Mischief in the Stars

The Tower of Freyr

Maximus kept his hand on her back, ushering her through the building. He likely knew if he didn't force her forwards, she would stop to take in every detail of the building. There were various pictures spread around the building, and Rory nearly swore she saw one of her family. There were projections on the walls as well. While she couldn't hear what they were saying due to the loud chatter from people around her, she noticed it looked similar to news networks back on Earth. People shoved newspapers in her face, yelling the words "Extra, extra!" loudly as she passed, making her smile. At least some things don't change. She mused to herself.

They lead her to a room at the back of the building titled "The Board" in bold letters. She turned to her brothers one last time, giving them a pleading look. Maximus' expression didn't change, his blank face unwavering. Aidan, however, had a wide-spread grin on his face as he shot her a thumb's up.

"The longer you wait, the longer we have to actually be here for," Malakai reminded her with a roll of his eyes, breaking the silence. Rory huffed angrily out one last time before facing the door.

"Rory Lucina," she announced in a bright tone, remembering what the others instructed her to do.

The door immediately had a gold shimmer go through it before swinging open. There were four people in simple, dark blue robes. She noted that they were a bit older than her, the youngest one looking to be about her mother's age. There was a lady with bright pink lipstick and green thick, wide-framed glasses that sat on the ridge of her nose, looking at her exceptionally skeptically. There was a man with dull orange eyes, vague orange lines spread on his arms, looking bored. Another woman sat with a warm smile on her face. Her lilac eyes glittered from the light pouring in. Rory quickly noticed the flower petals sprouting from her head instead of hair, the petals cascading down to her shoulders.

Lastly, there was an older man in the middle. His white hair shimmered brilliantly in the light, a twinkle in his eyes that made Rory feel welcomed. Unlike the others, he wore a strange tophat. It was the same color as his robes, shining silver lines dancing across it. He smiled gently at her as he ushered them all in, his hand shaking slightly as he did so.

"Hello, my name is Rory," she said, walking into the room with the others. She held out her hand to introduce herself properly. However, before she could, a shimmering shield was placed in front of their table, the lady in the glasses wiggling her fingers in the air to do so. Rory halted before she could run into it, quirking an eyebrow. "It's almost as if you expect things to get nasty."

"We were told to expect trouble wherever you are," the man with the dull orange eyes told her. Rory assumed they would introduce themselves, but none of them did. "Let's just get started, shall we?"

Rory bowed her head in reluctant agreement. This wasn't exactly going as she pictured.

"Just to clarify..." a lady began, pushing her wide-framed glasses up her nose as she raised a reasonably thick file labeled Rory's name in bold letters. For a moment, she was flattered- Rory hadn't realized they had accomplished enough in such a short time frame to earn a folder all to herself! Her attention was then turned to the lady holding the file again as she cleared her throat. Her hair was twisted up to a perfect bun behind her head, a few strands falling out. Rory got distracted by her bright pink lipstick, thinking about how nearly any other tone would suit her more. "You manipulated a memory which then changed the actual course of events that followed, despite knowing, at least in part, that committing such an action is illegal, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"And then when the scorchers tried to question you, which they are in their lawful right to do, you refused any questioning and even went so far as to threaten them?"