I’ve always hated my father. I’ve never felt so strongly about anything in my life. The only thing that ever came close was my dislike for being the center of attention. I never knew how to act with so many eyes on me at one time, and anything I ever tried only drew more attention. It’s because of this that I try to stay as blended in with the background as possible. Yet, despite these feelings and all the effort I put into it, here I stand surrounded by dozens of scrutinizing eyes.
After bringing me back home, Charlotte refused to leave the estate. I had been injured trying to protect her, so she adamantly refused to leave before I woke. Unable to convince her otherwise, Pert sent a message to her father, Marquis Haver Renae. The marquis visited their estate himself, shortly after. This action surprised everyone, including the man’s daughter. The marquis did not spend much time in our home, though. He took Charlotte and left immediately. I had not been conscious during these events; Veria and Jaime had explained everything to me after I had awoken.
Three days after these events, we received another visitor. Chief Inquisitor of the King’s Army, Igner Revan. The man greeted me with a toothy grin and invited himself inside. Two years ago, Lord Revan had been only a count, but after some lucky coincidences, the man acquired a new title and position in the King’s Army. This meant that he had to spend a lot more time abroad, working for the King. Many in Renae counted his absence as a blessing and wished him fond farewells with his every departure, hoping he would never return.
Seeing the man’s face brought back foul memories of the times he had tried to steal Bark from us. The wooden dog had gone through some strange changes in these past years. His whole body had grown some kind of moss that strongly resembled a normal dog’s fur, and his previously stiff movements had become smoother as his wooden body bent and twisted into strange designs. He stayed the same size and was nearly indistinguishable from a normal canine, as long as you ignored the empty sockets where eyes would normally be.
Lord Revan immediately called out for Pert who appeared from around the corner. With a smug grin, the man announced loudly that he had a warrant for the arrest of a young man by the name of Hamil Wark. Shocked, Pert could hardly respond before the man snapped his fingers and the front door burst open as a dozen guards came rushing in.
“Take no offense from the number of them.” Lord Revan spoke calmly, ridiculing Pert. “We were worried that you would get carried away with that temper of yours.”
Taking me by both arms, I was dragged out and tossed into a jail wagon that started off down the road, watching as my adopted family rushed out the door, watching in confused horror.
All of that led to my current situation, standing with my arms bound, my ankles chained to the floor and some strange, metal collar wrapped around my neck. I stood in the center of a large, circular room. Just in front of me, in a large semi-circle, stood seven high standing podiums, each of which had at least one person sitting at them, looking down at me. Only one of the seats was empty and several of the individuals repeatedly glanced over to the empty seat and sneered. They’d kept me locked away in a cell for four days, so far and had brought me out and chained me up like this every day. Nobody ever spoke, they all just stared at me and whispered amongst themselves.
Each person sitting atop these podiums was a noble who resided inside the city. Marquis Renae sat in the center of the nobility, to his left sat Earl Legeance, a skinny man with dark hair and pale, white eyes. The seat just to the right was the one that had remained empty these past few days. Just past these seats were the seats of Count Revan and Count Wark. These two seemed to oppose each other perfectly. Count Revan sat with a smug grin, resting his head on his fist while Count Wark sat perfectly straight, visibly nervous. My pseudo-father had fought hard to free me, but had obviously been refused. Finally, on the outside of the circle sat Baroness Strahg with her cyan colored eyes and hair, looking furious and Baron Evane, Clementine’s father from the Northern Isles. Like his daughter, Baron Evane had dark brown hair and lifeless green eyes.
“Enough waiting!” A voice came from one of the podiums. It was Baroness Strahg. The woman’s rage had finally boiled over. “That fat bastard still hasn’t even sent a response. Let’s just call a verdict and get on with our lives!”
Nobody replied. An uncomfortable silence filled the room as the woman seethed in her chair.
“Lord Gelling is the one who stands accused. This trial will not continue until all parties are present.” Lord Renae announced, sitting in the center of the circle on a chair that stood taller than the rest. His pink eyes focusing intensely on me.
“Why are we even here?” A man, Earl Legeance, asked visibly tired. “Isn’t the procedure just to lock the kid up for speaking ill of the earl?”
“Why indeed?” Lord Renae spoke, staring even more intensely.
After another moment of silence, a nearby door swung open. The door was behind me, and the chains around my ankles made it hard to turn, so I couldn’t see who had just entered, though I could guess who it was from the expressions of the nobles.
“At last, someone with news.” Baroness Strahg sighed in exasperation.
A man rushed past me and up to Lord Renae’s seat, handing him a letter. The man immediately excused himself and left the room. Unfolding the letter, Lord Renae started to read the paper and furrowed his brow.
“How troubling.” The man spoke.
“What is it?” Pert asked.
“I am afraid that the boy’s words were truthful.” Lord Renae spoke with just a hint of a smile.
“What! How!” Lord Revan cried out in shock.
“The men sent to speak to Lord Gelling appear to have gone missing, but my personal agents have reported that they have found the secret passages and tunnels are there, though they have been abandoned.”
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“Abandoned?” I spoke without realizing, causing eyes to shift over to me again.
Lord Renae continued. “My agents have also reported that the last time that our representatives were seen, they had just entered the Earl’s estate.”
“Even if this is all true, that doesn’t change the boy’s lineage and actions.” Lord Revan explained.
Ignoring Count Revan’s words, the marquis set the letter down and leaned forward, meeting my eyes. “You will not lie to me, boy.” Something about his eyes was almost entrancing and before I could think about it, I had nodded my head. “Good, now my daughter has explained to me that your father was a criminal, what was this criminal’s name?”
“My father’s name is Camparn.” I spoke, answering his question.
“Is this the same Camparn that has been found guilty of human trafficking and is wanted by the crown?” The marquis asked, focusing his eyes.
“Yes, that man is my father.”
“Were you aware of his crimes when you were with him?”
“Yes.”
“Did you take part in any of his criminal activity?”
“…Yes.” I could not help but answer his question. Something was forcing me to speak the truth.
“He admits it!” Lord Revan cried out in excitement.
“Quiet, Igner!” The marquis shouted at him, then turned back to me and asked. “Child, you paused in that answer. There is something else to that answer, isn’t there?”
“Yes.” I replied, answering him fully. “I worked for my father so that I could sabotage him.”
“And how did you do this?”
“I would free as many of his victims as I could.”
“Why did you do that? He was your father.” The marquis pried.
“Because I hated him!” I shouted. Quickly realizing what I had just done, I took a deep breath and calmed myself. “My… my mother was one of those people who had been kidnapped.”
“What happened to her?” Lord Renae asked, dragging out the painful memories I had tried so hard to bury.
When the hostess back in Pyle had given me my mother’s medallion, I had seen a vision. In that short moment, I saw everything my mother had to endure at the hands of my father. Every painful moment until she was finally able to escape. She had tried to take me with her, but my father had hidden me somewhere that she could not find. Those final, desperate moments of her searching lead to nothing and almost got her captured again. Finally, she left. I did not blame her for leaving me behind. I was glad that she managed to get away, even if I had to spend those long years trapped with my father.
Somehow, I was able to hold back answering this question. Refocusing on what was around me, I saw a hint of sympathy in the marquis’ eyes.
“Never mind that. I can see that you hold no responsibility or sentiment for your father, so I acquit you of his crimes.” The marquis announced. “Moving on to the events of what transpired with my daughter several days ago. Did you recognize the men responsible for the attack?”
“Yes, they worked under my father.” I answered freely.
“Did you conspire with them in any way to attack my daughter?”
“No.”
“Who was the one responsible for stopping them?”
“I was the one responsible.” I answered, causing everyone to turn from me to Lord Renae.
“…You killed them?” The marquis asked, taken aback.
“Yes.”
“All of them?”
“Yes.”
The marquis paused, our eyes clashing until he leaned back against his chair and relaxed his eyes. “Then I must thank you for protecting my daughter, but I must ask, why did you protect her so fervently?”
There were two answers to this question, but I wasn’t sure which one was the best for this situation. Like before, however, I spoke without realizing. “I did so because we’re friends.”
This answer seemed to greatly surprise the marquis whose brows shot up in surprise. Quickly hiding his surprise, the marquis nodded his head and crossed his arms. “Thank you for being patient these past few days, young man. I can see that certain individuals have been quite biased in your treatment. Your family will be compensated for this and I will have the party in question dealt with.”
“But, my lord,” Count Revan started frantically. “we cannot just let the child leave. There are steps to take, proper procedure must be followed.”
“Very well, then. The child will stay one more night while you complete these procedures.” The marquis stated, continuing to rib the count. “I look forward to seeing your professionalism, Chief Inquisitor.”
Standing, the marquis excused everyone and stepped down from his seat. I could see Pert step up to the man and thank him as a guard entered the room from a door not far away. The guard came up and removed the chains binding my feet.
“Take the chains off his hands too.” The marquis called out from a little ways off.
“I have to object.” Count Revan spoke up. “Until the proper steps are taken, the child must stay bound.”
“He’s still just a child.” Pert retorted.
“A child that killed three armed bandits by himself, as a mage.” The man explained, turning to the guard. “The arm cuffs stay on.”
Nodding, the guard stuffed the keys away and took me away.
The cell that they had kept me in until this point was cramped, but it wasn’t terrible. I had a bed to sleep in and the guards seemed to have some pity and gave me enough food to not be hungry. All in all, it was still far better than staying with my father. He made me sleep with the rest of the men and the smell alone was enough to keep me right in the middle of passed out and choking.
It was already later in the afternoon, so it wouldn’t be long until I could sleep and then go home. It was strange, I had often thought these past few days, how okay I was being in a cell. The only thing that I wasn’t okay with was that I was still in the clothes that they had taken me in.
I spent most of the day lying in my bed, staring at the walls and ceiling, finding patterns in the grooves in the stone.
Night came and I found myself unable to sleep. Something had made me restless.
The sound of footsteps caught my attention. Like the three men I had killed in the city, this person was trying to hide the sound of their steps, and also like those three, this person wasn’t doing it well. A hooded figure stepped up to my cell door. I could barely see them in the scarce light of the dungeons, but I could see the slight glimmer of something metal in their hand. Quietly, the door to my cell opened and the hooded man walked in.
“Traitors will not be tolerated.” The hooded man spoke in a hushed tone. I could easily have screamed to get someone’s attention, but anyone nearby had probably been drugged, bribed or killed. “You should have stayed with us, boy. We’ve moved on to bigger and better things. It’s too late to come back, so why don’t you just be a good boy and die for us.”
The man thrust a dagger forward. With my hands cuffed, my movement was limited and awkward, but I still managed to dodge his first swipe. Even in the dark, I could see the length of glimmering metal in the man’s hand. I realized too late that I had dodged right into a corner as the man swiped the dagger at me again. Suddenly, I felt the same rush I had felt when protecting Charlotte. Without the pain this time, a pair of wings erupted from my back, tearing through my shirt and moving to block the dagger and changed, turning metallic. The dagger bounced off of the wings with a clang as I moved the other wing to attack, thrusting it forward, piercing through the man’s chest.
With a gargle, the man went limp and slid off the wing, falling hard to the floor.
“So that’s how you did it.” A voice spoke from the darkness outside of my cell. A light sparked, and I could see a lantern in the dark that quickly grew brighter, revealing Lord Renae standing against a wall. “The Earl is guilty, and there really is no doubt now.”