“Because I care about her and they were going to kill her.” Raven could feel the irritation starting to boil again.
“And you defied a direct order. I have an entire city-state to consider, Branwyen. The life of a blacksmith weighed against the safety of hundreds of thousands of people doesn’t balance out.”
“She’s not a ‘blacksmith’ Mom,” Mandy defended Raven’s actions. “She’s our friend.”
“Be that as it may, Amanda, there is no justification for Branwyen’s actions. Times are tense with the Protectorate. What if Branwyen and Felicity were captured breaking into that prison?”
“We weren’t though.” Raven boldly, crossed her arms. The bright light shining directly down cast her eyes into the shadow of her hat brim, and for that she was thankful. Her tears would be seen as a weakness.
“But you could have been.” Anger crept into Elspeth’s voice. First with the Protectorate in Augusta and now this, her nerves were being heavily taxed. “Now, do you mind telling all of us why you felt the need to burn the prison to the ground?”
Raven tensed. The real reason Bryson torched the place was going to be a bombshell and she wasn’t entirely sure Elspeth was going to believe her. With an inward sigh she let it fall.
“There was a shadow walker.”
The effect of the words was instantaneous. Every person assembled gasped in alarm and Elspeth rose from her seat, a shapeless mass looming closer until she was standing nose-to-nose with her adopted daughter. Hushed whispers circulating the room stopped with Elspeth’s icy voice.
“Choose your next words very carefully, Branwyen Chandlish. You know very well that the merest mention of demonic worship is a punishable crime in this country, and you are accusing the Protectorate of using one. How is it you came by this information?”
Raven forced her voice not to quiver under Elspeth’s piercing glare and lied. “Bryson told me.”
“And how exactly does Bryson know?”
“Shadow walkers and demons are mortal enemies. They can sense each other.” The redhead fibbed coolly.
Elspeth asked Felicity if she heard Bryson say anything about this.
“No, I did not. But,” Felicity spoke above the new round of chatter her response provoked, “Bryson and Raven did whisper to each other after we were outside.”
Elspeth turned back to Raven who answered the unspoken question.
“That’s when he told me. I told him to raze the building and the land it was on in order to destroy the creature.” She was grateful Liz forgot about her putting that rune on the door before they talked to Bryson.
The room itself seemed to hold its breath as the mother intently studied the daughter’s face. Finally Elspeth turned and walked back to her seat and held a brief conversation with Stephen.
“Very well, we will investigate these accusations. If you are correct, then the Protectorate is indeed preparing for something.”
After a long pause Raven turned and started walking towards the door but Elspeth’s voice stopped her.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Too check on Sarah.”
“I haven’t decided on your punishment yet.”
“Then hurry up.”
Elspeth took deep breaths, trying her best to remain calm. She couldn’t let Branwyen get under her skin. “You have always been too impetuous for your own good, Branwyen, and for to long I have overlooked it. Now you are threatening the lives of my family with your actions. Do you have any idea what would have happened if you had been captured?”
“We weren’t.”
“SILENCE! Your sister-- my daughter-- was put into mortal danger today by you. Even worse danger if it turns out you aren’t lying about the shadow walker. Not to mention what would happen if the newspapers got word that members of this family were caught breaking into a Protectorate prison.”
Another sharp intake of breath and Elspeth gave her sentence. “You are therefore confined to the castle until your trial in one week. Is that understood?”
“I’ll need to get some clothes for me and Sarah from the shop. Plus someone needs to feed Snuffles.”
“We will send a servant for your clothes and to feed your pet. Do not leave this castle under any circumstances. Are we clear?”
Raven’s hand curled into a tight fist. She was a successful business woman and an extremely powerful sorceress. To be grounded like a petulant child was demeaning. But, she reasoned, Lil’bit needed the best medical care and the castle provided it. Only just controlling her anger, she nodded, “Yes ma’am.”
“Very well, you may leave now.” Elspeth waved a hand as the room flooded with light, making Raven blink as she stormed towards the doors.
The eyes of a young woman watched from the cover of magic as Daniel checked the saline drip a final time. Sarah was sleeping soundly, and her heartbeat was strong. Despite everything the Protectorate put her through she was going to be alright. Not for the first time, Daniel marveled at that amazing healing potion of Raven’s. Satisfied there was nothing else he could do tonight, the young doctor turned off the light and left for some much needed rest.
Moonlight peaked from behind its shroud, splashing through the windows and illuminating Sarah’s bed. Shadows melted in the corner, pooling on the ground. A girl, paler than the moon, stepped from their depths.
How had things come to this? Raven wondered, as she gently brushed a lock of golden hair from Sarah’s cheek. Hours ago she had killed two men in cold blood; seen them ripped apart by her magic. It wasn’t Malleus who had done that, it was her. A conscious decision on her part meant that someone would have to tell the families of those men they were dead.
She remembered Jeff from finishing school. He’d always been a bit goofy, the kind of guy who made everybody laugh. Somebody would have to tell his mother that she would never see him again. William had kids, two little boys, and somebody would have to tell them that daddy wasn’t coming home.
So why were they dead? What was so important that two men lost their lives? More importantly, why didn’t she care? Fallen tears bloomed on white sheets as Raven balled her fist.
She knew the answer to that last question. Those men tortured Sarah simply because she was friends with the Chandlish family. They would have killed her, Sarah and Felicity if she hadn’t stopped them. Everything that happened today was a result of the Protectorate’s planned war against her family. The price of war was paid in death, Raven understood that.
Another trembling tear fell from her nose, and Raven wiped her eyes. She wasn’t crying because William and Jeff were dead. They died by her hands, yes, but it was the Protectorate that forced that situation. The Protectorate had twisted the minds of good men to the point where the suffering of an innocent person was acceptable.
At that moment, watching her friend sleep peacefully, something changed irrevocably in Raven. Gently she leaned over and kissed Sarah on the cheek. “Don’t worry Lil’bit,” she said as her eyes hardened, “nobody will ever hurt you again.”
The door handle turned and Raven folded the shadows around her once again. While the nurse checked Sarah’s vital signs, the eyes of a killer watched.
CHAPTER 17: A TRIAL
Sarah healed quickly under Daniel’s unwavering care. Two days after being rescued, he had pronounced her fit and able to get out of bed. The first thing she had done was eat; she couldn’t ever remember being that hungry in her life. Then a bath so long the maids needed to add hot water twice. Duchess Chandlish insisted on Raven being taken outside the castle to be told of Sarah’s release from her sick bed. By Sarah’s reckoning that was a good decision since the explosion of happiness rattled the windows in her fifth floor room.
A week after her return, Sarah was stunned to find that there was going to be a trial. Not so much that Raven was on trial, since the sheer volume of collateral damage caused by Raven had to violate numerous laws, but because she was to face the court too. She’d never been on trial before, but
didn’t expect them to be like this.
Sitting in the palace throne room, servants bringing food and drink to everyone, she silently contemplated a life of crime, particularly if she were allowed to sit on this chair some more, which felt just worn enough to be really comfortable.
The Honorable Emma Alexander, Stephen’s sister, was the presiding judge. Daniel, and five members of the service staff that Raven bribed quite handsomely for a non-guilty verdict, comprised the jury. Playing the role of defense attorney was Mandy. Rebekah, rather too eagerly in Sarah’s opinion, took the job of prosecutor. Brian stood in the back, chatting with a couple of guards, acting as bailiff.
Judge Alexander, sitting on the throne Duchess Chandlish insisted be used as the bench, rapped her gavel sharply, bringing the room to attention. “The accused, Lady Felicity Chandlish of Valentria, Lady Branwyen Chandlish of Valentria and Ms. Sarah Petty of Valentria stand accused of attempting to escape from a Protectorate prison.” Staring at them over her glasses, she asked, “How do you plead.”
Amanda stood and addressed the court, not even trying to sound serious. “Your Honor, not guilty.”
“On what grounds?”
“Because they didn’t attempt, they succeeded.”
Judge Alexander rubbed her chin thoughtfully before asking Rebekah to present her case.
Bekah didn’t bother standing and just asked where the proof was. Mandy pointed to the three women sitting beside her.
The Prosecutor threw her arms up in the air. “Hell, there went my case.” She grouched in frustration.
After the judge found them not guilty, the three defendants and Amanda hugged ecstatically and stuck their tongues out at the prosecutor, who responded with an obscene gesture featuring both hands.
Again Judge Alexander banged her gavel, ending the celebration. “There is one other case to try this afternoon.”
Sarah didn’t know what this trial was, so she followed Felicity away from the defendants table taking a seat farther back in the room.
“Lady Branwyen Chandlish of Valentria, you stand accused of two counts of murder plus five separate counts of assaulting members of the Protectorate. How do you plead?”
Before Raven could answer, Bekah walked to the center of the room to address the Judge. “Your Honor, surely a lengthy trial would only be a burden on the court as the accused has already admitted her guilt. I suggest we dispense with the theatrics and sentence this heinous criminal to the extent allowed by law.” Bekah stood facing the judge with folded arms, her back to everyone else.
The accused meekly sought permission to approach the bench and the judge allowed it. Raven slowly left her chair but nobody, aside from Sarah, caught the smirk on her face.
“Your honor,” Raven spoke contritely, her head bowed. “I’m afraid you missed one of the charges.”
Judge Lockwood read the docket in her hand, “Which one?”
“Assaulting a member of the Valentria Royal family.” Raven quipped and smacked Bekah on the back of her head. While Raven taunted them all by making silly faces, Mandy comforted Bekah who was crying about how mean Sis was.
Removing her glasses and pressing the tip of her thumb and forefinger against the bridge of her nose, clearly wanting to put an end to these shenanigans, the judge handed down her verdict. “In accordance with the law of Valentria and Florence, I sentence you to three life terms, to be served consecutively in the castle dungeon. Bailiff, take the prisoner into custody.”
The court erupted into bedlam, everyone shouting at once. Judge Alexander tried to explain something else but Sarah only heard a heavy drumming in her ears. As Raven was led away swearing vengeance, Sarah stood and wandered, alone, up the stairs to the family room.
Settling down in her favorite green couch, Sarah felt a numbness creeping into her limbs. They had been joking and laughing during the trials. There wasn’t even a hint that a sentence like this could be handed down. And to see Raven in shackles, in this castle was almost more than she could bear. Feeling completely alone, Sarah felt the warm tears wash down her cheeks as emotions overwhelmed her. Running the shop without Raven wasn’t an option because the taxes were just too high for a single blacksmith. Going back to Vestavia was out of the question as well, considering she recently broke out of a prison there. Then an idea hit her.
With a final sniffle, Sarah dried her eyes and forced herself to calm down. She would ask for a job here in the castle, where she already felt at home, and she would be able to visit Raven. It was the least she could do considering all Raven had sacrificed in saving her.
Her mind made up, Sarah strode purposefully to Felicity’s room to discuss the plan. An unexpectedly good-humored greeting met her.
“Oh good, Sarah, we were just coming to find you.” Felicity threw down the handful of cards she’d been holding and raked in what looked to be a sizeable pot.
“Yeah, where did you go?” Bekah asked over Mandy’s loud complaints about not winning anything.
“I- I wanted to be alone after the….” Sarah took a deep breath, realizing that she needed something from these people, who were acting so cavalier after their sister had been sentenced to life in prison, and shouting at them would not help her chances. She asked Felicity if they could speak in private.
“Sure, but can it wait? We need a third for Raven’s parole hearing. It starts in five minutes.” The three sisters giggled at the look of shock on Sarah’s face.
“What? Emma set the parole date for one hour. Any longer than that and we’d be lucky if the whole castle didn’t go up in flames.” Mandy explained while she led Sarah down to the dungeons with Liz and Bekah following.
A guard, whose clothes were steaming for some reason, hailed them at the heavily barred door. “Be careful,” The man warned, sliding a bolt from its resting place, “she’s feeling frisky.”
Felicity, Bekah and Mandy rushed to stand behind Sarah, who got the unpleasant feeling of a lamb being shoved to slaughter. She felt better about her friend not being imprisoned forever but decidedly less so with the prospects of a bored Raven waiting to be unleashed.
Gingerly she stuck her head inside. A long row of barricaded doors lined one side. On the other, a row of normal looking jail cells sat. The sounds of old prison songs came from halfway up the isle, each chorus ending with a heavy thump as a fire ball blasted out of the cell, exploding against the opposite wall. Sarah cleared her throat and asked if it were alright if she came in.
“You coming for a conjugal visit?” asked a disquietingly chipper voice.
“What’s a ‘conjugal visit’?” Sarah inquired, still afraid to walk into the hallway with fireballs intermittently flashing through the air.
“I don’t know but Sis says they’re great fun.” The echo responded.
Bekah shoved Sarah aside, stomping down the hall, a stream of expletives marking her progress. The other three girls hurried after her, each trying to hide their laughter. When they reached Raven’s cell, Felicity announced, in her most official sounding voice, that it was time for the parole hearing.
“First, we see that you have been well behaved.” Mandy started the impromptu conference.
Sarah almost mentioned the uneven, smoky letters on the wall behind them that read, “RAVEN WUZ HERE!” but remembered simple destruction usually did constitute good behavior on Raven’s part so didn’t say anything.
“Second, do you feel your debt to society has been paid?” Felicity asked. Her tone was still curt though laughter bubbled behind the pretense. Raven nodded, doing her best to look meek but failing miserably.
Felicity and Mandy turned to look at Sarah, who was astonished to discover she was meant to ask a question as well. After clearing her throat in an attempt to buy more time and think of something say, Sarah blurted out, “Do you feel remorse for your actions?”
Raven snorted a yes.
After pretending to discuss the case, when in fact they were playing rock-paper-scissors to see which one would be allowe
d to escape the victory party first, Felicity announced that Raven had been reformed and was free to rejoin society. Sliding a key into the cell lock, Mandy swung the door open, just barely managing to dodge Raven who leapt into Bekah’s arms, crying uncontrollably. Bekah clutched her sister tightly, wailing just as loud.
Stepping back, Raven choked, “Being in the big house has changed me Sis. I’m harder on the inside than I was before. I… I don’t know if I’ll be able to acclimate back into the real world.”
Sarah, who had won the game and was slowly edging her way towards the dungeon door away from the impending catastrophe, wondered when Raven ever spent enough time in the real world to get acclimated to it the first time around.
Bekah bawled louder, saying how much she missed her favorite sis ever. The two broke into fresh tears and hugged some more, which the three trying their best to remain inconspicuous were quite pleased to see since it meant more time to escape. They were within ten feet of the door when Sarah heard Bekah say something she really didn’t want to hear.
“You’re free now, Sis.”
Someone shouted, “RUN,” and Sarah sprinted through the door, followed by Mandy and Felicity.
The three of them jumped over a table the guard who greeted them had turned over on its side. The clicking lock reverberated like a bell in the stillness, which lasted about a second. With a tremendous bang, the door blasted off its hinges to land heavily against the far wall. Raven was a purple and red blur as she raced through the smoldering wreckage, yelling “FREEDOM!” at the top of her lungs. Sarah suggested the guard try stopping the crazy woman.
“Why don’t you?” The man cringed as a random fireball shot overhead, narrowly missing him.
“You’re a coward, aren’t you?” Sarah grumbled.
“Devoutly so madam.”
The foursome huddling behind the flimsy protection afforded by the table heard shouting, along with the occasional BOOM, going up the stairs and risked a peek at the destruction. They saw Bekah, grinning from ear to ear, standing in the middle of the rubble.
WINDOWS: A BROKEN FAIRY TALE Page 18
