In the atrium of the tall Snake castle, the crowds of people were chanting wildly."Savage, savage, punish the savage! We want justice! Keep the law!"
Sienna looked worriedly at the enraged people and took Sharchan's arm.
"Let's go."
"Are you sure you want to see that?" he asked her seriously.
"Sure, I'm their queen."Sienna nodded.
"Go to the Throne Hall, I will hear you out in there!"Sharchan called to the enraged people loudly.
Chantelle looked at Sharmut and held his arm. This time she will go down with him!
S joined next to Sharchan and Sienna and both of them walked fast down the corridors. Sharmut and Chantelle right behind them.
Sienna walked into a big Throne Hall in a feverish daze. The people's chanting still sounded loud in her ears. Sharchan had separate doors leading straight to the raised throne pedestal from the dark corridors, so they appeared directly next to the huge golden snake-eloped thrones, right in front of all the people! Sienna was impressed by the huge hall with long arches and dark glass windows, they had golden lines and white twirling snakes in them as a decoration.
The crowds filled the hall completely but allowed Thyasse with Marath to come to the front to stand before Sharchan and Sienna. Sharchet, Scharmut and worried Chantelle were standing a bit behind the Snake King.
Sharchan stood in the front holding Sienna's hand. He wanted to be ready to protect his sister just in case.
Sienna watched Thyasse's worried face and Marath's serious one. Marath was calm and looked a bit cheeky as always. Suddenly the crowds opened again and two men carried forward a blackened figure on the stretchers! They lowered her gently in front of Sharchan's feet.
It was a young crying female in her twenties, her formerly pretty face covered in bloody marks! Her clothes were ripped and charred, and her long black hair burned partly. The tall young man stood next to her with a disturbed face.
"What is this?"Sharchan asked him.
"My name is Semu, and this is my sister Tami. We live in Castlegrounds Village. I work as a mushroom forager. My sister was attacked by your sister, my king."the tall man said with tearful eyes. She went to fetch the water in the lake and I found her like this with Lady Thyasse trying to kill her! My sister said that Lady Thyasse scratched her face, tortured her and burned her on the fire. Then I found her and called for help." he said with tears at the end of his eyes." Lady Thyasse is clearly savage and I'm calling for justice."Semu said.
Sharchan turned to Marath and Thyasse."What do you have to say on this, Thyasse?" he said a bit painfully. His heart hurted to see his sister like this again after so many years!
"Thyasse is mine," Marath said."I want to find the truth and justice as well. I'm asking for your queen Sienna to judge today!" he said calmly.
"On what grounds?"Sharchan asked a bit surprised. He was expecting Marath to fight all these people off and snatch his sister as he himself did before and hide her again...Sharchan was ready to help him with that!
"Lady Thyasse was my queen, she is still past Snake King's daughter....so I'm asking for a past queen of the Black Lizard tribe to be judged by your Snake Queen today." he turned to Sienna.
"I accept."Sienna nodded. "If Thyasse is really savage, Marath will hide her again. He could kill all these people to save her life! He must come here because Thyasse is innocent and he could prove it easily. He wants to clean Thyasse's name publicly."Sienna thought.
"Sharchan?" Sienna turned to her Snake king.
"Sure."Sharchan nodded and turned to Thyasse with a bit painful gaze.
"How could you? I was thinking you were cured."He shook his head.
"You know what our law says about savage people?"Sharmut looked at Sienna worriedly. "It means death."
"Death to the savage!" the people started to shout again.
"Ask the people to be quiet please."Sienna turned to Sharchan. Sharchan lifted his hand and people stopped shouting immediately.
"As a magic wand."Sienna watched in awe in her mind. Then she straightened up and went to address the crowds. "My dear people, before the law comes justice, only then can any laws be considered. Sir Marath asked me to judge and I accepted, so now it is the time to investigate the whole matter," she said.
"But Lady Thyasse is clearly guilty, there is nothing to decide...We all know she was savage before and she still is!"Semu called enraged.
"No."Sienna stood up for Thyasse." How can I judge her rashly? I was not there! I did not see what really happened. Just because Tami looks pitiful and sobs, I can't assume Thyasse is guilty! I will listen to both stories. Then I will look at the evidence. Then I decide."Sienna said firmly.
Sharchan looked at her surprised. "Did not Thyasse try to eat you twice?"
"That was before she was cured."Sienna nodded.
"Please let my sister change her burned clothes first."the tall men begged.
"No, it is an evidence."Sienna looked curiously at the sobbing female.
"She is so pitiful! How did she get hurt? "Sienna thought and watched the scratches on her face. Sienna looked at her hands and touched her own face as if in shock at the damage on Tami's face. Sienna pressed her small fingers between her eyebrows and thumbs at her cheeks and pressed lightly. The marks started on Tami's face the same way!"She scratched herself!"Sienna realized suddenly. "The charred clothes..."Sienna glanced at Thyasee. "She must have the Marath's protective necklace!"Sienna realized in her mind..." This female wanted to hurt her and the necklace burned her!" she thought.
"How can you be so cruel, dear queen?"Semu looked at her shocked. "I heard that you are kind, so I hoped you would uphold the justice for my sister!"
"I'm kind and keen."Sienna turned to him abruptly." Kind enough, not to drag this theatre and keen to show everyone the truth!"Sienna clenched her lips.
"What?"Semu was shocked.
"First, I need to hear both stories. I want to hear what happened. First from Tami, then Thyasse."Sienna looked at the pitiful sobbing figure. She looked so fragile and anxious, suffering in pain clearly.
Semu crouched to Tami and held her hand. Tami stopped sobbing and spoke hardly
"I ...I...went around to pick some water as my brother went foraging...when Lady Thyasse grabbed me from behind, pushed me on the ground and scratched my face and then she tied me up and threw me into a fire to burn me alive..." she sobbed.
"Who saw it?"Sienna asked.
"My brother came later on. He called for help."Tami sobbed pitifully.
"What did you see exactly?"Sienna asked Semu.
"I heard the loud scream and then cries of my sister, so I ran back. Then I saw Lady Thyasse bending over my burned sister. Tami was lying on the ground drenched in water, already burned and disfigured bleeding from her face, freezing cold and in pain...I came too late..." the man sobbed.
Sienna turned to Thyasse."Lady Thyasse, please tell me your version of the story now.
"Marath went to look for some crystals, so I went for a swim in the river. I was just relaxing floating on my back. I heard a scream suddenly and I saw someone drowning behind me, so I went to help. She already had a scratched face and was burned, I just took her out of the water, I'm innocent."Thyasse said hardly. She felt upset at the accusations.
"How outrageous!"Semu called."You try to kill her, not save her...Who scratched her face then?"
"That is a good point."Sienna said."So let's look at the evidence. Scratched face, burned clothes and body. Did you find the tie ropes?"She asked Semu.
"No, they must burn," Semu replied.
"How big was the fireplace?"Sienna asked.
"I did not notice it. My sister was on the ground when I found her."Semu said upset.
"So let's start with the scratches."I need a black paper and a toothpick, "she said."And some blue paint."Sienna asked.
"Hurry up, one, two, three."Sharchan sent three of his servants for papers, blue paint and toothpicks.
The snake servants brought it fast. Sienna took the black paper and toothpick. She went to Thyasse and asked for her hand.
The people watched in shock. "What is our queen doing?" they thought surprised.
Sienna swiped the toothpick under Thyasse's nails gently as if cleaning them." You have nothing under your nails! How is it possible?"Sienna asked. It was a simple thing from detective movies Sienna watched and it came handy here.
Thyasse looked puzzled.
"Let's try Tami's hand now."Sienna went to the hurted female...Tami got lots of bloodied skin under her fingernails, it shone brightly on the black paper!
"So Tami, is this skin from your blodied face?"Sienna asked coldly.
She dipped Tami's hands into a blue paint gently."Let's see if your hands match the scratch marks!" She pressed Tami's hands onto her scars.
"Yes indeed, perfect match..."Sienna showed the blue marks to the people by turning Tami around gently. "Tami's fingers fit perfectly into the scratch lines. If someone else scratched her, the shortest thumb lines would be inwards, but they are outwards."Sienna noted."So you did it by yourself to frame Thyasse!"Sienna told to Tami." Tami scratched her own face!"Sienna announced to people.
"Why would she do that?"The people asked shocked."Did she really want to frame our king's sister?"
"Well, let's continue with the burn," Sienna said calmly.
Sienna went to Thyasse and lifted a black teardrop necklace from her neck.
"The charred clothes and body are from this protective necklace!
Tami wanted to hurt Thyasse so it activated its protection. I saw it a few times before."Sienna nodded her head as if thinking.
"So, I think the story goes like this. Thyasse was having a bath when Tami spotted her. Tami scratched her own face and went into the water, she attacked Thyasee sneakily and the necklace burned her. Thyasse heard Tami's scream and took her out of the water already scratched and burned, so she didn't drown, but then her brother saw her bending over her and called for help...Thyasse was brought here as savage because Tami tried to frame her. Thyasse is innocent!"Sienna held Thyasse's arm up.
"But my sister is hurt, she should pay for it!"Semu attacked Sienna in rage, but she held Thyasse's arm. The protection of the pendant fell on her as well and Semu was sent flying away burned.
"Brother and sister burned the same. Thank you for the new evidence."Sienna said calmly.
"Thyasse is innocent and you both are guilty of perverting justice. And attack on Royal family."Sienna stretched her hand."Sharchan will do the sentence. I'm too kind."
The hall was dead quiet. All the eyes were glued onto Sharchan's face.
Sharchan looked at the siblings."You both are to be banished to Chimera land." He nodded. "My queen does not like blood. Go now! My guards will escort you."
"Let them take one bag each from their home," Sienna asked Sahrchan. "Let their neighbours pack it for them."
"Ok." Sharchan nodded.
Sharmut listened a bit entertained. The males who were banished to Chimera Land will be killed by wild tribes on entry, it was a death sentence, but sneaky Sharchan wanted to keep it from Sienna, so she does not beg him to save Tami's brother's life...
The people started to leave quietly. The queen judged it and they felt wrong to be rash in their actions, they felt cheated by the siblings.
The people left and the guard took Tami and Semu away. They had to leave everything behind them and leave immediately. The people from the village packed a few of their belongings and gave it to them on the way.