ONYX

Chapter Nine

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N I N E
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"Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you'll be criticized anyway."

-Eleanor Roosevelt.
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"It was the Queen!" Blood splattered and bruised, the servant boy wheezed in pain. He'd lost count of how many hours he'd been imprisoned under the castle where the sun didn't shine. Cobwebs were in every corner of the room and water leaked on to the floor from an unknown source. His clothes had been soaked with his blood and his own urine.

It was a high crime to murder a royal, essentially a King. He knew that, and yet he couldn't speak. He'd committed to his promise long enough, but he couldn't take it anymore. The methods they used were . . . brutal. They first started him on the rack where they strapped his limbs to a rack attached to a wheel and they spun it until they popped the joints in his arms. He couldn't move them. When that didn't work, they used water torture and the boy was sure that he was dead, but every time he lost consciousness, he'd wake up to the dreaded reality of the dark and filthy prison cell.

He couldn't take it anymore.

He wanted to go home. He wanted to be in his warm bed and he wanted a nice, hot meal. He only had his mother and sister to look after and he missed them dearly.

"What was that, boy?" Lord Dowry questioned. He thought he heard the boy wrong. He was visiting his cell to tell him that they were going to try a new technique at extracting some answers. Lord Dowry was even looking forward to the fun, but when the servant boy saw him walk through the door, the confession poured out of him in a rush.

"The Queen, the Queen, she poisoned the King. She told me not to tell anyone and paid me extra gold pieces to help me take care of my family!" The servant boy cried. He was curled in a ball with his arms limp around him. They ached to the point where he the slightest chill had him awake all night.

"Are you sure about this?" Lord Thomas Gaylen asked next. He'd been present during the interrogation as well. He didn't bat an eye as the boy bled and cried for help. The torture was necessary because the King was dead and the kingdom's wellbeing was in danger.

"Yes, yes. I am sure!"

"Get the Duke."

Thomas shook his head. "He is attending the King's funeral."

"We have far more important matters to tend to." Dowry countered. He and Thomas left the boy in his cell and they made their way to the upper level of the castle. Accusing the Queen was serious business and that would be a serious charge that'd need to be proven followed by a confession from the Queen.

"What happens now?" Thomas asked.

"First, find the Duke." Dowry said. He signaled for a few guards. "Then, we will arrest the Queen on high treason."

They had to move fast.

"Things are falling into place. Well done." Hades was pleased.

The boy-Arthur-had confessed.

He told the Duke about seeing the Queen the night of the King's death and slipping a suspicious substance in his wine. The Queen then paid off the boy to stay quiet, but with certain methods used to extract information from him, he'd decided that protecting a secret wasn't worth his life.

Smart boy.

Too bad it still would cost him his life. He was going to be charged for aiding in hiding the murder of the King and he'd ultimately be beheaded.