The Discarded Heir's Return

Episode 7

The gate to the oakwood manor was thrown open, revealing the entire family and Lord Thomas standing in the outer courtyard.

Arthur’s face was full of shock.

This was a bloody trap.

"What's this then?" Lord Thomas called out, his voice sharp and confident. "So you've finally decided to show up, have you? You're like a mongrel on a leash!"

Godric laughed, a high-pitched, mocking sound. "Looks like you're not so tough now, are you? All that bravado for nothing, you useless git!"

Lord Aethelred stepped forward, his face red with rage. "You dare beat my son and then refuse our summons? You have some gall!"

Arthur, ignoring the others, looked at Lord Thomas. "Lord, Thomas" he said, his voice quiet, "I hear you have a stake in the inn where I work. I hear your influence keeps the Guild of Brewers from bothering us."

Lord Thomas smug look faded. He was a commoner who had clawed his way into a lord's status, and he had a keen sense of power. Arthur's words were a strange note.

"What does that have to do with anything? I am here on a family matter."

Arthur simply smiled. "My lord, you needn't worry about keeping the inn safe. You will no longer be the one in charge of it. You will have to find a new way to earn your title and your wealth. Your entire house will be brought to its knees."

Arthur smirked. He wasn't going to let them bully him without doing his own damage.

Lord Thomas face flushed in fury. His title was new and his fortune was a source of great pride. "What are you talking about? Who do you think you are to threaten me? Do you know the family I hail from? I can have you thrown in the dungeon for your insolence!"

"You can try," Arthur replied, his voice flat. "But all your power, all your wealth...it is nothing. You can try to ruin me, but you will find yourself in the gutter before I am."

The Old Lady, sensing the change, stepped in. She pointed a trembling finger at Arthur. "Enough of this empty boasting! You have cheated on my granddaughter and dared to strike my grandson. You will be punished. Do you dare to step forward?"

Arthur simply stared at her, his back straight. "Why not?"

He walked toward them, his steps was steady.

He ignored the lords and the ladies, the servants and the guards.. He walked past them and entered the big hall, which was filled with the most prestigious nobles in the land. They all fell silent as he walked by.

The Old lady also walked to her seat, a look of utter disgust on her face. "You made a vow five years ago. You promised that you would adhere to our family's laws and be punished if you ever dishonored the Peckham name. Does that promise still stand?"

Arthur looked at her, his eyes clear and cold. "It does."

"Good," she said, her voice a low growl. "Bring me the Iron Scepter!"

A servant hurried in with a long, heavy rod of wrought iron, a relic of the family’s old punishments.

"He will be punished," the old lady declared.

"Forty strikes to his back. I want him to know the full strength of the Peckham family's justice!"

Lord Aethelred stepped forward first, a wicked grin on his face. "This is for my son!" He snatched the heavy scepter from the servant.

But before he could strike, Lord Alistair pulled the scepter from his hands. "He is my son-in-law! I will be the one to punish him! I failed to control him, and I will be the one to set him straight!"

His wife, Elara's mother, snatched the scepter from him. "He deserves to be struck by a woman!" she shrieked. "I will do it!"

The three of them bickered and fought over the scepter, their greed for revenge a spectacle for all the guests to see.

But then a new voice cut through the noise.

"He is my husband!"

It was Elara. She walked forward with a look of cold fury on her face. She pulled the scepter from her mother's hands, her slender fingers wrapped around the cold iron, and she raised it as if to strike.