Vetica

After Vetica’s meeting with Hosuyo, she returned to her room and laid down. The trial ahead weighed heavily on her mind but knowing her father was away for the time being gave her peace. In that peace, she found herself craving slumber. She’d had a restless night and the burden of that was quickly catching up with her. The door was barred shut, and she’d checked the room for any intruders or secret entrances. With the only way in barricaded and her father out roaming the forest, Vetica finally succumbed to exhaustion.

What she dreamed of was a memory she’d tried to push from her mind for a long time. But dreams aren’t always prone to suggestions. The memory swept her consciousness up into an ocean and she found herself reliving that day.

***

Her mother was sickly and pale. She was slumped across the bed they shared in the small, one bedroom shack in which they lived. Vetica swapped out the bucket her mother was using to vomit in, since she wasn’t well enough to make it to the outhouse. Vetica walked outside, pulling the door shut so as not to let the cold in, and threw the bucket’s contents onto the ground. She knew she should go further away from the house, but she was too afraid to leave her mother alone for long. When she returned, her mother was frowning at her.

“Vetica, you need to leave. He’s coming. Your father will be here soon. You have to leave before he comes to get you,” her mother warned. Her once vibrant blonde hair was an ashen shade of gray. It wasn’t from old age but from the sickness she’d contracted of late. Vetica could no longer remember a time when her mother wasn’t sick. But it was getting worse.

Vetica looked at the small knife her mother used to cut vegetables and walked over to grab it. She wrapped both of her small hands around the knife’s hilt and swallowed. “Don’t worry mommy, I’ll protect you,” she said.

Her mother beckoned her close, and Vetica hurried forward. Her mother gently wrapped her hands around the knife and pried it away from Vetica. Even then, she was so gentle. Mother had always been gentle with her. Vetica loved that about her. Her mother sat the knife on her bedside table and pulled Vetica closer. “No dear. You’re a precious one. The precious do not protect adults. We protect them. When we’re young, we’re weak. Our bodies need time to grow big and strong. It’s not your job to protect me. It’s mine to protect you.”

Vetica shook her head. “But—”

“One day, you’ll have someone precious to protect. Don’t throw your life away before you meet them,” her mother said, cupping Vetica’s cheek. Her hand was so cold, and yet, her touch filled Vetica with warmth.

“I want to protect you, mommy. I don’t care about anyone else,” Vetica said in between tears.

Her mother smiled. “No, but you will. I promise. I thought the same thing once, and then I had you. So, trust me when I say that you’ll find the precious one you’re meant to protect.”

The door to their cabin smashed open.

***

Vetica shot forward, sitting up in her bed. She gasped for air, startled by the dream. There was a loud knock on the door.

“What time is it?” she asked herself.

There weren’t any windows in the room, but the fact she didn’t feel absolutely exhausted told her she must’ve slept for a while. If that was the case, then…

She sighed. It was time. Time to see what her fate would be.

Charlie

There was a line to get into the room where the trial was being held. Charlie and Merlin were at the back of it. Sister, or as Charlie preferred, Miss Girl, had escorted them from their room. They weren’t sure that they would be allowed to attend, but for whatever reason, Vedic had indeed summoned them. It was a good thing. It meant they wouldn’t need to wait on secondhand information. They would be there to help Vetica face or escape her punishment, regardless of what it was.

Merlin looked around. “Where’s your brother?” he asked their palli friend.

“Vedic required his assistance. Probably to set up for the trial. The laws regarding things like this are very specific,” she whispered. They had to be careful about what they talked about outside of the room. With others around, anything they said could make its way back to Vedic. It was for the best they kept a low profile.

Charlie noticed that the other people in line weren’t wearing hoods or covering their faces. He realized they probably weren’t assassins. Sister had explained that the Rawlin assassins weren’t the only ones who lived here, and that there were also quite a number of support staff. The Rawlins were first and foremost assassins, but there was a lot that went into that. While many of them worked alone, such as Vetica, others often brought assistants to help gather information, relay messages, and assist with whatever was needed.

Merlin realized it, too. “So, we’re waiting with the help. The others must already be inside.”

After a while, the doors opened and confirmed Merlin’s suspicions. The people waiting to get inside the room poured in, but many of the chairs were already taken. Charlie quickly realized they were in the throne room. The open space had been filled with rows upon rows of chairs. A black curtain now filled the area behind the crown and several chairs had been positioned in a half circle around the throne. A sole chair sat facing the throne. Charlie had no doubt in his mind that the chair was intended for Vetica.

Sister pulled Merlin by the sleeve and led them to a few open seats on the far right of the room. From here, they had a good enough view of the stage. Charlie sat on Merlin’s shoulders, with his legs on either side of Merlin’s neck. It was the only way he’d be able to see over the crowd. Sister took a seat next to Merlin and folded her hands in her lap. She seemed nervous.

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Charlie craned his neck to look around the room for Vetica, but apparently, she hadn’t arrived yet. Neither had Vedic nor Hosuyo. A few of the servants were the only ones overseeing the event for the moment. Most of the gathered crowd was murmuring with their neighbors and looking toward the front of the room, eager for the trial to start.

“They’re acting like it’s a night out or something,” Merlin said, shaking his head.

Charlie wiggled as Merlin’s head turned from side to side. He giggled, and Merlin remembered he was up there. Merlin tried to look back but couldn’t. “Sorry. I’m not used to you sitting up there.”

Charlie patted him on the head. “It’s okay! Wait, I think it’s starting!” he said, as Vedic entered the room from the left side of the curtain, followed by Brother and a few others. Vetica was among them. Charlie perked up when he saw her. Vedic sat on his throne, and Brother kneeled beside it with his head down. The others who were following all had their faces covered. They split up and stood against the wall on either side of the room. Maybe they were some kind of security?

Vetica stood alone, not far from where Vedic and the others had exited the curtain. Her hands were bound in front of her and though she held her head high, she stared toward the back of the room instead of at the audience.

The crowd went quiet for their leader. Vedic scanned the room, pausing when his eyes locked on Charlie. The hint of a smile tugged at his face, and then he turned to Brother and whispered something. Brother nodded and stood up. He hurried over to Vetica and escorted her to her seat. Charlie was right. She was sitting in the solitary seat before the throne and semi-circle of chairs. He wished he could sit beside her right now. He wished he could support her through this. But for now, he did the only thing he could to reassure her.

“Don’t worry, we’re here,” he projected the thought toward her. Vetica reacted subtly. She either hadn’t expected Merlin and Charlie to be there or was caught off guard by his words. Either way, she nodded her head ever so slightly.

Sister was looking around. “Something isn’t right…Hosuyo should have entered the room with Vedic.”

Merlin turned to look at her. “Well, he usually covers his face. Maybe he’s one of those men standing against the wall? He didn’t come across as the front and center kind of guy to me.”

Sister shook her head. “No, the chairs around the throne are where Vedic’s advisors are meant to sit. Even if the others aren’t coming, the seats are always positioned according to Rawlin law. It’s a reminder that even in their absence, the advisors hold authority. Hosuyo wouldn’t miss something like this.” She frowned. Charlie vaguely remembered Sister saying that Hosuyo was the one who had trained her and her brother to be servants. Was she concerned for Hosuyo’s safety, or was there something else on her mind?

“Maybe he got sick?” Charlie asked.

“Hosuyo doesn’t get sick. Something’s going on,” she whispered.

Brother had rejoined Vedic by the throne. Vedic flicked two of his fingers and signaled something. This time, one of the hooded men acted. He moved toward the right side of the curtain and pulled it to the side. It revealed something that seemed to surprise not only Vetica, but the entire crowd. A rope was fastened to the ceiling, and hanging from it, swinging side to side like a pendulum, was a man in a familiar black cloak.

A chorus of whispers and shocked expressions swept over the crowd.

Sister sat up and whispered. “Master Hosuyo…”

A trail of dried blood ran down either side of his face, though Charlie couldn’t see the wound from which it came. But whether Hosuyo had died from the rope around his neck or the obvious torture he had experienced; Charlie wasn’t sure.

“What does this mean?” Merlin whispered, tugging at Sister’s sleeve to pull her out of her shocked state. “Is this a bad thing for Vetica?” he asked.

Sister turned wide-eyed to face him. She turned her hands over. “I don’t know…but Hosuyo was Vedic’s top advisor. I just don’t understand why he would do this. Why would he display it?”

Merlin was grim. “It’s a message. The question is, for who?”

Charlie thought about Merlin’s words. Who would be most affected by Hosuyo’s death? He didn’t know enough about the Rawlins and their relationships to answer that question. But Vetica would. He stared at her to gauge her reaction.

Unsurprisingly, she was stoic as ever. But though her face lacked emotion, he noticed something. She was staring at Hosuyo. Not his distorted, tortured face like the rest of the room. She was staring at his fingers. They hung limply by his side. They were a pale beige color. But other than the unusual skin color, he didn’t notice anything different about them. They were normal fingers. So, what was Vetica’s fixation on?

“Mistress Lilica will be so upset…Master Hosuyo basically raised her,” Sister said, covering her mouth. She was more emotional about this than Charlie had expected. Her brother, on the other hand, seemed wholly unaffected.

As if Sister’s words had summoned her, Lilica finally entered the room and sat in one of the chairs meant for Vedic’s advisors. She was on the far right side of his throne. Lilica crossed one leg over her knee and yawned before looking around. She noticed the serious expressions on everyone’s faces. She smiled. “Who died?”

When no one laughed, she looked toward her father. Finally, she noticed. She sat up, squinted, and stared at Hosuyo’s body for a moment. If she was upset, or even surprised, it didn’t show. “Oh,” she said simply, before leaning back in her chair again.

“He raised her, and that’s the reaction he got? Strange,” Merlin said.

Vedic held a hand up and the crowd grew quiet. He looked past Vetica at the Rawlins gathered there. “Hosuyo is dead. My other advisors were sent word but have not made it in due time. Therefore, the decision of Vetica’s punishment will fall solely to me. My decision will be final and unquestionable.” Vedic’s words filled the room like a higher power. His voice was deep and booming and sounded as if it came from all around them.

For a moment, Charlie wondered if events were playing out in their favor. Sister said it was likely that Hosuyo would push for a harsher punishment to preserve the law. Brother believed Vedic would wish to spare Vetica to ensure the power that would one day appear in her or her sister did not die with her. With Hosuyo gone, weren’t Vetica’s odds better than before? Didn’t this mean—

Lilica stood up and tilted her head toward the door. “Are you expecting someone, daddy?” she asked.

Vedic raised a brow toward her and then followed her gaze toward the door. For just a moment, Charlie caught a flash of surprise in his eyes. He pointed toward the guards standing on either side of the walls and they rushed toward the doors. They didn’t make it in time. The doors burst open. A group of hooded figures poured into the room and quickly scanned the stage.

“It appears we’ve made it just in time,” a woman’s voice said.

Charlie turned to look at Sister. “Who are they?” he asked.

Sister’s mouth was parted, and she stared at the ground.

Merlin perked up. “Oh no.”

“What’s wrong?” Charlie asked.

Merlin quickly pulled Charlie off his head and lowered him into his lap. Merlin looked back to see if any of the hooded figures had noticed the baby on his head, but if they had, none of them were paying attention to it. “This trial just became a lot more unpredictable.”

Charlie realized what that meant in an instant. Vetica’s execution was back on the table almost as quickly as it had fallen off.

Vedic’s other advisors had arrived.