The Sound of a Siren's Call

38.) Votes are Dramatic

The witches lit a fire so we could see the centaurs and the humans. None of them said anything, even as Sade paced in front of them.

"We've counted up the votes," Juniper translated. Ryan didn't even look at me let alone take the effort to make sure I understood what was happening. She only turned as I pulled my hand out of hers.

"There were 722 votes for untrustworthy. There were 48 votes for trustworthy. And 807 votes for keeping a watch. Keeping a watch wins by 85 votes. The people have spoken."

Everyone's lips moved in response. "Let it be done," Ryan signed along reverently.

She turned to me. "Well, you won. Your boy had a good enough speech after all."

I nodded, but I was looking at Juniper.

"We did it! Arriana, we did it!"

Her face was wet, but I couldn't tell if it was from the lake water or sweat. I chose to assume it was the lake water.

The men looked dazed. Castor was the first one to move. Everyone stared at him as he reached down and took Juniper up in his arms. She wrapped her arms back around him, grinning from ear to ear.

Everyone seemed stunned. Castor sat down slowly, letting Juniper go.

They were talking quickly, seeming not to care that their conversation was painfully public. It wasn't until they'd been talking for several minutes that the assembly started to lose interest.

Castor and Juniper finally settled down and he looked at Ryan. Juniper was quick to translate.

"I never got to thank you for complimenting me on my speech."

Ryan didn't look happy about the comment, but she forced a smile.

"Even I can recognize humans are good for a few things."

Ryan's signing was somewhat impeded by the fact her nostrils flared and her face grew red with rage. Any pleasantry meant in the sings was lost.

Juniper signed as she spoke. "You think you're so good, don't you? Look at you sitting there, all smug. You're no better for all your judging. So come on, say it again." Juniper looked like she was about to lunge out of the water at Ryan.

Before Ryan could say anything, I put my finger to her lips. "Leave it."

"But, did you hear that? I can't just—"

"If you value your own wellbeing, leave it alone."

"Is that threat?" She looked at me carefully.

"Oh, not so fun now you're on the other end of it, huh?"

"Shut up."

Ryan didn't say anything more, so I counted the argument as a win.

Juniper calmed down, most likely because Castor too her hand, his thumb brushing across her skin.

Ryan was seething. I sat still, relishing the relative peacefulness of the moment.

The centaur wove through the crowd.

Juniper translated with her unoccupied hand. "We're meeting again here tomorrow for the soldier's trial. Come straight after breakfast."

Castor looked at me.

"They don't have a case," Ryan stated.

Castor looked at her, but didn't say anything.

"Don't you care about your fellow humans?" She taunted, her lips moving and settling into a sneer. She was signing so I'd see her provocations.

Castor's eyes flashed.

"They weren't any kinder to me than you," Juniper translated, still one-handed.

Ryan snorted. "So you support us condemning them?"

He shook his head.

"It's complicated." He was signing now, one-handed too.

"Oh yeah?"

"Ryan, we should probably leave them alone."

"This is important, Arriana."

"Then it can wait until we've all had a night's sleep behind us."

I stood and grabbed Ryan's hands to pull her up.

Castor's eyes silently thanked me as we moved away.

"Why did you stop me? I was being reasonable."

"No, you weren't. Are you saying you would never call out another witch on her wrongdoings?"

"No, but I wouldn't stand for a group of foreigners trying her either."

"He didn't say he stood for that. He said it was complicated."

"Yeah, that's what you say when you're avoiding the question." She turned to face me.

"It might be, but what does it matter to you if he supports it or not?"

"I want to know that we made the right choice. Is that so wrong?"

I walked away without answering her question.

"I know you like him, but can't you understand why I don't want to trust humans? They put us in a prison for heaven's sake!"

"I understand, but that doesn't mean I have to agree."

I was at the squat building we'd been sleeping in for days.

"There's soldiers in there."

"So where do we sleep?" I was still angry, so the question came out more biting than  I meant it to.

Ryan grabbed my hand and pulled me away.

"Here." She walked with me into a room of nice hammocks. Various personal items were still stowed away under them. It felt wrong somehow.

"Don't say you have a moral objection to this too."

I shook my head, pushing the feeling down. "It's fine."

I angrily climbing into a hammock and she climbed into the one next to me.

"I don't want you to be mad at me."

"Go to sleep, Ryan."

"Not until you tell me if you're mad at me."

"I don't know, okay. Now go to sleep."

"You're mad. I'm sorry."

"Okay. Now go to sleep."

She squeezed her eyes shut obediently, and a few minutes passed. I watched her sleeping face. She looked so innocent. Not like a person that would want others to die for the sake of revenge.

"Are you still mad at me?" She asked, her eyes popping back open.

"Go to sleep." I turned over, my back to her.

I took a deep breath and tried to squeeze my eyes shut, laying still. I resented that I'd gotten used to the hard floor in such a short time.

Eventually, the gentle swaying lulled me to sleep and everything gave way to dark. For the first time in several days, I had a dreamless sleep. My mother wasn't there, nor was Ryan. It was only a peaceful dark. I didn't even dream of the coming day, which made it all the more comfortable when it came.