It had been five days.

Or, at least, Anna thought it was somewhere close to that. There was only one window in this room, covered by a latticework of wrought iron bars. Outside, she could see the sun shining serenely, but it never seemed to move from the same spot in the sky. This made it hard to determine exactly how long she had been locked up for. She was making a bit of guesswork based on when she got hungry and tired to figure out how long she had been imprisoned. Upon being ripped away from Broderick’s limp body, she had been blindfolded and shuffled roughly along for a while before being thrown into the prison cell she now found herself in. It was kind of hard to think of the spacious room as a prison cell, however.

There was a bed underneath the barred window which was covered in an assortment of pillows as well as the most comfortable blanket Anna had ever felt in her life. Not even the constant sunlight beaming in was enough to keep her awake once she laid in the bed, which compared to her bed at the orphanage felt like sleeping on a cloud. There was a shelf littered with books at the foot of the bed, but they were filled with some strange writing and language that Anna had never seen before so they did not do much to interest her. The floors were laid with a beautiful white marble that had swirls of black running through it. Paintings of breathtaking forest scenery and creatures Anna had never seen before hung on the walls around her. Anna’s favorite painting was a rather strange portrait that appeared to show a woman falling from the sky. She even had her own bathroom that she did not have to share with anyone. Perhaps even better than that, she had actually found an elegant looking brush in one of the drawers underneath the sink in the bathroom. Again, it really was hard to think of this place as a prison when she compared it to her usual living quarters.

Along the wall opposite the window was the door which she had been tossed through when being placed in the cell. The door had no window or handle, but she could occasionally hear footsteps trotting along outside or the soft sound of voices chatting just on the other side. There was some kind of strange orb that hung above the door, suspended by a metal arm. The orb seemed to emit a strange glow that Anna was sure followed her as she moved about the room. If she had to guess, it was some sort of contraption to keep an eye on her. Anna had tried to open the door only once but had learned that was not a good idea. As she had neared it the orb above began to flash a red color and upon touching the door she received quite a nasty shock that nearly made her wet herself. She was not keen on experiencing that sensation again anytime soon.

Her favorite part of the room, even better than the bed or the bathroom or the brush, was the food. Sitting directly in the center of the room was a small white table. A single, intricately carved white wooden chair was sat at the table. Three times a day, a plate full of hot, delicious food would appear seemingly from thin air, with a fancy fork and spoon to top it all off. There would also be a glass of some sort of juice that Anna could not quite place each time the food appeared. At first, she was wary of eating the food, afraid it had been tainted or poisoned somehow, but desperation and hunger won out in the end and she was quite glad it did. There had been rolls sweeter than Anna had ever tasted, vegetables cooked to perfection with all the right seasonings, roast chicken drumsticks and pork chops, eggs and waffles and even syrup. Anna did not even know what the dish she had been served last was called, but it was most definitely delicious. To her utter astonishment, each time she had finished her meal and gotten up from the little table, the plates and silverware and glass of juice disappeared, leaving the table absolutely spotless upon their vanishing.

Still, despite all the wonderful commodities she now found herself with, Anna could not help but be afraid, as well as a little bored in the small room. She was starting to feel a little stir crazy in her confinement. Mostly, she found herself worrying about Broderick. The last time she had seen him, he was most definitely the worse for wear and she couldn’t help but wonder if his status had declined even further since then. She had a feeling that if he was still alive, he had not managed to wake up from the wounds inflicted on him that night at the orphanage. If he had, she was sure he would have come to get her from this place. Surely if he had woken up, he would have explained what Anna had told him about Gwendolyn and cleared this whole mess up. But he had not come and so she feared the worst for him.

Of course, it was possible that he had woken up and had just chosen to not come for her. This thought had plagued Anna more than once in the last few days. Being alone with your thoughts for days on end was not always a positive experience. To combat the negativity threatening to creep in, Anna had been doing her best to keep herself busy with her limited options. Among the strange books, she had found what appeared to be sticks of charcoal as well as some blank pieces of paper rolled up in tubes. She had never been a gifted artist, but Anna did enjoy doodling silly pictures occasionally and with nothing better to do, she had made quite a few doodles over the last few days. She had drawn a little stick figure army, some rather ugly looking cats, and even tried to recreate the painting of the falling woman that hung on the wall. Her attempt was quite hideous, however, and she ended up tossing that one into a rolled up ball on the ground. Similar to the food, it seemed to vanish into thin air after a few minutes.

She also had been taking quite a few more baths than were absolutely necessary. Not only did they help to keep her mind clear, but it was the first time in her whole life she had been given the opportunity to take a long hot soak in an admittedly rather oversized tub. At the orphanage, you could only take five minute showers. The water was so cold and the smell of mildew so pervasive that no one wanted to take a shower for any longer than that anyways. The bathtub itself, on top of being massive, seemed to be carved out of the same pearlescent marble as the floor. And not just as in it was made of the same material either. Anna had inspected it closely and as far as she could tell, the floors and tub were actually carved from the same piece of stone without a seam or break in sight. There was only a single golden handle with dotted silver accents and the water emitted from a similarly ornate golden faucet. The water that poured from it always seemed to be just the right temperature and had a faint floral smell that pleased Anna very much.

Anna’s captors had even been so kind as to provide her with a change of clothes. Upon looking around the room on her first day there, she had found a stack of folded white shirts made of what Anna thought might be silk. She had never actually owned or felt anything made of silk, so it was hard to be sure, but whatever the shirts were made of was far more comfortable than any clothes the orphanage had ever provided her. She had also found a similar stack of various colored pants made of the same soft, smooth material. Similar to the food and wads of paper, whenever she changed into a new set of clothes, the discarded clothing would disappear into the void. Without anyone entering her room or restocking her supplies, there would be brand new sets of clothing in the same spot every morning. No matter how many times this occurred, Anna was still amazed and a little freaked out by it. She still had not fully accepted what Broderick had told her, that magic existed. Part of her still thought this was all some kind of crazy, elaborate dream her mind was cooking up. Perhaps she had fallen and hit her head climbing from her window the night of the fire and she was now in some kind of coma.

But another part of Anna was beginning to believe that perhaps Broderick was not so crazy after all and that what was happening was as real as her dislike for Ms. Whitney. She doubted her brain was even creative enough to have come up with all of this on it’s own anyways. One thing was for certain: she was not nearly as miserable here in this prison as she probably should have been. Unfortunately, that was about to come to an end.

On this presumable fifth day, Anna dried off and got dressed after another wonderful bath. She clasped the pendant she had nearly died for around her neck, still surprised that her captors had not taken it from her, when something finally happened. Anna heard footsteps and inaudible muttering coming from the other side of her door. This time was different than the other times she had heard them, for the footsteps continued to grow louder as someone approached her room. They finally came to a stop just outside the door.

“Stand back prisoner,” a demanding male voice said from the other side.

Anna gazed at the door with apprehension as it swung open forcefully. Standing outside in the dimly lit hallway were three guards, clad in the same ornate armor as the people who had arrested her on her first night in this place. For all Anna knew, they could have been the exact same guards who had done the arresting.

“Do not move and do not try anything funny,” said the middle guard in a voice that Anna recognized.

It was the female guard who had been there the night she arrived here with Broderick. The same female guard who had barked orders at her before ripping her away from Broderick’s limp body. She dressed no differently than the two guards on either side of her, but something about the way she spoke and carried herself radiated a sense of authority. Anna felt a sudden rush of anger as she realized who she was now in the company of.

“Where’s Broderick?” Anna said heatedly.

“That is none of your business. Now you will move up against the wall behind you and place both of your arms out,” the guard replied, moving her hand to the sword hung around her waist as she did so.

Anna noticed the gesture but didn’t care. Her thirst for answers and her anger at the guard drove away any fear she might have felt.

“It is my business,” Anna said.

Anna stepped forward as she spoke but she did not get far. As Anna made a movement towards them, she noticed the two guards on either side of the woman begin to reach for something at their sides. Not swords, like the woman had, but what Anna thought might be wands. It made no difference however, as before they had so much as gotten a good grip around their weapons, the female guard had drawn her sword, crossed the room, and slammed Anna up against the wall with enough force to knock the wind out of her, lifting Anna off the floor with her forearm as she did so. Anna felt the urge to gulp but was afraid to move her throat at all now that a sharp blade was pressed against it.

“Give me a reason to run you through, murderer,” the woman whispered menacingly in Anna’s ear.

The courage Anna had felt from her anger subsided rather quickly and she could feel tears beginning to well in her eyes.

“Captain,” one of the other guards said, “there must be due process.”

The female guard, apparently the ‘captain’ of these other two, gazed deep into Anna’s eyes for far longer than was comfortable, keeping Anna held a foot off the floor and the sword against her skin the entire time. There was a kind of hatred in her eyes that Anna had never quite experienced before. Finally, the Captain turned her head sideways and spit on the floor before letting Anna fall hard to the ground. She landed squarely on her rear end and did not dare try to stand up.

“Filthy nontribus. You’ll get what you deserve for trying to steal magic from our people, from Gwen,” the captain said.

Anna had no idea what a nontribus was and she wanted to protest about stealing Gwendolyn’s magic, but all words seemed to have escaped her in her fear. Before any words could come back to her, one of the other guards had rushed up to where she now sat on the floor and pulled out a set of what looked to be glowing chains. As he moved them towards Anna, she quickly realized they were a rather strange set of handcuffs. They did not look to be made of metal, but rather looked like they were forged from light made solid, almost like the neon signs that shops would often hang in their windows.

“These will dampen your magic so there will be no use in trying any funny business. It won’t help you escape but it will cause you a considerable amount of pain,” the guard said matter of factly.

“But I don’t have mag-” Anna began to protest, but before she could finish her sentence the guard had locked the handcuffs on to her wrists.

A wave of intense nausea immediately swept over Anna. If she had not already been seated against the wall, it very well may have caused her to fall over. At the same time, her mouth felt as though it had been stuffed with cotton balls. Her tongue had gone completely dry and numb and she doubted she could talk if she wanted to. In her stupor, she felt the Captain grab her arm roughly and yank her up off the floor. Anna’s legs felt like jelly beneath her and she felt herself begin to falter. Before her legs could give out and send her crashing to the floor, the two lesser guards were on either side of her, supporting her weight. They seemed to have expected this reaction from the handcuffs.

“Let’s go,” the Captain said.

Anna tried to say ‘okay’ but only managed to drool a little. They led her out of the room into the corridor outside. It stretched for what seemed like miles in either direction, lined with doors just like the one to Anna’s room. The hall was dark and had a musty sort of smell that made Anna’s nausea worse. Between each of the doors hung some kind of strange lights. It took Anna a moment to focus, but she soon realized that the lights were some kind of crystal, seemingly growing right out of the stone walls. They gave off an eerie and unnatural orange glow. Before Anna could inspect the glowing gems any closer, the Captain prodded her in the back with what felt like the hilt of her sword.

“To the left, nontribus,” the Captain said.

One of the guards holding Anna up gave her an almost sympathetic look before giving her arm a light tug towards the left. Anna obliged and with the help of the two lesser guards, began to make her way leftwards down the hallway. Before long, they came to a descending flight of stairs and Anna was led down those into a similar looking corridor. She was led, and sometimes prodded, down several more hallways and up and down many flights of stairs. Luckily, Anna seemed to be growing used to the adverse effects of the glowing handcuffs. The fuzziness and weakness of her limbs remained, but the nausea had began to subside greatly.

Some of the hallways she was led down were similar to the one outside of her room, door after door only separated by those strange wall crystals. Others seemed far more grand and unique, containing white doors with gilded gold patterns and chandeliers hanging every so often. Anna noticed that even in these chandeliers, the light seemed to be coming from small gemstones that appeared to grow out of the metal frames of the lights. Some hallways were filled with a bustling chorus of people who quickly parted to allow Anna and the guards through. Their eyes followed Anna with a deep suspicion and malice that made her feel extremely uncomfortable. Some hallways were massive in a way that made Anna wonder if they had been built large just to appear grandiose or if there was a more specific reason they were so large.

More than once, Anna stopped to gawk at the strange things she was seeing. In one instance, there was a man moving a large metal cauldron down the hall, but he was not carrying it with his hands. He was pointing a wand at it and making it float a foot in front of him. In one of the larger halls, a man seemed to be lighting a fireplace, doing so by shooting a spout of flames from the tip of his wand. Another time that caused Anna to stop and look on in wonder was a woman carrying a jar. Normally, this would not be anything spectacular, but something seemed to be moving inside this jar. As the woman passed, Anna got a closer look at it. To her amazement, there seemed to be a small tornado, whipping and thrashing about inside of the glass container. Each time she stopped to stare at something, the Captain prodded her in the back hard with the hilt of her sword and the guards pulled her along forcefully.

One area in particular, however, caused Anna to ignore the jabs and pulls multiple times. There was nothing too otherworldly or magical about this hallway in particular, but it was the most beautiful place Anna had ever laid eyes on. This hall seemed much shorter than the others, but it made up for size in beauty. The floors seemed to be carved from a shimmering sort of stone that flickered with reds and greens and blues and purples as Anna’s eyes wandered across it. The walls were inlaid with a multitude of different colored gemstones, rubies and emeralds and sapphires that danced and glittered from the lights above. Unlike the other hallways, with their illuminated crystal lanterns and chandeliers, this hallway had ornate torches hung along the walls. They burned with an unnatural and captivating white flame unlike any Anna had seen before. Paintings of dignified and regal looking men and women hung along the walls, painted in a way that their eyes seemed to follow Anna as she moved. Something about them seemed familiar, though she could not quite figure out what it was. Midway down the hallway, the walls widened into a circular shape and in the middle of the floor sat a fountain carved of the blackest stone Anna had ever seen, all except for a white orb that seemed to float in the air above the rest of the ebony fountain.

The fountain itself was familiar to Anna, for it depicted the same scene as the painting that had hung in her cell. The floating white orb seemed to be pouring water down upon a woman who seemed to be falling towards the base of the fountain. As the water hit her body, it cascaded down into the bottom in droplets of water like falling diamonds. Upon reaching the midway point where the fountain rested, Anna realized the droplets weren’t just falling into an empty basin though. Inside the base of the fountain were hundreds of carved, miniaturized people. Each one was reaching up towards the much larger falling woman, as though hoping to be showered by the water falling from her. Anna stopped for a second too long to look at this causing the Captain to jab her in the back harder than ever, causing Anna to release a gasp of pain.

“You have no right to gaze upon the Source Fountain, nontribus. Now move,” the Captain said venomously.

Anna began to turn towards her to point out the fact that she had to look at the fountain, seeing as it was right in the middle of their path, when the door caused her to stop again. Anna had not been able to see it at first due to the curved walls around the fountain but now that they were closer, she could see it quite clearly. To the right of the fountain was a set of double doors just as fanciful and magnificent as the rest of the hall. They were carved from some kind of opalescent material that Anna would have thought was stone if she had not been able to see the wood grains in them. Similarly to the walls, glittering gemstones seemed to be inlaid along the edges of the doors. SIlver and gold accents danced along the wood in beautiful circular patterns and strange shapes. Where the doors met there was a tracing of what was clearly a mountaintop, carved from a much darker wood that the rest of the door so as to make it stand out even more. Atop the mountain sat a star, clearly made from some kind of crystal. It glowed with a radiant light, much brighter than the lanterns in the previous hallways. Like Anna’s room, this door had no handles and she found herself wanting desperately to push it open to see what was on the other side. Before she could yank away from the guards and act on this impulse, however, the Captain placed something against her back. This time, it was much sharper than a hilt had any right being and Anna quickly realized the captain had the actual blade pressed against her back.

“I said move,” she whispered.

Anna obeyed, allowing herself to be led past the fountain, past the magnificent door, and towards yet another flight of stairs.

It felt like they had been walking for hours. Surely that had walked up and down at least a hundred flights of stairs, travelled down countless hallways. But really, Anna had no idea how many steps she had walked down. The fog that clouded her brain made it extremely hard to keep count of just how many sets of stairs she had been led down. More than once, her legs threatened to give way underneath her and only the help of the guards, along with a little motivation from the Captain’s swords, had kept her upright and moving. She had thought the nausea was getting better, but it seemed to ebb and flow in waves and at times, she could barely comprehend where and even who she was. After what seemed like and eternity travelling, they came down yet another flight of stairs and emerged into a rather dark corridor.

The crystal sconces that had adorned the other walls were present here, but they were placed much further apart and seemed to glow with far less vibrance. The walls and floor were all carved from a drab, dark grey stone and there were no paintings or decorative gems in sight. There was a musty, damp smell in the air. Anna’s nausea had been on a downward trend, but the pervasive smell of mildew brought it back with a vengeance. Plain doors, made of a dark red wood, sat on the right side of the hall, while metal framed chairs adorned the left side. For the most part, the hallway was completely empty, save for a single, ragged looking man sat in one of the chairs. His head was down against his chest and Anna got the impression that he had fallen asleep. The guards led Anna down the hall and forced her down into a chair a few seats down from the other man.

“They will call when it is your time,” the Captain said.

“Who will call?” Anna asked.

The captain stared at her in disgust for a moment, before turning back the way they had come and walking away. The guards promptly followed her.

Anna watched them until they turned towards the flight of stairs and disappeared up them. She wanted to call after them, to ask them where they had taken her and what was about to happen, but she knew there was no point. The guards had not been exactly forthcoming and the captain had an obvious disdain for her. Anna pulled her knees up to her chest, laid her head on them, and began to sob. The fear and loneliness had finally caught up with her.

“First… Time?”

The man sitting a few seats down from her had spoken before letting out a loud hiccup. He had not lifted his head up as he spoke. Anna tried to dry her tears on her knees before looking up to answer.

“Y-yes… Where am I?” Anna asked, trying to control her voice.

The man hiccuped again before finally lifting his head up and turning to look at her.

“Yer in court, girly. Must’ve done something bad too, if they put the spellbinders on you,” he said, nodding towards the handcuffs on Anna’s wrists.

She noticed that the cuffs on his hands weren’t like hers. His hands were bound by typical metal shackles, though they did seem to have strange symbols carved into the metal.

“What’re ye’ in fer,” he said through slurred speech.

Even from feet away, Anna smelled the unmistakable stench of booze on his breath. She had smelled the same thing on Ms. Whitney from time to time, whenever she would emerge from her locked office after a few hours to yell at Anna for any random thing. It took every ounce of will she possessed to not succumb to the nausea and vomit everywhere. She pulled her cuffed hands off of her knees and pinched her nose. The man simply smiled at the gesture and waited for her to respond.

“I’m… I’m not quite sure really,” she said.

Her voice sounded awkward with her nose being pinched.

“HAH, never admit to the crime. I like it,” the man said with a guffaw, “Public intoxication and disturbing the peace myself. These stuck-up fancy pants coun...council members just don’t know how to have fun.”

Anna nodded but did not reply. The man gave her an up-and-down look as if he was inspecting her.

“You’re not from around here are ya?” he asked.

“No,” Anna answered.

“Didn’t think so. You got a lost sorta look about ye,” he said matter of factly, hiccuping again before continuing, “Don’t worry too much. Whatever ye’ve done, it’ll be worked out. Yer just a child so it probably wa...wasn’t anything too awful. The council’s usually pretty lenient. ‘Specially for first time offenders. Just look at me, this is my second time in this chair this month and I’m not sweatin’ a thing.”

A wide grin spread across his face and Anna noticed he was missing several teeth. She let go of her nose and tried to smile back but gagged almost immediately. Silence fell between them and Anna was thankful for it. The man seemed nice enough but his stench was overbearing. A few minutes passed when finally something happened. A door down the hall to the right swung open and a voice came from inside.

“Nontribus to court room 6,” the voice called.

The drunk man was now giving Anna a funny, curious kind of look.

“Think they mean you girly. Tribeless, eh? First one I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Anna looked at him for a moment and something in her face must have shown him how scared he was. He spoke again in a much more sympathetic tone.

“You’ll be alright, just keep your chin up,” he said.

“Thank you,” Anna replied.

She stood up, doing her best to fight the cloudiness and nausea, and turned down the hallway towards the room. She began walking in what felt like some kind of death march towards the open door. As she reached it, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened them again and stepped through the doorway.

It took a moment for Anna’s eyes to adjust to the renewed brightness in this room. The lights around the walls were only slightly brighter than the lights out in the hallway, but what sat in the center of the room was another story. In the middle of the room was a beam of pure white light that almost looked to be flowing like water. It reminded Anna of the way that sunlight would cast a beam in a dark, dusty room. How the particles of dust would dance and flitter about in a way that made the fluorescent beams look almost alive. Anna had the impression that the movement she saw was not dust, however. The flowing light had a sort of fluidity to it, and she found herself wondering if it would feel wet to the touch.

As her vision cleared, Anna took notice of what was sitting in the beam of light: a single plain wooden chair was sat upon the floor, right in the center of the illuminated waterfall. As the light touched it, it did indeed seem to flow and drip off the edges of the seat like droplets of water. Suddenly, a voice rang out through the room, causing Anna to jump a little.

“You may be seated.”

The voice was deep and booming and had a fancy sort of quality about it. Anna slowly approached the chair. As she drew closer, she was able to see beyond the bright beam to what lied behind it. On the wall opposite the door was a raised bench, built into a semicircle protruding from the wall. Anna could see the shadows of figures seated at the bench, all facing her direction, but the light was still too bright for her to make out their finer details.

“I said you may be seated,” the voice repeated in a much more demanding tone.

Anna looked down at the chair. She was now just inches from the watery light, afraid of what would happen when she entered it. What if she couldn’t breathe? She wasn’t a fish after all. But she could feel the eyes of the shadowy figures watching her relentlessly, even if she couldn’t actually see them, and knew that she had no choice. Without any more hesitation, she plunged herself into the seat, into the waterfall of light.

For a moment, she was afraid to take a breath, afraid she would be drowned and lost forever if she did so. Perhaps that was why she was here. Maybe that was how this place conducted executions. But after a moment, she realized that the beam was not exactly liquid. While droplets of it did land on her, creating glowing beads on her skin and clothes, it did not feel wet. If anything, it felt like stepping into a warm ray of sunshine after having been inside of a building with the thermostat turned down too low. Despite her surroundings and her fear, the light on her skin felt nice. It felt comfortable. She could feel the warmth spreading over her, inside of her, heating her to her very core. In a way, it seemed to be driving the fear from her heart and replacing it with a sense of contentment. Her fear of breathing dissipated and she exhaled and inhaled deeply. The feelings from the light seemed to get even stronger.

Now that she was seated in the middle of the light, she could more clearly make out the figures who had previously been obscured in shadow. Six people were seated at the bench, each of them casting a wary gaze towards her. Anna noticed that there was a spot for one more person to be seated, but it appeared to be empty at the moment. Each of the people were wearing fancy looking robes of varying color. Three of them were adorned in vibrant colors that stood out on the dimly lit bench, different patterns and stripes, one even sporting robes decorated with sparkly silver polka dots. The other three people were dressed in a more reserved fashion. Their robes were each a singular color, one wearing dark green robes, one wearing robes of a royal blue. The man in the middle of the seating arrangement had on jet black robes that gave off the impression that he found this to be a very serious and somber affair. He had short, white hair and a long, angular face. While his wrinkles told Anna that he was at least as old as Broderick, his eyes held none of the same warmth. In his hand was a wooden gavel and a moment after Anna had sat, he smacked it hard on the bench. The noise vibrated and echoed through the room.

“Without any objections, the Council will now come to order,” he said, and Anna realized his had been the voice that had told her to sit down, “This is a hearing to be conducted under review of the full Monsadasian council, with one member being in absentia due to life threatening injuries.”

As he said the last part, the man gave Anna a particularly nasty look. She began to get an idea of who the missing seat might have been meant for.

“ Without any delay, I will now call the roll for all present members,” the man said, “Madam Palistrode?”

“Here,” the woman in the polka dot robes called.

“Madam Deltarva?”

“Here,” said the woman in dark green robes in a rather haughty voice.

“Madam Gorka?”

“Here,” said a small, tinny voice. Anna had trouble telling where it had come from due to it being so quiet, but there was only one more woman on the bench so Anna assumed it had to be her.

“Master Stuvelle?”

“Here,” said the largest man on the bench, the one wearing the robes of royal blue, in a gruff voice. He had a salt and pepper goatee and a thick head of hair that matched.

“Master Roderung?”

“Here,” said the last man on the bench.

For some reason, this Master Roderung stood out to Anna more so than any of the others on the bench. Perhaps it was his robes of gold and silver with sky blue stars that shone so brilliantly in the darkness, perhaps it was the fact that he was considerably younger, probably in his early fifties, and more handsome than any of his fellow members. He had a playfulness in his eyes and as he announced his presence, he grinned at Anna in a mischievous way. This was a far cry from all the others, who had been looking at her as if she were the grim reaper or something.

“And I, head councilmember Rokus, will be presiding over this trial.” the man in black continued, “Now then, I hereby inform you, defendant, that you are sitting under the Falls of Probitas.,” he continued, “It will compel you to tell the truth in any inquiries we may ask and will make things very unpleasant for you should you try to utter falsehoods. You shall also remain in the spellbinders during the entirety of this procession, so any attempts to cast spells or free yourself via sorcery will be pointless. I warn you… We will not hesitate to use lethal force in this very courtroom in the event that you try to escape. Now, first things first, what is your name and from where do you hail, child?”

For a moment, Anna did not answer. She was still trying to wrap her head around the words ‘lethal force’ but her silence did not last long. Without her consent, she could feel the answers to his questions coming to the forefront of her mind, pushing out any other thoughts, and before she realized what was happening, her lips were moving and sound was emerging from them.

“My name is Anna Nommins. I’m from Darjeary, Indiana,” she said.

As soon as the words had left her, Anna immediately closed her mouth harder than she meant to, accidentally biting her tongue as she did so. Though she would have answered truthfully anyways, she did not like how the words had been compelled from her. As she answered, the woman called Deltarva gasped and put her hand to her chest, as if Anna had said something highly offensive to her.

“So our suspicions were right. She is a nontribus, “ she said in that haughty, superior voice, “filth amongst our walls,” she added scornfully.

Anna already did not like this woman one bit. Even if she didn’t know what a nontribus was, she did not care for this woman’s tone of voice.

“Are we sure that she hasn’t had her memory modified in some way to fool the Falls?” the man named Stuvelle asked the others. He scratched his beard as he gazed at Anna. “What if one of the other kingdoms-”

Wham!

Rokus had slammed his gavel down hard and several of the council members were casting an aghast expression towards Stuvelle.

“Master Stuvelle! You would do well to watch your tongue. Aspersions will not be cast towards our brothers and sisters in the other kingdoms in this court,” Rokus said sternly.

Stuvelle rolled his eyes before continuing, “I mean to cast no aspersions towards anyone Master Rokus, I am simply reaching the most natural conclusion of the facts at hand. This child claims to be from the human world, but we also have evidence that she has attacked and overpowered at least two of our esteemed colleagues. One of which, may I remind you all, was one of the most powerful sorceresses to ever walk this kingdom.”

He looked around at them all and their stern looks seemed to dissipate under his frightening gaze.

“So I ask all of you, what is more likely? This girl, not of our world, managed to lure and murder one of the best of our kind and also figure out a way to steal magic from us, or is she a spy? Bewitched, perhaps even unknowingly, to sow chaos amongst our council and society. We must consider all options here, fellow council members, and not be foolish or naive in our thinking. While the five kingdoms may live in relative peace, we are all aware that some kingdoms are not so inclined towards our way of life as the others.”

“But Stuvelle, that would violate the Source Armistice,” said the small voice of the woman called Gorka.

She seemed to tremble with anxiety as she confronted Stuvelle. Anna couldn’t say she blamed her and found herself a bit impressed by the woman’s bravery; Stuvelle was a very imposing man.

“Hah,” Stuvelle spat out in a humorless manner, “that is nothing but conjecture and guesswork. This court holds the most esteemed members of our kingdom, so let us not fool ourselves with false hopes and dreams. None of us really knows what would or would not violate the Armistice. Who is to say that one of the other kingdoms hasn’t figured out a way to circumvent the Source’s intentions?”

Anna was becoming more confused by the minute. All this talk of armistices and sources and whatnot had her completely lost.

Wham! Wham! Came the sound of the gavel as Rokus smacked it against the bench again.

“Order, there will be order in the courtroom. Master Stuvelle, you will hold your tongue,” Rokus said.

Stuvelle crossed his arms and a nasty look fell on his face, but his mouth stayed shut.

“We will deal with facts in this chamber, not errant accusations. The facts before us are this: Miss Anna Nommins entered our realm uninvited, apparently through the use of a gatestone. She arrived in the gateyard with the beaten and badly injured body of fellow council member Broderick Codswaller. Upon inspection of her after her arrival, it was determined that she had traces of our dear Gwendolyn Ventusia’s magic flowing through her veins. Regardless of where this child hails from or what her motives were, all evidence points to her having murdered Gwendolyn and stealing her magic. Clearly, she was attempting to do the same to Master Codswaller. My guess is that he managed to force her here before the job could be completed,” Rokus said, his eyes staying on Anna’s through the whole speech.

“Such clear evidence and egregious actions can only lead to one verdict in my opinion: Anna Nommins is guilty of murder and attempted murder, as well as the most heinous act of stealing magic from another sorceror,” Rokus concluded.

Anna finally found her voice.

“That’s a bunch of bullcrap,” she yelled angrily, her voice echoing throughout the room.

Rokus arched an eyebrow at her and looked a bit taken aback at her sudden outburst.

“Excuse me?” he said.

“You heard me. I said your story is bullcrap,” Anna repeated.

Rokus smirked at her.

“Then answer me this, girl. Were you present when Gwendolyn was murdered?”

Anna gritted her teeth. She could feel the Falls’ effects coursing through her body. The urge to answer his question completely, without any elaboration, was immense and uncomfortable. Her mind formed the word ‘yes’ and her mouth wanted so badly to say it, but she knew it was a loaded question. Anna summoned every bit of willpower she had. Her skin began to burn and her head felt like a spike was being rammed into it, but she resisted. She would tell the truth, but it would be the whole truth and not this partial truth that Rokus was attempting to pull from her.

“Thats… Not… How… It happened,” she managed to say through her teeth.

She knew the falls’ were pushing her to answer his question without any deviation. And it was true, she was there when Gwendolyn died. But she did not cause the death and she was not about to let this pompous moron push her into that corner.

“She is clearly lying,” said Deltarva, “look how she trembles with the effort of her lies.”

“I was there when Gwendolyn died,” Anna said. The words flowed much easier this time, and now that she wasn’t under the weight of a narrow and specific question, she felt she could tell the whole story. She continued, “But I was not the one who killed her,”

“Lies!” shouted Deltarva, “We have just heard the nontribus admit to being there when Gwen was killed. You all just saw how she shook and struggled when trying to deny the fact.”

The group erupted in a cacophony of noise as each member tried to interject among the others. All except the man, Roderung. He had crossed his legs nonchalantly and was looking around at the uproar that had enveloped his colleagues. After a few moments, he leaned forward as if he were about to speak, but someone else beat him to it.

“Perhaps we should allow Ms. Nommins to attest to her version of the events in question.” said Madam Palistrode, speaking up finally.

A silence fell amongst the members. Anna felt an immediate warmth in her chest towards Miss Palistrode

Palistrode looked around at them all before continuing, “I mean, what if there is more to this story? I suggest that we postpone this hearing. Our medics should have Broderick in tip top shape before the ink even dries on this report, what harm would it do to wait a day and hear his version of events? Or to allow Miss Nommins to regale us with whatever tale she has for the reason in which she finds herself with Gwendolyn’s magical signature on her? It can’t possibly be any more outlandish than Master Stuvelle’s entertaining theories.”

Palistrode’s opposing view had led to a few nasty looks from several of the council members. Stuvelle looked as if he were ready to choke her. Anna, however, was liking this woman more with every word she spoke.

“Yes, please, I-” Anna began but Rokus cut her off immediately.

“Silence, nontribus! I have had enough of your childish outbursts. You will not speak in my courtroom unless you are addressed first,” he said.

“Well, I agree with Madam Palistrode,” Roderung said.

Everyone at the bench turned to stare at him. Palistrode gave him the barest hint of a smile, but his eyes were locked on Anna. He leaned back in his chair before finally breaking eye contact with Anna and looking around at his colleagues.

“I say we let the girl speak. As a matter of fact, I would like to enter a parliamentary inquiry in the record to ask her what her story is. Will anyone second my inquiry?” he continued.

“Seconded,” Palistrode said without missing a beat.

Rokus was visibly frustrated by this turn of events and for a moment he seemed to have lost his voice. Anna could tell that Deltarva was muttering to herself discontentedly and Stuvelle was still staring daggers at Palistrode. Gorka looked extremely uncomfortable and Anna had the impression that she would rather be anywhere else in the world right now besides this courtroom. Anna could definitely empathize with that sentiment.

“It’s settled then,” Roderung said with a satisfied smirk, “please let the record show that a parliamentary inquiry has been entered and affirmed to hear the testimony of Miss Anna Nommins. Please Miss Nommins, I would like to know how it is you came to be here in our kingdom with the body of our own dear Broderick, and how you might explain the traces of Gwendolyn’s magic on you that we have detected. I know our head councilman has already informed you, but I would reiterate: the Falls of Probitas that you find yourself under will compel you to tell the truth. Though I have a feeling that they will be unnecessary.”

Deltarva scoffed at his last sentence but did not object any further, nor did the others. They all sat silently and expectantly, their eyes and ears intensely focused on Anna. She felt a warm sensation in her cheeks that she didn’t think had anything to do with the Falls.

“Uhm, o-ok.,” she stammered.

Now that she finally had the opportunity to speak, she found that she was having trouble collecting her thoughts. The nausea from the spellbinders had returned and the light from above was causing her head to pound intensely. Finally, she decided to just start at the beginning.

“Well, it all started in an alleyway,” she said, and she began to tell them the whole tale, leaving out the less flattering parts about her own behavior.

During the times when she glossed over details that she didn’t want to reveal to the council members, such as how she had been caught by Ms. Whitney for stealing the cakes or when she had possibly been the cause of a phone exploding in Alexis’ face, she could feel the push of the Falls inside of her. The words wanted so badly to escape from her, they wanted to be spoken and told to the council but Anna did not want to let them. Her skin would begin to burn again and the pounding in her head would increase tenfold, but somehow she managed to maintain her composure and only barely spoke through gritted teeth. She was afraid each time that Deltarva would call her out or make a snide remark, but she kept her mouth shut. As a matter of fact, they all seemed to be enraptured with the story Anna was telling them.

The more she spoke, the easier it became for her to tell even more. Where at first, she had been having trouble recalling the details or deciding how even to explain the things she had seen over the last week or so, she was now finding that the words were flowing from her rather readily. Perhaps she needed to tell the story for herself. Maybe it was therapeutic or cathartic in some way to say it aloud to people who at least wouldn’t say she was crazy for speaking of magic as if it were real. Eventually she came to the end of her story, telling it all the way to the point where her and Broderick had been attacked in the woods.

“And then I grabbed the piece of chalk or whatever it was, and completed the circle. The next thing I knew, we were laying in some grassy area with a bunch of stone structures and your people had surrounded us. And then you locked me up,” she finished.

She had spoken so much that her mouth was feeling uncomfortably dry and she found herself wishing that the Falls raining down on her were actually water so she could take a drink of it. The council sat in silence before, finally, Deltarva broke it with her annoyingly superior voice.

“Well, what a crock of utter nonsense,” she said.

Stuvelle and Rokus both made murmurs of agreement, but to Anna’s surprise, Gorka was the one to dissent.

“I don’t know, she sounded very convincing to me,” she said quietly.

Anna waited for her to say more, but Gorka seemed to have retreated back into her shell of silence after that.

“While it may have been a very… Colorful tale, I find myself agreeing with Madam Deltarva. The whole thing sounds fabricated beyond belief to me. A sorceress giving her magic to a nontribus? It would never happen. I don’t even believe it’s possible,” Rokus said.

“I thought this was a court of facts, not beliefs,” spouted Palistrode sarcastically.

“Yes, head councilman, just because none of us have ever heard of it does not make it impossible. We all know that Gwendolyn was far from a conformist,” Roderung added.

“I think we should listen to Madam Palistrode’s advice, we should wait to hear from Broderick” Gorka said in barely a whisper.

She looked absolutely terrified to be going against the obvious wishes of her head council member, but she looked directly at him as she spoke.

“I...I,” Rokus spluttered.

He was clearly getting flustered by the fact that now half of his courtroom seemed to be dissenting from his conviction. As his frustrations grew, so did Anna’s hopes. Perhaps they would just let her go. Decide this whole thing had been a misunderstanding and send her back to the orphanage. At this point, she would gladly take Ms. Whitney’s accusations of wrongdoing over those being cast by Stuvelle, Deltarva, and Rokus. Her hope did not last long.

“I see no reason to wait. We have all the evidence we need to make a decision,” Rokus said, “to allow this criminal and murderer to go free would be an abhorrent abdication of our duties to protect the citizens of Monsadasia. What if she decides to kill again, to take more of our magic?”

He had a wild and frightening look in his eyes.

“But Rokus, she is just a child,” Palistrode said.

“Silence!” he shouted back, “she is a child who has taken the life of one of the greatest and most powerful of our people. This is plainly clear by our own tests. She carries the magic of Gwendolyn Ventusia on her, we have all seen the proof.”

“With all due respect, Master Rokus, that is utter nonsense,” Roderung said defiantly, “we have at most circumstantial evidence of that, and to think that a child, one of whom has no magic of her own was able to take out Gwen is laughable.”

“I will not tolerate the misguided lip service of the most amateur member of our ranks,” Rokus spat.

Anna realized why Roderung was so much younger than the rest of the members.

“I agree with Rokus. What if this girl is a spy for one of the other kingdoms. Even if she isn’t, what if she is working for some nontribus group that has discovered us and wishes to take our powers? We have managed to stay secluded and hidden for this long, but I have said for quite a long while that it is only a matter of time before their kind rediscover us and wage all out war to steal our abilities,” Stuvelle said.

“Yes, their filth has always envied and coveted our abilities. It would be just like them to use a child to throw us of their scent,” Deltarva added maliciously.

“But I,” Anna tried to say, but Rokus cut her off immediately.

“You have not been spoken to, you will not speak!” he said, almost shouting at this point, “as the head of this council, it falls to me to lead this procession and to call for a vote. I have reviewed the evidence of all able parties and my conclusion is this: Anna Nommins murdered Gwendolyn Ventusia and proceeded to steal her magic. She attempted to do the same with a member of this very council, Broderick Codswaller. Whether or not her methods have anything to do with the theft of the Saccularus Blade from our own vaults remains to be seen, but in the case before us that is rather inconsequential. The fact remains that she is, in my opinion, guilty of the charges this council has levied against her.”

“I propose the harshest of punishments for this most heinous crime. Anna Nommins, per the vote of the council members present, should be sentenced to the Silent Realm. There she will remain trapped, for the rest of eternity. Until time draws to an end and the universe closes.”

Anna had no idea what a ‘silent realm’ was but it sounded very unpleasant. The urge to both vomit and cry became quite strong and she had a feeling that neither of them were being caused by the spellbinders on her wrist.

Rokus continued, “WIthout any other further delay or distractions, I hereby order a vote on the sentence suggested via my authority.”

While Stuvelle had the grace to at least look grave towards this sudden turn of events, Deltarva was wearing an expression of utmost joy. Palistrode and Gorka both had a rather disturbed look about them, but Roderung looked absolutely distraught at the vote that he now had to cast.

“But Master Rokus, please listen to reason,” he attempted but Rokus was not tolerating any more dissent.

“It is time for a vote Roderung,” Rokus said coldly, “all those in favor of the banishment of the defendant?”

Rokus raised his hand, as did Stuvelle. Deltarva nearly fell out of her chair, her hand shot up with such fervor and enthusiasm.

“All those opposed?” Rokus said with a smirk.

Palistrode, Gorka, and Roderung all raised their hands. They all had a defeated look about them that gave Anna no comfort. She immediately wondered how the tie would be resolved.

“How unfortunate. It seems we have reached a split decision,” Rokus said, with what Anna clearly recognized was mocking concern, “unfortunately, and by that I mean unfortunately for you miss Nommins, the rules and laws that guide this court are quite clear. There are to be seven members on this council at all times to keep from the agony and indecisiveness of a split decision. However, in the event of extenuating circumstances, where one or more members is not present and the vote does result in a tie, the most arduous task of breaking said tie shall fall to the most senior member of the council. Which just so happens to be me.”

Anna felt her heart drop into her stomach before jumping back up to feel like it was beating in her throat.

“As the head of this council, I shall hereby cast my vote to break the tie, and my vote is-” but before he could finish, someone spoke from behind Anna.

“Well, it’s a good thing for all parties involved that the vote will not be a tie isn’t it?”

Anna tried to turn to see who had spoken, but the chair and the spellbinders kept her from being able to turn fully. She heard the sound of footsteps marching across the hard stone floor and several of the council members gasped in surprise.

“You?!” Rokus said in disgust.

“I thought you would be a little more happy to see me Rokus, alive and well. From what I gathered from the sound of your shouts before entering the room, you were most concerned about my well-being only moments ago,” the voice said.

The unknown speaker finally reached a point where Anna could clearly see him and she felt hope rise like a geyser inside of her at the sight of him; Broderick had finally returned to her.

“Broderick, so glad to see you up and on your feet,” Roderung said.

“Yes, I was just telling these ninnies on the other side of the bench that it was only a matter of time before you were in tip top shape. Some of us here, however, are a bit hasty in their foolishness,” Palistrode said, giving Rokus quite a dirty look as she spoke.

Gorka did not say anything, but she gave a meek wave towards Broderick which he returned with a smile.

“Do some on this court doubt the astounding capabilities of our most esteemed healers? Or perhaps they think I have grown frail in my old age,” Broderick questioned.

He had his staff in hand and looked to be using it for support more than Anna had seen him do before. He was a bit pale as well, but other than that, he looked completely healthy to her.

“No, no, of course not Master Codswaller,” Rokus said hurriedly, “I never doubted you would make a full recovery.”

“Well I did,” Deltarva interjected, “you looked half dead last I saw you and you are getting quite up there in years. I was fully expecting to be voting in a new member of the council next week.”

“Good of you to always be prepared,” Broderick replied with a wry smile.

“How did you know this procession was happening?” Stuvelle asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Luckily enough, not long after waking and being cleared to be up and about by the healers, I just so happened to run into Captain Galatea. Well, truthfully, I may have went searching for her. I was quite interested to know what had happened to Anna upon our arrival here. I thought she may have been placed under temporary internment due to our odd arrival and a comment made by Healer Raurus about how she had been found by my injured body. The Captain informed me that Anna had been brought down here for trial about an hour before I found her. Suffice to say, I never would have dreamed that such an esteemed and judicious court such as this would dare hold a hearing against a defendant without first gathering all the facts, but alas, it seems I was mistaken.”

“We have all the facts,” Rokus shot at him angrily, “this nontribus murdered Gwendolyn and attempted to murder you! She could not be allowed to remain unpunished while we hoped that you made a recovery.”

“I would appreciate you not accusing her of trying to murder me. For one, it greatly discounts my own magical prowess, and for two I can tell you that she, in fact, did not attempt any such thing. If anything, she saved my life,” Broderick said.

A few of the members began murmuring and Stuvelle even looked a bit ashamed.

“And honestly,” Broderick continued, “to say that this poor child was capable of Murdering Gwendolyn the Great, Gwen of the Winds, is absolutely laughable and anyone who even considered it would do well to feel a modicum of shame and embarrassment. Gwendolyn was one of the best of our kind, sharper than any blade and able to cast spells that I wouldn;t even dare attempt. I daresay, she could take on at least three of you simultaneously.”

“That she could, I wouldn;t have challenged her to a duel even in my younger days when my wand was quicker and my brain sharper,” Palistrode said with a smile.

Roderung’s mouth had twisted into an amused smirk at Broderick’s words and Gorka was shaking her head enthusiastically in agreement. Rokus, Stuvelle, and Deltarva each wore an expression as if they had just been slapped.

“Why I never!” Deltarva said indignantly.

“Oh pipe down Deltarva, Gwendolyn would have cast circles around you and you know it,” Palistrode said with a roll of her eyes.

Anna felt a bit of satisfaction that someone had finally told Deltarva to shut up.

“So what then Broderick? You actually believe this girl just so happened to run into Gwendolyn in some alleyway in the nontribus world, witnessed her almost get murdered, and then Gwen willingly gave up her magic to this outsider? It’s a load of rubbish. You’ve said a lot of foolish things during our time together on this council, but your belief and trust in this girl at the moment might top them all,” Rokus said heatedly.

Broderick did not look upset or angry at Rokus’ words. As a matter of fact, he had a calm smile on his face and even seemed to be regaining some of his color. Anna got the impression that he quite enjoyed getting Rokus all ruffled up like this.

“I may be foolish at times Rokus, but you outshine me in that department any day of the week. How could you not believe her when you have gone to the lengths of placing her under the Falls of Probitas. I, myself, would not be able to withstand their magic. It is born straight from The Source itself. None of us here would be able to lie under the Falls’ almighty gaze.”

“She looked to be lying earlier, it was clear that she was withholding… Well, something from us. Her teeth were clenched and she could barely speak the lies that fell from her mouth,” Deltarva said.

“By the Source, Deltarva, think of what you are saying and the situation this girl finds herself in. She is in a strange world, has been a prisoner for days. And then you lot come along, go to the extreme lengths of putting spellbinders on her and then place her under the Falls in front of the highest council of our kingdom. I’d like to see you not pass out from the sheer stress of that situation. Odds are, you’d be ejecting your last meal just from the effects of the spellbinders,” Broderick said to her.

“So what do you think we should do Broderick? Just allow this girl to return to the outside world and reveal all of our secrets to her kind?” Stuvelle asked.

“Of course not. She has magical abilities now. She must be incorporated into our society and trained properly. Otherwise she is a danger to herself and all those around her,” Broderick replied.

“But who would train her? Most of our people are not exactly fond of her kind, and with good reason,” Roderung asked.

“I will,” Broderick said simply.

Half the court was looking at him as if he was crazy, and Anna almost couldn’t blame them. She had not been in this place for long, but she got the feeling that Broderick would face some kind of ridicule or shunning from taking her under his wing.

“Well, I think that’s a splendid idea,” Palistrode said happily.

“As do I,” Gorka said, louder than anything else she had said so far.

“Would you like to do the honors Broderick?” Roderung asked.

“Be my guest,” Broderick replied.

“All right then,” Roderung said with an ecstatic smile on his face, “I move to force a vote to clear the defendant of all charges levied against her and allow her to be released into the custody of our colleague, Broderick Codswaller.”

“Seconded,” both Palistrode and Gorka chimed before any of the other could object.

Rokus looked absolutely furious. He was looking around from Roderung, to Broderick, and then back to Anna, his mouth moving in a wordless fury. His angular face had gone a deep shade of red. He seemed to realize that his hand had been forced, however and after a moment he finally spoke.

“Very well the Broderick. If you want to accept this burden into your homestead, who am I to disabuse you of your outlandish wishes. The motion brought forth by Master Roderung has been adopted. All those in favor?”

Broderick, Roderung, Palistrode, and Gorka all raised their hands. The other three kept their hands down, not that Anna had expected them to do any different. Deltarva was looking at Anna as if she wanted to strangle her. Anna desperately wanted to stick her tongue out at Deltarva and perhaps make a rude gesture involving one of her fingers. She thought better of it however, and instead decided to look down at the floor. It was better to not be tempted.

“Fine, fine,” Rokus said angrily, “cleared of all charges. Now get her out of my sight.”

He banged the gavel hard on the bench.

“Come on Anna, we are going home,” Broderick said to her with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

He stepped forward and pointed the crystalline ball on the tip of his staff directly at the spellbinders on her wrists. The crystal glowed brightly while simultaneously, the light from the cuffs disappeared. After a moment, they looked no different than any other pair of handcuffs. They seemingly unlocked themselves and fell to the floor with a clatter that echoed throughout the room. Broderick reached down a hand to help her up. As she stood, the nausea and relentless pounding in her head seemed to evaporate. Relief swept through her body and she almost felt giddy at this unexpected turn of events.

“Broderick,” Rokus said expectantly.

“Yes Rokus?”

“If this nontribus so much as steps a toe out of line while she is here, it will be your head I come after,” Rokus said, and with that he stood up and exited the room through a door behind the bench.