Valerian, The Legendary

229 Ploy Successful. (2)

Morgana stood on the city wall, with her arm bleeding from the attack she took to save Zeenat, her eyes were completely black, this happened whenever she cast shadow magic. Her right hand was clasped around the hilt of a broken sword. She used a simple ordinary sword in the battle and the weapon broke during her last counter.

Zeenat was standing at the city wall beside Morgana when she saw a magical beast’s wing was attacked by Akhlakh. Everyone turned their head to look at Akhlakh as the beast let out a deafening cry.

Morgana shouted, “Your Highness, do not attack that beast.” she rushed towards Akhlakh in a blink.

However, it was too late, the beast looked down on Akhlakh and let out a streak of lightning that passed through the void and landed on the human in a blink. The intensity of this attack was so strong that it left a hole in the ground. After the attack, the beast did not waste time and flew away, but Akhlakh stood in his spot.

Morgana was just a few feet away from him when she stopped. She clasped her mouth and her body shivered, as tears emerged from her eyes. She fell to her knees, her expression was that of grief.

She looked back at Zeenat, who was standing with a shocked expression, and shook her head slightly. The lady raised her head to the sky, yet the corner of her eyes leaked with tears of grief. She forced herself to stay calm and then limped her way to Morgana.

Akhlakh has turned into a statue of ash. His body was burned from the inside out. Zeenat shivered, and her body was about to fall when Morgana held her hand and supported her. The soldiers all saw this scene and felt emotional, after all, they had lost a few people today.

Morgana said, “Call the Medicus present here, and have them bring His highness to the palace.”

She looked at Zeenat and asked, “Your Highness, we should get back, we need to inform the family about this.”

.....

Zeenat nodded and with the help of the young girl, she came down the city wall. Morgana portrayed her role as a responsible character very well. The soldiers admired her for her prowess in battle and then how she was compassionate to the people who treated her like a curse.

None of the soldiers were unknown of the fact that the status of the Princess was just a facade. Although they did not talk about it they all gossiped among themselves. Morgana led Zeenat down the city wall, and she also helped her get on the carriage.

They were too tired to ride the mounts. As the carriage moved towards the palace, Zeenat began to lose her composure, while Morgana sat beside her silently. The two people were siblings. In reality, Morgana did not want to kill Akhlakh, but he provoked a Lightning swallow, it was his own fault.

Morgana wished to have at least one person from the family beside her and that was why she protected Zeenat at the cost of injuring her hand. It did not mean she had any love for them, even if Zeenat was not hurtful to her, but indifference between the two never allowed her to develop any emotions.

She was only looking at things from a political point of view. If a real family member supports her, then she will be able to pacify the loyalists. Otherwise, the changes in the government will definitely ignite a rebellion. She did not wish for that to happen.

…

Valerian confirmed that no trace of intervention was present in the room and he went out in the same way that he entered the room. He made sure that the royal Medicus was taken in as a slave by Silk.

The cause of death was to be investigated and the Medicus would hold significant sway in this matter. He wanted to help Morgana as much as he could. He left the room but he was still on the palace premises.

It did not take long for Zeenat and the other shadow protectors to arrive back at the palace, where they were greeted by the Royal Medicus. The old man was waiting for the people at the gate, he said, “Your Highness, please prepare yourself.”

Zeenat and Morgana exchanged a glance and the former asked, “What is it? Tell me.”

The royal Medicus bowed his head and said, “His Excellence, and His Highness Ameer, are no longer with us.”

Zeenat shivered and Morgana held her arm while the latter asked, “What nonsense are you spewing, Medicus Hadem, do you understand the consequences of this babble?”

The man did not raise his head and said, “Your Highness, Please follow me, and you will know if it is true or not. However, prepare yourself.”

Morgana held Zeenat’s hand and she was also shivering slightly. She asked in a low voice, “Your highness…”

The lady nodded her head with some effort as her eyes had already turned red. The ladies held each other’s hand as they followed the Medicus. They were followed by some officials who had been notified by the Medicus.

After all, the demise of the emperor and the first prince was not a small matter. Plus the court was filled with loyalists. It did not take long for them to reach the room. The Medicus stood at the side and said, “Please.”

Morgana and Zeenat held their hands tightly, the palms were slippery, and Zeenat did not know if the sweat belonged to her or the young lady, the moment the two people stepped inside the room, the sense of being the only one left in the original family hit Zeenat so hard that her legs almost gave in.

At this moment, Morgana held her shoulders and called out, “Aunt.”

The word sounded alien to Zeenat, but Morgana had been very diligent with her practice. Too bad half the effort was wasted with Akhlakh’s death. Zeenat could not hold it in and hugging Morgana, she started bawling her heart as the scene in front of her became clearer.

Ameer’s head was looped off to the corner of the room, with Jamal lying on the ground holding his blood-smeared sword. Behind the two their shadow protectors were also lying in the puddles of blood.

The officials also stepped inside the room and they were shocked. One of them asked, “Royal Medicus, did you derive the cause of death?”

Hedam, replied, “Yes, Sire.”

Morgana asked, “What is it?”

The old man sighed and said, “His Excellency died from a poison that has been coursing his veins for a period of fifteen years. This was a conspiracy. The culprit is his Shadow Protector, Snare, I found a handful of the same poison on his person.

I speculate that his highness Ameer found out about this and then he came here to debunk the traitor. However, Snare must have brainwashed his Excellency about the Eldest Prince being the culprit. The two broke out in a battle, look at the traces of battle they both have on their bodies.

While this happened, Snare took advantage and killed Riyad, His Highness attacked him and killed Snare, but his excellency interpreted it as a threat and he killed Prince Ameer. The high-intensity battle triggered the poison in his body, which in turn killed him.”

The people were silent, they were thinking about the possibilities of all this, and the more they thought the more they found it was all possible. Jamal was not the most loving father in the world, and Ameer was a righteous son, who stood at the side of his father in every and any situation.

However, one person shook his head and said, “A shadow protector cannot betray his master. This has never occurred.”

Morgana said, “If this was a pre-planned conspiracy, then anything is possible. The mind can be altered and it is also possible that this certain Shadow Protector could have been a traitor from the time before he even joined the shadows.”

A lot of people were surprised by this reasoning. Morgana did not allow the people to respond and said, “This is not the time to discuss all this. Minister Shua, please arrange for someone to take care of this place and bring them to the farewell hall. The shadow protectors can take their own.”

The minister nodded and said, “Yes, your highness.”

The commanding aura that Morgana displayed had taken the minister by surprise and thus he replied in affirmation. The princess did not pay them too much mind and said, “Aunt, we shall leave, they needed to be tidied up before we bid them farewell. You are the eldest one now, you have to stand up for the family.”

Zeenat raised her head and calmed down, she then wiped her tears and said, “You are a strong one, my child. I wish I had your strength.”

Morgana shook her head and said, “You have always had my strength at your call, it will always be like this.”

The people did not expect the relationship between the two to turn so amiable, but this was the truth, humans forget their adversaries in times of tragedy.