Chapter Eleven

Ahead, Remus saw the door open and a balding head. After a few, quick words, the guards practically forced their way in.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Get back."

Something clanked and shattered, and the first voice snarled. "Clean that up."

Remus squinted in the darker interior after the sunlight outside. A slave cowered in the doorway to a short hallway with a dropped tray. A guard told him to ignore the mess and stand by the fireplace.

"How dare you barge in and start ordering my slave about!" The balding man shut up when he saw the Regent and the Prince enter.

"I think you have some explaining to do," said the Regent. "Search the home. You know what to look for."

The guards split up. A few went upstairs, and a couple entered the short hall. Broken teacups were smashed beyond repair by their merciless stomping. The tray was kicked aside by one whose wings twitched with irritation.

The ride had to have been exhausting for Sébastien who was still too pale to be healthy, but he kept his usual perfect posture, and the snotty air increased as he strode across the sitting room. The slave, a thin man who didn't look old enough to be enslaved, hunched lower like he thought the Prince was going to slug him and mark his other eye.

"Your slave has a black eye," Sébastien announced.

Martin wore comfortable trousers and a loose shirt with arm garters. He pursed his lips and twitched his dark grey tail. "What's going on?"

"How old is he?" asked Sébastien.

"Twenty-three. What are you doing barging into my home like this?"

"Could have fooled me." Sébastien flicked the end of the chain toward Remus and removed his cloak before he held it out to the slave.

The man hesitated as his eyes shot to Martin, the god in his life who was anything but merciful.

"I asked you something," Martin said without looking at his slave.

"We'll speak when we're ready. You'd deny your Prince a common courtesy?" Sébastien looked at the slave. "Hang it up for me, will you? Then you can sit on the hearth and wait. We won't hurt you."

The slave finally took it, and his legs shook as he made his way across the room to the hooks by the door.

"I'll keep mine," said the Regent.

"I guess you're still pissed because I demanded that you get rid of your drunken cousin once and for all and wouldn't let him return." Sébastien draped his elegant figure in an armchair. Remus stood by it and noticed the slackening in his body that hinted at his hidden exhaustion. "Poisoning me over that was quite extreme. You rightfully assumed I'd say no and planned ahead."

Martin's mouth dropped. "What-I didn't-" He looked toward the Regent. "What is this madness?"

A woman hurried downstairs. "What's going on? Martin, the men are looking for something."

Boots thudded upstairs as Sébastien gestured her over. "Martin, why don't you explain to your wife what happened with your cousin and how you came to see me? I think she needs a bit of backstory."

"But I-"

"We don't need all of that." The Regent barely looked at her as he sat with a tense face. "The guards will look for further evidence, and he'll be arrested either way. Then you can rest at home."

"I think we do. Do it so she can understand what a scumbag you are." Each word came like an arrow, and Sébastien turned to the Regent who frowned at him. "Should we simply take him away and let her curse our name, or should he tell her so she can see what she's been lying in bed with at night?"

"She'll find out."

"I'd rather she know now."

The Regent sighed. "Very well. Since we must wait."

"Hurry up," said Sébastien.

"This is a big mistake," said Martin.

"Then you shouldn't have an issue explaining it, and we'll get it all sorted out, won't we?"

Martin gave his wife a stiff smile and swiped at his forehead where beads of sweat had blossomed. "You know I got cousin Benny a job at the Palace?"

"Yes." She was quite pretty with chestnut curls half pulled back and bound with a large clip of a raven in flight. Her simple, elegant dress of blue silk fit perfectly, and her sleeves were laced to the shoulders of the bodice with a precision that probably made Sébastien proud.

Something about the way she held her arms close to her body as if she might need to protect herself at any moment made Remus wonder. Her torso was stiff too.

Perhaps Martin didn't restrict his violence to the slave.

"Well?" Sébastien made a circular motion with his hand as something clanked upstairs. "We're all sprouting grey hairs over here."

Dishes rattled in the kitchen as Martin continued. "He's still having a bit of trouble with the bottle, and a couple of courtiers complained. The Regent permitted him another chance, and Benny swore it wouldn't happen again. Sébastien said Benny leered at him a few days ago and stunk of whiskey. He demanded that the Regent let Benny go so he did. I begged the Regent to give him one more chance, but he said no unless his nephew was willing. I went to see Sébastien the other day and asked for another chance."

"Which he's not getting," said Sébastien. "I also don't like to come out of my bedroom and find someone waiting for me when I haven't called them in." Martin's tail lashed back and forth. "What happened after that? Tell her everything."

"I asked you about Benny-"

"No, no, no. Think back and tell her what happened when you came in."

Martin squinted. "I said I needed to speak with you and asked to use the privy first. You said yes, and when I came out, I explained that Benny's had some difficulties lately with his family, and he's trying to remain sober. He needs the job to give him something to focus on. You said no. I left, and I'm not sure at what point I poisoned you. You were just fine when I left, and you didn't eat or drink any-

"Your Majesty," a voice called from somewhere in the kitchen or beyond it.

Sébastien gave Martin a lovely smile. The sight of it made Remus's stomach drop.

"Finally," said the Regent.

The guards came out, and one held up three vials. Two were empty. "Your Majesty, I can't say for sure it's gorvin black mold, but this one-it's black as you said. I'd say it could be mixed into a bath scrub or whatever."

"Where were they?" demanded the Regent.

"A curio cabinet in the dining room had a bunch of little things. They were tucked in a box of miniatures."

"It seems loyalty is quickly lost when angered." The Regent looked away.

"What are you talking about?" asked Martin, and a guard whistled. "What's-"

"You poisoned my scrubbing sands and bath oil when you went into the privy room," said Sébastien. "You poisoned my wine with something else before I came out. Last night, I would have died if not for my slave coming in. You made sure I'd be without a guard at night for three nights, including tonight. If the wratwort didn't get me, the gorvin black mold would thanks to the wine. And if I didn't drink, repeated exposure to my tainted bath items would have eventually made me sick anyway. You were hoping I'd die sooner."

Martin's mouth dropped as the ones upstairs came down the steps. "I did not! That's insane! Do you honestly think I acquired poison and planned to kill you if you said no?"

Sébastien lifted a hand. "I think the evidence is quite obvious."

With a face like thunder, the Regent motioned at a guard. "Explain the rest of this. I want him in chains sooner rather than later. Hurry up so Sébastien can go home and rest."

From inside his armor, he pulled out a stack of parchment slips. "I have the schedule of every man within the Palace. The Regent and three others carefully looked over these. It was easy for you to do this since every man is mostly worried about his own when he works. Nobody noticed that for three nights, His Majesty would be unguarded."

Martin looked at the man like he didn't even recognize him.

"You planned for him to bathe with the infected products which would react with red wine according to the physician. You knew white wine would be served at dinner during these three nights so he would not suffer the paralysis effect in front of others. The poison in the red wine would kill within hours, and while paralyzed due to the gorvin black mold, he wouldn't be able to get help. Luckily, his slave found him. You're guilty of attempted murder and bodily harm to the Royal Crown Prince of Soleil. Do you have anything to say to defend yourself?"

Like any words would help now. A drop of sweat rolled down Martin's temple as he struggled to think of what to say and get out of this. Remus couldn't feel sorry for him, and honestly, murdering the Prince because he wouldn't permit a drunk to return was pitiful. He'd known the answer would likely be no, so he'd contemplated murder.

Even if Sébastien had agreed to allow Benny one more chance, he still would have been poisoned for demanding that the cousin be sacked in the first place.

"My nephew is all I have left, and I never thought a man who served Jean would stoop this low over a drunken cousin," said the Regent. "Men have killed for far less, but you…Jean would roll over in his grave if he knew you tried to kill his son."

"I disagreed with him over something, and you pulled this from your ass?!" Martin yelled. "Are you both insane? Someone else did this because I did nothing but ask. I didn't put anything in his bath products or wine! What good would that-"

"My slave heard you snap at Arthur," said Sébastien. "According to him, you snap at others often when you're angered. Your anger seems to extend to your slave too, and I was the next target since your cousin was sacked. It's the schedule that truly damns you, and I think you're aware of the men who leave their post a few minutes early to go home or eat if they can get away with it. Nobody officially reported it because they wanted to keep the peace, but as the Commander, you should be aware of what your men are doing because it's your fucking job! That's a dereliction of duty, and you used it to your advantage. Nobody said anything when they came for their shift and found my hall empty after the first night."

The slave had been watching from the hearth, and since the man who tormented him would be taken away, he pointed at the woman. "Isa, show them your arms. Let him g-go for everything."

Isa shot a glance at her husband as she twisted her hands.

"You can show me if it's on your arms," said Sébastien. "If he's been cruel to you, let him die for that too. He can't do anything to you now."

She hesitated before pulling up one of her fine sleeves to show pale yellow marks as though Martin had gripped her forearm. Another above her elbow must have been from a slug and was quite dark.

"There are more, but I can't be so indecent. I want to go back to Ilead where my Mother lives."

"He won't touch anyone again, and you'll have the money and everything else," said Sébastien. "Go wherever you want. Take the slave for the remainder of his sentence and release him afterward." He looked toward the slave. "Were you eighteen when he took you?"

The slave nodded. Slaves didn't have the right to say no, but since the age of consent was still in place, those under the age of eighteen had to stay in prison and couldn't be bought until they were old enough. It was still disgusting to Remus that a man who had to be over forty took someone who looked young.

"Don't lie to protect him," said Sébastien. "Did he change your age on your record and take you before the age of eighteen?"

"No, he didn't. I was eighteen when he bought me. I just have a baby face and look far younger."

"No, he doesn't," said Martin. "This is all bullshit imaginings from your nephew. Corentin-please! I've served your family for years, and while I may have needed to tighten up a couple of things, I'd never-"

"The evidence is quite clear," the Regent said coldly. "After your trial, I'd prefer to poison you in the same way so you can experience what you intended for Sébastien. Of course, it'll be the noose like everyone else. We'll do it this afternoon and have you hanged tomorrow morning."

"Go upstairs, Isa," said Sébastien.

Isa hurried for the stairs as her husband spoke. "You won't even say a word in my defense?"

"I wish I'd never married you."

"You'd still be living in poverty if it wasn't for-"

"I'd have had my Mother and not a body full of bruises! I'm glad I never had a child with you." She leaned over the railing toward the slave. "Come on. I'll put something on your eye to help with the swelling."

He practically flew to the stairs to follow her and be out of Martin's sight. With him about to be hanged in less than a day, Remus wouldn't be surprised if Isa accidentally "lost" the slave and didn't bother to report it.

If the situation hadn't been so serious, it would have been comical to watch Martin's shock harden into anger. He clenched his fists and swung around to face the Prince.

"You're a fucking liar, Prince, and you've got some other enemy in your court."

"I'm done. Get him, and let's go." The Regent stood. "I didn't want Sébastien to be out of bed, but he insisted on coming. He needs to go home now."

"Hang on a second. I'm not quite that tired." Sébastien pushed himself from the chair and strode across the room. "Do you want to look me in the face and say something since your cowardly trick didn't work?"

"Nephew-"

"No. He's going to die, so I want him to be honest and say whatever without the court gawking."

Martin backed up and almost bumped into a guard before he swiveled and nearly fell backward over the bottom step. A door slammed upstairs. The Prince turned to keep facing Martin with a predatory look as he shifted his right arm. The guards moved away as if sensing the danger.

"Well?"

Martin's shoulders slumped as he scrambled for the banister to hold onto. "I beat my wife and the slave. I get angry-I admit-"

Sébastien's eyes darkened as he tilted his head and some of his hair fell forward. Remus could have almost sworn he'd seen red in his eyes for a split second, and he blinked. He needed sleep if he was seeing shit, and the dark atmosphere of the sitting room wasn't helping.

"I have a problem, but I'd swear on my Grandmother's grave that I never poisoned you, and I don't know what those are. I never went through everything in Grandma's cabinet after she passed. It could be anything. It was probably to help her digestion."

"Come along, Sébastien. Stop dragging this out. You'll get to watch his humiliation when he presents his case before the court. It's a done deal with the evidence."

A trial was pretty useless at that point, but a required formality. Remus figured the Prince would come to lead his pet doggy outside since he had to be tired despite his fakery. A few of the guards shifted, clearly ready to go, but Sébastien didn't move, and with his face partially covered, it was hard to tell what he was thinking.

Martin stared back and made a noise as his chest heaved. "Your Majesty, you-"

Silver flashed as the Prince's right hand flew toward his throat. Martin let out a choked sound as the small blade went deeper, and Remus jumped. Sébastien watched Martin fall backward on the steps and claw at the knife. Blood slipped between his fingers.

"Fuck," swore one of the guards.

Remus almost felt sorry for him since he knew that feeling.

"Sébastien!" roared the Regent.

The Prince stepped back and flicked his hair out of his face. "What?"

Martin thrashed, and the knife clanked on the floor. The blood flowed faster despite him pressing his hands against the wound. Remus cringed at the memory and almost touched his own throat. It wasn't exactly a slow death, but the noose would have been better, not this bloody show.

"Fu-" Martin cut off as his hand slid away. A couple of guards looked elsewhere, and more than one was rather pale.

"What-what the fuck is wrong with you?" sputtered the Regent.

Sébastien tilted his head again. "I wanted revenge. He tried to kill me. Isn't that why we're here?"

The Regent turned red as Remus finally looked away from the grisly sight. Why would Corentin bother to be so surprised? Sébastien was foul, and he'd already done it once. It wasn't like the little humiliation session with his slave had straightened him out.

"It's quicker to do this instead of hanging him, and I did it myself. You were squawking at me for not doing any work, and I just did some. A nasty job too, I might add, but one that needed to be done."

Remus almost wanted to walk out. He could hardly feel sorry for Martin who had more than one crime on his head and beat his wife, but the lack of care…anger was still boiling under the surface as the Prince faced his Uncle and bared his fangs in a nasty smile.

For Elira's sake, if he snapped again one day, Remus might not be so lucky.

"He deserved it," one of the younger guards dared to mutter. "Martin was a murderer. Beating women and poison is for cowards."

Corentin's glare nearly withered the young man. "Everyone gets time in court unless they fight so hard during arrest, there's no other choice but to kill. He didn't raise a hand or pull a weapon."

Sébastien sighed.

"You know the right way to go about this!" snapped the Regent. "Instead, you act like a spoiled boy."

"Hmm. Revenge makes me a spoiled boy?"

"Don't pretend you don't know what you did wrong." A vein throbbed in the Regent's forehead, and he turned to the door. "I'll speak to you later."

Sébastien held out his hand to Remus and smiled. "Bring me your lead."