The guards lead Effie and Anise through one final hallway which opened up into an enormous throne room that was equally as rich and lavish as the rest of the palace. As Effie stepped through the doorway, her heart thundered wildly in her chest, threatening to bust out of her rib cage at any moment. But somehow she managed to keep her composure. Just barely.
On the other side of the door waiting for her was Prince Reign, standing back near the entrance. His head swiveled around as she entered, and his golden eyes looked her over in her beautiful new outfit. She couldn't tell what he was thinking behind those eyes, but he stared for some time, making Effie squirm uncomfortably. She felt ridiculous dressed in so many layers of lace and frills, and she was certain Reign was thinking the same thing. Why else would he be staring so hard at her? Effie's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she turned to face forward, determined not to pay him any more mind. He could judge her all he wanted. It wasn't like she chose to dress this way on purpose. She was practically forced into it. He could think whatever he wanted of her, and she told herself she wouldn't care.
If only she had known how wrongly she misread the thoughts behind his eyes...
At the end of the throne room, Effie recognized the loathsome face of Prince Torin standing beside the throne, his burning eyes boring holes through her. Next to Torin, on the throne, sat the dreaded King Jaspar La Croix. And his presence was every bit as imposing as Effie had ever imagined it would be.
He was a man in his fifties, with straight brown hair streaked with grey, slicked back underneath his crown. He had a strong jaw, and broad shoulders. His harsh, dark blue eyes peered out from beneath a heavy brow. His features were severe, and his build intimidating. He perfectly resembled the tyrant that she had come to believe he was.
"Enter the accused," the palace guards announced the women's arrival as the they stopped at the foot of the raised platform where the throne was situated above. "Anise and Euphemia Barlow of Evanore, your Majesty."
As they were introduced, Effie saw Anise curtsy from her peripheral, and so she followed suit, offering her own clumsy curtsy to the king, as was customary.
Next, through the entryway, another set of guards lead the adolescence boy with curly red hair into the throne room. From the looks of things, Kip had been forced to wear a set of fine clothes himself, as he was dressed in a silken tunic and tights, hardly looking like the farm boy that Effie was used to seeing.
"Enter the accuser," the guard announced as Kip was guided into the room. "Kip Darrow of Evanore, your Majesty."
In response, Kip offered his own, surprisingly elegant bow that looked rather natural despite the fact that he was not anywhere near royalty. Effie's awkward curtsy had paled in comparison. She was honestly a little impressed.
"Euphemia Barlow, is it?" The king said, turning to address Effie, his piercing gaze falling upon her small form below.
His natural voice was strong and commanding, even when he wasn't trying to be. And his eyes were sharp... predatorial. Effie felt like a little mouse being hunted down by a hungry cat.
'So this is the man who ordered the execution of my mother,' she thought with disdain. Well, she wasn't going to let him make her feel intimidated... even if he was the most powerful man in the entire four kingdoms. She wasn't going to show an ounce of fear, even as her knees were quaking beneath her skirt.
"Here you stand before me," the king went on. "Accused of being a witch. Yet, instead of letting you suffer the punishment for that accusation, my son over here, the prince, decided to spare your life. Normally, I would not even entertain such a preposterous idea. However, the prince had said something to me which caused me to reconsider your punishment and hear your defense."
Effie wondered if this had to do with the thing Reign kept telling people about how she supposedly saved his life. Though she still didn't quite understand how, she kept listening to King Jaspar, hoping the truth would be revealed right here in this throne room.
"Many years ago," the king continued, "my beautiful wife, Queen Adella, succumbed to a terrible disease that had plagued her for some time... a curse that affected the first-born offspring of every member of her family in that linage for generations. How the curse came to be is a mystery to her people, however I believe it to be the work of a witch. Nothing else on the planet would be malicious enough to so something so sinister."
'Garbage,' Effie thought. 'Utter drivel. Such a baseless claim!' But she kept her mouth shut as the King continued to speak.
"After my beautiful wife had passed away from the cursed disease, her firstborn, my son Reign, began showing signs of the curse early on. He was only six years old at the time, but soon he fell very ill. I hired the best doctors, healers and priests from across the land to try and cure him, but none could. To add insult to injury, I was even told that Prince Reign may not live to see his ninth birthday. But against all odds, Reign's ninth birthday came to pass, yet he continued to live, albeit just barely. Since then, his existence has been nothing short of absolute misery. You can't imagine how difficult it's been as a father to watch my son suffer so greatly. He has lived in pain and suffering for all these years. That is until apparently, you came along. Reign told me about how you found him in the wood, he was weak and barely conscious. And somehow you were able to alleviate his suffering."
'That's not exactly how it happened...' Effie thought. 'Seems like Prince Reign left out some important details...'
"You must be an exceptionally skilled healer to have done what no one else could. Reign's improved state upon my arrival back at the palace is evidence of that skill. I can't simply turn a blind eye to that."
"But father!" Torin protested. "She's an accused witch. You can't just let that go. What if it wasn't skill, but some sort of magic spell she'd cast on my brother?"
'Ouch," Effie thought. Torin was right on the money with that one.
"Nonsense," King Jaspar replied sharply. "Be reasonable, son. A witch would never use their magic to do something to help a human. Their powers only know destruction and suffering. No, I think you are mistaken, Prince Torin."
King Jaspar's voice was so much colder when directed toward Torin compared to the warmth he'd had when he spoke about Reign. And when she saw the angry, pained look on Torin's face at his father's dismissal of his words, Effie really started to believe what everyone had been saying; that Reign was the king's favored son. She was now watching that favoritism playing out in real time.
"If anyone still has their doubts," King Jaspar went on, "my son has brought in the original witness who turned these women in at the beginning. It seems this child wants to retract his previous statements. Go on, boy. Tell us what you really saw that night."
Effie was surprised how bravely Kip stepped forward, not looking the tiniest bit scared under the scrutinizing gaze of the king. He hardly resembled a child at all now.
"Yes, your majesty," Kip cleared his throat. "That night my sick grandfather took a turn for the worse. In a panic, I rushed him over to the apothecary hoping that Miss Anise and Effie could save his life. I was desperate. I was so scared that I couldn't even think straight. I was so frightened that I kept getting in the way as Miss Anise and Effie worked on him, using all kinds of medicines and plants to try and save him. Miss Anise must have noticed how traumatized I looked, so she kindly asked me to home to my mother and wait there. But I couldn't just leave grandfather. So I pretended to leave, but really I sneaked around the back of the building and hid under one of the open windows so I could continue to keep an eye on my grandfather."
'He's being so honest,' Effie thought, her heart aching with pity for the boy. He'd gone through so much that night, a level of fear and suffering that Effie could relate to. She just hoped he wouldn't be too honest here. Otherwise he might bungle the whole thing, and then even after everything that Reign had done for them, she and Anise would still be burned.
"What I saw that night," Kip went on, "was nothing short of miraculous. They had used medical techniques that I had never seen before. Being a simple farmer boy, the use of medicine already seems like magic to me, your majesty. But what I saw that night was not witches magic. There were no spells cast, no rituals, nothing but herbs and plants. Looking back on it now, I realize that I was just so frightened that I'd misinterpreted what I had seen. And I whole-heartedly regret having falsely accused these two women of witch craft. They are my friends, and their exceptional skills are still very much needed in the town of Evanore. The only way I can live with myself now is by coming forward and telling the truth."
Effie was moved by Kip's performance. Although not completely dishonest, he definitely tweaked a good portion of the story beyond the realm of truth. Still, his emotions had been so genuine and raw that not a person standing there in that throne room would have questioned the authenticity.
Even King Jaspar was now rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Thank you for your honesty, young man. What say you, Euphemia? Does the child's story corroborate everything that happened in the apothecary that night?"
"Yes, your majesty," Effie replied with another awkward curtsy. "He speaks the truth."
"Hmmm..." the king grumbled solemnly. "Then by my order - perhaps for the first time since the Witch Hunt law was enacted over one-hundred years ago - these accused witches are hereby released from that accusation and are free to go back to their home in Evanore."
Effie was so happy she could cry. She wanted to throw her arms around Anise and weep into her neck, but she managed to maintain composure as the king continued to speak.
"On the condition that the healer Euphemia Barlow continues to regularly see to Reign's medical care, alleviating his symptoms and working to find a cure for his disease. If she fails to do so, she will be executed just as all the other healers who failed him and Queen Adella."
All the excitement that Effie felt moments earlier was immediately sucked from her body as the blood rushed out of her face. Of course there would be a catch. But must it be such a severe one? How was she supposed to continue to treat Reign's cursed disease, let alone figure out how to stop it, when she hadn't even known how she helped in the first place? All she intended to do was heal a head injury.
All she had wanted to do was escape from this entire nightmare of a royal family and continue living her peaceful life as normal. But now that dream was seeming farther and farther out of reach.