A Sorceress From the Future

Chapter Thirty Four

“So nice for you to finally grace us with your presence, ladies and gentlemen, your highness…”

Sabrina cast a deathly glare on one of the elders who had doubled over with laughter over Dawson’s statement. Sabrina had not been tardy on purpose. In fact, she was never late. She was convinced that Dawson had deliberately failed to invite her to this particular meeting. It made sense; she was the only one with a spine there after all. The only female in the council too. Sabrina suddenly felt naked, exposed. In every meeting since her selection ceremony, she had sat beside her husband. She had never felt different because of her gender. With Stephen by her side, she had felt like a piece of a whole. Now, now she was simply a piece, a different piece.

“Well don’t just stand there your highness, sit. You resemble a lost cast…”

Cackles of frenzied laughter blared through the room. Once again, the sycophant had expressed his pseudo delight, no doubt trying to get on Dawson’s good side. Sabrina almost felt sorry for him, almost. She turned her head slowly, taking in the people present in the dimly lit chamber. She examined their faces, gauged their stands; how she wished Stephen was here. He would have echoed their exact thoughts. Sabrina could only attempt a guess; she had never liked the activity. Humans were unpredictable creatures. If you had asked her a while ago if princess Tamara would come to her powers, she would have confidently said that the very thought was absurd. Except Tamara had not only come to her powers but she had also chosen to do so. Before that terrible ordeal, Sabrina had played the role of Tamara’s nanny. She let out a nostalgic chuckle, Dawson had almost fallen out of his seat when the Queen announced that she, a mere nanny, was going to sit at the council table. To add insult to injury, at the time, Sabrina had not met Stephen. She had been a maiden.

“Well, your highness? Are you not going-“

A burst of eerily high-pitched laughter escaped the sycophant’s mouth once more. Sabrina suddenly envisioned herself driving a sword through his mouth, this would have silenced him completely. She had to admit that the action was a tad extreme but the morbid fantasy had borne the desired effect, she had remained quiet rather than expressed her feelings. Stephen had always warned her regarding her blunt nature. According to him, a little fib was inexpensive compared to a morbid truth which can wind up costing you your life. Sabrina supposed this was one of these moments where this advice applied. She sniffled silently; Stephen would know exactly how to respond to the sycophant without them being taken to the gallows the following morning.

“Why are you laughing Dunder? What is so hilarious that you had to disrupt me mid-sentence?”

Dunder squirmed in his seat, his hands suddenly clammy with nervous sweat. He kept his eyes on his shaking hands as he summoned the energy to calm his agitated nerves. However, his hands simply would not cooperate with his thoughts. He opted to hide his trembling hands instead but they wouldn’t move. He gave up the action. Dunder stole a glance at the beautiful woman in their presence. Sabrina had aged gracefully. The long wisps of silver had been tied elegantly to a bun. Her high cheekbones were pale, devoid of any color. Her eyes, her eyes were clear, focused, brave. Sabrina was the only woman in the council and the only person apart from Stephen, who voiced her opinion, her genuine opinion no matter how incriminating it was. Dunder had always admired Sabrina’s beauty but it was her brazen nature that had scooped up his heart and soared his senses to the point of insanity. The reason why he was nervous was that he knew what Dawson was planning to do to her. The laughter had been his way of protecting Sabrina from her ill fate. Dunder let a small smile play on his lips, the woman had yet to sit down. Sabrina may not know it yet, but she needed Dunder’s irksome laughs.

“Answer me Dunder!”

Dunder finally lifted his gaze to face Dawson. Chi’s new king towered over the council; his face contorted with menace. Dunder shrunk under Dawson’s cold stare. Was this the fate of Chi? To be ruled by a man driven by avarice? There is a reason why the people had adored King Matthias. Chi’s previous king had always tried to put himself in his people’s shoes. He had never looked down on his people even with the knowledge that he had enough power to do so. Love is what had bred loyalty from the people, not fear. Love is what had brought hundreds of young men and women to the palace door asking to join the impending war. Dunder shivered, he wished not to be present during this war. If the prophecy had any truth in it then…

“Guards! Guards!”

Dawson whipped his head towards the large doors. Two guards burst into the chamber with their long, intimidating spears. Dunder slid from his seat and dropped to his knees. Surely Dawson would not punish him for laughing, right?

“Will you now tell me and the elders what you find to be so hilarious? Am I your king or a clown?”

Sabrina flinched when Dunder released yet another pitchy cackle. Was he asking for an execution? Sabrina suddenly began to wonder whether Dunder had been laughing for a purpose other than pleasing Chi’s new king.

“Very well then, you leave me no choice.”

In one fluid movement, Dawson reached within his lilac robes and unsheathed his knife, a knife he had been carrying since his first hunt beyond the walls. He proceeded to yank Dunder towards him using a tuft of his greasy hair. Dunder remained wide-eyed with raw trepidation. Tears began brimming in his eyes as the purple veins on the sides of his head became visible.

“Please Dawson-“

Dawson tightened his grip on Dunder’s hair and then applied a lot of force in yanking it. Dunder let out a pained moan.

“I am your king…you will refer to me as your king…you will treat me as your king and you will respect me like a what Dunder? Mmmmh? You will show me respect like a what Dunder!”

“A king…a king, you are Chi’s king…please, stop…”

Sabrina brought her palm to cover her mouth, perhaps it would have been wiser to cover her eyes instead. Gasps filled the chamber as Dawson reached for Dunder’s tongue inside his mouth. Appalled screams from the elders mixed with Dunder’s screams of despair blared through the air as Dawson butchered Dunder’s tongue clean off. One of the guards hurled his dinner as Dunder’s halved tongue hit the ground with a silent thud. Trembling as a result of wrenching pain and the horror he had just undergone, Dunder fell on the ground face forward to examine his tongue. It was like he could not come to terms with what had just transpired.

“Get used to that position Dunder because that is what your king demands, submission…”

Dawson, suddenly crazed, whipped around to face the elders and dropped his fist on the table with a resounding bang.

“Kneel before your king!”

In perfect unity, all the elders slid from their seats and kneeled before the king of Chi. Only Sabrina stood her ground. Noticing this, Dawson charged towards her in swift steps, callously stepping over Dunder’s trembling body on the ground.

“As the sovereign ruler of Chi, I hereby execute Sabrina Katana on the account of treason. She will burn in the courtyard at dawn.”

Sabrina, in utter shock, swept her glassy eyes across the chamber. Not one soul quipped to defend her, not one soul deemed her worthy of life. As the two palace guards dragged her out of the chamber, a realization dawned on her; Dunder’s laughter and the cold tongue lying on the ground had actually been a warning of her impending doom.

She had just been too proud to see it and now, now she would pay with her life.  

Where are you, Stephen?