The spy

"Kill her!"

"Kill her!"

"Kill her!"

Those were the words chanted by the people present at the trial ground.

They chanted it repeatedly, loudly, angrily as though they would not be heard clearly if they didn't.

As though they would not be heard by their King, who was seated on his high throne, seething with a hardly-controlled angry aura.

Whereas the council of Alphas and elders seated below his throne at both sides, the Alphas on the right and the Elders on the left looked up to the King in fearful anticipation of what the King, who had his eyes trained on the girl bound in chains at the centre of the courtroom, would do.

“Pl…please… Please…” The chained girl pleaded.

She was covered from head to toe in bruises and could barely stand on her two feet, much less talk properly.

"Pl…please, my king," She pleaded crookedly before coughing blood out violently from her mouth.

"Please… I'm no spy…It is all a lie," She cried out, struggling against the chains that bound her hands and legs together.

Immediately after she spoke, an elder of the council furiously stood to his feet and exclaimed, "Lies…Lies, my King," He pointed an accusing finger at her while facing the King as he continued, "This b***h tells lies. She was caught in the act of sending out information concerning our kingdom to the outside world. She would have succeeded in sending the message if it weren't for our sharp discernment."

“N…no m…my King, that’s not true…I…I didn't… I'm no spy…." The girl shook her head in denial as tears streamed down her face.

She wished deep down that someone, anyone, would believe her and would come to her aid.

But no one… not a single person was willing to come to her aid.

Nobody would listen to her nor help her out.

She knew that no matter how much she denied being a spy, they would not believe her because she was indeed caught in the act.

She regretted it now.

She regretted it all.

She deeply regretted listening to him and doing his bidding.

If only...

If only she hadn't listened to him and succumbed to the fear and threats, she would not be in her current situation.

If only she had refused firmly to do his bidding, then perhaps, she could have escaped this tragic turnout. But she knew that it was all wishful thinking and that she was given no choice.

It was either she did as told or her family's life; at that time, she could think of no other way out but to do as told.

However, if she had known that it would come to this, she wouldn't have yielded and instead tried to find a way out.

But it was too late now because who would believe her words now?

Who among these people will believe her if she says she was actually forced to do it, that it was against her wish, that she was forced to do it?

She knew no one would; hence all she could do was to keep denying the charges and hopeful she would not be sentenced to death.

That's all she could ever wish for now.

Resolving to her fate, she quietly whispered with much agony, "Please, my king, I'm not a spy…I swear on my life that I'm…" but she was cut off by the sharp, angry words of the Elder that seemed to be dead set to get her executed.

"Shut your stinking, rotting mouth! The Queen took you in with open arms and allowed you to dwell in our midst despite our being against allowing strangers among us. We overlooked that and allowed you in, not knowing you were working for the enemy and plotting against us. She treated you as her own and cared for you even more than she did for her people. Because of this, there had been some disagreement within the palace and court. Because of you, we now face the danger of the enemy knowing every one of our strategies. If only the Queen had listened to us to get rid of you when we were against your staying here, all this would not have happened. I blame the Que…."

"SILENCE!" The King's angry outburst cut the Elder off.

The girl shook in fear and lowered her head, not daring to raise it in fear of what would become of her if she did now that the King had finally spoken after she was brought before the court.

It was not only the girl that shuddered from the sudden outburst of the King, everyone present did, and before one knew it, there was complete silence in the court.

It was as though the room that was filled with angry shouts and protests of the people a few minutes ago was just an illusion.

Everywhere was so quiet that if a pin were to be dropped at that moment, everyone would hear it fall.

Everyone except the girl turned to look in the direction of the King only to see that he was looking at the Elder with an angry gaze as though he would pounce on him the next minute.

Everyone held their breath and traced their gazes to the Elder, who was visibly shaking as he had also noticed the King's angry gaze on him.

Everyone, including him, wondered what was happening and what could have triggered the King to make such outbursts against him.

Because it was apparent that the King's command was directed towards him and not the girl who was supposed to be at the receiving end of it.

"My…My King… I…” The elder stammered in fright.

"What an insolent!" The King glared at him with so much anger.

"My…My King… I… I beg your pardon, but I don't know what I may have done to incur your wrath," The Elder stammered in total confusion.

"Is that so? Then I dare you to complete that statement of yours!"