Chapter 173

Had there been any tears left in her to shed, they would have fallen as happy ones. 'They love me… they actually love me!' Lingering questions, doubts, an anxiety she long feared she would never see removed, all gone in one single minute. In the midst of the prison walls of stone and bars, with no window she could touch, her heart still sang.

Neia knew as well as anybody what the purpose was behind these shoddy conditions. The smells of the moldy blanket, the old, dank straw, and the confined space, plus the rusty chains that chafed her wrists and ankles.

'The authorities want to break me. They will fail.' Neia told herself and glared at the stone wall, in front of her, daring the rough cut rocks to challenge thoughts.

"I got everything I ever wanted tonight. They're proud of me, they love me, and I'll at least die on my feet. That's better than a lot of people get." Neia spoke quietly to herself, her stomach growled and she put a hand over her belly. "I do kind of regret kicking that bread away though." She mumbled with a bit of mild annoyance.

But that was nothing to her compared to the raw happiness of finding out that when it came down to it… 'My parents really do care…'

That thought kept her warm even in the increasingly uncomfortable prison as the days and nights rolled on in cycles of bread and water, while Neia waited for a trial that she had little real faith in.

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"You can't be serious? There really was a dragon?" Calca asked, raising her eyebrows in shock, a chill came over her at that. The danger dragons posed to humanity was no secret, it seemed beyond impossible for one to be in the wildlands.

In front of her knelt Remedios Custodio with her head deeply bowed, "Yes, my Queen, we attempted to kill the beast, but the traitor must have warned it to run if she didn't come back."

"A dragon… ran away, flew away?" At Calca's side, Kelart Custodio frowned. "That doesn't sound right."

"We questioned the collaborator along the way, she freely admitted to helping it." Remedios's face was dark and burning with righteous anger. "Worse, the collaborator was sent to the wilds as a punishment for showing mercy to other demihumans in the past."

"So is she a traitor, or just a sympathizer?" Kelart asked, her arms crossed in front of her waist.

"There's no difference there sister!" Remedios clapped back, "Nits make lice, mercy to their children today brings them back as warriors tomorrow! They should all be destroyed!"

"Remedios." Kelart bit her sister's name off in retort, "You know better, some people look with pity at children of any kind, not everybody can be as… zealous… as you are."

Remedios furrowed her brow. It sounded like praise, but not quite. 'Why won't anyone see, these rules are there to protect all humanity. We have to kill them all or they will kill all of us. Anyone who won't do that is not one of us, but one of them.'

The angry hateful thought burned in her mind alongside her annoyance with what seemed… in a way she couldn't quite grasp, like backhanded praise.

"They're supposed to be!" Remedios exclaimed and lowered her head again, "The traitor is being confined in the fortress while we convene for a trial. Her parents are there… have they sent letters?"

Calca looked up to her left, Kelart nodded. "They have, my Queen, I took the liberty of reading them. The sorts of pleas you would expect from parents for their child. 'She didn't mean to do it', 'she thought she was doing the right thing', 'she's innocent' and pleading for your clemency."

Calca, for once, did not have a beautiful expression on her face. The long white dress with the blue crest of her house on her ample chest was close fitting enough that it did nothing to hide the heavy, thoughtful breathing of the Holy Queen on her throne.

"I want a Kingdom where no one will cry, if I show no mercy to her then what kingdom do I have?" Queen Calca asked.

"A just one! A safe one! My Queen, I love your mercy, your justice, but if we hadn't gotten there we would have a dragon loose in the Northern Holy Kingdom!" Remedios gasped the words out in one desperate breath, and murmurs of agreement went around.

"I can't show mercy here… can I?" Queen Calca asked rhetorically.

"My Queen, she flaunted the law, if the law can be flaunted, you can be flaunted. If you can be flaunted, we no longer have a ruler even if you're on the throne." Kelart advised, and Calca bowed her head.

"Her parents are important people, aren't they?" Calca asked, "I know the name 'Baraja' from somewhere."

"With respect, majesty, what does it matter? The collaborator is still a collaborator…" Remedios trailed off at a rare fierce look from her sister. 'Who cares what her family is?! She collaborated, she sheltered our enemy, let her die like the traitor she is.'

Kelart answered the Queen's question. "Pabel Baraja is a member of the Nine Colors and one of the greatest archers in the Kingdom. His wife is a paladin due to retire soon. Both have impressive records."

"I see…" Queen Calca frowned. She sat in reflection for a moment, "Have them 'gently' confined until after the trial is over. Investigate them for any similar actions, and if nothing is found… if we have to execute their child, force them both into quiet retirement far, far away."

"As you command, your majesty." Remedios answered, "And, about the trial…"

Calca's orders were immediate. "Conduct it as fairly as you can. The Baraja house may be of the most minor nobility, but nobles are nobles. The soldiers at the wall are probably biased, so select a handful of noble sons and daughters from here, take them with you to the wall, they should be incorruptible and offset the bias from any soldiers you have on the jury."

"At your will, Majesty." Remedios replied at once.

When the Commander of the Paladin Order was gone Calca looked up to her dearest, closest advisor and asked, "Why do you think she did it? Do you really believe she intended the Kingdom any harm?"

Kelart shrugged her shoulders, "I can't say. Pity to break the heart is a dangerous thing, to the one who stays their hand and to the one behind them whom they're supposed to protect. My sister isn't very bright, but she is right about one thing. Non-humans are dangerous to humans, kill them today or they will kill you tomorrow. It is strange though, I checked the record of the accused as soon as we had her name, it was quite impressive too, she's on path to be a true successor to her father. Not many hunt the wildlands and survive for long, but she was out there for months alone except for her check ins. Most people who go out there for any length of time, they become zealous demihuman hunters, almost as vigorous as Remedios. This one, though, didn't." She shrugged again.

"You never can tell with people, I suppose." Kelart added as if that settled the matter, and as far as the crown was concerned, it did.