Chapter 39:
Do You Love Her?
The pendant is cool enough to touch after an hour on Trevus’s office floor. After my close encounter with the king, there’s no doubt the julite is on his person. It also burned hot my first time in the throne hall, where the king was just a few feet to my left, and it didn’t even warm when I snuck into the empty hall the next day.
A bell rings through the palace halls – the king summons his royal court. Last time he announced the hunt for my head. I shouldn’t miss it.
I rest the pendant around my neck. After rebuilding my confidence from staring at Raylia’s reflection on the pocket mirror, I head to the throne hall.
Noblemen and women stream through the hall’s double doors. I join the line. My white oban stands in contrast to their deep purple.
A hand lands on my shoulder. “Servant girl,” a gruff voice says.
I turn around. He’s a tall, thin soldier, clad in a black oban different to mine only in color. My uniform lends legitimacy to my actions, and I’ll take every advantage it offers.
“The congregation is exclusive to lords and ladies,” he says.
“I am Prince Trevus’s assistant. He expects my presence,” I say.
“Servants may only enter escorted.”
I step out of line and close the gap between us. “What is your name and unit, soldier?” I crane my neck to hold his gaze.
“Ulquis, Auxiliary Reserve Guard,” the soldier says. Not a Palace Guard – he won’t know Trevus’s calm demeanor.
“His Majesty Prince Trevus of Cerillis shall be displeased when I cannot attend to his wishes. I shall answer for this failure when I serve him tomorrow morning, and I shall share that Ulquis of the Auxiliary Reserve Guard denied my entry to the hall. Perhaps my back shall be spared from the rod in favor of confronting the root offender.”
Ulquis’s gaze flashes to the other guard on the opposite side of the crowd – out of reach. “What are you called?” he asks.
“Raylia of Corinth,
sole
assistant to His Majesty Prince Trevus.” I’ll happily refer to Trevus as ‘majesty’ to strengthen my own position, provided Trevus is out of earshot.
Ulquis peers into the throne hall, but it’s difficult to see over the gathering.
“So be it,” he says.
I step back into line, concealing my smile.
Trevus’s dais chair is empty. I weave around the nobles searching for his gold-threaded black oban, but I must be the shortest person in the room.
King Tytius enters from his private door behind the throne. The atmosphere falls silent, and the hall doors close.
Trevus isn’t here, and now I have no excuse either. I move off to the side, watching from a spot where my white oban is hidden behind a pillar. If the king notices my presence, I may endure his wrath a second time today.
Trevus interrupted my orientation when the king summoned the royal court on my first day. This doesn’t appear to be an event one could miss, yet he’s absent.
“Hear us, hear us, dwellers of Lystra! I raise Versillia and exalt Nomier!” the king says.
“We hear the king!” Everyone answers at once.
He settles into his grand wooden throne. “I bring two victories for Versillia today.”
The crowd mumbles in anticipation. I’m also eager to know what he has to say, but I don’t expect to share their celebration. A pit lingers in my stomach.
“To protect our nation from the scourge of the Seventh witch, I have procured a significant sum of the rare rahlite mineral. Under my orders, a bespoke regimental unit has been composed. They shall search every city, settlement and rat-hole village in Versillia with the mineral as their guide, not yielding until she is eliminated.”
The nobles talk among themselves, and a few cheers erupt in the crowd. Once again, King Tytius has used my existence to cement his rule.
At the wave of the king’s hand, a soldier in a maroon oban steps forward. I’ve never seen one in that style before.
“Please cooperate with the Hunt Unit as the palace is swept tomorrow,” the king says.
My stomach tightens. Soldiers will walk the palace halls with rahlite, waiting for the moment it glows to reveal my true identity. I have to make my move tonight. I focus on the king. My pendant is warm. The julite is on
him
.
“The second matter for which we are gathered is bittersweet – treason in our palace,” the king says.
Treason?
Does he know about me? No – I’d already be arrested. Has the king turned on Trevus? Is that why he isn’t here?
The nobles look to one another, and a few whispers are past around. They’re concerned.
“Bring forth the accused,” the king says.
The double doors open, and the crowd parts in the middle. Two soldiers lead the accused man forward, a hand around each of his arms. Gray rags hang from his large frame, but I can’t make out his face through the crowd.
The man is brought before the king. My eyes widen. It’s Giddius.
Despite the murmuring crowd, Giddius’s gaze stays pinned to the king. The soldiers put pressure on his shoulders, but he refuses to kneel until a foot jams behind his knee.
“The accused before you, Giddius of the Palace Guard, is charged with high treason,” the king says. “He allied himself with mits, then plotted to take both my life and the prince’s. I witnessed his treason firsthand as he bargained for coins with a mit lord at Versillia’s expense. He too orchestrated the escape of the Seventh from our captivity, leading to the crisis we dwell within.”
The room is silent. Just a single one of the charges brought against him would warrant a death sentence.
“Shall any witness speak on the accused’s behalf?” the king asks.
Everyone is still. With the king serving as a prosecuting witness, no one would dare stand against him.
“Does the accused wish to deny the flaws of his own character?”
Giddius only glares at the king. He’d be standing again if those hands weren’t on his shoulders. Soon I could be the one in his position, dragged in front of the nobles for the king to boast before my execution. I know what it’s like to be treated like a criminal and threatened with death.
“Does shame keep your lips sealed? This is your final opportunity,” the king says.
“My lot was cast with favored odds, but you had great fortune on your side,” Giddius says. “Do not mistake your place on that throne for anything more than chance, Tytius.”
The king’s face hardens. “The accused is convicted of high treason and shall face his end tomorrow at the market square. Now, let my hall be free of his rot.”
At the wave of the king’s hand, the soldiers pull Giddius up straight and lead him outside. They must be taking him to the dungeon under the west side of the palace.
“Spread the word through your dominion. There shall be a significant gathering.” The king stands. “That is all.”
The nobles chat amongst themselves, some looking forward to the event while others voice their disgust at the sight of blood, wishing the king would execute Giddius privately. None of them are at all concerned for his life.
The king exits through the side door on the dais with two guards at his rear. The hall doors open wide, and the nobles file out, still in conversation.
Their cold hearts don’t regard Giddius as a person, reminiscent of how the guards at Antiock perceived me.
I move out with the group but split off as soon as possible. King Tytius’s decision to create that Hunt Unit has made my next choice clear. Tonight is my last in the palace – the night I steal the julite and make my escape.
There are a few loose threads to stitch up. I head back to the fourth floor and find Trevus’s bedroom. It’s guarded by a pair of wooden lions carved into the double doors. I knock.
No answer.
“Trevus.” I knock again.
Nothing.
I try the door handle. It opens. The large room has a massive bed framed in gold, a bath surrounded by fine stonework and more brightly colored furniture than one could hope to use. The candles are lit, but the room is empty.
A draft tugs on the bed’s veil. The balcony doors are open. I step out. Trevus is here, his broad shoulders turned forward as he rests his elbows on the balcony.
His gaze doesn’t leave the torch-lit city, and his hands remain clasped together.
“The king ordered the execution of a man from the Palace Guard – Giddius,” I say.
“I need not be reminded,” Trevus says. He knew what was happening, and he deliberately didn’t attend. Is it that he doesn’t want to see someone he was once close to put to death, or would merely laying his gaze on Giddius’s face enrage him?
Whatever the reason, I won’t be here long enough to find out.
My eyes travel up and down Trevus’s dark uniform, over his large build, his sharp features. This is likely the last time I’ll see him.
“Are you certain she has left the city?” he asks.
He’s still thinking about Jade – about me. He’s never fully present – a part of his mind always wonders my way. “I am certain.”
He continues to watch the town. “Is she to flee from Versillia?”
“I cannot be sure,” I say.
“No matter how far I ponder, I cannot fathom why she returned,” he says. “That decision put her life under great threat.”
“You hold concern for her?” I ask.
“I am the prince of the nation that wishes for her end, a nation which consumed a decade of her life. Even so, ‘tis certain that she holds concern for my being.”
I have more than just concern for you, Trevus. I love you. I can’t leave this place without knowing if my feelings are shared. “Do you love her?”
“To admit such a thing would be considered treasonous,” he says.
To him, I’m a palace servant, a member of the establishment that threatens to close in around him should he step too far out of line. “I am resigning from the palace,” I say. “’Tis too vicious to be my place.”
“That is a great disappointment. Our few days were more pleasant than I had foreseen,” he says. “The palace is vicious, also too much for my liking.”
He doesn’t enjoy living among these people either.
“Do you love her?” I ask a second time.
His gaze doesn’t leave the glowing city lights. I await his answer in silence. Tell me, Trevus of Cerillis, do you love me?
“I did.”
My chest tightens. How could I expect him to feel any more than that? My blind hopefulness was only setting up further pain. Of all the people that crashed into me that day, why did it have to be his mother?
I bite my lips, not making a sound as I leave the balcony. Goodbye, Trevus.
Please
Come on, no more running away from each other!!
he’s a idiot. he still loves her just can’t admit to it right now
NO I don’t care you need to show him who you are I WILL cry😭😭
oh SHIT
I am curious why she was there doing what she was doing in order to end up being killed by Jade…
Yeah, she’s not around anymore for him to love. He really did love her but it’s dangerous for them to share worlds at this stage.
It’s so sad omg…
I feel like Giddeos will help her, he’s going to be executed if he doesn’t leave as well… so he has no reason not to.
Because to voice a dislike of the man’s execution wouod also be treason…
Oh, I thought it was going to be Trevus for some reason. This is a good way to bring him back though.
Yeah she’ll be caught
Things are definitely getting more intense!
Yeah it’s rather soon to be catching his attention agian tbh
The benefit of being short is being able to more easily weave through a crowd… but the downside being that a crowd becomes a wall you can’t see through.
So she rolled a Nat 20 persuasion lmao
Pretty sure Trevus would know somethings up if you suddenly were using his title to get into somewhere, especially regarding the previous ‘treason’ you did with the letter he nearly kicked you out of the castle for.
Omg that manipulation, she’s going to cause rumors to spread about Trevus that are untrue damn lmao
As yes the good old attempt to intimate someone much taller then yourself. As a fellow short girl (5’1) I’ll be honest I havent tried it since I was a teen as it tends to not have the effect your after… if anything it can come across as amusing (at least with people who know you)
why does love have to be so painful 😣? why can’t people just tell each other how much they love them truly? I swear, the world would be a better place 😮💨
Am close to breaking something,argh😖
Yeah… You can’t just run out with it…
Archer boy
Double whelp
Whelp
bro i NEED a happy ending 😭😭🙏
he had it coming 🙄
uhoh…