"I swear I didn't do it", Beulah cried out, " You liar, you did it, let's cast a stone on her" Jore snapped back.
Damen who was walking by, stopped for a while behind the tree observing all that was happening.
"Yes we should cast a stone on her", Debbie shouted. The little crowd who had surrounded Beulah all had a stone and were about to cast it on her when they heard a stern Warning. "Let he who is without sin be the first to cast the stone" this time Damen came out and repeated the statement.
"Who are you? and what business do you have here?", Debbie angrily asked Damen.
" I am Damen and though I do not know what happened, I feel we all sin in our own little way and so this lass here should be allowed to speak before judging her"
"I see. Do you even know the gravity of what she has done?" Debbie snapped back, "She stole the king's scepter!"
"There is no smoke without a fire isn't it, let me assume she did steal the king's scepter, might there be a reason for it? young girl, who are you, and are guilty?
" My name is Beulah, I am one of the king's maidens, I didn't steal the scepter, I swear with my life."
"Do you know these people who have surrounded you?", Damen further asked.
" Yes sir, still on her knees, Beulah sniffed. "They are the other maidens, sir, I am the favorite maiden of the king and so, I was sent out by the King to get his favorite bush meat which will be set to prepare his meal as he just recovered from an ailment, I also helped out with the cure, my father used to be a herbalist and so at the age of 6, I started learning how to make different herbs for different purposes until my father died so I was sent as a maiden at the palace by my aunt".
" Oh I see, so how did this scepter get into your possession?" Damen demanded.
"The king had long been looking for the scepter ever since he was sick, and the priest told the king that the person who had the scepter had bad intentions for him, as it was as though the person had already wished him dead and so the king made a law to find who had he scepter to be put to death, let me just say I was a little bit reckless today, as I wanted to quickly get the bush meat for my king, so I dropped my bag around the hut, only for me to return and find the scepter in my bag and then be tagged the guilty one". Please help me, sir, I don't want to die. Beulah held Damen by his legs.
The crowd started to murmur, " she's a liar, someone caught her sneaking out of the palace with the scepter.
"Why would she even want to kill the king, when from all ramifications, she had been the busy one looking for herbs and food for the king? I sense some sort of jealousy here, I will find out who did this",
Let us all go back to the palace," May you live long my king, I heard all that happened at the palace and I would love to be involved in this case, my father is a wise one, though not from this kingdom, I have walked in his footstep to judge rightly as I feel Beulah isn't the guilty one, give me 5days to fetch the culprits, my lord". Damen bowed before the king, and the king agreed to his request.
**
"I feel the maidens all have to take an oath to fetch the culprit out, Damen soliloquized and so he made arrangements on how the oath was to be taken.
On the 5th day, Damen showed up at the palace.
" Your royal majesty, I have found a solution, can all the maidens come out, please? Jore, Debbie, Beulah, and the other three maidens all came out dressed in their beautiful attire.
"Maidens, today you all will make an oath, to choose what befalls the guilty one and then you drink from this calabash, I assure you that the guilty one will by no means go unpunished."
To their surprise, as it was the least solution they had expected.
"I can't take out of the drink, how do we even trust you? Debbie snapped back.
" I will also take out of the concoction to prove that it is genuine, so please step forward all.
Beulah drank and passed it to the other three maidens, which they passed to Debbie after drinking out of it, before Debbie could pass the drink to Jore, Jore had run out of the palace.
Smiling, "Obviously my King, Jore is the guilty one, Damen said to the King.
" Unbelievable!! Jore? After Beulah, I trusted her so much, she ran out for fear of what might befall her."
The King said.
"Funnily, this is just palm wine, I didn't lay a curse on it, as a son of the wise ones, I learned wisdom from my father, I knew the guilty one will refuse to drink out of it, thank God Beulah wasn't put to death"
The other maidens were dumbfounded as they all believed Beulah was the guilty one until she was indicated today.
"With the power invested upon me, I the King of Inkwell land, declare that Jore must be banished from this Kingdom and Beulah be made my second-in-command that means you alone have the power to have and hold this scepter and as for you Damen, I have made you my adviser"
"Thank you, sir, your wisdom saved my life," Beulah fell to the ground and bowed before Damen.