Doris POV
Jack scoffed as he turned to the guard.
“You heard him; bring her to the courtroom,” Jack ordered as he followed William out of the prison.
I couldn’t believe they moved the trial to nightfall; relief flooded through me because I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to make it till morning. I struggled to get to my feet; my leg was sore from Jack smashing it multiple times. I felt lightheaded from the amount of blood I’d lost.
The guard held my arm firmly in his grip and helped me walk out of the prison and toward the courtroom. I was thankful that the palace was quiet and not many were walking around and able to see me. That is until we reached the courtroom.
The courtroom was filled with the royal family and the ladies of the palace. A few maids, and servants, including Mr. Carson, were standing off the side. As we entered, all eyes turned toward me. I felt the heat rising into my cheeks and my heart racing against my chest as I had everyone’s close attention.
The room fell silent as I walked down the center and toward the front of the room. William stood near the podium; Jack sat in the front row along with Luna Queen Cara and Lady Grace.
I caught Daniel’s eyes who were sitting on the opposite side of the courtroom, but still in the front row, with Martin. They both stood as I entered; their eyes laced with worry.
Daniel’s eyes widened as he gathered my bruised and beaten appearance. He glanced around the courtroom, trying to figure out which of his family members, or guards, had done this to me. I could see a flash of fury in his eyes.
I wanted to tell him that I was alright, but I couldn’t utter the words. Even when I was close enough for him to hear, I still had no strength to try to speak.
William motioned for me to take a seat near him at the podium. The guard dropped me off at the seat and I slumped as I sat. Every ounce of my body was in severe pain, and I couldn’t hold myself up any longer.
I caught Jack’s eyes who were staring at me intently, a sly smile crossing his lips. He knew what he did to me, and he was getting a rise out of it.
“So, what have you decided?” Alpha King Charles asked, standing from his spot next to the queen.
I noticed that Luna Queen Cara was staring at me, her eyes icy and drilling into me.
William glanced over at me and then looked amongst his family.
“Doris will not be charged for attempted murder,” William announced.
The courtroom erupted in gasps as they all stared at him in shock. Luna Queen Cara placed her hand on her chest as though she was astonished by the verdict; her eyes tore from me and stared directly at William with such dismay.
“Pardon?” Cara gasped.
“The soup wasn’t meant for Lady Melody,” William informed them. “It was intended for the queen.”
This made Cara gasp even louder as she stood to her feet in a quick motion.
“That’s even worse!” Cara cried out. “She tried to kill me!!”
“It wasn’t Doris who put the flower in the soup,” William announced.
His eyes glazed around the courtroom until they found who they were searching for; they landed on a small woman that stood sheepishly from her seat in the center of the room.
Peony?
I remembered the last time I saw Peony; her hand was cut pretty badly. She said she cut her hand in the kitchen and I stepped in to take her place during Luna Queen Cara’s birthday party. She looked terrified and I thought it was because she was afraid of getting in trouble for not working for the party.
I didn’t know Peony that well, but I didn’t think she would be capable of trying to kill the queen. Why on earth would she do such a thing? What would her motive be?
It didn’t take me long to realize her motive; she glanced up at William with her misty eyes. There was something in her eyes I didn’t recognize. I glanced up at William and he was staring back at her with dismay written across his face.
Were they sleeping together?
I felt a weird ping in the pit of my stomach as she approached the front of the courtroom.
“You?” Cara asked, eyeing Peony with a death gaze.
Peony lowered her head.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, hardly audible but the silence of the courtroom amplified her voice. “I put the flower in the soup. But I didn’t know it was poisoned. I thought the flower itself would have been obvious and Luna Queen Cara wouldn’t have eaten it. I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt. I just wanted to ruin the party and framed Melody.”
“That’s absurd,” Cara broke through the silence of the courtroom. “Who is this girl?”
“A maid,” Peony spoke, addressing the queen. She curtsied slightly. “I was also William’s lover before Ms. Harford became his lady.”
Another round of gasps escaped the shocked faces around the courtroom. Everyone’s eyes were glued on Peony; nobody dares to speak.
William tensed at the word “lover”; I could tell he was trying to hide his grimacing face.
“I’m Sorry. I just wanted to get Melody away from Prince William,” Peony whispered; tears falling down her narrow features.
Cara scoffed as she turned to William.
“See what you’ve done?” Cara barked at him; he stared at her and pressed his lips together. He was biting his tongue before he said something he truly regretted. “That’s what happens when you sleep with every pretty face that crosses your path. You make jealous ex-lovers that try to kill the queen.”
“No!” Peony said, her voice echoing through the court. “I never tried to kill anyone, your majesty. That’s why I made the flower obvious.”
Luna Queen Cara rolled her eyes.
“Well, William. We know who put the flower in the soup. But who the hell poisoned it?” She barked. “Who tried to kill me?”
William was silent as he stared at Peony; she was sobbing at that point. Her hands were buried in her face; I noticed the hand she cut was still wrapped in bandages from the medic.
Had she cut her hand on purpose to get out of the kitchen? That very thought was unsettling, and I felt sick. I was already feeling dizzy and queasy because of everything going on and everything around me.
“How do we know she’s not lying?” Jack asked, standing to his feet.
His eyes never left me the entire time we were in the courtroom; I felt a chill going down my spine.
“Why would she lie about something like that?” Daniel asked, also standing.
Martin tried to get him to sit back down but Daniel shoved his hand away and stepped forward.
“It would make no sense to lie about trying to poison the queen,” Daniel stated. “Doris is innocent. I knew it from the beginning. Martin knew it, and William knows it too.”
“You seem to feel strongly about this, Daniel,” Cara said from the other side of the courtroom.
Daniel met her eyes and nodded his head respectfully to his mother.
“I feel strongly for my friend, Doris. She’s kindhearted and genuine. She would never cause or wish harm on anybody,” he answered.
Everyone looked taken aback by his words; I felt a smile tugging at my lips as we met eyes.
“Didn’t realize you two have become… friends…” William muttered, staring Daniel down.
Daniel swallowed hard, but he nodded his head.
“She’s one of the kindest people I have met. She wouldn’t do this…” Daniel stated, keeping his voice strong.
This only made Jack laugh.
“Pathetic,” Jack muttered. “The maid got all the gentlemen flustered, and she says she hasn’t slept with any of them.”
“Excuse me?” Cara asked, shooting her eyes at each of her sons before landing her icy gaze on me. “You had sex with my sons?”
“No!” Daniel, William, Martin, and I said at the same time.
Lady Grace shot Martin an astonished glance and he cleared his throat once he noticed her stares.
“None of us slept with her,” Martin said, breaking his eye contact with a now worried Grace.
“Enough of this,” William said, his voice booming through the court and silencing the murmurs. “There’s more I found out and we are running short on time.”
Cara folded her arms across her chest and stared at William, curling her lip up like she was disgusted by his appearance.
“What more did you find?” Alpha King Charles asked, his voice calm.
“The soup also had traces of manchineel. Which is one of the rarest plants in the kingdom. It’s only grown in the North; usually, it can only be found on the black market for sale. Once digested, it can be deadly,” William explained.
More gasps erupted through the courtroom.
The North?
I shuddered at the thought; as did everyone else.
The North was the most dangerous territory in the kingdom. Rogue packs that didn’t submit to the royal family roamed that area. If anyone from the royal family were to go to the North, they would have a target on their back. Nobody, especially the royals, was safe there. Even though they technically ruled the North, along with the rest of the kingdom, everybody knew that if they went to the North, they most likely wouldn’t be coming back.
“So, whoever poisoned the soup, must have gotten it from the black market,” William finished explaining.
The courtroom was silent as everyone processed that information.
“How does this help?” Luna Queen Cara asked. “It’s not like we can go to the North and find out who bought the poison.”
Everyone had their attention on William as he spoke.
“I’ll go,” he said, surprising everybody.
I felt even woozier as I was still bleeding; exhaustion was overwhelming me quickly.
“What?” Cara asked, her eyes widening.
“You’ll get killed,” Alpha King Charles stated.
“I don’t see any other option. Allow me to go to the North and bring justice to this kingdom,” William insisted.
There was more talking, but I couldn’t comprehend anything more being said. With the amount of blood loss and exhaustion I was feeling, I couldn’t even keep my eyes open.
I felt myself falling from my chair and onto the ground; darkness closed my vision.