Punishment
POV: Lucien
Reginald bowed to me, “Your Majesty, House Batiste requests the punishment of banishment and stripped of their abilities. I don’t really care where they are banished to but they must not be allowed to stay in Vellum and be able to still communicate back. I am well aware of the Countess’ ability to communicate telepathically.” I knew from the rage in his eyes that this was not his idea. I looked down at Reginald, “Are you sure? Treason is punishable by death. As her The Batiste’s father, you are entitled to the maximum penalty.” He nodded, “Yes, Your Majesty. If we took the lives of the Count and Countess, I feel like we would be no better than them and I would not want to sully my daughter’s name that way.” By his statement, I knew this was actually Alexandra speaking to me and he obliged her because as she said, he would do anything for her. I nodded, “Very well, I will weigh your opinion with my own. At this time, I would like to take advice from the Elder Council and the General. Please join me in the reception hall.” I rose from my seat and walked out towards the reception hall. I heard several footsteps behind me.
As I walked into the reception hall, Malinus came up behind me and brought me a chair. I sat down and he got the other’s chairs as well. After we were all seated, I looked around the room until my eyes reached the General, “What do you think of Reginald’s requested punishment?” The General leaned back in his chair, “It is lenient but not entirely. To strip one of their abilities, essentially renders them human. Since they are in The Order, I believe that to be a fate worse than death. I believe this to be a fitting punishment.” I looked at each Elder and asked what they thought. Some said that the punishment needed to be harsher since they tried to have a potential future Queen killed, others completely agreed with the General. The overwhelming majority agreed with Reginald which didn’t marry up with my thoughts on the matter. I personally had agreed that the punishment wasn’t harsh enough. I knew that Alexandra had influenced her father in this case though so I pushed my feelings aside and knew they were rather irrational. At this moment, I now knew how Blake would feel when he had rage about people who wanted to harm Alexandra. I nodded and rose from my chair, “Thank you for your valued opinions. I know what I am going to do.”
I walked out of the room and the others followed me back into the throne room. I strode up to the front confidently. I sat on my throne and cleared my throat, “Count and Countess Delnaro, you are hereby stripped of your titles and abilities. You will be taken to a portal of my choosing and banished from the realm of Vellum.” Two soldiers walked forward and placed the two in shackles. I looked over at Jess who was still embracing a distraught Litha. Elder Enzo rose, “Your Majesty, may I address the court?” I nodded, “Yes. Proceed.” He walked in front of the dais, “The Elder Council would like to ask Lady Delnaro to step forward.” I didn’t know what they were up to but I was going to let them proceed because they did everything very methodically. She stepped forward, tears still streaming down her face but she looked over at Alexandra apologetically. Alexandra smiled at her and shook her head and she nodded. Elder Enzo spoke to her, “I imagine this is a shock to you, my lady.” She nodded, “I never imagined that they would do such a thing. I’m in shock, my lord.” He nodded, “Given all that has happened here, I want to ask you a question.” She looked up at him, “What is it, my lord?” He placed a hand on her shoulder, “Would you like to proceed in the Queen competition?” She looked up at me and then over at Blake, who was giving her a sympathetic look. She looked back at Elder Enzo, “Respectfully, to His Majesty, I would like to withdraw.” A gasp went up in the room amongst the nobles and she spoke again, “I never really had the ambitions that my parents had, I only wanted to pursue what was in my heart and I am not in love with His Majesty King Lucien.”
Elder Enzo looked up at me, “Do you accept Lady Delnaro’s withdrawal?” I rose to my feet and nodded, “I will accept, Lady Delnaro… on one condition.” She looked up at me apprehensively, “What is it, Your Majesty?” I raised my hand and beckoned Malinus forward. Malinus walked forward with the box that we had prepared for Litha and he stood in front of her holding it. I looked back down at her, “That you accept the title of Countess Delnaro and resume the duties to the realm vacated by your father.” She looked at the box nervously and then back up at me, “I don’t know if House Delnaro deserves to continue.” Alexandra stepped forward, “Your Majesty, may I address the court?” I nodded at her, suppressing the smile that was threatening to come out, “Yes. You may proceed.” She curtsied at me, “Thank you, Your Majesty.” She walked forward until she stood next to Litha’s side. She put her arm around Litha, “I believe I have authority to speak for House Batiste.” She looked back at her father who nodded at her. She smiled and looked back up at me, “House Batiste would like to support Lady Litha Delnaro as the next Countess of Delnaro Meadows.” Another gasp and whispers sounded through the room. I raised my hand to quiet down the room, “How do you feel now about taking the title, Lady Delnaro?” She looked over to Alexandra who had taken her spot with her family while the whispers were going on. She looked back up at me confidently, “With the support of my very good friend The Batiste, I will humbly accept your appointment of the title, Your Majesty.” I smiled at her, “Good, then I will accept your withdrawal.”
Elder Enzo spoke, “Let it be known that Lady Delnaro has willingly decided to withdraw from the Queen competition and has accepted the title of Countess to be appointed to her by His Majesty King Lucien.” Elder Enzo took his spot amongst the other Elders. I waited until he was seated then nodded at Malinus to open the box, “Lady Delnaro, please kneel to receive your title.” She kneeled gracefully and bowed her head at me as she was supposed to. I pulled a golden circular item out of the box that arched up into a point. At that point was the coat of arms of House Delnaro. The crest was a yellow and ivory shield with a raccoon holding snapdragons and a banner at the bottom that read: Domum et focum. I stepped down from the dais and hovered the crown of House Delnaro above her head, “Litha Delnaro of House Delnaro. You have been identified by your King as the heir to House Delnaro. Do you accept this crest crown as a symbol of your position as head of the House?” She spoke softly, “I do so willingly and faithfully, Your Majesty.” I gently placed the crown on her head and helped her to rise and I reached into the box again and pulled out a yellow sash. I held it up in front of her, “Do you promise to protect and make prosper the body of your land appointed by your King?” She smiled, “I do so willingly and faithfully, Your Majesty.” I placed the sash on her shoulder and around her body, “Let this sash symbolize your promise to my body of land which I appoint you which is henceforth Delnaro Meadows.” I turned her around to face the court and took my place on the dais in front of my throne, “Let it be known that henceforth that this woman who stands here in front of my court be known hereafter as Countess Litha Elina Delnaro of Delnaro Meadows. This appointment will also be recognized as having the backing of House Batiste.”
Once again gasping and whispers resounded across the room about how the victim of House Delnaro had openly backed Litha’s appointment to Countess of Delnaro Meadows. I knew this would elicit a reaction out of the room but as we discussed last night, Alexandra and I had put this plan in place to save Litha from the ridicule that she would receive from having treacherous parents. Alexandra didn’t want her to innocently suffer for her parent’s crimes. She had told me, “Lucien, she is no less victimized by their dealings than I am. She’ll be heartbroken and I want to show my support for her to make sure that society doesn’t look down on her. I’ve only been here such a short time but I am well aware of how vicious nobles can be with gossip. I want to rescue her from that, at least in some form.” I had agreed to this plan because I didn’t want to see Litha hurt either. I had considered her a friend since the retreat when I got to know her better. She took her spot in the Delnaro section of the court where she stood alone. House Delnaro wasn’t a large house and now with her parents gone, she was the only one left. Having House Batiste’s backing though, she would not have to worry about any of the other houses trying to encroach on Delnaro Meadows. Had she not had this backing, I knew the House Maigny would start to take her land little by little because they were greedy. When it came time to punish House Maigny, I would have no issue punishing them appropriately since I had no loyalties to anyone with the last name Maigny. It would have been harder had we not discovered their dirty little kidnapping secret. Sadly for House Maigny, they didn’t have many more family members who could take the title. I looked around the room to address the court, “Let today serve as a reminder that threats and acts of violence towards the women who are part of the Queen competition will not be tolerated and I may not be so lenient to the next house that gets caught doing so.” I doubted that this would deter House Maigny’s nefarious plot towards Alexandra but at least we had someone they trusted on the inside to keep us apprised of their movements. I dismissed the court and left the throne room with my mother, brother, and the two princesses following.
Blake let out a long sigh, “I think you went too easy on those rotten people, brother. I would have had them executed for their crimes. They tried to kill Alexandra.” I turned to him, “You don’t think I wanted to merely banish them? This was Alexandra’s wish. She told me as much and I wanted to honor her wishes. Trust me, if that were really Reggie up there speaking for himself, his request would have been the same as our wish. Do you know how much it pains me to let the people who made her a victim go?” Blake narrowed his eyes at me, “You love her. Don’t you?” I looked away from him, “Gods help me, I very much do.” He clenched his fists, “When did this happen?” I looked back at him, “I kissed her on the retreat and felt it but I think it might have come on gradually and didn’t realize it.” He angrily stomped off and I made to go after him but I felt a hand on my elbow, “Son, you need to let him go. Nothing good will come of you two talking now. He will come to you when he’s calm.” Princess Sylphia cleared her throat, “Besides, Lucien, I would like to make a request of you.” I turned to her, “And what would that be?” She smiled at me, “I would like you to banish those traitors to my realm.” I widened my eyes at her, “Why would you want that?” She smirked at me, “I have use for them.”
