My Benefactor

My Benefactor Chapter Twenty Eight

My Benefactor

Copyright © 2011 crimsonnebula

All rights reserved


Chapter Twenty Eight
Picture on the side is a banner made by my Puerto Rican friend, Dorielys(XxWickedlyxX). She also made the cover as well. Muchas gracias mi amiga. Me has ayudado mucho. :-)

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Enjoy! No proofreading done. I'll look it over again if I miss something.

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(Bryson's POV)

Attending a tribunal wasn't something a supernatural being would look forward to. In the human world, criminals or offenders were put in the mercy of the jury as they wait for their impending doom.

But, the tribunal was no ordinary justice system. No, not at all.

The Pillars and the Elders were the tribunal itself.

This came to be when the Sacred Law of Coexistence was created. They thought that having this kind of justice system would keep us all in check, but they were out of their senses. The Pillars had clearly forgotten what those bloodsucking vermins did to our kind in the past, but who knows? Maybe this was all a facade for getting along with them. Like I said, hatred comes a long way. The same thing could be said to the purebloods.

To be honest, I was worried for Rebacca. Though we had a rough history, she didn't deserve the wrath of these powerful entities. They could be ruthless and unjust at times, but whatever they decide was absolute. So far, no one dared defy their decision.

I'd only hoped that they would give her a lighter sentence or in the least, a third chance. On the other hand, I doubted they would now.

The hallway leading to the judgement room was empty. I was expecting it to be busy and crowded but today, it was desolate like a desert. I guess they wanted this hearing on a low key. With a sigh, I continued on hastening my pace but,  I still had five minutes to spare and hoped that dad had save me a seat.

"Hello, Bryson."

Ah, hell. Not again!

I stopped walking but didn't bother to turn around knowing it was the she devil herself. Seeing her face would only anger me to the umpteenth level and I wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. "What do you want, Ciara?" I asked, clearly irritated.

She giggled then tutted, mocking my tone of choice."My, my. Is that the way to greet your girlfriend?"

"Ex," I corrected. "Ex girlfriend."

In a flash, she was in front of me, sporting a glare that could send me straight six feet below the ground. Yeah, that's how lethal her look was. "It's not over yet, Bryson. When I say it's over then it's over. You don't call all the shots."

I scoffed at her words. Ciara had gone mental on this one. "You're crazy," then took in her business casual look - a pencil skirt and a ruffle collar blouse. "What are you doing here anyway?"

She looked smug as she replied. "I received a notice yesterday asking for my presence in the hearing."

I frowned. Ciara was of no importance in the Alerian society, but who would ask for her to attend the hearing? Was it someone from the tribunal or I don't know. Someone influential perhaps?

"Why would you get one? You're not important," I said blankly.

A hurt look encompassed her features, but I held no sympathy for her. Truth be damned, I wouldn't care if she'd cry me a river. "You don't mean that," she said, her voice cracking. "I'm just as important as you."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, you may be the daughter of the head Alerian historian, but that doesn't make you important. Your father, on the other hand, is. Look, I have no time for this. Whatever you do, don't sit beside me during the hearing."

Not waiting for her to retort, I swung about and headed to the judgement room.

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I was shocked to know that the only people attending the hearing were Rebecca's family, my dad, a few bunch of purebloods I suspected as the immediate family of Rebecca's lover and of course, to my utter distaste, Ciara. I told her not to sit beside me or anywhere remotely close, but the girl hadn't heed on my warning.

That set off an incoming foul mood on my part, but who the hell cares.

The air in the room was heavily tense as we waited for the tribunal. If you looked around, the judgement room was like a human court room, but the difference was that the audience area was situated on both sides of the room, elevated and leveled with the tribunal bench, making the middle empty, an area where the person involved of the hearing was to stand before trial. There was no witness stand, nor a table for the lawyers. There was no need for one. The tribunal held all the decision making and verdict.

"Where are they anyway?" my dad muttered darting his head left and right. "It was supposed to start around 5," he glanced on his watch and frowned. "It's 5:30 p.m. Strange, they're never late for this sort of thing."

Right on cue, the double doors swung open and all heads swiveled to that direction.