Protectors of Crystal Haven

Chapter Five: A Land Before Hell

The royal doctors of Coventry, Aparridia, Cadanna, and Avrethia came into the room of crying royals and stood beside them. One by one they went up to Principal Alairia and gave her a mirror pad containing the royal child that had single handedly murdered their sister. As each doctor came up to Alairia, each Queen and King looked up with tear stained faces. All of their eyes holding the same question, "Which child of mine has betrayed their kingdom, family, and sister?'. Alairia did not have a clue how to communicate this awful news without remorse for being the one to tell them. As it turned out, Queen Laurelai was the first to speak.

"I cannot wait any longer, tell me, which of my children has chosen the path of a monster?" she said as tears formed in the creases of the Coventry queen's eyes.

Alairia looked up, her eyes clouded with misery and sympathy "I do not know how to tell you this".

"If it is too difficult then give me the mirror pad and let me see for myself" she said in a saddened tone, "I do not wish to wait any longer"

Alairia stood up and walked over to the queen placing the mirror pad in her palm and her hand on Laurelai's shoulder as the queen cried out, "How could he do this?!" and collapsed into the arms of her husband. King Elian, Laurelai's husband, grabbed the mirror pad off the table looking it over with as much pain in his eyes as his wife.

"It seems, that you shall call Cullen into the office and send him up here," she said through quivering lips, "I pray that I shall never be more distressed than I am at this moment" once she had finished speaking she clutched her husband and continued to cry. Next was the royals of Aparridia, King Trevan and Queen Reina. Alairia looked across the table into the eyes of King Trevan and saw great sadness, pain, and desperation. She decided she would let the royals look before calling the children to the private room for questioning if that was their wish.

"Would you all prefer to see for yourselves before calling your children in for questioning?" she asked with a deep sorrow in her usually bright voice. The kings and queens mumbled amongst themselves for a moment, they then looked up and nodded their heads solemnly. Alairia, seeing this as a signal to pass out the mirror pads, did so, then went to sit in her chair beside her guards. She winced as the parents cried out in misery at finding out which of their children had harmed their sisters so violently.

"How could she?! They used to be best friends!" cried Queen Reina upon looking at the picture of her daughter, Nyasia, on the mirror pad. King Trevan clasped his wife's hands and pulled her into his shaking arms.

"Why, what did I do to deserve such a cruel daughter!?" King Fortis sobbed into his wife, Queen Ivina's shoulder while the mirror pad containing the face of their daughter, Yareli, sat on the table. She simply sat there, silent tears rolling down her face as she embraced her husband.

"How could he? I raised Ryland to be a knight who protects his family and his kingdom! Not kill them!!!" King Jacobson yelled with tears coming out of his eyes no matter how hard he tried to keep them back. Queen Araceli tried to calm him down and instead King Jacobson fell into his wife's arms clearly having given up on trying to make sense of the situation. 

"I'm sorry you all had to find out about it this way so rushed but as you know we now have to call the children in here along with the authorities for you to say your last goodbye's" Alairia said not looking up at the royals knowing she couldn't possibly feel more remorseful for the families. Alairia stood up and walked over to the microphone that was attached to the intercom and started the announcement.  "Will Cullen of Coventry, Nyasia of Aparridia, Yareli of Avrethia and Ryland of Cadanna come to the office immediately please? Thank You." Once she had finished she sent guards to collect the children's things from their rooms. 

"Will you allow us to say goodbye separately?" Queen Ivina asked barely making noise from the heaviness of her whisper.

"Yes, I will send you each to a different conference room and a guard to follow you and lock the doors and windows with high security" Alairia promised the royals knowing it was the most she could do for their last goodbye. The parents would be able to visit their children but it wouldn't be the same, nothing will ever be the same for these poor families. As they prepared the rooms and the children's bags Alairia sent guards to escort the kids to their specified conference rooms for goodbyes. The royals each took the bags/trunks belonging to their child and put them into the rooms that their children would emerge from in handcuffs. They then sat down on the couch allowing each other to cry until the guards arrived with their kids. 

Alairia sat straight up when her daughter entered her office. "Evie hun what are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"I know but.......you sounded like you weren't okay over the intercom and I needed to know that you were okay so I told my 'History of Fantasy' teacher Roman that I had to see you" Evie told her mother as Alairia noticed that her daughter's dark makeup was quite smudged and her eyes looked red and puffy. 

"Evie baby did you have another panic attack?.." Alairia said to her daughter knowing the truth and getting up to hug her.

"M-Mom..." Evie stammered not knowing what to do as her mother embraced her understanding. She let herself collapse into her mothers arms as she guided her to the couch to lay down. Evie's mother sat on the couch and clutched her daughter in her arms distinctly feeling how much she was shaking and how her tears soaked her shirt. 

"It's going to be okay Evie, just breathe. Do you want me to call your big brother up here? Would having Patton here make you feel better?" Alairia asked knowing how close they were. "What about Virgil?" Alairia asked in sadness.

"Please call them! Patton, Virgil I need you help me!" Evie cried out in desperation. Alairia immediately called Patton and Virgil to Eve's side and they both calmed her down.  

By this time the royals had questioned and explained to their children what was happening and they had all gone nuts on recording causing the guards to rush in and cuff them clearly stating the goodbyes as over. Once they calmed down each child hugged their parents one last time before them and their belongings were shipped off to the highest security mental hospital in all of the kingdoms.