Chapter 35 #2
Totaxxis strode toward the raised platform upon which Soparo stood. “I have been away these past days, you are correct. But the reasoning was sound. And now the results prove my actions justified.”
“Continue,” Soparo said, watching the man approach with such confidence.
“I traveled far and wide using the fastest of our vessels. I visited every Norvalian outpost, relay station, and even the Dotharian overseers of multiple sectors.”
“To what end, Totaxxis? This is highly unusual.”
“It is. But so is having an outsider in our midst.”
“You know her provenance.”
“Yes. But did any of you think to confirm her story?”
Ella felt her stomach drop. Oh, shit.
Draikis shook off his pain, flashing an angry look at the man. “What of it? She survived the Raxxians, and only barely at that.”
Totaxxis laughed. “Yes, that much is true, Brother. But the rest of her tale? It is precisely that. A tale. A fabrication.”
Draikis’s eyes darted to his mate for a split-second before returning to the accuser. “What do you mean by that?”
“What I mean is I have inquired. Extensively. I have called in favors and dug deep, and the truth of the matter is this. No one has ever heard of Earth, nor this human race. The interloper and her kind are not in the Dotharian Conglomerate.”
“Impossible! She came to us with the remnants of runes!” Draikis protested, but in his heart, he somehow always knew this was the truth.
“She was taken by Raxxians, who are known to apply translation runes to their livestock to better control them. And it does seem that others of her kind did survive, landing elsewhere on the planet, and their tales were all consistent. None possessed any other runes. The only reason this one slipped past is because of her burns. She was afforded the benefit of the doubt, which she did not deserve.”
Draikis shook his head, processing the information while desperately trying to formulate a plan. To be caught in the act was one thing, but for an outsider to be present without runes was a capital offense in the eyes of the Dotharians.
“But she has runes now, whatever the cause may be.”
“Based on subterfuge.”
Ella watched Draikis’s face run through a dozen emotions before settling on defiant.
“She was taken by Raxxians. Against her will. Surely, the Dotharian overseer will show understanding given the circumstances.”
“We’ll see about that. She may have had the slimmest of hopes making her case before, but now?
Cavorting with a priest? Making him break his vows?
Her crimes are compound and severe, and she must be made to pay.
Both of you. The trial must continue at once, right here, right now.
And you will both be found guilty, of that, I am sure. ”
“Hey, asshole!” Ella shouted, stunning pretty much everyone around her, though Draikis’s concern also showed a glimmer of amusement at her strength of will even in this hopeless situation.
“You dare speak to me like—”
“Yeah, I do. I have rights to defend myself, you know, regardless of my status in the Dotharian Conglomerate.”
Totaxxis shook his head, laughing cruelly. “And how would an outsider dream of claiming such a thing?”
“Because I actually read the law you all claim to revere. Go on, ask your judge if I’m mistaken. I’ll wait.”
Fortunately for Totaxxis, the judge was present for the public punishment. Unfortunately for him, he was nodding his head in agreement with the female’s assessment.
“She is correct,” he reluctantly admitted. “The texts are quite clear.”
“Thank you,” Ella said with a little bow of her head. “Now, in furtherance of my right to defend myself, I hereby demand that Archivist Nilkis bring the original copies of the ancient text I have been studying from the archives to the tribunal hall at once.”
Elder Soparo stepped forward, taking issue with her tone. “You are in no position to demand a change of venue.”
Ella nodded to him. “I mean no disrespect, Elder, but merely wish to preserve the integrity of your most sacred and ancient documents.” She didn’t mention that doing so would also buy her a little time to think and work out the plan she was tantalizingly close to forming.
“That is, unless you want to bring your most ancient and delicate texts here to the outdoors, where sun, dirt, animal poop—”
“Very well,” the elder cut her off. “Nilkis, retrieve the documents and bring them to the tribunal hall. We will reconvene there in one hour. Guards, escort the prisoners.”
With that he turned and strode off, deep in conversation with the judge, the two older men clearly agitated and perplexed by what had just happened. Totaxxis sneered at Ella as she was led off.
“You’re stalling.”
“Maybe.”
“What can you possibly have to say that could change anything, female?” he spat with acid intensity.
The way he said it, the awful denunciation of her just based on her gender rather than her outsider status, triggered a spark in Ella’s mind. Just a little one, but enough to topple the first domino, the idea lurking hidden all day suddenly becoming clear as the sun above them.
Ella smiled brightly. So bright, in fact, it took Totaxxis off-guard in the most unsettling way. “Oh, I think you’ll be surprised what I have to say,” she replied, downright giddy with anticipation. “See you in there, yes?”
Totaxxis didn’t even reply, simply snorting his disgust and storming off.
Ella felt a twinge of uncertainty hit her. Not about her plan, but about her love. He’d taken huge risks on her behalf, and now he knew the truth. She was not actually in the Dotharian Conglomerate. He’d put it all on the line for a lie.
In the rush to get everyone inside, the two lovers were ushered ahead at the same time, allowed close enough for their hands to brush one another, if only for an instant.
The electric jolt of connection and Draikis’s gleaming eyes told her all she needed to know, but his words sealed her fate forever.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said quietly. “I am yours, Ella. Yours forever. I hope your—”
“No talking!” the head of the guard detail commanded. “Separate these two, you fools. You know the rules.”
The guards quickly obeyed, splitting them apart, but it was too late.
Ella was at ease. He was hers as she was his.
And with that confirmation she was now free to let her mind run wild, all the ideas and questions of the past days and weeks shifting into place like a jigsaw puzzle that suddenly became so obvious it pained her she hadn’t seen it before.
We’re gonna be okay, she told herself as she ran through her plan. We’re going to be just fine.