I am Reborn through Revenge

Slim chance

Have you ever found yourself drowning in a big ocean and you think you wouldn’t make it out alive? Then out of nowhere someone, maybe a diver comes to save your life? Have you ever fallen inside a cage filled with large crocodiles and you think you would get eaten, but then you closed your eyes and nothing happened? Then you opened your eyes to know why you haven’t been eaten and only to find out that the crocodiles are not hungry?

This was exactly how I felt when Brant said he would stand in my defense. I didn’t see that coming. It wasn’t even within the realm of possibility for me. I didn’t see why Brant or any of the Knight would stand in my defense when it was their fellow Knight that I had slain.

Nightwinder narrowed his gaze at him, shocked. “Brant, are you sure about this?” he asked. His eyes were steady.

“Yes. I am sure about this, Your Highness!” he said and bowed.

In my heart, I would have accused Knight Brant and Prince Nightwinder of conniving to work something out against me. I mean how could this be happening? How can Brant as a Knight above all persons chose to stand in my defense? It doesn't make sense.

But everything changed when I saw the Queen’s face. Her usual expression— her fake smile— was no longer there. It was all gone. She regarded Brant as though she would want him to shut up. It appeared to me that she didn't see it coming too. Which begs the question: why would Knight Brant want to help me alone? Does it mean he wasn't working with anyone?

I shifted my gaze to Princess Diane. Her lips were parted and her eyes were fixed at Brant as well, probably accessing him. Then Prince Young with his amber eyes shot Brant a kind of nasty look.

Night and Brant traded a glance for a while but Brant didn’t look away. It seemed like he had no fear. I wondered where the courage had come from (to defend me gallantly in front of his boss, Nightwinder). He looked back at the Prince with almost the same energy Nightwinder looked at him with. Night turned his head to his mother. She beckoned at him by nodding her head. It was something I understood as “Continue, son. Just do as you desire."

Night peered back to Knight Brant, the corners of his cheek drew a line. I knew he was angry and surprised at the same time. “You, Knight Brant, acknowledge the fact that anything you say here must be the truth and nothing but the truth?” Night asked.

“I do.”

“You acknowledge that you are standing in the defense of the Prince who had killed our Knight and whatever you say here must coincide with whatever the Prince must have said or not said yet?”

“I do.”

“Then I believe that you admit the fact that if you are caught lying to me or you are caught abetting the prosecution of the Prince then you. . . you must surely suffer the same fate with him. Which means death will be your penalty.”

Brady didn’t waste time in his replies. “ I do,” he said again, his voice calm and resolute.

“Then I presume I should start asking you questions. Where were you the night Simon was killed?” he asked him.

“I was in the woods, just like every other Knight.”

“And what were you doing?”

“I was hunting.”

“Hunting alone?”

“Nope.”

“Oh? If you weren’t hunting alone, it means you kind of saw when Simon was murdered. So you have to be with some Knights as well. So, where are the rest?” Nightwinder asked. He chewed on his lips.

“I was hunting with the rest but we split up when we spotted a deer in a shooting range," he said. "I shot it and I injured the deer but it escaped with the arrow. The three of us then decided to split up and make a random search in the bush. On my way searching for the injured deer, I heard noises. So I ran towards the area in the woods I thought the sound had come from. That was when I saw someone in all shades of Black trying to fight the Prince. Trying to kill him.” Knight Brant narrated.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure if Brant was there but this was exactly how it happened. But if he was there, why didn’t he interfere? I was surprised he saw this much but yet didn't do anything. Something wasn’t just right, I thought. In fact, everything at the moment does not feel right. I was still trying to figure out why Brant would defend me after hearing what his punishment would be if he was caught lying. So why would he take the risk?

“What did you do exactly when you saw him fighting him?”

He didn’t reply to the questions immediately, he waited for what seem like few seconds before he said, “Nothing. I did nothing.” Brant looked down and avoided the Prince's gaze.

“Bravo,” Night said and clapped his hands (A short clap). “You saw them and you did nothing. So how do you think we are going to believe that it wasn’t the Prince that killed him?”

“It was the Prince that killed him but it wasn’t the Prince that caused it. It was all Simon’s fault.”

“How so?”

“Because, because the Prince begged him not to fight him but he insisted and attacked him first.”

“How did you know this?” Night asked, he crossed his hands on his chest.

“His voice was loud and clear. I could hear Knight Simon threatening him with words. Told him that he would surely kill him. I think the fight had something to do with the arrow shooting duel they had the other time.”

“Oh!” Night said. He nodded and nodded and then began to laugh like crazy. “You are clever, Knight Brant. Have you been paid to do this?” he asked.

“I beg your pardon?” Brant narrowed his gaze at the Prince. His manner of answering questions really amazed me. I never thought that he would be that brave because he had a harmless look. Though the first time I saw him, there was something about him that I couldn’t describe.

I was dumbfounded and couldn't help but look at Knight Brant defending me. And I couldn't even utter a word to help him out. Maybe I had been too shocked to do so.

“It doesn’t make sense to me. I’m still working on connecting the dots of your part of the story with that of the Prince.”

“What’s there to connect?” I asked. I finally spoke out after a long silence.

Everyone shot me a glance. I could see that knight Brant had been asked too many questions already so he needed a rest. “What Knight Brant told you was the same thing I told you before. Knight Simon kept malice for me. He came to kill me. If he had come there to hunt like the other Knights, why wasn’t he putting on his uniform? Why was he dressed in a different kind of attire from the rest of the Knights? It means that he simply had an ulterior motive and it is a wonder to me why you have failed to acknowledge this simple analogy. Or does it mean you just don’t want to listen to my side of the story?”

“Not like that but. . .?”

“But what?” I interrupted him immediately, my voice was high. “But what, Night? Or you are this tasty to see me dead?” I asked. We stared at each other for a while. He didn't know what to say.

The Queen cleared her throat. “You don’t address the crown Prince like that,” she said. “You have to accord him with respect as you would accord the King himself if he was here. He is representing the King and since he is representing the King, everything he says is final. Understood?” she narrowed her gaze toward me. I refused to answer the question.

Night smiled, and one corner of his cheek furrowed. “Knight Brant, I think you should fall back to the line. You have been able to prove NOTHING but nonsense.”

I could see as Brant chewed on his lips angrily, and hesitated for a while before falling back to line without saying a word. Night drew a scroll from his pocket and opened it. Then began to read. “I, Prince Nightwinder, the crown Prince of Zahrin have found Prince Anon guilty of killing Knight Simon. Therefore, on this premise, I sentence him, Anon, to death.” He wrapped the scroll. “You may take him away.”

I knew that was the end. I felt alone, I looked around, I wanted to see something that would comfort me. Or maybe someone. I thought I would see Brad. Since he was one person who had always been there for me in my lonely times. But he was nowhere to be found. My gaze fell on Marie, she wasn’t looking encouraging— she was almost crying her eyes out. It was as though she would get drowned by her tears. Her blue eyes had turned pure red and her face was looking sagged and long. I had regrets when I looked into those eyes. I felt like there was a big hole in my heart that had been dug when I saw her those cute little innocent eyes crying. I wish she had stayed put. I regretted that she was there. Because she was already making the pains worse than it was already.

Who would I now look up to? Who would comfort me at this point of distress? When I realized that there was nothing else to see, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Tears rolled down slowly from my eyes. I had given up. I was waiting for the guards to drag me out and kill me. There was nothing else that could be done.

It was over Anon. It was over, I told myself.

“Stop!” A loud voice screamed out of nowhere. Where could that have come from?

Immediately, every guard there began to kneel starting from the ones close to the fence. When I peered through the cluster of confusion, I was shocked at whom I saw. My eyes couldn’t believe this.