The Unknown Realm #4 (Waverly Stump and The 7 Realms)

XLII

With both hands wrapped tightly around her knees which were drawn up to her chest, Waverly sat with her back to the wall nearest the window. She had been sitting there all day, courtesy of her father's commandment the day before.

The only face she saw was that of Resli.

The first three times, the Dwarf woman had come to offer her food, a bath and food again, but her next visit was for the purpose of bringing news. It turned out that Lord Henry had indeed taken his daughter's case to the Council, pinning her and HalfHyde as troublemakers. The incident with the electric eel was not enough counter evidence to prove that Abelena was as much of a troublemaker herself because every single one of her friends swore to the secrecy of her involvement with the trap. Nothing, as a matter of fact, was enough to paint Henry and his daughter black before the Council. Nonetheless, Resli gave soothing encouragements to Waverly as best she could, assuring her that HalfHyde would not be dismissed on her account because she had been a witness to the scuffle the night before and would testify the truth and nothing but.

That being said, the Dwarf left her alone.

Hours forthglided, until the sound of chirping crickets reached Waverly's ears confirming that it was nighttime at last. She heaved a sad sigh and rested her head against the wall, staring up into the ceiling. The cold that usually accompanied nightfall began to stream into the room, but she was in too much of a sulky mood to care. She calculated that it would take hours at best, before she would eventually catch a cold because she was unwilling to move from her sitting spot.

Regardless of Resli's assurances, she had a sour feeling that the Council would judge in favor of Henry because the High Scribe held sway over them as easily as a spider held control of an ant stuck in its web. To a degree, she felt certain that after Henry's victory he would make HalfHyde pass under the yoke and it was a possibility that greatly upset her. She pondered what to do in order to prevent her father's future public humiliation, but no ideas sprang to her mind partly because she was upset about being locked in all day, and partly because she feared that getting involved would only stir more trouble. Her zeal to jump out the window during such events of confinement seemed to have jumped out the window. She had no desire to even try to pry the lock. All she could think of was Abelena and how much she hated the imperious imbecile and how she wished to have hurt her a lot more than a few simple cuts. She fisted her hands until her knuckles turned white as several angry thoughts ran their ugly course through her mind.

Eventually, her anger subsided and she returned to being sullen once more.

Parliament Hill did not escape decorations for the upcoming festival. From the corner of her eye, she had glimpsed numerous kinds of adornments and party things being moved to and fro outside her window. She overheard excited chatter, cheers, laughter, little squeals of surprise, and the slight crackling of handheld fireworks. It saddened her further that none of the gaiety could reach the confines of her bedroom nor pierce the heaviness of her heart. She had already begun to feel left out and even concluded that whether or not she was allowed to roam freely again, she would simply remain indoors until it all passed.

The sore feeling that accompanied sitting at a spot for too long finally prodded Waverly to move. As soon as she did, she caught sight of movement on her windowsill. The protruding frame that held the mimosa plant was vibrating gently as if recently struck by something heavier than it. The flowers themselves began to wiggle in retreat from the disturbance. Waverly watched for a change, but when nothing happened further, she dismissed the occurrence as a mere reverberation of loud activities downstairs.

But, then again, she was the only person in the Master House. Resli had taken her leave for the night, and the Lords Malcer and Esmond accompanied HalfHyde and Henry to the Council. Before leaving, Resli had stated that it would take till after midnight before the Lords would return from their business. As if breaching through her thoughts, the sight of a moving limb from the corner made Waverly start almost to a jump, but after peering closely, she realized with relief that the intruding thing was not a limb.