The royal council's chamber was designed to be both lavish and imposing, but as Lanna had grown up in the castle, it didn't have quite the same effect on her as it did on outsiders. The dark, ornately carved table, the commanding high-backed chairs, none of it intimidated her in the slightest. In fact, she was much more troubled by the council's expressions than by anything else in the room.
In a rare occurrence, it seemed the entire council was present. All fifteen members were seated behind a long semicircular table, glowering at the two royal miscreants before them. Lanna and Bennis stood in the middle of the room, the squad of palace guards who had discovered them standing at their backs. They had just delivered the news that Prince Casius was dead and on every council member's face all Lanna could discern were looks of disgust and disapproval. They were expressions that did not bode well for either sibling's future.
The head of the council, Lord Halliwell, stood up and braced his fists on the table in front of him as he glared at Lanna and Bennis. "Someone tell me what the hell happened. Right. Now," he ordered.
The guard captain stepped forward and gestured at Lanna who was clutching her ripped bodice to her chest in an effort to maintain her modesty. "My boys found her lyin' face-down on top of the table m'lord. Her arms were tied behind her back with a belt and she..." His eyes darted towards the princess and quickly away as if embarrassed at what he had to reveal. "Well, I'll just say that she was bloodied with her skirts flipped up and Prince Casius was a-layin' there on the floor where he got knocked in the head with his pants around his ankles." The man shrugged, cleared his throat, and continued. "Prince Bennis was a-hollerin' and carryin' on and throwin' books about the room. The entire library is a mess m'lord. We just went in to clean up the bodies like we's supposed to. Never expected anything like this to happen m'lord, never."
Lanna tried to ignore the captain's casual mention of cleaning up her body. Instead she thought of the funerals that would be held over the next seven days for her brothers and wondering if, in the end, they would be extended an extra two days for her and Bennis.
Lord Halliwell looked around to the other council members as the guard captain finished his short recitation, gauging their reactions. Here was a serious predicament and council head wasn't sure there was anything in Glenador's laws that covered a situation exactly like this one. Where was the section that relayed what to do when the crowned prince rapes the princess and is subsequently killed by his half-witted brother? Really, just what the hell was he supposed to do with that? He needed to buy time until they could sort through the political ramifications of any action they took and he was sure he wouldn't have much of it.
"Take them to the dungeon until we can verify their story," Lord Halliwell ordered. As the guards organized themselves, Halliwell motioned Lord Aerick over. The younger lord had been sitting at the end of the table listening to the guard captain's story, but unlike the rest of the council, his eyes had remained on Lanna, watching as a pink blush stole across her features at the mention of her skirts. It wasn't the first time he had noticed the princess, but before today he had given her little thought.
Lord Halliwell waved him over again, more vigorously this time. Aerick slowly approached and bent down so Halliwell could murmur in his ear, "find out the truth. I don't care how you do it, just get to the bottom of this fiasco and see if we can fix it before it's too late." Aerick cocked his head to the side as he listened and then gave a nod of acquiescence, a small smile on his face.
"Yes sir," he replied. Whenever there was any dirty work to be done, Aerick had always been the man of choice. While his status on the council was relatively recent, his reputation for cleaning up messes was long established. He watched absently as Lanna was escorted away, already wondering how he could use this newest situation to his advantage.
Lanna was grabbed roughly as she and Bennis were led out of the room, guards flanking them on either side. She was marched all the way down to the dungeons with a guard gripping her tightly by each arm. The steps downward seemed never-ending as they moved from daylight into the dimness provided by flickering torches. Bennis followed her like an obedient puppy, two guards behind him, keeping their distance but ready to correct him if he changed directions. They reached a narrow corridor and passed door after door until they came to an abrupt stop. The door in front of them was unlocked with the twist of a key and Lanna was unceremoniously dumped into a cell, landing hard on her hands and knees. She heard the door slam and lock behind her. The door was made of thick planks with a small face grate placed high up in the wood so the guards could peer in on their daily rounds. Lanna could hear Bennis' distressed, wordless, screaming echoing through the hallway and she rushed to the grate to peer out. Standing on tiptoe and peeking through the bottom of the latticed metal window, she could see all four guards carrying him bodily away from her cell and further down into dungeon, Bennis fighting them with all his strength.
"Bennis!" Lanna cried, "Don't hurt him! Don't you bastards dare hurt him!" She knew being carried like that would provoke an extreme outburst in Bennis and she was afraid that the guards would use force to subdue him, prince or no. She stayed by the door until she could no longer hear his voice, straining to hear anything that might tell her what was happening, but there was only silence. Eventually she turned around and peered into her dim surroundings. The room she was in was absolutely bare. Stone walls, a stone floor, and an assortment of manacles hanging down from the walls and ceiling were all she could see. From the size of the room and the lack of bedding she deduced that she must be in some type of temporary holding cell. At least it was dry and, well, relatively clean. She imagined there were rooms down here that were much, much worse.
For a while she examined the walls and doors, her fingers skating over cracks in the stone, checking to see if there was any way out, but there was no miraculous extra key or hidden seam in the wall. Eventually Lanna leaned back against a wall opposite the cell door and slowly slid down until she was sitting on the floor, giving it up as hopeless. She was stuck here until someone decided to let her out. The only thing she could do now was wait. And think.
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Three floors up, and with a marvelous view of the gardens out his window, Lord Aerick was waiting impatiently in his private rooms. Finally there was a knock on the door. "Enter," he called out, and the door swung open to reveal Chancellor Gallemon wearing an incredibly concerned look on his face. He quickly crossed the room and sank to one knee in front of Aerick.
"My Lord," he started, and then wasting no time on further formalities, "what are we going to do? The entire plan is in ruins. Casius was—"
"Oh, pull yourself together man," snapped Aerick, "we aren't ruined quite yet."
"How are we not utterly and completely ruined?" asked Gallemon in a shrill voice, rising to his feet. He extended three fingers and began ticking his points off one by one. "First of all, by the end of the week every single one of King Harmon's children will be dead. Then, we will have no rightful heir to put on the throne. And after that, the country will once again be on the brink of civil war and completely useless for anything. So yes my Lord, I believe we are ruined." The chancellor looked utterly frazzled and like he was about to start pulling out his hair.
"It's true the boy may be doomed to die," agreed Aerick, "he killed the heir apparent and the council may choose to make an example of him in order to prevent future generations from disregarding the council's choice. But that does not necessarily mean we are ruined. Not if I can save the girl."
