14. Falling

Brooke is convicted of a crime she did not commit. How will she handle this?

Brooke dropped the sword and King Victor rushed over to the princess, shoving Brooke to the side. The servants followed behind him ready to catch him if he should faint. He violently shook, closing his eyes, his hands clenched, and his knuckles red. The male servants left the room. Two female servants one, human, and the other elfin stared at Brooke, their eyes fearful of her as they glanced from her to the bloody sword. Brooke zoned out, and she focused only on the obvious emotions on their faces. They were afraid of her. Brooke’s eyes rolled from the sword, its blade stained with blood, then to the king holding his youngest daughter in his arm, tears dripping onto her face. Brooke’s mind connected everything. Their fear in the servants’ eyes was fear of her because they believed she had murdered the princess. Brooke’s eyes widened and her lips fluttered.

            “I-” she started and the servants cowered away from her. She looked at her fingertips, and laid her hand over the skirt of her dress, ripped and splattered in blood. It was the princess’s blood too. No…they could not think this of her! She only wanted to protect the princess. And she failed to do that. What good was she, Brooke screamed in her mind. 

            Master Guardians arrived and grabbed her by the arm. She did not fight them or struggle against them. Shock made her arms feel like gelatin as if they were slippery enough to disconnect from her shoulders. Her legs unable to hold her up. The master guardians were strict, and snapped her up to her wobbling feet. They stood her up only to fold the woman to her knees. This was so unreal; she just couldn’t keep herself here, in reality. She wished it were a dream, a terrible passing nightmare. Someone please wake her up.

Master Guardian Kirin was there, and Brooke looked away from her reflection in that woman’s eyes, useless and guilty. Master Guardian Kirin appeared aghast, but said nothing, merely standing to the side of the wall, ready to aid her comrades if she needed to, but Brooke was not a murderer! She stared at the ground for a moment, and then turned her attention back to reality. It was then Brooke began to struggle, thrashing about in her limited space. The master guardians held her still and captive. “I know what this looks like, but I didn’t do it!” Brooke screamed. No one paid attention to her. The servants’ fear did not wane and the king rocked his daughter, crying, his shoulders trembling. “Please believe me, please, I did not do this!” she begged, “Please!” Tears spilled down her cheeks and she knew there was no hope of them ever believing her, a mere human drenched in the victim’s blood.

Still no one paid her no mind, everyone wrapped in the brutal scene before them. “There was an assassin, and I tried to stop him, but I-”
            “Silence!” The king ordered, laying the princess back onto her bed. He turned to Brooke; hate polluting the shores of his eyes, hatred for her, the one who he believed murdered his ill daughter.

“But the assassin that was here, he-”

“I said silence, you worthless piece of filth!” Brooke’s stomach twisted and she felt humiliated hearing the servants cry for their princess.

“Your majesty, shall we take her to the dungeons or the courtroom, or what would you have us do?” asked the royal ambassador who had come. He was a small elf with round glasses, gray hair, and a pointed nose and ears.

“No, I will judge her right here.”

“Are you sure that’s wise your majesty due to your emotional state?” asked the ambassador, adjusting his glasses, and glancing at Brooke with a scowl.

“I am King, and I will declare your fate just as you kneel.” King Victor towered over Brooke, and she lowered her head. She expected execution in three days or perhaps the very next day. This wasn’t fair at all. She didn’t do anything. What could she say? It was unwise to say a word at this moment. If he was lenient, she could get life in the dungeon, but in this light, he looked angry, beyond angry. His fingers were pulled tight and his robe was red from him holding the princess. “You have taken my daughter from me and decimated her body, I should have the same done to you, for you are someone else’s daughter; I should have you executed, your head on a stake, never giving your bones burial.”

As he spoke, Brooke’s sobs became louder. She tried to stop because it made her seem even guiltier. This was the end for her. Anyway she looked at it. If he sent her to execution, there goes her life, and the dungeon there goes more of her life spent in solitary. Any fate he chose for her meant death. The world seemed to die before her, every bit of hope leaving her. She snatched from her captors for a split second and reached for the sword. If he was going to execute her, she could do it herself. It was madness, and she wasn’t thinking. She managed to get the hilt and cut her arm, but the master guardians tackled her. They took it from her and forced her to face the king again. He gave a sinister smirk and said onto her, “Perfect; it is perfect, you want to die now that you are in light of guilt.” Brooke refused to respond. “Then I will not give you what you desire; I will have you carry the burden of your guilt, the shame of your family’s name on you for the rest of your life.” What was he talking about? What did that mean? “Take her to the dungeon and let her rot.”

Brooke sobbed harder as the master guardians forced her to her feet, and shoved her out of the room. As they walked down the corridor, they passed Princess Meredith and she gave Brooke an expression of anger, shock, and fear. Brooke didn’t want to look at it or see it, but it was there, and Brooke knew Princess Meredith will forever see her as a murderer, someone who took the life of her dear little sister, a light, a treasure of the kingdom.

Then, as they continued, thoughts erupted inside her mind. She was to…spend the rest of her life in a dungeon? It wasn’t lenient of him either. This mental anguish she suffered was worse than death. At least in death, things were at rest. She was to spend the rest of her life in a dungeon, traumatized by her failure to protect her princess, carrying a guilt that did not belong to her. 

Author's Note

Dear Reader,

I wanted to capture the moment. King Victor really believes Brooke is the culprit for his daughter's murder. Therefore I had to be a little mean and make it seem credible to you. Hope I achieved that purpose. I wanted the tone to be pity and sadness. This and the following chapters are actually the saddest ones. Sorry. Bear with me.

I chose that picture because Brooke is now a prisoner for a crime she did not commit.

Thanks for reading.

Sincerely JazzSoulKeke,

God bless