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It took longer to work the kinks out of their grand scheme than it did to convince the six men they'd just stepped out of their world and into another. Mostly, they decided to just not believe it.
"And how do you fit into all of this?" The man Daniel had been introduced to as Sir Michael Jones asked him. "I don't recognize you from the village, or the castle."
Before Daniel could answer, the man turned to Beth.
"Have you chosen him?"
Daniel felt his face flush.
Beth laughed. "Perhaps, sir Michael. Perhaps. But not yet. We have things to do before I can give much thought to my personal happiness."
Daniel suddenly found all six men looking at him. Not just looking, scrutinizing, as if he were a prized stallion up for consideration to join their elite estate.
"I, um, really," he stammered. "I'm just--" A doctor - healer - confused bystander - bewildered doofus who stepped through a door and into traffic and hasn't been quit right since? "I'm just a guy who got caught in the middle of this, trying to do the right thing."
"We couldn't possibly pull this off without Daniel's help," Murphy interjected. "He's a trained healer as well as experience fighter, and so far he's managed to save us all from Stefan's clutches."
"And now he's to send us all back to the king?" Michael asked, eyebrow raised. "We are to trust him, then?"
"Yes."
Ian's matter-of-fact delivery surprised Daniel.
"There's no other choice," Beth added. "He's our only way back to Ether. Besides, my instincts are infallible."
"The only issue in our way are the other six," Murphy said. "If you six vote to remove Stefan, and the others vote against you, we'll be no better off than we are now."
"I believe our votes will convince one or two of our colleagues to side with us," Michael replied. "The other six aren't completely swayed by the king, they're just far more cautious in expressing their views."
"Even then, we need to be ready for trouble." Ian looked to Daniel. "Whatever happens, stay close to Beth."
"I had intended to," Daniel replied. He pulled the key from his pocket and glanced around the living room. There was a fleeting moment of hesitation, when he considered calling Jonathan and explaining what had been going on, but he knew he couldn't. There'd be no way of convincing his friend of his own sanity, even in the face of his late uncle's stories and claims. He wondered if that was part of what it meant to hold a key to Ether, having no one believe you.
And what would he do if Jonathan bought his story? Would he want to come along, see it for himself? Would he insist on bringing his family? What about friends, or sharing it with the entire town? Hell, if the media got hold of it . . .
Daniel shook himself out of the spiral and made up his mind.
"Are we ready?"
Once everyone was standing and ready, he put the key in the bathroom door and turned to Ian. "Where am I taking us, exactly?"
"Do you remember the balcony where I wanted to see Stefan's speech? Right there, through the door you used when you left."
Daniel closed his eyes. He'd come upon that door completely by accident, and in a mad rush to escape, but he remembered the hallway, and the balcony. Although it had looked just like every other hallway in the castle.
He turned the key, then the knob, then pulled the key out and stepped through the door.
The castle corridor was empty, but quickly filled as the others, then the six members of the royal court, pushed through the door, trying hard to make as little noise as possible.
In the distance, Daniel heard voices, and laughter, but no sharp approach of footsteps nearby. He waited for Ian to take the lead, then drew his gun and followed with Beth directly behind him. They approached the corner and Ian peered around, then turned and waved for the others to pass quickly by the open section of balcony and on toward a row of curtained doorways.
Daniel looked over Ian's shoulder and down to the large room below. Stefan was there, along with a few guards and about twenty other people, all laughing and enjoying what appeared to be casual conversation.
"Who are the other people?" he asked, keeping his voice low.
"Village representatives," Ian replied. "They're here on behalf of the wealthiest business people, and bring news and requests to the royal family."
"They're like governors," Beth added as she glanced over Daniel's shoulder. "Asking the king for road improvements or a new building permit. It's good they're here. He can't conceal a vote by the royal court if they witness it."
Daniel glanced around, but found only Murphy behind them. The six others had, one by one, vanished behind the curtains circling the balcony that overlooked the public space below. He counted twelve curtains covering twelve small balconies jutting out from the main one that encircled the entire space. Attached to each small balcony railing was a brass box with two levers on top and two lights on the front.
Ian turned. "Okay, now's as good a time as any. Murphy, stay up here. You have castle privileges, as you said. No one's going to raise a fuss seeing you up here, and if this all goes sour, no one will associate you with us."
Murphy opened his mouth to protest, but Daniel raised a hand.
"No, it's good strategy. If we get arrested, it'll help to have someone on the outside." He looked at the older man. "If something happens, I'll use the key to get us out, then come back for you."
"If you get the chance," Murphy replied. "Remember, Stefan has a key, too." He nodded with his chin toward the people below. "That's Wilcox next to the king."
Daniel nodded, then looked at Beth. "Are you ready?"
She straightened. "I've been ready for this for ten years."
Before either man could stop her, she walked around them and started down the main hallway.
Ian and Daniel rushed to catch up, holstering their guns as they took up positions beside her. No guards spotted them this time, so they took the main staircase that wound down to the lower level and entered behind the king.
At first, their arrival went completely unnoticed. Stefan was deep in conversation with an older man at his right, while three young women stood nearby, holding glasses of wine and smiling as sweetly as they could manage. As Beth approached, one of the ladies caught a glimpse, then did a double-take with wide eyes and an open mouth. She tugged the dress sleeve of the girl closest to her, whose reaction was equally shocked.
Daniel's hand rested on the gun at his hip, but Ian drew his from the holster and held it down, safety off. They were flanking Beth as she strode purposefully up to her brother. With three feet left to go, the king turned, eyebrows raised, to greet the newcomer the older man suddenly announced.
Daniel watched as several expressions registered on the man's face, one after the other. It started with bored curiosity, morphing into muddled confusion, which quickly gave way to shocked surprise and disbelief.
While Daniel was sizing up the King -- close to thirty, well dressed, athletic build that leaned toward a bit too skinny -- a gasp of recognition swept through the room.
"Hello, Stefan," Beth said with a smile.
Daniel stepped to the side slightly, so he could see the room and the stairs behind them. During the slight pause, he noticed Stefan squaring his shoulders and putting on an expression of innocence.
"You address your King too causally, madam," he replied coolly.
"I'm addressing my brother," Beth replied. She turned her attention to the others in the room, who'd now gathered together to stare at her. "I am Marabeth, daughter of Frederick, here to accuse my brother of murder and see him off the throne."
Stefan laughed. Moments later, the others followed their King's lead and chuckled, but Daniel saw other emotions behind their expressions.
Without a word, the King snapped his fingers in the air, but when no one seemed to understand his unspoken command, he turned and scowled at the older gentlemen he'd been speaking to earlier.
"A crystal! Now, man, before this tramp wastes the rest of our day." He turned back to Beth, then noticed Ian. "I suppose this is all your doing, Foster? And it only took you ten years to convince some poor young woman to play along with your charade. You're losing your charm."
"And you're losing your throne," Ian replied calmly. "Beth found me."
"She found you?" Stefan huffed. "And just how did she manage that?" He looked at his sister again. "You want us to believe you're my sister. I suppose next you'll tell us all you've spent the past ten years in Otherworld."
This time his laugh was more quickly and easily matched around the room.
Beth shook her head. "Don't be silly, Stefan. Everyone knows Otherworld is a myth." She glanced at Daniel briefly and winked, then turned back to her brother. "Actually, I've spent the past ten years deep in contemplation and study, in the Luddite cloister."
Daniel saw it, brief as it was. A twinge of doubt and panic in the sudden twitching of Stefan's lower lip and a barely perceptible flush to the skin. She'd called his bluff, refusing to lend any doubt to her sanity by denying the very thing her brother knew to be the truth.
Before anyone else could speak, the older man rushed back to the King's side, holding a white crystal identical to the one Daniel had seen Beth hold for the six men of the royal court.
He held it in one hand, raising it high to show everyone in the room. "This will prove, once and for all, this woman is just another false claim to what is rightfully mine."
The crystal glowed, now colored with the pattern of Stefan's DNA. He handed it back to the older gentleman, who then produced a second crystal that he handed to Beth.
Daniel watched as she took the white crystal in one hand and held it up, showing everyone who could see the colors it took on. When it finished, she handed the crystal back to the older gentleman. Suddenly there were four other older men gathered around, studying the crystals side by side with extreme interest. They held the pair together, scrutinizing the colors and pattern with skilled eyes, then muttered amongst themselves for a few moments. Finally the first man cleared his throat and nodded.
"They're brother and sister," he declared.
The room filled with chatter and applause that was instantly quieted by an order from Stefan.
"Silence!"
Daniel gripped the weapon in its holster. Guards had appeared on the stairs and along the walls, weapons already drawn, but Ian hadn't reacted to them at all, so he tried to follow suit.
"So, you are my sister," Stefan continued. "That does not grant you the rights to my throne. I'm the elder here, after all." He turned to the older man at his right, who nodded quickly. "I welcome you back home, Marabeth, but any more --"
"You murdered my father," Beth replied very calmly. "You walked into his sleeping chamber in the middle of the night, drew a small, sharp object from your pocket, and stabbed him with it."
Daniel blinked.
Ian stared at Beth, eyebrows knit together. He opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a hand and continued.
"After stabbing him, you pushed on it, and liquid went into our father's arm."
Stefan's face had turned completely red. He was biting down hard, the muscles on the sides of his jaw flexing with the effort to remain silent.
Daniel wasn't sure if Beth was telling the truth, and had lied to Ian before, or if she was simply making an educated guess and calling her brother's bluff. He glanced left, then right, searching for the nearest door as his hand slid from the handle of his gun to the inside of his pocket, feeling for the key.
"This accusation holds merit."
Everyone turned as Murphy entered the conference room from the opposite side. He walked through the parting crowd, stopping in the center of the room. "The royal court examined King Frederick's body, and found a prick they could not identify."
Stefan turned on the older man, raising a finger. "That mark was an insect bite!"
"It could not be proved," Murphy replied. "Therefore, good citizens, I call for a vote!" He looked up, at the red curtains above them. "What harm, if you are innocent? Ring the bell for the royal court, let them vote. Your word, or hers."
"If you're innocent, surely the royal court will agree with you, Stefan," Ian's voice was low, but loud enough to be heard by all. "They voted against my claims, but now we have an eye witness."
Daniel pulled the key from his pocket and held it. They hadn't discussed the part where Beth claimed to have witnessed her brother murdering her father. But if her claims had been further off the mark, Stefan would have said so, surely.
Instead, the King moved to the center of the room, the crowd adjusting their positions to give him plenty of room.
"The royal court are not all in attendance at present," he announced. "Some are inspecting in the village, or so I'm told." He turned to look at Murphy, but addressed his command to the guard behind him. "But we shall ring the bell and see how many votes we can obtain."
Daniel nearly jumped out of his shoes when an alarm suddenly sounded. Sounding very much like a massive iron bell that reverberated through the floors, the call went out. Moments later, more onlookers filed into the large room, curious as to what the edict was. They were quickly brought up to speed by those already present, and word began spreading.
Beth stayed where she was, beside Daniel and Ian and slightly underneath the overhanging balcony. From there, they had a view of four of the curtained spaces above, but none of the heavy red cloths were pulled back until, suddenly, all twelve were revealed at once.
Stefan startled, then moved around the center of the room, staring up at the smaller balconies.
"It would seem the twelve are present after all," Beth replied. "I suggest you send your good friend Mr. Wilcox to verify their identities." She glanced around the room at the people watching her every move with fascination. "We wouldn't want any doubts before the vote is cast."
Stefan looked at them, his expression a dark mask. Daniel knew the man was on to them. He knew they'd found the six men, hidden away among the Luddites, knew they were calling him out in public because the arrests had been made in secret. If he challenged them, he'd be forced to offer up explanations. But if he went along, he must realize the vote was a forgone conclusion.
The only thing more dangerous than a man who knew he was standing in the center of a trap, was a woman aware of the same predicament.
Daniel caught Ian's gaze and the man nodded, clearly aware of the danger this situation presented.
"I'm sure that's not called for," Stefan replied, turning his attention to the witnesses in the room. He raised his arms and his voice. "A vote, then. I call out the royal court!"
Above them, all twelve red curtains pushed back, and twelve robbed men stepped out, their faces covered in shadow.
Beth stepped to the center of the room before Daniel or Ian could stop her.
"Honored members of the Royal Court of Ether, I have witnessed my brother, your King, murdering our father, King Frederick, ten years ago."
Daniel rushed forward, but the crowd had swallowed up the royal siblings, leaving him to elbow his way closer.
"I witnessed my brother inserting a sharp device into our father's arm, force a foreign liquid into his body, and vanish from his room." She turned to face another grouping of the robed men on the balcony above her. "You, each of you, witnessed this strange puncture wound on my father's body after his death." She raised a finger and pointed to her brother, standing a few feet away. "My brother claims this to be false. What say you?" She looked pointedly at Stefan. "Is my brother, your King, guilty?"
Daniel saw that Ian had managed to get closer, but there were still a few onlookers blocking their direct access to Beth. Murphy, trapped behind a throng of the curious, was even further away.
Everyone looked up, and Daniel followed suit.
One by one, the robed men took hold of a lever on the brass indicator in front of them. As each handle was pushed, either a red or green light would be illuminated in the front panel, visible to all below.
One after the other, green lights appeared. Daniel counted five from his vantage point, but he couldn't see the others.
Suddenly a woman pointed skyward and shouted. "It's unanimous!"
A shocked gasp rose from the crowd.
Daniel watched Stefan as he continued to try and push closer to Beth. There was a large woman blocking his way, fanning herself dramatically with a large, thick feather that matched her dress.
"They have spoken," Beth announced loudly.
Daniel tried to see through the feather as she turned to her brother.
"My first edict as Queen of Ether will be to call for your exile to the Luddite community," she declared. "Where you will be allowed to live your days in peace, so long as you remain there, with the cloister."
Daniel finally got an arm between the large woman and the older man next to her and pushed his way forward in time to see Stefan bow slightly, then glance around the room at the people gathered there.
"It is my duty to abide by the vote of the Royal Court." He took a step back, away from Beth, pulled a large ring from his finger, then offered it up to her. "To Ether's new Queen!"
Daniel blinked.
A cheer erupted around the room, cautious at first, then more rousing, gaining confidence as it continued.
Ian suddenly appeared beside Daniel, a bit of feather in his hair. He leaned close, keeping his voice low. "No way it's this easy."
"Where's Murphy?" Daniel asked, keeping his eyes on Beth.
"Stuck back there somewhere," Ian replied. "Let's get this room cleared if we can."
"How?" Daniel blinked as a feather smacked into his face. He coughed and sputtered, shooting an angry glance at the large woman, who smiled sweetly and mouthed an embarrassed apology before moving away. When he turned back to see what Beth was doing, she was gone.
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