When the Stars Fall

Chapter 37

Calla's fist connected with Fintans jaw and Sophie let out a piercing cream.

"Calla!" Everyone gasped as Fintan just smirked and looked back to Calla and Sophie scooped Calla up and ran back to their seats.

"No no no no..." Sophie's eyes started to well with tears, as Keefe embraced them back on the benches.

"As you can see," Fintan said leaning down due to his hand restraints and rubbing his jaw, "This child is vicious and unrestrained. This is due to the lack of discipline from her unnatural mother who doesn't know a thing about taking care of her child, nor her own powers." He paused and gave Sophie a wicked smile, "How does that make Sophie able to care for a deranged and as well an unnatural child?"

The audience gasped at that statement, Sophie heard everything, but thankfully a lot of elves apparently disagreed with his statement which made Fintan scowl the tiniest bit.

"May I add," Gisela butted in, "If Sophie was out of the family picture and Keefe was the sole guardian, we propose that Calla would be raised in a stable and guided household."

Terik had a questionable facial response to that statement. "So... you are telling us that you're arguing that Calla has an unstable household, and you want a better guardian, not for your own release or lesser sentence?"

"No. We are saying that we took them to restrain the unnatural girl and raise the child properly." Fintan clarified. "The job every one of you refused to do."

That's when the room went quiet.

Sophie was sure everyone was thinking the same thing. The Council had failed to one thing that they were supposed to do.

Restrain the literal unnatural girl.

Terik began to talk again. "Hey, Calla."

Sophie heard Ro whisper, and Calla lifted her head from Sophie's shoulder revealing her tears from embarrassment.

"Good hit girl, right where I taught you. I think you need to teach me how to punch that hard." Ro said with a huge smile on her face and propped her fist out, which Calla promptly first bumped back a smile growing on her face.

Keefe took Sophie's hand in his and held it hard, "They're agreeing with us, Sophie. You're a great mother. Don't let my mom get to you." Sophie gave him a weak smile.

"Sorry Fintan, I don't think you have any experience caring for a child, thus making your opinion invalid in that department."

Sophie whipper her head towards the stage where she saw Mr. Forkle now standing.

"We'll now welcome Mr. Forkle, part of the black swan and our first eyewitness." Bronte announced with a huge smile on his face.

Keefe was smiling huge now too, "Well, I guess the Forklenator knows how to make a grand entrance.

"Now, Mr.Forkle can you tell us what you witnessed in the Neverseens hideout the day of the rescue?" Terik asked.

"Well, I was with the Ms. Foster rescue group, we had split into 2 groups due to the information gathered that Ms. Foster and Ms. Foster-Sencen were kept apart. We got into the base due to an inside source and were able to disarm the Neverseen for long enough to find and barricade ourselves in Ms. Foster's holding room. I didn't even look at Ms.Foster for the first 5 minutes, but when I turned around from that door, when I first was her, I-" Mr. Forkle sounded like he was clearing his throat, he looked at the ceiling and blinked fast a couple times, "Sorry, when I first saw her all... all I saw was her arm. It looked like it had been sawed... there was dried blood on all over her arm... Fintan and Gisela had given her a drug to slow the healing process, they had re-cut her arm twice... the- the same cut, while Sophie was awake." The audience gasped. "I think that if we hadn't come earlier," Mr. Forkle couldn't stop the tears that had slowly welled in his eyes pool over the edge of his eyes. "I- I can't know if Sophie had been alive for us to rescue." He quickly wiped his eyes when Fintan and Gisela both yelled out.

"You can't accuse of this Mr. Forkle, you have no proof of this. That is all circumstantial evidence."

"You have hurt so many innocent people, Fintan. Gisela, I wouldn't put it underneath you as you almost killed your own son for your own experiments." Mr. Forkle hissed back.

Gisela started to talk back, but Terik stopped her. "Thank you, Mr. Forkle. We'll now bring out a former Neverseen member, who ran away and actually in part saved Ms. Fosters life," He waved towards the door, "Arlo Wenston."

Arlo walked out his eyes wide, but staring at the ground as he passed Mr. Forkle. He sat in the witness chair and looked up to face the crowd.

Whispers wove over the elves.

"Mr. Wenston, we are so happy that you left the Neverseen and grateful for the information you gave leading us to find Ms. Foster. We'd like to ask a couple questions about the Neverseen and Sophie at your stay with them." Arlo nodded and Terik continued. "What made you decide to leave the Neverseen?"

Arlo scrunched his eyebrows with determination and began to speak with confidence, "When Sophie came in, it was not planned. Fintan and Gisela had assured me they were only taking Calla and promised that they wouldn't harm her. So, when I saw Sophie in that room I was mortified." He looked to Sophie with sadness and guilt shining in his eyes. "They put me in charge of bringing Sophie food before they put her in a come, I was disgusted by the amount of pain they had brought onto Sophie and the 'tests' they put Calla through. When the day came to put Sophie in her coma, I heard Calla screaming for her mom. She had pure love in her screams just wanting to be with her mom. Sophie- Sophie yelled at me right before she was put to sleep. She told me it doesn't get better and that the Neverseen promise things but twist them and just hurt people. That they don't care about anyone, and that's when Gisela shut me out of the room and I realized that Sophie was right and that they didn't care they just wanted to use me. So I ran, I ran to the people Sophie told me I could trust, and I told them everything... absolutely everything." He looked to Sophie again with guilty eyes.

But Sophie looked right back at him with a huge smile of thankfulness and forgiveness.

"Mr. Wenston, can you elaborate on the 'tests' the Neverseen conducted on Calla?"

"Yes," Arlo looked directly at Fintan as he explained, "They would try to break into Calla's mind, but for some reason couldn't, they always thought that Sophie had genetically somehow given her the impenetrable mind just like her own, but didn't care. They would stick her with sharp objects to see if that would make a difference, or they would tempt her with food and try to break in. Every time they would push harder and harder on a baby. This made Calla suffer migraines and pass out. They didn't care that she was a child they just wanted to get into her mind. They definitely didn't care about the welfare of the child."

"Thank you Mr.Wenston." Arlo nodded.

"Anything to say to these accusations?" The question was directed to Gisela and FIntan.

"This boy was not in the Neverseen. We have never seen his face or spoken to him in our lives. Your source is unreliable and should not be allowed in this case. We never did those horrible things to Calla, I intended to raise her as a child of my own, since mine was uncooperative to his own legacy." Gisela spat. "Calla should not be left in the care of a deranged mother who has no idea what she is capable of. We treated Calla with care, and of course we separated her from Sophie. We were hoping she'd forget about Sophie and think of us as her family." She finished glaring at Keefe.

"I feel as if we should clarify our own evidence with this. Mr. Wenston gave us permission to look in his mind for his memories." Terik smiled as Gisela and Fintan paled. "His memories were very well-preserved especially of the events that occurred with Sophie and Calla, he even witnessed Fintan slashing Sophie on many occasions."

At that pictures popped up in the middle of the room.

Arlo's memories. Sophie couldn't look, she closed her eyes and clutched on to Calla, and listened as the crowd audibly gasped and were horrified at the memories.

"I think that is proof of Mr. Wenstons allegations." Bronte spat at Fintan and Gisela.

Keefe held on to Sophie and Calla kissing Sophie's forehead. Comforting them at the memories rehashing themselves in their heads.

"Thank you, Mr.Wenston that is all for today." Terik said solemnly.

Arlo smiled and nodded leaving the chair to sit back down in his seat. Elves patting him on the shoulder and thanking him as he sat down.

"Let's move on to our third and final witness." Terik announced. "Miss Foster herself."