Chapter 37

King Ambrose POV...

First of all , I didn't understand what was going on. How did Nalani end up in the dungeons? What happened while I was asleep? Why was she here? Are some of the questions I wanted to ask but making sure she was safe was more important.

" What the hell is going on here?" I growled

" Your highness, I..."

" You! open the cell!" I commanded the guard.

He was confused at first which made him hesitate. What the hell was he waiting for!I was not in the best mood at the moment.

" Do I need to repeat myself!"

He rushed forward and opened the jail cell. I walked in. There she was, laying on the ground. Her clothes were torn. Her hands , arms and legs were full of wounds. Her face was so dirty that I almost couldn't tell it was her. The confident, beautiful and courageous Nalani was reduced to looking like a beggar.

My hands formed fists when I saw her back. Filled with cuts and dried blood. They must have whipped her again and again. I wondered if she would have died if I didn't wake up. They would have killed her. I went on my knees and picked her up in my arms.

" Your highness, it's not proper... " Sir Stanley tried to stop me.

" Save it!"

I didn't care for his sentiments right now. I didn't care whether it was proper or not that I was carrying my maid in my arms. It didn't occur to me to ask for anyone's opinion as I was the King. A king who almost lost his person because he was poisoned.

What would have happened if I woke up too late? Huh....would they have tortured her to death. How would they have explained her death to me ?

I walked all the way to my chambers. I noticed the servants stop what they were doing to stare at me but I didn't care. The occasional gasps could be heard when they spotted me carrying her. Someone was responsible for this and when I find out who, they will wish they had died.

This person must have known how much I favoured her. Or rather they wanted to poison me and used her as a scape goat. I went into my chambers and laid her on my bed.

She was in poor condition. She must have passed out from the pain . Her body was filled with dried blood everywhere my eyes inspected.

" Call for the medicine woman, right away"

" Yes your highness"

I didn't even bother to check who went to find the medicine woman. All I knew was she had to be okay. She has to be healed. I wanted my Nalani back.

Looking at her made my heart tear. I couldn't keep my eyes off her. I felt guilty for letting her endure all this on her own. Why would anyone do this to her.

I couldn't take it anymore, so I moved away from her. Sir Stanley was here too, I didn't even hear him follow me.

" What happened?" I asked him

" She poisoned you" he answered

" Are you sure about this?" I asked him

" Your highness no one is absolutely a hundred percent sure"

" So there's doubt that she did it"

" Yes"

" And you still went ahead and tortured her like a man" I growled

" Your highness everyone wanted to get to the bottom of this. I didn't do it intentionally. I didn't want to hurt her, I had to"

" Stanley, you have interacted with Nalani countless of times, how could you suspect her of poisoning me"

" Your highness " he went on his knees " you were sick and dying. Everyone was questioned until she was the only suspect left"

" And what did she say?"

" She said it wasn't her. She kept insisting and that's why the guards were whipping her. She refused to give herself up"

" What if she was telling the truth?"

"Mh..."

" What if she didn't do it and you put her up through all this. Do you think it's fair?" I asked

" If she wasn't the one who poisoned you, then it wouldn't be fair" he sighed.

I have never been worried about Sir Stanley's character or thinking until today. How could he not see this was someone's plot? How could he not see she was innocent? I could tell by the flow of events that Nalani was used as a scapegoat and the person who did this was prancing around in the castle completely free.

" I want you to restart the investigation. And this time round , look at every crook and cranny. Don't just focus on one person but the whole picture. Start from the kitchen. Who prepared my meal that day"

" Yes your majesty "

" Don't disappoint me this time round Stanley "  I narrowed my eyes at him.

I was asleep for a few days and they already tortured an innocent person to the point of death and let the perpetrator stay free. What kind of nonsense was this? I thought my people were trained better than this. How can they lach on one person and do everything they can to make them look guilty.

What happened to investigating everything and everyone? What happened to being suspicious of everyone's motive until you find out who did it? I was shamed of their behaviour at the moment.

They were my people who punished Nalani. It might as well have been me who punished her. Me who whipped her so many times until she bled. What will I say to her when she wakes up? How could I possibly defend myself from the animosity done to her.

Will she forgive me? Will she give me a chance to defend myself? If I were her I would never forgive nor forget what happened. I would hold onto the anger until my last days. Of all the people Stanley should have helped her and not started a witch hunt against her.

The medicine woman soon arrived and started working on her. She teared her awful dress leaving her with her undergarments. This time round I could see everything. I wasn't supposed to see her while she was this vulnerable. However I wanted to have it engraved in my head what happened to her while I was useless.

How could I be so useless? The medicine woman cleaned her wounds and applied a paste to help her heal . She then bandaged her wounds as I watched closely. She had so many wounds. Her body was basically one huge wound. Fortunately nothing was cut during her torture sessions. They didn't cut her fingers or toes.

If they did I would be gunning for revenge right now. I'm not saying this will go unpunished. A few people are going to be jobless. Anyone who touched her was going to pay. As evening came , Mrs Smith brought my meal. She tasted it in my presence before I could eat.

I was not going to take any risks ever again. I thought I had an enemy but this assured my assumptions. Someone wanted me dead desperately that they chose this cowardly method. And I will hunt them down, one by one. They touched something precious to me and they think they can get away with it?

Sound the drums of war because a war was brewing in the horizon.