Chapter 9
The king sat upon his throne, his countenance a mask of unbridled fury as he glared at the two guards who cowered before him. "who did you permit to enter the royal concubine's chambers?" he demanded, his voice like a tempest.
The guards trembled, their voices barely audible. "Only the Queen, Your Majesty," one of them stammered.
The queen mother's eyes narrowed, as she watched the scene unfold. The king's ire boiled over, and he reached out, his hand closing around the hilt of his sword. He unsheathed it, the blade glinting in the light as he pointed it at the guards. "Speak the truth, forthwith, lest I behead you both!" he thundered.
The guards cowered, their voices rising in desperation. "We are telling the truth, Your Majesty!" they cried in unison.
The king's eyes blazed with unmitigated fury. "Are you insinuating that the Queen is culpable in the miscarriage?" he asked, his voice dripping with menace.
The guards shook their heads, their voices trembling. "We did not say that, Your Majesty," they replied in unison.
One of the guards, however, seemed to find the courage to speak up. "She was the only one who visited the royal concubine before the miscarriage, Your Majesty," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
The king sheathed his sword, his mind reeling with confusion and anger. The queen mother's voice cut through the silence, her tone dripping with malice. "I knew it. I knew she was an evil woman."
The king's eyes narrowed, his mind racing with the implications. He sighed, his voice heavy with resignation. "If that's the case, then we need to take immediate action and have her apprehended."
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Queen Mara sat serenely in the garden, sipping her wine and indulging in the gentle pampering of her servants. One servant expertly massaged her feet, while another stood nearby, wine jug at the ready. The queen's eyes were closed, a soft smile playing on her lips as she savored the wine's rich flavor and sighed in satisfaction. "Ah," she murmured, feeling the wine's warmth coursing through her veins.
The tranquil atmosphere was shattered by the queen mother's arrival, accompanied by a contingent of guards. "Queen Mara, you are hereby placed under arrest for the miscarriage of Concubine Odessa," the queen mother declared, her voice stern and unyielding.
Queen Mara's eyes snapped open, and she rose to her feet, shock and incredulity etched on her face. "What sort of accusation is this?" she exclaimed, her voice rising in protest,but the witch doctor assured her the child would be spared,so how come a miscarrage.
"I don't understand how this calamity pertains to me."
The queen mother took a step closer, her expression unyielding. "You will gain a thorough understanding, I assure you, by the time you languish for months in the palace dungeons."
As the guards moved to surround her, Queen Mara's gaze fell upon the king, who stood behind the queen mother, his arms crossed and his expression inscrutable. "Your Majesty..." she began, her voice trembling with emotion, but her words were cut off as the guards restrained her.
"How dare you subject me to such crime and treat me like a criminal!" Queen Mara's voice rose in indignation, but the guards ignored her protests.
"You are more than a criminal, Queen Mara!" the queen mother exclaimed, her voice dripping with venom. "You are a menace, a threat to the very stability of the kingdom!"
Queen Mara's face contorted in anguish as she protested her innocence. "I am innocent, I swear it!" she cried, her voice shaking with emotion.
She turned to the king, her eyes pleading for understanding and trust. "Don't you trust me, Your Majesty?" she implored, her voice cracking with desperation.
The king's expression was calm and measured, but his eyes betrayed a hint of doubt. "Once the royal physician confirms that you had no involvement in the miscarriage,if the food you gave the royal concubine is not the cause of the miscarriage,you will be released," he said, his voice firm but detached.
Queen Mara's anger and fear simmered just below the surface as she realized the king's hands were tied by the evidence. She felt a cold dread creeping up her spine as she wondered if the witch doctor's potion had been applied incorrectly, or if the woman had lied to her all along.
The queen mother's words cut through her thoughts, her voice a harsh reminder of the gravity of the situation. Queen Mara's fate hung in the balance, and only time would tell if she would emerge unscathed or suffer the consequences of the queen mother's accusations.
Queen Mara was dragged away by the guards, her cries and protests fading into the distance. The queen mother turned to face the king, her expression triumphant. "I warned you, Your Majesty, that she needed to be discarded, but you refused to listen," she said, her voice laced with a mixture of satisfaction and accusation. "A king is not complete without an heir, and killing a royal child is a crime that cannot go unpunished. She will be brought to justice."
King Kyros inhaled deeply, his chest rising and falling as he exhaled slowly. "We need to confirm it first from the physician," he said calmly. "It may be a normal miscarriage, after all."
The queen mother's expression turned incredulous. "There is no such thing as a normal miscarriage, Your Majesty," she replied. "Something must have triggered it. She must have applied something, or poisoned the food she gave to Concubine Odessa."
The king remained silent, his face impassive. The queen mother bowed her head, her voice dripping with respect. "Alright, I shall take my leave now, Your Majesty."
With that, she turned and departed..