Chapter 84: Alina Fears
The man’s last words echoed in the large council room. A heavy silence fell. The only sound was the man’s uneven breathing. He kept his head bowed, not looking up. King James of the Roland Kingdom had a small, satisfied smile on his lips. He had made his move, and it seemed to have worked just as he wanted.
Emperor Sir David listened to every word the soldier said. He did not move. His face was like a stone, showing no feeling at all. After the soldier stopped talking and the silence continued, Sir David slowly closed his eyes. He stayed like that for a long time. To everyone in the room, it felt like forever. It seemed like he was thinking very hard, weighing all the words he had heard from everyone.
King Noor IV watched the Emperor. His heart felt like a heavy, cold stone inside him. The soldier’s story was full of lies, but he told it with such real-looking fear. It was very harmful. King Noor had not thought Roland would find one of Baron Noble’s men.
He had not thought they would twist the story in this way. He felt a strong feeling of hopelessness. How could they fight against such well-planned lies? He looked quickly at Eric, his son.
Eric’s face was completely wet with sweat. It ran down his forehead and into his eyes, making them sting. He could feel his heart beating very fast in his chest.
The soldier’s words accused him of chasing him. They accused him of killing Roland’s border guards for no reason. It was all wrong, but it sounded so true coming from that shaking man.
Eric wanted to shout. He wanted to say it was not true. But he knew he could not speak unless the Emperor said he could. He felt trapped, like a bird in a cage.
After a few more moments of this deep silence, Emperor Sir David’s eyes opened. They were sharp and they looked through you. They moved slowly, looking first at King Noor, then at Prince Eric.
There was a coldness in the Emperor’s look that made a shiver run down Eric’s back.
"King Noor of Estoria, Prince Eric," the Emperor’s voice was quiet, but it had a power that made everyone listen very carefully.
"The rules of this council are very clear. You were called here to answer for an attack on the First Prince of Roland. You were also called to answer for breaking Imperial law by going into another kingdom’s land without asking permission. The evidence shown by the Roland Kingdom, the memory crystal, showed an attack. This new witness, a soldier from Estoria, now says that you, Prince Eric, followed him into Roland and killed Roland’s border guards. He also says you did this after killing a Baron in your own land."