Reborn

Chapter 8

Alethea shifted uncomfortably, her corset digging tightly into her ribs. Very few occasions demanded that she dress like the lady she was, and so every time she wore her corset, it felt like her first time wearing it. She absolutely hated the feeling of not being able to move or even breathe freely; the warrior in her refused to be put in a situation where she couldn't draw her sword and fight if necessary. And gauging the atmosphere in the courtroom, Alethea wouldn't be surprised if someone did draw their knife and charge.

Lady Constantine sat beside her husband. She dabbed at her eyes daintily with her handkerchief while making sure to sniffle loudly every time she felt like somebody was looking at her. Alethea, Cynthia, Olympia and everyone else who had ever been in contact with Cederic were lined up on a bench, awaiting interrogation. Chanse and Gordon sat on either side of their parents, their expressions stern.

"Lady Lovelace, would you mind recounting why Cederic was in prison?"

Lady Lovelace burst into an exaggerated sob for the fiftieth time that hour. Her ridiculously made up face was hidden behind her soaked handkerchief. Alethea guessed that the Lady had taken the time to douse the cloth in water before attending.

"You see, the boy's music was so peaceful that I had him play a piece for me before bed so I might sleep better. I was worried since he is a hormonal teenager who would've understandably felt attraction towards a woman as attractive myself despite my age, but he seemed to be such a sweet boy that I trusted him to stay within his limits. But one absolutely dreadful night, the boy approached me and tried to touch me after he assumed I had fallen asleep. The guards are a testament to it; they heard me scream for help and pried him off me."

As Lady Lovelace once again launched into a loud wail, Alethea held back the urge to scoff at the Lady's ridiculous accusation. She couldn't believe the length to which she would go to hide the fact that Cederic was her illegitimate son.

Gordon turned to the guards in question for confirmation, who in turn mumbled their assent. He then turned to the bench of suspects, his jaw clenched in fury.

"My sirs and ladies, I am deeply sorry to have summoned you like this. I have no doubt that all of you are very noble and honorable people, however, we must consider the scenario that someone helped Cederic escape. No body has yet escaped our prisons without help, so you must understand that this is a reasonable assumption to act upon. My father and mother shall remain here with the guards to make sure that everyone stays here until the questioning is complete. My brother Chanse and I shall be interrogating each one of you one by one in another room. Please cooperate with us so that this process may be finished quickly and without complication."

Gordon stood up and gestured to his brother to do the same. The two disappeared into a room behind the courtroom. After a few minutes, Chanse exited the room and approached Cynthia, his voice soft as he instructed her to follow him. Alethea watched as her sister vanished into the other room, wondering how strictly the brothers were planning on interrogating everyone.

Time inched by painfully slowly as Alethea waited her turn; she was seated at almost the end of the bench. Her lack of oxygen did not make her wait any worse, and Alethea was seriously considering asking for permission to go change so that her wait might be more pleasant. The stern gaze of Lord Lovelace told her that she would absolutely be not allowed to move a single inch off the bench, so she remained seated.

Finally, her mother returned, taking her seat beside Alethea, and Chanse came to a stop in front of Alethea, an insufferable smirk dancing across her face.

"Countess Alethea, please follow me. It is now your turn to be interrogated."

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Noah couldn't help but grow a taste for rap after having it blasted from the other side of his bedroom wall for the past few years. He himself had always been more of a mellow, instrumental music type of guy, but his sister's obsession for rap and trap music had slowly grown on him. He'd even occasionally find himself head bopping to songs that simply repeated the word "bitch" to a catchy beat.

Noah shook his head to clear it and instead squinted at his notebook. He was trying to write his own song so that he could practice it in his free time and then one day blow away his teacher with a masterpiece (that it was obviously bound to be) so that he could finally stop playing Sonata Pathetique.

Noah resumed scribbling down notes on his notebook, humming them as he went. The more he continued, the more he felt like he was going in the right direction with it. He grew more and more immersed in it, and right as he was scribbling down the last few notes, the door to his bedroom slammed open, causing him to jump.

Noah scowled at his twin sister.

"And to what do I owe this visit?"

Audrey shook her phone at him angrily, reminding Noah of those old cartoon men that shook their canes at the naughty little kids next door.

"Did you give some random girl my number again? I'm tired of rejecting them all for you. Grow a pair, will you?"

Noah grinned at her guiltily.

"But you're loud and mean. You're the perfect sister for the job."

Audrey rolled her eyes.

"Y'know, you yell at me for not making any friends, but have you considered that everyone hates me because I keep yelling at them for you?"

Noah pouted, giving his sister his best puppy eyes.

"Yeah, but if I yell at everyone they'll hate me too."

Audrey rolled her eyes.

"At least warn me the next time you plan on handing out my number. I'll reject them over text and pretend to be you."

Audrey slammed the door behind her a little too forcefully as she left. Noah chuckled softly to himself before focusing his attention back on his notebook, only to realize that he had forgotten the last few notes to complete his song.

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Hi :D

Sorry for not updating in forever lmao but here's an update and even after all this time, I'm still extremely partial to Noah :)

Maybe this time I'll try to be regular with updates TT