The devils workshop
Elara
Soon he came, stepping out of wherever the heck he was hidden from and walking in like he owned the place , which he probably did, but I'd like to tell myself otherwise. The room fell silent, and soon my ears were filled with very hushed whispers.
“It’s him,” some people said.
And then the room fell silent once again. He walked slowly in a simple suit, up the stairs of his many-throned and raised podium. All the council members , twelve of them , stood, and once he sat down, they did the same too.
The hall was filled with murmurs until I heard a loud banging sound.
“Silence. If you are found to speak, you will be sent out of this hall immediately.”
The voice was familiar, and only when I looked around a little bit did I find out it was Lucas. I looked toward the gallery and briefly landed on him. Maybe he didn’t see me, but he acted like he didn’t. I lowered my hand before I even raised it high enough, pretending I was scratching my hair when I felt Alejandra’s eyes on mine.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, nothing,” I mumbled. “Just the nerves, once in a while.”
“Stay quiet,” she whispered. “The rules affect you too.”
I kept my mouth glued shut and watched the council proceedings. Their voices were hushed, but aside from that, it seemed like no one else had any issues hearing them , except for me.
Every once in a while, some wild person would raise their voice just slightly, earning several winces from others around me. But then again, it wasn’t as though they were trying to please the human population amongst them, because they all spoke in hushed tones , too hushed for me to hear anything concrete, and loud enough for themselves to hear.
I began to poke Alejandra after about an hour.
She turned to me, her eyes wide. “Shush,” she hissed harshly, sounding almost like a cat. Her eyes widened for emphasis as she passed along the message quite well.
I looked down, hiding my head inside the cloak, and said nothing , well, did nothing , for a good fifteen minutes before she suddenly stood up, mumbled something about something, and left me.
With wide eyes, I looked around the room. It was still hushed, whispers passing over my ears, and when I simply couldn’t take it anymore , when the boredom had reached the point where I was drowning in the heavy waters of idleness , I got up, kept my head down, and skirted through the seated crowd, earning a few angry growls in my direction but nothing so life-threatening, even as my heartbeat frantically behind my rib cage.
Finally, I was outside, taking a breath, watching the sky, frankly free. I began to pace around the place, just mindlessly ambling about but not straying too far from the doors to the great hall.
I saw a few guards dressed in black tactical gear. I soon had a thought , did they shift out of their uniforms, meaning the uniforms would tear when they turned to their furry selves, or did it stay on, turning into a very representation of tactical gear?
I stood for quite a while watching them and thinking, but not trying to look too dreamy, as at one point one of them looked at me. I turned my face away quickly, not wanting to garner the attention of an actual guard, professional and all that.
I began to kick around and mumble to myself, hoping to sound as though I was crazy. Eventually, I felt a hand on my shoulder, forcing me to turn around a little too quickly. With wide eyes, I threw my hands up in the air.
“I didn’t do anything!” I said.
My eyes were glued shut, waiting for a blow that never came. Suddenly, I heard a small male laugh, then followed by a loud, barking male laughter. I peeled my eyes open one by one and found that it was the same man who drove me from the Alpha’s residence.
I smiled, and then my smile fell just as he said, “What are you doing, Lloyd, wandering around outside? Council meeting going on , don’t you want to see it?”
I shook my head. “And die of imminent boredom? No, thank you.”
He chuckled. “Yes, they can be quite boring, but also quite interesting sometimes. They keep the tough debates for when they’re behind closed doors, and once every few months, they put on a show for everyone else.”
He stepped closer, stretching out his hand. “I realize I never told you my name,” he said with a cheerful smile. “Alexander. Captain of the Council Guard.”
“That’s you, the one I’ve been avoiding over there?” I pointed behind me at the guards now stepping closer, ever so slightly.
He raised his hand. “It’s quite all right,” he said. “I know her.”
The guards turned away and went back to their positions, leaving the both of us.
“Walk with me,” he said.
I followed, grateful for the company and, frankly, grateful that my boredom would stop.
“So, tell me,” I said, “Alex,” I mumbled, understanding that everyone always mumbled here, so for once I wanted everyone to hear what they were saying. Everyone also had a sense of ears, but I mean,
He smiled, falling into step beside me. “You must be curious about a great deal of things,” he said. “I will try to answer your questions as best as I can.”
I shook my head. “Just the names of the council members and how crazy they are. Old man Logan didn’t really describe their characters all that much.”
He chuckled. “Old man Logan is being courteous and respectful to his council fellows, although,” he mumbled with a small eye roll. “It is quite easy enough to tell that once in a while, all of them seem to lose their minds. There are factions,” he said, “the same way there are factions in life. Some people like tradition.”
He leaned towards me. “They want you dead.”
“And others?” I continued, pressing my lips together.
“They’re the ones pushing the hate campaign against you,” I thought to myself.
“And then there are those who are open to newness , those who like mixtures, basically.”
“Progressives,” I said, turning to him.
He smiled. “Yes,” he said. “I am familiar with that term on your side.”
“I know that everywhere there’s always a traditional side, and there’s always a progressive side as well. That’s how everyone works,” I said. “Not witches or wizards, warlocks, and sorcerers. I suppose the closer we are to human hearts, the more we stick to conventional, predetermined divisions , those who like the old and those who like the new. Such are the wheels of every society.”
I turned to him. “So what about the new ones? Do they like me?”
“No,” he said. “They also want to kill you.”
My smile fell, my heart did as well. Then again, it was quite easy for me to pull myself together , after all, it was safe enough to assume that everyone wanted to kill me.
“Great,” I smiled. “Tell me something I don’t know.”