The Broken Council (The Guardian Chronicles 1) (3 page)

The
tension was increasing and the meeting hall became as quiet as a tomb.
 
Before King Ciel could even begin the meeting,
the double doors at the main entrance opened without warning.
 
There was a loud resounding boom as the doors
hit the solid oak walls.
 
General Yukio
Ibreshri marched in as if he had been the most anticipated and long awaited
guest.
 
He was the general of the armies
for Queen Daria Thejar, but he had no real authority here among the elves.
 
Daria was the monarch of the Nairi Canyons to
the northeast of the Black Forest and was a trusted ally of the elves.
 
However, this alliance was always strained
because men were not allowed in the forest without permission.

The
general’s enormous stature caught the eye of many of the council members.
 
King Ciel felt uneasiness and a twinge of
dread come over him at this unexpected appearance.
 
However, the king hid his fear deep within
and put on a look of contemptuous expectancy.
 
He was not about to give an inch in the presence of this unworthy man
who had besmirched his good name by stealing one of his daughters.
 
He would take charge of this new development
and leave no doubt in the council members’ minds that he was still in charge.

General
Yukio’s interruption was not welcomed by the majority of the council
members.
 
They gave him malevolent looks
that left no doubt as to their disgust and wariness of his presence.
 
The general had anticipated nothing less from
these shortsighted traditionalists.
 
He
was equal to the impending confrontation with the council, and he knew full
well what the result of this encounter would be.
 
He smiled at the thought of knowing something
that the pompous king did not and did nothing to hide his pleasure he felt
because of the disruption it caused.

“What
do you mean by this intrusion?” the king demanded.
 
He made sure to keep his tone even to hide
the fear within.
 
What are they playing at?
 
How
will his presence help his daughter’s secret plans?

“The
matter you are discussing today affects me as much as your daughter, King
Ciel,” General Yukio replied calmly.
 
“You certainly did not believe that I would miss an opportunity to visit
my favorite in-laws.”
 
He smiled at the
astonished looks on many of the council members’ faces.
 
He could sense that his presence had caught
the king off guard and that he was not prepared for what was happening.
 
The old
fool did not believe that I would dare come!

The
room filled with murmurings at this ridiculous statement about the royal family
being in-laws with such an unworthy creature like this man.
 
They could not believe that an uncouth
general would dare address their king in this manner let alone make such
outrageous claims.
 
No one in the royal
family should permit such an impurity into their midst and spoil the sanctity
of their meeting.
 
No one in the hall had
known that the man had been allowed into the forest aside from the Tiranidrols.

The
king fixed his daughters with such a piercing glare that any other elf would
have withered before such a furious look.
 
Kishi and Kira stared unblinkingly at their father in a way that made it
clear that they had invited the general and that is was within their power to
do so.
 
He allowed his stern look to
quickly vanished, and he put on a reluctant smile to ward off the rage building
within him.
 
Many of the council members
noticed the king’s subtle slip of emotional control.
 
Many shifted in their seats uncomfortably at
the scene unfolding in front of them.

“General
Yukio, this matter does concern you, so I am glad you are here to hear this
council’s verdict regarding your crimes against the elven kingdom and its royal
family,” King Ciel stated coldly.
 
“Please come and sit so that we may lay this matter to rest.”
 
He gestured to the empty chair next to his
daughter Kira and then returned his attention to the council members.
 
He had a steely glint in his eyes as he
surveyed those before him.

Without
saying another word, the general walked up to the king and gave a brief nod of
respect and sat down.
 
He looked around
the table at the stunned council members and read their innermost thoughts with
his unknown prodigious skill in mind penetration.
 
They all thought that the king should kill
the unworthy man and banish his daughter Kira for life.
 
He gave a hearty smile and inclined his head
toward members of the council he recognized or knew personally.
 
I am
certainly glad that I did not miss the show!
 
This is going to be well worth the wait!

The
king waved his right hand for silence, and the murmurings immediately
ceased.
 
There was a feeling of
anticipation and expectancy filling the still air.
 
The king looked at the head of the high council,
Conary Áerasrril, and nodded slightly, which meant it was time to begin the
meeting.
 
Everyone in the room followed
the king’s gaze to look at the chairman, who sat opposite the king near the
front entrance where General Yukio had entered.

Conary
was a very tall, slender elf who had a youthful look despite his many years of
service.
 
He had served on the high council
his entire adult life.
 
He was made the
chairman of the elven council when Ciel Tiranidrol was made king.
 
They had been the best of friends growing up,
and this matter with the king’s youngest daughter was almost too much for him
to bear.
 
The chairman loved Kira like
she was his own daughter.
 
He knew that
at the moment he had to be strong.
 
Conary was used to taking care of the king since the passing of his wife
five years ago.
 
King Ciel was a good
person, and everyone respected his decisions; therefore, as the chairman of the
council, he would support this trial and uphold its findings.

“The
purpose of this emergency meeting is to address the violation of our laws by
the Princess Kira Tiranidrol.
 
General
Yukio Ibreshri is in attendance to hear the judgments of this high council
against him,” the chairman stated evenly.
 
He had to hide his personal feelings in this matter so that the council
would not question his leadership.

General
Yukio felt a pang of anger inside as he looked around the table.
 
He could tell that the members had already
made up their minds after that biased introduction.
 
How
could these council members be considered wise when they rush judgment?
 
What a
bunch of cold-hearted, ignorant fools!
 
They will rue this day!
 
He
kept his facial expressions neutral to hide his adverse feelings.

“The
charges against the two accused, which they are guilty of, are as follows––”
the chairman began to read the council’s findings.

“Guilt
before the charges are even read…what is the meaning of this?” Princess Kishi
interjected sharply.
 
She thought that
there would be a trial at the very least, not an immediate verdict.
 
She became so furious that her shimmering
gray eyes began to smolder.
 
Her chair
flew back into the wall behind her and shattered into tiny pieces.
 
The council members were taken aback by this
unexpected outburst.
 
They could tell
that this was going to end badly no matter what the outcome of the impending
votes.

“I
have called the council here for the purpose of determining the guilt of your
sister and her illegitimate husband.
 
They are here today to hear the judgment of this just council.
 
They will accept whatever punishment we deem
appropriate and acknowledge their folly,” the king replied sharply.
 
He did not think that Kishi would react with
such anger.
 
She should know that these two were doomed the moment they crossed the
forbidden line and married.
 
I cannot
allow their treachery to go unpunished.

“Dearest
sister, do not be concerned with these proceedings and the inevitable
fallout.
 
We are here of our own free
will and have a full knowledge of what this council plans to do,” Princess Kira
cut across her sister in a kind, yet airy tone.
 
She had been secretly hoping that her elder sister would react with such
intensity.
 
Elven twins had a way of
knowing what their other half would do before they would do something.
 
They were powerful in magic and were equally
rare amongst the immortals.

Silence
swept through the hall as the chairman waited for King Ciel to indicate whether
or not he was finished.
 
Princess Kishi
turned to the chair she had destroyed, and, with a wave of her hand, it
repaired itself.
 
Once the chair was in
place once more, she dropped down sharply into her chair with a look of utmost
contempt for what she had just heard.
 
She could not believe that her father was not going to have a trial.
This meeting was about sentencing.
 
This should have been a private matter.
 
Why did he have to take it this far?
 
She did not bother to hide her feelings
anymore and thought, more than once, to use her magic to shake the council
members from the ludicrous course of action they were taking.

“Please
continue, Chairman Áerasrril, with the reading of the charges,” King Ciel said
with a slight nod.
 
He did not want to
lose control of this meeting; this sensitive situation had to be cleared up
today.
 
Any more delay would destabilize
the king’s already weakened control over the bureaucracy.
 
If he mishandled this politically charged
issue, then he would lose all creditability with the high council and with his
loyal subjects.

“General
Yukio and Princess Kira did knowingly engage in an unlawful intimate
relationship.
 
They further violated our
laws by marrying one another.
 
This was a
direct violation of the marriage statute, which states that no elf shall marry
a person from any of the lesser races.
 
They did break these laws knowing full well the penalties and severity
of what crimes they were committing,” Conary read aloud.
 
He was doing his best to hide his severe
disapproval of how this personal matter was being handled.

There
was a buzz of excitement coming from the council members because the crimes
were most egregious.
 
They all clearly
understood what the vile man had meant by what he said when he arrived
unexpectedly.
 
They were all sitting on
the edge of their seats now awaiting the opportunity to vote so they could
convict these obviously guilty parties.
 
The tension in the room was so high that it seemed like no one was going
to take another breath until they voted.
 
Many of them thought that this was truly a historic moment and a
political victory for their king.
 
The
condemnation of the princess and this general of Nairi would reaffirm the
supremacy of elven law and re-establish their superiority throughout all of
Tuwa.
 
They were not even taking into
consideration the fallout that would occur with Queen Daria and her subjects if
they executed the iconic Nairian general.

“Members
of this most noble and honorable high council of elves, it is time,” Conary
Áerasrril proffered solemnly.
 
As the high councilman spoke these last
words, a brilliant fire burst into life just above the surface of the
Thraalillith
.

“If
they should be convicted on all counts, the fire will burn blue or if you
believe that the accused should be cleared of all charges the fire will burn
red, please vote now.”
 
Every council
member cast his or her vote into the cauldron of fate, and the fire burned bright
blue as each piece of paper came into contact with the magical fire.
 
There was not a single vote cast to clear
either of the accused.
 
They had been
found guilty by the entire high council.
 
The chairman abstained from voting because of his mixed feelings.
 
The general and the royal family were not
permitted to vote because they were not members of the council.

Princess
Kishi placed her hands on the table in anticipation of what was going to happen
next.
 
She was not happy at all with what
had taken place thus far.
 
How can the entire council vote against both
of them?
 
I understand why they convicted
that idiot General Yukio, but why convict my sister?
 
Is this what it has come to?
 
The burning in her eyes turned cold as ice as
she looked around at the council members.
 
She made it clear that she was not pleased with what they had just
done.
 
Not one council member would
return her icy glare.
 
They were all
determinedly looking elsewhere; they were terrified that she might unleash her
venom on them.