Witch Exiled
"Bring this Witch before me," states the queen.
"Witchcraft falls under my jurisdiction," argues the goblin King. The queen looks over at her husband. Her head turns slightly, signifying the anger she is restraining.
"Here she is," calls out a royal guard from behind the audience in the royal court. A pathway clears up as two guards emerge at the other end of the room, holding a witch's arms at her sides. She is slumped over, showing visible signs of physical abuse.
"Bring her forward," orders the queen. The royal guards march her down the path cleared by the standing audience. Her feet drag as her body is pulled before the king and queen.
"This is out of my hands," the Goblin King states calmly.
"I didn't know!" The witch calls out, barely lifting her head to speak.
"You didn't know what?" Asks the queen, "you didn't know it's against goblin law to practice magic in the royal marketplace? You didn't know that you were casting a spell on a citizen of this kingdom?"
"Naaaoooo!" Calls out the witch.
"No what?" Interjects the queen, "oh, I know, you didn't know that was a friend of mine?"
"I didn't know he was a Zen Master," the witch answers.
"What a selfish response!" The queen responds in anger, "because the spell was deflected back on you! That's all you care about. Had he not been a zen master, you would have gotten away with it, regardless of the rules, my friendship, or anything else. Tell me why I should spare you."
"Please your majesty, I didn't know," the witch repeats.
"You said that," the queen retorts, "look at you now! You're own spell did this to you, nobody else."
"No, it was the zenster!"
"The what!" Yells the queen, unfamiliar with the term the witches use to refer to zen masters, capable of reversing magic spells back against the caster.
"I mean the zen master," the witch replies, her head too heavy to lift.
"Still blaming others," the queen states, looking over at her husband for some support.
"That's enough," orders the king, "release her!" The guards release their grasps on the witch's arms. She falls to the floor. The audience hisses and boos the witch. The king raises his hand in the air to regain order in the royal court.
"It's your problem," advises the queen.
"You are forbidden from entering the royal marketplace or the estates for a period of five years. No magic, no dark market, and no hiding among the locals. Anybody helping you will answer to me directly," the goblin king orders.
"No, please your majesty, it was a mistake!" Pleads the witch.
"I'm not done," interrupts the king, "your ability to cast magic spells and dark magic, I'll take that!" The witch's body lifts into the air as light radiates off her like fumes of smoke and drift into the king's palms. "There! Now you won't make anymore mistakes!"
"Naaooo please I'm sorryyyyy!" Screams the witch in pain.
"It's too late for that. Get yourself cleaned up commoner and come back in five years. Maybe then you'll have learned the tolerance I have for witchcraft practiced in my galactic kingdom under my rule without following the laws of the land!"
"Please your highness, you never let me explain my side of the story."
"There is no your side!" Roars the great king, "you lost a magical battle against a zen master. The very fact you tried to cast any form of witchcraft against him is in itself inexcusable!"
"But I didn't know!"
"You didn't know what?" Asks the goblin king, finally allowing a moment for the witch to answer, an opportunity the queen did not afford.
"I didn't know he was allowed to hurt a citizen without being punished," answers the witch.
"He hurt a citizen?" Asks the goblin king in surprise.
"She's lying," interrupts the queen.
"Hmm..." The king takes a moment. He knows the queen can read the witch's thoughts, but the witch should be smart enough to know that as well.
"I'm not lying," begs the witch.
"That's enough," orders the king, "guards remove her from the court, drag her across the river, and mark her face so all who cross her know she is vanquished from the kingdom."
"Yes your majesty," replies the higher ranking royal guard.
"Naaaoooo! Naaaooo! I'm innocent!" Yells the witch.
The crowd cheers.
"Long live the king!" A citizen calls out.
The king raises his arm in triumph. "Let the darkness prevail," says the queen to her king.
This post first appeared on Prelude To The Distraction Fiction Collections, please read the originial post: here
