Things Explode Even More

The High Scholar himself, dressed for battle, coasted in from above — riding atop an absolutely massive spectral blue dire wolf. As the beast came down, he jumped off, feet first and leaning back, as if he was doing some kung-fu kick. He landed gracefully, and slid to a stop as magical sparks glittered beneath his feet, next to his massive pet.

“How- Wha-” I cried out.

“Who on- YOU!” the king thundered. He stomped to his feet. “Caestra!”

Finley stood proud, flashing magic in his left hand and a spectral leash in the other, chained to the massive magic wolf. It was such a perfect tableau that I thought he’d rehearsed it. So… cool…

The audience was not so enraptured. The sight of his magic combined with the sudden shock of breaking glass (not to mention the huge doggy) elicited screams of terror from the crowd, and the knights rushed to surround him and the wolf in a circle of pointed blades. They didn’t realize he was in full control, the animal merely one of many under his magical employ.

Unperturbed, Finley balled his fist, and spoke, his voice resounding through the hall. His announcement magic! “Citizens of Lumineuse! Verily, what the Princess says is all correct! Please, settle!”

He tugged the leather in his hand. “Madadh, sit!” Oh my god, you have got to be kidding me. That is adorable. The giant wolf obeyed, every eye in the room watching the beast follow his command in bewilderment.

He… He came for me. He truly does care.

All eyes were on the Andrastian royal. He turned and knelt to the King, the wolf also bowing. Did he train him to do that? Finley spoke, “Please, Your Majesty, forgive my entrance.”

“Hmph! You think a simple apology would be enough, Caestra!?” the king scoffed. “Guards, take him away!”

I cried out, the shrillest my voice had ever been, “No!” My protest echoed through the hall, impossibly loud, as if Finley’s own magic propelled its volume. But I felt no mana. It was my voice alone.

The whole room froze. Seeing the prince, who I had never gotten to tell I wanted to stay, shatter through the window charged me with courage. My chest inflated and I clenched my fists.

“You would let a simple distraction stop us from uncovering their espionage?” I protested, pointing at the Deighsels.

He turned the comment over in his mind, hand rubbing his chin. “Fine. For but a moment, you may continue. But after that, he goes,” the king begrudgingly accepted.

The Duke shouted in response, “Why do you entertain this nonsense?! Stab him in the gut and throw him in the dungeon so we may continue!”

I stepped back forward, looking my father dead in the eyes, showing him my determination. He gave only a simple, curt nod.

Spinning around to face the audience, I held the book up high.

“With this as proof, I claim that the Duchy of Deighsel is illegitimate!” I saw Friedbert clench his teeth. “This historical record details just exactly how the nation of Durssk, our southern rival, planted the Deighsel family in our very own kingdom barely a century ago!”

The room once again filled with gasps.

King Lumineuse’s face went beet red as he croaked, “What gives you the right to levy such an accusation?”

But it was Friedbert who answered him, “Are you mad? I fail to see how any of this pertains to the situation at hand.” Putting on a kingly voice, he announced to the hall, “What, a simple tome from some library? Hah! For all we know, you wrote that yourself, impetuous bitch. No proof yet exists to discredit our noble house!” More murmurs, scattered through the audience, filled me with dread.

I’m… I’m not a bitch!

Finley coughed. His eyebrows were lowered in an “are you kidding me?” glare. He reached into his pocket, and whipped out a bundle of paper wrapped in string. “Before you wantonly insult the princess, perhaps consider this. I have letters here between the King of Durssk and one Berthold Deighsel discussing the very traitorous espionage which Princess Lumineuse’s book corroborates.” He bowed to the king. “If I may?”

My father was frozen. He slowly nodded. I saw Friedbert and Dadbert’s faces drain of all color as Finley handed the bundle over and the king untied them, taking a look at the damning evidence within.

The whites of his eyes grew larger and larger as he read, scanning the papers before him. “It’s… It’s true.” King Gaspard Lumineuse, mouth agape, stared wide-eyed at the withered parchment in his hands. “Elisabeth… You… How did you learn of this?” He looked up. For the first time in this world, I saw a glimmer of respect in his eyes.

“I decided to wrest a bit of my own destiny for myself,” I proudly announced. “If I were you, I would take these frauds away posthaste. It doesn’t appear that a marriage is in order here.” Then, in a rather foolish decision, I muttered next to him, “Lest everyone here see your political impotence.”
Bad idea. The king looked at me with fury, the tiny glimmer of respect entirely extinguished. “Perhaps a little too confident, don’t you think, girl? ‘Impetuous bitch’ may describe you, after all.”

“WOOF!” Madadh the mega-dog barked, loudly pulling all attention back to Finley. His hand pulled the leash taut. He was now glaring at the king. “You truly think that of your own daughter? Monstrous.”

“An attack!” Friedbert cried out. “Kill him and get on with it!”

The guards looked at each other before closing in. Finley was unfazed. “How could you even say such a thing! She is courageous, virtuous. One to put herself in danger to save even a single life.”

The king snorted. “Hah! Preposterous. She has not the mettle.”

Finley raised his voice. “I would like to ask, Your Majesty, could you imagine Her Highness running directly towards danger, abandoning her own escape, to save a mere six year old child?”

“Impossible.”

“Well, that very thing did indeed happen.” Finley turned to the audience, ignoring the guards, who paused. It seemed he also understood just how much of this was a performance. “When Bridd was in peril, Elisabeth herself kicked off her shoes, and ran to save a child paralyzed in fear!”

The crowd murmured. I saw a few smiles form on the people’s faces. Friedbert and his father, however, were as furious as ever. Dadbert cleared his throat, “And why should that matter whatsoever?”

Finley shot back, “To prove her integrity! I was there. In fact, I was the one taking her to safety.” He paced slightly, as if delivering a speech. His voice resounded through the walls, filled with confidence. “Yet, when I failed to act, Princess Lumineuse noticed the girl and sprinted to save her. Her Highness is an honest and purehearted woman, one capable of forging her own way!”

Once electric, the energy in the room began to shift. Hesitant hopefulness crossed people’s faces.

Finley grinned. “That’s exactly right! Even when the, ah, Scourge appeared right next to Elisabeth-”

“When WHAT!?” The king thundered.

Turning back, he answered, “At the festival, not twenty feet away from us, some dubhiast emerged-”

“You had my daughter, my only progeny, so close to Scourge!?” The king was even more furious than before.

I stepped back in. “It wasn’t his fault, Father! And it was my decision, and my decision alone, to run to save the child. She was going to die!”

He glared at me. “Silence, girl!”

Finley joined me, “She speaks the truth. In fact, I had tried to stop her! And when none of our magic could harm the beast, it was Elisabeth who presented a new kind of magic techni-”

“She invented magic on her own!?” Spittle flecked off of the king’s mouth as his blood pressure rose even higher.

Uh-oh. Things are flying off the rails, fast.

Finley tried, “No, not-”

Duke Deighsel (sorry, Dadbert) stamped his foot against the floor to grab everyone’s attention. “Enough dallying! Guards, toss this vagrant into the dungeon so we may continue in peace!”

No, they can’t! Don’t throw him in prison!

I had to do something. I stared my father in the face. “Father, if there is only one thing you ever listen to me for, for the rest of my life, let it be this. I don’t care what happens afterwards, throw me in the dungeon with Marie if you wish. Execute me if you see fit,” I pleaded. “Just don’t let them harm Finley. He means no ill, I promise.”

King Lumineuse thought for a moment. You could’ve heard a pin drop in that tall throne room, everyone holding their breath as he considered my request.

“I have never seen you so resolute,” he quietly decided. “Very well.”

The king trained his furious gaze on the Deighsels. “Shall we return to the more pressing matter at hand? You would command my very own guards?” He stood up. “These letters do indeed validate the claim that your house was established as a clandestine operation, sent with express purpose to destabilize our kingdom! Explain yourselves!”

Friedbert cackled. “And why should we? What are you going to do about it, feeble king? Have you forgotten who controls the silbergeld? The mines? Who maintains the larger army?”

His father sneered, joining in, “Yes. If you know what’s best for you, you’ll put this all behind us. The wedding tomorrow will proceed as planned. Are we clear?” He looked down on the king — strange, given that the throne was up a few steps on the dias.

This time, it was the king’s turn to lose the color in his face. He collapsed on his throne, suddenly overcome with grief and despair. “They’re… They’re correct.” He looked at me with pity. Not a shred of power sat behind his eyes. “I… apologize, Elisabeth. You had done good work to prove their fraudulence. You are not… impetuous. Nor a bitch. I am sorry.” He put his face in his hands. “And yet, despite this revelation which you uncovered, it is all for naught. We cannot…”

How many times is hope going to be stolen right from under me? I thought, deflating. It didn’t matter. I was going to be forced into marriage with the Deighsels anyways, despite all my — no, our — efforts.

BAM!

All heads turned to the entrance of the hall, where the two tall doors had just burst open.

In their frame stood two women, hand-in-hand. More than familiar faces, they were another ray of shining light in the darkness that had overtaken my heart.

Diana strutted into the throne room, alongside my most precious friend, Marie.

I wanted to cry. Our eyes met, and Marie smiled with pride, beaming at me. She was dressed in tattered cloth, a straight-up prison rag, starkly different from her usual prim and proper uniform.

Diana, on the other hand, much like Finley, appeared to be dressed for combat. In her full sculpted plate armor, flaming sword in one hand, Marie’s hand in the other, she shouted from across the way, “Sorry we’re late!”

If the twins knew one thing, it was how to make a dramatic entrance.