On Trial

I honestly couldn't wait to release this chapter! I'm so happy with it, I hope you guys like it too!

Harold was nervous. He kept pacing, sweating and even resorting to nibbling on hangnails. He tried to distract himself, by glancing at a newspaper or book every now and then, but it wasn't working.
He stared at the boxes full of his stuff that had been brought from his room at the castle. He needed to unpack. There was so much renovating to be done. The house was pretty much a blank slate, because it had only been used as a getaway home, since Harold became captain. The last time it had been used was the summer before Princess Rapunzel came home. Since then, Cassandra's demanding lady in waiting duties had prevented them from having a proper holiday, so the house had remained abandoned.

Harold opened the smallest box and reached for the first item, a small, wooden, soldier doll, Cassandra had made him for Guardian's Day, two years ago.

He soullessly, let it slip from his palm and fall back in. He buried his face in his hands, and allowed himself to cry, the pain, worry and grief sinking in, all at once.

"I'm a failure," he whimpered, as tears stung his calloused hands, "I've failed her, I've failed my little one!"

He'd lied to her. He'd told her that her parents died from Pneumonia, that's why he took her in. He'd kept the truth from her, for twenty long years. He did it to protect her from growing up, being feared and bullied, by everyone, other than the king, just because she was the daughter of that cruel woman.

But it hadn't worked out.

She found out the truth, in the worst way imaginable and it had filled her with so much pain, anger, betrayal, that she had been twisted into being something she wasn't.

And now she was locked up, all alone, probably terrified and he wasn't allowed to see her. King Fredric had ordered him to stay away from Cassandra, until her trial was over.

It wasn't fair. Even if she wasn't his, biologically, she saw him as her father, her guardian and had done so for such a long time, he had adopted her, when no one else would and raised her, as his own flesh and blood, so, surely, he had the legal right to see her?

Apparently, not according to Fred.

Harold roared and slammed his fists against the wall, not caring that he had created a crack.

He was too scared, too distraught, too indignant, too broken, to care.

"Good morning, gorgeous," James sneered, barging into the room, "ready for your trail?"

Cassandra was curled up on the bed, in tears. .

She whimpered as a fleet of guards moved towards her. They had untied her from the bed that morning, but hadn't been very gentle about it, causing her already scaved body, to endure more suffering.

They shackled her wrists behind her back, and proceeded to march her from the room.

As the light hit Cassandra's eyes, for the first time in weeks, they stung, but soon managed to adjust. Once they had, she relived the feeling of relishing the feeling of having brightness back in her life.

"Ready?" James whispered, when they neared the throne room.

He didn't wait for her to answer, not that she felt like it, anyway, and instructed his men to drag her through the double doors.

Murmurs from the crowd of townspeople, as well as the jury, caught Cassandra's attention.

"I think they should send her to the nut house! She's loopy!" Someone yelled.