Justice for the Forest-Beasts

Chapter Twenty-Five - In Which the Peaceful Protest Ends

The protestors that crowded the castle's northern bailey had not calmed down by the time the sun rose the next morning. They had taken turns to eat and sleep, having been out there for so long. A couple protesters had left, but there was still an impressive amount of them left. Everyone was quiet, cold, and tired. The frigid, almost sleepless night left everyone feeling miserable, including the twins. Estelle fought to keep her head up and her eyes open, and she wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and sleep. The cold air nipped at her nose and her fingertips, and her feet were sore in her boots. Estelle felt tempted to cry, although she could not really find a reason why.

The crowd's silence came to an abrupt end when the castle's main doors opened and Royal Guards began pouring out, armed and completely void of mercy. They walked with the authority of a herd of buffalo, their gear clanking in tune with each of their footsteps. Each Guard was equipped with a gun, and they didn't hesitate to open fire on the protestors. Screams of terror rose out, almost as loud as the gunshots themselves. Both Rain and Lucian immediately covered their ears, while Estelle only looked in the direction of all of the noise. She froze in terror for a moment, until a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the crowd of protestors, quickly followed by a second one. They both erupted into large flames, growling hungrily as they consumed protestors.

The protestors that surrounded Estelle, Lucian, and Rain began to push and shove, trying to make their way out of the bailey and towards the street. Estelle hurriedly stood up, followed by Lucian and Rain. She grabbed both of their wrists and pulled them close to her, as not to lose them in the mayhem. She began maneuvering her way through the crowd, trying to reach the street. She needed to escape. Here, Estelle and the others were not safe.

Rain let out a yelp as xe was yanked away from Estelle. Her head whipped around towards xem, tightening her grip. Angus, one of the most high-ranking Royal Guards, stood on the other side of Rain, holding xyr previously free hand. He stared Estelle in the eye with a stern look while he yanked at Rain's arm, causing xem to wince and cry out again. Xe tried to flap xyr wings to push everyone away from xem, but the crowd was too tightly packed for xyr wings to move much at all.

Damn it, Estelle thought in utter panic, They're going to kill xem. She quickly weighed her options, before loosening the hand that held Lucian's wrist. She pulled herself closer to Rain, giving Angus a rude look that didn't seem to bother him in the slightest.

Angus was trying to pull Rain through the crowd, leading xem to the opposite direction that Estelle had been bringing xem. Now that Estelle was moving with Rain and Angus, she let him pull them both towards the castle. There, another Royal Guard, Philomena, took hold of Estelle and forcefully peeled her hands away from Rain's wrist. Separately, they were both taken into the castle, despite all of their combined struggling, shouting, and kicking. Inside of the castle's entrance, their wrists and Rain's wings were bound.

"Where are you taking us?" Estelle demanded as the Royal Guards took them down the hall. "Why did you attack everyone just to get us?" Estelle's voice echoed off of the castle's stone walls, but the Guards remained silent.

The Royal Guards brought Estelle and Rain into the castle's throne room, not very far from the main entrance. The left throne, which was Samara's, lay empty. Halloran sat lazily on the right throne, with a glass of red wine in his hand.

Philomena let go of Estelle's arms after she'd been placed in the center of the room, facing the thrones. In a very sudden and swift movement, Philomena kicked the back of Estelle's right knee. The knee buckled, throwing her off-balance for a short moment. Philomena took advantage of that moment, using it to push Estelle down to the floor. Phiolemena held her down as she bound her legs, then stood up straight behind her again, in the stiff way that Royal Guards always did.

Whilst Philomena was busy dealing with Estelle, Angus had bound Rain to Samara's throne. Xyr ankles were tied to the throne's legs and xyr wrists to its arms. Xe thrashed around violently in an attempt to free xemself, kicking and pulling at xyr restraints. But it did not work.

Halloran looked down at Estelle with a sinister grin. "Angus," he said sternly, looking the Guard's way. He gave Angus a quick nod, before returning his gaze to Estelle and sipping from his wine glass.

From his belt, Angus pulled out some sort of syringe, filled with a clear, colorless liquid.

Rain looked at the syringe with a horrified expression, xyr eyes widening and xyr mouth twisting into a frown. "What is that?!" xe asked.

Angus didn't answer, but instead told Rain, "Relax your arms, otherwise this will be painful."

Rain did not follow Angus's advice. Xe continued to thrash and flail as Angus took hold of Rain's left shoulder. He slowly began to inject its liquid into xyr arm. Rain winced, arching xyr back and pulling xyr head away from Angus.

Angus returned his syringe to his belt, while Rain struggled to examine the spot where the drug had been injected. Slowly, Halloran stood up, letting out a long, dramatic sigh.

"Philomena, let her go," Halloran said as he leisurely strolled over to Estelle.

The order had just barely left Halloran's mouth when Philomena began releasing the rope that bound Estelle's wrists and ankles together. It didn't seem very reasonable to Estelle, for them to bound her wrists and ankles so tightly, only for them to let her go again anyhow.

Halloran smiled down at Estelle, then pulled something out of his tunic's pocket. It was a revolver. Estelle had never touched one before, as she'd only been taught to use a sword and a rifle. She wasn't a peasant—she'd had no reason to use a revolver. She'd only ever read about characters using revolvers, and they were always the bad guy.

"Take it," Halloran commanded, holding the revolver out to Estelle.

"Why?" Estelle asked. Her voice came out shaky and scared.

"Don't backtalk me," Halloran raised his voice, "Take it."

Hesitantly, Estelle took the revolver from Halloran. It felt cold and foreign in her hand. It felt dangerous, even though she was doing nothing but holding it.