The Dragon King's Heart

"The who? What?!" Nyx exclaimed in shock the moment she received the news. 

"The Nobles of the High Court, Nyx, do you not know who they are?" Alum sighed. 

Nyx had held up her position as their leader quite well since she had taken it on. But her one weakness was remembering key details on the noble and royal affairs. Lucky for her, she had Alum by her side to remind her from time to time. 

"Oh! The ones who are always on their high horses!" She exclaimed with glee when she recalled. 

But seeing Alum's annoyed expression, she quickly simmered down. The person who came to inform them was a guard who was on patrol. Hearing about what had happened, Nyx knew she had to do something. 

"We need to do something to help Margaret! We can't just let the nobles have their way with her!" Nyx declared as she leaped out of her seat and headed for the door. 

Alum quickly pulled her back. 

"What are you doing!" she exclaimed anxiously as she removed her hand from his, "We don't have time to discuss any plans! We have to take action now!" 

Her second in command shook his head vehemently. The more anxious the situation was, the more they needed to keep calm and have a leveled head. Knowing the power the Nobles wielded, they could not act rashly. If not, there would be consequences. 

When Alum relayed this information, Nyx could not help but let out a sigh. 

"What should we do then?" she asked him. 

"Let's go look for Kol. Maybe he will have a plan," Alum suggested.

"The half-breed? Alright then," Nyx took his suggestion and they set off immediately. 

While they were on their way to look for Kol, they bumped into him in the hallway. He too had been informed of what was happening and was rushing down to where the nobles had brought Margaret to. 

"What is your plan?" Nyx asked as they made their way there together. 

"Plan?" Kol echoed her word back as she turned to look at her. 

"Yes, don't you have a plan?" Alum asked with concern. 

  Kol replied without skipping a beat, "The plan is to stall." 

"Stall?"

Kol brought out a note from his pocket, it was a note Margaret had written and had it sent to Kol before she went to greet the Nobles. She suspected something like this could happen, so she told him that Marius had gone to bring Laina back. 

If she failed to stall the nobles, it would be up to Kol to take up the role. 

"Well, at least we know what we need to do now. But first, we should get there to see what is happening. They might be the Nobles of the High Court, but they would still need to abide by the rules," Alum added. 

With that, they continued their way to where the nobles were. Through the intel of the servants and maids, they ended up in the Trial Theater, situated in the left-wing of the Kinshearth Palace. By the time they got there, the entire theater was already filled up with the nobles' entourage. 

Margaret was placed on trial on the stand while Lord Ethan and the other ruling Lords and Ladies of the High Court Noble houses sat next to him. Everyone was whispering and gossiping to one another. 

Even the ministers of the court took their seats to watch the situation unfold. Margaret, still in a daze on how things have transpired this far, was on the stand. When she saw Kol, Nyx, and Alum, she signaled them to stay where they were. 

She knew that if they were to come to her aid, they would be dragged into this mess as well. Seeing as the Nobles were just looking for a scapegoat to vent their frustrations and make an example out of, it was best for her to be the only sacrifice. 

As the noise in the Trial Theater escalated, Lord Ethan got up from his seat and slammed his hand on the table multiple times. As the sound reverberated throughout the entire theater, everyone quickly quietened down. 

"This handmaid is put on trial for insulting a Noble of the High Court. We are here to decide on a suitable punishment," Lord Ethan declared to the masses who have gathered. 

"Insulted? What in Kinshearth?" Margaret muttered to herself. 

This was clearly rigged against her. There wasn't even going to be a trial where she could defend herself. They were just going to punish her outright. Kol and the others could not believe their ears. 

"That's it? That's why they are punishing Margaret? Have they lost their minds?" Nyx roared in anger. 

Alum quickly asked her to simmer down, "Nyx are you crazy?! If they heard what you said, it's going to be you who goes on trial next!"

Seeing how things unfolded reminded Kol of a distant past. A time when he was still enslaved. A time, where he and the others who were like him were blamed for everything and anything. He vowed never to let anyone else end up in a similar situation. 

"This is ridiculous, we cannot allow them to do this," Kol said to them. 

"What should we do?" Nyx asked him. 

Alum looked at the both of them in disbelief, "Are you guys crazy? If we step in now all of us would be dead! Her Highness would come back to witness our deaths in the hands of the nobles!"

Kol grinned as he looked into Nyx's eyes. Though they had their differences, they could agree on one thing. An identical plan had emerged in both of their minds. 

"We answer only to her Highness. And if Margaret is in trouble, she would have done anything to save her. In turn, we must do the same for her." Nyx declared. 

Kol nodded, "Since her instruction is for us to stall, we will stall this trial for as long as possible."

Upon finishing his sentence, Kol got up on his feet and walked into the center of the Trial Theater to stand next to Margaret. Nyx did the same, despite Alum's effort to hold her back. Realizing they were not about to go down without a fight, he joined them. 

"What are all of you you doing…" Margaret asked in confusion, wondering what they had planned. 

"We're following your plan, Lady Margaret," Kol whispered to her with a wink, "We're stalling."