Faiz sat on the window sill and basked in the sun rays shining down on him. The food the guard had brought in that morning sat on the table at his bedside. He exhaled deeply. Not many moons ago, he had almost celebrated that soon every breath he took, he would be breathing in the air of freedom. He almost celebrated. He knew his brother and his fate well enough to know that he could trust both to crush any hope he'd ever dare to have. Of course he wouldn't be free even when he was living far away from the Palace, in the Outskirts. Of course. With this brother's eyes and ears planted here, freedom was just as inaccessible to him as it was back at home.
Home. He scoffed. He hadn't known any home other than the Palace all his life, yet he knew somehow, that home wasn't supposed to leave you suffocated and gasping for breath. Home is where you wish to return to, no matter where you are in the world. He was sure it wasn't any place you'd want to run away from.
He looked back at his room. The square cabin, as well as some of its furniture including a wide wardrobe, was made out of mahogany. Little waves were sculpted on top of the wardrobe. A sturdy shelf on the side held a thick leather-bound book and an ink container. He sighed. His bed and armchair were gold plated and embezzled with gems at the corners. A fur carpet covered the entire floor, leaving no space. So much for simple living. No doubt, this little cabin was simple living when he compared it to his quarters back at home….at the Palace.
He looked at the food, feeling guilty at letting it just sit there and spoil. He just had no appetite. Was the spiky farming tool, whatever it was called, just lying there or was it planted? He shook his head. Who could've planned him tripping like an oaf at that exact spot? Must've been a coincidence. A little odd, he thought, for it to happen on his first day of work. If it wasn't someone's plan, it could be the heavens sending him a message to quit.
Whatever it was, it had shaken him up pretty badly. If it weren't for her, Raazan, he recalled, he didn't even want to imagine what could've happened. 'There's not much to imagine', said a tiny voice at the back of his head. Faiz didn't like that voice.
He smiled as his thoughts shifted from his near-death experience to the tall, amber-eyed worker who'd saved him. There was such conviction in the way she spoke, the way she carried herself. She never wavered, even when she was speaking to him, a Prince. Yes, he'd spoken to her for a couple of seconds. Yet, he was impressed, and maybe a little envious. If only he could be so sure of the things he said, the things he did.
"Watch it! I mean, if you're staring at the ground all the time-" His smile turned sad. He hadn't been here for longer than a day, and this was the impression the workers had of him. The stuttering failure who couldn't even look them in the eye when he spoke to them.
He jumped a little when there came a knock at the door. Clearing his throat he answered, "Yes, come in." With four guards always on the other side of the door, he didn't even have to bother checking if the other person he was letting in was trustworthy. The guards would take care of that.
Bidod walked in and Faiz took back whatever he was thinking just moments ago. The guards did let someone incredibly untrustworthy in, but then, they were just following orders. Bidod, at least for the average person, was a respectable supervisor at the Outskirts extension site. If only the world knew of his 'not-so-respectful' secrets.
The first thing he'd wanted to do when he volunteered to work here was expel Bidod from his duties as supervisor. However, if Samee took that personally and decided to react….Faiz tried not to shudder overtly. No.
Until he had good enough reason, he was cursed to work with this reptile.
"What is it?" Faiz hated that his attempt to sound stern came out as so feeble.
"Apologies for disturbing you at this hour, Your Grace." Bidod didn't even try to cover how insincere his apology sounded, Faiz noted. "The guards insisted on seeing a written permission from you before they followed through on my orders for an arrest. I wouldn't have bothered you otherwise."
In other words, Faiz thought, you'd rather run your little show here with little to no accountability and unquestioned power, but I'm here, so you have no choice but to follow procedure. All he managed to say, however, was, "Arrest?"
"Yes, Your Highness, an arrest." Bidod stressed on the word 'arrest' as if he were speaking to a child.
"On what grounds?" Faiz turned around and found Bidod with a strip of cloth wrapped around his head. Did he get into a fight with some worker?
"Theft and assault, Highness." Bidod winced, his hand reaching up to the back of his head involuntarily as he mentioned assault.
Faiz wanted to jump out the window and run deep into the woods. He hadn't even been here a day and already Bidod was picking fights with workers and arresting them when things didn't go his way. Yes, Faiz was certain Bidod was lying, or hiding important details, at least. Permission? The last thing he wanted was to assist in all of this.
"Assault? Who's the victim?" Faiz didn't have to ask, the answer was clear, but some part of him wished to prolong the conversation so that his inescapable participation in all of this would be put off for a few more moments.
Bidod cleared his throat. Obviously his pride was wounded worse than his head. "Me, Sire. I caught her stealing and she hit me with a shovel."
Caught 'her' stealing. Faiz drew in a sharp breath. Things had just gotten so much worse. If Bidod was here asking to arrest a worker he couldn't have his way with….oh good heavens.
"Evidence?" Faiz asked.
"Beg your pardon, Sire?"
"Evidence to support your claim?"
"Does my word not suffice, Sire?"
Faiz gulped as barely concealed malice sounded in Bidod's voice. He drew in a deep breath. He couldn't give in to intimidation again. Not this time. "Evidence….evidence would be appreciated, Bidod."
Bidod spoke with a suppressed smirk. "Aside from the bump on my head, there's not much. I've already confiscated the item she attempted to steal, if that helps."
"What was it?"
"Sire?"
"The item?"
"Oh. Jewelry, Your Highness."
"Did you check with….with the….the owner of the item?"
"Of course, Sire. She's one of the other workers."
"Jewelry….belonging to a worker?" Faiz realised he probably sounded ignorant here. But he really was clueless as to how much wealth a worker in the Outskirts would possess. Why would one come out here unless they were desperate for mere sustenance? For freedom too….but that was just him.
"Nothing much, really. A silver bracelet."
"You...caught her….stealing a bracelet?"
"Theft is theft, Sire. A crime punishable by the laws of The Kingdom of Manzarhaal."
Of course, now he would talk about laws. No one knew laws better than those who perpetually break them and get away with it, Faiz noted. "How did you...I mean...how did you know it's not hers? When you caught her, I mean."
"Her behaviour, Sire. She was acting suspicious. Not to mention, she hit me when I saw her with it."
When he saw her with it…..didn't he just mention she attacked him when he 'caught' her? Faiz couldn't bring himself to ask Bidod that. It would just alert him to prepare with better lies. Not that it mattered. The bracelet was probably planted. Did Bidod threaten the other worker to force her to lie? Maybe offer her a lot of money? Maybe both? He'd done this before, so Faiz wouldn't put it past him. If Faiz refused permission, Bidod would bring this up at the Palace as a neglect of duties. But agreeing would mean….
"Very well. Bring her in. The trial….the trial will be at sundown today." Faiz declared.
Bidod blinked. "Trial, Sire?"
"Yes. Isn't that…," Faiz cleared his throat, "isn't that what generally follows an arrest?"
"Yes...of course, Sire."
"So...the little tavern...that should suffice?"
"Of course, Sire. It was built for your convenience."
Faiz held back from rolling his eyes. Lying was second-nature to Bidod now. The tavern was built at a short distance from the housing camps so that the workers could gather and make merry, especially on days when they had enough free time to spend in leisure but not enough to travel to town. This was his Father's idea. For the workers, not for Faiz. And he had no problem with that, of course. He actually preferred it. Bidod's blatant lies on the other hand, he did not prefer.
"Very well. Prepare it for the hearing. And bring in the other worker too….I mean, whoever owns the stolen item. As a witness, I mean." Faiz ordered. Or uttered something that resembled an order, anyways. Soon Bidod was prancing away with a written permission and the Royal seal on it.
It was only after he had left, that reality struck Faiz, and his knees buckled. Sitting down on his bed heavily, he wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead. What had he just done? A hearing? He was certain that Bidod would have all evidence planted against some poor innocent worker. Why was Faiz so insistent on sentencing her to her doom? And...even if there was no evidence in the supervisor's favour, going against Bidod would be the same as going against Samee….
He put his face in his hands and sighed. He should've just let Bidod do whatever he wanted to. At least that way he wouldn't be a part of this mess, much less be responsible for making it worse. And that was exactly what he'd just done. Made it worse. Maybe he should order to cancel the trial. Fake sickness, perhaps. He was feeling squeamish already, so it wouldn't be a complete lie.
He lay down on his bed and closed his eyes. He shouldn't panic. No, he shouldn't. Things will be fine. Yes. This was supposed to be a new beginning...this was supposed to be…..
He woke up with a gasp. That old feeling of some grip tightening around his neck had startled him awake. No, this wouldn't work. He needed to clear his head before the hearing. He stood up abruptly and rushed to the window. A whine escaped his lips as he realised there wasn't much time till sundown. Should he just not attend? How would that solve anything?
He closed the curtains, changed out of his sweat-soaked clothes and into fresh ones, and prepared to go out. A walk will help clear his thoughts, he hoped. Just as he was putting on his footwear, he heard commotion outside his door. What was happening? Wasn't this day eventful as it was?
He opened the door to the cabin just in time to witness a worker fall just a few inches away from his feet. The guards had their spears pointed at the person, preventing them from getting up. From what Faiz could tell, it was a woman. He looked up to see another worker in a similar position not too far away from the cabin. This was a man. He drew in a deep breath.
"What's going on?" He demanded, doing his best to keep his voice sturdy.
"Sire, these workers-" A guard started to explain, but was cut off by the female worker shouting. "I need to talk to him."
That voice sounded familiar. Faiz squatted down to get a better look at her face. She looked up at him, and he recognised her immediately. Bruised and beaten, lying on the floor right in front of him, was the worker who'd saved his life yesterday. Raazan.
"Let..let her go." Faiz ordered.
"But, Your Grace-"
"I insist that you let her go."
The guards hesitantly allowed Raazan to rise to her feet. She stumbled, but caught herself before Faiz could.
"I need to speak with you."She said.
"How dare-" A guard growled.
"Let her talk, please." Faiz said, then turned to her and made sure he met her eyes when he spoke. "Tell me."
"You said you owed me, right? Right?"
"Yes, I did." Faiz replied.
"Then you've got to listen to me. You've got to. It's not asking for much, just hear me out." Her voice raised in a panic as she grabbed onto his collar. The guards moved to stop her, but Faiz gestured to them to stop.
"Easy there." Faiz gently removed her hands from his collar, but didn't let go of them. They were shaking incessantly. "I'll listen. Whatever you have to say, I'll listen. Alright?" He assured her.
She drew in a shaky breath as she pulled back her hands and turned around to look at her friend, who was still pinned to the ground. "And Vihr.."
"Bring him...bring him up here. Gently, please." Faiz raised his voice to be heard at a distance.
The guards brought the worker, Vihr, up the stairs. Faiz looked at him. He was bruised and bleeding much like Raazan was. Obviously, these two were desperate enough to risk their lives to reach him. What could they want from him?
"Come in." Faiz gestured inside the cabin.
"Your Highness, what are you-"
"It's alright." Faiz reassured them, even though he wasn't certain of how he was certain of this.
"They could be armed." Tamih, one of the guards, warned.
"We're not." Raazan countered sharply.
"We just need to talk to you, Your Grace." Vihr said.
"Please, come in." Faiz realised this wasn't the wisest decision. They actually could be armed. Inviting them into the cabin could be dangerous. Moreover, there was the hearing to worry about, and not much time left for that too. Yet, he looked at the workers, ready to do anything to be heard, and decided he would listen to them. He invited them in, and decided it would be better if the guards waited outside. Another risky decision, he was aware.
"You should get your wounds looked at." He said as he offered them water. They took it but didn't drink.
"We're fine." Raazan said. Faiz smiled slightly. That conviction again.
"What did you wish to speak to me about?" Faiz kept his eyes trained on the carpet.
"The hearing, it's all set up." Raazan said.
"Beg your pardon?"
"The hearing at sundown? It's all set up. Your supervisor is lying about everything. She didn't steal anything. And she only hit him when he crossed a line. She's injured too. Badly. They both are."
"Both?"
"Yes, her brother. Bidod got him arrested too. But neither are at fault. Mani...he got angry, as anyone would. You need to understand that whatever evidence Bidod will present at the hearing, it's all a lie. We're not thieves."
Faiz looked up at her. We, she said. They were either friends or relatives. It didn't matter right then. As if the trial predicament wasn't eating at him already, it was now a matter of paying back a debt. Adding to that, when he looked at the workers sitting in front of him who'd risked their lives to get to him, letting them down seemed like the worst thing he could do.
Sighing, he stood up. " I was...I was afraid this was the case."
"Pardon?" Vihr looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.
"This isn't…", He breathed in deeply and exhaled, "this isn't the first time something like this is...is happening with Bidod. However, if I choose to favour your friends in spite of the evidence pointing against them...it would be considered injustice."
"This is a matter of life and death for them, Prince Faiz. You can't possibly be concerned about your reputation here. Especially since you already know of your supervisor's misdeeds." Raazan stood up angrily.
Vihr tugged at her sleeve. "Raaz, calm down."
"Calm down? With everything that-"
"It's not.." Faiz interrupted Raazan, "it's not a matter of..of my reputation. Knowing Bidod, if I sided with your friend without any evidence...he would take this to the Royal court. Anything that guarantees him victory, he will do."
"So what then?" Raazan asked.
"If you're aware of who Bidod's witness is...I mean, whoever he claims the stolen item belongs to...that would help."
"I'm sorry, Your Grace. We haven't the slightest idea." Vihr said.
Before Faiz could come up with any other suggestion, there came a knock at his door.
"What is it?"
"Sire, your presence is expected at the tavern. The accused have already been brought in."
Faiz sighed. "I'm afraid there's not much we can do. But I promise you, I'll do my utmost to stand by the innocent."
He headed for the door, but Raaz stepped in front of him. "Are you serious? You're leaving us with a 'I'll do my utmost'? Prince Faiz, I can't believe I thought you could help. I can't believe we wasted our time trying to get to you."
"Believe me, I really will do all I can. Please, I...I insist you accompany me to the hearing. Your presence...it can be of value to your friends. As for your wounds.."
"We're fine." Raazan said with barely controlled anger.
Faiz sighed again as he led them out of the cabin. Walking towards the tavern with Raazan's glare burning a hole in the back of his head, Faiz prayed to the heavens for a miracle. Anything that would help save the innocent. Anything that could prove that Bidod was guilty.