The moment everyone left, Eya returned to the throne room and the body, opening the lid to take a few more private moments with him before he was taken. Her head tilted and she clicked her tongue, reaching down to run her fingers through his hair one last time.
"We speak again. You have given me more time dead than when we were married. But it's time to say goodbye, my dear king. I don't want to see your face again knowing what you've done. Your betrayal cuts deeper than any knife. I would have done anything for you. Anything. All I wanted was to be your wife, to love you, and help you. Now? Now your secrets and lies will be buried with you and I will deal with the only other people who know what you've done."
As she hissed out her last words, a group of men entered and bowed.
"I am sorry, my Queen. It is time for us to take the body for the funeral," one man spoke up, offering a look of deep empathy.
"It is quite alright. Thank you for this last moment." Eya straightened her dress and walked out without looking back. She had one more thing to attend to before seeing Kia.
Any sadness or twinge of regret Eya may have had were shoved away with the betrayal deeply rooted in her heart and the realization that George wasn't coming back now. Which brought her through the door of the dungeon and down the stairs circling into the cold stone prison.
"I've come to see Ian. Has he admitted to the murder of the king yet?"
The guard standing at the bottom of the steps shook his head, "No, my Queen. He maintains his innocence. We have tried everything, but no matter what we do, neither he nor Luke will change their plea. Perhaps one or both are innocent?"
"You allow your compassion to cloud your mind," Eya bit out as she tried to see down the dark corridor. "Perhaps they were in it together and are using their pleas of innocence to convince us to set them free."
"You are right, my Queen. I apologize for overstepping." The guard bowed his head and Eya nodded with a stern look.
"Indeed. Bring me to Ian."
The guard led Eya to a dark cell, the cold draft chilling even through her clothes. Ian laid on the floor, curled in on himself and rocking slightly. His body twitched with every movement and when he lifted his head, a numb lifelessness showed in his eyes. Had the guard not led her here, Eya would have second-guessed that this man was Ian at all.
"Leave us, I will speak with him alone," she instructed, waving the guard away as she entered.
"Get up!" she yelled the moment the guard stepped away, her eyes flashing. "You kill my husband and now can't even address me?"
"Eya… I didn't realize it was you. I didn't kill him, I swear."
"I came down for your confession."
"I cannot confess to something I didn't do. It is impossible."
Eya crouched down, leaning close to Ian as he struggled to at least sit up for her. Her head tilted before she smiled softly. "Perhaps you're right. Let's make a deal, shall we? You tell me who my husband had an affair with, and I will get you out of here."
"How do you know?" Ian gasped, eyes widening at her request.
"I am asking the questions. Now answer me."
"I cannot. I do not know. He said nothing of who the affair was with!"
"Then you will continue to suffer and there is nothing I can do." Eya stood with a scoff. "I suppose Luke wouldn't happen to know?"
Ian shook his head as he reached out to her, his fingers grazing the edge of her dress. "I don't know! We were told at the same time but not told who. Please, Eya! Eya, you know I'm innocent! I am begging you! All I ask is a fair trial!"
"Silence! I am your queen, and you will respect me as so! Begging will earn you no favor." Eya pulled her dress away from his hand. "I know both you and Luke are partners in crime, and that is enough. I made sure you were put in the coldest cell, left without food, and made to suffer. To me, you are guilty."
"I know you are hurting. We're all hurting but this isn't-"
"Guard!" Eya cut him off before pausing as the guard's footsteps approached, the queen taking in Ian once more. "You think you know what it is like to hurt? You don't know the true feeling of pain, but you will soon. You will suffer until you can suffer no more, and then you will continue to suffer. You will beg and plead for it to end, but I will not allow it."
When the guard arrived, Eya left the cell, leaving Ian to sink back onto the ground with a groan, suffering under a veil of doubt and fear for his future. The darkness consumed him, leaving him without a single person to talk to and nothing but his mind: nothing but his prayers for a sliver of luck against the cruel hand fate dealt him.