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Chapter 21

Sophie was awake at the crack of dawn since she hadn't been able to sleep very much. Arina was still soundly asleep, so Sophie tiptoed out of the room and closed the door as silently as possible. 

"Sophie? What are you doing up?" Biana asked.

"Shouldn't I be the one to ask you that? You almost never wake up early." Sophie retorted.

"I know! I'm just . . . worried. How do you feel about all of this?"

"I think we both know what the outcome of today is going to be." Sophie said. "It's pretty much inevitable."

"Don't think that way! There's still a chance that the Amitrynes won't get custody of Arina."

"How much do you believe that?"

"Not much." Biana admitted.

"What's going to happen when she's taken away?" Sophie asked.

"Im not sure. But don't be so set on the fact that she will be. There's a chance."

"And that chance is smaller than any chance that Fitz and I will get back together."

"I-" Biana stopped. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize for something that isn't your fault." Sophie said, and hugged Biana. "I'm going to prepare breakfast."

Biana nodded and returned to her room. Sophie, on the other hand, went all the way downstairs and got the ingredients to make Porcaroot pie. Once she was done, she climbed the stairs back to her room to wake Arina. Stepping into the room, she saw that Arina was already awake.

"Oh. Hey." Sophie said. Arina jumped.

"Hi," she replied.

"It's time for breakfast. We should probably get going after that." Sophie swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Okay. I'll be down in a second." Arina said, and Sophie stepped back outside. Sophie went back downstairs to the table and took a seat. Arina came down a few minutes later. 

"So . . ." Sophie trailed off.

"So . . ." Arina repeated. 

"Are you ready?"

"Not really." she admitted. "What do you think is going to happen today?"

"I'm not sure." Sophie said. It was partially a lie, because she herself believed that Arina would be taken away from them, but she didn't want Arina to be hopeless. "We should probably eat." Sophie said, and gestured to the pie she had made. She gave herself and Arina a portion, and Arina started eating. 

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"Oh. Right," Sophie said, and dug into the pie that tasted like bacon. They finished quickly, and Sophie said, "We should probably get ready."

"Yeah." Arina replied, and quickly got up and went to her room silently. Biana had sent her a lot of clothes. After Sophie had finished changing into an ornate ice-blue dress, she pinned a cape to it and traveled to Arina's room. She stepped inside and found Arina engulfed in decorations.

"Ari? What's all this for?"

"Ah! Nothing!" Arina said, and got up from her pile. "What are we going to do about all my clothes?" she asked, gesturing to her closet.

"I'll send them over or something. Don't worry about it. We should probably get going." 

"Alright. I'm going to get changed." Sophie nodded in response and went outside. She came to Biana's room and rapped on the door twice.

"Biana? Are you ready to go? It's almost time."

"Yeah," Biana said, and came out of her room with a purple gown, glossed lips, and a tentative smile. "Is Arina ready?"

"She's changing. By the way, what were all the decorations in her room for?"

"Decorations? I didn't know about that."

"But where could she have gotten them from?"

"I don't know." Biana shrugged. "We should get going. I'll call Arina. You can go to the Leapmaster." Sophie traveled to the top floor and waited for them to come. When they arrived, they formed a chain and Biana called "Eternalia!" and the crystals whisked them away. Once they glittered into appearance, Sophie saw Keefe, Wylie, and Linh waiting for them. Dex and Marella were also there. She wasn't nearly as happy to see Fitz and Novaline, but it wasn't surprising that they were there. 

Sophie ushered Arina into the giant emerald building, and everyone followed suite. Most of her friends didn't sit on the pedestal with her and Arina, but Novaline, Melanie, and the Amitrynes did. Mrs. Amitryne was almost the spitting image of Melanie and Novaline, except that she had sea-glass colored eyes instead of their sea-blue. Mr. Amitryne had jet black hair like Arina, but neither of them had her green eyes. Sophie wondered what that was about. 

The Tribunal began quickly and Sophie was  at least a little excited that the meeting wasn't open to the public.

The Councillors started with an entrance and a few words, and then there were the testimonies. 

"Miss Foster. We would like to hear your opinion about that matter." Councillor Emery said, and Sophie gave a quick curtsy. She was proud to say they weren't nearly as clumsy as they had been a few years ago.

"Well, Arina has been my friend for about a year, and I found her when I was visiting the alicorn family. From what she remembered, the Amitrynes abandoned her when she was only four years old."

"Do you have anything else to say?" he asked.

"I would love to say that I would be the better candidate to watch over Arina, but I do not know much of the Amitrynes and I cannot judge them before I get to know them."

"I object!" Mrs. Amitryne yelled, and jumped from her seat.

"Please settle down." The Councillor said. Mr. Amitryne tugged on his wife's arm, and she reluctantly sat back down. "Mr. and Mrs. Amitryne, what are your testimonies?"

"Arina is our daughter and we should have custody of her." Ms. Amitryne said almost immediately.

"From what she said she remembers, she told us that you had abandoned her." Bronte said. Generally, other Councillors besides Councillor Emery didn't speak out, but this must have been a exception.

"Well she remembered wrong. We have been searching for an her for a year, and we're so glad she has been found." Ms. Amitryne told everyone.

"Arina, what do you have to say?" Arina gave a small curtsy and began her statement.

"Well, um, I clearly remember that they abandoned me and left me in the middle of nowhere. They also experimented on me, which is why I have green eyes." she whispered.

"This is outrageous! How dare you accuse us of such things?"

"Ms. Amitryne! Settle down or we will give Miss Foster custody of Arina, which seems much more viable right now." Bronte interrupted. She huffed and quieted down.

Councillor Emery mediated the situation Telepathically, and they came to a consensus. "Well, as we do not have any proof that what Arina said is true, we cannot immediately give Miss Foster custody of her. The Amitrynes will take custody of Arina. This Tribunal will adjourn in two weeks and is now over."

The world stopped, and Sophie blindly hugged Arina. She stood helplessly as the Amitrynes took her hand and leaped her away.