The Demon King’s Hero Of Light - Volume 1 Chapter 152 152 Trial Of Faith

“Aella, this feels kind of rushed,” said Alfred, looking back at the door leading back down to the dwarven kingdom that Aella had teleported them from.

The stone tablet was leaning against the wall, where the dwarves had left it. She ran her hand over the carvings gently, wondering why she needed to bother taking it back, when a thought occurred to her. She had never gotten the first carving from the old building near the northern mountains. Would the magic be too strong for her to retrieve it now?

“What feels rushed?” she asked, occupied with her thoughts.

“I feel like we should stick around and see what happens. How do you know those dwarves were even telling you the truth?”

“Hero, remember? I can sense when people are lying, if I bother to focus on their words.”

“But, how do you know this nephew, or whatever, is actually going to do what you wanted?” persisted Alfred, still looking back at the door. “I can’t help but feel like there’s more going on then they’re telling us. The alter was far older than the prince and princess.”

“Maybe this Bob guy knew there was more going on, and wanted you to get him a bar so you would find out about it, and deal with it,” suggested Frederik, standing by the door that led outside.

“I have plenty on my plate,” growled Aella, storing the tablet in her magical pouch with a grunt. “Why should I bother with getting involved in their politics, too?”

“You know why,” said Alfred, giving her a look.

Throwing her hands up in defeat, she stomped back over to the door and threw it open. “Fine, I’ll get to the bottom of the blasted alter, and make sure the new king deals with the elves like I want. You two can stay here, so I don’t have to worry about you getting in my way.”

“Fine,” nodded Alfred, with a satisfied look on his face.

“Wait, what makes you think it’s a good idea to go alone? Alfred? How can you think this is a good idea?” jumped in Frederik, looking back and forth between them.

“You’re so big, it’s hard enough for you to move around down there, and we all know you hate it,” sighed Aella. “Alfred can be a big help, but if we need to get out fast, I may not be able to teleport him out in time. Here you guys can be safe if the whole mountain collapses. I’ll try not to take too long.”

“But,” began Frederik, but Aella had teleported away before he could finish.

She gave a slow smile as she watched the dwarves below her scramble around. It was so much fun to watch the chaos her act had caused. However, her smile faltered as a thought occurred to her. If they had advisors in place, there wouldn’t be so much chaos when the ruler died. As she watched closer, there was pure panic on their faces, and her stomach dropped. She had done this. These people didn’t do anything to her to deserve this.

Holding up her hand in front of her face, Aella studied the black on her hands. She had been told to be careful or the demon in her would overtake her gargoyle side. What did that even mean? Most of her people were considered demon. What was the difference? Were gargoyles somehow not monsters like demons?

Shaking her head, Aella teleported back to the room she had been left in by the guards.

“What?!” cried the dwarf who was standing there, when she suddenly appeared by his side. “Where did you go, err, come from?”

“What do you mean? I’ve been here, in the shadows the whole time. Did you need to see me for something?” she asked, blinking at him innocently.

He stared at her and they both knew he wasn’t buying it for one moment.

“You’re requested by the elders to stand trial for the death of the royal twins,” he faltered, before straightening his spine and looking at her. “Due to the suspicious nature of their deaths, it is believed you may have some answers as to how they died.”

“Am I being charged for their deaths?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, we only wish to have you come to the trial and answer some questions. I believe it was decided that the nephew of the late king will be taking the throne shortly.”

She nodded in understanding, and moved to follow him. He coughed and turned to lead the way, mumbling to himself about shadows and disappearing kings. They made their way to the throne room, where the elders she had already met were gathered, as well as many dwarves she hadn’t.

“We can’t possibly proceed with the funeral without the cause of death,” argued a cleric, based on the fantastical clothing the dwarf was wearing.

Aella stared at him in fascination. She had seen members of the church, at the human church, but not anywhere in her own kingdom. It hadn’t occurred to her that the dwarves might have a church.

“That is understood, but you can’t possibly expect us to continue this trial without someone proceeding over it that is high enough to declare a resolution,” argued the elder with the long beard.

“So, you want us to instate the nephew to the old king?” spat the cleric, looking insulted.

“Of course. Who else would be a viable option?” asked the oldest dwarf, the brother to the late king.

The cleric looked at the king’s brother thoughtfully for a moment, before noticing her presence.

“Oh good, perhaps you can straighten up some of the confusion,” said the cleric, turning to her.

“What seems to be the problem?” Aella asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of the death of the prince and princess?” said the cleric, putting his hands behind his back and staring up at her with a slight frown.

“Yes, I was there, I believe. What of it?”

“Could you please tell everyone here who was at fault for their death?” he asked, glancing over at the elders smugly.

“Why they killed each other,” Aella said, scrunching her brow as she thought back over the incident, and how surprised the two had been at her attack. “They were arguing over the issue with the elves and they both pulled blades on each other. It was quite sudden. I’d never seen anything quite like it before.”

The cleric’s smug look was gone in an instance. “What?”

“Well, that does make sense,” said the king’s brother, a twinkle in his eye. “You are aware of the pledge every dwarf had to make, to ensure the safety of the royal twins. The two would have logically been the only ones capable of harming each other.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” sputtered the cleric, turning back to glare at her suspiciously.

“Ah, but everyone is quite aware of the fights the two had over how to run things, and if I do recall, the princess had declared her interest in the throne due to her brother’s hesitancy at gaining the crown,” said the king’s brother, now wearing the smug look.

“Unless there is something else that needs to be brought up that you might know?” asked the other old dwarf with the long beard.

“No, I believe that explains what must have happened,” said the cleric in a subdued voice.

“Can the guards not speak of the event?” asked Aella, glancing around the room at the many other dwarves that were gathered. “There were plenty present.”

The long-bearded dwarf coughed and said, “Unfortunately, those who were closest to the royal twins seem to have lost their memories. Some have lost as much as a decade and are taking some time with family to try and recover from the shock.”

“That sounds horrible,” said Aella, glancing over at the elders. They didn’t seem to be having any troubles with memory lapses.

“As much as I hate to do this, King Aella, but could you take word to the king of the elves for us, that we are interested in meeting with them in order to discuss the late agreements our people have had with them? It may take us a day or two to get our new king crowned and the late royal twins properly entombed. Do you mind?” asked the long bearded dwarf.

“What?!” cried the cleric, swinging around on his heel. “You can’t be serious! This is a serious matter that can not be put aside so easily!”

“Of course not!” agreed the king’s brother. “We are only allowing our guest to convey word to our neighbors while we deal with our own internal issues. We cannot expect her to sit around while our kingdom mourns the passing of our rulers and prepares to crown a new king.”

The cleric looked around at the dwarves in the room as they all murmured their agreement before turning back to her with a frown.

“I guess it has been decided. If you would be so gracious to do this, I assure you our new king would be incredibly grateful. When you return, he will meet with you to discuss further developments between our two kingdoms.”

Aella smiled and nodded. “I look forward to it.”