by D P Rowell
Lady Akyla said, “Yes, sire. You are requested as an honored guest in the Elder’s courts.”
“Just call me Ace.”
Lady Akyla raised an eyebrow and nervously looked around the room. She slightly bowed her head and said, “As you wish, Lord Ace—”
“Just Ace.”
Trilo chuckled and rubbed his finger under his nose. “Lord Ace, huh? I kinda like the sound of that.”
The golden faes dismissed Trilo's remark, and Fen Gunther said, “Ace, we’ve come here to extend the invitation to your friends to meet in our courts. We weren’t prepared for you to be here as well, but if you’d join us as well, we’re ready to begin the hearing.”
Ace nodded. “Very well, Fen Gunther.”
Akyla and Gunther bowed again, turned, and walked away from the hall.
“I don’t trust them,” Tharuach said once they’d left.
Ace sighed. “Me neither. And I think it’s because it’s obvious they still don’t trust me.”
The Elder's Courts were on the other side of the palace’s entrance, past the ledges overlooking the crystal cave; there, a great round door opened to a vast hall with thousands of faes sitting on either side in the audience section. The faes gasped and many stood once Ace and his companions entered. The received a mix of stares. Some stars of sheer anger, some of sadness, some of plain uncertainty, and the rest were the rarest; looks of joy.
Ace and his companions made their way to the front of the crowd. Ace sat in one of the two seats before the three Elders, and Ace’s friends sat in the front row of the audience. The Elders sat behind podiums raised a few feet above everyone else. In the middle was Fen Gunther, and on either side were two more golden, male faes. They looked not much older than Tharuach, sparking Ace’s curiosity as to why they were called Elders. The one on Fen Gunther’s left had wavy gold hair to the length of his shoulders, and the one on Fen Gunther’s right had gold hair short enough to be mistaken for a silver fae with a bald head, but his golden robes proved his nobility. Each of the other two looked thin and had sharp cheek bones pointing through their skin, and all their tattoos were a prominent blue, telling of their age.
Lady Akyla stood in front of the podiums in attention.
“All may be seated,” Fen Gunther said. The audience followed his command. “Bring in the accused.”
Lady Akyla walked behind the podium to another round door and brought in Aunt Kaitlyn and the fae witch. Fae crystals bound their wrists. Ace stared at her with fury. They had freed her from her anti-magic somehow! What if she put spells on the Elders’ minds? Ace shot a glance back at Fen Gunther, and the Fae Elder returned an aggravated stare. The crowds murmured and stirred anxiously, clearly shocked at seeing their Queen in bonds. Some even shouted their concerns.
“The Chosen’s Queen should not be on trial!”
“This is an outrage!”
There were a rare few who took the Elyrian’s side.
“She’s a witch, the Evelander is right!”
The Elders stood, and Fen Gunther shouted, “Quiet!” The palace went still. Aunt Kaitlyn offered Ace a wicked look of victory, yet the dark circles around her eyes and the speckles of darkness on her face should have proved she was a witch. How many in the crowd could see the fake Queen’s facial details? How many were just under her spell? The fae witch looked normal, and Ace wondered why she hadn’t also turned dark and wicked. “We are here to determine their innocence or guilt, and we will hear them out!” Fen Gunther said again. He waved his hands, and everyone took their seats once again. “Fen Medra,” Gunther said, “Would you state the charges against the Fae Queen?”
Fen Gunther sat down, and the short haired Elder stood with a scroll in his hand and read from it. “On the basis the Queen has lied, when taking oath as Breen’s Queen, about standing alongside the Chosen, to obtain power, and used said power to lower Breen’s borders and defenses by welcoming other nations the Elders once refused; Queen Kaitlyn is accused of treason, perjury . . .” He squinted at the scroll, then his eyes went wide, and he glanced around the room. Ace knew what the scroll read, for they were his own accusations. The previous night, when the Elders told him the hearing would take place the next day, they took a statement of his accusations for the hearing; and now, just before the Fae Elder read them aloud, he wondered if he'd made a grave mistake. Would the faes of Breen believe him? What if they were under Kaitlyn’s spell?
“Fen Medra,” Gunther said. “What is the other charge?”
Fen Medra coughed and offered sympathetic eyes to the rest of the crowd. “Sorcery.”
The crowd gasped and murmured, their volume climbed to overpower the Elders. The other Elder, left of Fen Gunther stood and turned to sir Medra. “And the accuser?” the other elder asked.
Fen Medra pointed at Ace and said. “The Evelander. Ace Halder.”
“The Evelander lies!” The crowd shouted; and many of them shot up from their seats.
“He is the sorcerer!”
“Our Queen is noble! We stand by the Queen and the Chosen!”
“Silence!” Fen Gunther shouted, slamming his fist against his podium. The crowd’s volume lowered but was still rowdy. “I said silence!” He shouted again. “My orders will be obeyed in the Elder’s Courts, or I will have them evacuated, and each who oppose will be severely punished!” The faes of Breen quietly took their seats again and calmed down. At this, the Elders took their seats once again and the crowd murmured among themselves. “Young Evelander,” Fen Gunther said. “I must say, there has been quite a fuss since you and your friends have arrived. Rio Atarion, Lord of the Treaty and Chosen to bear the Emerson Stone appointed this woman as our Queen. You must understand, as one we’ve waited on for ages beyond, we must trust the Chosen’s judgment. Any evidence against the Chosen’s Queen had better be good.” He folded his arms and turned his attention to the elder with longer hair. “Fen Echer. Tell the boy, and remind us faes, the punishment for accusations, if proven false, against a noble fae.”
“Fen Gunther,” Fen Echer said as he gently stood. “The punishment for false accusations against a noble fae is a forty day’s fast and forty-nine lashes to the legs and back.”
Ace and his friends gasped while the crowd gently mumbled with approval. Ace’s mouth went dry and the room spun around him. Just the thought of one lash made him dizzy; but forty-nine?
“However, Fen Gunther,” the elder continued, “I do not believe such a punishment is proper for this Evelander, should he be found guilty.”
“Oh? And why may that be, Fen Echer?” Gunther asked.
“Well, the Evelander’s accusations aren’t against any fae noble, they are against a noble appointed by the Chosen himself; the very Queen of the faes. Instead, I move he be charged with slander against an Elder.” The crowd cheered without rising to an inappropriate volume. Fen Echer shot Ace a daring look, as if he were asking the boy to test his patience. Ace hid his quaking nerves behind a fierce stare in response.
Fen Gunther’s eyes looked uncertain. He squinted at Fen Echer sand said, “And, remind us, the punishment for said charges.”
“Upon being proven of slander against an Elder,” Fen Echer said, “the criminal shall be whipped until his last breath.”
The crowd stirred with a quiet cheer. Fen Gunther turned to the audience “I’m not so sure this punishment is necessary. Nevertheless, there are an odd number of Elders for such occasions.” He glanced at the other elder next to him. “Fen Medra. Are you in favor of said punishment?”
The short-haired elder glanced at the crowd, then at Ace, then down at his hands. He breathed deep, closed his eyes and looked back to the crowd. “I am. Should the Evelander’s accusations prove false, he should be charged with slander of an elder, and whipped until his last breath.”
The crowd fought to contain their joy. Ace fell in his seat as if he’d been melted. He glanced behind him to find Tharuach, Trilo, and Uncle Marcus in the audience with fear in their eyes. Trilo look
ed as if he’d just seen a ghost, Tharuach had his eyes closed and head hung low, and Uncle Marcus stared at his wife as if she were wildlife prey. Ace followed his uncle’s stare and met eyes with Aunt Kaitlyn once again. She wore the darkest, wickedest smile, seeping black smoke without care; for they were all under the Supreme Witch’s Spell. Her smile told him everything he needed to know about the coming war. It didn’t matter whether Ace had the Emerson Stone at this point. It didn’t matter if he had all other nations on his side. It didn’t matter as far as the war on the Light mattered; the Land of Faes was lost to Rio’s deception.
BOOK TWO END
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BOOK THREE
STONE AND MAN
COMING SOON
About the Author
Stories have incredible power. It took me a long time to finally realize this. Stories impact so much of our lives. Families tell stories at the dinner table to feel more connected, salesmen tell stories to convince you their product is worth buying, interviewers ask the question, "tell me about yourself" because they want to hear a story compelling enough to persuade them you're the right man or woman for the job. Stories are at the foundation of our faith, whether it be in a more traditional religion or a non-theistic belief. We follow the stories we find most convincing, and we're motivated by the stories that speak to our hearts.
There is no limit to what a well-written story can do.
Why am I telling you this?
Because the why is more important than the how. Chances are, when you started reading this book you weren't looking for an author, you were looking for a good story. So I could ramble on about my background in music, data analytics, ministry, and how it all led me to becoming an author, but at the end of the day, what matters more? How I became an author or why I am an author?
I tell stories because stories have power. And I'd like to use that power to make a difference in the world. But if I can't reach the whole world, I'd like to at least reach yours, if you'd let me.
States & Stories: I traveled all over the states by train, car, and flight, for over 4 years, and I was writing the Emerson Chronicles the entire time. It was an awesome experience because my characters got to experience new places at the same time I was, and what they experienced in the different cities was highly influenced by what I experienced. If you'd like to see a photo gallery from my trip, click this link here. I included brief descriptions of how each city specifically influenced a certain city or place in Yutara."
