a head knight's testimony

"My son is correct," King Gerrod brought up a hand into the air to quiet down the whispers, "we have been gathered here today to begin the trial of the Beast General. Sir Pavel, please recount to us what you witness that day."

"I will do as you wish sire," Sir Pavel bowed his head, beginning his account of the events when he lifted his head.

"I heard the enraged screams of the General as I was patrolling the halls of the palace. Some of my other knights heard them and we all immediately went to the source of the commotion." As he recalled the events of that day, Kiera was brought back to her own memories of what she remembered. She had screamed on that day but Kiera had not screamed out of anger. She had screamed out of loss.

Her eyes flittered over to the third Prince, remembering all too way the pain she felt inside her heart when she had thought it was him laying there in the middle of the hall.

"When we arrived, we found the Beast General over the body. She was trying to cover him with the curtains she had ripped from one of the windows that lined the hall." All around the room, she heard the shocked gasps of the nobles. For the first time hearing the shocking details of how the knights caught her red-handed.

"She was covered in the blood of the King, slick with his blood. A most gruesome sight to behold."

"And did the General seem at all shocked to you?" The First Prince pressed on, trying to drive out as much information from the Head Knight as he could.

"No, Your Highness."

"Let me remind you that she is a General, as such, she is not easily shocked by scenes of blood and gore." The Beast King once again spoke in her defense.

"Yes," the prince smiled cunningly, "she is unlike the Solomon ladies." He addressed the people in the room, "unlike our women, she is well-versed in fighting. As a General, she has had a lot of experience with killing."

"Did you see the way she pulled along those knights? With her monstrous strength she could have just as easily killed the King." Kiera heard one of the noblewomen say behind her decorative fan, and the same sentiment rang out among the crowd of nobles.

"I have no doubt in my mind it was her." Her ears picked up the voice of a man.

"Such savagery." She heard the voice of another. "This is why women are best kept away from learning to use a sword."

"And the sword?" A voice rang out among the other faceless voices. It immediately put an end to the chatter of the crowd as their attention went to the source of the voice.

"I'm assuming the murder weapon was a sword, am I correct?" The third Prince happily smiled among the stares of the room, oblivious to the serious atmosphere of the trial. Fully knowing his true character, even Kiera did not think he was anything but an absentminded prince with a penchant for sticking himself into conversations where he wasn't needed.

Sir Pavel shook himself from his surprise at the sudden interjection from the prince. He nodded his head at Sam and continued. "Yes Your Highness. Upon investigation we found the Western King died from a puncture wound to his stomach. It was a wound that was most likely made by a sword."

"Have you brought the sword here Sir Pavel? I would like to see it." Sam lit up with excitement at seeing the very sword that Kiera was accused of using to kill a king.

This seemed to put the Head Knight in an awkward position as he went silent.

"Sir Pavel?" Sam looked at the knight, confused. "Where is the sword?"

The murmurs began once more among the nobles. They too were wondering and speculating where the kingslayer sword could be.

"Unfortunately we did not find the sword that had been used to murder the king. We believe the General must have hidden it before we arrived."

Sir Pavel tried to steer the attention of the nobles away from the speculation of where the sword could be but failed when Sam interjected once more.

"So your theory is that the General went to go stash the sword and then she went back to the scene of the crime?" Kiera could see what he was getting at, but he spoke in a manner that led people to believe he was fumbling his way to the truth by thinking his thoughts out loud.

"Why would she choose to go back if she had already left the scene? And on that note, why would she scream and alert the knights?"

As the mountain of whispers with the same thoughts got behind the third Prince, Sir Pavel grew visibly more upset.

"It seems to me as if the General's actions more align with trying to investigate than to try and flee from any crime she might have committed. Are you sure you are remembering everything correctly?"

A redness crept up Sir Pavel's face. He opened his mouth to speak but the first Prince was first to respond.

"That's enough brother," the first Prince stepped in, "Sir Pavel has been in the service of our royal family for many decades. It is unthinkable to doubt his reliability."

"That is exactly what I thought as well." Sam agreed with his older brother, "I agree that Sir Pavel is a man of great integrity. That is why I know he would never lie about the events that transpired."

"That's right your Highness. I have no reason to lie."

"Yes, you are absolutely right," Sir Pavel gave a firm nod, content that his integrity had been properly established. Sam gleefully clasped his hands together, "which means you stand behind the statements you made today?"

Sir Pavel hesitated.

"Of course he does," Princess Rosalind spoke for the first time, answering instead of the Head Knight. "Isn't that right Sir Pavel?" With the first princess's prodding, Sir Pavel was quickly shaken from his hesitance and accepted full responsibility for his testimony.

"If I may King Gerrod," the Beast King's voice cut through the air, "there's still the matter of finding the murder weapon. If there's no indication the sword was on General Kiera then I will be the first to propose she is freed, seeing as there is not enough evidence to suggest she murdered the Western King."

The Solomon King seemed to be in great thought, with one hand underneath his chin. "I also don't see a clear indication of the General's involvement."

"Your Majesty," Sir Pavel was the first to voice his displeasure, "she is our only suspect."

"Enough," there was a hint of annoyance within the Solomon King's voice as he looked down at the Head Knight, "the Beast King has made a valid point. There is no evidence that connects the Beast General to the murder and so we cannot keep her prisoner."

"Perhaps we should let the crown prince of the Western Kingdom have the final say?" The King of Exatra then suggested. "The King was his father, it is only fitting he gets the final say."

"I second that suggestion Father," the first prince placed a hand on top of his father's throne, "that is the least we could do after failing to keep the palace secure."

King Gerrod bristled as the mention of his failure left his eldest son's lips. It seemed to hit his pride as a ruler.

"Although I agree with the idea of the crown prince having the right to decide the fate of the perpetrator," Sam spoke once more, garnering a rather contemptuous look from his older brother, "but I have to disagree with Brother's statement."

Shaking his head full of brilliant golden locks, Sam began to explain himself even as his father seemed unsure of what foolishness could come out of his son's mouth.

"Father made sure the main palace was the most secure during the stay of our guests. He forbade weapons of any kind within the palace. Isn't that true Father?"

"Yes," his father's green eyes lit up as if suddenly remembering he had made that decree, "that's right. I did forbid the entry of weapons. Only the knights would be able to carry their swords inside the palace."

"Then the General would not have been able to carry her sword into the palace. If we read the records of the weapons that are kept in the armory then we may be to fully clear the General of any wrongdoing." Once again excited, Sam looked at his father as if he was expecting to be praised for his contribution to the trial.

The room sparked with conversation after another interesting development in the trial was revealed.

"That means..." The Eastern King appeared to have finally connected the dots. "Only a knight would have access to a weapon."

The eyes of everyone in the room naturally went to the knights that were in the room, and to one specifically as he had been among the first to react to the murder.

"I-I can assure you the knights are innocent! Each and every knight was accounted for on the day of the murder as well as our schedules are written down beforehand. I would have found out if any one of them was found not at their stations."

"Sir Pavel," the usually fun third Prince disappeared, and in his place stood a mature man was on the precipice of a great revelation, "who else would have access and be able to walk freely with a sword without raising any concerns?"

"That is," with widened eyes and a trembling voice, beads of sweat formed on the Head Knight's brow, "there are only a few people that it could be." He was reluctant to say who the group could be, but even so, the Solomon nobles in the room had already reached an answer.