It had been a rude awakening with shouting in the middle of the night, but nothing could have prepared for the sight of her own daughter, bleeding, being dragged away by the village guards.

  It had left her speechless as she had rushed over only to be told to back off, but she didn’t, and Ibaly quickly held her back before she made things worse. But in her state, she let out her frustrations at her, “You useless rotting flesh, let me go!”

  However, her daughter hadn’t, and she, while looking at Eehutro being dragged away, barely kept it together.

  For a moment, she stood calmly, but at the first opportunity when Ibaly’s grip weakened, she broke free and tossed her daughter into the water. She had only looked back at her with a weakened glance, pausing for a moment before rushing off.

  By now, her daughter had to be locked behind bars, and the guards would not open the cell for her. She couldn’t even bribe them, not when their entire supply and wears had been bought.

  “Rotten zilblo,” she’d cursed Black Beak, certain he was behind this.

  Arriving at the Grand Hall, she yelled for Nokuji, only to be halted and told to wait. Every instinct as a mother wanted to tear through them, but she showed outward composure, using her magic to show as much, keeping her scales plain.

  In what could only be described as torture, Noktrala waited in worry until, finally, she was allowed to meet with Nokuji in the shadow chamber.

  She hurried down the stairs, barely noticing the comfortable warmth, as she stood before Nokuji, the room filled with guards, hiding only within the shadows along with Nokqotir. She’d know the figure anywhere.

  “I demand my daughter to be set free this instant!”

  “You desire the gods to invoke their wrath. Your daughter tried to kill Black Beak and violated Guest Right.”

  She had feared as much, even though she dared not think it was true, hoping there was some misunderstanding or something else. Yet deep within her, she knew what her daughter had done was true, but even so, she wouldn’t accept it.

  “You believe the words of this Black Beak! The dead-eyed freak! I demand to see proof!”

  Nokuji motioned for one of the guards to step forward.

  In the light, Noktrala could see that the guard was holding her daughter’s golden chain with one of the links bent and misshapen like it had been hit by a hammer.

  For a moment, her mind flashed with anger, ‘Which one of those brutes damaged my--!’

  “This was used by your daughter,” Nokuji told her. “She wrapped it around his throat and tried to choke the life out of him. Split discovered this and managed to save him in time.”

  “This is the proof you use to justify taking my daughter?! Her necklace, the words of a freak, and betrayer?!” Noktrala shouted. “I demand you let her go this instant!”

  Nokuji stood up, nothing but her silhouette visible, but even so, she could see her cold gaze glaring down at her. “Merchant, I understand your emotions, and I sympathize with you as a mother myself, but there is sufficient proof. Your daughter tried to kill a guest under my protection, and even moments before the act, she, without hesitation, slowly took off her necklace and, with no remorse in her eyes or change in her scales, tried to choke the life out of Black Beak.”

  “That isn’t true!”

  “Your daughter will be given a fair trial come first light, where all will be revealed,” Nokuji said, each word like arrows that pierced her flesh. “I suggest you get some rest until then.”

  ‘Rest?! Trial?! Are you even a mother…?! To be this cruel?’ she thought, fighting every urge to growl or show frustration. ‘You only want to drag it out for yourself. If you believe the evidence so clearly, you would have punished her and gotten it over with.’

  She knew any further discussion or demand was useless; even if she looked to Nokqotir, it wouldn’t help anything, not with her. There was only one thing she could do now as she left.

  Kill Black Beak and that disgrace Split.

  With utter conviction, she felt the blade hidden under her clothing and knew that would be enough. Only that and one moment to strike.

  Tracking down Black Beak was a rather simple affair.

  Her years as a merchant had taught her well to wait and listen, overhearing conversations and gathering information little by little as first light crept closer.

  She had guessed he would have been below, but from what she gathered, he was nearby up here in an unremarkable little dwelling where a couple of guards stood watch.

  She approached with unseeing grace and a charmed personality, “Well met.”

  The oldest-looking one of them with magenta scales stared at her quietly, uttering not a word.

  “Whatever you want here, leave,” the younger one with silver scales said, trying to sound tough, but the way she did it wasn’t like a soldier, battle-worn, but more like a child protecting their favorite toy.

  “There is no need for any violence; I only came to speak with Black Beak. I want to clear this situation up,” She said in a friendly tone, her posture fully submissive.

  “Listen here, merchant, Black Beak is hurt and needs time to recover; now leave!” The last one with dark golden scales demanded of her.

  “I’m sorry for disturbing such fine, strong-willed warriors such as you all,” She said in a meek tone with just a slight hint of respect.

  Her words were little more than hollow praise in truth, but she could, at a glance, see that none of them was used to getting such.

  “It is fine. Be on your way and stay safe,” The dark gold-scaled one said, becoming even darker.

  “Yes, of course, and worry not, I will tell the lord how dedicated you are to your duties.”

  “Was that a threat?” The quiet one said.

  She backed away as she let dry tears fall, “No, no, most assuredly not. It is only that the lord told me that if I wanted clarity about my daughter’s imprisonment, I could speak with Black Beak directly. But you need not think of it.”

  She walked away.

  “Wait!”

  ‘Perfect,’ she thought, turning around.

  “You can talk, but the door stays open.”

  “Yes, yes, of course, thank you, thank you all,” she said with such thick glee and thankfulness that she might as well be servicing them all.

  As the final obstacle was removed, Noktrala felt the dagger once more, specifically a crude inscription on the blade. ‘I’ll be with you eventually, Dwjaib.’

  Inside the room was small and barren, and for someone Nokuji had praised so much, the fact that he was lying on a sandless floor seemed odd.

  Yet it mattered little as she looked at Split, who immediately took notice of her presence but didn’t outright act, ‘she has to go first.’

  Then she turned her gaze to Black Beak, but at that moment, she saw him slumped up against the wall with not a mark on him, those eyes staring at her. She didn’t even notice the small heretic growling.

  She was fine with this. She was fine with dying if it meant the trial had no witnesses of any kind and that she would die in her daughter’s stead, but as she peered into those dark, dead eyes, fear was all she could feel.

  Fear of her daughter’s death and fear of hers.

  “Why are you here?” Split questioned.

  “Please... please...” In that moment, as she stared at Black Beak, all she could do was fall to the ground, her forehead and snout pressing against the stone as tears ran from her eyes. “Please forgive my daughter. She only tried to make up for my mistake. I can’t... I can’t lose her... not again... not anymore... I can’t leave her... I can’t abandon her...”

  “...”

  She bowed and begged with true submission, but when silence was all she was met by, even as the tears kept flowing, she raised her head, and those cold, dead, unfeeling eyes stared at her. Not a flicker of change. Nothing.

  ‘What a fool I am,’ she thought, feeling as though she was sinking. She looked for pity, the smallest shred of forgiveness, or understanding in bare hollowness.

  What did she truly expect?

  With barely the strength to stand, tears continuing to leak, she left, each step outside heavier than the last as a pit inside filled with cold and despair grew with each.

  ***

  The floor was barely any warmer than outside, and the air was stale with a hint of foulness as her wet footsteps echoed.

  It wasn’t the most alluring sight, her new surroundings, dark with eyes looking her way. She wasn’t afraid, but couldn’t help but feel a slight pity of sorts for the slaves. Monsters they were. Killing cruelly. This fate was certainly one they deserved as opposed to those in the capital... but.

  Perhaps her feelings were mixed. These surroundings were now something her sister suffered.

  A part of her wanted to go hide, hoping everything would be fine; another part wanted to quell the storm inside her in an instant, and the last was the one that fought desperately to hold firm and keep her walking forward.

  The well-trained slave pointed her in the right direction, but she probably would have found it easily since two guards were standing watch.

  It was impossible to describe the swell of so many foreign feelings she rarely felt for a prolonged time. She only barely kept control when she saw her sister. She wasn’t chained like the slaves, but still locked behind iron bars.

  The only thought that predominantly popped into her mind was simply, ‘You idiot. If anything, you should be standing where I am.’

  “So why did you do it?” Nokibaly asked her sister.

  “I’m surprised you are not in bed or on your back.”

  “Answer me!”

  Her sister let out a sigh, “Why do you think? I saw no other way. It was the best choice with the worst outcome. I must have missed something.”

  “You know better than to trust your magic so... blindly,” Nokibaly said.

  “When all you see is death and blood, trust isn’t something you think about; that’s why I hate people,” Nokeehutro admitted, though Nokibaly had always had a feeling as such. “Numbers are more trustworthy. They always have to add up, and the only reason they are wrong is because of people.”

  “We could have left,” Nokibaly said with desperation, gripping the bars as she pressed her forehead against the cold iron. “We could have hoped. Now, what will happen to you?”

  “A trial. I’ll stand before Lord Obaliy, in the shadow chamber, with her as the judge. Then the charges will be presented before everyone, and I’ll have a chance to defend myself and call for witnesses or anyone, really,” Nokeehutro explained. “Then Lord Obaliy will call witnesses of her own, and then once every side has spoken, the commander’s will deliberate and vote on my fate. Of course, Lord Obaliy acting as judge means she can’t participate. Though I doubt she’ll mind, it is her I’ve slided most of all, so choosing my punishment will bring her comfort, I think.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Beheading seems likely, or I’ll be lucky and become an igniter, spend the rest of my short life in here, making up for my crime, trying to earn the god's mercy by lighting heretics ablaze.”

  She said all of it with a certain coldness in her voice.

  “...”

  Nokibaly couldn’t bring herself to speak another word because she didn’t know what to say. She knew how to flirt and seduce, to make people happy, herself easiest, but happiness now would be nothing but a cold steel blade plunged inside, the only warmth she’d bring, the blood flowing from...

  ‘Why did I have to think of that?’

  In the silence where nothing but her breath could be heard, Nokeehutro chose to speak. “Tell mother that both of you should leave now and tell her to forget about her dream--“

  “You are really fine dying like Dad?!” Nokibaly shouted in emotion, whatever control she had, gone, as tears streamed from her eyes.

  “You are not thinking clearly,” Nokeehutro told her, her cold, pragmatic voice cracking with emotion. “Make yourself forget fear and sorrow like normal. I can’t talk to you like... this.”

  “No! I won’t do that! I can’t pollute my memories like that again!”

  “Try... try...” She repeated, drawing her body closer. “Try to look on the bright side of all this. Now, you will inherit everything. Mother won’t have to choose anymore--“

  “You Idiot!” Nokibaly yelled, falling to her knees. “You were the one who should get it all.”

  “Wh... you can’t mean...?”

  “You were always the one who was good with numbers and books,” Nokibaly broke down. “All I could do was talk to people. I couldn’t figure out all the stuff that came so easily to you. Why did I hatch first? I could never inherit the business mom worked so hard to build up from the ground.”

  Nokeehutro stood up and walked up to the bars, kneeling down and slipping her hand through to the other side as she slapped her snout, “You idiot.”

  Nokibaly was surprised; it was rare for her to show such affection, and she absolutely hated it when she was looked at while doing it. She had laid everything bare, and her sister had respected that.

  Letting go of the bars, Nokeehutro sat down with her back against the cold steel.

  As she mimicked the position, the two sisters sat back to back. “It is really useless telling you all this now.”

  “...Yes, it is,” Nokeehutro agreed with a slight pause. “I always thought you were best at running the business after Mother, even when you were so lazy and annoying, all of the workers couldn’t help but like you.”

  “All I do is talk. That isn’t special.”

  “I’m jealous of that. You bargain with people, talk to them like your long-lost friends, and make them happy about being robbed blind. I could never do that. All I do is tell them a price; that’s all I can figure out.”

  “...”

  “...”

  “Why... why is it only now we can talk like this?” Nokibaly questioned with desperation in her voice.

  “You know why,” She answered. “...You know, you could always try to seduce the guards.”

  She glanced to both sides, the guards glaring silently, telling her it wouldn’t work. “It might have worked before you were an idiot and told the plan so loudly.”

  “Knowing you, you could still do it, even with the Lord watching them,” Nokeehutro said, her tone devoid of any humorous notion.

  She couldn’t help but bittersweetly chuckle, “You really believe I could? You don’t see every way I could fail.”

  “With you and this. Never,” She admitted as lumbering footsteps echoed further down the hall. “It is truly a shame we don’t have enough time.”

  No need to introduce himself; the guard commander had already made his presence known. Despite being a man, he was one of the scariest-looking people Nokibaly had ever come across, and for that reason alone, she dared not attempt to seduce him, nor did the thought enter her mind.

  He glared at her with his one eye, and before he said a word, she was already out of the way as the cell door was unlocked, and Nokeehutro was put in chains and walked out.

  ***

  The rattling of her cuffs jingled rhythmically with each step as she was led to the Grand Hall and down into the shadow chamber. Her mother stood to the side, but her sister was nowhere to be found.

  ‘Couldn’t even see my final moments,’ she sighed with little hope left as she was placed before Lord Obaliy and the rest of the immediate commanders, along with Black Beak standing off to the side.

  “Nokeehutro, chosen daughter of Noktrala,” Lord Obaliy addressed her. “You stand accused of committing a most heinous crime of trying to kill my precious and all-important Black Beak. How do you plead?”

  “Innocent,” She quickly answered. “All of this is lies made up by Black Beak as we, in fact, were in the middle of having sex, stirring life within our loins by trying to choke him, but not with intent to kill; it was something he wanted.”

  “Ha! What a laugh!” Nokqotir interjected. “You think that gets Black Beak off. I know what he likes and we do until he can't stand!”

  “And what do you have to say, dear Split?” Lord Obaliy asked.

  Split stepped out from the shadows and pointed to her, “She’s guilty; take her head.”

  “And you precious Black Beak, do you have anything to add?”

  He walked right up to her, “Oh, this vial temptress tried to seduce me with promises of more things I could buy. I was utterly clueless to her wicked schemes as she attacked at the perfect time when I was blinded by glittering greed. I only stand here now, my lords, commanders, and good people of this village, because she forgot to lock the door.”

  “Very well, I need no other proof than Split and my precious little Black Beak. Now for your punishment! Take her head!” Lord Obaliy demanded.

  Struggling, she was forced to kneel as her mother tried to run to her, having to be restrained as her head was brought down, ready to be chopped off, but before it could happen, Black Beak walked up to her and whispered maliciously.

  “Don’t worry. You won’t be sinking into Amito’s embrace all alone. Your mother and sister will be joining soon, once I tell Lord Obaliy all about seeing you at the tower, making deals with filthy traitors. She will believe my word. I got her all wrapped around my little white stick.”

  ‘No, No. NO!’ She screamed in her head as the axe was raised and then brought down, causing her body to shudder as her eyes snapped open, still inside the cold prison cell. ‘That won’t work either.’

  “So why did you do it?”

  ‘Oh, you are here. Is this real, or am I still in the beginning?’ She questioned, looking up to meet her eyes for a moment. ‘Might as well let this run its course.’

  Her magic was something rare, one that affected only her mind. She could see events and how people could react, almost feeling it perfectly, but it wasn’t the same as seeing the future. If she did not know someone well enough, or knew what they did not know, her visions were interesting to say the least and sometimes indistinguishable.

  It wasn’t the first time she’d had conversations with her sister. It was about the only person she could completely predict with no flaw of any kind, but as their conversation continued, her sister did something she never did, not even when Dad died.

  She cried.

  It was something she had forgotten her sister was capable of, a sight that proved this was real.

  ‘What a good sister I’ve been,’ She sarcastically thought, showing her sister affection.

  It was probably the last chance she had, and both realized that as they poured their hearts out to one another until it was time.

  The rattling of her cuffs jingled rhythmically with each step as she was led to the Grand Hall and down into the shadow chamber. Her mother stood to the side, with her sister joining. It was mostly as she had predicted, with a lot more people to see this. And yet...

  It didn’t prepare her for how... for how afraid she was.

  “Nokeehutro, daughter of Noktrala, you stand accused of violating Guest Right, a most sacred custom,” Lord Obaliy began. “It stretches back to a time long before the first champion, ever her name and spear mighty, Noktato, the descendant of the tower, and the first long war. I hope you understand the severity of this charge.”

  “I do.”

  “Now we will hear your defense, or you may call any witness to testify on your behalf.”

  ‘I forgot how traditional she was. Any other might have gotten this over with much sooner,’ Nokeehutro thought, the idea of calling her family or any of the guards to testify for her briefly crossed her mind in shuddering revolt.

  She wouldn’t involve them in this.

  The best solution, the only one that had any chance of succeeding, was this. “I call no one to testify on my behalf, and you do not need any witness to speak against me. I confess. I attempted to kill Black Beak.”

  The room erupted in loud yelling and hissing; someone even threw a rock at her.

  “SILENCE!” Lord Obaliy demanded, only a portion of the crowd adhering, forcing her to get guards out among the people to silence the loudest offenders.

  Once silence had returned, Lord Obaliy looked down at her, “Why do you confess so easily? Do you hope for a lighter sentence?”

  “There is no reason to drag this out; whichever punishment it is will all be the same.”

  “Explain then in front of everyone what was your reason for violating Guest Right?”

  “My reasons are my own.”

  She could feel her eyes leering at her as she slowly stood up. “You have chosen to confess, yet hide your reason, yet regardless, this trial's purpose is to find the truth, whatever it may be, and as such, it will continue. You have called for no witnesses of your choosing and have chosen silence; now I call forth Split.”

  ‘She’s intent on making this worse for me.’

  Split walked forward.

  “Now explain to us all what transpired,” She commanded.

  She explained it rather straightforwardly, if not a little bluntly. “I walked with Kenneth, kept an eye on him, and was refused entry into the wagon. I watched and listened from outside and saw the door slowly opening, and noticed his feet. Then I ran over and hit the merchant’s daughter.”

  “Now Black Beak.”

  “It happened pretty... much as described; nothing really to add about what happened,” He said.

  “Very well,” Nokuji said as all of it was coming to a close, her heart’s thumping louder and louder. “Now that all wronged parties have testified and the accused have chosen silence, we will bring this trial to an end; if any has any final remarks, now is the time to speak.”

  ‘I could say sorry, not that it would change anything,’ She defeatedly thought.

  “I would like to say something,” Black Beak stepped forward with one hand raised.

  ‘Is it here and now he’ll reveal the truth?’ She felt her heart’s drop as she looked at her mother and sister. ‘Why couldn’t you both have left?!’

  “Speak, Black Beak,” Lord Obaliy allowed.

  He began with silence. Erie and cold, equally as his eyes. “Nokeehutro... I don’t have a single clue why in the world you tried to kill me, and granted, you are not the first person in this room to try that.”

  ‘Now he’s being cruel for the sake of it.’

  “… the short of the long of it is I don’t really hold a grudge… so,” He let out a sigh and looked to the side at her mother. “I forgive you.”

  ‘…’

  “…”

  Silence enveloped the room, but Black Beak's footsteps filled the void his words had left.

  “Black Beak,” Lord Obaliy said calmly. “Are you aware of what you have said?”

  “Wouldn’t have said it otherwise.”

  ‘What is going on?’

  Nokuji stood there for a moment before addressing the room. “It is time for the commanders to deliberate and vote.”

  There was hardly any deliberation, only shared glances as everyone voted her guilty.

  “You have been found guilty!” Lord Obaliy loudly addressed. “However, in the light of Black Beak’s statement, Nokeehutro, daughter of Noktrala, you will not be executed. However, this does not change the crime committed or the nature of your intent, whatever it may be.”

  ‘Is this real?’

  “As such, I, with the mercy awarded to you, offer you a choice. You can either choose your original punishment of death, of course, with proper burial rights after, or live on and try to earn the god's mercy as an igniter, or lastly, have your tail cut off the length of the chain used in your attempt on Black Beak...”

  “She chooses her tail!” Her mother suddenly yelled loudly in disbelief.

  Nokqotir quickly whispered into Lord Obaliy’s ear.

  “Of course, the last punishment seems the lightest, but since your family is keen to forgive you as well, all the gold and gems procured on your travels here are to be handed over to this village as recompense.”

  “It’s yours,” Her mother shouted so quickly, Lord Obaliy hadn’t even said the last letter of the word.

  Many looked on with mixed expressions, most with loathing, probably thinking she’d gotten off easy, and excitement at having something entertaining to watch, probably thinking justice was done. However, Nokeehutro didn’t notice any of this.

  She didn’t even react as everything happened; she was forced to the ground, her tail marked with the chain, and the axe raised. It was only the pain and blood that snapped her out of it as she screamed violently, shaking her body.

  She wasn’t certain if she should have expected a healer, but Black Beak, being the only one there, strapped something around her tail, which he tightened until the blood stopped, and had her, along with others in the room, shocked.

  She could only manage to speak one word, “Why…?”

  He kept working, sticking a needle into her flesh. It was pain she deserved, but it didn’t feel vengeful, no matter the amount he stuck it into her flesh.

  Eventually finishing and then putting on some sort of burning, clear, but fat-looking liquid, and covering her stump with white clothes.

  It was only after all of it was done that he replied. “Because I’m a soft-hearted idiot.”

  Once done, he placed a container beside her and said something more, but she couldn’t focus, all of it, seeming like noise. That didn’t change as she was forced to walk, the pain still fresh but dulled.

  The people in the streets, most of whom had come up from the underground, yelled at her. Many threw rocks, but her mother and sister protected her, and the guards kept everything orderly.

  She couldn’t describe the feeling as all wagons were searched, and all the gold and gems they’d risked so much for were taken right before her eyes, every single crate.

  Dispair, at having nothing, guilt, at making the wrong choice, betrayal, by Nokqotir, a woman she thought of as family, hate at everyone, mostly herself.

  She couldn’t bring herself to look her family in the eyes as they got her inside, and the water level began to change, and the gate began to open.

  Her mother held the container Black Beak had left her. “He said to keep your stump dry and elevated.”

  Nokeehutro fell to her knees.

  “What happened?!” Nokibaly said in a panic, rushing to her side and getting down. “Come get some rest.”

  “Is this real?”

  Nokibaly paused for a moment, at which point, before she could speak, Noktrala chimed in, “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry,” She whispered, tears welling up.

  “What are you saying?” Nokibaly questioned.

  “It’s because of me we lost it all, and for what? Nothing. We have nothing because of me. You shouldn’t have said anything.” The tears began to flow like a streaming river. “You two could have lived a happy life.”

  “Don’t say that, you idiot!” Nokibaly objected with tears of her own streaming down.

  “You know it’s true!”

  “Shut your snout!” Noktrala yelled, causing both her and Nokibaly to freeze in place with tears still streaming.

  She walked over to them both, her scales brightening with every step as she got down on the floor with them both. “Eehutro, I could never have a happy life without you, either of you. The gold and the gems are nothing but things. Eehutro, Ibaly, you are both my daughters, and I wouldn’t trade you for anything in the world.”

  She grabbed the back of her daughter’s head’s and pulled them closer, adding her tears to their own.

  Her guilt did not dissipate, but at least she was with her family.

  They sat like that for some time until they reached the bottom of the wall, and the wagons were dragged out. Eventually, their tears dried, and the first to separate was Nokibaly, who stepped out only to return a moment later carrying a couple of wet sacks.

  “I’m not hungry; you two eat,” Nokeehutro said, not feeling like eating for some time.

  She looked at her with a mix of sadness and comfort, dropping the sacks on the ground, “We can’t eat this anyway.”

  She sat down and opened one of them, revealing gold and gems inside.

  Both looked with shocked and confused expressions.

  “I thought they took all the gold and gems!” Noktrala exclaimed.

  Nokibaly’s scales turned slightly lighter. “After Nokeehutro was taken, I had a bad feeling, so before I went to see her, I, without telling anyone, filled a couple of sacks and tied them to the underside of a few wagons.”

  “Ho-how much?” Nokeehutro questioned in surprise and astonishment.

  “Everything you see here.”

  “How much can we do with this?” Noktrala asked, turning to Nokeehutro.

  She might not have been feeling well, keeping her sight low, but her mind was still as sharp as ever: “It’s not enough for everything we want, but it’s enough to get by.”

  Noktrala placed a hand on her shoulder, looking at her with relief in her eyes, “Then it’s everything we need. I hope you can help me spend this wisely.”

  She looked into her mother’s and sister’s eyes as her scales slightly returned to their normal color, “I promise.”