LIRO || completed

• 3.2 •

She had been dragged plenty of places, though she had never been escorted so formally. Never had so many eyes watched her at once. Her fingertips swam with the heat that gathered in them, and her eyes darted to the nearest guard.

"Do they usually gawk when you pass through?" she murmured, her lips barely moving.

The guard did not smile. "Only when we are retrieving such a dangerous woman."

Liro's mouth quirked upwards slightly. "I haven't been convicted of anything, sir."

His only reply was, "Yet."

They'd woken her at the crack of dawn, shaking her out of her slumber. The alleyway where she'd lain for the night was cold and wore the perfume of death, yet they read their orders to her there and then, whilst she was still half asleep. She was suspected by the King, and called to the castle for am immediate trial.

She had yet to discover what she was a suspect for. Not even a full day had she been conscious in this kingdom, and already she was being asked after for crimes. Liro wasn't entirely sure it was fair, though when was life ever?

After Liro passed, several people back into the warmth of their homes. The show was over, the verdict would be presented by page in the next hour, possibly two. Everyone who was walking and breathing had seen her face, made a decision about her for themselves.

The walkway to the palace was made of stone, ivy clawing its way up the sides. The leaves had bloomed, full and green and elegant. Liro smiled ruefully at the fact that they would all be dead within a few months time. An gate composed of iron whorls blocked the entryway. With a mere nod of his head, the guard right in front of her had the gates pulled back.

They pushed her through hallways, pausing outside of the throne room only to clamp iron shackles around her wrists. She merely ground her teeth when they put them a notch too tight to be comfortable. The guard from earlier grinned at her wickedly.

"We can't have our King killed because you had too much breathing space."

Liro snarled. "If I bleed, I hope it was worth it."

He turned her around and guided her through the large wooden doors, into a spacious room lined with gold. Two thrones rested atop the dias, both filled with imposing faces. The Queen's hair was the colour of spilt blood, her eyes vacant.

"That is all, Captain," the Queen murmured, her lips hardly moving. Her eyes remained trained on Liro, her mouth pursed. "Step forwards."

Liro obeyed, walking timidly so that she was mere feet away from the woman's gown. In the corner of her eye, she saw the Captain's jaw clench so tightly it must have hurt. Slowly, keeping her head upright and her eyes on the Queen, she lowered herself into a kneeling bow, of sorts.

"Have you heard of the accusations, or must I repeat them?" the King droned. He was infinitely bored, and yet vengeful. If she was one of the Sisters, why could they not simply put her down?

Liro shook her head indecisively before speaking, almost on second thought. "No, I have not heard what I am guilty of, my King."

"You have not been declared guilty of anything, yet."

The corner of Liro's lip quirked upwards. "With you and the whole kingdom against me, I presume it is fair to say that nothing I say will tilt the tides." She lowered her head, fixing it on her knees.

The Queen's eyes gleamed, and she leaned forwards on her throne so that hair spilt over her shoulders smoothly. "That sure of our insensitivity?"

"I am sure that to you, I am nothing but an itch in your system, which has far larger problems than me," Liro said slowly, enunciating every word. The Queen frowned, and the Captain clenched the hilt of his sword. "Pardon my speech, my Queen. I am not well with ... strangers."

The entire room took a collective breath, relaxing like the cogs of a clock that had been released after being wound too tight. All of their lives hung in a delicate balance of obedience and individuality, and this woman was slowly tipping the scale. She was argumentative and disruptive, yet her eyes sparkled with a mischief that enticed hell itself.

"You have heard of the Sisters of Ruin," the King stated, "and know that they are devils sprung from the depths to make us all pay." Liro clenched every muscle in her body at once. "And it seems that you have a special ... resemblance to them." Her eyes snapped to his, curious and angry. "Tell me, is it a mere coincidence of genetics, or a result of blood shared."

Liro swallowed. She wasn't a Sister. Not anymore, at least. If it was a title she was forced to share with Yasri and Emina, then she would return with as much adamancy as she could muster.

"I am not a Sister, sir," Liro murmured. "It seems to be an unlucky acquirement of features."

The King nodded, studying her. He moved to his wife. "Do you believe her?"

"I believe that in time she could prove to be, but not today," the Queen stated. The room shifted uncomfortably. "Though if she is to remain in my kingdom, her name cleared, then what is she to do?"

"Your Majesties," the Captain interrupted, "this woman is also under suspicion of having been the one to shoot a man in the forest." His jaw feathered. "I ask that you question her on her whereabouts."

"Sit down, Captain," the Queen said through clenched teeth. "That is quite enough on your part." She turned her eyes to Liro. "Did you shoot him?"

Liro's mouth dried. The last time she'd seen the man, he had been lying in the dirt. It was safer to presume him dead, rather than anything else. They wouldn't have her tried for it if the man had lived. She felt a surge of anger towards her sisters.

"No."

"You're willing to swear your life on that?" the King interjected.

"I would swear upon all the hearts beating in this room that I am not a would-be murderer of any sort."

"She cannot be the one who shot him, Captain, as she believes that he died. He is whole and well, and this girl is gullible," the Queen sighed. "Take her out of my sight."

"What of her uses, my Queen?"

"Let her find her place somewhere, Captain. There are plenty of people who could be helped by her assistance, if she chooses correctly."

Liro stepped to her feet and followed the Captain out. He undid her shackles begrudgingly, tucking them into his back pocket. A slim trickle of blood slid down her wrist from a small puncture. The Captain stared at her stonily.

She smiled. "I do hope you enjoyed that." She turned on her heel and made her way for the door. "I surely did."