Author's Note: I don't know how to start this apology, so I'll just dive straight in. I'm sorry. I know I'm the worst thing since mouldy sliced bread. You can take that 'Good Little Updater' badge right off me because I don't deserve it. I really don't. My excuse this time is that I have been stressed beyond belief with my workload right now, and I'm applying to university, so that is why I have been physically unable to write. However, I have got a little time on my hands now, so hopefully my updates will be more often.
I'm sorry again, but I know that you've all stuck by me before when I callously abandoned you for months, so I honestly know I don't deserve your dedication.
But here you go: the next chapter. Nina and Rue being arrested. Ermagerd just shut up and let them read already! :)
__________________________________________________________________
There is something humiliating about being arrested and escorted, even if no-one is watching. My cheeks are flushed and flooded with colour and heat, although whether from anger or embarrassment I do not know. My eyes are blurry but I hold my head high, refusing to look sideways or to try and catch my parents’ eyes.
I can’t believe they would just stand by and let this happen.
Sure, they tried to stop this, by supposedly arguing my case with the Council and interrogating me to come up with a cover story. But when they shoved me against a wall and slapped handcuffs around my wrists? My beloved parents simply stood there, my father reproachful. You’re shaming us, he said.
I don’t know what hurts me more: that they’re ashamed of me, or that they did nothing to help me when I needed them most.
They take us down several flights of stairs, lower and lower, and I begin to wonder how deep this place goes down. My fear also rises up again at that thought. How much do I really know about the Slayers Guild? I’ve only been one of them since September, and they seem to like keeping their secrets for almost the sake of keeping them.
I don’t know when I started thinking of the Slayers as my enemies, but wearing handcuffs sure doesn’t make me want to revise my judgement.
The corridors narrow and grow darker, with only tiny, useless halogen lights every five metres or so. I wonder what this part of the building is called, and that leads me to thinking what exactly my interrogation will involve? They won’t torture me, I assure myself, but even now, there’s a sneaking doubt running through my stomach. When your parents allow you to be arrested, even condone it, you suddenly start feeling as if your safety blanket has gone. Your parents are the ones who you can rely on when all else fails, who will always try to help you untangle your mess. So what am I supposed to think when they betray me like this?
Finally, they reach the door at the end of the dim corridor, and unlocking it, the gang of adults frogmarch Nina and I through the doorway. Inside, I gasp, simply because I didn’t imagine anything like this. The Interrogation Chamber is a dark room, windowless and lit by one big chandelier in the centre of the ceiling. However, what catches your eye, what dominates the room, is the large circular oak table in the centre, reminiscent of the Round Table of Arthurian legend, except there is a hole in the middle, making it donut-shaped. The table is raised on a plinth, so when the adults disperse, climbing the steps to take their seats, Nina and I are made by Mr Wickes to walk through a little tunnel cut into the dais. When we emerge from the slanted tunnel, we are in the centre of the donut, surrounded on all sides by the members of the council. We stand there, handcuffed and humiliated, as Mr Wickes abandons us to our island.
When Lysander’s father takes his seat, Mrs Lowe, the hard-faced blond woman, stands. ‘The Slayer’s Council is in process. We are meeting to trial Novice Slayers Katrina Romero and Rue Hedley. Due to their relationship with the accused, Councillors John Hedley and Mayor Xavier Romero will be present but unable to take a part in the proceedings. In absence of Mayor Romero, I, Karen Lowe, will be presiding over this trial. Also present in this chamber are Melissa Romero and Rosemary Hedley, as the accused are under 18.’
YOU ARE READING
Safety is Relative
Teen FictionSafety is Relative, my Dad once told me. It depends on how you look at it. For example, many more people have a fear of flying than a fear of driving. Why? Cars are familiar, and we see them every day. Most people don't crash their cars. Planes, how...
