Silvana's Trial

Chapter 1 - Imperial Enemy

Silvana advanced through the pink-hued upper halls of the Orundian royal palace. Her high forehead furrowed in frustration when she thought about her brother and sister. Their antics caused a lot of trouble this time.

Disregarding the servant outside a tall door, she pushed through into the Chiryo-shi's audience chamber. The wooden paneling on the walls gave shading of light and dark in a series of intricate inlays depicting flowers and other plants.

"Mother!" she exclaimed, annoyance lacing her voice. "Can you please do something about—"

She broke off in mid-sentence when she noticed a man attending on her mother. He turned to look at her and Silvana choked. She knew that long, pale-brown face from her nightmares. Faltering in mid-stride, she felt her gaze lock onto his amber eyes. With an effort of will, she snapped her mouth shut.

Cynthia rose from her chair. Silvana detected worry and a hint of embarrassment in her mother's tone when she breathed, "Your Excellency, allow me to present my eldest daughter, Silvana, Koutayshi-hime of this royal house."

The man inclined his head in her direction but Silvana recoiled. Shock and disbelief stole her voice, robbed her of any semblance of dignity. She stood and stared until a fountain of anger pushed its way through her petrified core.

"How can you sit there so calmly with him right there? I can't believe you mother! He—"

"Enough! Silvana." Her tone was stern, berating a naughty child. "That's no way to conduct yourself before His Excellency, Imperial Prince Huneddzach." The reprimand stung and Silvana drew back as though she'd been slapped.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself she retorted, "Just because someone is born into a particular status in life, does not dictate their actions. Their actions should dictate how they will be treated." Her mother glared razor-sharp daggers at her when she sank into a curtsey, perfection trained for her status as crown princess. Then she added, maintaining perfect control of her voice, "I apologise for having intruded. The matter can await your return home, Chiryo-shi."

Silvana spun on her heel and flounced out the room without a backward glance. She held her head high using every ounce of her training to radiate haughty disinterest.

***

The prince chuckled as he watched her go.

The healer, her mother, stuttered in mortification, "I apologise for her atrocious behaviour, Your Excellency."

He shook his head with a sigh, "There is nothing to forgive, Chiryo-shi. She has spoken the truth most eloquently for one so young. Tell me, did she recognise me? She must have been, what five or six, when I was last here."

Cynthia sighed. "She was seven when the incident in Haftown occurred. She followed me when I hurried to the scene—"

When her voice trailed off, he clenched his fist. He knew his brow furrowed as the memory of his zealous mission from eleven years before assaulted his memory. Then, he'd been obsessed with finishing the tale of the warrior people once and for all.

His own thoughtless actions, the way he'd tortured the fugitive and found pleasure in maiming instead of giving a swift death, haunted him. He rubbed at the base of his collarbone where the wound Flynn inflicted on him began to throb.

"I expect I've haunted her nightmares ever since," he whispered, his chest tightening.

"What is done is done," Cynthia replied. "Now, let me see this old wound that troubles you."

The examination completed, she reaffirmed the inexplicable nature of his ailment. Then the prince made his way into the palace garden. He looked out over the ocean. The waves crashed against the cliff below the palace. The sound was rhythmic, soothing. His thoughts turned back to his meeting with the Orundian crown princess.