The Time Capsule

Chapter Sixteen.

Silence strangled the room with its sharp talons of soundlessness. The Council looked harshly down at Nadia, observing her every tick and blink. "We have been keeping tabs on your... behavior."
The red-haired council member spoke up, his expression disapproving. "We put you in the Time Pit to keep you from committing treason, and yet, somehow you succeed in doing just that. You tried to climb over the wall. Did that not strike you as a bad idea?" Nadia was silent and stone-faced.
Rosa raised her hand. "Excuse me, Elders. I do not agree with that statement. Treason is one of the highest offenses in any realm. I think that she was just trying to get out of her... precarious situation. The woman, Adelaide, tried to kill her. I assume you knew of this?"
The High Council people began to mutter to one another. "We have heard of the incident, yes."
One woman added,. "We have told the mortal, Nadia, to stay in the Time Pit until further instruction, and she disobeyed. Which leads us to the conclusion that she committed treason."
"Nadia Wolfe is no more treasonous than I am." Roman Adair corrected, trying not to glare at the High Council.
"Well, then. That makes it so much better." Another councilor replied, barely containing a smirk.
"My past transgressions have nothing to do with this. She is my prodigy. Not yours. You might be in charge of my job, but you're not in charge of my life." Roman was definitely glaring now.
"One more word spoken from you, and we will rip your status as a Keeper away from you. Do not think that your age gives you the right to question our choices." The red-haired man's voice boomed. Roman became completely silent.
"I think that what my brother meant to say." Rosamund spoke up, the tension palpable in the room. "Is that the stress of this job can be taxing on anyone. And with the stress comes the responsibility of... taking care of Time. All of us have committed grievances against the community, and, might I remind you, Cyrus, that you specifically don't have a clean record. Remember the mortal incident?"
Cyrus, the red-haired man, went quiet. "How dare you speak of my mistake?"
Rosa smiled. "How dare you speak of Roman's mistakes? I might advise you to tread carefully."
"Is that a threat?" Cyrus peered down at her, the room growing hotter. Or at least, to Nadia, it felt like it was increasing in temperature. 'Does he have some sort of temperature change ability?'
She barely stifled a laugh. How ridiculous a notion. Focusing her attention back on the situation at hand, she noted Rosamund and Cyrus' expressions. 'What mistake did he commit?'
"Excuse me, Cyrus. Uh... sir. Councilor Cyrus." She corrected herself. "I was trying to escape because you kept me tra11apped indefinitely in that hell-hole. Don't think I didn't notice that that place makes you complacent and distracts you so you won't fight." Nadia crossed her arms, frowning.
"How did you-That's not possible... you figured out the spell? You're just a mortal, though. Not possible. Unless..." Cyrus turned towards Roman and Rosa. "You sneaked messages into the Pit." He laughed bitterly. "Of course. I should have expected that."
"We do not confirm or deny exchanging messages within the Pit. If that's what you think, feel free. But accusing us of something with no proof..." Roman Adair shrugged. "Have you decided on Nadia's punishment yet? I think she's waited long enough."
Another councilor spoke up, a woman with bright pink hair and glowing eyes. "We have. Nadia Wolfe will hereby be sentenced to twenty years in the time loop." A cry of horror rang out through the room. And then Nadia realized that it came from her.
"NO! I can't go back there. Please. Any other punishment. I can't stay in that loop. I've already been in it for over a year now, and I'm starting to lose track of the days. Twenty? Please. Please!"
"It's already been decided. Fate has discussed your punishment with us and has decided to let you back into the loop. You should be grateful we're not killing you." The woman didn't hide her grin. The smile sent chills down Nadia's arms, the hair on them raising.
Rage encompassed Nadia entirely. Her entire body began to shake with anger. Her vision clouded, the room visibly darkening. She felt like she was watching herself from above. Raising her hands, she pushed them outwards, sending black waves of darkness towards the councilors. A scream ripped through her lungs and out her throat, the sound of nightmares.
That was the last thing she saw as she hit the floor, her vision turning black.
When Nadia's eyes opened, her surroundings looked blurry. 'Why is the world moving back and forth?' She blinked a few times, the blurriness clearing up once she focused more. The world wasn't moving back and forth. She was...
Hanging upside down from chains was not the most comfortable experience for anyone, a fact that Nadia now knew. Her arms were free, whereas her legs were chained to a pedestal cemented into the ceiling. She was swinging back and forth continuously, almost like a pendulum. She tried to gauge how far up she was from the stone floor. Around six feet? Seven? She wasn't sure.
The blood rushed to her head, and she felt dizziness overtake her senses. 'What happened? I don't remember...' It all came rushing back to her. 'I was using magic. I got angry. I.... Did I hurt the councilors?'
Nadia felt liquid run from her nose to her hair. It had a faint metallic scent, and she immediately knew what it was: Blood. She had to get out of here. And fast.
But what could she do? Even if she managed to get out of the chains, she would still fall upside down, and that would be... painful, to say the least. She finally noticed that she was in a four-walled stone cell with a black door a few feet in front of her. The cell smelled of blood and fear, and Nadia wondered who else had been in here.
"Help!" The feeling of claustrophobia clawed at her again, and she couldn't help but remember the hourglass prison. How long ago had that happened? Time stood still in that realm, but still... It felt both recent and distant.
'Focus on something else. How about... My magic? No, not that. Maybe... The Keepers? No...'
"HELP! LET ME OUT OF HERE!" She made her body move backward and forward, trying to gain momentum. Perhaps... if she somehow used her upper body strength to climb the chain and see what kind of lock there was on it... she could eventually unhook herself and swing down? No, she wasn't in an action movie.
And she certainly wasn't equipped enough for this. 'Instead of thinking, why don't I man up and work on escaping since no one wants to come get me out of here.'
Nadia began to swing even faster, finally gaining enough momentum to lift herself enough to grab the chain and pull herself up to peer at the chains holding her feet. The chains looked to be screwed into the pedestal. It looked like it was impossible to escape.
The blood was probably covering her face now, bleeding nonstop. The edges of her vision turned black. Nadia struggled to stay conscious, even though the temptation of giving in to her weakness was strong. Unfortunately, the blood, claustrophobia, and dangling upside down from a stone pedestal did not help her stay awake, and she quickly succumbed to her fear.
Nadia forced her eyes to open, squinting. She was still hanging upside down... 'How long have I been unconscious? Minutes? Hours? Days?'
Nadia wasn't sure if she was hallucinating or if she was actually hearing heavy footsteps coming from outside the room. As they got louder and closer, it was clear she wasn't.
The footsteps stopped in front of the door, and it seemed to be forever before it swung open, the door hitting the wall with the force of the gesture.
Cyrus strode into the room, a look of fury on his face. Trailing closely behind him were Rosamund and Roman. They had a look of despair on their faces. A guard came into the room as well, his armor completely black and threatening.
"I assume you've been having fun in your cell? After all the havoc you caused earlier, you must be enjoying this." Cyrus gestured with his hand, and the chains were undone right when the guard walked over. He caught her before she fell, putting handcuffs of some kind on her wrists and holding her still.
Nadia bet she looked like a train wreck. Dried blood all over her face and hair...She reminded herself that that was not important right now. "Did I hurt anyone?"
"No. But you practically destroyed the council room." He was practically spitting. "Do you know how much damage you caused? I was lucky to react so quickly and create a force field, otherwise all of the Council would be..." He trailed off, unwilling to show weakness.
"The room has been obliterated into smithereens. SMITHEREENS!" Cyrus shouted in her face, turning redder by the second. Nadia clenched her jaw, tempted to hit him with her head, shout back, or do anything else... however... She had to be responsible.
"I never meant to cause harm. I just... Blew up." 'Literally blew up the room... How did I even...?' Her heart pounded, her thoughts racing.
"How can you, a mere mortal-" He spat out, "Cause so much damage? How do you even have magic? That's impossible! Unless..."
He spun around to face the Keepers. "Have you been hiding something vital to the safety of the entire universe?" Cyrus whispered, eyes blazing.
"Perhaps?" Rosa answered with a questioning tone. "We meant to tell you... it just got lost in the shuffle." She rubbed her temples.
"Lost in the shuffle? LOST IN THE SHUFFLE? What did you get lost in the shuffle?"
"The fact that Nadia can control the dream realm." Roman Adair replied, solemn.
"A mere mortal cannot control the Dream Realm. How ridiculous a thought? You dare mock me?"
"How is this considered mockery? Only a few hours ago, she almost killed all of you if it hadn't been for your shield protecting you." Rosamund responded, smiling.
"True... Anything else you're hiding from me?" Cyrus surveyed the two with precaution.
"She might have been adopted into a mortal family. We think that one of her parents was a Keeper, and they passed the gift along." Roman replied.
"There's no way that she could be this powerful if she only had one Keeper parent." Cyrus tapped his chin, looking at Nadia suspiciously. "What happened to your parents?"
Nadia swallowed, willing her voice to speak. "They died."
"Can you be more specific?" Rosa nudged her gently, sympathy showing in her eyes.
"Car crash." She whispered, forcing the tears away, not wanting them to fall.
"A car crash? Isn't that the most basic answer one can give? That's definitely a cop-out. We need to search our database for her parents. What were their names?" Cyrus gestured towards Nadia, impatience on his features.
"Orlando and Naomi Wolfe." She looked down at the ground. "What is my punishment for almost killing all of you?"
"Good question." The red-haired councilor smiled viciously, his sharp white teeth almost blinding her. His eyes, devoid of color, peering into her soul. "The only thing saving your life right now is the fact that you might be the most powerful Keeper there ever was."