Novel Full 7 A decision to make
A party containing of the first elder and a few other representatives from the temple waited in the royal court as they discussed amongst themselves in hushed voices.
The best outcome that they were hoping for today here was that Alexander condemn the actions of his father Augustus and retake the phoenix name , while hosting a fair trial for the crime of his father killing the priest and sentencing him if found guilty.
However , this was clearly a very farfetched wish , as the Draco family was a single entity. Alexander respected his father so much that he would rather kill himself than let anyone touch a hair on his parents. Hence the chance of him denouncing his father’s actions were near 0 .
The worst case scenario that could happen was that , Alexander would refuse to listen to reason and all negotiations would break down as there would be only a war looming over everyone..
The temple knew that in the matter somewhere it was Roygar who was at fault and that the common public also saw this reasoning. Him asking to kill the second prince , the heavenly talented one at that , just because he might awaken the forbidden power someday was not enough reason to demand for his life. Hence , Augusts’s reaction to kill him , although extreme , was actually rational.
However should the temple accept this matter , then it would taint its image as one that bullied the masses to fulfill selfish vendetta. Although the first elder despised Roygar for his actions , he also did not want the matter to taint the honest temple. Hence wanted a compromise in this negotiation today , one that avoided bloodshed.
Everyone became silent once Leif and Alexander entered the room as the others stood up from their seats and bowed to the king.
Following the two was Queen Sierra , Young Ronan In her arms , as she glared at everyone in the room on her way to the seat beside Alexander.
Little Ronan was also looking curiously at the men assembled with his gaze.But being a shy little baby he would avert his gaze whenever someone looked him in the eye, hiding behind her mother’s drape.
The moment the queen was seated , everyone took their seats again as the court was formally in session. Alexander already had slightly red eyes as he looked across the room , sending shivers down the spines of the tempe members as they understood that the king was not in a very ‘ listening ‘ mood today.
Alexander said in a calm yet commanding voice” What does the temple want? “
The first elder gulped a bit of his saliva as he could feel the pressure radiated by Alexander . The king was the strongest warrior in the country and his killing intent was not something a priest from the temple could withstand.
Nervously he said ” My king , your father went above the line … “.
A dagger passed by the first elder as it grazed his cheek and hit the wall behind him. It was the doing of a shadow , someone who was present here in the room , yet not visible to ordinary senses. One of the loyal subjects of Alexander , someone who knew his king well.
The first elder stifled as Alexander said in a deep voice ” Choose your next words carefully , Elder “.
The first elder could not beleive the balls Alexander had to threaten him like this inside the royal court infront of soo many people present , yet he could do absolutely nothing about it , as he was unconsciously shaken to the bone. One wrong word from his mouth and he won’t be able to speak ever again!
MADMEN! A FAMILY OF MADMEN ! thought the first elder as he shakily said.
” My king , i know that Roygar made a mistake when he said that the second prince might become a threat to the nation , the prince is a royal born , and a talent that the world has seldom seen. Yet , killing a high priest of the temple over this seems …. ( gulps in nervousness) extreme to me … “. The first elder said , his hands now trembling .
Alexander casted a bored glance on the first elder and motioned for Leif to speak , who said ” Like you said elder ,High Priest Roygar crossed a line there , according to the laws of the kingdom , any attempt verbal/non-verbal on the life of the royal family is charged by treason and instant death by the law set by the king of the fire nation , hence Chief Augustus was right in his actions to met out justice! “.
The first elder was tongue tied after listening to this argument . The law book was something that Alexander had made when the nation was founded and it was blessed by the temple itself . With one of the original copies being with the temple head , if what Leif said was true then the Church had no moral grounds to hold the actions of Augustus accountable.
However , now the ball was in the temple’s court , if they still press on the matter and hold Augustus accountable then it would mean that the temple bended the rules according to their own convenience and that law and order meant nothing to them. While , accepting this fact was akin to admitting that the Royal family was right , giving no room for the temple to create conflict.
This was a masterstroke made by Leif , who added the verbal/non-verbal part to the law , although the first elder did not know it , should the temple claim that the law never said that . He would paint them as liars and gain sympathy from the masses. While if the church went with it , they would already loose the initiative to pick a fight.
It was a loose – loose situation for the temple.