The Journey, Book 3: Chapter 23 - Previous Chapter
Chapter 24: Consequences
The Great Hall was suffocatingly quiet.
King Thomaz lounged upon his throne, one leg draped lazily over the other while another petitioner droned on before him.
"...and then he said she wasn't good enough for his son—"
"Don't care."
The woman immediately fell silent.
A guard shoved her aside.
"Next."
A scrawny farmer stumbled forward, dragging his daughter with him.
The girl looked mortified.
"Your Majesty," the farmer began, "my neighbour's son has been taking advantage of my daughter—"
"I love him!" the girl interrupted.
The farmer spun toward her.
"You'll be quiet!"
"I won't!"
"You don't know what you're saying!"
"I want to marry him!"
The argument continued.
Thomaz stared at them.
His fingers drummed slowly against the arm of his throne.
The hall grew tense.
Everyone knew that look.
Eventually the king exhaled sharply.
"For fuck sake..."
The words were barely louder than a whisper.
The entire hall froze.
Thomaz raised his head.
"Bitch."
The daughter immediately stopped speaking.
"Shut up with your incessant whining."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The king's gaze shifted to the father.
"You."
The farmer nearly collapsed.
"Y-Yes, Your Majesty?"
"You don't like the boy."
"No, Your Majesty."
"Why?"
The man hesitated.
The king's eyes narrowed.
The hesitation itself was becoming irritating.
Finally the farmer muttered,
"He's beneath her."
A grin slowly spread across Thomaz's face.
The kind of grin that made grown soldiers nervous.
"Beneath her?"
The farmer nodded.
Thomaz leaned forward.
"What do you do?"
"I raise pigs, Your Majesty."
"For slaughter?"
"Y-Yes."
The king looked genuinely fascinated.
"A pig farmer."
The farmer swallowed.
Thomaz turned toward the daughter.
"And this boy?"
"He works for the Crown, Your Majesty."
"Oh?"
"He's one of the cavalry stable masters."
Several courtiers straightened.
Thomaz sat upright.
"Name."
"William Bones."
The king blinked.
Then laughed.
The sound echoed through the hall.
Nobody joined him.
Nobody ever joined him.
"William Bones?"
The girl nodded quickly.
The king's grin widened.
Then he looked back at the father.
Slowly.
"Oh, I see."
The farmer's face drained of colour.
"You think a royal stable master is beneath your daughter."
"No, Your Majesty, I—"
"While you shovel pig shit for a living."
A few people winced.
The farmer began trembling.
Thomaz rose from his throne.
The movement alone sent a ripple of fear through the hall.
He descended the steps one at a time.
Boots echoing.
The farmer could barely breathe.
The king stopped directly in front of him.
Close enough to smell the fear.
Close enough to see tears forming in the man's eyes.
"Do you know what I hate most?"
The farmer shook uncontrollably.
"P-Pride?"
Thomaz smiled.
"No."
The king's voice became almost gentle.
"People wasting my time."
The hall went deathly silent.
Thomaz snapped his fingers.
Two guards stepped forward immediately.
The farmer looked between them.
Confused.
Terrified.
"Your Majesty?"
The king pointed toward the great doors of the hall.
"Hang him."
The farmer's legs gave out.
The daughter gasped.
Several courtiers looked away.
"Your Majesty, please!"
The guards seized him.
"Please! Please, I beg you!"
Thomaz ignored him.
"Right in the doorway."
The farmer began screaming.
The king watched calmly.
"Let every petitioner walk beneath him before entering."
The guards dragged the struggling man away.
His cries echoed throughout the chamber.
The daughter stood frozen.
Horrified.
Heartbroken.
Relieved.
All at once.
Eventually she found her voice.
"Y-Your Majesty..."
Thomaz sat back upon his throne.
"Yes?"
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"My father..."
The king shrugged.
"Should've minded his own business."
The screams continued from outside.
Thomaz looked toward the doors.
Listening.
Smiling.
Then he turned back to the young woman.
"Now."
He folded his hands.
"You may marry William Bones without interruption."
Before calling for the next case, Thomaz's attention drifted toward the great doors of the hall.
The guards had worked quickly.
Through the open entrance he could see some guards throw a rope over one of the huge oak ceiling support beams as the scrawny farmer was dragged towards them. The noose was placed around the man’s neck as he kicked and pleaded with who he thought would listen. Nobody moved to help him.
A slow grin spread across the king's face.
There it was.
The fear.
The panic.
The desperate realisation that no miracle was coming.
Thomaz leaned forward slightly on his throne, resting his chin upon one fist as though watching a travelling performer put on a show solely for his amusement.
Four guards pulled on the rope slowly hoisting the farmer higher and higher, his body wriggled and writhed desperately, then there was a crack that echoed through the hall, the body shuddered, finally going limp.
A collective flinch rippled through the hall.
The king's grin widened.
Meanwhile, the farmer's daughter stood frozen, staring at the doorway in disbelief. The reality of what had just happened finally struck her. Her legs gave way beneath her and she collapsed to her knees.
"No..." she whispered.
Then the tears came.
The young woman buried her face in her hands as sobs wracked her body. Whatever relief she might have felt moments earlier vanished beneath the crushing weight of grief and shock.
Several palace maids exchanged uneasy glances before hurrying forward. Speaking softly, they helped her to her feet as she struggled to stand. One wrapped an arm around her shoulders while another guided her away from the hall.
The girl cast one final tearful look toward the doorway before disappearing through a side passage.
Thomaz watched her leave.
For perhaps half a heartbeat.
Then he lost interest.
His gaze returned to the line of waiting petitioners.
The king settled back into his throne, still wearing the faint smile left behind by the morning's entertainment.
"Next."
The word echoed through a hall that had suddenly become much quieter than before.
Far beneath the Palace, beyond the dungeons and forgotten passages, the caverns echoed with the sound of metal scraping against stone.
THUD.
Olivia was thrown against the side of the iron coffin.
THUD.
Christopher cried out from somewhere inside the second.
Rubian grinned as he dragged them down another flight of steps.
"Oh, did that hurt?"
Another shove.
Another violent impact.
"Good."
His voice dripped with venom.
"I'm not sorry."
Inside the darkness, Olivia squeezed her eyes shut.
The bruises and aches were nothing compared to the dread building in her stomach.
She recognised this place.
The damp air.
The smell of old stone.
The oppressive feeling buried beneath the palace.
Christopher had realised it too.
Neither wanted to admit where they were being taken.
At last the dragging stopped.
Ancient doors groaned open.
Olivia's stomach dropped.
No.
Please no.
Not here.
Not again.
The coffins scraped into the chamber before Rubian slammed them down one after the other.
BANG!
BANG!
A familiar raspy voice drifted from the darkness.
"Any problems, my boy?"
Rubian straightened immediately.
"None."
Patricia Agatha stepped into the light of the braziers.
The Hag's twisted silhouette seemed to grow from the shadows themselves. Her spine curved unnaturally beneath ragged robes, while long bony fingers hung at her sides. Wisps of white hair clung to her scalp, framing a face that looked more corpse than woman.
A vicious smile spread across her features.
Rubian kicked open the latches.
One.
Two.
Three.
The metallic clicks echoed through the cavern.
Then he lifted the first lid.
A mass of cockroaches burst from the coffin.
They scattered across the iron, the floor, and into the cracks between the stones.
Rubian instantly recoiled.
The movement was small.
Instinctive.
A reaction he couldn't quite suppress.
One cockroach crawled across the toe of his boot.
His jaw tightened.
He remained perfectly still until it disappeared.
Patricia's smile widened knowingly.
Only then did Rubian move to open the second coffin.
More cockroaches spilled from the darkness.
Neither spoke.
Neither needed to.
The insects were as familiar to both of them as old scars.
Light flooded the coffins.
Olivia and Christopher winced.
Their clothes were filthy and torn.
Bruises marked their faces and arms.
For several seconds, neither twin moved.
They simply stared.
And Patricia stared back.
A terrible silence settled over the chamber.
Recognition.
Memory.
Fear.
Patricia approached slowly.
Olivia instinctively shrank back.
Christopher moved closer to his sister.
The Hag's crooked fingers shot forward.
She grabbed both of them by the hair and yanked their heads upward.
The twins cried out.
Patricia examined them like a farmer inspecting livestock.
Then a delighted laugh escaped her throat.
"Ah..."
Her yellowed teeth showed.
"My children."
Olivia felt sick.
Christopher glared at her.
Patricia leaned closer, her eyes gleaming with madness.
"You are finally home."
Chapter 24: Consequences
The Great Hall was suffocatingly quiet.
King Thomaz lounged upon his throne, one leg draped lazily over the other while another petitioner droned on before him.
"...and then he said she wasn't good enough for his son—"
"Don't care."
The woman immediately fell silent.
A guard shoved her aside.
"Next."
A scrawny farmer stumbled forward, dragging his daughter with him.
The girl looked mortified.
"Your Majesty," the farmer began, "my neighbour's son has been taking advantage of my daughter—"
"I love him!" the girl interrupted.
The farmer spun toward her.
"You'll be quiet!"
"I won't!"
"You don't know what you're saying!"
"I want to marry him!"
The argument continued.
Thomaz stared at them.
His fingers drummed slowly against the arm of his throne.
The hall grew tense.
Everyone knew that look.
Eventually the king exhaled sharply.
"For fuck sake..."
The words were barely louder than a whisper.
The entire hall froze.
Thomaz raised his head.
"Bitch."
The daughter immediately stopped speaking.
"Shut up with your incessant whining."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The king's gaze shifted to the father.
"You."
The farmer nearly collapsed.
"Y-Yes, Your Majesty?"
"You don't like the boy."
"No, Your Majesty."
"Why?"
The man hesitated.
The king's eyes narrowed.
The hesitation itself was becoming irritating.
Finally the farmer muttered,
"He's beneath her."
A grin slowly spread across Thomaz's face.
The kind of grin that made grown soldiers nervous.
"Beneath her?"
The farmer nodded.
Thomaz leaned forward.
"What do you do?"
"I raise pigs, Your Majesty."
"For slaughter?"
"Y-Yes."
The king looked genuinely fascinated.
"A pig farmer."
The farmer swallowed.
Thomaz turned toward the daughter.
"And this boy?"
"He works for the Crown, Your Majesty."
"Oh?"
"He's one of the cavalry stable masters."
Several courtiers straightened.
Thomaz sat upright.
"Name."
"William Bones."
The king blinked.
Then laughed.
The sound echoed through the hall.
Nobody joined him.
Nobody ever joined him.
"William Bones?"
The girl nodded quickly.
The king's grin widened.
Then he looked back at the father.
Slowly.
"Oh, I see."
The farmer's face drained of colour.
"You think a royal stable master is beneath your daughter."
"No, Your Majesty, I—"
"While you shovel pig shit for a living."
A few people winced.
The farmer began trembling.
Thomaz rose from his throne.
The movement alone sent a ripple of fear through the hall.
He descended the steps one at a time.
Boots echoing.
The farmer could barely breathe.
The king stopped directly in front of him.
Close enough to smell the fear.
Close enough to see tears forming in the man's eyes.
"Do you know what I hate most?"
The farmer shook uncontrollably.
"P-Pride?"
Thomaz smiled.
"No."
The king's voice became almost gentle.
"People wasting my time."
The hall went deathly silent.
Thomaz snapped his fingers.
Two guards stepped forward immediately.
The farmer looked between them.
Confused.
Terrified.
"Your Majesty?"
The king pointed toward the great doors of the hall.
"Hang him."
The farmer's legs gave out.
The daughter gasped.
Several courtiers looked away.
"Your Majesty, please!"
The guards seized him.
"Please! Please, I beg you!"
Thomaz ignored him.
"Right in the doorway."
The farmer began screaming.
The king watched calmly.
"Let every petitioner walk beneath him before entering."
The guards dragged the struggling man away.
His cries echoed throughout the chamber.
The daughter stood frozen.
Horrified.
Heartbroken.
Relieved.
All at once.
Eventually she found her voice.
"Y-Your Majesty..."
Thomaz sat back upon his throne.
"Yes?"
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"My father..."
The king shrugged.
"Should've minded his own business."
The screams continued from outside.
Thomaz looked toward the doors.
Listening.
Smiling.
Then he turned back to the young woman.
"Now."
He folded his hands.
"You may marry William Bones without interruption."
Before calling for the next case, Thomaz's attention drifted toward the great doors of the hall.
The guards had worked quickly.
Through the open entrance he could see some guards throw a rope over one of the huge oak ceiling support beams as the scrawny farmer was dragged towards them. The noose was placed around the man’s neck as he kicked and pleaded with who he thought would listen. Nobody moved to help him.
A slow grin spread across the king's face.
There it was.
The fear.
The panic.
The desperate realisation that no miracle was coming.
Thomaz leaned forward slightly on his throne, resting his chin upon one fist as though watching a travelling performer put on a show solely for his amusement.
Four guards pulled on the rope slowly hoisting the farmer higher and higher, his body wriggled and writhed desperately, then there was a crack that echoed through the hall, the body shuddered, finally going limp.
A collective flinch rippled through the hall.
The king's grin widened.
Meanwhile, the farmer's daughter stood frozen, staring at the doorway in disbelief. The reality of what had just happened finally struck her. Her legs gave way beneath her and she collapsed to her knees.
"No..." she whispered.
Then the tears came.
The young woman buried her face in her hands as sobs wracked her body. Whatever relief she might have felt moments earlier vanished beneath the crushing weight of grief and shock.
Several palace maids exchanged uneasy glances before hurrying forward. Speaking softly, they helped her to her feet as she struggled to stand. One wrapped an arm around her shoulders while another guided her away from the hall.
The girl cast one final tearful look toward the doorway before disappearing through a side passage.
Thomaz watched her leave.
For perhaps half a heartbeat.
Then he lost interest.
His gaze returned to the line of waiting petitioners.
The king settled back into his throne, still wearing the faint smile left behind by the morning's entertainment.
"Next."
The word echoed through a hall that had suddenly become much quieter than before.
Far beneath the Palace, beyond the dungeons and forgotten passages, the caverns echoed with the sound of metal scraping against stone.
THUD.
Olivia was thrown against the side of the iron coffin.
THUD.
Christopher cried out from somewhere inside the second.
Rubian grinned as he dragged them down another flight of steps.
"Oh, did that hurt?"
Another shove.
Another violent impact.
"Good."
His voice dripped with venom.
"I'm not sorry."
Inside the darkness, Olivia squeezed her eyes shut.
The bruises and aches were nothing compared to the dread building in her stomach.
She recognised this place.
The damp air.
The smell of old stone.
The oppressive feeling buried beneath the palace.
Christopher had realised it too.
Neither wanted to admit where they were being taken.
At last the dragging stopped.
Ancient doors groaned open.
Olivia's stomach dropped.
No.
Please no.
Not here.
Not again.
The coffins scraped into the chamber before Rubian slammed them down one after the other.
BANG!
BANG!
A familiar raspy voice drifted from the darkness.
"Any problems, my boy?"
Rubian straightened immediately.
"None."
Patricia Agatha stepped into the light of the braziers.
The Hag's twisted silhouette seemed to grow from the shadows themselves. Her spine curved unnaturally beneath ragged robes, while long bony fingers hung at her sides. Wisps of white hair clung to her scalp, framing a face that looked more corpse than woman.
A vicious smile spread across her features.
Rubian kicked open the latches.
One.
Two.
Three.
The metallic clicks echoed through the cavern.
Then he lifted the first lid.
A mass of cockroaches burst from the coffin.
They scattered across the iron, the floor, and into the cracks between the stones.
Rubian instantly recoiled.
The movement was small.
Instinctive.
A reaction he couldn't quite suppress.
One cockroach crawled across the toe of his boot.
His jaw tightened.
He remained perfectly still until it disappeared.
Patricia's smile widened knowingly.
Only then did Rubian move to open the second coffin.
More cockroaches spilled from the darkness.
Neither spoke.
Neither needed to.
The insects were as familiar to both of them as old scars.
Light flooded the coffins.
Olivia and Christopher winced.
Their clothes were filthy and torn.
Bruises marked their faces and arms.
For several seconds, neither twin moved.
They simply stared.
And Patricia stared back.
A terrible silence settled over the chamber.
Recognition.
Memory.
Fear.
Patricia approached slowly.
Olivia instinctively shrank back.
Christopher moved closer to his sister.
The Hag's crooked fingers shot forward.
She grabbed both of them by the hair and yanked their heads upward.
The twins cried out.
Patricia examined them like a farmer inspecting livestock.
Then a delighted laugh escaped her throat.
"Ah..."
Her yellowed teeth showed.
"My children."
Olivia felt sick.
Christopher glared at her.
Patricia leaned closer, her eyes gleaming with madness.
"You are finally home."