CHAPTER 11: THE TRUTH BEHIND CROWNING

Conall looked at Abiri and gave a sigh. He looked like he wanted to refuse but couldn't say anything.

"I would like your help in another matter as well," Egon told Abiri in a rather serious tone.

"Your Majesty just needs to give the order," she said.

"Come with me. This is not a good place to speak," he said and led them to another lake near his residence.

As they were walking, Abiri could sense the change of mood. The emperor and her father didn't smile anymore. The three sat by the lake as the king ordered for some snacks. She noticed that all the servants had left.

"I am dying Abiri," he said, looking straight at her.

Abiri was shocked to hear this. But she soon recovered and started looking around to see if anyone else heard it.

"Don't worry. There is no one else here," he said, "This garden and lake have always been my private space and no one is allowed inside, even the royal guards."

Abiri just had one look at her father and understood that he already knew. She had so many questions running around in her head, but stayed silent.

"Listen to what I am about to say carefully. I have been poisoned and don't have many days to live," he said.

Abiri moved her lips as if she was about to ask something but Egon cut her off and continued, "I have already tried various cures and methods but nothing is of use. And this is a slow poison, meaning I was administered this poison in small amounts for at least 3 years."

Abiri was shocked almost making her speechless, "Who would - Why would -?"

"I don't know why. But being able to poison me for so long, it has to be someone around me. Someone I trust," he said, "I want you to investigate the poisoning secretly. Even if I die, I need to take the culprit down with me."

Abiri immediately thought of Sir Whir and looked at her father as if she was asking for permission to talk about him.

"It was Sir Whir. I know," Egon said, "Your father told me about what happened in the camp, about the writing. Conall already sent a couple of his men to investigate. We discovered that Sir Whir was indeed suspicious."

He coughed lightly. Conall immediately continued, "Sir Whir was really careful. We couldn't find the poison at first but later I heard that he loves his horse and would take care of it personally. So, I had my men keep an eye on the stable. As expected, he hid the poison under his horse's feed bin."

"Then why haven't we arrested him yet?" she asked.

"He is from Khaamsha and I have known him for fifteen years. What will he achieve by killing me? It is not like he will get the throne. If Akhed betrayed me there must be a mastermind behind him. I want him," Egon said with conviction, "I thought a lot about who would benefit from my death. If I die, all my cousins, all the 4 city's Chief Commanders, will be eligible for my throne, so naturally the suspects are one of the four. Out of the four Commanders, the only person who never set his foot into the capital was your father. The rest of the Commanders are all from your grandfather's generation, meaning they are familiar with the city and would have some networks here. So, The Arlos were the first to be ruled out of suspicion. Right now, the courtiers and ministers don't know about my condition. So, they can't accept why I am declaring him as my heir."

Abiri fell into a deep thought, "If there was someone behind Akhed, then what was their motive? And there were at least two assassination attempts on my father. Are these related?"

"I think so but there is no proof. It is just my hunch. Right now, there are many ministers against your father being crowned," Egon said.

Abiri nodded. She understood the implication, "No one wanted Conall to become the king. The emperor was forcing them to accept it." She frowned. This meant that her father was in mortal danger.

Egon saw the frown and as if he read her mind, said, "Yes. You father is in danger. But I will not apologize to the Arlos for dragging you into this. I am the emperor of this kingdom and I have to decide what is best for my people. You may not know this, but your family is quite famous among the people of Yuj. Many travellers have described Arlos as heroes. So, leaving the Kingdom to your family will be good for the people and also thwart the plans of whoever is trying to kill me."

Abiri patiently listened to him and stood up. She bowed to him and said sincerely, "You Majesty, you don't have to and you shouldn't apologise to us or anyone. We are the citizens of Saha and it is our duty to do our utmost for it. Please tell me what to do."

Conall too bowed to him and agreed with her. Egon felt the sincerity from them. He thought that if Abiri was his daughter, he would have just handed over the throne right away.

Then he gravely said "Abiri I want you to dissolve your female troop."

Abiri was shocked but soon guessed what he wanted to do.

"You want my troop to become spies," she said.

"Yes. I want you and your troop to become my eyes and ears. They will become your father's soon. I will give you the authority to form your own network and investigate the culprit behind my poisoning," he ordered while presenting the already prepared, Royal edict to her, "Remember, this is a secret order and cannot be exposed until I say so."

Abiri took the edict with both her hands, "I will do everything in my power to fulfil your order."

"Your father's coronation will be held next month. I give you 10 days to organize your people and report the plan to us," he said as he rose.

Abiri bowed to him and said, "I have one more request. Please tell me everything you know about the poison. If you still possess some of the poison please give it to me to study."

"In order to not alert Sir Whir, we only took a small part of the poison. My physicians are already studying it. I can only give you a little portion of it," the emperor said.

They discussed the symptoms and other effects of the poison while the emperor sent for the physician.

After the discussion, the father-daughter duo walked back to their residence in silence. Both deep in thought. As they almost reached Abiri's residence, she suddenly said, "Father, the flowers in the garden are in full bloom. You always loved roses. Would you like to see them with me?"

"What is she going on about? I was never interested in flowers," Conall wondered but he played along and agreed to visit the garden. As they reached the garden, Abiri instructed the two attendants, who had followed them all the way, to get some snacks. She also asked the guards to wait outside. She then led Conall to a pavilion alongside the lake which was located in the deeper part of the garden. She specifically chose this location because there were no blind spots. Even if the guards want to eavesdrop, they cannot approach without being noticed.

"Father, I need your help," she came straight to the point, "First, I need the information of every courtier. Also, I want you to observe their reactions and attitude towards the king and you. Second, replace everyone in your chambers to your own guards and the servants who followed us here from Nokor. Most of them followed us here so they can be trusted. I want to arrange them in different units like the kitchen and other places from where the poison might flow in. Although the physician said that the poison can enter the body only through food, it is still better to be careful. The maids in the kitchen will follow the food that will be served to you every day, but you have to be careful too."

"What about you three? I am sure your palace maids also have spies. We need to replace them as well," Conall said.

"We can't do that. We don't have enough people. Right now, you are the centre of focus for everyone. It is not easy to make them leave, so we will divert them to my chambers. They would lurk around hoping to hear your news. The spies in our chambers think we are just children who know nothing, so they will let go if pressed enough. This way we can keep the spies in check. And once Aziza notices what I am doing, she will follow through. I am sure she will divert Adeer's palace maids to her own chambers. Aziza is smart enough to handle them," Abiri said.

"But-," Conall was about to argue but Abiri cut-in, "Father! You are no longer just our father but the Crown Prince of Saha. You have to think about the people. In this situation, if something happens to you as well, then the people and we three are doomed anyways. This is just like the battlefield, if the Chief commander falls, the soldiers die as well. So, by protecting yourself, you are protecting the people and us. Please prioritize your safety."

Seeing her father silent, she quickly added," Leave two capable guards from you troop for Adeer. As for Aziza and me, we have our own personal maids who are also capable fighters. I trained them myself so you don't have to worry."

Conall agreed. This arrangement didn't have any flaws.

The next few days, as planned earlier with her father, she made it difficult for the palace maids and servants who served her. Every day at least five maids ran way with tears. Most of the servants were already scared of her, thanks to various rumours, and didn't need a lot of effort. She made note of the servants who she had to forcefully drive away, as they were the ones with likely ulterior motives. Soon the word spread across the palace that Abiri was a domineering and cruel princess.

She thoroughly used the excuse of being a soldier and not used to the life of princess and Conall kept sending his maids and servants to replace them, slowly clearing his chambers.

At night, when the three siblings sat together for dinner, Aziza asked her about it, "Why are you being rude to everyone?"

"I didn't do anything. It's all thanks to this little imp that they are scared by whatever I do," she casually shrugged looking at Adeer who was helping himself to a large piece of the chicken leg.

"Are you doing it on purpose?" Aziza asked straight-forwardly, "Does this have to do with the danger that father mentioned?"

"It is not easy to hide anything from Aziza," Abiri thought.