Dinner ended soon after Victor left and the clans arrived to the castle. King Richard III met the clans in the lobby and ordered them to line up. Kain and I stayed in the hallway behind the lobby. I could tell from Kain's expression that he could sense how frightened I was. However, he knew that I had good reason to be. From the way Kain had explained the bandits, they seemed more like ninjas, or spies. What if they did know something about me? What if I was something horrible, like a murderer or something? What if I was better of ignorant?
"The bandits are a different class of citizens. You must answer any of their questions as best you can," Kain explained, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. His hand lingered on my cheek. "My father will be suspicious if you refuse to answer them."
A moment later the king joined us in the hallway, causing Kain to withdraw his hand. The king gave him a foreboding look, "We are ready for you," the king said, disappearing into the lobby once again.
"Remember what I told you," Kain warned as he led me into the lobby.
There were at least fifty men standing straight in a line at the far end of the room. They stood still with their faces down, hooded so that they looked to be nothing but shadows, reaffirming their similarity to ninjas. On the king's command they raised their eyes to meet mine. Fifty sets of ice blue eyes staring directly at me. Each one of them stared at me intently, trying to figure out if they truly had seen me somewhere, or were only wishing they had. I felt exposed at that moment, with one hundred eyes set dead in my direction. I wanted to hide behind Kain but I knew that wasn't the way to get answers.
If I wanted answers, I'd have to stay strong.
Kain escorted me to the middle of the room. Close enough to the line, but far enough that all men had a clear view.
"Clan one, do you recognize the woman before you?" the king questioned, his voice ringing throughout the room.
After a few seconds a simultaneous "No sir." erupted from the right side of the room. Clan one was out of the question, but there were four more, right? What were the chances that not a single one of them had seen me? Slim, right?
One by one the king called out each of the clans. The results were unfavorable. None of them had seen me before. I was trying my hardest to contain myself. If I couldn't look to bandits, who were basically spies, for my identity, then who could I look to?
"Not one of you saw this woman in the forest?" the king spoke to the five leaders of the clans, who had taken a step forward a moment ago. One by one, they all confirmed the king's statement. One by one, my hopes were crushed and stomped on. I was left clueless, the same way I'd been when I woke up that morning.
"Are there any questions for the young lady?" The king finally asked, met with silence. "You are all dismissed."
YOU ARE READING
To Sing the Tortured to Sleep
RomanceConfused about her past, with no one to answer her questions, Angel is forced into the company of Kain. An endearing man who saves her life and rescues her from an unforgiving forest. However, as bits and pieces of Angel's memories start to come bac...
