Forest of Fireflies

Chapter 72

(Daniella's POV)

My heart was thumping at the revelation. Who had taken the King's heart, and why did they do it? 

I watched my mother's expression very carefully. She was in as much shock as myself. Her scared eyes explored the king's. 

It took a minute for the judge to announce a temporary pause to the session. Given by his own concerned face, I assumed that he had never come across a situation in which the accused had no heart. I wished that the break would have lasted for a shorter period of time, since the longer I was away from school, the higher the chance that they'd realize I was missing. 

As everyone had left the room, I took my eyes off the mirror. 

If the king's heart was missing, is it possible that he was being controlled by someone all along? If so, how much does the culprit know about the king's life before his death? 

I sat on one of the trunks in the room, twisting my hands together. Then, I suddenly remembered that I still had Henry's heart in my pocket. I took it out shakily and stared at the glowing organ in my hand. Strangely enough, the slow beat that radiated from it calmed me. A selfish part of me didn't want to return it, knowing that I now had control over my brother. However, I knew I couldn't keep it forever, even though I have no idea how I'd be able to return it to him without anyone seeing. If anyone saw me with the heart, I'd be in hot water. I didn't want to attract any more attention to myself than what's already happening with the court and the broken curse. 

It seemed like forever, but eventually, I heard the judge's mallot thud from the mirror. I returned to the looking glass as everyone inside the hall sat down. Now, the witch was holding a dream catcher. The judge started speaking, "Proceeding from what had occurred in the previous session, we will use a dream catcher in an attempt to retrieve Mr Blanchard's memories. This will provide us with an insight into the accuracy of Ms Mill's testimony and perhaps also give us an indication of the culprit who had taken his heart."

I could tell that mother was not aware of this plan. At the mention of the dream catcher, she opened her mouth slightly as if she wanted to say something. After glancing around the room, she cleared her throat and asked, "Perhaps this should be left for a private audience, sir."

The judge looked incredulously at mother. "I do not believe that is necessary. As it has been made clear, the court will only search for the truth. Nothing more."

Although she didn't reply, it was certain that mother objected this. Her uncomfortable expression made me nervous. What was I about to see?!

I turned my focus to the witch, who hovered the dream catcher's net over the king's head. She closed her eyes in concentration. It was evident that the person behind the king's missing heart did not want these memories to be extracted. Nonetheless, a yellow glow started getting brighter and brighter on the dream catcher. As soon as the witch was done, the king's head fell forward. When he lifted it back up, something had changed within him. The witch announced, "As his majesty's memories from the time period surrounding the taking of his heart, Mr Blanchard has been temporarily freed from the connection to the one who owns his heart." She turned to the judge and said, "We have limited time, before this is connection is reformed."

My gaze was now diverted onto the king. Although still frightening to me, his eyes had lost a sense of harshness. In fact, he almost seemed to be giving me an impression of an innocent, yet condemned man. I shook my head immediately at this thought. No! He's ruined my life. I cannot think like this. 

The judge spoke to the witch in a loud voice, "Is there any way we could view the memories in a larger frame?"

The witch nodded and laid the dream catcher on the ground. Then, she projected the memories into the air. It started playing with a haze of unclear sounds. However, I was able to make out what was going on.....