The Blood Of The Rainbow

.:Chapter 12:.

As soon as the judge announced Violet's sentence, three soldiers came from the corners of the courtroom and seized her forcefully. Violet didn't move a muscle against them. She stared at them with shocked eyes as they ushered her out of the room, silence following them.

Then Alex spoke, his voice seething with anger. "Get your hands off her! God dammit! Stop it!" His protests achieved nothing; the soldiers silently forced her out the courtroom, and Argyro put a hand on his son's shoulder.

"It's for the best, my son," he said. "Now silence yourself. Don't make a fool in front of the other officials."

"She was innocent!" Alex said, voice rising into a yell. He was about to continue before Judas took Alex's arm and bowed deeply to the other officials.

"My sincerest apologies," he murmured. "Please excuse us, Father." Argyro nodded his dismissal to his eldest son, but didn't give Alex a second glance. Arian gave Judas and Alex a concerned look before moving over to the other officials to talk to them.

Judas and Alex went to the hallways outside the courtroom. Judas began to speak, but out from the corner of Alex's eyes he saw the knights and Violet rounding the corner to proceed to the dungeons.

"Alex, wait—" Judas tried, but Alex shoved his brother away from him and silently followed the guards, slinking in the shadows as the guards made turns throughout the palace. Violet never retaliated against these soldiers—she was submissive and almost acted like a doll, her life being tossed around as the guards led her to the royal library.

Alex dodged between bookshelves and watched as one of the guards went to the back corner of the library, in an area packed with the most books and scrolls. One of the guards shoved a particular bookshelf to the side, and behind it in the stone wall revealed a door leading to a tunnel. Violet looked into the tunnel curiously as the guards opened the door and led her inside, closing the door and placing the bookshelf back in its proper place afterwards.

Alex cautiously approached the bookshelf, curious even in the situation. He had visited the library plenty of times, but never thought there would be a hidden dungeon inside.

He firmly put his hands against the side of the bookshelf and shoved it away. The shelf creaked and groaned as it finally moved. There was the wooden door: Alex opened it and made sure to not leave any evidence behind.

The tunnels were dark and winding. In the distance Alex could hear the echoing of footsteps, and he made sure to walk as softly yet quickly as he could. It was dark, the long hallways only lit by torchlight. Alex wished he had Arian's power for a fleeting moment. Being able to produce a fire in this darkness sounded nice.

They passed through multiple cells, and Alex grew increasingly nervous. Finally, they reached a particular cell. Alex hid behind a corner and flinched when he heard Violet's exclaim of pain and a thud. She had been thrown into the cell unceremoniously, and the guards locked her cell door and started returning the way they came.

Alex's heartbeat quickened and he ran to an open, empty cell. He ducked in the farthest corner of the cell and hid his face in the shadows as he heard their heavy footsteps advance.

"I never thought I'd be the one to put the purple in her place," one of them said as the guards passed.

"There's a first time for everything..." Their voices dwindled as they went farther away, and as soon as Alex couldn't hear their footsteps he dashed back to Violet's cell.

"Violet!" he whispered. "Violet!"

The girl lifted her head up. She was on the floor and she seem to shrink back into the shadows when she heard a voice, but she seemed to perk up when she realized who it was.