Stolen

The Interrogation (8)

Biana's POV:

I knock on the door of the house where the Moonlark is living with her accomplices. My guards stand alert behind me.

The door opens with a blonde haired guy with ice-blue eyes. "What?" he asks, scowling slightly. "I was just in the middle of styling my hair. It takes two hours to get it right, and I can't get it in contact with the sun!"

"Well, the sun isn't out. It's literally raining," I gesture to the umbrella I'm holding. He pouts and moves aside with a huff when I show him the search warrant for his house. "I'm here to look for the thief who's been messing with the money system in Eternus," I tell him and move to search the house, signaling to my guards to do the same. They start looking in all the rooms, and I stand outside a closed door, listening for anyone inside. When I don't hear anything, I open the door, only to find two people kissing passionately.

I feel my cheeks burn bright red and slam the door shut as fast as I can. I lean against it, breathing heavily, trying to calm down my heart rate. Taking a deep breath, I open the door again, trying to maintain a regal air, but they're still kissing. I quickly exit the room but leave the door slightly ajar, waiting for them to finish. After about five minutes, I walk in and clear my throat, trying this again.

"Moonlark- '' I start, blushing again when she doesn't pull away, but just replies with a series of incomprehensible sounds. The guy just looks at me with narrowed eyes, silently daring me to interrupt them again. I grumble and storm outside and get my guards, ushering them into the room.

Once the guards have literally pried the two apart, I walk in between them so they won't try anything, facing the Moonlark.

"Moonlark, you are accused of thievery and vandalism. You will be taken to prison until your court hearing which will determine your sentence. Any objections you may have will be saved for court. You have the right to remain silent." I gesture for my personal bodyguard to handcuff her and her – as it seems – boyfriend, who is guilty by association.

The Moonlark stares at me, then tips her head back and laughs. "You think I'll actually come with you?"

I ignore her, leading her out the door and into the carriage parked out front. With a nod to the driver, he sets out to the Salt Mines of Endovier.

The Moonlark stares at me the whole time, not looking at her so-called boyfriend or any of the guards that have their sword drawn in case she tries something.

"What is the princess of Eternus doing here capturing common thieves like me?" She asks, tilting her head slightly.

"You're not a common thief, though. You broke into the royal palace and stole money from our treasury. I bet you spent that cash as much as you wanted, didn't you?" I snap, glaring back at her. I don't know how she figured out who I was. Ever since I arrived at Mysterium, I made sure my guards were disguised - since my annoying brother insisted they follow me everywhere I went - and that no one knew my real name. I thought I had the upper hand here, but clearly I was wrong. If she knows my name, then what else does she know?

"I think I'll answer those questions for Endovier," she replies, and leans back in her seat. Another surprise. She knows where we're going. Beside her, the boy shoots her a look and continues staring out the window.

Moonlark's POV:

Endovier. It's a slave compound encircled by a large wall, and it contains only a few buildings. A passage through the wall enclosed by iron gates allows people to enter and exit the place. It's a standard grid of hallways and stairways, floored in marble, with iron chandeliers hanging from the ceilings.

This is where countless innocent people die; women, men, even children don't last a week. The slaves mine salt in harsh conditions, with various entrances into the mountain where the place is located, just a few miles north of the city of Mysterium. It took us the whole day to get here, and now in the black silence of the night, the thought of thousands of people being tortured makes me sick.

Tam, beside me, is a silent comfort. My cheeks heat up as I think about our kiss. I'd never kissed a boy before, but he clearly had. I just wish Princess I-Can-Barge-In -Whenever-I-Want hadn't interrupted.

As if he can read my mind, Tam looks at me, his eyes piercing in the darkness. Holding his gaze, I give my head a slight shake. He nods, and gives my hand a reassuring squeeze. At least I have someone on my side.

We're led into the throne room, which has a large, grapevine-shaped chandelier and an ornate redwood throne upon a raised dais. Princess I'm-just-as-sassy-as-Keefe has us sit at a round table, and she unties us. She even gives us tea. Maybe she has a slight tinge of Princess I-Can-Be-Nice-When-I-Want-To-Be.

I'm not gonna give you a whole script word-for-word of the interrogation, so all you really need to know is that Princess Nosy-Pants started off with a few questions about my life before I was known as the Moonlark. To my surprise, I answered honestly, spilling every little detail. What was this witchcraft? I never tell the truth to anyone. The first person I ever really opened up to was Aaron and, recently, Tam, but even then, I didn't tell them much about my life before. Even stranger, I kept taking sips of the tea and asking for refills. Princess Rich-Beyond-Anyone's-Wildest-Dreams lights up every time and pours me generous servings. She must have put something in it to make me tell the truth, but I don't really care. I don't have much to hide anymore.

Once we're all warmed up, she leans back in her chair. "So, why did you run? You sound like you were pretty comfortable in the capital." I huffed, still slightly upset about the tea, but answered truthfully, because – obviously – I didn't have a choice.

"Well, I couldn't stay after your guards searched every corner of the city for me," I retorted, taking another sip of my tea. Princess Obnoxious glared.

"I meant before you turned into the Moonlark," she clarified impatiently. I sighed. I could only hide my past for so long. It wasn't long before the truth serum forced me to speak again.

"I was ten. Your dad had just fired my parents from their posts as guards because they were framed for stealing from him. We were tossed out to the streets. My dad managed to get a job as a blacksmith, and my mother worked as a waitress at a restaurant. Money was tight, but everything was going fine until my mother got sick. The restaurant wouldn't let her serve food to customers like that, so she had to stay home, leaving me to try to find a job of my own and take care of her at the same time. No one would hire a ten year old girl for anything, so my family almost immediately was tossed to the streets again." I took a quivering breath in. I hadn't even realized there were tears streaming down my cheeks, hadn't realized my arms were wrapped around myself, shaking.

"Soon, my dad got the illness too. Both of them died from the plague that spread through the city," I turned to Biana. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to get through those days? The only way I survived was because of a family that took me in as their own. After their death, I vowed that I would do anything to help the helpless, the ones who couldn't take care of themselves. All the money I steal goes to the poor, leaving only a bit for my needs." I take out my camera and show Biana footage of the horrors I see happen every day. She gasps and covers her mouth with her hands. She watches with wide eyes as children are forced to fight bears and tigers in the outskirts beyond the walls of Eternalia - and die trying to feed their families, along with illnesses which the government has cures for, but doesn't care enough to bother. There's also the plague, which, as far as I know, even infects the wealthy and has no vaccine or cure that's been discovered. She clearly had no idea about what goes on outside her palace, that much was clear as day.

"The plague," Biana finally says. "My father has the cure."