Inamorata

Chapter Twenty-Three - Humanity

Chapter Twenty-Three: Author's note - this story has got quite a bit more popular since it's been featured, so I'd like to thank all the readers, old and new! You all inspire me to write!

Nightingale strode into the Council chamber, attempting to keep her head high and her countenance calm. Inside, however, she was riddled with emotion. She was terrified, elated, angry, and apprehensive, all at the same time.

Still, she could admire the fantastic beauty of the place. With dazzlingly tall ceilings, the chamber was a magnificent sight. From her place on the floor of the room, she could see that the councillors were seated on a long balcony, staring at her like vultures over a carcass.

Looking over, she saw David standing at the podium, tall and proud, his haughty face suited perfectly to the lofty environment. Standing at his side were Clarence, Nicholas, and Pierce. All three were dressed in a uniform similar to David's. Pierce was the only one who looked fairly ordinary in his - Nicholas looked like he was going to erupt out of his, so tightly it hugged the muscles of his chest and arms, and Clarence struck a dashing, delightful figure in his.

Nightingale noticed, as she joined David at the podium, that Caroline was the only one absent. She wondered if she was with Steel.

She gave a sigh as she took her place on David's right side. An almost an aura of safety descend on her the moment she was close to her. He gave her a small smile and motioned.

Obligingly, she turned around and bowed to the Council. As she did so, she took note of the two councillors David had pointed out to her before.

They began to mutter. When she straightened up, she could see Robin sitting in a balcony above the councillors. As she watched, he bowed his head, placed his hand over his heart and, smiling impishly, mouthed three words:

"I love you."

She did not smile back at him as she wanted to. Instead, she lifted her head high once more and regarded the line of councillors with an imperious glare.

"This, Councillors, is Nightingale," said David, waving his hand to her. "Nightingale, the tenth Inamorata interviewed by my team, is the one I have chosen to be interviewed by you, Councillors."

Nightingale reeled internally. Nine other Inamoratas? She eyed the team and Robin with some jealousy. She'd thought they were hers alone. Apparently not...

"You have already seen the evidence gathered by our source inside the Corporation," David went on. Nightingale turned her head so she could watch him as he spoke. He was more animated then than she had ever seen him. His eyes burned, and his entire being sizzled with life. "You all know the conditions of the bordellos, and the details of the creation process of the Inamoratas."

Now, he turned to her. Their eyes locked before he turned back.

"Councillors, I will now give you Nightingale's story. From the time she was created until the time I met her," he said. Each word rang with authority and made Nightingale, fearless Nightingale, who faced clients who abused her, tremble. This was David in his element. Strong, proud, even beautiful.

As she watched, he lifted a small remote. A holoscreen - the first Nightingale had ever seen - sprang to life before them.

"Nightingale began, like all Inamoratas, as an oocyte taken from a human woman," he said. Before them was displayed what Nightingale assumed was an oocyte. "This, Councillors, is where Nightingale began. This is the egg that gave rise to her, courtesy of our Corporation source. For all its faults, the Corporation keeps excellent records."

An indescribable emotion lodged in Nightingale's throat at seeing how humbly she had begun.

"Like the rest, Nightingale was grown to adulthood in this cocoon," said David, and another image was presented to them, this one of the white cocoon Nightingale recognized so well. It made shivers of fear rake her spine on two counts - first, that it was the place she'd been condemned to her life as a slave, and, second, it was exactly the same as those she'd seen her sisters extracted from.