SCULPTURED DESIRE

The court grew tense upon Zyran's word, Lord Uriah came forward.

"What do you think you are doing, Prince Zyran? Are you challenging His Majesty?" Uriah said.

"Have I?" Zyran turns to glare at him. Stay out of this if you don't want my blade cutting through your neck.

"Bring me my wife!!" Zyran said, and in the next seconds, he was surrounded by guards pulling out their swords at him.

Ezekiel handed Freya to one of his men while he also pulled his sword out against the men surrounding Zyran.

Ali and Aaron were also with Zyran, ready to fight if it got down to it.

"Father, please stop all this. We can't afford to fight amongst ourselves it's ridiculous," Novalie said.

"Your majesty, we can't watch Prince Zyran get his way he dares to threaten the court. He should be sentenced," Lord Eric said, fueling the already burning furnace.

"Yes your Majesty he should be sentenced the other ministers agreed"

In no time, someone's head came rolling on the floor, blood splattering on the cold floor.

There were gasps and shrieks of fear amongst the crowd.

Zyran had cut the head of one of the ministers. Which landed with a thud on the ground.

"I told you to bring Amira to me!!" Zyran said ruthlessly.

"He has lost it," Royal Consort Leyla said, her eyes widening.

The crowds scattered the maids running about to safety. The guards surrounded the royal family.

"Step back or we attack!!" Uriah said pointing his sword at Zyran.

"I would rather not," Zyran said, and they went full-on fighting. They royal family was lead away by some guards.

Blood splatter chaos was unavoidable everything was a mess.

Nightfall and everything finally died down, Zyran was on his kneels in front of the court as he knelt in front of Amira's body, which everyone had claimed was her.

She was badly bruised, unrecognizable, it was so bad her stomach had been ripped open and the child in her womb dead.

Tears refused to come out he only blinked back and stood up on his feet as the king's courier came out with an order from the king.

"Here's the king's order, the courtier shouted above his voice.

"The king has ordered Prince Zyran to be stripped of all his titles and be taken hostage at the Cold Palace for his rebellious act. He has pardoned him because of the country's victory and his loss therefore, he won't be sentenced to death.

Zyran remained silent, his gaze fixed on the white fabric enveloping the lifeless body lying on the floor.

The courier, trembling with both reverence for the prince and fear for his safety, retreated a step before withdrawing completely.

As Zyran lifted his head, his eyes locked onto the closed door and the empty palace guard post. Uriah stood motionless, his sword aimed at Zyran, flanked by his men.

"You should take the initiative to leave while you are still pardoned, or I won't think twice about killing you," Uriah said.

" Father don't" Danielle said stepping forward.

"Danielle, what are you doing here? Leave immediately," Uriah said, glaring at his daughter.

Danielle shook her head and took a step forward, her voice filled with conviction. "No, Father Zyran is in despair. We cannot just dismiss him."

"Why are you advocating for him?" Uriah confronted his daughter.

"No one is to blame for Amira's death. We never anticipated her escape from prison," Danielle explained.

"Why would Her Highness have to escape, to begin with? Why's no one explaining what happened ?" Ali said from where he stood.

Aaron also directed his eyes towards Danielle in support of Ali's words.

"I'm afraid Zyran won't be able to handle it. It's complicated," Danielle said, trying to convey her fake regret through her expression as she looked at Zyran, who remained on his knees.

"Tell us what happened," Ezekiel demanded, growing impatient.

Danielle let out a heavy sigh before speaking.

"Well, it's hard to believe, but just a few days ago, we were all rejoicing over our victory in the war. Then suddenly, we discovered that Amira had been caught sneaking around with a servant boy," Danielle explained.

"What?!" Ali exclaimed, clearly taken aback.

"Be careful with your words!" Aaron warned, pointing his sword at Danielle, while Uriah did the same to him.

"What kind of nonsense are you talking about now?" Ezekiel inquired.

Danielle insisted, "I'm not just making this up everyone witnessed their intimate behavior."

Zyran remained in a trance-like state, not uttering a single word.

"That's absurd, Danielle, Amira is not capable of such behavior. She would never do something like that," Freya said, emerging from a corner. Her steps were slow and hesitant, and her eyes reflected sadness.

"That's what we all believed, but what can we do? She was caught in the act even the maid can attest to it," Danielle said.

"She was pregnant Danielle, she was expecting her's and Zyran's baby happily she was excited about breaking it to Zyran..."

"Did she not tell Zyran that she was pregnant? She knew the child wasn't his and was planning to elope with the servant boy from the party," Danielle twisted the truth.

"What nonsense are you spouting now? I feel like you're up to no good, Danielle," Freya said, her eyes glaring at Danielle.

"How is it my fault that Amira wasn't satisfied with her husban_," Danielle was saying when Zyran interrupted.

"Enough! I have heard enough," Zyran stood up, causing the swords to point at him. As he turned to leave, Ezekiel's words stopped him.

"How do you intend to bury her?"

"She's not my Amira," Zyran told him before completely leaving the scene.

As she regained consciousness, she found herself in an unfamiliar room. Her parched throat prevented her from speaking, so she lay quietly on the bed, observing her surroundings with wide-eyed wondering about.

The door slowly creaked open, and an elderly woman shuffled into the room. Her gaze followed the movements of the visitor as she navigated around the space.

Approaching the bed, the elderly woman noticed her wakefulness.

"You're finally awake!"

Confused, she squinted at the woman's words.

"She's awake," the woman declared, turning towards the door as it opened once more, revealing a man entering the room.

"Xi Feng! My child, you're awake. Oh, my dear child," the man exclaimed.

Amira confusion deepened as she struggled to comprehend the situation.

"Where...am...I?" she managed to ask, her voice barely a whisper.