"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE???" Kira's thundering voice moved Gewen from his reverie. The man was in utter shock after he killed his old friend with his own sword. Gewen's eyes bulged and he turned to look at Kira with a pale face.

Yes... what had he done?

His eyes were filled with tears and he dropped his sword to the ground. His body was unmoving even though the cold winter wind was blowing harder than before and sent bone-chilling cold to his skin.

Kira checked on Ellena's body to make sure she was really dead. When she confirmed her death, Kira pursed her lips. This was too easy, she thought in annoyance.

Death was too easy a punishment for someone so wicked like Ellena Greystorm.

The pirate princess felt upset and she wanted to stop her feet to the ground but realized it would make her look like a child throwing tantrums. So, she only kicked Ellena's shin angrily and pulled out her knife from Ellena's thigh.

She rubbed it on the dead woman's cloak to clean it from blood and she put it back on its scabbard. Displeasure was evident on her face.

However, Kira stopped talking when she saw how traumatized Gewen looked. Something in her heart was touched at the sight of the devastated man.

She had a sharp hearing and she overheard how Ellena thanked Gewen for pulling his sword to kill her. Perhaps, Ellena knew death was her only way out but she was too scared to kill herself. So, she was grateful that Gewen did it for her.

At this point, Kira didn't know whether Gewen really really killed Ellena to free the wicked woman from further punishment as Ellena assumed, or if he did it because he felt loyalty to Mars and Harlow.

Kira had seen how much Gewen adored Harlow and the man looked distraught when she told him that Ellena was responsible for Harlow being born prematurely.

"Are you coming?" Kira asked Gewen.

She was ready to go back and order some guards to drag Ellena's body from the woods so it won't be devoured by wild animals. She was too annoyed to drag the dead body herself.

Gewen finally looked up and replied to Kira's question with a flat voice. "You can go ahead. I need a moment."

"Suit yourself," Kira said. She turned around and walked back toward the Athibaud family's castle, leaving Gewen alone to gather his thoughts.

Right before she entered the side entrance, Kira turned around and looked at Gewen, wondering what the man was doing.

He was still standing rooted in the spot, unmoving.

***

When Kira reported to Mars what happened to Ellena, surprisingly, the king's reaction was different from what she had expected. Mars was silent for a long time when he heard it was Gewen's own hands who swung the fatal blow and killed Ellena.

This felt like an anticlimax after everything that happened in the past few years between him, Ellena, and Emmelyn.

He had felt so much hatred for Ellena because of what she did to his wife and daughter.  However, now that Ellena was dead, Mars couldn't find it in his heart to dwell on his grudge.

What's the point? Ellena was dead. She was now part of the past.

What she did would always leave marks in Emmelyn's and Mars' life, but the king thought it was finally time to move on and rebuild their life together.

If he kept thinking about the past and their grudge to Ellena, he would be wasting precious time and energy on someone who didn't deserve even a minute of his time.

"Thank you for your help Kira," Mars turned to Kira and smiled. He looked so tired. "With the 'thugs' you prepared to claim that they are hired by Duke Preston to free Ellena, and the fact that Ellena managed to escape as witnessed by hundreds of people in the market, now we can charge Duke Preston and his wife for the crimes. My king's guards are already going to their residence to arrest them."

"I am only doing this for Emmelyn," Kira shrugged. "I am sorry I failed to punish Ellena."

Mars nodded. "Don't think about it. Emmelyn and I are grateful that you are on our side."

That's what he kept telling himself, whenever he felt annoyed by Kira's presence around him. It's good that Kira was on their side and not the enemy.

Mars added, "You have done well. Let my advisors take over from here and bring the Prestons to justice. Now you can rest."

"Okay."

"Oh, by the way, Emmelyn and I want to invite you, Gewen, and Edgar to dinner in the palace after the trial ends. Can you make it? The judges said they will have the results in a few days. One week at most."

"I will be there," Kira nodded. She thought this was such good timing. She had decided to go home after her trip to Draec. Having a nice dinner with everyone would allow her to say goodby properly to Emmelyn and her family.

Mars initially wanted to host the dinner the next night, but after the recent development, he thought Gewen needed to calm himself down. So, it was better to postpone it.

Meanwhile, Edgar and Clara needed to move into their new place. After everything was done, they could actually make the dinner as a way to celebrate the Preston's conviction. 

Then, Mars would announce that he and Emmelyn are expecting another child together. It would be a nice way to close the year.

***

Ellena's body was buried in a nameless grave in the woods. Duke Preston was arrested when he was about to flee Draec. There were two thugs who came to the court and testified how they did all the work under Duke Preston's order. 

It was a fake trial because most people who were involved knew it was only a setup to charge Duke Preston and his wife on other crimes, treason, that couldn't be proven previously.

Even though his people tried to intimidate the 'witnesses' and make them change their story, they couldn't do it because the thugs disappeared as soon as they testified. After a very short trial, the couple was convicted of the crime and was punished with death.

.

.

_______________________

From Missrealitybites:

Yes, this story will end very soon. Just need several more chapters on the dinner, Kira saying goodbye to Gewen, and the birth of the royal baby/babies.

Then I can finally write Harlow's story. ^^

PS: I am doing this gesture for readers of all my books. If you wish to receive Christmas gifts from Mars Strongmoor and his family, you can send him an email to: [email protected].

You will receive:

1. A personalized Christmas card from the Strongmoors with Mars, Emmelyn, Harlow, and their new babies (it's an exclusive picture of their family I commissioned to an artist)

2. An ebook that contains the free chapters of this story (chapter 1-41) which you can later gift to any bookworms in your life who you think should read this book - because you have been wanting to discuss this story with them but they just don't want to give it a try since it's not on their lap.

3. The comic version I have commissioned to the artist, covering chapters 1 & 2 that I have shown to you before.

Please put the Subject in the email as: "MARS'S CHRISTMAS GIFT"

The gifts will be sent to your email around Christmas.. If you didn't receive it by Dec 25, please check your Spam folder.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.