Dragon Binder: Book One of the Dragonblood Priestess Series (First Draft)

Chapter 11: Criminal

Time slipped away from Yina as she sat in the darkness of the cell.  Her attempt to keep track of how many seconds had passed made it to a hour before she lost count.  Since then it could have been a half hour or ten hours and she would not know the difference.  Very little sound made it through the thick walls of the cell.  

She had attempted to reach out to Nyssa with her mind but instead found nothing.  She could feel it slightly but every words she sent was met with silence.  She feared for her dragon, even though she knew that until she was forced to meet the high council the dragon would be fine.  Not to mention she trusted Clous to keep his word.  

With nothing else to do she shook over her helpless feeling she had been drowning in and closed her eyes.  Taking deep calming breaths she tried to remember the feelings she had when she used lightning in the cave.  The feeling had been like pulling power from the core of her body and sending it out.  

Every time she tried nothing happened, she could not understand why it was so hard to do.  Granted now she was just sitting in a cell when before she was trying to not to die.  After what seemed like forever a few small arcs of electricity rippled across his hands before vanishing into nothing.  "Progress."  She whispered.  

Yina continued this over and over occasionally she would get a flicker of light from the electricity but most of the time nothing happened.  She could feel the physical strain attempting to manifest the powers had on her.  Thinking on it Yina was unsure if the fact that Nyssa was so far away effected her abilities.  

As much as she had wanted to be a Dragon Bound a lot of what they were was foreign to her.  Every bound she had met seemed to be able to use their powers with ease that she had figured it would be easy.  Plus Nyssa's magic was completely new territory period, she had never heard of a bound dragon being able to use magic.  

---

A undisclosed amount of time later the sound of keys entering the door could be heard.  Light spilled into the cell causing her to recoil from the intensity as her father stood with several guards.  "The High Council is ready for you."  One of the guards stated as he hoisted her up and put the shackles back on her.  

"Are the chains necessary?"  Voren asked with a hint of anger, it was not often she saw him mad.  He put a comforting hand on Yina's shoulder to show him that he was there for her.  

Grunting the guard slammed the cell door and locked it.  "Yes."  He bluntly said before pushing them forward.  A uneasy feeling came over Yina as she took ragged breaths, she knew every member of the High Council but this was going to be different.  

"Nyssa?"  Yina asked her father in a low voice even though there was no way these bound men would not hear it.  She needed to know, not being able to reach her had unsettled her way more then being locked in a dark cell.  

The hand on her shoulder squeezed tighter as the climbed up a long set of stairs.  "She is fine, Clous says she has been unconscious all day, most likely from exhaustion.  Risang is guarding her as if she was her own child he says."  The news lifted a lot of the stress and fear she had, now she had to face the High Council and the King.  

Coming out of the dungeons the sunlight was harsh against all of there eyes but Yina's most.  When her eyes finally adjusted a quick observation let her know that it was evening, a hour or so from nightfall.  Had she been in there for a full day or was it still the same day.

Looking down she became a bit conscientious of how she looked.  They had removed her vembraces but left on the leather armor, well what was left of it.  Parts of the waist were missing as well as slashes in it from all the other cuts she had received.  

Noticing her worry Voren quickly removed his cloak and wrapped it around his daughter as they weaved in and out of the palace grounds to the entrance.  The Council room was held in one of the inner parts of the palace and normally all trials allowed for the common folk to come and watch.  

However as they entered the room she could tell that today was not one of those days.  Most likely because of the haste in which it must have been thrown together.  The Council was already here waiting for her.  In the center was the king himself, King Issor.  He wore his royal robes and sparkling platinum crown on his head.  

To his right was Cera, as high binder she was the right hand of the council the only one with more power then her was the king and the one on his left.  The left seat was held by the commander of the Dragon Bound.  Three more people were seated to either side of the main three wearing fancy robes to show off how much wealth they had.  

Yina was brought up onto a raised stone platform her hands and feet chained to a the platform to prevent her from trying anything.  The king rose and everyone, including Yina,  bowed until he waved for them to stand up.  

"Yina Athara, you are charged with breaking out two most important laws, unsanctioned binding and being unsanctioned to be bound.  How do you plea."  He stated in a very firm voice that echoed in the large room that could easily hold a few hundred people.  

Taking a deep breath she rose her head and met the king's eyes with determination.  "I am guilty, but I had no choice."  She stated before he could cut her words off.  

"Being a noble, you will have a chance to defend your actions.  Then we will decide the course of action to be held."  The king stated taking his seat and waving her to speak.  Glancing at Cera she looked as cold as always emotionless as she stared at her daughter like any other person.  

So Yina filled in the council with the series of events that transpired inside of the cave leaving out no detail.  Her only hope was that they would believe her and allow her to live.  Then her mother spoke.  

"First you run off to find a dragon egg, and then you fabricate a bullshit story.  Abyssal dragons are mere fairy tales, and a ancient dragon has not been seen in over two hundred years."  She stated calmly as she stood.  All the others turned to watch her intently, what would the mother of the charged say.  

"We have a record of all the minor crimes and breaches in procedure you have done all your life.  This is just another one of your actions that you have done without any care of the consequences.  Not only that, but we have not had a person break this law in over a hundred years.  So I vote that we use her as a example, sentence her to death."  A gasp from everyone except the king reverberated from the empty room as the words left Cera's mouth.  

"We cannot let her get away with this just because she is a noble.  We have to show the people that are laws are not to be broken.  If we spare her then how many others would think that they could also break these most hallow laws."  She added her voice firm the entire time she did not take her cold eyes off of Yina.  

Nodding the King stood back up, Cera returning to her seat.  "All in favor of abiding by the law and executing Yina Athara?"  Every hand except surprisingly the Commander of the Dragon Bound rose their hands.  

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Yina screamed in defiance her entire body arcing with electricity as she stared her mother in the eyes.  With a nod of her head her entire body shifted into electricity as he burst forward slamming into Cera sending her into the wall.

Forming back into her physical form Yina raised a he hand a bolt of lightning hanging in her hands.  Without hesitation she slammed the bolt straight into her mothers heart watching as the lightning tore her apart from the inside out.