8.9

Jewel was not expecting to have to see one of the Countess’ former men, his wife and Jewel’s own bonded servant Adelyne brought in under charges of assault and murder.

Especially not so soon after she had settled matters with two more of her vassals!

The day had been going so well too!

She was so relieved! The two barons had only needed adjusting the price of mules to drag barges up river back to Kaeketeh on the coin of Viznove instead of as the two vassals whose demesne were downriver had once been required to pay. It was such a delightfully simple and familiar sort of bargaining that after some conferring with her family Jewel was happy to agree to.

With a pittance of a few pfennig on the grosz in their favor both had eagerly sworn to Jewel and with them and Kliatbatrn sworn Jewel now had the entirety of the River Vah secured. As the longest river in Viznove it would be a powerful weight on the other vassals to fall in line or risk being cut off from trade beyond the county near entirely.

Of course it was after the ceremony where they both swore to her had been concluded that Muriel was proverbially pulling Jewel aside to inform of the trouble that her servant had somehow gotten herself tied up into.

What was Adelyne even doing outside the keep?!

Apparently according to said servant Adelyne was doing Jewel’s will and trying to protect her recently released batch of ‘accursed waifs’ from being abused and tormented by angry citizenry and ruffians in Kaeketeh proper!

Which was a shock.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

A command which Muriel dutifully obeyed.

“Twelve corpses of the released waifs have already been found. I can’t say how many others are yet to be discovered, but besides the four that were with the bonded servant Adelyne and Gaurdswife Magdalena I’ve heard reports at least twenty more were found alive but wounded and despoiled!”

Jewel could hardly believe what she was hearing. Her voice was rumbling far more than she wanted. There were just shy of eight hundred of the accursed when she released them!

She could barely contain the first thing to pass through her thoughts.

“H-how did you find so many in an afternoon?”

Muriel spat away from Jewel before she said with a fury that could not be contained despite her usually professional demeanor.

“Of the living and dead those we’ve found were strung up at cross roads or squares for all to see. We hardly needed to look my Lady! We’ve not even begun to check alleys or the river and I hardly have the footmen to start on such while training the new guard.”

Jewel stared at nothing.

She’d wanted this to be justice, but not like this! She had wanted the men complicit in the Countess’ cruelty to pay for what they had taken!

But looking down at the one that had only avoided that fate because her servant had managed to inspire enough righteous fury to defend themselves? She turned and stared at Adelyne, who had probably only saved these few with her quick thinking.

Why had no one told Jewel this might happen?!

She had felt good about how cleanly she had resolved the matter! And now they were out there in the streets of her city suffering...

Jewel looked down on the thing that looked like a child, well that she thought looked like a child but everyone else insisted was anything but. At a face that could not help but twist into a scowl of fury at her despite every effort to hide it.

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There was anger in the woman standing beside the girl looking thing Jewel had made of her husband.

That had not occurred to Jewel either.

Some of the Countess’ men had wives.

Some had families.

Some even had children!

Jewel was the law! she had to fix this!

She looked around those witnessing her judgment. She saw far too many faces looking like soldiers eager for blood. No that would not do! That was not what she had wanted at all! Jewel took in a heavy breath and brought forth her mother’s lessons.

“As Countess and law of the city of Kaeketeh and the County Viznove I declare you innocent of the charges. Your acts were honorable under my eye and-”

No that was not enough, She had to do something more about this.

“And I reiterate my prior judgment, the former men of Viznove, who so served the Countess Bathory have already received all due punishment for their crimes by my justice! Until such times that they steal, murder, despoil or otherwise trespass by common or noble law they are subjects of Viznove! To be protected as any other!”

But still the two faces of those Jewel could not deny she had wronged glared at her. One far more subtle than the other. It was like something sharp roiling in her stomach and dousing her flames to see so much hate in so young a face.

What good were words spoken in a court? Jewel needed this to be known outside and beyond!

“Send word to the criers. Proclaim this every third hour of daylight in kaeketeh for seven days hence!”

Jewel felt a revulsion at what she had done, what was still happening from her actions!

She needed to do something more, something to stop this!

“Furthermore anyone who violates or disrespects t-the waifs will be tried as... as if their act had been done to a lady of Noble Blood and Rank!”

Surely that was enough? No Jewel could feel it burning. That wouldn't bring back the ones that already had perished or worse because of her fit of pique!

She didn't want this!

But Jewel had done it?

So surely she could take it back?

Undo what had been wrought, find a better less awful punishment?

But even before the thought had finished settling in her head Jewel felt a scathing burn inside her flame. A stinging lash which echoed first inside her coils and then echoed in a snarling refusal from the world itself.

Jewel’s impulse to snarl back was open upon her face but even that amount of defiance echoed and magnified within and without her! Silencing her unspoken pleas that this was not what she had intended at all!

But her defiance guttered as her very wyrm flame seemed to abandon her with her refusal.

It left her staggering in a way that made everyone in the feasting hall step back from her. Probably out of concern she would collapse again. But as soon as she relented, the weakness passed.

All told she was entirely empty of her inner fire for only for a moment, barely single breath.

Despite how much she had wanted to deny it she couldn't.

The answer was as clear as could be.

A Singular No.

Jewel could not take back what she had wrought in the world.

Her sentence was yet unfulfilled.

What had been made would not be undone by her own decree.

She had asked the world for this.

And it had done as she wished.

As she had willed.

And apparently it had no concept of mistakes or regret.

Jewel stared down at the open and guilelessly fearful face below her.

The terror in those eyes she had declared this man should bear however unintentionally..

A child’s face staring at Jewel with all the horror she had once seen given to Bathory.

There was only one thing to do.

Something Bathory never would have even conceived of.

Jewel Apologized.

“I’m sorry.”