The Dark Queen ✔

15

The Court Master sat before the council, the court, the Malum family, and my own. Tristian sat next to me but did not look at me. He did not hold my hand. He did not speak to me.

The Court Master stood and read off his speech, written by someone hastily in the few hours before the trial. Word had spread like a wildfire. People crammed outside the courtroom, waiting to hear what would happen. My stomach twisted itself into a knot.

Someone put a hand on my shoulder and I turned. My heart stopped beating for a moment as I looked into the eyes of my last love. Peter looked at me, communicating without words. I grabbed his hand and smiled at him. He smiled back.

"Attention," the Court Master called, waving a hand over the audience. "Ahem. 'King Ebony of the Northern Kingdom of Vivanenth has been brought to this trial because of an accusation of treason against the Ebony and Malum crown.'"

My fingers tightened on Peter's as he continued. "'The accusations have been proven true. King Ebony, you have been sentenced to death by the council of the Northern Kingdom.'" Tears rolled down my face and I did not stop them. I looked over at my father, who was stone-faced, and my mother. She did not cry. She held my father's hand and looked...calm. The way a queen should.

Edward, on the other hand, was angry. He was pale, his knuckles turning white. Alice tried to calm him, but he still stood and shouted, "My father would never do this!" The Court Master looked down at Edward and said, "There is more, Prince Ebony."

He held up three pieces of paper, each one with writing on them. His words ripped a hole where my heart was. "These letters also bring Prince Edward Ebony of the Nothern Kingdom and Queen Ebony of the Northern Kingdom into the accusations. In these letters, Peter Grey, Olivia-" But I didn't hear the other names.

I turned to Peter, who was pale and trembling. Tristian stood and put a cold hand on my shoulder, stepping around me. "You traitor!" Tristian growled grabbing Peter's arm to haul him away. I grabbed Peter's hand and tried to hold onto him.

"He couldn't have! Tristian, let him go!" I screamed. But it was useless. Peter was screaming, "I didn't do it, Raven. I didn't do it!" I watched him be ripped from my arms, hauled away.

"I know," I whispered. People were talking, pointing at my family. They took away my father, my mother, my brother. Other people accused of treason. I tried to run after them, to stop them from being taken, but strong, cold arms wrapped around me.

"Let go of me," I snarled, trying to pull away from Tristian. He muttered in my ear, "Let them go, Raven. They've committed treason." I was rising into hysteria now, crying and fighting against him.

"Let them go."

***

It was the day of the execution.

When I woke up, Tristian was not in the room. No one was around. I slipped out of bed and hurried to dress. Where was everyone? I ran through the empty halls, looking for anyone. "Mother?" I yelled.

"Father?"

Nothing.

"Edward?"

Someone came around the corner and I skidded to a stop. Alice was smiling at me, breathtaking as always. She smiled at me sadly and said in a willowy voice, "Raven, come with me."

"Alice," I said as she took my hand, "What's wrong? What happened?" She didn't answer me as she pulled me towards the throne room. When we stopped at the doors, she kissed me on both cheeks and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Two guards came around the corner and grabbed me. "Hey! Let go!" I yelled, trying to will my sword to me. "I command you to let me go! Alice, help!" But she was gone. Before the sword came into my hand, a bracelet was strapped around my wrists.

Magic-binding. I wouldn't be able to will my sword to me. I wouldn't be able to do anything.

The guards dragged me into the throne room and I screamed.

Tristian was draped across the throne, surrounded by an ice-blue glow. Chained to the wall in a row was my family. My mother, father, brother. Then Peter. And then three other people accused of treason. The Malum family waltzed in and sat behind Tristian, who had a crown on his head.

"Chain her up," he said lazily. The guards chained my hands between two posts, allowing me to sit on my knees, bowed before Tristian. "Thank you," he said flatly, waving them away. "That will be all for her."

"Tristian, what are you doing?" I looked over at my family, at Peter. Tears burned my eyes. He examined his nails, not meeting my eye. The coward.

"Claiming what is rightfully m-ours. The Malum family should have been in power of all of Vivanenth. We decided to start here."

He waved a hand and guards pulled up one of the people I didn't know. "You see," he said, looking the young boy over, "the Malum family is very powerful. I have a lot of that magic in my blood." He dragged his cold fingers over the boy's skin, circling his neck.

"And so, it was easy. Get married, plant the letters, kill the family line off," he twisted the boy's head in his hands. A sickening snap echoed around the room and the boy crumpled. A sob escaped my lips.

"Getting inside your mind was almost too easy," he said, beckoning for the next person to be pulled in front of me. "You fell for me. Of course, you can't make someone fall in love. It just won't work." I looked at the next victim, a girl, younger than me.

"But lust is easy. Your poor heart had no defense." Snap, snap, snap. The girl crumpled in front of me, blood streaming from her mouth. She was twisted funny, her spine snapped.

"The rest was almost too easy." He snapped his fingers and guards ran to this family and chained them up in a flash. King Malum shouted, "What do you think this is? Tristian?"

Tristian's fire eyes lit up as he smiled at his father. "You were in my way. I'm going to rule this world, father. Without you. Put them in line."

I was sobbing now, clenching my fists so hard blood was running down my arm from where my nails pierced my skin. "You. Monster." I heaved. He smiled and looked at me.

"Thank you."

He waved his hand for the next person to be moved up. Another girl. She screamed as her ribs were snapped, one by one. Tristian was having fun. It was as if she was his little toy. Her spine cracked, the bone coming out of the skin and she stopped screaming.

"Now," Tristian said, "how should I kill your family?"