Checkmate Part Three
King Phoebus was tired of this business before the trial even began. He leaned one fist into his cheek while scowling, since he could think of a dozen things and places he'd rather be than his throne room with the entire court in attendance.
"It shouldn't be long, dear," Sonya assured him warmly, reaching from her own throne to touch the fist bracing his cheek. "According to the letter Lady Haru sent me, you will have it resolved within five minutes."
"Good. Are she and the Baron ready yet?" the king asked his advisor, who was just rejoining him.
"They are waiting in the side chamber, my liege."
"Excellent. Let's get this over with."
At the command, Natori signaled the trumpeters to sing out a loud trill that brought the entire court's chatter to a standstill. A set of side doors opened, and a pair of soldiers each held one of the count's arms as they firmly escorted him to stand directly in front of the king.
Natori coughed before starting the trial. "We are gathered here today to hear the case of Count Mitsuki, who stands accused of betraying his own family. turning his own sister-in-law out in the worst of winter weather the same day that his brother died with no means of survival, denying her the widow's compensation that she is entitled to by law if he didn't wish to keep caring for her and trying to cover it by saying she died of a broken heart but mysteriously no funeral. Let us first hear the defendant. Count Akio Mitsuki, how do you plead?" Natori demanded loud enough to all to hear.
The count straightened himself up as best he could against the soldiers holding him fast. "Not guilty, your majesty!" he declared boldly, speaking over the advisor and directly to the monarch behind him. "It was Haru's wish to be buried in the same coffin as her husband, and I forgot to say as much to the officiant at their funeral, that's all."
"Then why did you not invite her relatives to the funeral?" Natori pressed with a stern frown.
"My brother just died in a tragic accident!" he snapped angrily. "I'd like to see you remember all the niceties when faced with the sudden death of two beloved family members."
Natori's frown turned into a glare. "Your servants must be of poor quality, if none were willing to pick up what you were too struck by grief to concern yourself with. Even most peasants know how to send a simple letter."
Count Akio flared angrily. "My brother was a favorite of all, including myself, of course they were distraught as well!"
Natori hummed without much conviction. "That is your final word on the subject?"
"It is."
"I see," the advisor conceded, gesturing for the soldiers to pull him ten paces to the side. "Now that we've heard the defendant's case, I would like to call a surprise witness to the stand that had a very different view of how that day transpired."
Queen Sonya had a lot of trouble concealing a grin at the count's outraged expression. 'He probably thinks that one of his servants betrayed him.'
The grand doors opened wide, making everyone turn to them. An immediate flood of gasps and whispered flowed over the throne room at the pair who made a dignified entrance.
The king himself blinked in confusion at what he saw.
He had been fully expecting the Baron von Gikkingen to be escorting Lady Haru in, but he had expected Lady Haru to look more like… well, a lady as they made the long walk to the throne, ensuring that absolutely everyone could see her.
Instead, she was in a very standard and somewhat plain day dress that would have been suitable for staying at home to take care of affairs. He wouldn't let his queen be caught dead in something so understated, so why did the Baron not insist on something finer?
The count's face lost all color as soon as he realized who it was, and Lady Haru seemed unable to prevent herself from giving him a little smirk before using her modest skirt to bow before the king and queen once she and the baron were in front of them.
"Your majesties," she greeted them politely, speaking in a clear tone without shouting. "The Baron von Gikkingen has informed me that you would like a word."
"Indeed," the king growled, still leaning on the arm of his throne like it was the most boring day of his life, even if he was clearly seething. "Would you care to explain why you felt it appropriate to wear that to court?" he asked, eyeing her dress like it was little more than rags.
"I thought it would speed proceedings along if everyone saw what I was wearing when I was turned out of the Mitsuki estate," she clarified, releasing the baron's arm to pull off the thin shawl that had been resting over her shoulders. "This is the only mercy he felt I deserved against the blizzard." She held it up, showcasing how clearly light could filter through the thin weave.
"That's" the count tried to desperately defend himself, but the king had already heard enough.
"Silence!" he bellowed at the man, who cowered in the place of such fury. Then the monarch turned to the lady with eyes that nearly flamed with rage. "Please tell the court of what transpired the day your husband died."
"Gladly, your majesty," the lady responded, raising her voice slightly to make sure as many people as possible could hear her. "It started like any other. This particular outfit is one I'm fond of wearing any time I heard that Machida was shaming his name, his family, and his class with any of the tarts he'd rather have a child with than myself or when he was getting into another duel for taking liberties with someone he should have left alone." She smiled a bit wryly. "My maid had learned my habits enough not to bother telling me which the problem was before bringing this dress out for me. I prefer to walk in the gardens in warmer weather, but thanks to the storm I was embroidering a handkerchief in the library when the count found me. He was so upset about his brother's death that the only reason I found out I was widowed in record time is because it takes a lot to make him lose his manners.
Lady Haru gave a strange, angry smirk to her former brother-in-law, who was now helpless to stop her. "He told me that the only silver lining to his brother's death was that I had no further purpose to the family. He tore my sewing bag from me and dumped it out to look for any valuables I might have been hiding in it. He found none, but demanded I tell him where they were." She looked up at the king and queen with a sadder smile.
"The Mitsuki family were forced by societal expectations and public image to give me an allowance for at least court dresses and jewelry since they couldn't bear for me to wear any heirlooms and didn't want to become a laughingstock over me. They made it plain that I only married Machida because my brother gave a generous land agreement to get rid of me himself. I knew it was only a matter of time before I would be on my own if Machida ever got his child from another woman or himself killed over another woman. So I started making plans, one of which was to use as much of my allowance on jewelry as possible since a necklace would be easier to carry than, say, the cost of it in gold or silver.
She passed another smug smile to the count. "I couldn't hide what I was buying, but I could hide the items themselves if I was careful. My jewelry was just that, mine, and he was infuriated that he couldn't rip it away the same as he did with my wedding ring. He nearly took my finger with it, but tried to comfort himself that he could always search my rooms after getting rid of me. He had two of his soldiers drag me off after wrapping this table runner over my shoulders with a mocking goodbye, and instructed them to dump me a good five miles away from the estate or any of his towns." Her smile faded. "I really did think I was going to freeze to death out there. It was a miracle that travelers found me and took me with them to a warm inn. It was easy enough to give a false name and pretend to be a widowed maidservant of the Mitsuki family."
The king nodded before glaring at the count. "So, did you ever find her jewelry?"
Akio gave Haru a furious glare, his jaw clenched like a dog with a bone.
"Don't lie to me," the king threatened, but the lady was only amused.
"He didn't, your majesty. In spite of his best efforts, he made sure I had my jewelry box with me when I was forced off the estate."
"What!" the count yelled furiously. "I searched you myself, there's no way-"
"You put your hands on your own sister-in-law?" the queen asked in a cold rage that spoke of beheadings.
Akio quickly shut his mouth with chagrin.
"Thankfully, he hated it almost as much as me," Haru answered with a shudder, but took in a deep breath before addressing the royal court at large. "As all ladies of society know, there are certain burdens necessary for us to carry. Many are metaphorical, but a small measure are literal. One of our burdens is the lengths we must go to ensure that our gowns behave appropriately no matter the weather or circumstance." She then smiled before twirling once in the sorry excuse of a dress.
Everyone could see that in spite of how little material made up the skirt, it wasted no time billowing out to its farthest capacity.
"The big difference between my dress weights and anyone else's, is that this dress has more expensive ones than the simple stones usually used," Lady Haru explained, clearly relishing the horrified expression on the count's face. "That's why I always wore this one when there was a chance I would be thrown out."
"That explains a bit," the Baron noted, though he looked sick to his stomach as he glared at the count.
The king stood to his full height, enraged at what he had learned. "So! It wasn't enough to torment her! It wasn't enough to kick her out of her rightful home! It wasn't enough to deny her the widow's pension that my own grandfather decided was the just right of every noblewoman in Lady Haru's predicament! It wasn't enough to leave her for dead! You even tried to steal her personal property and leave her with literally nothing but the clothes on her back!" He pointed straight at the count, who was shaking like a leaf. "The Mitsuki family will pay Lady Haru five times the widow's pension she is owed for her troubles."
"What?!" Akio howled, but the king wasn't done yet.
"That's not the punishment, I haven't even started on the punishment! I have a good mind to strip you of your title and give that to her as well!"
At that, Lady Haru looked alarmed. "If it pleases you, your majesty, I'll be happier to never see the county again. I would much rather be permitted to go back to the baronetcy and choose my own way, if it pleases you."
He gave her a baffled look. "You want to marry the Baron?"
"That's not what she said, dear," the queen interrupted in a steady tone as both Lady Haru and the Baron von Gikkingen jumped slightly as if stuck with a pin. "Her actions made it clear that she finds pleasure in stepping away from the noble life, and that she finds the Baron's lands very much to her liking. If the Baron is unopposed to her presence in his domain, I think the least she is owed after all this, is to be left to her own devices."
"Your majesty is very wise," Lady Haru complimented her with a nervous smile.
Baron coughed while trying not to look embarrassed. "I am unopposed to Lady Haru's presence in my domain."
"Excellent," the queen stated with satisfaction before turning to her husband. "Darling, how about we take time to consider what to do with the count? The standard dungeons will suffice for him until we decide something suitable."
The king grunted to keep the court from thinking that he was completely wrapped around his wife's finger before waving dismissively at the two soldiers holding fast to the pale-faced count. "You know where to take him. We'll be taking Lady Haru's pension directly from your coffers so that you and your family don't have a reason to delay what is owed."
ooOoo
Many hours after the trial, the king was laying on a couch in the royal apartments with his head in his wife's lap as she quietly read from a book in front of their fireplace.
"You know, it wouldn't have been a bad idea to marry her off to the Baron," the king stated with some regret. "He's overdue for a bride, and he wasn't treating Lady Haru the way he normally treats noblewomen."
"Trust me, dear, they can handle it themselves," the queen disagreed while using one hand to play with his long hair lazily.
"So you agree they should marry," he asked shrewdly, even though his large eyes were closed in bliss.
"I am in full agreement that Lady Haru is very possibly the smartest match for the Baron, especially now that enough time has passed to ensure she isn't pregnant by her first husband. Heaven knows he wouldn't have been so calm and composed escorting anyone else in front of the entire court, and he would appreciate a girl that doesn't throw herself at him. But since it's clear that she's starved for control of her own life, it will breed resentment on her part even if we pick the perfect husband for her. Let them take care of it, my love," she smiled down at him before leaning down to steal a kiss.
"After all, we took care of our own marriage, and I have no regrets. The least we can do is make sure she has no regrets either."
xxXxx
A/N: I was supposed to upload this on Friday, I know, but due to Christmas and family coming in from out of town, I only finished this minutes before uploading it. As a common courtesy, I thought it would be fair to give a warning about the upcoming schedule for my uploads.
I finished a full story, but it's the final conclusion of my Pure Hands saga because it's been getting super depressing and I need to wean myself off of the angst sauce because this is getting ridiculous. There are going to be two more one-shots of Pure Hands before the finale story, so to those that would rather not read it, this is my respectful acceptance of your decision.
But the full story I'm working on currently is a lot more lighthearted and hysterical, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!