A World Among Thieves: A Humble Beginning

Chapter 10

I wake up to a loud banging on my cell. I groggily open my eyes and look at the door, my vision slowly becoming clearer. I've been stuck in this cell for a week and a half. If I didn't have Sebastian to talk to, I'm sure I would've gone crazy! I haven't even had my trial yet, and I'm already growing restless. Once my vision finally clears, I see two guards standing at my cell door. 

"Get up, slowly and put your hands up!" One guard calls.

I glance over at Sebastian and he nods. I slowly stand up and put my hands above my head. 

"Go and put your back to the far wall!" The same guard yells. 

I slowly back up until my back is pressed against the back wall. Then, the second guard quickly opens the door, roughly grabs my arms and ties them together. Once my hands are bound, the first guard walks up to me with a sly smirk on his face. I glare up at him and his smirk grows wider. 

"Prepare yourself. Because this will be the last time you'll ever step foot outside," he says slyly.

Suddenly, Sebastian speaks up. "Hey, go easy on her! She's just a kid!" 

The first guard marches up to Sebastian's cell and glares darkly at him.

"I would suggest you keep your mouth shut. Unless you want the rest of your family to end up in here," he says, a dark smirk appearing on his face.

"Hey! Stop! He hasn't done anything!" I yell.

Suddenly, the second guard swiftly kicks me in the stomach, causing me to double over and fall to the ground. I then get a swift kick to the side and I yelp in pain.

"Come on, get her up. We're running late. If she doesn't get up...drag her," the first guard says.

The second guard grabs me by my arms and easily pulls me to my feet and starts roughly pushing me out of the cell and then out of the jail. I resist the urge to fight back since I know it would only get me into more trouble. We finally step outside and almost immediately, the warm sunlight envelops me. Before I can thoroughly enjoy it, I'm swiftly pushed across the street into what looks like a courthouse. I'm ushered into a courtroom and swiftly sat and restrained into the Defense chair. Ropes are tied around my chest to keep me from lurching forward and out of the chair, my arms are tied back behind the chair, and my legs are tied together then to the chair. Within a few minutes, spectators start filling the seats behind me. I can hear their judgmental comments. My face turns red and tears well up in my eyes, but I quickly push them down. Then, the stablehand walks in with what looks like his attorney and sits at the table to my left. A few moments later, a voice calls out.

"All rise for the mayor."

Everyone in the courtroom but me stands up since I can't stand. The mayor walks in and sits at the judge's stand. Then, the same voice calls out.

"The trial is now in session. You may be seated."

And everyone sits down. Immediately, the mayor looks at me with a small glare. 

"Why didn't you stand? Were you unable to hear the command?" he asks.

I'm taken aback by his question. Clearly, I'm restrained in this chair...wasn't I?

"Your Honor, as I am restrained, I was unable to stand. I apologize if I had offended you, it was not my intent," I answer, my voice as sweet as I can manage.

The mayor looks down at some papers then back up at me. 

"So when you arrived here a week and a half ago, what was the first thing you did when you entered the city?" he asked.

"I started looking for the stables so I could put my horse away," I answer.

"Have you been to this city before?"

"No, sir."

"Do you know this man?"

"No, sir." 

The mayor slams his hand on the table, making me jump. 

"Do not answer that question without looking," he snarls.

I resist my shakiness and look over at the stablehand. I examine him from head to toe and I still don't recognize him. I look back to the mayor.

"So, do you know him?" The mayor asks, seemingly a lot calmer now.

"No, your honor. I do not," I answer.

The mayor writes something down on a piece of paper. 

"So, in your own words, tell me exactly what happened," the mayor said.

"Well, I walked up to the stable and he made some comments that made me uncomfortable. Saying that a young lady like me shouldn't be traveling alone. He had a look in his eye that I can't describe. The only way I possibly could is that he was looking at me the way a predator would his prey. Then, after he put my horse away he offered to show me around. I told him that I could handle myself just fine. Then, he put his arm around me and his hand on my waist and began leading me. I managed to break out of his grip, saying that I told him 'no', and then I pulled out my dagger. I feared for my own safety so that's why I pulled a dagger on him," I answer.

"Why didn't you call for your parents instead of pulling a weapon on someone?" the mayor asked.

I look up at the mayor with slight anger but also trying to keep the "innocent act" up. 

"My parents? My parents are dead. They have been for years," I answer.

I hear some people in the crowd gasp, others snicker. I ignore them and look up at the mayor pleadingly. 

"Please, your honor. I have no one. I have to take care of myself, and if I feel threatened I have to defend myself. Please..." I plead.

The mayor pauses for a minute, almost as if he's thinking. Then, he speaks.

"I hereby sentence you to life in jail, or a 10,000 gold fine," The mayor says.

My face pales and I begin struggling as the mayor walks out. Then, everyone else begins leaving. Before the stablehand leaves, he leans over and whispers in my ear. 

"You shouldn't have put up so much of a fight. You should've just let me do it, it would've gotten you in a lot less trouble."

With that, he and his attorney walked out of the courtroom. Tears begin falling down my cheeks like rivers and I don't even fight when the two guards untie me and begin leading me down a flight of stairs, through a long tunnel, and back into the jail. I continue to cry as I'm roughly tossed in my cell and my binds are cut. The door closes and I continue laying on the concrete floor, sobbing. A few minutes later, I hear Sebastian's voice.

"Hey, it's alright. Tell me what happened," he says soothingly.

I tell him what happened, even what the stablehand said to me, and his face goes red with anger. He stands up and punches the wall of his cell. 

"A 10,000 gold fine? Even he doesn't even have that much! That's...that's..."

"Bullshit?" I ask, chuckling softly and wiping my tears.

Sebastian laughs and nods. "Yeah, yeah it's bullshit."

We pause for a few minutes, taking in everything that happened.

"You should take a nap," Sebastian says, "You definitely deserve it."

I smile and nod slightly, "Thank you, Sebastian."

"No problem, kid."