Betrayed (The Secret World Of Atlantis 3)

Chapter 7 - To Judge Or To Be Judged

“I call for the witness to testify,” my uncle declares after stating all of the charges against the Queen. My father rises from the chair at the beginning of the row and makes his way over to the front. I watch him with a worried gaze, knowing that this might open a lot of wounds.

“Proceed with your questions, prosecutor,” the judge states, leaning back on his chair. My father takes the seat positioned a bit lower next to him. The one where I told the lies, that saved Eros’s life. I only wish I could find a way to save it now.

“Did you love your wife, when you married her?” uncle asks, causing the whole Courtoom to sound like they took a breath at once. Now that’s an awkward way to start questioning the witness. I know this is supposed to make the Queen look bad, but at this moment I don’t see how my uncle is going to do that.

“I didn’t,” my father answers honestly. I glance at Sophia, who seems completely unbothered by this. Zara, on the other hand, seems like she’s on the verge of tears. I force myself to look away. If I don’t grin and bear it now, I won’t make it to the end of this trial.

“And did your wife in all those years ever show any affection towards you?” I hold my breath, now that’s more like it. I was worried there for a moment, that he’s going to make father look worse than the Queen.

“No, not that I recall. Our marriage was purely political,” the King replies with a hardened expression on his face. I can tell he doesn’t want to be there but knows that he needs to do this for the Kingdom. And himself.

“You do share a daughter, didn’t that take some affection?” my uncle continues, making me raise my eyebrows in surprise. Where is he going with this? It’s not my father, who is the criminal here!

But he seems to trust his brother completely, as he stares into his eyes calmly, when he answers his question. “It didn’t. It was our duty to provide an heir to the throne and that’s exactly what we did. If there were any affection, there wouldn’t be just one heir.”

The Courtroom grows even more quiet if that’s physically possible. I don’t know what everyone is more shocked over, the questions for the King, or the answers he’s providing. Maybe it’s a little of both. “But you did live with her all those years, so you must know her well. Tell me, did she ever express her unhappiness with your marriage?”

“Not directly. But I know what happiness looks like,” father replies. I look towards the Queen finally seeing her show some emotion. Her eyes are narrowed at him, and her lips slightly curled into a snarl. Judging by the reaction of the crowd, we all know what, or rather who the King is talking about. My mother.

I glance at Sophia once again, seeing that her expression hasn’t changed. Hearing that you were always just a second wife must be hard. “What was happening on the day of the attack? Did anything about your wife seem out of the ordinary?” my uncle keeps asking.

My father studies him for a moment, before his eyes turn to the Queen. His gaze is so accusing, that it makes me uncomfortable, even if I know it isn’t meant for me. When he opens his mouth, the disappointment in his tone speaks volumes. “It was just a normal busy day. I hadn’t spent much time with Sophia, until we went to bed. And since you asked if anything about her seemed odd … One detail did catch my eye. She was unusually cheerful around me, an emotion she never showed in all those years.”

There are many gasps heard from the crowd and before my uncle can put in another question, the Queen suddenly speaks up. “Have you ever asked yourself, why was I always so miserable around you? Has it occurred to your narrow mind, that it was your fault I was acting this way? You and your petty obsession over your dead wife and your lost daughter made me want to vomit every single moment I had to endure your presence. Now who is really the victim here?”

The people clearly express their disapproval with shaking their heads. And the shocked murmuring speaks loud enough for itself. My mother was loved and cherished by the Atlanteans. Sophia is digging her own grave here. “Accused, you weren’t given a word!” the judge flies into rage, his face turning red as the murmurs get louder. “Silence in the Courtroom! Prosecutor, proceed!”

“Thank you,” my uncle nods at the judge, before turning back to his brother. “It seems like there is bad blood between you and the accused. Old grudges, piling up for years and eventually leading to the worst betrayal possible. You might not have loved your wife, but you trusted her. And you trusted your old friend, Teivel Carme. What exactly happened between the three of you that fateful night? Can you describe the event?”

I can tell that my father is struggling with his answer by the way he furrows his eyebrows and looks down into his lap, before raising his chin again. His gaze is hurt, but determined, as he begins to answer the question. “I woke up in the middle of the night because I had a strange dream. Now that I think of it, it must have been some sort of a warning from the Gods. When I tried to fall back asleep, I heard a strange noise. Like someone was entering the room. I decided to keep quiet and listened in carefully. I heard footsteps, so I knew someone was after me and I prepared to defend myself. But I was caught off guard, when I was suddenly grabbed from behind by my own wife. She kept me busy long enough for Teivel to get closer, but I kept fighting. I was able to knock her out, but he went after me with a dagger … I was able to cut him with it across the face, before she came after me … I don’t remember anything from there on. All I know is I woke up in the dungeons, chained to the wall with magic-blocking fetter.”

The whole Courtroom is silent as a grave as he finishes his tale. No matter how hard he was trying to keep his tone neutral, his voice wavered every now and then. But even if he managed to pull it off perfectly, his eyes are expressing his feelings loudly enough. He thought he was fighting for his life that night. And no one would be left indifferent after experiencing something like this, no matter how strong they might be.

I clench my jaw and look up at the ceiling to prevent the tears from falling. I thought I would be okay, listening to this. But the truth is, no matter how hard I tried to prepare myself for what my father is going to say about that night, I couldn’t be ready for the emotional rollercoaster, that came with his words.

“I understand that this is very difficult to talk about, but it’s necessary. I have one last question for you,” my uncle speaks up after a few long moments, bringing me out of my zone. I draw in a sharp breath, before looking back towards the front of the Courtroom. My father doesn’t look in the state to keep answering, but he gives a short nod, probably wanting to get this over with. “What has been happening in the months, that you spent in the dungeons? Did you ever actually see Teivel and your wife?”

There’s a tense silence, as father looks straight into Sophia’s eyes. “Oh, I did. They maybe came down once or twice a week to bring me some food and water. But they enjoyed torturing me, while they were at it. I was familiar with everything going on in the Kingdom. Especially everything, regarding Arya. They both enjoyed rubbing the things they did to her under my nose. Both of them came to torture me physically when they had the time. But their favourite method of torture was hurting Arya and bragging about it afterwards. And it pained me more than anything else,” he answers quietly. However, there is such a silence inside the Courtroom, that I’m able to hear every word as if he was standing next to me.

“Thank you,” my uncle says silently, his eyes holding a sympathetic gaze over his brother. He then turns to the judge with a solemn expression. “I have no further questions.”

“Very well. You may return to your seat, Your Majesty,” the judge declares. Only then he looks away from the Queen, his gaze once again haunted, as he makes his way back towards us. “Accused, you are now free to state your defence,” Mr. Erinoma then states, looking at Sophia.

She looks around the Courtroom, her gaze as cold as ice. If that’s how she’s trying to make herself look innocent, she isn’t going to succeed. “We all know, why I’m standing here. You heard what I’m being accused of. I am not going to say that I didn’t do anything, because the testimony was clear enough. You must know something, we sometimes do things, that we regret. But in my case, this isn’t one of them. This man has made me miserable for half of my life and no matter what, I would gladly plot against him all over again. He is a useless imbecile, who doesn’t know how to properly run a Kingdom of weaklings.” Her voice gets louder with every word, but even if she was speaking as quietly as a mouse, the people would still be staring at her in shock. She is supposed to be defending herself, not openly declaring, that she’s guilty! But she isn’t quite finished there. “Because that’s what you all are! A bunch of spineless fools! And you’re all going to be sorry, that you went after Teivel! He’s going to win in the end, you’ll see!”

Her voice echoes around the Courtroom with such intensity, that it makes my ears hurt. I feel tempted to cover them, but I find myself unable to move as her crazy gaze falls on me. “You took everything from my daughter! And you’ll be the first one to pay the price!” she keeps screaming, finally making the judge wake up.

“SILENCE!” he yells over her, but she doesn’t shut up. She shouts like her life depends on it, which forces the guards to quiet her down with a spell, that momentarily takes her voice away.

Only when her insults aren’t present any longer, I can hear the outraged murmuring of the crowd behind me. But that’s not what I’m worried about. My gaze flickers towards my sister on its own, realizing how incredibly pale she looks. Her skin is naturally fair, but now her face is almost as white as the wall. Her wide eyes are filled with tears as she’s watching her mother continuing her silent protests. She doesn’t look at anything or anyone else, like everything has lost its importance with her mother’s confession.

I already mean to open my mouth to call her and try calming her down, when I notice someone staring at me. I meet Flora’s narrowed eyes, which soften as soon as our gazes clash. She shakes her head slightly, like she’s trying to tell me not to interfere. I clench my jaw, but still give her a short nod in understanding. I know what she’s trying to tell me. Trying to calm Zara down wouldn’t do anything good now. If anything, I could only worsen the situation.

“Silence in the Courtroom!” the judge now warns the crowd, and the people slowly begin to quiet down. I stare up at him nervously, my knuckles turning white from how hard I’m clenching my fists. As everything gets so silent, that one could hear a needle drop, he finally opens his mouth again. “It’s time for me to make a final judgment.”