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ANNETTE
“We’re glad to have you here, Annette.”
I stand before a small council, who all sit on a bench. The sheen of the late afternoon sunlight against the marble tile is almost blinding. The scene is beautiful, bathed in a golden glow of light.
I don’t dare speak. They could easily erase my very existence.
I’ve already noticed that their tone is much more severe than I remember, and even the kindest among them looks disgusted by my presence.
The elderly woman, Jessaphine, serves as the head of the council, and she does most of the speaking. She is different from the other members of the council – she is at least somewhat compassionate and acts from a sense of duty.
But she is still a dark elf, and dark elves have offered me very few kindnesses.
“For a time, we allowed you to remain in Mellara, separate from the camps and the clubs, because we recognized your unique contributions,” Jessaphine says. “And it’s with a heavy heart that I inform you…”
“Can you get to the point, Jessaphine?” the curmudgeonly elder Dritz asks.
He fidgets in his seat, and he’s been staring holes through me since I entered the large chamber. I’ve never gotten the impression that he particularly cared for me.
Jessaphine gives him a small sideways glance, barely acknowledging him before turning back toward me.
“We cannot excuse your actions, Annette,” Jessaphine says, her voice losing all compassion and sense of patience. “What you’ve done is inexcusable.”
My heart jumps. I feel chills run up and down my spine.
“I’m sorry,” I say reactively, my voice hoarse and dry. “What are you –”
I can see anger growing in Dritz.
“You’ve had plenty of time to defend yourself, girl,” Dritz says. “We’re not interested in hearing your testimony. We just want you out by sunset.”
I wait for Jessaphine to jump in, but she never does. The five elder dark elves have seemingly dismissed me without a trial.
“You may go,” Jessaphine says.
The other elves have pulled up other documents and are scrutinizing them carefully.
Though I’m not used to defending myself in front of the council, I realize that I have nothing to lose at this point. I address the council somewhat sheepishly.
“Can you at least tell me what I did wrong?”
“You know perfectly well what you did!” Dritz barks like a rabid worg, but Jessaphine holds up a hand, silencing him.
Dark elves hold little respect for human women, but for the females of their own kind, there is a noticeable reverence.
“We’ve found several dark elves killed in increasingly gruesome ways, and all of them have one thing in common,” Jessaphine says.
The air leaves my lungs, and I’m gasping, trying to make sense of the accusation.
They think I murdered somebody. Not just one person but multiple dark elves?
My sense of reason starts to leave me in spades, and a wave of irrationality sweeps over me.
I want to run out of the room and never return to this town. I know that I won’t get the same treatment that I have received in Mellara anywhere else, but the way the council gazes upon me now humiliates and terrifies me.
“They all had ties to you.”
My jaw drops. “What do you mean, they all had ties to me?”
