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It wasn’t supposed to have turned into this.

The cold iron chaffed at her already injured hands, a side effect of using magic. Her hands still burned from using a spell that was well beyond her current knowledge. It had worked though. It had worked…until they killed him.

Tears streamed down her face as she was led down the large hallway from the cells which had housed her for the last three days. The guards didn’t hold her though, they felt no need to drag her, she knew the consequences and that kept her complacent. The walk to the parliament building was more painful then she would have thought. Dozens of the staff, staff that she had worked with for nearly fifty years of her life, passed her by. It wasn’t their reactions that bothered her either, it was their lack of reaction. They were ignoring her, acting as if she didn’t matter, as if she had never mattered.

The courtyard seemed to stretch on endlessly as it only added to her pain with each individual that passed her by without so much as a glance. She almost felt some sort of relief as she finally reached the building. That relief died and an overwhelming sense of dread returned to her full force as she was marched passed her family; each disappointed glower her’s to cherish. There was no one representing her, no one to stand by her side and defend her; not that she felt like she could defend herself. Besides, this wasn’t really a trial. They never were.

She was led to her stand, and a familiar elven man entered the room. He quickly took his place to the right of the throne where the king now sat; both looked her way with contempt before the same elven man stepped forward to address the crowd.

“Elysia Aeowen Luthien Eldora the second” he paused, though not for her sake, “You have been found guilty of treason, disobeying section three of sub-section zeta that expressly forbids the use of magic by anyone other than the reigning sovereigns of this land, and possession of forbidden goods.”

He illustrated his point as he presented the tome that she had used during that fateful night. He droned on with evidence and accusations, but Elysia didn’t seem to register anything that he was saying. She was locked on the tome he held in his hand, eyeing it with a sort of sorrow. Sadness quickly turned to anger.

She could feel his breath again, the young advisor whose life had been in jeopardy. The medical staff was working busily, but no one seemed to pay him any mind as their attention lay on mere preparations for the royal family’s annual check-ups. Only she and her supervisor had taken the time to inspect him. His breathing was labored, and his skin had strange purple markings extending upward from a single point on his chest. The markings seemed familiar. She had been about to present her observations when her supervisor merely turned to leave.

When she confronted him, he stated that this wasn’t something that they were trained to deal with and that he saw no treatment options for the young advisor and suggested that they keep him comfortable until his imminent demise. When Elysia pushed forward, stating her suspicions of a cursed object being the cause, she was shut down. Still, she pushed back and even went so far as to suggest a magical remedy. She was rebuffed almost instantaneously. Her supervisor stated that the young man’s life was of no consequence to them any longer and that there were others to replace him. His answer had surprised and horrified the young medic. It was the first time she really began to understand just what kind of people she was working for.

She wasn’t able to get the young advisor out of her mind for the next couple of days, and each day his health became worse. Elysia did her best to show him the utmost compassion she could, all the while still toying with her previous suggestion. She snuck in later that night, a tome she had purchased from one of her “outsider” visits in hand. She remembered locating a particularly promising spell and prayed to whatever deity would hear her to grant her the ability to be able to cast this spell despite having only tampered with magic here or there.

She was successful despite being almost entirely drained of energy. She wished that had been the end of it, but the rest of the scene continued to play out before her eyes.

She saw her supervisor enter the room leading the captain of the guards to her, she felt as the other guards secured her while the captain walked over to the advisor and ended his “corruption” there in front of her. She watched the light leave the young advisor’s eyes as everything she had just done was quickly undone.

The memory gave her a small boost in confidence and she lifted her gaze to meet the young elven man, the man she called her brother, to attempt to explain and perhaps defend herself.

“Clarion—”

She was cut off as her elder brother turned even further from her, a slightly edgier tone proving to be her only acknowledgment.

“This is a sentencing hearing.” Clarion nearly hissed. His tone shifted as he turned to address the king. “Great King Darcassan Edrahil Ilbryn Celeborn, what is your verdict?”

The king rose from his throne, his steely denim eyes locked on Elysia as he forcefully slammed his staff on the ground.

“Such an offense would normally be met with a great deal more…” He hesitated as he seemed to try and find the right word, “Severity. However, your time in our employment has at least earned you a small reprieve if nothing else.”

Was he expecting some sort of gratitude? No, Elysia knew that under normal circumstances her punishment would be death. That was how things apparently worked here. All sort of error was worked out of the system, and the use of magic was one of the highest offenses.

“For your time, I will give you the choice.” The king continued. “You may either continue to exist within our honorable city, living for the rest of your days locked away in a jail cell, or you can choose to leave, stripped of your title, and never return.”

Despite the opposition and pain that Elysia was currently facing, she found herself stuck. On the one hand, living her life…her long life, trapped in a jail cell forever and never get to live life sounded like a terrible option. However, this life was all she had ever known! She hardly knew anything of the “outside” world. Could she survive if she left? Her aunt had been excommunicated, but Tanis knew where she was.

Elysia cast a pleading expression back at her mother only to be rewarded with an apathetic stare back. Her heart broke. She had already been written out of their lives as far as she was concerned. None of them seemed to care at all…. Her choice was made.

Description

It wasn’t supposed to have turned into this.

The cold iron chaffed at her already injured hands, a side effect of using magic. Her hands still burned from using a spell that was well beyond her current knowledge. It had worked though. It had worked…until they killed him.

Tears streamed down her face as she was led down the large hallway from the cells which had housed her for the last three days. The guards didn’t hold her though, they felt no need to drag her, she knew the consequences and that kept her complacent. The walk to the parliament building was more painful then she would have thought. Dozens of the staff, staff that she had worked with for nearly fifty years of her life, passed her by. It wasn’t their reactions that bothered her either, it was their lack of reaction. They were ignoring her, acting as if she didn’t matter, as if she had never mattered.

The courtyard seemed to stretch on endlessly as it only added to her pain with each individual that passed her by without so much as a glance. She almost felt some sort of relief as she finally reached the building. That relief died and an overwhelming sense of dread returned to her full force as she was marched passed her family; each disappointed glower her’s to cherish. There was no one representing her, no one to stand by her side and defend her; not that she felt like she could defend herself. Besides, this wasn’t really a trial. They never were.

She was led to her stand, and a familiar elven man entered the room. He quickly took his place to the right of the throne where the king now sat; both looked her way with contempt before the same elven man stepped forward to address the crowd.

“Elysia Aeowen Luthien Eldora the second” he paused, though not for her sake, “You have been found guilty of treason, disobeying section three of sub-section zeta that expressly forbids the use of magic by anyone other than the reigning sovereigns of this land, and possession of forbidden goods.”

He illustrated his point as he presented the tome that she had used during that fateful night. He droned on with evidence and accusations, but Elysia didn’t seem to register anything that he was saying. She was locked on the tome he held in his hand, eyeing it with a sort of sorrow. Sadness quickly turned to anger.

She could feel his breath again, the young advisor whose life had been in jeopardy. The medical staff was working busily, but no one seemed to pay him any mind as their attention lay on mere preparations for the royal family’s annual check-ups. Only she and her supervisor had taken the time to inspect him. His breathing was labored, and his skin had strange purple markings extending upward from a single point on his chest. The markings seemed familiar. She had been about to present her observations when her supervisor merely turned to leave.

When she confronted him, he stated that this wasn’t something that they were trained to deal with and that he saw no treatment options for the young advisor and suggested that they keep him comfortable until his imminent demise. When Elysia pushed forward, stating her suspicions of a cursed object being the cause, she was shut down. Still, she pushed back and even went so far as to suggest a magical remedy. She was rebuffed almost instantaneously. Her supervisor stated that the young man’s life was of no consequence to them any longer and that there were others to replace him. His answer had surprised and horrified the young medic. It was the first time she really began to understand just what kind of people she was working for.

She wasn’t able to get the young advisor out of her mind for the next couple of days, and each day his health became worse. Elysia did her best to show him the utmost compassion she could, all the while still toying with her previous suggestion. She snuck in later that night, a tome she had purchased from one of her “outsider” visits in hand. She remembered locating a particularly promising spell and prayed to whatever deity would hear her to grant her the ability to be able to cast this spell despite having only tampered with magic here or there.

She was successful despite being almost entirely drained of energy. She wished that had been the end of it, but the rest of the scene continued to play out before her eyes.

She saw her supervisor enter the room leading the captain of the guards to her, she felt as the other guards secured her while the captain walked over to the advisor and ended his “corruption” there in front of her. She watched the light leave the young advisor’s eyes as everything she had just done was quickly undone.

The memory gave her a small boost in confidence and she lifted her gaze to meet the young elven man, the man she called her brother, to attempt to explain and perhaps defend herself.

“Clarion—”

She was cut off as her elder brother turned even further from her, a slightly edgier tone proving to be her only acknowledgment.

“This is a sentencing hearing.” Clarion nearly hissed. His tone shifted as he turned to address the king. “Great King Darcassan Edrahil Ilbryn Celeborn, what is your verdict?”

The king rose from his throne, his steely denim eyes locked on Elysia as he forcefully slammed his staff on the ground.

“Such an offense would normally be met with a great deal more…” He hesitated as he seemed to try and find the right word, “Severity. However, your time in our employment has at least earned you a small reprieve if nothing else.”

Was he expecting some sort of gratitude? No, Elysia knew that under normal circumstances her punishment would be death. That was how things apparently worked here. All sort of error was worked out of the system, and the use of magic was one of the highest offenses.

“For your time, I will give you the choice.” The king continued. “You may either continue to exist within our honorable city, living for the rest of your days locked away in a jail cell, or you can choose to leave, stripped of your title, and never return.”

Despite the opposition and pain that Elysia was currently facing, she found herself stuck. On the one hand, living her life…her long life, trapped in a jail cell forever and never get to live life sounded like a terrible option. However, this life was all she had ever known! She hardly knew anything of the “outside” world. Could she survive if she left? Her aunt had been excommunicated, but Tanis knew where she was.

Elysia cast a pleading expression back at her mother only to be rewarded with an apathetic stare back. Her heart broke. She had already been written out of their lives as far as she was concerned. None of them seemed to care at all…. Her choice was made.