Chapter 19 - The Trial of Lady Eveline
While peace and prosperity blossomed across the capital, a final chapter of the old era remained to be written in the cold depths of Blackthorn Keep. Deep within the maximum-security stone dungeons, far away from the warmth of the sunlit gardens, Lady Eveline sat behind thick iron bars in a damp, windowless cell.
The proud, arrogant aristocrat who had once worn magnificent fur pelts and ruled her household with an iron fist was gone. In her place sat a broken, bitter woman, wrapped in a coarse gray blanket, shivering against the chill of the northern stone.
Heavy footsteps echoed down the stone corridor. Eveline looked up, her bloodshot eyes widening as two elite guards unlocked her cell door and pulled her roughly to her feet, dragging her out into the harsh torchlight of the central chamber.
Waiting for her in the center of the chamber, seated upon a high-backed iron chair, was General Valen, flanked by two royal scribes holding parchment and quills.
“Lady Eveline Ashford,” Valen’s voice echoed coldly off the damp stone walls. “By decree of the High Council and the Alpha King, you have been found guilty of high treason, conspiracy to commit royal assassination, and the illegal use of dark blood magic.”
Eveline let out a harsh, bitter laugh, struggling weakly against the guards' grip. “Treason? I secured the future of the North! That ungrateful little wretch of a stepdaughter owes everything she has to me! If I hadn't sent her to Blackthorn Keep, her celestial blood would have rotted away in a scullery!”
“You didn't send her there out of charity or foresight,” Valen retorted sharply, standing up and towering over her. “You sent her to die, hoping the King’s dying wolf would rip her apart before your dark magic could harvest her power. Instead, you handed the true Queen to the rightful King.”
Eveline’s face twisted into an ugly mask of pure hatred. “She is a nobody! A servant! She belongs in the dirt!”
“She sits upon the imperial throne,” Valen stated flatly. “And your sentence has been rendered.”
Valen stepped back, raising his hand. “You are hereby stripped of all titles, lands, and wealth belonging to House Ashford. You will spend the remainder of your natural days in the deepest salt mines of the northern frontier, performing hard labor until your debts to the crown are fully paid.”
May you like
Eveline screamed, thrashing wildly as the guards grabbed her arms and dragged her kicking and cursing down the dark corridor toward the exit tunnel, away from the warmth of the world above.
Justice had finally been served in full.
