Kingdom of Arzialla by Marilyn Arias (story reading txt) 📕

grabbed me by the hair and lifted me up until I was groggily up on my knees. They took my arms and cuffed my hands behind my back before bringing me up to my feet and escorting me out the dungeon.
While the guards took me through corridors of the dungeon, I kept feeling something crawling around my upper back. What a liar Kehlia was! I knew she was going to do something.
“Zel,” Kehlia whispered softly. Oh, it was her that was crawling up my back! I feel guilty now for doubting her. “Don’t say anything, just listen. I guess I made the potion a little bit too strong because I tried to get you up before the guards came and started getting nasty. You wouldn’t get up at all. I overheard them before they came, though. They said that you’re going to be on your way to a trial at the courthouse with the big guy.”
Kehlia always calls the king “the big guy” for whatever the reason may be. But anyways, normally if a crime was made there’d either be a trial made by whomever’s highest in rank in the military or they’d just receive a temporary punishment without a trial, depending on how big of a crime they committed. I’ve gone up as the judge a few times because none of the generals of the army were available to take the job and the punishments are usually not too bad. Sometimes it’d physically scar the criminal for life but it normally wouldn’t go as far as making the person mentally ill or dead. However, if the king is the judge, you know this is serious and your punishment won’t be temporary and easy to get out of. I figured I’d meet the king again. Just not in a friendly visit…
I gave a little nod, letting Kehlia know that I understood. She remained hidden in the back of my shirt and underneath my long hair. I have no clue how she’s going to get away from me without getting caught by the guards so I’m guessing she’s sticking with me until she finds the right opportunity. Only problem is that king Zysman can sense a person’s power, so he may be able to feel Kehlia’s presence. I want to ask her why she didn’t leave when she had the chance but I can’t for obvious reasons.
The guards threw me into the wagon when we exited the dungeon and within about ten minutes, I was standing in front of the main entrance of the court. The guards took me through the lobby and into some passageways before we entered the courtroom. I was seated onto a chair that sat in the middle of the room. Instead of having my hands handcuffed behind my back, the guards had my left hand handcuffed to the arm of the chair. It was relief for my right hand to be released but my left hand still had to suffer since the cuffs were tight on my wrists, unfortunately. I kept my chin up though since this is not yet the worst for me.

The room was empty while the guards stood next to the three exits of the court; the main doors that I went through to come inside, and the two that are next to the judge's desk. I sat with my legs crossed and with my chin leaning against my right hand as I waited for the room to fill up and to start the trial.
Within nearly ten minutes, people started taking their seats, representing themselves as the jury. Men from the military started arriving, getting ready for the trial to begin and to play their part. Some snuck peaks of me and whispered things about me between one another, but after that they never looked at me again.
"Zel, you need to calm down. You're shaking like mad," Kehlia whispered. That's when I noticed that my heart was beating hard and fast, while my body shook tremendously. I swallowed, telling myself to relax while I took deep breaths.
"Do you need to drink that potion again? Your aura shows that you’re nervous as can be," Kehlia whispered after a moment.
Pixies also have the ability to see people's moods and interpret their thoughts by looking at their auras. So by what she's telling me, my aura is black, which could mean my eyes are most likely as black as the devil’s eye. Perhaps that's why everyone kept looking at me. I decided to close my eyes and think of happy thoughts such as my progress in the military, fishing with my father—may he rest in peace—, and such.
The military was always my dream in life. I've always wanted to be the leader in an army and I loved being in action and helping the innocent. I fell in love with Arzialla when I arrived here after watching my only sister and father get eaten alive by Gavrils. My mother died from a miserable illness soon after having me. When I was about fifteen, when I lost my small family, I was found by an old woman named Mila and she offered me to stay under her roof as long as I worked in her shop. After a terrible accident, resulting in Mila's death, I was taken in by King Zysman when his soldiers found me outside the main gates of the Arziallan walls. My life was never the same after moving into this humongous kingdom. I was blessed to have a second and a third chance to live, as well as to be educated by a hearty man such as him. But no matter how much I think of the king as my second father, I'm scared to know how harsh he'll be with me after disobeying the law. His law.
"All stand for King Zysman!" one guard announced, interrupting my trail of thought. It took me to open my eyes to realize that I was getting close to falling asleep on the chair. I jumped and was about to stand but then I remembered that I'm handcuffed to the chair so there is no point to it. Instead I just sat up straight while leaning to one side of the chair.
I watched Zysman as he entered the room and walked over to his seat as the judge. The entire time he stared at me with disappointing eyes. It shook me…
"Don't let him bother you," Kehlia said softly. "You did nothing wrong. Chin up."
Sure, sure. Breaking the law is nothing wrong, alright...
"You may be seated," the guard said and everyone sat back down.
"Do you, General Zelimir Callaghan, swear on your own spirit that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you Goddess Syvria?" a guard asked from behind me.
When I lost my family, I prayed for a way to survive and then I met Goddess Syvria. She was the one who saved me and guided me to Arzialla. Without her guidance, I probably wouldn’t be alive at this moment. I wondered if she'll save me again if I have faith in her again...
I raised my right hand and recited, "I, General Zelimir Callaghan, swear on my own spirit to say the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me Goddess."
The king stared at me for quite a while before beginning to speak. "How are you, Zelimir?"
"Eh, my back is killing me and I'm exhausted, but I’m okay," I casually replied.
"Hm..." the king said. "Two days ago, while the Gavrils have attacked, where were you?"
"I was on my way to Acton Oberski's cottage to deliver a message to Thomoire," I replied simply.
"Did you stumble across anybody?"
I would lie and say no but I told Colonel Kazmir that I did have a human in my possession and I killed her. I shouldn't have said that, but how would I be able to hide the knife from him?
"Yes."
"Who was she?"
I looked away and quickly debated myself on whether I should make up a story or tell the truth. I need more time. "Her name was Anna."
"Really?" the king questioned, nodding his head. "What did you do after that?"
"I took her with me and Lieutenant MacMahon to Acton's cottage and had him deliver the message to Thomoire."
"Zelimir, are you going to make this difficult?" the king asked. I stayed silent as I stared at him. "I suppose so. Well, since we are speaking of Mister Oberski, let's bring him in and hear what he has to say.”
"What?" I whispered under my breath in surprise. They broke into Acton's house and abducted him to be a witness in the trial?
"He's not going to talk; they do know that, right?" Kehlia whispered.
The guards came in with Acton in a stretcher, and had him sit on the seat next to the judge. Zysman asked him if he will tell the truth but he stayed silent. He was jittery and nervous and he wouldn't take his eyes off the floor.
"Mister Oberski, are you okay?" Zysman asked. He shrugged. "Well, will you speak?"
"I don't know..." he replied, unsure.
"Well, will you answer my questions?" the king asked him.
He hesitated before replying. "Why should I? I have nothing to do with this."
His voice kept breaking, cracking from nervousness and he was so quiet that only the king could hear him.
"But you're a witness," Zysman told him. "Once you're a witness, you're part of this case."
"But I know nothing. He just came into my cottage, asked me to send my owl to deliver a message to Thomoire and then he left."
"Did he come in with someone?"
"W-well, yes," he started. I closed my eyes in thought that I'm screwed.
"Who were they?"
Acton shrugged and stuttered, "A-a man and a girl."
"Who was the girl?" Zysman asked.
He shrugged again.
"You have no clue who she was?"
Acton slightly shook his head. The king asked him what she looked like and he said that all he saw was her blond hair. Thankfully, Acton was shy enough to not give enough evidence that she was human. The king sighed and dismissed Acton from the courtroom.
"Well, that was useless," the king commented as he scratched his beard. "Is Sergeant Byrne in the courthouse?"
My eyes widened when his name was spoken. That man would say anything to anybody. Within seconds, Byrne walked into the room and sat down on the same seat that Acton was sitting on.
"How are you, Sergeant?" the king asked him.
"I'm pretty good," Byrne said with a pleasing smile.
"Good. Okay, so you saw Callaghan come into the Northern Military Dormitory after he just arrived back from delivering the message to Thomoire, correct?"
"Yep," Byrne replied, nodding.
"Mind if you show us what happened afterwards."
"Certainly," Byrne said as he touched his forehead, letting his mark glow brightly and flicked his fingers at the air. Stars and swirls of sparkling colors traveled with the wind and then came together in the middle of the room, revealing his memory of meeting me after I arrived from visiting Acton's house. It showed him following me, asking me where I've been, and saying that I should take command in the army, along with a couple questions about Anna. It was all showed like it was a video—I think that's what humans call it. If we were there to see it, without having to speak about it, this is how we elves explain what happened in history to prove anything if necessary. And we can see what happened in a more clear view. The only problem is that sometimes, like humans, we can remember things differently or we wouldn't remember things as clear as we want to. I used to wonder why they wouldn't force criminals like me