The Torn Sins

Chapter XXII

Cybil's POV

"We will now call Cybil Royal to the witness stand."

    The Priest calling me forward has dark eyes, and a dark soul to go with it. I keep my own eyes on the floor as I walk, I fear what I'll see if I look at him. I make my way to the front of the room and turn to face my mother. Her wrists are chained, her face shows a slight bit of worry but other than that she is calm. She doesn't know whether or not I plan to ruin her.

    "Princess Cybil, is it true that on the day of your Father's death you shot your mother multiple times?" the ancestor questions.

    "Yes, it is true," I deadpan and gasps erupt amongst the crowd. I search for my brother and find him and Lilly sitting in the front row. They are a beacon of light, and my only encouragement.

    "Why did you shoot her?"

    "Because...because I thought she'd killed my Father."

    "Do you still think that?" Everyone is silent, all eyes are on me. Mother is gazing at me with pleading eyes.

    "I don't know," I whisper and uproar fills the courtroom as people begin whispering all sorts of accusations.

    "Order please," the ancestor calls and everything goes quiet once again. "Cybil, explain. What do you mean you don't know?"

    "I mean I don't know. I came in the room to see my Father's dead body and my Mother...laughing." I grimace as the memory flashes through my mind.

    "Please Cybil, I know this is difficult for you, but try to describe exactly what you saw," the ancestor urges.

    After taking a deep breath and squeezing my eyes shut I continue. "I was in my chambers with Natham, and we were talking about what had just occurred with Matrix earlier that day. I was already feeling pretty crappy and then I just had this...pain in my chest. This feeling that something was terribly wrong."

    "And you've been known to get these feelings often, right Cybil? It's said that you have an uncanny ability for knowing the truth about things."

    I feel a chill roll down my spine, do the priests know about my gift? "I suppose. In that moment, I definitely knew that something was off and that my Father needed me. So I grabbed my gun and rushed upstairs to his room. As I got closer, I started to hear laughter, my Mother's laughter. So I thought that maybe I'd been mistaken. I would've gone back if not for the sound."

    "What sound?"

    "A snap. The sound of a bone breaking. As soon as I heard it I rushed into the room." I pause, I can't help but pause as I see his body all over again.

    "Cybil, what did you see when you got to the room?"

    I take a deep breath. "Blood, I saw blood everywhere. On the curtains, the bed, the floor, even on the walls. I saw it all over Mother, and she was standing over Father's dead body, laughing. When she noticed me there, she started sobbing instead, and tried to make it seem like she'd been sobbing the entire time. But I know what I heard, and I know what I saw. She was laughing over her husband's dead body."

    "What did she tell you?"

    The court room is so quiet, everyone is completely focused on my words.

    "She told me that they'd been attacked by a radical female. That the woman had brutally murdered Father and taken off when she heard me approaching."

    "Did you believe her?"

    "At the time, no. How could anyone believe when faced with a sight like that? All I could think was that she'd murdered my Father, and that she was lying to me about it. So I shot her. I probably would've killed her if Matrix hadn't stepped in on time."