Redemption Arc

Lucian waited for the judges next words with a beating heart. When they came…

“I already gave my approval for this witness, and Theobald has provided documents that identify this woman accurately. Her identity as a Student Ambassador of the Collegium and a former Inquisitor is without question,” the judge said. “There isn’t much more time until the end of the evidentiary hearing for today. We’ll continue.”

Looks like Theobald anticipated Trudy’s verification plea, Lucian noted, leaning back in his chair in relief. The trial goes on.

“Then… Dinah.” Theobald faced her. “You were an Inquisitor, were you not?”

“I was,” Dinah confirmed. She had an incredibly pleasant voice. “Specifically, I was the Apprentice Inquisitor to Belcourt Asheford.”

Lucian crossed his arms as people muttered all around. That was big. She wasn’t even in the original. Regardless of how this went, she might be a good person to know.

“And how exactly did you know Cyril during your time in the Collegium?” Theobald pressed.

“We were both Student Ambassadors, and we shared some classes in common. In time, we became… friends, I’d say,” Dinah admitted quietly. “Nothing more.”

Cyril stared at Dinah with razor focus, but she avoided his gaze. Theobald continued, “You collaborated with him on several projects, didn’t you? Most prominently, you helped with much of his research.”

“I did,” Dinah confirmed.

“And as to your other relationship of significance…” Theobald looked at Cyril, then back at her. “Did Cyril ever speak to Belcourt?”

“Yes, very frequently,” Dinah confirmed. “Sometimes I felt that he was merely using me as a means to get to Belcourt.”

Cyril closed his eyes and lowered his head, and Dinah looked a bit guilty in that moment. She ran her thumb across the stump on her right arm.

Theobald held his hand out. “Were you privy to any of these conversations?”

“Very rarely,” Dinah said. “Most of the time, Cyril or Belcourt both referred to them as private lessons. They didn’t elaborate further.”

“Because they were,” Cyril interrupted, pulling at his collar. “They were exactly as they seemed on the surface, Dinah, I promise you.”

“Please,” Theobald said. “Don’t interrupt.”

“Refrain from further interruptions,” the judge added.

Theobald nodded in thanks, then faced Dinah again.

“Do you have any further insight into the nature of these secret conversations they shared?” Theobald asked.

Dinah hesitated. “I believe that they were related to the downfall of the Inquisition.”

“No,” Cyril said, shaking his head. “Not once, ever.”

“This is your last warning, Cyril,” the judge said.

Cyril leaned back in his seat at the warning, clearly boiling over. The lawyers all looked very nervous, excepting Theobald.

“What gave you the impression they were related to the downfall of the Inquisition?” Theobald pressed.

“Because…” Dinah swallowed nervously. “Because of the circumstances under which I was sent away.”

Cyril closed his eyes, and bounced his foot anxiously.

“Could you describe those circumstances?” Theobald asked quietly.

“It was… it was three weeks before the fall of the Inquisition,” Dinah began, her posture withdrawn. “Cyril asked me for a dinner. I was… I was surprised, but not… unwilling. I will admit at one point I was… interested in him. When I learned that he was already married, I thought there’d be no future in that. Not to mention he was a duke, and I was... well.”

Cyril looked up at her, the faintest lining of childlike hope on his face.

“The dinner was a confession,” Dinah said. “He said that he wished for… more, from us.”

“Do you dispute this, Cyril?” Theobald asked.

Cyril tapped the desk. He ground his teeth in anxiety. “I…”

Trudy rose again. “Judge, I’d like to take some time to establish some baseline facts with the witness.”

“Trudy—you will have your chance to cross-examine,” the judge said. “Please don’t interrupt unduly again.”

Trudy looked ready to argue, but she sat down. Cyril looked torn between saying what he knew was true and what was useful. What he said next made Lucian tense up.

“I don’t dispute it. I meant what I said, Dinah,” Cyril said, speaking to her before the courtroom. “My only regret is not saying it sooner.”

Theobald hid a smile. “Good. Tell me, Dinah… what happened next?”

“At the time, I told him that I wanted to think about it,” Dinah said. “He told me that I would have plenty of time to think. If I’d known what that meant then…” she shuddered.

Trudy rose once more, clearly panicked. “Judge, I’d—”

The judge slammed his gavel. “Interrupt once again and you’ll be declared in contempt of court.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Trudy sat down uneasily. Theobald beckoned for Dinah to continue.

“Evidently, the dinner that Cyril had prepared was drugged. While we were walking home, I began to find it difficult to move my body. He supported me and took me to a…” She paused, trembling as memories emerged. “…to a warehouse of some kind, where he’d prepared... something.”

Cyril shifted around in his seat uncomfortably. He clearly wanted nothing more than time to speak to Dinah, to clarify.

“He placed me on a table or an altar of some kind. Then, he told me that this was something that he had to do because I was an Inquisitor, but that he would make it right to me,” she said. “Then, he kissed me. He… he covered my eyes, then… when he removed them, he’d severed my h-hand from my body. I didn’t feel it at all. He placed it in some kind of vessel, and used a ritualistic spell. It was related to ice, I’m sure… I still remember the cold. It was like I could feel my hand freezing, even though it was severed.”

Probably trying to preserve the hand, Lucian reflected grimly.

“W-while I was still… paralyzed, he took me and packed me into a coff… coffin.” Dinah seemed to be struggling to recount the incident. “Then, I was loaded onto a ship of some kind. I still remember the days and days of bobbing along the open sea, unable to move anything more than my eyes as crates and barrels bounced against the side of—”

“I HAD TO DO THAT, DINAH!” Cyril shouted, and Dinah shrunk away in fear. He spoke quickly, shouting, “I had to. Belcourt was already on the move, already angling to bring down the Inquisition. He didn’t care that you were his apprentice. He was going to see you dead! Lydia saw to that, the damn viper. Belcourt was going to kill you right alongside all the rest. That was the only way that I could keep you safe.”

Others tried to speak, even the judge, but he ignored them all.

“Belcourt was a monster, even then. He had the support of the demons. No one could stop him, not me, not the whole damn Collegium. I had to put an ocean between you and him. You trusted him, looked up to him. There was no other way I could separate the two of you! I told you that I would make it up to you, and I intended to keep my word. Do you think I intended for you to be trapped in that coffin? You were supposed to come to your senses in hours, once the pain had dulled, and walk freely across that ship! And when the deed was done, I would explain everything. I didn’t have time to explain before.

“I’m sorry, Dinah. I’m sorry, you have to believe me, please. But I’ve kept my word. I can make it up to you, can fix this,” Cyril said desperately. “I swear to you, I never meant for the ship to end as it did. I never meant for any of this to end as it did. The fact that you’re alive… I can make things right, Dinah. Let me make it right. I have your hand. I’ve kept it all these years, fully intact. None of what you earned in the Inquisition has been taken from you. Let me give it back to you. Please!”

Dinah stood there, shaking slightly and crying silently. Cyril seemed to remember himself… but it was too late. He’d admitted he knew about Belcourt’s intentions weeks ahead of the fall of the Inquisition. He’d implicated himself in what Belcourt did. Just as Lucian wanted, he’d broken. Public opinion would surely shift.

Yet Lucian didn’t feel what he expected.

“Nothing further,” Theobald said.

“We’ll…” the judge glanced at Cyril. “We’ll call an end to the evidentiary hearing… for today.”

***

Lucian looked out the window to see Theobald, Helen, and Rowan sharing a drink beside the campfire. They’d come to the cottage that Aurelia was staying. Lydia had already retired. Dinah had been taken somewhere quiet to relax after the undoubtedly stressful procedures.

“Why aren’t you out there with them?” Aurelia asked.

Lucian glanced at her. Cate was laying on her lap, snug as a bug in a rug. Aurelia had been offput by the girl’s presence at first, but she seemed to have grown to like Cate. Or at least, she acted like she liked Cate.

“Dunno,” Lucian said. “Don’t like drinking much. Parties.”

“Because you’re boring. Just like all the monastics… though, I suppose that’s a good quality for my future husband.”

“Mmm,” Lucian responded distantly.

Aurelia scoffed. “Come on. Fight back. Reprimand me for speaking ill of the monastery. Pantomime vomiting at the mention of our fake betrothal.”

“I’ve been trapped in the sewers long enough I don’t notice the smell,” Lucian said dryly.

“Aren’t you happy? You just won today, didn’t you?” Aurelia asked, combing Cate’s hair.

“It’s going to be a while until things are settled. The Concord has to verify all of the evidence put forth in the trial. Namely, they have to search for evidence of this lab that supposedly had the Black Bloom. Given the fact that Cyril was so confident, he might have something planned,” Lucian summarized monotonously.

“But it was still a major victory,” Aurelia said. “Yet instead of celebrating with your friends, you’re here with your least favorite person. It’s almost like you’re punishing yourself.”

“I’m here for Cate. She’s my favorite person,” Lucian corrected.

“Oh, yes, and you two have had riveting conversation thus far,” Aurelia said sarcastically.

“Just shut up,” Lucian said.

“Did you hear what he told you, Cate? So rude… but your future sister-in-law asks you forgive your rude brother,” she said in a babyish voice, combing Cate’s hair.

Lucian gave Aurelia a look of contempt, and she smirked back at him like she’d finally won.

“I don’t know,” Lucian said, sighing and leaning back. “Doesn’t feel like I thought it would. Kind of feels… like shit, honestly. I was so razor focused on winning that I didn’t stop to think about how I did it. Despite everything, Cyril has been a great ally against the demons. A lot of people might’ve died at the monastery without his intervention… not to mention the whole Belcourt thing.”

Aurelia’s eyes narrowed. “He drugged, kissed, and maimed a woman, and you’re feeling bad for him? I’m sure that’s only half of all he’s done. Perhaps he has a basement full of hands longing for their owner.”

“Well… not feeling bad, per se, but… just feels like I made a mistake, somehow. I’m talking about practicality.” Lucian sighed.

“Perhaps you can enslave him, like me,” Aurelia suggested. “Find a leash for him. We’ve an extra room here.”

“Fresh out,” Lucian said. He thought on her suggestion more. “Although… considering that Lydia is next, ideally… perhaps I can throw him a bone. Perhaps I can help him get some revenge on her. Hell, perhaps I can tell him Miriam and Charlton are looking into a cure for the Black Bloom. He’d be an incredibly useful ally.”

“You’re so soft,” she remarked.

“You’d better be describing Cate’s hair,” Lucian warned.

Aurelia rolled her eyes. “No, I’m describing you. And it wasn’t an insult, just an observation. You let me live, after all. I like your softness.”

“Alright, that one I will vomit at,” Lucian said, turning away. Aurelia laughed.

It started to rain outside. People looked up and booed in disappointment, then rose and started to head away from the fire.

“I should go talk to Cyril,” Lucian eventually said.

“In the morning, maybe,” Aurelia proposed.

“Why not now? Help him sleep easier,” Lucian proposed, standing. “Though… he did almost try and kill me once.” He looked at her. “You should come with. Just in case.”

“It just started raining!” she protested, then touched her elegant fur robes. “This does terrible in the rain.”

“Come on,” Lucian urged.

Aurelia sighed resignedly, but moved Cate to a bed and readied herself to leave. Lucian thought of what he might say to Cyril.

Thunder sounded out.