Yup, it's here already ! Told you I had more time to write ! XD Also, I'm just like you guys, I wanna get to the good stuff and see Varian out of that cell ! :)
Aaah, Totallynotvarian, you clever one, you made a good guess somewhere in your comment !
Welcome to FCL, I think you beat the record of the longest review award so far XD, hope you'll like it here !
Rain4evah, yeah, sorry about the gown, but that was its destiny...
CHAPTER 65
As the slender man turned around, Arianna couldn't believe her eyes as she noticed straight away his reddened and swollen nose. She gasped and stopped dead in her tracks, her anger fit nipped in the bud. On her heels, Elora nearly bumped into her but she petrified and clenched her jaw the second she saw Hans. Ruddiger, having no obligation to be social and polite whatsoever, overtly hissed and growled at the man.
Clever as he was, Hans used the element of surprise to discreetly hook the device he had just retrieved from the armory onto his belt, just like it had always been there. Now wasn't the moment to draw attention on it.
"Hans, what happened to your face ?" Arianna asked slowly, afraid to hear the answer that was taking form in her head.
"Thank you for asking, Your Majesty," Hans replied respectfully with a bow, "it'll be fine. Please rest assured that everything is under control and the threat has been neutralized, for everyone's safety."
"What does that mean, soldier ?", questioned the Captain, who was just catching up after tying the horses outside. His input bought time for the Queen who pulled herself together and straightened her back.
"No riddles, please. Tell us what happened."
Hans mimicked her and unbent. He held her eyes confidently, not at all intimidated by her snapping.
"Yesterday, in the late afternoon, I found out that the prisoner was in possession of a glass chip," he reported almost mechanically. "He hasn't confessed who his target was yet, but he obviously intended to kill someone here. When cornered, he went mad and attacked me with considerable violence. You can see the result on my face right now."
Hans had lost count how many fibs had passed his lips during his life and he didn't care. Life was a war, and a fighter needed weapons. Fibs and lies were his weapons and he would use them as much as needed to win.
Besides, who could ever prove that Hans taunted the boy first ? No one was close enough to them to hear (and Hans had made sure his voice was low), and, it would be his word against the kid's, if the brat ever talked.
"Varian," Arianna enunciated slowly - because it was clear this was about him - to remind Hans that prisoner or not, the boy deserved more than to be called that way, "would never hurt any of us. He may have made bad calls in the past, but everything's different now."
She clenched her fists at her side. She wanted to convince Hans, but she also needed to convince herself. She did her best not to show it, but it seemed to her that the floor had gone beneath her feet. When she left the teenage boy the day before, he was fine, his mental state had become much more stable, he had made so much progress and they had nurtured a bond of trust and even affection for each other, and… Her head was spinning. Why did she ever leave his side ?
"I'm sorry I have to be the one to report this to you, Your Majesty," Hans slurred, "but that traitor would have stabbed you in the back when you least expected it. He's unpredictable and dangerous. I took the decision to lock him up for the greater good. I'm only speaking the truth, painful as it is, to serve my kingdom", he added with a fake hint of compassion.
"The truth ?," Elora interjected. "Oh pluh-ease, you two-faced…"
"Look who's talking," Hans cut her off calmly, with practiced control over himself. "Tell me, clever one, have you or your friends, who, mind you, were supposed to watch the prisoner, told their Majesties about the library incident ?"
Elora's face went red and she was at a loss for words. All she could feel was a big lump in her throat. He knew. Elora put the pieces together in her head. She met him outside when she tried to find the key that Phil had tossed away to keep Varian safe. He must have seen them on the cornice. And no, none of them had told the King and the Queen, of course not. She felt like a huge trap had just closed its metal jaws upon her whole being.
"Elora ? What is he talking about ?" Arianna inquired, a cold shiver running down her spine.
"Oh, see ? My point exactly," Hans added with a slight smile, not letting Elora speak for herself. "Unfortunately, Your Majesty, it looks like the people you chose to trust have kept a thing or two from you. Well… who can blame them ?", he continued casually. "It's easy to understand why they wouldn't advertise about how the prisoner tried to escape and nearly killed himself in the process."
Arianna tore her gaze from everyone else, her breathing short. Everything seemed to crumble down around her.
Hans smirked. He loved it when he moved his pawns so cleverly that his opponents' defense was weakened and about to shatter. He was going to unravel the threads that tie them together, one by one. They had to lose their bond of trust between each other, and then the King will know he can rely on only one person, his loyal guard Hans. Divide and rule.
"Enough !" the Captain interfered, not liking how Hans was behaving like he was the master of the house. "Take us to the prisoner, soldier !"
"His name… is… Varian," the Queen insisted again between her clenched teeth. She could feel rage growing anew inside her, but right there and then, it was easier to be mad at the Captain than to face the mess she had been powerless to prevent. She held out her hand, meeting Hans' gaze and holding it fiercely.
"The key, Hans. Now."
Hans just stared at the Queen's open hand and let it hover in mid-air. He noticed it was shaking. A few seconds passed with none of them saying a single word, until Hans broke the silence with a cold, steady voice.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Your Majesty."
There was another pause. Even the Captain was speechless.
"I… I must have misunderstood," the Queen stammered, confused. "I am your Queen, and I demand that you hand over the key to Varian's cell."
"From where I stand, you have no authority over this, Your Majesty. According to the laws of Corona, you are the Queen consort, and as such you don't have the power to undo a decision that was taken in the best interest of monarchy. Like I said, there was a threat and I neutralized it. Only the King himself can interfere with this decision now."
Arianna's legs were so wobbly she feared she would collapse on the floor. Hans took a few steps forward and stopped just when he was about to pass by her.
"Don't worry," he chuckled under his breath. "He's still in one piece. Unlike your protégé, I didn't break anybody's nose."
With that, he moved on with long strides, ignoring the raccoon on his way. Ruddiger jumped back in the nick of time to avoid being kicked and caterwauled angrily in return. Hans muttered something under his breath. He would have to pay his visit to the brat later. But the look on the Queen's face was worth it.
Arianna was standing there, her sweaty fingers fidgeting with the fabric of her dress as she tried to sort out her thoughts. It was hard, so hard because of anger and lack of sleep combined. She knew Corona laws as well, and she knew Hans was right. Even the Captain, despite being his superior, couldn't cancel what had been done without the King's consent. There was blatant proof of Varian's deeds, and even she couldn't deny that.
Suddenly, she shot up her head and with a steady voice, exclaimed :
"Onus procedendi !"
Hans stopped but kept his face away from her. He stiffened a bit.
"I would like to cite onus procedendi," Arianna repeated more calmly. "If it's valid in court, I'm sure it will be here, as long as there is sponsorship of a statesperson – which I am - involved."
Hans remained silent and very still, but his hands clenched into fists.
"Therefore, and by Corona law, Varian has 24 hours to justify his actions," she concluded, turning around to look at Hans' form. The latter turned around slowly, barely concealing an angry glare.
Arianna gently lifted the hem of her skirt and petticoats and marched towards the stiff man. Again, she held out her hand.
"The key, Hans, if you please."
Hans locked his jaw and undid the hook on his belt.
"Very well, Your Majesty," he relented as he laid the heavy key to the cell gate in her hand. "I ve tried to warn you. I don't know what you're hoping to save, but if you insist… so be it."
Arianna was about to head to the dungeon when a half-grin stretched on Hans' face as he used his other hand to fumble in his pocket. He grabbed a smaller iron key between his fingers and showed it to the Queen who looked back at him, confused.
"You might want to know that I had to restrain him. He was out of his mind and would have hurt himself," he said, feigning an apology.
"You have no idea what you have done," the Queen uttered under her breath. She remembered how upset Varian was when he managed to tell her between sobs about the night he was assaulted by the Stabbington brothers in the dungeon. She was scared to even imagine how the boy may have reacted when forced to face that trauma again.
She moved forward to take the key, but Hans closed his hand and yanked it out of her reach.
"All I can let you do is open the cell gate and talk to him. That should be enough for him to speak and prove his innocence, shouldn't it ?", he pointed out, emphasizing the word "innocence" with a sarcastic touch.
Arianna gritted her teeth. Suddenly, she felt like lunging at the man and punching him in the face. It didn't matter that his nose was already bruised. She could add a few broken teeth to the list.
"Hans, you're right", the Captain interfered before the Queen could let her frustration get the best of her, "but as your superior, I'm the one to keep the key to the prisoner's cuffs."
Hans knitted his brows before relenting :
"Very well. Here you are, Sir. But I'm coming with you."
The captain nodded. Arianna could feel her blood pulsing in her veins, but there was nothing she could do against it.
"Elora," she said solemnly, "Go back to your mother and grandmother. Get some rest. And then resume your chores. I'll take it from here."
The little maid opened her mouth to protest, but something stopped her. The Queen wasn't looking at her, and anger was plastered across her features. Elora hung her head, more tears welling in her eyes. Although she took little part in the library incident, she hid it from the Queen. Fighting back her tears as much as she could, she sniffled and mustered :
"Yes, Your Majesty."
She turned on her heels and ran away, past the Queen and past Hans, her dam breaking before she could find a place to hide.
Uncharacteristically stoic despite the child's obvious pain, Arianna called out :
"Captain ? Let's go."
All right, I know you all were impatient to see Arianna lash out at Hans, but as you can see, that didn't happen... Tbh, I'm pretty satisfied with that part, building up the tension, and sorry if that's not what you expected *evil laugh*. Well that wasn't what Arianna expected either. Hans is such a clever guy, it would be a shame not to use that, right ? I hope I can still surprise you after a year and 65 chapters ! XD XD
