Seraphine
As the crowd erupted into wild chaos, I simply stood there, shocked to my bones, unable to speak or move or even blink my eyes because there was no way I would have easily believed this if I hadn't witnessed it firsthand.
Because come to think of it, didn't I tell you guys a few chapters back that she was the character I was rooting for?
That she was the complete opposite of Saphyra and was a saint compared to her mischievous sister?
So why the fuck would she do this?
Why the hell would she lie when she doesn't even know what happened?
I stared at her in both disgust and disbelief. Disgust because this was simply irritating to look at, and disbelief because… hell, because I had almost trusted her!
I balled my hands into fists and screamed; "I didn't do it and you know!" But just as those words left my lips, a female soldier who had somehow materialized out of nowhere smacked my back so hard, I saw stars.
My already weak legs tumbled forward and I fell face first to the ground.
And do you know what everyone did when that happened?
They laughed.
They fucking laughed at me.
I didn't even get enough chance to properly nurse my injuries or pick up whatever was left of my fractured dignity when I was roughly pulled to my feet again and then my head was shoved upright by the female soldier who grabbed my hair as if forcing me to continue watching Labyrinth.
And she continued to speak. She sobbed. "I watched her strike Lady Eloise's face over and over and over again with a large rock until her face was so disfigured, one could barely recognize her and I watched her stab her endless times in the chest until her dress was completely covered in blood."
More gasps and curses rippled through the crowd which also equaled more items being thrown at me.
"But I couldn't do anything!" She screamed in a high pitched voice, managing to garner more attention with her hysterics, "I was afraid! You all know how wild Saphyra can be? And I feared that if I intervened, especially since lady Eloise was already dead at the time, then she would kill me too!"
While her words irked me to no end, what irked me even more was the several nods of approval floating through the crowd. It was the compassionate looks they were all casting at her. It was the way the crowd 'oohed' and 'ahhed' when she sobbed into her handkerchief and the way their eyes would instantly darken when they landed on me.
They believed her and that was all that I needed to know.
My heart pounded in my chest, aching with a desperate need to prove myself as I continued to watch her say exaggerated things, and by the time she was done, she broke down completely.
Her knees crashed to the floor with dramatic flourish and she covered her face with her hands as she sobbed violently.
Two women rushed forward then to pull her to her feet, and as they dragged her out of the hall, she paused to cast a look at me— one that sent chills down my spine— before the corners of her lips lifted very slightly.
God, she knows what she is doing!
She just smiled at me meaning that this was intentional!
My eyes widened in shock and desperately, I pointed at her, stuttering; "She… she just smiled! She j-just smiled at me, you all! This is all a trap!"
But did anyone believe me?
Of course not.
My hands were however swatted by the female soldier and before I could respond, Elder Thorne's voice thundered across the hall. He announced; "Now that that is done, I would like to invite the second witness, Mister Veythar Evander to the podium!"
My eldest brother or Saphyra's eldest brother as the case may be.
The name sent relief rushing through me and I heaved out a sigh even before I could help myself.
However, that relief soon morphed into horror when Veythar, a large handsome young man, walked up to the front, laid his hand on his chest and said without casting even a single glance at me;
"Saphyra did it."
I froze.
"I know my sister and I can swear to the goddess that she did it because she was always jealous of Eloise."
Those words knocked the air out of my lungs and I fell forward one more time. But this time, I didn't care about my knees or some fucked up dignity.
All I cared about was the betrayal.
—
For the next hour, I watched several people— most of whom I could not recognize— walk up to the front of the hall to give reasons why they believed I murdered Eloise. One auburn-haired girl even claimed to have seen me drag Eloise into the gardens which was false. So by the time Ragnar finally went to tell everyone that he was sure I didn't do it, it was already too late.
The damage had already been done and I already knew that I had lost.
"Before the court and before the goddess, it has been established that Missus Saphyra Evander is guilty as charged, and for this—"
"Let us give her an opportunity to speak for herself." Someone suddenly snapped, interrupting elder Thorne, and my blood instantly rushed to my face when I saw that it was Alpha Zayden.
His eyes met mine in that mischievous manner that I have now come to fear. And even from this far off, I could still feel the way his eyes bore into my soul, so much so that it felt as though he was ripping through my body bit by bit until I could almost feel his stealthy fingers crawling somewhere deep inside my soul.
I looked away and cleared my throat. "I didn't kill her."
"Liar!" The crowd chanted.
"Murderer!"
"She's a runt! A pathetic jealous runt!"
"I swear to the so-called goddess that you all keep talking about that I didn't kill her. I was never jealous of her and I loved her more than I loved myself!"
Now, I was speaking from the memories of Saphyra that I had access to, and it was clear as day that she loved Eloise a little too much.
Even more than herself.
But the more I spoke, the more enraged the crowd became. They cursed at me, using words that were too R-rated, I couldn't even bring myself to repeat them and threw more items at me that didn't miss aim like most of the first batch did.
My knees crashed to the floor and I lowered my head just as tears poured out of my eyes. I sobbed. "I swear, I did not. I could never kill her!"
"Prove that." Azriel glowered, which caused his brothers to turn to look at him in disbelief mixed with rage. "Prove to us that you didn't kill our sister."
I lifted my head slowly to meet his gaze, completely caught off guard, and because I had no idea what to do to prove that, I fell to the floor, threw out my hands and shouted;
"Don't you people have CCTV cameras or something?!"