Dance or Die: a Fanfiction

Chapter 9 - The Chronicle from Arroth-Nil

Two young men sat alone in a small, clean, white, tiled room. The ceiling had a large skylight, the darkening sky beginning to shimmer with stars. One of the men, in a white jacket with two prominent red stripes, absentmindedly glared upwards into the purplish atmosphere, rubbing his forearm. The other, bigger than the one in white and dressed in a jacket as well, but with varying shades of blue and black stripes, looked down at the ground, hands clasped together. Both of them, plus two others, were deep in trouble with the most powerful people in the capital city of Arroth-Nil. A hiss emitted from the entrance to the small confinement area, the two panels of the door sliding out of the way to reveal three steely-grey clad officers and two black haired men in red and silver jackets.

"How'd it go, Siron?" the one in the white jacket said, being intentionally obnoxious so as to irritate the officers. The one in the shinier red jacket started to respond to him in playing around with the officers' moods until he was cut off by the shorter man of the three holding him and the other in the less reflective hoodie.

"You have no respect!" he barked. He turned to face the two in the confinement area. "Siron and Tephe Kut have been proven guilty of disobedience and open mockery to the Jalaath. Rulefe Kut and Najat Miyr, come."

The last command was unnecessary, the two taller officers unceremoniously shoving Siron and Tephe into the cell and subsequently taking Rulefe and Najat out. The door hissed and slid closed and the group walked along the rounded hall, curving towards another sliding door and into an ominously dim room. The Jalaath, two judge-like figures that had partial power over the province, stood on a raised platform, long, stark-white cloaks obscuring their legs. Metallic V-shapes converged on their faces just below their mouths and pointed up past their heads, horizontal frames covering their eyes. The two accused were brought to face them, two of the guards holding their hands behind their backs. One of the Jalaath came to the podium separating the cloaked figures.

The voice the figure spoke in was clear and stern, but the accused zoned out during most of the speech of the one Jalaath until they asked questions.

"Have both of you, Rulefe Kut and Najat Miyr, refused to be in ranks for future invasions of new worlds?" the Jalaath asked.

"Yes," they answered in unison, both glaring indignantly at the Jalaath.

"And you are in cohorts with Siron and Tephe Kut?"

The two simply nodded.

"And there was damage done to certain officers that was caused by the four of you, correct?"

They didn't answer, still staring coldly.

The Jalaath frowned at their silence.

"The only reason why there was 'damage done to certain officers' was because they were ridiculing Rulefe because of the color of energy he makes," Najat said, "It was plain awful and something had to be done."

"All four of you are guilty, then," one Jalaath said irately after Najat spoke. "You all are under the same judgement, and if it will not change your minds and make you comply to Guredel Valy and us, then we will have to force you to be on our and the province's side."

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The skylight was black and glittering brightly with stars in the confinement area, the floor now having the jackets they wore so often. The four men in there sitting on the two benches were nerve-wracked, Rulefe having to put his arm around a visibly frightened Tephe. They couldn't believe that in a short amount of time, right before the new day begins to dawn, they'd have to undergo their punishment. Najat still was drawn to the sky, deep in thought, Siron tapping his foot lightly and thinking as well, an unreadable expression across his face.