Chapter 4: Beyond the walls

CANNA

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Yumi raised her slender fingers to the finely carved necklace resting upon her collar, marking the third time she had brought her fingers to her neck.

It was a subtle reminder that she was exactly where she needed to be. But if she had a choice, she would have chosen otherwise.

Posed on one of the chairs at the head of the long table with the kind of composure that made the whole chamber bend around her, she tilted her head slightly, eyes flickering ahead to the empty chair across the table.

Seated right there should be her husband Jether, yet he was nowhere to be found.

Not truly lost, but simply ignorant, leaving all the burden for her to shoulder while he withered away under the bodies of women.

The council elders sat pinned to their respective ranks around the table, each man taking turns to drown the courtroom with a ceaseless tide of opinions.

Each man spoke with smug certainty, mistaking the mere passage of years for acquiring enough wisdom.

With every word they uttered, they clung to the belief that age alone had granted them the knowledge to judge all matters brought before them.

Already, Yumi found herself weary by the endless sound of their torturous voices, yet she remained seated and allowed the council to continue their discourse. Such burdens, she reminded herself, were among the many duties bound to the crown.

At that moment, one of the councilmen spoke of a proposal that seized Yumi’s attention, a sound argument that offered a means to lessen the burden of the people’s tax.

The corner of her mouth twitched upward with a nod of approval as she considered his words. But her expression remained an impenetrable frost; reading her mind was like trying to see through a stone wall.

Just then, a maid hastened into the chamber as though pursued by unseen force, her face drained of color and her hurried steps carrying her toward the queen’s side.

With her head bowed low, she crossed the great hall with careful restraint, mindful not to disturb the solemn gathering of the council.

The murmur of voices fell away as she approached the throne, and when she reached Yumi, she bent close, bringing her lips near the queen’s ear to deliver her message in a quiet whisper.

Having spoken her words, the maid offered a hurried bow, then slipped away as fast as she had come. leaving behind only the echo of her departing footsteps

For the briefest moment, a shadow of feeling stirred upon Queen Yumi's countenance.

Then, as though it had never been, it vanished. Her expression hardened once more, settling back into its mask of regal control.

She pressed her lips into a thin line and drew in a rough breath, fingers tightening into her palms before she spoke, her voice ringing through the courtroom with the force of a battlefield commander.

“Silence!”

The word struck the hall like the tolling of a great bell. Those who only moments before had been eager to outshine one another fell instantly mute.

Only then did she incline herself forward upon her seat, and every wandering eye returned to her without hesitation.

“Lord Abner," she said, her tone calm yet unquestionable, “remind me of the petitions yet awaiting the Crown's judgment. I shall see that each is answered in due course.”

With those words, she thrust the great chair back and rose to her full height. The folds of her blue-colored gown cascaded to the floor with the majesty of a royal mantle as she stood before the assembled council.

“This council is hereby dismissed.”

She offered them no further audience. Without waiting for a single voice to answer, she turned and made for the doors.

“But, Your Grace… you have scarcely rendered your thoughts on….”

The words had barely left Lord Galden's lips when Yumi's stride came to a halt.

She did not turn fully. Instead, she inclined her head just enough for him to catch the cold edge of her profile.

That alone was enough to rob him of whatever courage remained.

“If I were you, Lord Galden,” she said, her voice as sharp as drawn steel, “I would think twice before presuming to bargain words with your queen.”

A heavy silence settled over the place leaving no more room for argument. Lord Galden lowered his gaze, his lips pressing into a thin line as shame crept across his features.

Without so much as a backward glance, Yumi continued on her way. Her rose-gold hair moved behind her with every step, while the steady cadence of her heels rang across the serene courtroom, until the great doors shut tight, leaving the council leaders alone with their unspoken thoughts.

In all the years she had reigned at King Jether's side, Yumi had proven herself a sovereign of uncommon wisdom and formidable resolve. Many kingdoms regarded the Crown of Canna with wary eyes, not for the strength of its armies alone, but because Yumi sat upon its throne as queen.

Across the realms, she was known by another name: the Queen of Vengeance.

Mercy was a virtue she seldom bestowed upon those who raised their hand against Canna. Whenever an enemy wronged the crown, it was Yumi who urged the king toward retribution, persuading him that an unanswered insult invited only greater defiance.

The moment the council chamber was left behind and no watchful eyes remained upon her, Yumi's stern countenance faltered.

The mask she had worn before her lords dissolved, revealing the burden she had so carefully concealed.

The maid who had interrupted the gathering moments before hastened to her side, her head bowed and her gaze fixed on the floor.

“Are you certain of what you speak, Pelima?”

Though Yumi gave voice to the question, her heart already feared the answer.

“I am, Your Grace,” the maid replied, quickening her pace to keep beside the queen, whose strides had grown long and hurried.

“And Kaal?”

Yumi spoke as they turned from the grand corridor into a narrow passage rarely used.

“He has fallen into another trance, Your Grace. The young maiden is seized by violent convulsions, yet he offers no remedy. He says only that it is the will of the gods.”

At the sound of those words, she pressed onward with greater haste, her countenance growing ever paler with each step she took.

They passed through the dimly lit passages until they came before a weathered stretch of wall. To an unsuspecting eye, it was no different from the rest of the castle.

Yet with a motion, Pelima pressed against a hidden stone, and a narrow doorway groaned open.

Beyond it stretched a forgotten passage that plunged deep beneath the fortress.

Worn spiral steps coiled into the ground where the air grew colder with every descent.

The existence of that hidden way was known only to three souls within the castle. It was a secret guarded with unwavering vigilance, one so carefully kept that even the king himself had never learned of its existence.

When at last they climbed the worn stone steps, they halted before a lone door, weathered by age. Yumi pressed a hand against the handle, and it opened with a faint creak.

The first sight that met her eyes was the young woman upon the bed, her body writhing in violent convulsions. Every limb jerked uncontrollably against the mattress as though seized by an unseen force.

Her eyes had turned ghastly white, and the blue pupils in her eyes had vanished, while ragged breaths tore from her lips, filling the chamber with a dreadful sound.

At once, Yumi stumbled to the side of the bed, crossing the room effortlessly.

“Good gods... when will this suffering end?”

Pain tightened her voice as she spoke. Her hands gathered the folds of her gown as she stood helplessly beside the bed, able to do nothing but watch.

“The day you accept the fate appointed to her,” a shaky voice answered from the shadows, “her suffering shall cease. Then, too, shall every sin bound to it find its end.”

Yumi's gaze shifted toward the voice.

From a dim corner of the chamber, Priest Kaal emerged into the wavering candlelight.

Long strands of grey hair fell across his shoulders, framing a face deeply marred with wrinkles. An aquiline nose lent him a stern profile, while his eyes, hollow and sunken, remained fixed on the woman now before him.

Around his neck hung an ancient necklace, and his fingers moved over it with devotion, as though surrendering it would cost him his very life.

“Kaal,” Yumi mumbled, her voice breaking, “save her. I beg you, save my daughter. She is dying.”

Tears clouded her vision as she spoke, her eyes shifting to the child she had fought so long to keep.

For nineteen long years, she had borne the crushing burden of this secret.

Nineteen years spent watching fate creep ever closer, knowing the day she had feared would one day arrive.

"Save her, I know you can, you have your ways.” Yumi pleaded once more, her voice breaking as she brushed away the tears coursing down her cheeks.

Priest Kaal remained unmoved.

"Nothing can be done," he said coldly. "I warned you long ago. It was decreed that either she would perish or Ryalyn would. Yet you chose to defy the will of the gods, and now your own house reaps the harvest of that defiance."

The old priest's weathered features grew stern as he spoke. His sunken gaze settled upon the unconscious maiden for a lingering moment before he turned away, as though the sight itself wearied him.

"The gods spoke without riddles, Your Grace. You heard the prophecy no less clearly than I.

"The gods spoke without riddles, Your Grace. You heard the prophecy no less clearly than I did.”

He reminded her, then, with dreadful calmness, he drew forth a knife from within the folds of his robe.

Its polished steel caught the wavering glow of the lone candle, casting a cold gleam that flickered across the wall.

“Kill her,” he said. “End this at last.”