Lastland's Last Stand: The Prince's Ascension

A Lecture and a Warning

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Aubrey's knuckles rapped loudly against the iron door to Scarlet's office. Her expression was severe as she waited for a reply, and the echo of her knocks was like a death knell, at least to the three Gifted about to be reported. Audrey stood at the back of the group, arms still crossed, and face just as stern and unreadable as her sister's.

"Enter!" Scarlet's twanging accent was muffled by the door, but Aubrey heard her just the same. She pushed the door open slowly and they were hit by a gust of cool air. Princeton and Quincy exchanged final, pleading looks as they and Mallory were herded inside by Audrey. While Aubrey spent half the walk back lecturing them and telling them what to expect, Audrey stayed silent, but she was just as formidable as her sister.

Scarlet sat at the little wood desk in the back-most room of the leader's office. Her hair was cut into a short, straight, black bob, the edges curled up slightly, framing her pale face and impossibly black eyes, even blacker than her hair. She rested a pleasant, cheerful smiling face on graceful, interlaced fingers, but no one was deceived.

Scarlet's kind heart and good nature were true, but that didn't mean she couldn't be downright terrifying when she wanted to be. The position of Eastvale's leader didn't just fall into her lap. Although some would jealously proclaim that it was merely her close connection to Silas that landed her in so much power, those who knew her knew that she more than earned the right to be Silas' worthy heir and successor.

"Well?" she asked sweetly. "Out with it!"

Princeton felt his stomach drop, Quincy fought the urge to swallow nervously, and even the once-proud, tough Mallory was paralyzed by fear, mind completely empty. Aubrey scoffed disdainfully and rolled her eyes at the trio before stepping forward, electing herself as the resident reporter.

"Mrs. Black," she curtseyed, "Audrey and I found these three rabblerousers wandering the far eastern side of camp!"

Audrey continued. "After receiving a report that Mallory was not—"

"Rabblerousers!?" Mallory interrupted, seething, fists and teeth clenched. A second later, though, a look of terror filled her eyes. Not only had she interrupted her deputy in front of her leader, she'd drawn all the attention back on herself. It was an obvious eventuality that Scarlet would ask her for her testimony, but why did she have to go and blow it for herself before she even had a solid alibi in mind?!

Nice one, Mags! Quincy scoffed quietly and shook his head subtly. And you call ME the idiot!

"Oh?" Scarlet's voice and eyebrows raised. Her black eyes gleamed with interest... and promise. Mallory finally gulped. As Scarlet's ex-apprentice, she knew better than almost anyone what Scarlet's Gift was capable of.

On the surface, it was mind control, but the true power lay in how Scarlet could use that mind control. It was something she only tried a few times experimentally, but the fact that she could do it was enough to frighten most people into obedience. She could force confessions out of them just by compelling them to. So, Mallory could either tell Scarlet the truth upfront, or Scarlet would literally drag it out of her the hard way.

"Mallory had just come back from hiding something, a dark bag and what appeared to be a long plank or board," Aubrey continued importantly. "That was when Audrey and I—"

"Aubrey." Scarlet smiled fondly at her. "You are correct that I must hear your and Audrey's accounts, however, I would like to hear theirs first."

"As you wish." Aubrey bowed stiffly. It was a little embarrassing, but she was devoted to her post. If Scarlet willed it, so would it be.

Mallory, meanwhile, had a private smile at Aubrey's expense, but her smirk faded when Scarlet's gaze returned to her. Scarlet's offer to hear Mallory out first was not done solely out of kindness. Scarlet would confer with her two deputies later to see if Mallory told any inconsistencies within the next several minutes. The girl threw one last, desperate, red-eyed gaze at her two companions, but they were too afraid to even meet her eyes. Princeton's were glued to the floor while Quincy kept looking "innocently" off into space.