by Laura R Cole
*
The sun beat down on Wren as he stood out in the city square in the swarm of people. The royals were officially informing the citizens of the details of the plot behind the attempted assassination of the Princess. Wren was pleased to see that despite the rumors, most, if not all, of the people seemed outraged by the events.
“It is with saddened heart that the Queen confirms that Lord Noam, along with his son, Lord Gavin, have committed acts of treason against the crown,” an official read from a large scroll.
Wren listened to the announcement uneasily. He felt guilty for not having been there for Phoenix. It was just as Ketharly had said; she’d needed people she could truly trust around her. And he hadn’t been there. At least he’d played a part, however small, in her rescue, and she was fine now.
The official continued. “It was their plan to discredit Princess Phoenix by spreading vicious and untrue rumors about her.” He was forced to pause as cries of outrage filled the square. However fooled some of the lords and ladies may have been, it appeared that the commoners were still firmly in support of Phoenix. When they quieted down, the official spoke again. “Through a network of people who have all now been identified, these rumors were spread in an attempt to draw her fitness to rule into question. The conspirators believed that once Princess Phoenix was discredited, Lord Noam’s son Gavin would be elevated into her position due to his mother’s status.” Boos and hisses rang out among the people in the crowd.
“These rumors tried to falsely claim that the Princess could read minds and that used this to know intimate details about people’s lives. In reality, the Princess cares about each and every one of her citizens and makes it a point to remember to ask about how your sick mother is doing, what you came to see her for, and when your child is due!”
A cheer rose up. The official let the crowd applaud for several long minutes before holding a hand up for silence.
“Once these wild stories were spread about her reading minds, the conspirators took it one step further by taking ‘potions’,” he said the word with a tone that made it clear they were no such thing, “that they got from a black market dealer claiming to have legitimate potions like the empire to go to the next stage in their plans. Unfortunately for the men, instead of the potions they thought they were getting to aid them in their nefarious behavior, it put them into their comatose states – making it appear that they had been attacked.”
He had to once again pause his narration as the crowd jeered.
“They then attempted to blame these attacks on the Princess, taking the ridiculous leap from saying she read minds to saying that she could hurt people with her mind. When all their efforts to falsely accuse and discredit her failed, they resorted to an assassination attempt.”
Gasps rang out through the crowd and a flurry of conversation overran the officials next words. Clearly, some of the people in the crowd had also witnessed the Princess’s fall and were now putting two and two together.
The official repeated himself over the din. “It is the hope of the Queen and King that these disgusting and false rumors now be put to rest. Princess Phoenix is, and ever will be, a loyal servant to her people.”
The cheers that rang out after this statement were so loud that Wren had to cover his ears. It heartened him to know that her people had never been fooled. The official explained the plot in a bit more detail. But the longer Wren listened to the announcement, the worse he felt about abandoning Phoenix in her time of need. He decided to make a gesture of peace to her. It wasn’t worth losing her as a friend simply because she didn’t feel the same as he did – or had. He wasn’t even sure that he felt that way about her anymore, now that he had met Ketharly.
The official waited patiently for the cacophony to die down. “Rest assured,” he finally concluded in a serious voice, “the traitors will be dealt with appropriately.”
Wren weaved his way out of the crowd, which was now practically foaming at the mouth at the prospect of punishing Noam and Gavin and shouts for their execution rang out. He didn’t share the bloodlust of the mob, but was similarly offended by their betrayal. He had another rush of guilt that he had abandoned Phoenix, and even when he had been trying to help discover the source of the rumors, he had only been half-heartedly doing so while distracted by Ketharly. The thought of Ketharly and his inability to help her brought back frustration as well. Guilt over Phoenix and frustration over Ketharly. Girls. Are they really worth it? And what do I have to look forward to? Being spit up on by whining babies.
Wren smiled to himself. He knew that it was worth it, no matter what he told himself. He passed a performer who was using puppets to entertain a crowd of children while their parents listened to the official announcement, and he paused a moment to watch. The performer held a bottle up to the puppet’s lips and a puff of smoke momentarily shielded the children’s view. From Wren’s vantage point, he saw the man quickly discard the first puppet to replace it with a dog. The man must be doing some sort of skit about the herald’s demonstration of how the potions in their land could create illusions. The man must not have talent himself, so rather than really create an illusion, he had needed to actually replace the puppet.
He stared at the performer, a realization suddenly hitting him. At one of the feasts, he was fairly certain that someone had asked the heralds about illusions versus transformations…and he was fairly certain that their answer had been that with potions both were possible! He hadn’t exactly been paying attention to them in the midst of Phoenix’s rejection, but the memory now tickled his consciousness, sparked by the performer’s transformation of the puppets. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t remembered it sooner. He had been looking in all the wrong places. Elaeld may no longer have the information he needed to turn Ketharly back, but maybe the empire did!
