Court Day
1678 Words
The book was still open on the table when Yvaine woke up. She didn't remember closing her eyes. One moment, she had been sitting at the table, staring at the illustration that had her exact face. The next moment, morning light was already slipping through the curtains.
She lifted her neck slowly. Her neck felt stiff and her arm had gone numb from the angle at which she had slept. She blinked, looked down at the open page and went still.
The illustration was still there.
Her own face looked back at her from the page. Same straight posture. Same gaze. The symbols were just as precise as the night before, arranged in a circle around the figure.
She hadn't imagined it.
She stared at it for a long moment. Then she closed the book, set it aside and went to wash her face.
By the time Maelis knocked and came in, Yvaine was already dressed and standing in front of the mirror.
"You're up early," Maelis said, setting a small tray on the table.
"I didn't sleep much," Yvaine said.
Maelis nodded, assessed the room in a single glance, and began giving Yvaine the morning's schedule.
"Court is scheduled this morning. You are expected to attend.”
Yvaine moved past her, heading toward the table. “I assumed as much.
"Court days are rarely interesting. But you'll have to sit through it."
Yvaine nodded once. “We’ll see.”
...
The court was already full when Kael led Yvaine in. Voices filled the space in low murmurs that died quickly the moment he stepped forward.
Yvaine's steps were steady. Three days in this place had shifted something in her. She had stopped flinching at the sound of footsteps in the corridor outside her door. She had stopped lying still in the dark waiting for something to happen. She had started, without meaning to, learning the sounds this place made and what they meant.
She took her seat beside him.
The room settled and Kael did not waste time.
"Begin."
The first matter was brought forward quickly. Two noble houses stood before the throne. They were tense and already speaking before they were told to.
"It is our land,” one of them insisted. “It has always been ours.”
“That is not true,” the other snapped. “You lost the claim years ago. Everyone here knows it.”
Their voices rose.
Kael watched and listened to both sides without interrupting. His expression barely changed. Then he lifted a hand once and everywhere went silent immediately.
Yvaine's eyes flicked to him for a moment. The room had gone quiet before he even finished the gesture.
"Speak one at a time,” he said, his voice pulling Yvaine back to the present.
One of the noble houses spoke first. They presented documents, including old agreements and boundaries that had been drawn and redrawn.
The other noble house countered with witnesses, claims of broken terms and unpaid debts.
When they were done speaking, Kael asked questions, just enough to make it clear that he had understood everything the first time and was simply confirming details. Then he sat back.
Yvaine leaned back slightly, studying him.
His judgment was quick and left no room for misunderstanding. The well on the land would be shared on a fixed schedule. The land boundary would be redrawn and any further disputes would be brought to Commander Deimos, not the throne, and handled accordingly.
One of the nobles, who looked displeased with Kael's judgement, stepped forward slightly.
"To you, My Lady,” he said, looking at Yvaine. “You can see this is unfair. The arrangement disadvantages my house considerably. Surely you understand—”
Yvaine didn’t move.
Kael went still beside her.
The noble continued. “You are new here. Uninfluenced by old loyalties. You can see reason where others may not.”
Yvaine tilted her head slightly. “If you believed your claim was strong,” she said calmly, “you would not need me to validate it.”
The noble blinked, not expecting that to be her response.
“You came here prepared to argue with him,” she continued, nodding once toward Kael. “Not to appeal to me.”
A small murmur rose in the court.
“You switched your approach because you are losing,” she added. “That tells me everything I need to know. If your case had merit, it would stand on its own. But it doesn’t.”
The noble’s face tightened.
She leaned back again. “So no. I don’t understand. I see exactly what he sees. His Highness's judgment is final." she said, calmly. "But since you've asked, your house controls three water sources within a day's ride of the disputed well. The other family controls none. A shared schedule doesn't disadvantage you. It inconveniences you. Those aren't the same thing."
The noble stared at her.
The court went very quiet.
Beside her, Kael had gone still. She felt it without looking at him. The noble closed his mouth. Then he bowed and stepped back.
The second noble lowered his head slightly, hiding something that looked a lot like relief.
"Next,” Kael said and the court continued.
Kael's eyes lingered on her after each judgment. But she said nothing else for the rest of the session.
The session ended shortly after. The hall cleared and only a few attendants remained.
Yvaine stood slowly, ready to leave.
"Don't do that again," Kael's voice stopped her.
She turned to look at him. His gaze on her was steady. "Don't do what?" She asked, raising a brow. "Win?"
He looked at her for a long moment, his expression giving nothing away. Then he stood and walked out.
Yvaine watched him go. She wasn't sure what he meant by that.
Just then, Rina appeared at her side almost immediately, grabbing her arm lightly.
"My Lady," she whispered. "That was either very brave or very stupid and I genuinely cannot tell which."
Yvaine started walking. "Both."
Rina stared at her for a second. Then nodded slowly. “Yes. Yes. That sounds right.”
...
The corridor outside the throne room was quieter now. Yvaine's steps were slower as she walked. Her mind was going through the morning in pieces.
The court session, the book that its words didn't make sense. What Aeron had said about his father's dungeon. She exhaled slowly. She was building a picture and she didn't fully like how interesting it was becoming.
Just then, she turned a corner without slowing and walked directly into something solid.
A hand caught her arm before she could stumble back. Her face pressed against the warm, solid chest and for a few seconds, neither of them moved. She could feel the fabric of his shirt under her palm where she had grabbed it to steady herself.
She stepped back and he let go immediately.
"Watch where you're walking," a voice said, it was Kael's. She had bumped into him.
She lifted her chin slightly. "Watch where you're standing," she replied.
His lips curved and before she could have a name for it, it was gone. He stepped past her and walked away down the corridor without another word.
She stood there. Her heart was moving too fast. She couldn't understand why, so she chose to blame it on the abruptness of the collision rather than anything else. She straightened her gown, made sure her expression was normal, and continued walking.
When she reached her chamber door, she pushed it open. Rina was already inside. She was standing in the centre of the room with the book from last night in her hand.
Yvaine slowed. Something was off.
“My Lady,” Rina said carefully, without looking up. "Where did you get this?"
"A warrior brought it," Yvaine said, stepping inside and closing the door.
Rina didn't move. Her eyes stayed on the book for a moment. Then, she slowly lifted her head and looked at Yvaine. She took slow steps toward Yvaine.
Up close, something about Rina felt different. Her usual brightness was gone. Her eyes were darker now and underneath the funny, cheerful maid that Yvaine had spent three days getting used to was someone older.
Yvaine didn't move.
Rina stopped in front of her.
"Where. Did. You. Get. This."
Yvaine held her gaze. "A warrior brought it," she said again, her voice steady.
"The maid said I requested it."
"Did you?"
"No."
Rina blinked. Her shoulders eased. Then, like someone had flipped a switch, she was back. Her shoulders dropped and her hands shifted on the book like she had just remembered she was holding it.
"Oh," she said softly.
Yvaine lifted a brow slightly. “Oh?”
Rina looked at the book. Then at Yvaine. Then, at the book again.
"My Lady." Her voice had dropped to a whisper. "This book has been locked in the restricted section of the palace library for as long as anyone can remember."
Yvaine didn't speak.
"No one is allowed to touch it," she added. "Not even His Highness.
"Then why does it have my face on one of the pages?" Yvaine asked.
Rina looked up and hesitated.
Yvaine crossed the space, took the book from her and opened it, already flipping through the pages to where she had stopped the night before. She turned past the dense text, diagrams, and strange markings, searching for the page with no text. The page with the illustration.
She found it.
But it was blank.
She turned back one page and forward again. The surrounding pages were exactly as she remembered. But the illustration was gone. There was no figure. No symbols. Nothing but old yellowed paper.
Rina looked at the page Yvaine was holding open. Then she looked at Yvaine.
"It was there last night," Yvaine said. "I saw it this morning."
Rina said nothing. But her eyes dropped to the book in Yvaine's hands and she took one small step back, like she needed distance from it.
- Writer
