Half of Ruby

Chapter 5

A multitude of spectators filed into their seats, all grave and mute, a stark contrast to the chaotic babble outside.  Embossed with gold and ivory, the courtroom arched through the magnificent entry hall and into a large, circular room, spanning a diameter of more than two hundred feet.

Every single one of the female audience members wore hair done up in exaggerated curls and braids. Dainty slippers peeped out from beneath embroidered silk and velvet. Makeup highlighted rosy, blushed cheeks and large, soft eyes. Expensive, ornate suits swathed every one of the males.

A chill shot down Ruby's spine. Neither she nor her mother belonged here, standing in their worn-out cotton dresses, mud and sweat splattering their faces.

And yet Astaria calmly took Ruby's wrist and led the two of them over to a seat by the left-hand side of the room, halfway up the stands. As if they belonged with the crowd. As if they, too, were aristocracy.

Aristocracy...with another chill, Ruby remembered how the guards had knelt down to the two of them. Was Ruby's mother royalty? Did that make Ruby royalty...?

With her golden gown trailing behind her, her stunningly vibrant auburn hair curling down her shoulders, the Queen entered. Long, thick eyelashes fluttered over peach-pale skin, enveloping glowing gold eyes. Her slender figure curved like a bird as it gracefully settled into a chair.

Ruby caught her breath. That was real royalty.

"Let there be order in the Court, please," squeaked the judge across the room. His white wig curled over his head like doughy puffs, as if needing another thirty minutes in the oven before they could come out in crispy golden rolls.

"There already is, genius," muttered Ruby, earning a harsh glare from Astaria.

"Let the prosecutors enter from the left," continued the judge. "Let the prosecuted enter from the right."

The Queen rustled her skirts comfortably as the doors banged open. From the right came Jinx, flanked by three guards, scowling at the judge. Dirt and blood, obviously from scuffling with the guards, stained his clothes and smudged his hair. He appeared a grimy smear on the otherwise immaculate golden floor, sending ripples of discomfort through the audience.

And as much as it pained her to say it, Ruby felt her heart palpitate at the sight of him.

Astaria's perennial scowl only deepened at the ice-blond boy's appearance.

A fanfare exploded through the left-hand hall, announcing the entrance of the prosecutors—the Queen of the Giants, Queen Thyrema, with her entourage of three sons and four daughters. Ruby could see the audience craning their necks to view the Queen, who rarely revealed herself to the Fae.

First came the daughters, with abnormally long blond hair, shimmering golden lips, and iridescent eyes flashing under the lights like shattered glass. Ruby gaped at how normal the Giants appeared; other than their eccentric eye and lip colors, they stood at around six feet each, fiercely glaring at the court. Sheets of gold, clashing magnificently with their hair, swathed their lithe bodies. The four of them glided over to their seats.

Then the sons appeared, hair strangely braided down their backs, rough and scowling, stubble running wild over their flushed red cheeks. The tallest of the sons could've been a little over seven feet, although the rest of them hovered at around seven feet each. There were only three sons, undoubtedly due to Jinx....