Harm and Harmony

-Chapter 1-

"Next on trial..." the royal adviser read from her electronic tablet. "The Warren-Earl-Best family."

Several guards pushed and prodded Corinna Warren and twenty-nine of her relatives into the hall. A long chain, connecting them all together, bound their arms and burned with a blue light that sapped away at their strength and, the few that had magic, their mana. Once they had finally shuffled to the centre of the hall they were forced down onto their knees, heads bowed before their queen.

Corinna Warren glanced upwards at the monarch, hoping to find some semblance of mercy and kindness that the queen's father, the late king, had possessed. She found nothing. Perhaps it was due to the mask the queen donned. It was white and porcelain, smooth and flat, void of any features, hiding her face. How she was capable of seeing anything while wearing it, it was unknown. The rest of her clothing was made of a silver material that covered her entire body, not a part of skin showing. It travelled from her legs to her hands, and up to her neck where it fanned out into a tall spiked collar, complimenting the outline of her thin thorn-like crown.

Lowering her head back down, Corinna swallowed, fearing what was going to happen to her family. A lot can change in a year. The very hall they were in proved that. During King Casimir's reign, the hall was draped in red silk. Lines of adoring subjects would wait to greet him while a symphony played all evening. Now, the hall was silent and empty apart from the guards. The red carpet had been removed, revealing the cold stone underneath. The columns were bare of decoration, the chandelier was taken down. Even the throne had been stripped of all of its gold, now just a plain white chair.

"Mrs Rhea Earl," the royal adviser called out, addressing the group and then spotted an old woman lift her head in response. "You worked as Her Majesty's nursemaid and governess, is this correct?"

"Yes, ma'am, that is correct," replied Rhea Earl, Corinna's great-aunt. The energy-sapping chains had taken a significant toll on her frail body. She constantly shivered and panted as if she was about to collapse at any moment. 

"And the Warren-Earl-Best family has served the royal family for several generations, is this correct?" the adviser asked.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yet, you and your family have been found guilty of treason against the Crown."

Rhea hesitated. "We are royalists, we still are, ma'am-"

"No royalist would commit treason."

"No, ma'am. We just disagreed with Her Majesty's rule. We were just protesting against her recent movement-"

"Your Majesty." The adviser turned to address the queen, head bowed and on one knee. "We have interrogated the thirty members of the family that were present at the scene. All of them were found guilty of treason. Other remaining relatives have been detained and are still being questioned. However, none of them was aware of the plot against Your Majesty,  and therefore they will be released but closely monitored."

Queen Corinna IX did not respond, remaining fixed in one position like a gargoyle. Though the queen wore a mask that covered her face, Corinna Warren felt her steely eyes pierce through her and trembled in the presence of her namesake.

The adviser scrolled through the tablet and read aloud the names of all thirty members of the Warren-Earl-Best family present in the hall, then after a short pause to breathe, continued, "you are all hereby sentenced to death for treason against the Crown."

Death...

Corinna froze, her heart halting to a stop. She gasped, regaining her breath, then looked around at her family. They remained silent, heads bowed.