The great hall was overwhelmed by people, and Cordelia wondered just what this "test" would entail. She could not fathom why there were so many people crowding about and had the increasingly sinking feeling that Hans' assessment of the situation was correct. Chief Magician Friedrich was likely going to manipulate the outcome of this test regardless of the truth. Cordelia had been hoping to see the steward, but as there were so many people crushing into the room, she could not know if he happened to make it in or not.
Cordelia saw her father and the magician enter the room, and the crowd hushed, waiting for what would occur.
Chief Magician Friedrich's eyes were glowing with the slightest hint of green, and Cordelia knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that her life was going to be not only disrupted but was very likely to be ended. Her father, the King, said something undiscernible to the magician, and he nodded and stopped forward.
"First," he called out in a booming voice. "I need the child to come forward. He is necessary for this test."
Cordelia's spine stiffened as shock flooded through her senses. What did this vile man want with her son? What could he possibly need John for? She looked over at her farther, trying to plead with him, despite knowing that he was livid with her. He wouldn't allow the man to do anything to his grandson, would he?
Her father did not look at her, and Cordelia looked back to the magician, wanting so badly to rebel against the implied order, but she knew that much worse pain could be inflicted against her or her child if she refused.
John glanced up at her with fear-filled eyes, and Cordelia felt tears pricking at the back of her own eyes.
"Go, sweet," she whispered past the lump in her throat and tried to prod him with her arm, but he took hold of her arm and shook his head. "I know, darling, but you must go."
John sniffed and wiped at his face with his sleeve before taking a step forward. He turned back and pleaded with his eyes to be allowed to stay with her. Cordelia gestured for him to continue walking, and he put his head down and plodded forward as though he was going to his death which, after some brief reflection, Cordelia surmised might be the truth in this case. Cordelia held her already shallow breath, hoping that this would end soon so that she could know what her consequences would be.
Friedrich grinned with malignant delight, but he ended up performing no magic on the child. The magician held up a lemon and his eyes flashed a brilliant green as if a fire was lit behind them. The lemon itself glowed briefly before returning to its normal yellow. Chief Magician Friedrich handed the lemon to John, and explained to the room, "Whoever this child hands this lemon to is the boy's father."
The whole crowd gasped in unison and glanced at each other knowingly, and Cordelia imagined that the kingdom would like to see how well their speculations lined up with "reality." She could imagine them making wagers on who the man would be and feeling better than her for their apparent moral superiority.
John held the lemon in his hand and stared down at it, looking perplexed. He looked up again and glanced around the room, as if looking for a familiar face. He looked directly at his mother as if he was about to just run back to her, but it looked as though he was compelled to stand where he was.
Cordelia glanced over at the chief magician who was smirking down at the child. As everyone else's attention was on the boy, they all missed the flash of green that leaped from his eyes. The crowd began to murmur as the boy seemed to be taking steps against his will; it was as though the lemon was dragging him across the room. John planted his feet as if fighting against the magical object, and Cordelia's stomach churned painfully as she waited for who John would end up being compelled to give the lemon to.
Suddenly, it was as if the lemon had stopped pulling John along, but he was not near enough to any person for it to have anything to do with Cordelia's supposed lover. John was staring at the fruit, concentrating on it, and the entire room stared, puzzled as the child's face relaxed. He turned to Cordelia, held up the lemon, and smiled. As he was about to start walking back to her, the lemon seemed to have regained its power and dragged him to the back of the room. When John's lemon entered Hans' hands, the entire room gasped in incredulity. The hunchback was the boy's father? Cordelia looked over at Hans with confusion, but while she was annoyed at the circumstances, she assumed that this had been the chief magician's aim all along. She was aware that he had always disliked Hans from even before Hans had become the steward of the castle.
When Cordelia looked over at her father to see how angry he was, her shoulders and neck began to physically ache with the tension that seized her at the thunderous look on his face. She was certain that he would carry out his threat to banish her, particularly since it would seem that her apparent lover was someone so undesirable.
Hans had taken John's hand and walked to the center of the room with an expression so calm that Cordelia was given the slightest bit of hope.
"Hear this," the King shouted with a stony expression. "The former princess, my daughter Cordelia, will be hereby banished from our country's lands along with this man and their son." He turned his head to his captain, "Escort them from the hall."
Without another word, Hans, Cordelia, and John were removed from the great hall and ushered onto a tiny boat that was scarcely large enough to fit the three.