Deranged

Chapter XXII: The Meeting

Hello! I apologize with all my heart for this extremely late update. I hope the length and dramatic twists to it make up for the lateness.

Finally into the climax of the story! I hope you enjoy. Don't forget to vote and comment your opinions! 

This chapter was written by Hana in the perspective of Hana.

One would think that a building called the Gard would be a magnificent, elegant castle — what stood in front of Hana was a dark, simple fortress with nothing extravagant about it except the two statues of angels at the front. They held swords and beneath them were dead beings — demons, Hana guessed.

The gates, in contrast, were tall and wrought with silver and iron. If you looked closely, you could see calligraphic Marks decorating the gates. Surprisingly, there were no guards at the entrance, but people swarmed in through the doors.

That was fortunate for Hana. That way, no one was looking around to see who was around them.

Max and Maheen were silent as they entered the Gard, not really finding something to talk about anyway.

No one else seemed to mention the lack of security, and Hana felt like something fishy was going on, but she dismissed it as nervousness to step foot in that building. She had no idea what words were going to be shot at her; even though Maximus assured her that there were people who supported her, she knew that the majority did not. All the evidence pointed towards Hana Starkweather, and that was enough for most people. Even her own family.

Hana needed to avoid her parents; they always attended Clave meetings and are one of the most active families. At least, it was that way before she left. She was afraid that things could have possibly changed dramatically since she was banned.

Hana realized that worrying too much about this meeting would only make it harder for her to accept whatever they had coming for her. The decision made today would help her seal the incident and forget about it, even if it was a worse punishment (if there were any).

Max stopped to the side of the entrance hall and the two girls pulled up beside him.

"What's up?" Maheen asked, clearly befuddled as to why they stopped.

"I'm going to be with my family for the meeting. You'll have to go alone from here."

Hana took in a sharp breath. "I barely feel safe with you here, Max!" He made the situation worse. She couldn't go on without him, especially when the Council would present her problem to all of the Shadowhunters. Who knew how they would react to recognizing her face?

"Calm down, you'll be protected by those people I was talking about."

Great, bodyguards.

As if he could read her mind, he reasoned with her, saying, "It's only for today. Coming here'll be worth it, don't worry."

He murmured something to Maheen then nodded to Hana as he left to join his parents. A woman who appeared to be his mother took him into his arms then spoke a few words to him as she stared at Hana. She couldn't tell if it was a disappointed glare or a sympathetic look.

They disappeared into the crowd, leaving Hana feeling exposed.

"I hope you know your way around," Maheen said, getting closer to Hana on the side of the hall as Shadowhunters walked past. Only a few of the Nephilim turned to look at the two girls, but they made no issue of it.

"The last time I was here, I was 15, and being banned from Idris. We'd be better off following the crowd."

Maheen nodded reluctantly, then they both left their safe spot to follow the people filing into the main hall.

Once inside, Hana felt a wave of negative nostalgia hit her as she scanned the wide room. Three chandeliers lit up the hall with witchlight. The walls were void of any windows but decorated with lanterns. Shadowhunters filled the area around the elevated stage that held an oval table. In front of the table was the sign of the Council — an elaborate design using four C's back-to-back with symbols for each Downworlder family around it. There was the crescent moon for the werewolves, an elf arrow for the faeries, a spell book for the warlocks, and a star for the vampires. Sitting at the long table were the representatives of each of the Downworlders. Hana recognized Dean sitting at the far left, his gaze traveling over the crowd. She could see his eyes freeze for a mere second when he saw Maheen but quickly move away to avoid any signs of recognition.

An old-looking woman sat beside Dean. Her colorful hair and sharp, beautiful features suggested she was of the faeries. On the far right, she recognized the warlock representative, Kiyoko Mai. Her skin was of a rich lavender, and her hair was as white as snow. The reason Hana knew of her name was because she was the only one of the full table of Council members that voted for her to be excused. Beside Kiyoko was the werewolf representative, whose name Hana believed was Ben.

The Consul sat in the middle, his shoulders pulled back, and his face looking much older than it should look. Samir Aldershade, 35 years old, oldest brother in his family — Hana's family.

Hana's heart beated quickly. He was the one who had a final say in the matter of her trial. He was the one that sent her away, but he was also the one that most strongly disliked the idea of banishing her. Seeing his face was painful enough, but he was also going to be presented with the issue of the Shaman. She hadn't seen him in three years, and she wasn't sure how he was going to react to her.

It was too late to worry. He had already seen her.

Samir stood up from his seat, eyes widened. The whole of the Clave turned to look at what their beloved Consul was so intrigued by.

The memories came rushing back. Curious stares turned into outraged glares.

"Hana."

He said it in a voice so faint not even the members of the Council sitting only a couple of feet away from him could hear. But Hana could hear him. She could hear the surprise, the heartbreak, the fear in that word.

Run, her instincts told her. Avoid the inevitable. They won't accept you, especially if they even look at you that way.

Hana stood her ground. She was going to achieve the justice she deserved that night three years ago. She was going to save her family, her kind, the world from the Shaman. And nothing, not even the whole Nephilim race, could stop her from doing what was right.