Sir Leon walked forward and pushed the child down in front of Uther, then backed away.
"Well?" Uther was the only relaxed person in the room, his head was propped on his hand, and he had on leg draped over the arm of his throne.
"Her name is Aliya, my lord, that's all we found out," Sir Leon answered, his eyes trained on the floor. Arthur stifled a small gasp; he had never suspected that the child was female, with her short hair and boys clothes. He stepped back a few paces, the sombre atmosphere of the room was getting to him. Uther leaned forward and addressed the girl on the floor.
"I am told it was you who broke into the palace vaults. Why?" most of this dialogue was delivered with a calm tone, but the word 'why' was delivered sharply and fiercely. Arthur flinched, sad, that his father's voice could make him scared as a child about to be run down by a cart. He glanced at Merlin, his manservant was standing ramrod straight, tense as a bowstring. Arthur was reassured to know that he was not the only person uncomfortable with the situation. The girl still had her eyes fixed on the floor, and had not said a word. "Answer me!" Uther shouted, giving the girl a ringing slap across the face.
"Father!" Arthur shouted, finally giving voice to his discomfort. The girl had to only be thirteen or fourteen; he couldn't let his father treat her so viciously.
"Quiet, Arthur," Uther snapped, and Arthur subsided, memories springing to mind of times gone by when his father had chastised him similarly. Then the girl spoke.
"I stole because my family were starving," the girl stopped to spit blood onto Uther's boot, "and you, their King, did nothing to help them!" she spat the words in a similar fashion to the blood, and they were filled with poisonous hatred. She was now staring directly into Uther's eyes. "You may remember, my lord, although I doubt you do, a few weeks ago, our village leader came to you to tell you our crops had failed, and you sent him away. Three people have died since then, and there is no one to blame for their deaths but you."
"But why the vaults? You could have gone to the palace storerooms and stole grain. That would have fed your family far better than silver and gold," Uther replied. Arthur could see that his father was amused by the girl, as though she was something to keep him entertained. Arthur felt sick.
"Is it not obvious my lord? I did it to spite you!" The girl snarled.
"I find this tiresome," Uther addressed one of the guards, "take her to the dungeons, I will have her flogged tomorrow morning."