I was dragged, bloodied and barely clothed, before a jury.
I could see the disgust on the faces of the Kitelle nobles, and the sympathy on the faces of the Robaine nobles. I knew I was in trouble.
I finished my testimony, but I knew it was no use. I only hoped they truly listened.
The prosecutor stood up. "And what say you to the evidence of your cruelty?" he asked. "None of what you said explains the chair incident, the incident of Lady Lycra being pushed down the stairs, Lady Lycra having trash thrown at her, Lady Lycra being kidnapped and beat, and most recently tormenting her through secret letters."
I shook my head. "I have never written any letters to Lady Lycra," I said. "How could I, while being imprisoned?"
"So, you didn't seduce the guard on duty to have letters passed outside of prison to Lady Lycra? Even though the guard himself can attest to it?"
I glared at the guard as he waived at me from the crowd of spectators. "I would never do something like that," I said. "I am innocent."
The prosecutor smirked. "We have a statement, as well as proof, from Captain Vicon that from the day you arrived, you wrote multiple letters to vassals and mercenaries to corral them against her. Sending Lady Lycra letters as well in your known stationary!"
He lifted a stack of letters. I could see that they were indeed on my stationary, but I had never seen them before. They were passed them to the jury, and as they read them, one by one their faces turned pale.
I knew that I was going to be found guilty. The fake evidence was too strong against me.
Just then, there was a commotion at the door. A man burst into the room.
"Your excellency!" he cried. "The knights of Robaine are at our border! Our defenses are quickly falling. They claim we have taken their Crown Princess."
The king rose from his throne in haste.
"Crown Princess?!" he boomed. "What farce is that? Robaine has no princess!"
"Your excellency," the man struggled to get out, "They claim Lady Myrone is their crown princess."
"WHAT NONSENSE?!"
The king roared out. The jury sat dumbfounded; all but those that had shown me sympathetic glances.
Those few rose quickly, grabbing me and dragging me out of the courtroom.
I didn't know what was happening, but I was grateful to be alive. I was dragged through the streets and back alleyways, and I could hear the chaos all around me. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew that I had to get out of here.
Finally, we reached the edge of the city. A group of knights was waiting for us, and they helped me onto a horse.
"We're taking you to safety," one of the knights said "please trust us princess."
I didn't know who they were or why they were helping me, but I was grateful. I rode away from the city, and I didn't look back.
I didn't know what the future held, but I knew that I would never forget what had happened to me. I had been falsely accused, and I had been imprisoned and tortured. But I had survived.
The problem is, they think I'm their…princess for some reason?
I was taken to a safe house, where I was given food and clothing. I was told that the knights were from Robaine, and that they had come to rescue me. I was grateful for their help, but I was also confused. Why would they rescue me? I was a prisoner of Kitelle, and they were enemies. They keep spouting princess nonsense but with no context. I was engaged to William. Never anyone else.
I didn't have to wait long for an answer. The next day, a man came to see me. He was tall and handsome, with dark hair and green eyes. He introduced himself as Evanil Krom Robaine, the Crown Prince of Robaine but I recognized him as the man that had come to my cell days before.
"You-"
"I'm here to take you home," he said "I'm sorry it took me years to find you. Your father signed the agreement 8 years ago, but strife in my kingdom prevented me from coming to you earlier."
I was stunned. I couldn't believe that the Crown Prince of Robaine was here to rescue me. Let alone that I'm his…fiancé.
"What do you mean? What agreement?" I asked.
"You're my betrothed," he said. "your father, my father's best friend agreed to our marriage 5 years ago. That filthy prince that walked around like you were his all these years, knew this. I'll deal with him later."
I didn't know what to say. I had never met the Crown Prince before, and my father never told me anything about this before he passed away only 3 years ago. He'd have never hid this from me. Before he died though, he did try to tell me something but didn't have the energy. Could this have been what he was trying to tell me? But why betroth me to William?
Ugh, my head hurts.
This is all too much.
"Tonight," I said "there is far too much to worry about. Tomorrow, please explain everything to me."
"As you wish, Theodosia." He said giving me a soft kiss on the forehead. I jumped back and he chuckled, "Get some rest. We can talk another time. Tomorrow may be taxing on you."
What does he mean by that?