After

Time felt as though it dragged on and on.

Issabella watched the closed door at the other end of the room in which she sat. She was waiting for some form of communication from those who had placed her here.

After finding Eddus and intervening in the punishment being carried out on him, she was taken and questioned, demanding an explanation for her actions and claims. The three she was taken before were not those who had interrogated Eddus and handed down the order of his punishment upon conclusion, as for each case, the panel was selected at random.

She’d been met with a barrage of questions. The matter of Eddus, in particular, had stirred up much attention. He was not the first human to have entered the realm without having been invited. He was not even the first to knowingly enter the realm. His, however, was a unique circumstance in that he’d not only entered fully aware of his actions but had entered for the sole purpose of trying to keep a faerie of the realm from some perceived danger.

In most cases, a human unknowingly entering a ring would have a powerful glamour applied to them. This would fill their minds with constant, outlandish images and notions of fancy. They would be kept awake until physical exhaustion set in and the person lost consciousness. He would then be taken back to the human world, somewhere away from the pixie ring he had entered. He would be left in some random public place, where he would wake, usually with a headache akin to a hangover and memories of a most strange dream.

The few times that the realm had been entered by a human who knew that he was entering the faerie realm, it was dealt with more harshly. The sentence was ultimately death, as he could disclose the location of the realm and how to enter it, thus placing at risk the realm.

The human would be forced into performing some sort of physical task, usually running. This would be enforced by the person being pulled at an exhausting pace while a glamour would be used to keep him moving, usually by tricking his mind into believing it was having fun.

Long ago, this had been referred to as dancing, as music or drums would be played while the person ran. In most cases, the human would experience some form of insanity before the end. Muscles would seize and tear from overuse and cease functioning despite the addled brain’s urges, and the body would collapse from the damage.

The human would then be thrown or dropped, sometimes repeatedly, from some height, rendering him broken and unconscious. The glamour would then be removed from the mind, at which time shock would quickly descend on it and the over-exhausted body, if it hadn’t already, and the human would succumb.

Eddus was sentenced to the latter. In his case, having not given his true name, a glamour could not be used, and he was subjected to all of the physical pain inflicted on him.

Issabella had refused to speak or cooperate in any way until she had seen for herself that Eddus was being treated and allowed to rest. She had been placed in the room beside his for a short time before being taken for questioning. She could not see or communicate with him, but through the mate-bond they now shared, she could sense that he was sleeping and not in any more distress than had already been caused to his weary and injured body.

Wrists bound, she was led before the Queen, a panel of three, where it was quickly ordered that her restraints be removed. Being a pixie, she was a natural inhabitant of the realm and would not be treated otherwise until the queen handed down judgment.

“Your name.”

Hesitating, Abbi stood before the panel, looking between the three of them unflinchingly. They were comprised of two pixies and an elf.

“Your name.” It was more a command than a request. “Those in the gallery cannot hear you. We have erected a barrier so that what is said at this time cannot be heard.”

Around the square stone she stood on, as well as the three seated in front of her, could be seen a translucent but shimmering dome. Turning her head, she could see those seated in the gallery behind her leaning forward in their seats, craning to get a better look at what was going on inside.

“This is the Royal Hall, and this is a royal inquisition. All questions here are by authority of the Queen. As a fae and a being of this realm, you must answer truthfully. Should you not answer, you will be regarded as an enemy of the realm and treated as such.”

Shaking her head, Issabella remained silent. Her cheeks warmed, and she blinked back tears, trying not to show the fear that welled up inside of her.

“Very well. You will again be restrained and then conned until such time as the Queen rules on this, your violation of our laws.”

A chill crept up her spine, and Issabella took a deep breath.

“No! Please...” she said desperately.

“Do you wish to speak?”

“Issabella...” There was a slight tremble in her voice and a tightness in her chest that hurt with each beat of her heart. A feeling of cold fear stole over her as she realised that she’d just gone against everything she knew to be right.

“Again, please.”

The being seated in the centre of the three, an elderly elf with sharp eyes that looked like he missed very little around him, leaned forward. With an elbow on each of his knees, he rested his chin lightly on his hands.

“Issabella,” she said a bit louder, though still trying to keep her voice hushed. She found it difficult to breathe. Eddus should have been the only one to know her true name.

“Your name is your own, and will not leave this hearing. But understand that should we suspect anything you say of being false, you can be made to tell us the truth.”

This was in reference to the fact that the three present now knew her true name and that she could now be coerced.

“From this point on, what is said will be a matter of public record and for all to hear.”

As the elf spoke, the shimmering dome around them seemed to fade away, and it disappeared. The murmur of those seated could be heard. It rose for a moment, then died down. The speaker waited for it to quieten before continuing.

“You are accused of interference in the carrying out of the queen’s judgment. What could you have possibly hoped to accomplish in doing this?”

“I hope to save the human who was sentenced.” Issabella again fought to hold back her fear.

The elf nodded, looking to the pixie seated at his left, who murmured something. He then glanced to his right, receiving a nod from the second pixie.

“Any judgment handed down by the Queen is final. You are fae. You know this. The human broke our laws when he knowingly crossed the barrier between our worlds without knowledge or consent. He is now in possession of knowledge that places everyone in our realm in danger, yourself included. If he ever reveals how to access our realm, should he cross the barrier again into his world, we are all at risk.”

The elf spoke slowly, looking directly into Issabella’s eyes.

“Furthermore, to intervene in the carrying out of a sentence ordered by the Queen goes against our laws as well, as any judgment handed down by the Queen is for the good of all in our world.”

“I know this,” Issabella set her jaw, determined not to look away, “but I must ask- I must beg- that the queen reconsider.”

The pixie to the right of the elf touched his shoulder, whispering into his ear. The elf turned quickly to face her with a look of mild surprise.

“It is said that when you interrupted the carrying out of his sentence, you claimed this human as your own.”

Clenching her fists to keep her hands from shaking, Issabella spoke:

“I did. And he is mine.” She raised her right arm, holding it out, to show the panel her inner forearm and the mark it bore. “We are mate-bonded, in word, in blood, and in self.”

The gallery behind her erupted in gasps and indiscernible whispers, the chatter becoming louder as the moments passed.

“The Hall will come to order!” The elf sprang to his feet. He looked around, wide-eyed, at those seated behind Issabella. “Order!”

The crowded gallery showed no sign of even hearing the elf. The noise of those present whispering amongst themselves grew. The elf strode forward toward Issabella, a look of irritation on his face.

“We are finished here,” he told her, his eyes scanning those in the gallery behind her. “You may go, though we would suggest that you stay in the room you were taken to while awaiting this meeting rather than your own dwelling until the queen has made her ruling.”

“I will be in the room next to it with my bonded mate,” Issabella spoke so as to be heard above those behind her, hoping that her voice did not shake.

“I’m afraid that will not be possible at this time.”

“But we are mate-bonded.”

“While that is known to the Queen at this time, until the Queen rules again, your bonded mate has already been sentenced. And while awaiting either the carrying out of his original sentencing or the handing down of a new sentence, he must be kept in confinement, seen only by those treating his injuries.”

“But... our laws,” Issabella said as calmly as she could, her heart racing. “I need to be with him. He needs me!”

The elf shook his head sympathetically.

“His room must and will remain locked. This is a unique situation, and until the queen again passes down sentencing, Ed is, for all intents and purposes, a prisoner of this realm.”

• • •

After her escort had left her alone in the room, Issabella waited. She sat staring at the door until she could no longer remain still. She was not sure how much time had passed, only that it seemed like an eternity.

Going to the door, she tapped on it. Hearing it click, she didn’t wait for it to open but pushed it impatiently, stepping into the passageway. Hurrying to the closed door of the room next to hers, she knocked twice against it.

Nothing happened. There was no click from within it, and the door did not open. She knocked again, a bit harder, but again, the door gave no response. Her breathing began to quicken, and her pulse sped as she tried in vain a third time.

Issabella placed her hand on the closed door. She could feel that her mate was on the other side. Panic setting in, she looked from the opening at one end of the passage she stood in to the opening at the other. She couldn’t understand why the door should remain closed. Eddus would not try to escape and was in no condition to do so. She needed to be with him, if not to comfort him, just to see that he was resting and all right.

Turning, she ran out of the passageway and down the stairs. She made her way outside, where she stopped for a moment to catch her breath. She wasn’t sure where she was going, but she needed to find out why she wasn’t being allowed in to see her mate. She’d been before the queen and was no longer being ‘held’. Being Eddus’ bonded mate, they should not be kept from one another. She needed to see him, and he did not need to be alone while in recovery.

Issabella scanned the area, shaking her head. On the street, faeries walked or flew, going about their business. She watched the people as they passed with little hope of seeing a familiar face. She knew the chances were small.

With a sinking feeling in her stomach, she let out a long and heavy sigh. Blinking back tears of frustration, she saw something familiar. A bit further than halfway down the street, Issabella recognised one of two large stone arches towering over the walkway into the Royal Building, where she’d been to see the queen and been questioned about her intervention in Eddus’ punishment.

Her heart felt like it jumped in her chest as an idea came to her. There had to be someone within the building that she could speak with.

Taking a step back, she then jumped lightly off the top step of the stairway that spanned the entire length of the building she’d just exited. Her wings spread, then moved at such speed that they could not be seen but only heard, humming as they carried her through the air towards the arches.

Touching down, Issabella’s bare feet met the soft grass of the ground outside of the Royal Building. She began running as soon as she landed, past the arches, along the pathway, and up the stairs. Pausing at the entrance, she smoothed her dress before rushing in.

Once through the building’s doorway, Issabella started towards the large doorway at the end of the massive hallway. She knew little about the building. She, of course, knew that it housed the Royal Hall, where certain matters were taken before the queen. Beyond that, she knew very little, except that she’d been taken through that doorway to be questioned, and she exited it when she was taken to her room next to Eddus’. In her mind, it was through those doors that she would get answers.