The Devil's Warrior Queen
Chapter 371: Justice

Chapter 371: Justice

The guards roughly dragged her toward the middle of the grand hall to stand in front of the council. For a second, she stole a glance at Aldric who was standing at the corner of the grand hall, wearing back his stoic, unfeeling mask, that of a warrior.

As she stared at him, his eyes were not on her, rather they were fixed on space, as if he was avoiding her gaze, after all, he needed to concentrate, he needed to conceal his vulnerable sides from the prying eyes of others, needed to shove aside the fragile feeling that bloomed extensively in his heart.

He was the most revered warrior of East Ravka, to the face of the earth, he needed to be a fierce, powerful soldier, his will and determination unwavering.

The sudden boom of a voice made her whip her head toward the council as the head spoke again, her sharp, intimidating voice cutting through the silence, but Zoya’s confidence was unwavering as she stood tall with squared shoulders, chin raised high to portray her resolve.

She wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing her in a vulnerable and intimidated state, at least, no one intimidated her but Draco. She was more afraid of what he would do to her if she failed his wife than what they could possibly do.

"The time for your trial has begun and thereby, after the conclusion, we, the council and lawmakers of Ravka will make a united decision of whether to punish you for your crimes or not." The leader uttered the words with resentment coating her words.

The hoods refrained Zoya from seeing their faces, but at that moment, she was sure they all had a scornful look of disdain etched deeply on their wrinkled faces.

"Let it be a fair judgment and I’ll accept my fate." Zoya remarked and the council nodded in unison.

Silence clouded the room like a suffocating fog in an enclosed space, she wanted nothing more than to end the trial swiftly, but she knew better than to act recklessly if she wanted to gain their favor and presumably, their help, so this time, she chose to follow the rules.

"We’ve heard about you, white which, banished from your kingdom at a tender age because of a prophecy you sought to the royal family." One of the male councils spoke.

Her jaws ticked when she heard the words rolling from his lips, her breathing turned shallow and her face twisted with contempt, but despite her anger, she managed to compose herself, she had to if she wanted to leave East Ravka alive and with what she needed, she had to if she wanted to prove her worth to Voltaire Empire and reign beside the royal family, but then when she thought of Aldric, none of it mattered anymore, except her survival of course.

"You are right, I was banished for telling them an ugly truth, but alas, it came to pass, unfortunately, they couldn’t see it happen because their deaths came quicker." She spat out, but she didn’t mean to.

As she spewed out the words, she heard the soft murmurings of the council resonate through the hall, the sound of their weights shifting in their seats mixing itself into the air.

Sometimes, her mouth moved faster than her brain before she could comprehend what she was saying and what she said was definitely something she shouldn’t have, at least not in front of the council, if she was to persuade them that she wasn’t the enemy, but now she wasn’t exactly persuading, was she?

Before they could speak, she suddenly said "Could we start with the trial now, rather than talking about my past?"

The leader of the council now spoke "Zoya, you have breached through the magical barriers guarding the kingdom and yet you pleaded not guilty, despite witnessing eyes and undeniable proof, why should we believe anything you utter from here on out?"

Zoya sighed softly as she proceeded to speak, her eyes glancing through Aldric before stopping back on them "I know I breached the gate, but I had no bad intentions, I’m not a threat to your kingdom in any way." She said defensively.

"Then why did you breach the gate without a proper invitation? Why did you try to sneak into the kingdom? It only indicates you as an invader, a threat!" The council leader hissed vehemently, she could feel her eyes boring through her from within the hood.

They really appeared to take the safety of their kingdom very seriously, she thought inwardly.

"We couldn’t wait for months to get an in invitation from your kingdom, I was sent by the vampire king of Voltaire Empire, I serve them as their royal diviner." Zoya remarked and upon her statement, she heard a soft gasp flare from the council.

"What have you done? If that tyrant king learns of our existence and the power we possess in East Ravka, he’ll come for us and take everything we have! There’s a reason why we have been hidden for millennia and regarded as only a myth, it’s because we preserve forbidden sorcery and relics and make sure they remain hidden from the outside world, something you know nothing about!" The council growled, her bony fingers pointing dangerously at her from her billowing sleeve.

"There’s nothing for you to worry about, he has no idea this place exists or that I’m here either. The queen ordered me to look for something, but neither of them has any idea of where I am, so your people and kingdom will be safe." Zoya informed and the council leader suddenly jolted up from her seat.

"Good, they’ll have no idea about your execution then, at least our secrets will die with you. Here." The leader drawled darkly and her heart suddenly leaped at her throat, her grey eyes widening in disbelief.

"Let’s not be hasty to make decisions, as she’s said, the queen’s loyal friend only needs help, she’s been possessed by a dark entity and I believe we have what she needs that could expel the entity. We give her what she needs and she won’t utter a word about us to a soul." Aldric abruptly took the stage as he spoke up, despite hearing the council pass a judgment of her execution.

His hands trembled at the declaration and he clenched it into a fist until his knuckles turned white, but he managed to keep his composure at bay, even though he was at the brink of losing his rationality.

He suddenly found himself thinking of going to extreme lengths to save her, he found himself thinking of betraying his comrades and his kingdom for a ravishing white witch he had encountered a week ago.

As he spoke, Zoya breathed out a sigh of relief and the council whipped their heads toward him in unison.

"Are you going against our judgment, warrior?" One of the male council spoke.

Aldric stood tall, squaring his shoulders as he proceeded to speak, but then, he gave a quick glance at her before averting it "Of course not, I was simply making a rational suggestion. If whatever entity is within that girl, it could not only bring chaos to the Vampire kingdom, but East Ravka could also be in danger."

Silence floated above them before the leader broke it with her sharp, piercing voice "The vampire king has fought many uncanny fights, and none of which has ever affected us then, I doubt it will affect us now, let us leave their fight to them and focus on the prosperity and safety of our kingdom. You have a people to protect, a duty to uphold and a kingdom to guard, great warrior, now is not the time to be distracted, lay your focus on what’s most important, not an insignificant, fleeting situation." She emphasized deeply as she glanced at Zoya, a sense of knowing hung around her, as if in the recesses of her mind, she was aware of the blooming feelings between two undestined fates.

"Executing her because she couldn’t wait for an invitation sounds rather out of logic." Aldric implied, his teeth gnashing hard against each other.

"You’re starting to sound illogical, warrior. She brought this upon herself knowing very well the risks of invading the kingdom. She posed herself as a threat by breaching the gate and you know what happens to threats. We cannot afford any mistake which could endanger the lives here." Another of the council members spoke.

It seemed as if they had all made a unified agreement on her execution. How unfortunate.

"She’s harmless and I doubt her purpose was to cause harm or else she wouldn’t be in shackles right now." Aldric pointed out but the council didn’t seem to be forthcoming.

"We’ve always done things this way, to protect the kingdom. You’ve never questioned our judgment yet how you do, what makes her so different from the many others that you have executed without a second’s thought?" The council leader spoke and Zoya could feel her skeptical glare from beneath her hood.