...41...
I DO NOT BELONG TO YOUđź’”
The sound of shrill screams came from one of the corridors in the Emperor's quarters.
It was something that wasn't supposed to be, for the sounds were undignified for royalty or any of those who were associated to it.
Though the perpetrators knew such, they still could not stop the shrill undignified sounds from leaving their mouths as they went on with whatever they were doing.
The perpetrators were none other than the lady's aides, Vura and Xiera who had been instructed by the Emperor to provide a detailed recount on what had actually transpired between their lady and the Draco Princess.
It should have been an easy thing to do, without the laughter though.
But, somehow, they had turned the report writing process into a new comedy script as they went.
They wrote, suggested, rewrote, read and then finished it all with those shrill laughter that was almost uncalled for in that situation.
'No! Oh no!' Vura protested. 'It should be eighteen times."
Xiera brow lifted.
"Our stories must totally align, including small facts as these,' she scolded Xiera with a tsk sound.
Xiera shrugged.
'But it was fifteen times! I recall it clearly because I counted. I counted it as I watched in anger,' she argued with Vura who shook her head at her as if Xiera knew nothing at all and she really pitied her.
'It is not about who counted warrior Xiera,' she tutored her. 'This is about which is higher. How can I change mine from eighteen to fifteen? How can we go easy on that bitch that did that to our mistress."
Xiera paused to think.
"We ought to hype everything up you know so that they can get as much extra punishment as they can get courtesy of you and I. Think it over,' she explained to her.
Xiera stood staring, the gears turning in her head.
It sounded good though.
'Now that I think about it,' Xiera began after indeed thinking it over for a few minutes, 'I recall that it was twenty strokes of the whip. I counted, I really counted,' she told Vura with an evil crooked smile.
A glint appeared in Vera's eyes.
'Now there, you are getting the hang of it,' she praised her.
Xiera laughed loudly at the compliment.
'Come on, let's continue. Who else should go on this list of offenders aside from the main characters?'
'Zoë?' she suggested to her with a fulfilled look on her face.
Vura scrunched her nose in disgust at the mention of the name.
'Come on Xiera, That is one of the main characters, Hera-Mera, Zoë, Mainkeina and Collins and also Winnie who dared to strip my lady,' she said to her with a grumble.
'Then who are you referring to?' she asked her in puzzlement that sounded just like frustration.
'Like the name of the guards who dared to touch our Lady, who dared to fight against us too? Like the name of the guards who ignored us in the dungeons? Like those?' she told Xiera with a scoff.
'Oh those! I understand now,' she said in enlightenment.
Vera waited.
'I remember those guards and their names. There was Wallace, Fribird, Seth, Philip and I think Stones,' she said as Vura quickly tried to put all of the names to paper.
'Who are those? The guards who fought against us?' she asked her looking up from the paper.
'No! They are the ones from the dungeons, the deaflings,' she nicknamed them.
That had Vura abandoning her paper and breaking into one of those shrill.
'Oh God! You crack me up. That was absolutely funny!' she said to Xiera who only smiled at her.
'When you are done with that, you can tell me so that I can continue,' she said in sarcasm.
Vura really tried hard to stop laughing then and to quickly focus on her.
'Alright, I'm done,' she said. 'So, what about the guards who came at us then?' she asked her.
'If it were you, will you remember all your opponents? I don't even know who and who I fought with."
There was a short pause.
"That is not something that I can tell accurately. Therefore, the entire military on duty that day should be given punishments."
Vura gasped.
"What?" Xiera spat.
She shook her head.
"They may not have joined, but they stood by and did nothing when it was all going on making them as much an accomplice as the rest, as much guilty as the real culprits,' she explained to Vura.
'Ah, that is better. I had better pen that down before it vanishes from my head,' she said and quickly rushed to do so in her book.
'Ah Vura, remember those maids who laughed at us while we were being brought down here?' Xiera suddenly asked her counterpart who thought over it for a moment.
'Yes, yes I do!' she said excitedly. 'Do you know their names? I shall write them up for mockery against the Emperor,' she told her.
'Well, luckily for you, I do know their names!' she squealed.
'What is it? Tell me! Tell me!' one tried to persuade the other who was adamant about it.
'You have to promise that you will write both of our account. I am tired of holding the pen,' she complained to the other as she bargained.
'Umm, I will,' she replied enthusiastically to her. 'Now will you please quickly tell me their names?' she pleaded with her.
'It is Jessie and Priya,' she supplied to her counterpart who nodded and began to write.
She smiled softly, feeling good by just watching her do about nothing.
'So this is where both of you were?' a voice suddenly said referring to them and also interupting them all at the same time.
'Cora!' Vura called out on laying eyes on her. 'We are writing an account for our master to use in the judgment court he had called on behalf of our mistress matter,' she bragged.
'It is that same report that I have been sent to collect,' she announced to them. 'Therefore, wrap it up quickly so you can hand it over. The judgment court will soon begin.'
'Wait a minute, only a minute,' Vura pleaded as she and Xiera quickly finalized their recounts.
They handed it all over to Cora alongside the one that belonged to the maid that their lady had rescued, Hayeesha.
'Don't miss the court proceedings,' Cora told them and instantly went away with the report that they had submitted to her.
The court was awaiting about an hour later when he arrived doled in his royal robes.
His golden crown sat easily atop his head—a bright ruby quite identical to the one on his throne was at the centre of the embodiment.
His face was hardened yet handsome, his aura terrifying, cold enough to freeze water instantly as he walked down to his throne.
They all stood, waiting in trepidation as he ascended the stairs and sat on his throne.
'Long live the great Emperor of Linamine!' The court chorused as he did so.
He signalled Cora who announced that they could sit.
The court which comprised of all the empress candidates, their aides and all other who wanted to attend.
It was an open court for his manor and those residing in it, not one that was restricted to class.
'Am event transpired in the Royal manor in the absence of the Emperor. Some dared to-'
'Forget it!' he impatiently interrupted the court hand who was trying to open the court meeting. 'Who dared to touch my woman?! Who dared to treat her like a horse and whip her?! Bring her afore me this instant!!' he demanded with a hard, venomous and subduing voice that was amplified due to the ominous silence in the court room.
'The culprit are Princess Hera-Mera and her aide,' the court hand read out. 'They were the ones who touched the Emperor's woman. One of them did the stripping and the other one did the whipping,' he announced to all who was present.
Both of the above mentioned were brought into the court room to kneel afore him.
'What of the others? The affiliates?' he asked the court hand who began to call out their names and their crimes.
They were all brought into the court room in no particular after the mention of their names, including Princess Zoë and made to kneel afore the Emperor alongside Princess Hera-Mera and her aide, Winnie.
'These are all of the offenders My Sovereign Liege,' the court hand said to the Emperor with a deep bow.
Then, he closed his scrolls, turned away and left the stand.
'Shall I take over My Sovereign Liege?' the Little Prince asked coming forward.
He was also dressed in his own royal robes and a crown of his status was on his head.
'Yes, please do,' he told him.
The Little Prince nodded and proceeded to stand at the spot that the Court hand had just vacated.
'Form now hereafter, this court is now one of judgement. The offenders afore the Emperor shall not be interrogated on the matter,' he announced. 'Let us have the witness report read to all who is present.'
Another court had walked up to the spot that the Little Prince just vacated and began to read from the dark brown scroll in his hands.
His voice was very loud.
'This is the first witness report,' he first announced before he then proceeded to read it.
The court was silent.
'On that afternoon, the Princess of the Draco kingdom held a small feast in the royal garden. The maid who was serving accidentally spilled some of the wine on the floor while trying to carry the pot to the table. It wasn't her fault."
He looked up.
"The pot was just too big for her tiny stature, you see. But she was quick to apologize to the Princess and even begged to be killed for making such a mistake in her presence."
His eyes lowered.
"But, the Princess would have none of that. She ordered that a whip be brought to her. She specifically requested for one that had been properly immersed in Xhanai poison so that the strokes could hurt more than ever."
Gasps echoed through the court room and he had to wait for a while for the noise to die down.
"She said she was doing that to discipline the maid. She also claimed that as the empress to be, she had to make sure all the servants in the royal manor knew properly how to never make a mistake.'
The court hand paused for only a moment to rest his mouth.
'Quickly carry on with it!' the Emperor urged him impatiently. 'I do not have all the time in the world to sit here and listen to you speak,' he snapped at him irritatedly.
'Yes My Sovereign Liege,' the court hand said to him with a small bow of apology.
He straightened the paper once again and continued with what he was doing.
'The other lady -I am not sure how to address her- happened to be passing by and she stumbled on this scene. She ran up to them and quickly stopped the Princess of the Draco kingdom from hitting the poor maid,' he said before pausing to clear his throat.
After doing so, he carried on.
'The Princess and the lady had an exchange of words. But finally, the lady succeeded in dismissing the maid. Then, the Princess got more mad. She was infuriated that the lady had done so, defying her as the empress to be."
Murmurs circulated.
"She verbally expressed her wish to teach the lady a lesson but conveyed that she was at a loss on what to really do to her. Then, the Princess of the Xing Kingdom suggested that the lady receive the remainder of the maid's whipping as a punishment."
Someone gasped audibly.
"The Princess of the Draco kingdom welcomed the idea and ordered maids to strip her down. This was when one of the Lady's aide produced the Emperor's seal."
He paused.
"The Draco Princess accused them of stealing it and still went on with whatever she was doing, defying the Emperor by defying his royal seal. But, the appearance of the seal had put fear greater than the one she invoked into the hearts of the maids and about all present there."
He looked up.
"The maids refused to strip the Lady and the Princess of the Draco kingdom immediately had her aide, Winnie do so."
A sharp gasp swept through the court at his words.
He carried on.
"She whipped the lady who didn't resist her with a two mouth whip immersed in Xhanai poison eighteen times, making it twenty six strokes altogether."
The murmurs grew louder.
"Then, she ordered openly that they should be put in the dungeons and be denied good, water and medication. The lady was locked up throughout that day and up until the post breakfast hour of the next day. She was very sick and even unconscious when she was rescued from the dungeons by the Little Prince.'
The court hand stopped reading and instantly rolled up the scroll.
'That is the end of it My Sovereign Liege,' he ended with a deep bow and then proceeded to get off the court stand.
'Thank you very much,' the Emperor said as he departed.
Then, he immediately settled his cold ruthless eyes on the culprits who were kneeling afore his throne.
'Please, proceed with your judgement My Sovereign Liege,' the Little Prince cajoled him.
He nodded.
'Let the one who whipped her stand to her feet,' he requested. Hera-Mera stood to her feet, unafraid.
'My Sovereign Liege,' she greeted him with a small bow.
'Why did you whip her?' was all that he simply asked her.
She shrugged slightly at his question.
'She defied me.'
'Why then did you disobey my seal and in so doing disobey me?!' he demanded from her.
'It was obvious that she and her aides stole the seal from you. That was another reason I whipped her, for stealing the seal directly or indirectly from you,' she explained.
'How dare you?!' he roared at her words.
She stepped back instantly, obviously in shock.
'Is it possible that someone will steal my seal from me Princess Hera-Mera Dracon?!' he thundered.
'But My Sovereign Liege, she is a woman you keep, allowed in and outside of your chambers. She could easily steal it. I don't think that it was wrong of me to make that assumption at all,' she immediately defended herself without fear.
'Oh how dare you?! How dare you whip her?! How dare you just touch what is mine and give me such flimsy excuses for doing so?! Oh how dare you?!' he bellowed. 'Cora!' he called for his aide.
'Yes My Lord?' she answered him, leaning forward.
'Relieve my anger,' was his only instruction to her.
She gave him a small bow and went to the Princess.
She struck her full on the face as hard as she could.
She repeated the motion one more time then stepped back and turned to her master.
Hera-Mera stared wide-eyed at them, definitely in shock.
'What have I done? When had it become a crime for a lady of my status to punish a concubine who outrightly defied me?!' she demanded.
Her eyes were red.
The veins on her neck bulged with each word she uttered.
'My manor is not the place to show off your status and authority Princess Hera-Mera!"
She gluped.
"And also, stop going around calling yourself the empress to be when you are not!' he added.
That alone hit home quite well.
'My Lord-' she began.
'Save it!' he snapped.
Cora returned to his side.
'Here is my judgement,' he continued.
The room went quiet.
'All the culprits shall be flogged with a whip that had been immersed in Xhanai poison since I arrived Linamine,' he announced to them all.
Murmurs rose in the space.
'The court hand shall announce the amount of strokes allocated to each person.'
'This is the punishment if the offenders as pre written by the Emperor,' the first court hand who had appeared announced returning to the former position. 'Princess Hera-Mera is to be given twenty strokes of the whip,' he began.
'What?!' Hera-Mera screamed at the Emperor, completely losing her cool at the mere mention of her punishment. 'Twenty strokes of the whip for that whore?!' she demanded from the Emperor.
Her breathing grew ragged.
'You can not do that to me. She is only just an accosted whore while I on the other hand, I am your affianced!' she lectured him.
'How dare you challenge me?!' he roared at her getting to his feet but remaining unmoving.
The anger in his eyes were hot and intense. He was just like a prowling predator, waiting to devour anything, pericariously perched on the edge.
'Challenge you?! What are you saying?! I have been betrothed to you since my mother gave me life! I am affianced to you!'
'I never agreed, did I?' he asked her in a much calmer voice.
She stared at him in confusion.
'I never for once acknowledged whatsoever betrothal that you are here yapping on and on about."
Her eyes grew wide.
"Did I? Did I?!' She recoiled at his statement, horrified.
Her gaze rounded.
'Did you... Are you denouncing our betrothal?' she asked him, totally discombobulated.
'I was never affianced to you Princess Hera-Mera Dracon of the Draco kingdom. I haven't ever agreed to such."
Hera-Mera gasped.
"The said betrothal was between two drunk old men and I have no intention it allowing it to stand. So, stop going around staking claims on me! The only woman allowed to do that is the one I keep!"
Hera-Mera stood on shaky legs, stunned to pieces.
"Remember Princess Hera-Mera Dracon of the Draco kingdom, I do not belong to you. You are not even the sort of woman I might desire!' he warned her.
The shock of his revelation left her a mess, staggering lightly on her feet, struggling to breathe alongside the hot tears running down her face, totally flummoxed and mortified in that moment.
'You cannot do this to me,' she said in a very light whisper.
'I have already done so Princess Hera-Mera Dracon of the Draco kingdom. I swore to make you pay for even thinking of touching what is mine, in full, with nothing left. That is exactly what I am doing. It isn't like I didn't warn you to stay away from her. I did."
He paused.
"But, you let the jealousy in your heart rule you. I will not rule Linamine alongside someone like you,' he finished and then went and resumed his seat.
Hera-Mera sank to the ground, tears streaming down her face.
'Her servant Winnie is to receive twelve strokes of the whip. Princess Zoë is to receive fifteen strokes for instigating everything. Collins is to receive twenty five strokes for disobedience and reneging his authority. Mainkeina is to receive fifteen strokes for starving the lady in the dungeons."
The courts was instantly alight with murmurs of different kinds.
"The maids, Jessie and Priya shall receive three strokes for mockery. The prison guards on duty who turned a blind eye to the sick lady shall receive seven strokes of the whip. All the guards on duty at the feast shall receive ten strokes each for trying to capture the lady against her will."
His voice ricocheted in the space.
"All the empress candidates present shall receive three strokes of the whip for turning a blind eye to the maltreatment of a royal maid. It is an action unfit for one who wants to become an empress in the nearest future."
He paused to clear his throat.
"The offended lady's aide, Xiera and Vura shall administer the punishments to the culprit. Then, they are to be locked in the dungeons without food or water for twenty four hours. That is the end of it My Sovereign Liege,' he said and closed the scroll.
Then, he quickly vacated the court stand.
'That is the judgment of the Emperor of Linamine!' he said. 'This court hearing has come to an end,' he announced to all.
'All rise!' Cora said as the Emperor stood to his feet.
They all continued to stand until he had completely left the court room, leaving everyone present to bask on his unleashed wrath.
...OmaPhinaPhire🔥