The penalty for killing a duke was equivalent to the penalty for killing a prince.
In those times, a duke could be either a fallen prince or an unchosen one.
His Majesty sat on his throne, his throat bitter with bile as the council convened. For the first time in sixty years, there were two council meetings in a single week. Something was amiss. The gods must be on the verge of war.
And when the gods waged war, the nations bore the brunt of their wrath.
King Messiah watched as they dragged in the woman—a mere maid, sobbing uncontrollably. She was adorned in the royal attire of palace maids, her markings clear evidence of her servitude to Queen Rebecca. Fury simmered beneath his composed exterior.
"A lowly servant?" Minister Eldric, the steward of the fire nation's treasury, sneered.
"Do we even need to hear her testimony for judgment?" chimed in Minister Weldon, who oversaw the nation's agriculture.
"I suggest immediate execution," General Ash, commander of the fire nation's armed forces, declared coldly.
But the woman fell to her knees, her voice cracking as she cried, "Have mercy, Your Majesty! I only did as I was told. Please, have mercy!"
The king leaned forward, intrigued. If she dared to confess, this could implicate the queen herself.
"You swear to speak the truth?" Messiah asked, his tone sharp.
"I swear it by my life and that of my child!" she cried, her trembling hands clasped together.
"Then speak." The maid hesitated, her fear evident as she began, "She... she ordered me to do it. I told her the duke was allergic, but she insisted. I'm just a lowly servant—I had no choice but to obey."
"And who gave the order?" the king asked, his gaze piercing.
"Her Majesty, the queen!" she blurted, her voice breaking, and the court erupted into chaos.
"How dare you!"
"Treason!"
"Sacrilege!"
The ministers' voices filled the hall, their outrage palpable.
"Do you have proof?" the king interjected, silencing the uproar.
The maid nodded, pulling a jade bottle from her garments—a bottle so ornate it was clearly beyond the means of a servant.
Messiah's lips twitched with amusement, though he kept his expression stern. "Summon the queen to the court," he commanded.
Queen Rebecca arrived moments later, her presence regal and commanding. She bowed with practiced grace. "Your Majesty, to what do I owe the honor of this summons after thirty years?"
The king wasted no time. "Queen Rebecca, there is a grave accusation against you. This maid claims you were involved in the murder of the duke. Is there any truth to this?"
The queen turned her sharp gaze to the maid and smiled faintly. "Do you have proof?"
The maid held up the jade bottle.
Rebecca laughed softly, pulling a similar jade pin from her hair. "A counterfeit?" she mused, holding up the pin for all to see. "This is the jade gifted to me by His Majesty on our wedding day. Who gave you that bottle, servant? Who dared use you to frame me?"
The maid froze, her resolve crumbling under the queen's icy stare. The room fell into a tense silence.
Messiah leaned back, disappointment flickering in his eyes. "You heard the queen. Do you have any defense?"
The maid broke into tears. "Your Majesty, I swear by the gods, she ordered me! Please, have mercy on me and my child!"
The king waved a hand, his interest fading. "Take her away. Queen Rebecca, do as you see fit."
The penalty for lying against a royal was severe.
The queen oversaw the punishment personally. The maid and her young daughter were brought to the gallows, their wrists bound, ropes coiled around their necks. The crowd gathered to witness justice, their murmurs echoing in the tense air.
"Face them toward each other," Rebecca ordered the guards, her voice chillingly calm.
The executioner tightened the noose around the child first, and with a sharp pull of the lever, the girl's small body was hoisted into the air. Her legs kicked desperately, her cries fading as her life ebbed away.
"M-Mama... Mu-mummy..." the child gasped, her voice breaking before her body fell limp.
The maid screamed, thrashing in despair. "No! Mercy, Your Highness! Please! She's just a child!"
But Rebecca's gaze was unyielding.
The queen took measured, elegant strides toward the woman, whose gasps for air grew weaker with every passing second. She knelt slightly, her gaze piercing and cruel as she leaned closer.
"What did you think would happen," Rebecca murmured, her voice as smooth as silk laced with venom, "when you dared to betray me?"
The woman's lips quivered, her voice barely a whisper. "W-why? W-why are you doing this?"
Rebecca tilted her head, a sly smirk curving her lips. "Why?" she echoed, her tone mockingly thoughtful. "Because it pleases me. People like you—those who forget their place—amuse me greatly. Watching the pain in your eyes... it thrills me."
She straightened, a chuckle escaping her lips, cold and devoid of warmth. "You know the funniest part? Even if you hadn't betrayed me, you would have died anyway. Your fate was sealed the moment I needed you to do my bidding."
The woman's wide, terrified eyes reflected the horror of the queen's words, but Rebecca merely shrugged, her expression one of detached amusement.
"So maybe in your next life," Rebecca added with a smirk, "come back as someone not so lowly."
Her words hung in the air like a curse, cutting through the despair as she turned and walked away, leaving nothing but silence and suffering in her wake.
The executioner stepped forward, kicking the wood beneath the maid's feet. Her body dangled, convulsing as the noose tightened around her throat.
"You vile woman!" the maid screamed. "You will suffer for this! A death so cold, by your own blood. You will know no warmth—only eternal ice!"
Rebecca flinched, an unfamiliar chill creeping into her veins.
"Silence her!" she hissed, but the maid's words lingered in the air like a curse.
The flames of her fury ignited, burning the wood to cinders and forcing the guards to retreat. Smoke and fire consumed the gallows, the heat licking at the queen's protective wall of flames.
And yet, even as life left the maid's eyes, her final words chilled Rebecca to her core.
As the flames died, the smoke thickened, and the heavens darkened ominously.
Then, through the palace walls, something stirred.
Eyes burned like embers, piercing through the shadows.
Rebecca froze, terror gripping her heart. "Impossible," she whispered.
"The duke is alive!" came the frantic announcement, echoing through the fire nation.