Anyone coming here to take away the King’s daughter against her will deserves death.”
“AYE!” screamed the room.
“Even if it was a lawful edict of the King?” Reece asked.
“What King?” Kolk called out.
“AYE!” echoed the room.
“And I have proof of Gareth’s treachery!” Godfrey called out excitedly.
The room turned to him, riveted.
“There is a boy who is willing to be witness to the crime. He has agreed to testify against Gareth, for his attempted assassination of me.”
The room gasped, breaking out into an excited murmur.
“The boy is being kept safely in the castle. I was awaiting the return of the warriors-and now that you are all here, and we are ready, we can all go to the Council together, and bring the boy and present the evidence. With a witness, the Council will have no choice but to legally depose Gareth.”
“And if they do not?” Kolk asked.
“If the council will not take action,” Brom said, “then it is clear that we, The Silver, The Legion, the King’s men, no longer have a place here at King’s Court. If so then we shall all leave this place and set up a new court elsewhere!”
“Aye!” echoed the room.
“My lady,” Brom said, turning to Gwen, “we are prepared to fight to the death for you, just as we had for your father, to instill you as ruler. When the Council sees our proof, we will lawfully depose Gareth. And then we shall instate you as Queen. I ask you again: is this an honor which you will accept?”
Gwen looked to the floor, then looked up.
“It is time to end my brother Gareth’s rule,” she said. “And if my being queen is what it takes, then so be it.”
The room erupted into a cheer.
“And if we are forced to leave this place,” Kolk said, “then Gwendolyn, you shall be our ruler, in absentia. We will set up our own King’s Court elsewhere.”
“Aye!” echoed the room.
“We can venture to Silesia!” boomed a voice. They all turned to see Srog standing there, in the distinctive red armor of the West. “You can all come to my city. It is fortified with a thousand men, and we can set up a new King’s Court there! Gwen can rule there, until Gareth falls and we return!”
“Aye!” echoed the room.
“Let us hope that this boy is a faithful witness,” Kolk said, turning to Godfrey, “and that we need not go anywhere. Godfrey, are you sure he is true?”
Godfrey nodded back.
“He awaits us even now. Time is precious. Let us go and end Gareth’s reign once and for all!”
“Aye!” screamed the room of men.
As one they all turned, headed out the hall, and marched for Gareth’s castle. Thor felt the excitement and anticipation in the air like a palpable thing, and he knew that in just moments things would never be the same at King’s Court again.
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
Thor marched with the large group of soldiers, Gwendolyn at his side, Godfrey leading the way with the young boy in tow, as the huge group of men wound their way through King’s Castle, down corridor after corridor, their footsteps echoing as they marched towards the Council room. Thor could feel the momentousness of the day, the great anticipation that hung in the air as they neared the Council room. Finally, they had what they needed: Godfrey had a witness, the Council was in session, and with a witness, lawfully, the Council had to depose Gareth. Once they did, his reign would be over once and for all, Gwendolyn could be installed as ruler, and life could go back to how it had been at King’s Court.
But then again, knowing Gareth, Thor also felt a sense of dread, a pit in his stomach, knowing he seemed to have a way out of almost everything, how he was always one step ahead of everybody. Thor looked around, at all the formidable warriors around him, and wondered what would be if somehow Gareth found a way out of this. Would there be a full-fledged civil war? Would they all leave King’s Court, never to return again?
Thor tried not to think of these things as they turned down the final corridor and marched, dozens of them, all armed, for the huge doors of the council hall. The royal guards outside the door stiffened, eyes opening wide in fear at the site of the small army.
“Open these doors at once!” Brom commanded.
The guards glanced at each other, hesitating for just a moment, then must have realized they had no choice. They reached over, yanked open the huge doors, and stepped aside.
Thor marched with the others into the huge council hall, their boot steps echoing off the vaulted ceilings. They all filled the room. Heads turned, and the council stopped.
Before them were dozens of council members, seated at the wide, semicircular table, all facing Gareth, who sat up on his platform, on his throne, clutching its arms and looking down on the whole room. There was a frenzied look in his eyes, and he seemed more desperate than ever.
Behind Gareth stood dozens of armed soldiers, Kultin’s men, his private fighting force, all with hands on their swords, as if waiting for any calamity that might happen. Brutes, all of them.
The councilmembers stood and turned as the group entered, fear on their faces.
“What is the meaning of this?” Aberthol asked, standing, looking over the faces. “Gwendolyn,” he added, “you of all people know it is against the law to interrupt a Council meeting.”
“Forgive me,” she replied. “But we bring news worthy of interrupting these proceedings. In fact, we bring news that will change the fate of the Ring forever.”
Gwendolyn stared coldly up at her brother, and he looked down at her with a cool hatred. He seemed startled to see her alive; he had probably assumed she would be far from here by now, in the hands of the Nevaruns. Gareth’s face had sunk deep into his cheekbones these last days, and he seemed more insane than ever.
Godfrey stepped forward.
“I have with me here a young boy,” Godfrey called out, “who will stand as witness to my brother Gareth’s treachery. Gareth hired a man to assassinate me-I, a member of the royal family!”
The room broke out into an outraged murmur.
“This boy here was witness. He will proclaim once and for all what Gareth has done, and you, the Council, will have to take lawful action, and depose our King!”
The murmur in the room continued, as numerous councilmen and lords looked at each other. Gareth just continued to stare down coldly at it all, expressionless.
Aberthol turned and looked towards Gareth.
“Are these charges true, my Lord?” he asked slowly.
Gareth smiled down at the room.
“Of course they are not,” he said. “Godfrey is a scheming son who has always wanted his father’s throne. He would make up any charges against me he could to depose me.”
“I do not seek the throne,” Godfrey countered. “I have no wish to rule. Gwendolyn will be the next ruler.”
Gareth snorted down.
“No she will not,” he said “I am ruler. By law. And no words from a boy will change anything.”
“My Lord,” Aberthol interjected, “if this boy is a true witness to an assassination attempt, the law mandates us to hear his testimony and to rule as a Council.”
A thick silence hung in the air, as Gareth scowled back, then finally, shrugged.
“If you want to hear the boy, then hear him,” he said nonchalantly. “Send him forward.”
The boy looked up at Godfrey, and Godfrey nodded back down to him, then gently nudged him. The boy
