Amaury
Drugs? Amaury stared at the soldiers, stunned, while his aunt took Aili protectively in her arms. He didn't mind. With all that had happened to her, and he hardly knew anything, he wasn't quite sure if she would feel comfortable so close to him. As for this Nio, he had his suspicions as to how he might have treated her.
The queen seemed more than just angry. "So? How is this seventeen-year-old girl supposed to be involved in a drug deal? To me, it looks like she doesn't know what you're talking about!", she grumbled. "Explain that to me, please!"
Amaury looked questioningly at Aili, but she avoided his gaze. Trembling, she clung to the queen's clothes. Aili was a little taller than his aunt and yet Julia skillfully kept her from running away. And the young witch wanted to run away. Again and again, she looked around. Julia rubbed her back reassuringly. "I'm waiting for an answer!"
"She's not a criminal!" he finally said. "I can't imagine that."
"We have more than one piece of evidence," muttered the soldier who had detained Aili. He stared at her annoyed with light brown eyes. "We have already found the plantation and the barn where the drug was dried and crushed. At this moment, even more accomplices are arrested. We have the testimonies of customers. And we have been able to secure some of the drugs in the house of the Grünwies family. Your Majesty?" Now he turned to the queen. "Please hand over the girl to us so that we can interrogate her and hand her over to justice!"
Amaury's aunt snorted. She wanted to say something, but Aili mumbled something.
"What?", asked the queen insistently. "Child? What did you say? Dear? Repeat that, please."
Aili shook her head. Her voice trembled. "The powder. We always had to pack powder. It wasn't flour. But we didn't know what it was. Mom never wanted to answer our questions. Neither did Dad. They always had excuses... A remedy, special flour... They said that powder was valuable."
"You had to help?" Amaury frowned.
"Yes", Aili breathed. "Dad called it the family business. We had to help. Mom said we can't talk about it. So we were silent. Birger always joked that we pack drugs. But none of us believed that. Or we didn't want to believe it? It was all very strange." She glanced at the soldiers. Tears glistened in her eyes. "It was drugs? What about my parents? Siblings?" Again, Aili's legs threatened to give way beneath her.
"Your younger siblings are being taken to children's homes, your parents and brother Birger are in custody", grumbled the other soldier. He was blond and reminded Amaury of a toad.
The queen snorted angrily. "Amaury? Please take her again for a moment." She smiled affectionately at Aili, who had become all the paler. "Okay? Are you fine with that? Just briefly?"
Aili didn't react when Amaury took her from his aunt and carefully wrapped her arms around her. The young witch was still trembling. Just like his aunt before, he stroked her back. Aili was startled and clung to his blue shirt. A gift from his aunt. The embroidered birds cleaned their plumage or looked curiously at the viewer. Everything was in motion. He wanted to give the shirt to Ethan later.
"There is no need for an arrest. She is a witness, not an accomplice!", the queen announced. The soldiers wanted to protest, but they changed their minds. Angry, she approached them and held her head up high. She was much smaller than the two men, but she still managed to intimidate them. Even as a child, Amaury had wondered how she managed to do it. He had come to know his aunt as lively, reserved, and usually very cheerful. Sometimes downright childish, only to intimidate an entire army the next moment. Snorting, she put her hands on her petite hips. "You can question the girl another day. And release her brother!"
"Your Majesty?" The toad soldier blinked confusedly. "The two are old enough to declare guilty. Both are sixteen or older."
"And?", growled the Queen. "You heard the girl, didn't you? They had to help. This makes them witnesses, not culprits. You can question them, but not today." She looked anxiously at Aili for a moment. "Or am I seeing something wrong? Hm? Sirs? You can question the two of them and check everything, but both siblings are not detained."
"And what if the siblings tell us something else? Or the parents?", muttered the brown-eyed soldier. "The judiciary cannot ignore the laws."
"Clarify that, but I wouldn't believe a word the parents said if they were to tell you that the children knew everything and helped voluntarily. I know both of them. Especially the mother."
Again the soldiers wanted to protest, but this time Amaury cut them off. "You heard the Queen!"
The toad nodded nervously. "Of course." The two soldiers bowed quickly. "We'll pass on your orders and have the girl questioned at another time."
"My siblings?" Aili asked softly.
The soldiers straightened up again and exchanged restless glances. "They are still on the family's estate. They will soon be placed in homes. Except for Birger Grünwies. But that will change as soon as he is released. There is currently no room for all the children in any of the homes, we have inquired beforehand. Therefore, the children are separated. They will try to find new families for them quickly. And, of course, they are all still being questioned."
Aili grew even paler. She clung to Amaury's shirt so hard that he could feel her fingernails. "Separated? Alma is only two. Camilla is five!" Amaury stroked her silky curls.
Again, the soldiers exchanged nervous glances. "At best, the children can soon all be accommodated by Baron von Steinhof. But at the moment he is out of town."
The queen nodded and looked at Alili with sad eyes. "Bring the boy back to his brothers and sisters. And I have something else to discuss with both of you!" Both soldiers flinched. But Julia ignored this. Instead, she turned to Amaury. "Please take Aili to Lea's apartment. I'll come to you later. I still have to talk to the two law enforcers. And I have to attend an opening..." She sighed annoyed. "I'm expected." She stroked her dress and smiled briefly. "Now I definitely don't have time to change clothes!" She winked at Amaury. "I'll see you both later. Please take care of your friend."
"Of course!" replied Amaury quickly. "Come on Aili, we're going."
"What?" She shook her head in fear.
"We're going to Aunt Lea's apartment. No one will arrest you and Birger will be released. Come. It's going to be all right!" He lovingly pushed her away from his aunt and the soldiers. "Don't worry. Aunt Julia takes care of everything."
"She will?" Aili whimpered, burying her face in the fine fabric of his clothes. She hardly paid attention to the way.
"Yes." His aunt could be very stubborn. He wouldn't be surprised if she had all the children brought to the academy. Or had another crazy idea. "She's doing what she can."
"Mom doesn't like the queen. They must have had arguments or something. Why does she help me? Why are you helping me?"
Babette von Grünwies. Amaury had heard a lot about her. Especially from his brother Peter, who should have married her. Babette would not have shied away from forcing Prince Peter to procreate. And that was just one of the many horrible things his uncle had to say about her. "You're not your mother", he replied. "You're Aili. The prettiest girl I've ever seen!"
"I'm not pretty. I'm dirty", Aili said softly. Then she fell silent. No matter how many times Amaury asked what she meant by that. Eventually, he gave it up. Instead, he continued to stroke her back and mumbled comforting words. At the very least, he hoped that his words were comforting. And he hoped that his aunt would have good news later. Because Aili looked as if she was on the verge of breaking. Slowly, he pushed her along the narrow, quieter paths of the academy. Aili trembled harder again. Fix it, please, Aunt Juli!, he thought sadly.
With soldiers, the forever young queen often disagreed. Many of the soldiers were once in her mother's service and were rough with others out of habit. There were various reasons why they were still allowed to work as soldiers. First, she could not dismiss every former soldier of her mother. That would reduce the country's army too much. And soldiers were still needed. There was occasional unrest among the people. No one could solve a country's problems overnight. Some citizens still treated the former slaves as inferior. There were humiliations or worse. This, of course, was forbidden, and punished, but the victims did not always report the incidents. She needed soldiers and city guards as a point of contact for the weak. Not as a sinister threat. It was very important to his aunt to slowly improve everything. She often called the kingdom her small construction site. Fortunately, the country was not threatened with war at the time, but the unrest that occurred was occasionally more than just problematic. There was a small group of criminal insurgents who wanted to reinstate the right to hold slaves, which was currently on the soldier's to-do list. But these insurgents were well organized. Julia needed the military, even if she was not a fan of violence.
The soldiers, who could not be accused of a horrible, unforgivable war crime, and who swore their allegiance to a new queen, were allowed to remain in service. And in the end, there were quite a few. His aunt had also told him about this. Some had followed the whims of the tyrant out of fear. And unlike her mother, Julia was not a tyrant. She was... A lovely girl. Wise and infinitely stubborn.
He gently led Aili to his aunt's apartment. The witch cried all the way, clinging to him. The rest of the way she was silent. Amaury didn't want to imagine what was going on inside her. If someone wanted to send his siblings away... He could never let it happen. He would get custody of them if something happened to his parents. Which, fortunately, would hopefully never be the case.
So how did Aili have to feel?
And all this happened after she's already had trouble with her ex-boyfriend. And she was also largely silent about this. Amaury was worried. Very worried.
