into a table. "Rivan?" Qaya muttered as she stared at a disheveled Rivan, it was almost as if he appeared from nowhere. "Forgive me, I was just passing by and heard the commotion. I especially couldn''t tolerate someone being mistreated for MY own wrongdoings" "What?" Qaya and Jaslin asked in unison "You heard me right, I am the sponsor of the trafficking business." *** A week later "Only five minutes" the man warned and looked through the keys in his hand, as they walked through the hallway. Melinda was almost traumatized by the sight; different people clamouring for attention, swearing and spitting as she and the warden got closer to Rivan''s cell. "You want me to stay there...in his cell?" Melinda asked in shock as they kept going deeper into the prison''s premises. The warden just rolled his eyes and kept walking, they stopped at a field, where some prisoners were busy working. Melinda caught sight of Rivan, he was reading under a tree, he didn''t seem to have been going through any untoward thing and by the looks of it he was treated well compared to the other prisoners, but he looked tired, his face had lost all colour and his eyes were sunken. She walked up to him. "I wasn''t sure you wanted to see me" she muttered and sat beside him. Rivan put his book away and snickered "but you still came" "I owe you that at least" she answered drily and picked up his book, flipping through the pages "..." Rivan rest his head against the tree and closed his eyes, this past few days had been torture for him. "So are you really responsible..." her voice trailed off as she saw Rivan''s sour expression "You tell me, your paper published the story after all" "And you admitted to it, when there was proof that Qaya was the culprit" Rivan groaned and got up, he was already annoyed "So it''s MY fault? Can you even hear yourself? You''ve become so absorbed with your hatred for Qaya that you can no longer think straight, tell me one thing why are you doing this?" "Calm down, I don''t hate anyone, I was just acting on the orders of the king" "The king asked you to frame Qaya?" "No one is framing her! Why can''t you entertain the possibility that she was responsible" "Because then I would be a fool, it''s insensible to assume that, Melinda, what happened to your values, did you discard them. What are you becoming?" Melinda took a step back and looked at her feet. What WAS she becoming? She had no idea, but she knew she wasn''t wrong. She couldn''t be and even if she may have slightly deviated from the norms of virtue, she had the right to, the world had been so cruel to her, so why couldn''t she return the favour? "I don''t know what you''re talking about, Rivan but you''re being insensitive" Rivan paused and sighed. "Melinda, I will stand by you and support you because I value you but I will not watch you go on the path of destruction all in the name of loyalty to that... man" "I used to think you were a friend. But recently you''ve become a thorn in my side, going on about things I don''t understand." "What I''m trying to say is that, I don''t appreciate this friendship, so let''s put an end to it" she retreated with a cold expression but abruptly stopped in her tracks. "See this as me returning the favour, after all you were the only one that visited me when I was at my worst" And bitterly and coldly, one friend walked away from another. One woman left to her home in relief, and left the man to fall in the abyss of loss.