Chapter 25-Reckoning

"My guards, who have redeemed themselves, tell me that Count Maxim, and his confederate have been taken in charge, and they await my displeasure." King Louis announced to both Shibu and the court at large. "Bring in these malefactors, that they might face Bontarian Justice!"

The remaining people in the audience line stood aside once more, and four of the Royal guards marched slowly and solemnly back into the throne room.

Standing beside the throne, Shibu could see a pair of familiar figures held closely in the middle of two guards in front, and the two guards behind. One of the Guards in the back carried a large Brown chest, rather than a halberd.

Shibu was not at all surprised to see Count Maxim under guard. But he was a bit more surprised when he saw Fel standing next to the Count, under guard, and looking slightly worse for wear. As they marched slowly up the main red carpeted aisle of the throne room, Shibu noticed Brown scuffs, and many dents in the guards armor. And it seemed that two of the guardsmen had rather prominent black eyes!

The contingent of four guards and two prisoners marched slowly up to the throne, and at a distance of ten paces, the two guards in front stepped back and away, while the two guards behind gave Fel and Count Maxim a sharp shove, causing the prisoners to stumble forward, and land on their knees in front of the King.

Shibu saw Louis' expression change just a bit as he saw the King recognize the figure of Count Maxim.

"You!" The King exclaimed loudly, so that all present at court could hear him. "We know you, do we not, Brother?" The King asked with a touch of venom in his voice. "Making trouble again are you, you black sheep?"

"But your Majesty.." Count Maxim began to reply, but as he stood up and tried to bow to the throne, one of the guards behind him put him on his knees again before the King.

"Be silent!" Louis snapped angrily. "You have earned the full weight of our displeasure." The King continued. "Squire Shibu reports to us that you have issued false warrants for potions of healing." The King went on.

At that point, Maxim dared to look up, and saw Shibu standing on the right-hand side of the throne.

"Ah, Shibu, my fine Lad!" Please tell the King that we are innocent, my boy!" Maxim begged in a strained voice.

"Squire Shibu will have his say, but he is not your justice here. I am." The King replied before Shibu could speak.

"You know the penalty in Bonta for issuing false Royal warrants,Brother-by-half?"

"Yes, Sire." Maxim said, sounding crushed and dejected. All traces of his false nobility gone away. "Exile from Bonta, for as long as your Majesty may decree." Maxim said sounding sad and sullen.

"Before you hear my displeasure, I grant your request, and we will hear from Squire Shibu." The King pronounced solemnly.

Shibu step forward, going down on one knee beside the throne, so he could look Maxim and Fel directly in the eyes.

But the clear blue eyes which Maxim knew so well were not angry. Only filled with an overwhelming disappointment.

"You lied to me. You lied to all of us in the village." Shibu said to Maxim directly. "Tell me why." Shibu said formally to both of his traveling companions.

"Our intentions were honorable, Shibu." Count Maxim responded, speaking slowly as he gathered his thoughts. "We heard of the renowned of your mother's potions, and we wanted some for the royal guards. I knew that once the King found out how good the potions were, he would grant you and your family a warrant to make them."

Count Maxim explained in what seemed an honest way, as Shibu's blue eyes never left Maxim's face.

But when Maxim was finished, Shibu noticed Fel looking at his Master with the strange expression. Fel glanced at Shibu and spoke out in his own turn.

"Count Maxim is lying, Your Honor." Fel responded simply, sparing few words.

"Silence dog! Or you'll feel my whip!" Maxim snapped quickly, before Fel could say anything more.

"Silence!" King Louis snapped in turn. "No one who comes before us and speaks the truth shall be harmed!"

Then King Louis glanced toward Shibu. "Do you know this Ogenak?, Squire Shibu?" King Louis asked formally.

"Yes, your Majesty. His name is Fel, servant and attendant to Count Maxim." Shibu told the King.

"Arise before us, Fel, and speak the truth. You have our promise that you will come to no harm, as long as you speak the truth."

Fel rose slowly from his place beside Count Maxim, standing up to his full height, he was better than twice as tall as any of the guards in the throne room. Fel glanced up at Shibu, who nodded in return.

"Maxim speaks only part of the truth. We did hear of your mother's potions. Maxim wanted to get many of them, because he knew he would need them for his bandit henchmen." Fel told the court, as everyone in the throne room listened to his testimony.

"They intend to-"

"Your Majesty! Maxim blurted out, cutting Fel off quickly. You would take the word of a servant over your own kin?" Maxim asked in an astonished voice.

"Silence, you snake!" King Louis interjected. "Continue, Friend Fel." The Ruler of Bonta said.

"Maxim wants to place himself on your throne, with the aid of the Shadow Bandits, Sire."

When Fel was finished speaking, he made a point of stepping back, and kneeling once again in the company of the guards, however this time the canine retainer maintained a noticeable distance from Count Maxim.

Standing close by, Shibu could feel the air in the room change, along with the fair complexion of the King.

"You unspeakable blaggard!" King Louis fairly erupted once Fel was done. "You would betray Bonta to usurp my crown? King Louis said scornfully, looking at his half Brother through blue eyes that flickered with anger. "Shibu, and even Fel here are more worthy to be both Bontarian and noble, then you were ever born to be!" King Louis said. "Fortunately two loyal Bontarians put an end to your scheme!"

"Your Majesty, may I speak?" Shibu's cautious request seemed to pour oil on the tumultuous anger within the King.

"Most assuredly, Squire Shibu. Because you and your family have been victims, I would hear what it is you would decree as punishment for these two." The King replied.

Shibu's first glance was toward Count Maxim.

There was deep-rooted fear in the noble's eyes.

"You came as a friend. You betrayed everyone who trusted you. And then you stole from the ones that I love." Shibu began slowly.

Maxim, who was allowed to look up high enough to see Shibu's face saw no anger, nor the spark of vengeance in the pure blue eyes that seemed to melt right through Maxim. Instead, all the noble saw in those eyes was an even deeper light of disappointment and betrayal.

"You have chosen to live without a heart. I don't understand how anyone can choose to do such a thing. But to live the life you have chosen, you must do so far away from other people, who would become your victims, as we did." Shibu said to Maxim in a low voice cracking with emotion as he spoke.

Then Shibu turned, and with a courtly bow, he spoke to King Louis. "There is no want of blood, nor the desire for vengeance in my heart, your Majesty. Just to keep him from hurting anyone else, in the same way he hurt us." Shibu's words came with a quiet dignity that seemed to give the young boy an age and a wisdom far beyond his years.

When Shibu was done, he bowed once more, and knelt down on one knee before the throne.

"Hear you now the voice of justice, Maxim, Prince royal, and noble of Bonta." King Louis began. "Your treachery is not against me, but it is against my people, which I cannot forgive." The ruler of Bonta began.

"You shall forfeit all lands, titles, and the nobility of your birthright. You are stripped of all property and chattel within our realm. You shall be given the standard Secours due to any Bontarian, and then you shall be taken to whichever boundary of our realm is your choosing. There, you shall be exiled from the kingdom of Bonta for the remainder of your lifetime. To return here shall be upon pain of your freedom, or your life. I shall not see your face again. If I do, you shall be cast into the deepest dungeon of Bonta, there to abide the last day of your life, without hope of release nor mercy until that day." King Louis pronounced solemnly from the throne, his voice hard and steady with every word he spoke.

"Royal guards!" King Louis commanded at last. "Take this traitor from my sight forever, and carry out his sentence."

Almost before the King had finished speaking, a group of four heavily armored guards seem to pounce upon Maxim, and he was literally dragged away, across the floor of the throne room, and out of the main doors, which were closed behind him by two more of the guards.

But there was still one of two prisoners at the feet of the King.

"And what say you to the second of these two, Squire Shibu?" The King asked the dark-haired boy.

Shibu stood up slowly, walked a few paces away from the throne, and knelt in front of Fel, so that the canine servant could share gaze with the blue eyes he knew so well.

"You came among us as a servant. But the word no one wanted to hear or see was "slave." Shibu told him quietly. "Is the slave responsible for the crimes of the Master?"

This question seemed to be directed less at Fel, and more to the assembled crowd in the throne room.

A light buzz of whispered conversation spread quickly among the crowd, before one of the guards struck the floor sharply with the handle of his halberd.

This gesture and the sound of it echoing in the hall restored an instant and complete silence.

"You became my friend as we traveled, and I saw and felt the feelings you could not hide under your obedience." Shibu said to the canine, once more sounding much wiser and more sympathetic than his years might allow.

Today, you broke the chains of a slave, by speaking the truth, to defend a friend. In every way that matters, I think you're free. You can now decide how you wish to live, and that is also a form of justice. Your sentence is to be yourself, and not what someone else would make of you."

Shibu fell silent, and stood up in front of Fel.

"Stand up now, and live as you choose, my friend."

Shibu cast a glance slightly behind him, over his shoulder towards the throne. He realized he might have overstepped his bounds. But he saw King Louis make a short sweeping gesture with the staff he held in one hand.

The four guards still surrounding Fel seemed to melt away, leaving Fel and Shibu both standing in front of the throne.

Both the canine and the blue-eyed boy knelt again quickly, in a gesture of respect. But this time, Fel was on one knee, rather than both knees. The gesture made all the difference in the world to him.

But King Louis was distracted for a moment, as he looked down at the darker canine figure now asking for Royal indulgence. Instead, King Louis gentle blue eyes were fixed on Shibu, who rose in the same way next to his friend.

"Bless my soul if there is an still one noble heart left in Bonta." The King said quietly almost to himself rather than to his assembled court.

"Fel, friend of Shibu, for there is no better title that I might grant you. Arise, and consider yourself liberated within the freehold of the Kingdom of Bonta." The King pronounced solemnly. "It is our regal pleasure to create you a citizen of Bonta, with all rights, freedoms and responsibilities due to a citizen."

Shibu stood up at the same time, and caught the glimmer of a warm, bright light in Fel's wet eyes.

"Thank you your Majesty." Fel spoke out in a voice that fought not to break as he spoke. "My loyalty is yours, for the rest of my days. I so swear."

"I beg your Majesty's indulgence." Shibu spoke up, knowing this was the correct way to ask a favor from the King.

"Granted, Squire Shibu. What have you to say?"

"Thank you for freeing my friend." Shibu began. "But for him to prosper, he must also find a purpose." Shibu told King Louis.

"Well spoken, Squire Shibu. Do you have something in mind?"

"I'm certain that Fel is sorry for giving your guards such a hard time." Shibu began, considering the idea for a moment. "Perhaps someone who fights as well as he does might make a fine watchman, or perhaps, with your indulgence and his training, one day a fine member of the Royal Guard."

At that moment, Shibu felt two sets of eyes upon him. One set of sparkling blue, and another set, the color of forest green.

As Shibu looked from one face to the other, he saw the same expression of delight, both in the King's face, and upon Fel's canine countenance as well!

"Done, and done again, Squire Shibu!" King Louis pronounced with glee in his voice, and a smile which he had not used in too long.

"Captain of the guard!" King Louis called out.

At his King's command, another figure appeared, coming out the door directly in back of the throne.

This guardsman wore a golden chain of rank along with the unique set of plated armor which made him stand out among the other guardsman.

The Captain of the Guard marched smartly around the throne careful to stay on the velvet carpet, so his armored boots would not clatter upon the marble floor. He presented himself, five paces back from the throne, with a smart salute.

"Your orders, Noble Sire?" He asked in a deep, stern voice filled with authority.

"The Royal guard has a new recruit, my Captain." The King pronounced. "Take him under your charge, and see personally to his training. We shall follow his career with anticipation."

"As you command, my liege." The guard captain replied, glancing quickly toward Fel, who was already standing at attention only a few paces distant.

"Thank you, Squire blue eyes." Fel whispered to Shibu gently as they stood close together.

"Silence in the ranks!" The Guard Captain bellowed. "Recruit into line, Follow me, Forward March!"

Fel and the guard captain seemed to move as one man, as the pair bowed first to the throne, and then made a quick march for the door which had been opened for them behind the throne. In a few quick steps, both of them were gone from sight.