All Through The Knight - M. Jade Glock (the beach read .TXT) 📗

stomach as he saw the interested and giddy courtiers that stood off and out of the way of the accused. He could see the women and men giggling as if this was a spectacle, a rare entertainment not seen by many. A muscle in Nealan's jaw bulged as he gritted his teeth, attempting to keep the bile and his anger from rising to the surface. Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, your highness," he looked towards the courtiers. "Don't let them distract you."

"But how can I sit idly by as their laughter rings in my ears?" Nealan said, biting back the bitter tone that was so desperate to erupt from his throat.

"Just concentrate on the task at hand, they have nothing to do with this."

Nealan breathed in and out slowly, trying to soak up Moonrise's words. He was right, after all.
"Bring in the next of the accused." Nealan said, gesturing with his hand.

The doors to the throne room were opened to reveal the next of the prisoners. Nealan's breath caught in his throat as the captor and the captured approached the throne. Not only was the prisoner not bound in any shape or form but it was a woman as well!

Nealan turned his face to Moonrise, looking for some kind of guidance but he himself had turned deathly pale, though for not the same reasons as Nealan.

"What is this?" He shouted. Loud chatter began in the room and Nealan demanded silence.
"Why is your accused not bound?" Nealan stood and gestured towards the young woman. "If she is a criminal she's to be bound."

The man just looked at Nealan intelligibly. "She said she would not run." was the simple answer.
Nealan scoffed. "And you believed her?" He gave the man an odd expression, one that he couldn't attest to being void of condescension.

"She is here, is she not?" Nealan grew silent having to battle his anger again, but he took a seat at the throne.

"Let us get on with this shall we?" He looked the woman up and down but the one thing that caught his eye was her raven hair, it was long and beautiful, it was also the darkest color he had ever seen on any woman and it intrigued him.

"You will take full responsibility for her actions." Nealan said, more of a statement rather than a question.

"Yes, my lord." The man replied anyway.

It was at this point that Nealan realized that Moonrise had left the room.

What has gotten into my mentor? He thought. Chapter II

Moonrise had left the throne, something that he would most likely pay for later. Leaving the prince to his own devices was beyond a terrible idea at this point, he was inexperienced and needed Moonrise's guidance, one that he couldn't give at this exact moment. He tried to force himself to walk back into that room, the place he was suppose to be as acting vizier but it was as if there was something that was holding him back, holding him away from walking any closer to that door.

“What in the seven hells is wrong with you?” He yelled at himself in his mind.

His hands were shaking. He brought them to his face, covering his eyes. He tried to breath normally but the sound of his exhale was shaky.

“She is an accused woman, get in there and do your job!” He shouted to himself.

“Is something the matter Moonrise?” Under normal circumstances it would have been a concerned passersby but this person's voice was anything but concerned.

Moonrise turned slowly, what stood before him was something that he regretted days afterwords.
“What do you want, dark one?” He growled, hiding his fear by a thick layer of rigid anger.

“My my, temper temper.” The Dark One said mockingly. “Is that any way to greet an old friend?”

“You are no friend of mine, now what do you want?”

The Dark One, the one that had been around since the beginning of creation, stood before Moonrise with a black cloak surrounding his body, retaining whatever lay beneath. He wore black gloves and boots, no skin could be seen anywhere. The depths of the hood seemed to be a dark abyss that didn't reveal any resemblance of a face. He seemed to be completely cast in shadows, the epitome of darkness.

“I felt your distress and came to see what I could do about it.” The Dark One feigned helpfulness.

“Don't act like you care about my distress for anything other than to make it worse.” Moonrise folded his arms over his chest. Skepticism couldn't begin to describe the emotion running through the knight's veins.
“Stop avoiding the question, answer me now,”

The noise that came from the black clad creature could not be classified as a normal laugh, it was devoid of humour but wreaked of evil.

“Oh, Moonrise, one to always cut to the chase.”

“You made sure of that.” Moonrise said bitterly.

“No matter.” Dark One waved his hand, flicking his wrist as if swatting a fly.
“I've come for the one in that throne room.” He gestured with his hand to the door that Moonrise seemed to have been barred from.

“What for?” Moonrise did his best to keep his wavering voice from coming into his speech.

If the Dark One had a face to be seen you could have sworn that he was smirking.
“Since when have I needed to answer to you?”

Moonrise was taken aback, not in surprise but that he had overstepped a boundary.

“Moonrise, you have a lot to learn.”

The Dark One stepped forward. The being was massive, about seven or eight feet high. He went to hold Moonrise's chin in his gloved hand, thrusting it upward to look in the dark void of the hood.

“Remember, you are my slave, I am the master, understood?”

When Moonrise didn't answer him he squeezed the man's jaw tighter, hearing the squeaking of bone that he effortlessly could destroy.

“Understood.” Moonrise replied.

Letting go of the knight, he nodded, chuckled mirthlessly, then walked away leaving Moonrise in an uncomfortable silence.

Now left alone Moonrise rubbed his jaw, looking for any broken bones. Seeing as he could still open his mouth will minimal pain told him that he was only bruised.
“That's going to leave a nice mark in the morning.”

What was more important on his mind was why had the Dark One come? Yes, for the Accused in the next room but what would he want her for?

Moonrise was more taken aback by the fact that it had been so long since the Dark One had even spoken to him that he felt like he never had to see that dark clad figure again, not after the events that transpired so many years before.

“It seems that he isn't done with me yet.” Moonrise thought, seriously.

He looked towards the Throne Room.
“If he wants that girl, I won't let him have her.”

It was bad enough that Moonrise was in the dealings of the Dark One. Moonrise didn't wish his situation on his worst enemy. Yes, he would find out exactly why the Dark One wanted her and then make sure she would be safe from his clutches.

Rising from the ground he straightened his outfit, breathed out, and entered the court. Silently, he took his place beside Nealan, ready to face the day and the other prisoner's though his encounter with the creature remained ever vivid in his mind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Nealan stared at the woman before him.

“What is your name?” He inquired, eyebrow cocked.

“Aracane your lordship.”

He noticed that she struggled with bowing, her attempted curtsy was very sloppy and it showed. He waved the incident away, commoners didn't know how to do anything properly much less bow the correct way.

“What are you accused of?”

“Murder.” Was her soft reply. She didn't even hesitate. Nealan waited a few more seconds, expecting for her to defend herself, beg for mercy, maybe even escape, but she stood there silent. Her hands were folded, her head bowed and her hair created a dark wall between her and the prince. Nealan didn't know what to do.

“Where is the evidence against you?”

“She has none.” The man in ranger's garb replied to Nealan.

“There is nothing against her? Then why waste my time?”

“The people of her village felt strongly that she should be tried. I was only a bystander who happened upon the commotion, I stepped in before they killed her. I brought her here upon the reason of law.”

Nealan contemplated this. There was no evidence against this girl, she didn't look guilty, and the person who had brought her was only passing through, having taken her from a mob that was willing to take the law into their own hands.

“Who was killed?”

The ranger looked to Aracane. “His name was Darragh, he was my uncle.” She said.

“Killing your own relative? What was your reasons?”

“To be honest, your highness, I don't remember the incident at all.”

Nealan sighed in frustration.

“Right, I'll make this quick then.” Nealan stood. “Recorder, make sure this goes in the archives.” He said to the man who stood so close to the throne along with Moonrise.

“Yes, your highness.”

“Aracane, you are sentenced to probational basic training in the kingdom's militia. You have been convicted of murder, though you attest to this fact and there is no evidence against you, you are hereby stripped of freedom for as long as I deem necessary.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“And one more thing. Your hair will be cut, also a consequence.”

She remained silent.

Nealan was somewhat surprised by this. She didn't plea, she didn't cry, she just stood there with an expressionless face, staring at the floor in front of her.

“That would be all, take her away for her sentence.”

Two guards had come up to Aracane and stood at her sides, one for each, and lead her away from the room. Nealan stroked his chin, thoughtfully.

“She is an interesting one isn't she?” He said to Moonrise.

“Don't get too attached, sire, she is an accused.”

Nealan was immediately inflamed, brought on by embarrassment. “I'm not attached, I was merely pointing out that she is not like the rest of the prisoners that have come through today. Do you agree