Accusation
POV: Lucien
It took everything in me not to jump to my feet when they called out Alexandra. Unfortunately, my brother had no such willpower. He got up hastily, “What is the meaning of this?!” Edgar looked over his shoulder nervously, “Y-your Highness…” Enzo stood up from his spot at the council seats, “Your Highness, please do not interfere. I have authorized this action so we can clear things up. I am sure that if The Bastite is innocent of what she’s accused of this will be no big deal.” Alexandra stepped out of her spot in her house section, “I have nothing to hide Honorable Ones. Please ask me what you wish.” Alexandra exuded the strength that she was known for by her loved ones when she faced a challenge. Sadly, she didn’t recognize this in herself but with the proper time away as she was fated to do, she would soon understand it. Edgar nervously continued, “Thank you for making this easier, Your Grace.” Blake had not retaken his seat so I felt it was incumbent upon me to demand it so that we could proceed. I looked up at him, “Your Highness will take his seat.” He glared down at me, “I will not. Not as long as The Batiste is being accused of falsehoods.” This was the defiance I had always learned to expect of my older brother, often I would have to have him confined because he refused to comply. I had thought those days were behind us now that Alexandra was in Vellum but it appeared this would not be the case. I crooked my finger at the guards, “Confine His Highness until these proceedings are over.” The guards seized my brother who had struggled against them, “Please brother! I will comply, I don’t want her to face this alone!” I sighed and held up my hand, “You can unhand him but know this, brother, I will not tolerate further defiance. Do you understand?” It’s not like I could blame him, I had the same grievance against the council but one of us had to have a level head. I looked over at Alexandra who gave me a look only I knew that told, “I’m okay. Let me handle it.”
I looked away from her trying to imagine what it was that could have possibly happened that she would be accused of. After Blake took his seat and crossed his arms, Edgar proceeded with his words, “Alexandra Batiste of House Batiste. You stand accused of attempted murder.” A gasp went up in the room and this time Nystasia rose to her feet, “That is freaking ridiculous!” Sylphia looked at her sternly, “Sister, we must not interfere with the legal proceedings of the realm of Vellum. Be seated or I will rescind your right to stay with House Batiste.” Nystasia pouted and sat down. I looked over at the council, “Honorable Ones, I don’t mean to question your accusation but I must ask. Who is it that The Batiste supposed to have attempted to murder?” Enzo rose from his seat again, “Surely you know, Your Majesty.” I looked at him puzzled, “Surely I would know? I demand you enlighten me.” My patience with these shenanigans was wearing rather thin at this point. Enzo looked at Edgar, “Proceed, let His Majesty know the full charge laid against The Batiste.” Edgar sighed and looked at Alexandra again, “Alexandra Batiste of House Batiste you stand accused of attempted murder of His Majesty King Lucien.” Another gasp sounded around the room, this time Reginald stepped forward, “That is preposterous! As you can see, His Majesty is fine and has no injuries!” I hated to demand this but I had to, “Reginald Batiste! You cannot interrupt these proceedings!” I immediately regretted yelling at Reggie but I had no choice since I had to maintain my impartiality. I looked back at Enzo, “While His Grace was out of line, he isn’t wrong. I am just fine. I would think if I knew someone was trying to murder me.” Enzo cleared his throat, “Be that as it may. There is a witness.”
I couldn’t question their proceedings any longer and I couldn’t stop it since they could produce a witness. Edgar proceeded, “The council will call forth the royal gardener Philast.” The doors at the end of the massive hall creaked open and a middle-aged man stepped through. He was wearing a dingy white shirt, overalls, and a beat-up hat. He pulled the hat from his head to reveal a mess of hair that was stuck to his forehead from the sweat. He bowed as he stood next to Alexandra. He took a glance at her and looked down afterward. The look on his face was peculiar but I said nothing. Edgar asked, “Now Philast, do you remember what you were doing the night of the Envoy reception?” He nodded, “I was checking on my cuttings from the roses on the south lawn in the greenhouse. I am growing new bushes to place in front of the walls as you enter the gates. It was going to be my gift for the new Queen.” Edgar looked at Enzo who nodded and he looked back at Philast. He asked the next question, “Did you see The Batiste that night at all?” He nodded, “She was following a gentleman with long green hair. They looked like they were going to have a lover’s rendezvous in the gardens. I remember it well because I thought she shouldn’t be doing that if she was a candidate for Queen.” Edgar nodded, “Quite right. So do you remember seeing His Majesty then?” Philast nodded, “Yes, he came out not long after with Meldon Maigny, Derek Chalshin, and Lord Malinus. They all walked in different directions.” Edgar asked the next question, “What happened with His Majesty after that?” He looked at Alexandra again and looked down with the same expression, “I saw The Batiste push His Majesty. He hit his head and was bleeding.” Another gasp went around the room as everyone was talking about the vixen who tried to murder the King so she could put Blake on the throne so she would undoubtedly become Queen. Edgar nodded at Philast, “Thank you, Philast. You may go.” I shook my head and rose to my feet, “Just a moment Philast.” I summoned the guards at the back, “Please detain Philast, the gardener.”
Enzo jumped to his feet, “What is the meaning of this Your Majesty?! You CAN NOT just detain our witness.” I looked at him, “ I have questions for him. I would like him to answer to the Citadel. I don’t quite remember that night the way he recalled.” Enzo shook his head, “All due respect, Your Majesty, you bumped your head. You are in no position to speak to it.” Enzo sat back down in his seat while a few members of the council were smirking because they felt they had won. Grand Pretre stepped forward, “Your Majesty, I would like to try something. I think the best memory is one of the victim himself. Since the council doesn’t believe your word, it would be best to pull the memory out. Those cannot be altered. I would like to conduct a memory projection, with your permission.” I looked over at the council then back at Grand Pretre, “You have my permission. We should clear this up.” Grand Pretre nodded and stepped up to the dais. She placed her hands on the side of my head, “You need to close your eyes, Your Majesty.” I did as she asked and she spoke again, “What were you doing before you went out to the garden on that night? You don’t need to say.” Suddenly, I heard myself walking outside and us promising to look for Alexandra by splitting up. I heard my grunt as I fell down. There was silence until I heard Alexandra’s voice calling out to me tearfully. I could hear her confession of love and asking Malinus to help her get me treated. I heard my feet dragging on the ground as the memory faded. There were more gasps from the crowd and whispers about how Alexandra couldn’t have killed a man that she loved. I looked over at Blake concerned that he wouldn’t take this news well. He was staring forward at her but his expression was blank. I would have to have a talk with him later about all of this.
I rose from my seat and looked over at the council, “I hope this clears up Her Grace’s guilt.” Those same members that were smirking were either red with anger or ghost white from being caught in a lie. Enzo rose from his seat with a smile and nodded, “I believe this does clear it up, Your Majesty. Edgar will announce the final candidate now. You may proceed, Edgar.” Edgar, with a relieved look on his face, spoke the last name, “The final candidate is Alexandra Batiste of House Batiste. You will all be contacted for your first task tomorrow.” I looked down at Alexandra, “You may rejoin your family, Lady Alexandra.” She curtsied at me, “Thank you, Your Majesty.” I swept my gaze around the room, “This display reminds me today that I must make one thing abundantly clear. I will not tolerate being blindsided like this again and I will certainly not tolerate lies.” I set my glare to Philast and nodded at the guards who had seized him, “The General will question you at a later time. In the meantime send him to sit in confinement at the Citadel.” I waited until the guards were done escorting the sweaty man out of the room. I cleared my throat, “Now, I believe we have some more business to get to now that the other candidates are eliminated. You can either request your consolation here or send it to me in writing. Is there anyone out there amongst the eliminated candidate’s families that wish to speak?” Lord Kellen stepped forward, “I have a request, Your Majesty.” I looked down at him and smiled, “You may give me your request, Lord Kellen.” He looked over at Jess who had a puzzled look on her face, “I request to open negotiations for my daughter to be engaged to Derek Chalshin of House Chalshin.” It was what I was expecting since I had honored Alexandra’s request to bring him home for a short reprieve. I looked at the Duke of Chalshin, “Dalvin, are there any objections to this?” Dalvin Chalshin, who looked like a greying version of Derek, stepped forward, “I believe my son has already requested Lady Jesslynne’s hand in marriage from Lord Kellen. If this is my son’s wish for his life, I have no objections.” I looked over at Jess, she had a hand to her mouth and she was holding back joyous tears. I nodded, “Then let it be known that I will honor the request to attend these negotiations. Both of you will need to come to the castle tomorrow morning since Lord Kellen is scheduled to go back home the day after. Are there any other requests?”
One of the elders stepped off his spot on the council’s seating, “Your Majesty, I would like to request on behalf of my niece a compensation.” I looked over to find Enzo standing before me and I sighed, “Don’t you think it would be up to Countess Delnaro considering she is the head of her House now?” Enzo nodded, “It is up to her and that is precisely why she asked me to speak for her.” He pulled out a letter and handed it to me, “As you can imagine, she is not able to attend the Assembly just yet since she is seeing to the transfer of assets to herself.” I nodded, “Yes, forgive me I forgot. What is this?” I took the letter from him and he smiled, “She figured it would be best to request her compensation in writing. You need not answer the request until the matter of your wife is settled. She realizes the decision may impact whether her request will be honored or not. She also requests privacy in the request until it is settled.” I sighed, “She does, does she? Okay, I will read it now and decide later then.” I opened the letter and it simply stated, “Your Majesty, I humbly request an engagement to His Highness Prince Blake.”
