Crying had offered no
solace to Canute, and when the stark reality of his mother’s demise fully sunk
in, all reason and sense had abandoned him.
 |
| 01 - CANUTE DESPAIRING |
His rant (angry outbursts)
and hysterical screams next, had brought the whole household to his mother's
door. Customers and servants clambered
over one another as they pounded fiercely on both doors, demanding they be let
in at once.
But Canute, in a state of shock had remained
quite inert, oblivious to the mayhem outside.
His body was completely benumbed as if he was pinned, crushed under the
oppressive weight of an enormous boulder the size of a mountain. His limbs (arms), as if severed from the
mind's control, hung listlessly on either side of him, pulled down by a
burdensome weight. His face ashen,
Canute stared with voided thoughts at his mother through the curtain of tragic,
bittersweet tears that still streamed down his cheeks and chin to dampen his
shirt.
Finally, one of the doors
was brought down with a great crushing sound and both Ron and Tike burst in
neck and neck. A small crowd of curious
seekers, too apprehensive to cross a sick woman's threshold, craned their necks
to cautiously peer in. Flushed faces
became pale and grim as they exchanged meaningful looks and, inclined their
heads together in groups, whispered hushed words among themselves, exchanged
information and disclaimers of her rumored illness, while pointing the discrete
finger of accusation at Tike and Ron.
Tike had gone straight for
Helga and began ranting over the spoilt bedding and the trouble that had been
incurred, while Ron Kuri had savagely grabbed hold of Canute by the collar of
his shirt (at back of the neck), lifted him up high in air, and burrowed his threatening,
venomous glare into Canute. When Canute defiantly stuck his tongue out at him,
Ron foaming in the mouth, cursed and reviled Canute then spat at Canute’s face.
Growling, he demanded snap (instant, quick) answers to his barrage of
unremitting (relentless) questions:
"Why didn't you open
the door… wretch? How the hell did you
get out? Who was it that let you
out? Cat got your tongue; answer me,
damn you!”
Canute’s scathing
(scornful), defiant glare and snarl on his lips, however, earned him Ron’s
seething ire. “Why aren’t you afraid? I
can crush you like a bug. I’ll snuff the very life out of you, you brazen, cursed
worm!"
 |
| 02- RON KURI |
Canute’s stubborn nature
would never allow him to admit defeat; his perpetual, derisive grin, therefore,
further antagonized the already furious Ron, as murder registered in his pupils
(eyes): "You dare so brazenly, challenge me?" Ron barked, as he violently
shook Canute as if he was a ragdoll; he then slapped Canute real hard, not once
but twice, right across the face.
Canute’s cheeks smarted
(burnt, stung) really bad, but he desisted shedding any tears; meanwhile, the
foul, sweaty stench of an unwashed male had assailed Canute's senses,
overpowering the lingering scent of his mother's sweet perfume. Blood trickled (oozed), from his nostrils and
from the corners of his swollen lips, onto his torn shirt in streaks of pale
crimson. Although the physical pain
inflicted by Ron Kuri tested Canute’s endurance it was dwarfed in comparison to
the anguish he felt deep in his heart and so, not a sound, not even the
slightest whimper escaped Canute's lips.
In truth, Canute was now
beyond caring, he did not feel or hear any of the heaped-on abuse; thus, highly
incensed Ron was robbed of the perverse satisfaction he sought to gain. Another fierce strike (hit) just then pummeled
the side of Canute's head and sent him flying clear across the room to slam his
head hard against the door post; consequently, Canute lost his orientation (balance,
senses), all about him turned blurry and began to spin.
"You are no good
shit! What did you do that for?" Tike's
voice shrieked. "What if you've
killed him?"
"What about it? Who cares?
Who would miss the wretch, anyway?" came Ron's cold retort. "Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say! Let the bastard die and join his mother in
hell. It’s no skin off of my nose."
"No skin off of your
nose? No skin off your nose?" Tike
ground her teeth. "You're going to
land me in serious trouble, that's what!
How can I sell him to the Wang family in the condition he's in now? Didn't I tell you to curb your temper? You've cost me more money than the skin of
your nose is worth!"
As Canute's throat filled
up with blood the voices drifted into the distance, echoing meaninglessly garble
in his head. He felt his body grow icy
cold, he was tumbling, falling into a deep, dark abyss from incredible,
towering heights.
~
"I warned you not to
hit him so hard! What if he expires
before the pertinent details of the crime and the whereabouts of the loot can
be extracted from him? All we have so
far is the motive for his crimes." Micen Do, seething (livid), furiously
chastised (reprimanded) Mouro.
"Begging your pardon,
Your Honor," the Court physician's somber voice just then interjected,
"I'm now ready to report my
diagnosis."
“Permission granted.” Receiving the signal from Micen, physician
Sullen came forward and knelt on one knee to make his report.
"Despite the gravity of his injuries, the
accused possesses a well-developed physique.
In a while he should recover his senses sufficiently to be responsive to
further questioning."
"A while..."
Micen exploded. “Am I surrounded by nincompoops,
total incompetents? I demand you revive
him now…Immediately!"
"I've done all that's
medically possible, Your Honor," Sullen protested, trembling, "but
I'm afraid that the last blow to the left temple was so serious that it left
the prisoner Canute Yonn in a very critical state. To bring him around prematurely
could put him in peril and leave him in an irreversible vegetative state or
worse, endanger his life (bring about his death). We must wait for the treatment I've
administered, for it to gradually take effect."
"Nonsense…!” His life (already a forfeit,) is of no
consequence anymore. Are you ..."
"Please allow me to
atone for my mistake, Your Honor." Mouro hastily intervened, stepping
forward and falling to one knee.
"If you permit me, sir, I'll bring him around now."
"You... You'll be
made to answer for your mistake later!"
Grumbling, Micen shook his head and motioned to the Head Bailiff,
Hecun. "You, bailiff, bring him
around."
Hecun rushed at once to
comply as Mouro and the physician both quietly stepped aside. Kneeling, he grabbed Canute by the shoulders
and shook him fiercely, shouting, "Snap out of it! You hear me, snap out of it! You are in the presence of the Honorable
Prefect Micen Do. Stop this charade,
this nonsense at once or you'll only suffer the worst for it!"
When this and other such
threats proved ineffective, Hecun, under the watchful eyes of the Prefect,
resorted to a controlled battering of the prisoner. As Micen impatiently drummed his fingers on
the table, the flustered Hecun grabbed Canute by the hair and slapped him with
his free hand until his hand hurt.
"What did you do that
for?" Micen interposed, freezing Hecun's hand in mid blow.
He had become rather
apprehensive about Canute's condition.
"What if you've killed him?"
"Don't touch
her! Let go of her! Mama!
Mama! I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!"
"Have you gone
completely mad?" Hecun went back to
shaking Canute by the shoulders.
"Snap out of it! You're in
court."
A sharp pain suddenly
brought Canute back to life. Utilizing
(using) his innate skill, in a split-second, overpowering (disabling) Hecun,
he’d pressed his bloodied iron shackles against Hecun's throat. In this desperate scuffle the bailiff,
despite his robustness, had fared the worst.
Presently locked in the extraordinary (weird, odd) iron's grip, he was
prohibited from using his full strength to neither free himself, nor subdue the
prisoner.
Fortunately, Canute
abruptly came to his senses, sprang back and promptly released Hecun.
"Get him up! He seems to have regained his senses."
Micen intervened.
Two other bailiffs rushed over at once to
raise Canute to his feet.
Hecun's parting kick was frozen in mid-stream
(halfway through) by Micen’s bark, "Let him be, I say!"
Staggering, Canute's
bewildered gaze moved from the Head Bailiff Hecun still panting with rage, to
the Prefect Micen Do, to Mouro, to the physician Sullen, and then to the two constraining
(in part supporting) him by the arms.
Having suffered a serious memory lapse, his crazed eyes, inexplicably
next stared at his shackled hands and feet, drenched in his own blood.
Canute’s focus once more
became vacant (empty) and all voices (sounds) melted away as his tortured wits
(mindset, brain) wandered back to another reality, to his mother, to his
childhood.
The wicked past (events) cruelly
now paraded before his mind's eye and triggered involuntary shudder as he anew
experienced fresh anguish of all those tormented years of enslavement in the
hands of the Wang family.
He’d endured unspeakable
degradation (humiliation/indignity), physical pain and malice until, finally,
on his thirteenth try; he'd successfully escaped to freedom and to safety.
He grimaced coldly in
satisfaction when he recalled how, in the small hours of the night, just prior
to leaving the city he had snuck back into the cellar of the cursed brothel by
way of a secret tunnel he'd found earlier.
Careful not to be seen,
he’d forced the lock and gained entry into his mother's former room, which had
remained empty for seven years to rid it of her ghost; then, exerting some
effort he’d recovered the paltry sum she'd hidden under the floorboards.
.jpg) |
| 03- CANUTE (in his teens) |
First, he’d made sure both Tike and Ron were
in their cursed residence then, returning to the basement, he’d arranged all
sorts of flammable material in strategic corners of the basement, dosed
(soaked) them with lamp oil and then, at a safe distance, using a flaming
arrow, he had torched the entire establishment.
By the time the fire was noticed by the
occupants, his other carefully arranged tinder had ignited all the exit
doors. The billowing smoke and searing
flames shot into the Heavens, engulfing the whole building and turning it into
a death trap.
Despite the danger, Canute
had fearlessly stayed at the scene until he'd got solid confirmation of Tike
and Ron's demise. He’d felt entirely justified for this revenge as the two
culprits had grievously wronged his mother even after her death. To save themselves paltry burial expenses and
future trouble, they had secretly and unceremoniously dumped her ashes into the
cold, fast flow of the Sue River.
When Canute left the city,
the raging fire had already consumed an entire block before it was finally
brought under control. His heart was so
hardened (by all those years of abuse) that he'd felt absolutely no remorse for
the devastating destruction and the unavoidable, lost lives.
Ensuing years though at
times the obstacles lying in his path seemed insurmountable, Canute stoically
persevering had carried a clear aim in his heart, to advance methodically
towards that other act of retribution.
In his later teen years,
fortuitously Canute had chanced on a disillusioned ex-official named Brier, a
key member of a powerful gang that had been terrorizing the adjacent
countryside. Brier, much impressed by Canute’s resilience and outstanding
physique, took him under his wing. The
ensuing years under Brier’s protection and guidance had been the most contented
one for Canute; moreover, when the gang eventually dissolved, the skills, cash
and wide range of experience, had enabled Canute to move to Denor City and
establish himself as an affluent citizen, laying the foundations for his
ultimate revenge.
 |
| 04- CANUTE YONN |
~
"Why is he not
responding? I think he's shamming
(faking) it! I'll teach him to make a
mockery of my court. You, there! Apply the hot iron to his chest, and then
we'll see if he won't come around."
"Please, you’re Honor,
the state he’s in, any further torture would kill him (finish him of)."
Sullen hastily intervened, then fell to his knees to beg forgiveness for his
outburst.
"Well, just touch it
to his upper arm then. That may even
stop some bleeding." Micen donning a wry smile rescinded his order.
Canute's anguished cry as
he was branded with the red-hot iron pierced the suspenseful air of the
courtroom, curdling the blood of even a few of those eavesdroppers outside.
But mercy was sadly
lacking in this court and in this Prefecture.
Many more just sneered, gloated and nodded their heads in approval as
they silently congratulated the Prefect when the deliberate cruelty produced the
desired result. The conscious Canute,
with his full faculties restored, was then promptly interrogated.
Briefly, though painfully,
Canute Yonn recounted the obstacles and the rather odd circumstances that had
led him to join the powerful gang of brigands that had terrorized the
surrounding countryside for many years. He
was then grilled at length about this notorious gang and its final demise.
Micen, of course, was
familiar with the case and approved of the competent, though extremely cruel
measures taken by the former (previous) Magistrate Knon Zhour to bring the
situation under control. What he had
been ignorant of, and now found to be of great interest, was the internal
strife that had existed at the time within the gang itself. As Canute now told it, it appeared that this
infighting had, in fact, been the chief reason for the gang's demise, since
those who had known of the Magistrate's planned ambush had chosen to flee
rather than warn the unpopular Chief.
"I and the other
fortunate few who had escaped the catastrophe immediately retrieved our shares
of the collective booty from the secret reserve. Under the assumed name and the guise of a
gentleman I returned to Denor City to fulfill my life's ambition. “
 |
| 05- CANUTE YONN |
“When I from a distance
spotted Senson Luko, the flames of vengeance anew seared my heart. After few
setbacks, I set to work on devising a perfect plan.”
“First, I had tried to cultivate Hacket's
friendship, but that overbearing lout just used me. Then by chance I encountered Yenis and
altered my tactic. My conquest of her
came rather easier than I'd anticipated, for not only did she have no moral
character, but she also hated her circumstances and sought to escape it. She was withering away from being subjected
to the constant ravages of her cruel, calculating and possessive husband.”
“That place was built and
secured like a fortress, and, despite all my experience, I needed her help in
penetrating the maze of private quarters and reaching my destination. My long-awaited opportunity for revenge came
the night she snuck me into the private inner compound, then to the bedchamber.”
"The beast had
already fallen asleep, and she had to wake him.
Without the least regret, with one swift stroke, I rid the earth of that
menace. I vented my fury on his severed
head, spitting in its eyes and grinding his face under my feet. Then I cut open his chest and ripped his
cruel heart from the bloody cavity. With
it still warm in my hand I frantically gazed around for a suitable container
until my eyes fell on a carved rosewood box, inlaid with jade and mother of
pearls. After tossing the contents to
the floor I placed the organ into it.
Next I severed the finger that wore his precious heirloom ring, and cut
a lock of his hair, both of which I placed in the same box."
Micen knit his brows and
pursed his lips in an angry frown; he knew just which box it was that Canute
referred to. A few years back he had
gone through a lot of trouble and expense to secure that particular
160-year-old box yet had been obliged to present it to Senson Luko after he had
expressed such a liking for it in the presence of Commissioner Torrak who,
incidentally, was also his cousin.
"So, what did become of that box?"
he interrupted the prisoner to snarl.
"I burned it, along
with the contents, at Kuno Temple. The box was painted such that it looked like
it was made of metal, but in fact, it was not, it actually was wood made to
resemble a metal strongbox."
 |
| 06- BURNING THE JEWEL ENCRUSTED BOX |
Micen cringed. What a pity!
The shame of it! He motioned
Canute to continue.
"Before leaving the
corpse I left in his mouth the token of my mother I'd carried since childhood,
an old coin with a hole in it, to remind the Luko family of the grave injustice
that had been done to her."
Micen interrupted the
prisoner at this point to review the records but, as he suspected, no such coin
had been reported, confiscated for evidence, or recorded in any of the
reports. All who were questioned made no
reference to such an obvious clue left behind.
This piece of vital evidence could have shed clear light on this case
and its absence infuriated Micen. Was
this mere incompetence, or a cover-up?
How deep does corruption, the conspiracy penetrate into the ranks of my
Prefecture? Making a resolution to
himself to investigate this thoroughly at a later date, he let the matter pass
and directed Canute to resume his confession.
"When I emerged from
the room, I found Yenis with her gathered valuables in a bundle, waiting to
take flight along with me. This was a
complication I had hoped to avoid. I
tried my best to reason with her, explaining that she should return to her
quarters and feign innocence. I said she
would be a hindrance and would seriously hamper my escape if I were to take her
along immediately, that it would be in our best interests if I were to fetch
her at a later date after things had cooled off a bit. I made up a tale that I needed more time to
secure a suitable home in another city that we could run to. I even told her that I had some urgent,
unfinished businesses elsewhere that needed to be taken care of first. However I tried to persuade her, she just
hung onto my sleeve and would not let go of it.
At the point where I was about to tear it off, she threatened to scream. At my wit's end, I was forced to comply with
her wishes.”
"After taking refuge
at Kuno Temple and sacrificing the organs of her tormentor to my mother's
spirit that night, I stole away with part of the valuables she had insisted
that we take along. Why not take them? It was only right that the family be made to
pay for it."
A sudden dizziness overcame him, and Canute
paused to steady himself. "I felt
sorry for having misled her, but I knew she would be all right, since I had
left her the other horse with the rest of the booty in its harness."
"You are lying
bandit! You're still trying to deceive
us. Why not come clean and admit that
you took it all?" Mouro burst out, unable to contain himself.
"To think that she was devastated by
being let down…hah, by the likes of you!"
"Keep your
silence!"
"But you know the
bastard is lying, Your Honor!" Mouro threw a furious glance at Canute and
snarled.
"Who knows just how
much of this sob-story of his is fiction?"
He stepped forward,
"I implore you, Your Honor, not to be
beguiled by this deceitful, cunning, dog!"
You dare to openly be
insubordinate (question my ability to judge)?
Perhaps you'd like to be the one presiding in this seat? Micen inwardly
fumed then checked his temper.
"It’s up to me to decide on the validity
of the testimony, not you." He
shook a threatening finger at Mouro, "I've been tolerant of your
shortcomings thus far, but don't assume that you are indispensable. One more disruptive outburst and I'll have
you pilloried! And that goes for the
rest of you as well!"
The appeals of Mouro's
supporters froze on their lips as Micen's finger panned by them. Mouro changed color and dropped to his knees
at once to plead for the Prefect's forgiveness and appease him with placating
words.
(END OF SECTION 28)
~
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