Harmonia Calendar 715, Thal 25 - Capital Lionsgate, Elandor
Late Afternoon - Capital Holding Cells
I sat with my back pressed against the cold wall.
My gaze fell to my hands, blackened with dirt, wrists heavy beneath the weight of shackles.
Drip.
Drops slid from my cheeks, falling warm against my skin.
The blue tunic hung in tatters, the fabric torn wide enough for stone to touch skin. The cold seeped in.
I dragged a sleeve across my face, brushing tears away.
My eyes lifted.
The cell was smaller than a room should be, barely enough space to lie down.
Stone walls covered with mold and vines.
Light shone dimly into the cell, it barely reached me, only enough to see my own hands.
The air stank of rust and rot.
Each breath scratched my lungs.
My lips opened.
The words I had repeated for hours came out once more, hoarse, weak, and barely above a whisper.
"I am innocent…I didn't do it."
The words echoed through the cell.
In my mind, the tribunal replayed again and again.
The scratching of a quill.
The hammer's thud.
Sarah's tears.
Selene's soft voice.
Favian's smirk.
Anton's cold eyes.
Thud.
The verdict.
Despair had not settled in.
I still refused the outcome, clinging to denial.
Click.
Keys turned in a lock somewhere ahead.
Step.
Boots broke the silence.
Step.
They grew louder with each step.
Step.
My eyes turned toward the door.
Step.
Each one slow, closer and closer, until a silhouette filled the corridor.
Step.
I knew who it was without seeing the face.
Step.
The Marquis.
Step.
Light started to illuminate his frame.
A clean cloak, loose around his broad shoulders. His face carried no emotion.
There was nothing in his eyes.
He stopped just beyond the bars, watching me in silence.
Then came his flat voice.
"That's it. In a few hours, you will be sold and sent away."
The words sounded final.
I lifted my head, forcing my gaze to meet his.
My lips were dry, and the words came out of my throat in a hoarse rasp.
"It... wasn't me. Favian did it, and... you know it."
His reply was flat.
"It is finished."
Clang.
I staggered to my feet, the chains clinking as I gripped the bars.
My voice rose.
"Answer me at least!"
His gaze didn't waver, tone calm.
"Favian is my blood. He is the heir I raised."
He didn't even flinch as he said it.
"For the family. The hall wanted a name. I gave it yours."
My stomach twisted.
My voice shook, desperation leaking through.
"That's it? Is he more useful? I awakened. I have...talent. Why? Why...me?"
The Marquis's eyes narrowed slightly, but his tone stayed flat.
His hand brushed over the bars as he spoke.
"Talent is a spark. Nothing more, nothing less. A house does not bend around a talented child. It holds around an heir... You are not the heir."
My chest heaved, hands trembling as I gripped the bars.
The words left me before I could hold them back.
"So this...is more important than the truth? I am innocent..and he...He is a criminal!"
His eyes didn't leave me.
"I know."
Then his hand reached out, one finger tapping the iron bar between us before he spoke.
"The truth doesn't matter. What matters is what the people will believe."
The words struck, anger vanished, and despair took its place.
My trembling hands gripped the bars tighter to steady myself.
"No…that's not true—"
My voice broke.
A memory resurfaced.
The High Magistrate's smile as he spoke my verdict.
Slavery.
My breath hitched, voice cracking.
"It can...I can fix this. I can be better. I will work harder. Tell them his name! Please—"
But his red eyes held only silence.
My strength broke.
My forehead pressed against the bars, voice thining into a whisper.
"Uncle…"
Something flickered in his eyes at my words. Then it vanished as if it had never been there, and he leaned closer.
His tone stayed low, heavy enough to stay with me forever.
"You may hate me. Keep it. Hate keeps men alive."
His gaze lingered, searching my face, before softening just slightly.
"And I regret less if you live."
He turned away.
Step.
His steps echoed down the corridor.
The strength drained from my body, my grip slipped from the bars, and I slid down against the iron, collapsing onto the cold stone floor.
Tears blurred my sight as I searched for his back in the dim corridor.
But he was gone.
My chest began to rise and fall, faster and faster, as if the air itself was too thin. I dragged in breath after breath, yet no air filled my lungs.
My head spun.
The walls pressed closer.
My hand rose to my temple, trembling as I clutched my head.
My vision tunneled.
My ears rang until only the sound of my own voice remained.
"Don't…"
The words fell apart as my lips quivered, repeating them without sound.
My body shook, and my legs buckled, arms wrapped tight around myself.
"Don't leave…"
***
Dusk - Capital Holding Cells
Thud.
The guard's boot slammed against the bars, waking me up.
A rough voice followed.
"Stand up."
My eyes opened heavy, my body sluggish and weak.
Click.
The door opened, and hands seized me, yanking me upright.
My legs needed a moment to regain their strength. But the guards didn't care, they dragged me through the corridor, my boots scraping across the floor.
The corridor went by in a blur.
Rows of iron doors, dim lightstones.
A door swung wide open.
The outside air hit me like a wave.
It was colder than I remembered.
I was pushed forward, sunlight turned my vision white for a moment, before I saw again.
Lionsgate.
The sky burned orange, with streaks of red.
The marble towers of the capital caught the glow, each column ablaze, and every window shimmered in gold.
It lasted only for a moment before the guards pushed me forward again.
Clang.
The shackles rang with every step.
Clang.
I followed them down the stairs.
At the base waited a wagon.
Its iron door already open, waiting.
Next to the wagon, a few dozen meters away, stood people.
Lined up and waiting.
My family.
I glanced at them.
Mother's body trembled, her hand pressed to her mouth as if to keep words from coming out. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she didn't move.
She stood rooted in place.
Theodora was held tightly by two guards.
She pulled against them, her face full of tears and her voice raw as it broke through.
"Adonis!"
Lucien…he didn't shout.
He didn't fight the guards holding him.
He just stood, his jaw clenched shut, hands balled into fists at his sides, eyes burning as they locked on me.
The Marquis stood a few paces back, hands folded behind him.
His shoulders were straight, his face calm.
He looked at me the way men watch cargo being moved.
Beside him stood Favian, a wide smile curved his lips.
His posture was loose, almost casual, as if this were a festival and not my ruin.
Red eyes looked at me with satisfaction.
My gaze lingered on the Marquis and Favian.
I burned their faces into my memory.
The Marquis's calm and cold eyes.
Favian's wide, satisfied smile.
Other people rose in my mind.
Selene's soft voice wrapping chains around my neck.
The servants who lied.
The knight who lied.
The baron who lied.
The Head Magistrate's hammer as he called the verdict.
One by one, I named them in my head.
'I will remember.'
A guard shoved me forward.
His words broke my thoughts as I stumbled.
"Move."
Their hands stopped me in front of the wagon.
They unlocked my shackles before shoving me inside, but I turned once more.
One last look.
Theodora shouted until her voice cracked, screaming my name.
Lucien made one step before three guards pulled him back.
Mother fell to her knees, too broken to rise.
Favian raised a hand, waving his fingers as though this were a game.
The Marquis had already turned around.
His back was the last thing I saw before the door slammed shut.
Thud.