FORTY EIGHT: Who Dares

"This isn't…" Kel trailed off, scanning the increasingly grandiose décor lining the wide hallway Thane was leading her through.

She'd expected to be taken to the emperor's study, their usual meeting place, but there was no dingy dim corridor in sight.

"We're going to the throne room," Thane explained, pointing to a pair of massive double doors at the end of the hall.

Kel had never set foot in the Serin throne room before. Even during her escapades around the palace, she'd been careful to avoid it.

She knew from past experience that the ruler's throne room was a grand solemn space, reserved for trials and councils. It certainly wasn't a place for the hostage princess of an enemy kingdom to tour as she pleased.

Their silent march down the hall was soon interrupted by the sound of thudding, loudly approaching from behind.

Kel glanced over her shoulder and saw Lucy, her skirt hiked nearly to her knees, thundering toward them.

"Stop!" the maid called, jumping in front of Thane. The knight attempted to ignore her and go around, but she shuffled back and forth with her arms spread widely, continually blocking his path.

Finally, Thane reluctantly took a step back. "What are you doing, Miss Lucille?"

"You can't.. take the princess.. in there like that!" Lucy panted.

"Miss Lucille.." Roland spoke up, placing a hand on one of her outstretched arms. "Let us pass."

"No!" Lucy insisted, shaking the knight's hand off. "I've brought fresh clothes. At least allow me to clean her up a little."

While the maid and knights bickered, Kel glanced down at her dress. The thin layers of cotton and chiffon had been tattered beyond recognition. The original color of the dress was also a mystery, as it was now mostly caked in various shades of brown.

"After everything.." Lucy whimpered, "you can't make her go in there and face them like thi-"

"Step aside."

Everyone froze at a familiar icy tone.

"Let the princess enter," Ira commanded, stepping out from the shadows where he'd been observing the ordeal.

With a sigh, Lucy gave in, and tagged along behind the group. As they walked, she gingerly linked her arm through Kel's, offering her a sad smile.

"How's Barclay?" Kel whispered.

Lucy squoze her arm gently and replied softly, "he's alive, My Lady. He's alive."

Kel breathed out in relief. Barclay was alive.

She wanted to run straight to her injured comrade's side, or at least pry more information from Lucy, but they had reached the vast blood-red doors guarding the throne room.

The massive crowd gathered in the room stopped to stare as Ira led Kel, Thane, Roland and Lucy inside. As she was being ushered to a nearby seat, Kel couldn't help but stare in awe at the sheer massiveness of the room.

The domed ceilings were easily more than one hundred feet tall at their highest point and were covered in glittering stars and constellations. Kel couldn't tell if they shone from gold paint reflecting the light from the room, or if there were dozens of tiny star-shaped windows cut into the ceiling.

She took her seat, on the edge of one of the front sections, and turned her attention to the center of the vast floor, where a single man kneeled. He was covered in dirt and dry blood with his hands bound behind his back.

It looked like a criminal trial by all accounts, but Kel couldn't understand what it was for or why she had been called in.

What a waste of time, she huffed to herself, settling further into her chair.

"Explain again," the emperor, who was seated at the head of the room, glowered at the man kneeling before him. "Why did you stab him?"

Kel's ears perked. Had this been one of the men responsible for stabbing Barclay?

For a moment, she wondered if his companion would be tried separately, seeing as he wasn't here. However, her confusion was cleared nearly instantly by a gruesome memory flashing through her mind of the emperor viciously cutting down the other guard.

"It's our job to neutralize all possible threats, no questions asked!" the bound man exclaimed, lifting his head.

"So you had already determined that this man was a threat?" the emperor replied coldly, raising an eyebrow.

"He's an enemy soldier!!" The man cried. "I don't understand why he was allowed to live so long in the first place! And with a nice room in the west palace on top of that!"

Kel flinched as cheers of agreement flooded the room. Did the nobles of Serin truly harbor so much hatred toward her and Barclay?

"I'll ask again," the emperor replied, cutting off the applause. "You were certain this man was a threat before you acted?"

"Well, we didn't question him or anything…" the man faltered. "But he's an enemy hostage! What else would he be doing there?!"

"It seems," the emperor responded thoughtfully, once again silencing the roar of support, "we'll need to determine if that man actually posed any danger."

"But for now," he added, turning to a scribe next to him, "let it be recorded that this man acted against his orders and possibly endangered an innocent."

"Boo!" Countless cries of protest rose at the emperor's words. Kel glanced toward her companions, but they were all sitting silently with unreadably expressions.

"Now!" The emperor stood up, waiting for the noise to die out. "We need a witness to testify on behalf of the hostage."

Kel felt a nudge in her side and turned to Lucy. Both her and Thane were pointing to an empty chair near the emperor.

"Go testify!" Lucy murmured, pushing Kel into a standing position.

Having already attracted the wolfish stare of everybody in the room, Kel had no choice but to proceed to the witness's chair.

As she walked, she thought about what she could possibly say. The truth was, however, that she had no idea what Barclay had been up to. He'd kept so many secrets from her already, and his activities in the woods were a complete mystery.

As she lowered herself into the high-back chair, she was taken by an overwhelming fear that Barclay very well could have been doing something suspicious in that forest. After all, it was far outside the bounds of the area Kel and Barclay were permitted to explore freely.

How could she possibly serve as a 'witness' to his innocence when she was so clueless herself?

No, Kel stopped.

Though she didn't know Barclay's reasons, she knew she needed to trust him. She wasn't convinced the people of Serin were as evil as she'd been taught, but she refused to sell her comrade out to them. No matter what she had to say to prove Barclay was blameless, she would say it.

Ready to finally speak, she opened her mouth, but the emperor suddenly held up a hand to stop her.

"Who brought this woman here in this condition?" he demanded, gazing at Kel with frosty eyes.

Kel awkwardly smoothed her ravaged clothing while the emperor searched the faces of the crowd.

"Well?" He asked again. "Who dared to defile my court?"

He continued scanning the room, his ruthless glare finally fixating on Lucy.

"I-I have no excuses," the maid trembled, clutching her hands together in lap.

"Wait!" Kel suddenly found her voice. "It wasn't Lu-"

"Enough!" The emperor barked. "We will stop here for today and adjourn again tomorrow."

A faint murmur spread through the crowd, much quieter than their previous outbursts. It appeared that everyone was shocked by the emperor's behavior.

"I hope you're ready to take responsibility for this disruption," the emperor growled toward Lucy, descending toward the main floor.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Lucy bowed her head.

"Princess, let's go," Roland's voice hissed in Kel's ear as he tugged on her arm. She'd been so focused on Lucy, that she hadn't even noticed him coming to her side.

Hesitantly, she followed Roland toward the stream of people leaving the room. As they waited for their turn to step through the door, Kel turned back, just in time to see the emperor drawing his sword.

"As for you," he smirked, approaching the guard left cowering in the middle of the floor, "I've already decided on your sentence."