Page 50 of Twins for the Barbarians

“Nothing. Nothing…it’s nothing,” she whispers, averting her gaze as more tears threaten to roll down her ruby cheeks.

“It’s anything but,” I reply softly. “You can tell me, you know. There’s no harm in letting the pain out. It might actually make you feel better.”

“You wouldn’t understand. It’s my position as queen. I can’t…”

I give her a persistent look. “Try me. I’ve heard and seen all kinds of things since I was brought here against my will for the sole purpose of carrying the babies of total strangers in my womb.”

“Oh,” she replies, her eyes wide with shame. “You’ve been through your own share of troubles. Forgive me, I forgot…it was selfish of me.”

“Not at all, Leela. We all go through troubles in this life. What matters is for us to be able to open up about them. It really does help the healing process, I promise.”

“My position in Opal City is delicate. My allegiance is to the king and no one else. Not even my family.”

“That must be hard sometimes,” I say, trying to coax a conversation from her.

Leela thinks about it for a moment while Kingo eyes us curiously but keeps his mouth closed. I notice a widening distance between us and the soldiers ahead. Leela finally shudders and lets out a heavy sigh.

“I married the king ten years ago, and ten years ago, I bid my own family farewell. My mother, my father, and my two younger brothers,” she says. “I am allowed contact with them, of course. I see them once in a while, but my duties as a wife, as a mother, and as a queen come first. And where the city’s laws are concerned, my allegiance to them is sacrosanct. So, when my past and my present collide, I cannot break my oaths.”

“What happened?” I ask again.

“My youngest brother, Fallon,” she says, holding back a heavy sob. “He tried to get out of Opal City today. My mother sought an audience with me, but the king got to her first. She knew Fallon was planning an escape. He’d tried before, but my other brother, Orrin, caught him before the soldiers. I’ve been so busy lately that I couldn’t even stop by their house to have a chat with Fallon, to talk some sense into him…”

My stomach drops. I’m pretty sure Fallon was the young man we saw today. Poor Leela. Now, I see. It makes sense, everything she’s been saying and everything we’ve observed about this place. Leela’s straddling two sides of the fence, and it has to be an uncomfortable position, to say the least.

“I’m so sorry,” I mumble.

“They caught him,” Leela manages, swallowing back tears. “They caught him. He didn’t stand a chance. No trial, no interrogation, no chance to apologize and promise to amend his ways. They just…they…”

“They executed him in broad daylight,” I say. “I know, Leela. Kingo and I saw them. Neya was taking us to the hospital when they dragged a young man into the street and accused him of trying to escape. I am so deeply sorry.”

She gives me a startled look. “Neya saw them execute my brother?”

“Yes.”

“Did she try to stop them?”

I shake my head slowly. “No. We stood there. Quiet. We had to. And we had to watch, or so she said…”

“Neya didn’t tell me anything,” Leela mumbles, and I see the muscle in her fine jaw twitching furiously. “She didn’t say a word. I was told by my husband only a few hours ago. Fallon was killed early in the morning, then.”

“Yes.”

“My condolences, Leela,” Kingo says. “It wasn’t something we wanted to witness, I promise.”

“I believe you,” she murmurs. “I was helpless. I am helpless. My mother must be going out of her mind. She came to the palace looking for me, but I’ve been out of her reach for so long…my husband…he didn’t tell me about Fallon’s intentions, either.”

The more I listen to Leela, the better I understand. Solomon made a decision about his brother-in-law without consulting his wife. He spoke to the mother, and he gave a stern order for Fallon to be executed as soon as he was caught. This is my chance to sow the seeds of discord—I’m no fan of stirring the pot, but given the circumstances and how badly we need the support of at least one of Solomon’s wives, I simply can’t keep my mouth shut.

“Are you telling me King Solomon knew Fallon was going to escape?” I ask, and she nods once, the light in her eyes going out as she, too, reaches the same unsettling conclusion. “And instead of telling you, instead of…I don’t know, maybe throwing the kid in jail for a couple of nights, just to scare him into compliance…your husband chose to wait for Fallon to attempt his escape in order to catch him and mercilessly execute him?”

“You make it sound so awful,” she mumbles incredulously. She can’t even believe her own words.

“It is awful,” I say. “Leela, it is abhorrent. I don’t wish to interfere in your marriage or affairs of the state, but come on…this could’ve been handled differently. Fallon didn’t have to die.”

“The law is the law,” she replies quietly.

“Bullshit,” I hiss. “The soldiers said the same thing just before they shot your brother dead.”

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