"Grandmother had a few run-in's with dark witches in her younger days, but she was lucky enough to have been friendly with the daughter of a light witch. She gifted her this with the promise that it would protect her and whoever wore it, from dark magic." Adam explained softly as he watched Ann run her fingers over the delicate design. "Adam... I don't know what to say... it's beautiful!" Ann exclaimed almost reverently. "She was fond of intricate designs and artwork, as I'm sure you can tell." Adam chuckled softly. "It's made from obsidian and moonstone and wrapped in platinum. If you open it up, inside is a depiction of Selene, the Moon Goddess, and her first children, the Lycans, and her second born, the Werewolves." Ann nodded wordlessly. There wasn't much she could say, it was truly a breathtaking piece. "I should have given you this earlier, Ann. At this point, I'm willing to try anything that has the slightest chance of being able to protect you from those vile women."
"She's lying! I was taken by ambulance and admitted to the hospital immediately after the incident!" Ada yelled suddenly, banging her hands furiously on the railing that surrounded the platform where she sat. Ann said nothing and stared confidently ahead at her father's face, her expression neutral but her eyes burned with a determination that wasn't lost on him. "You will be silent until your testimony is called for Princess Ada. These are serious proceedings with dire consequences for the accused if found guilty. You will respect the order of things here, do you understand?" An irritated male voice came from above. One thing was for sure, the reputation of the Royal Court's Elder Council certainly seemed to be true. It made sense in a way, as the Royal Court undoubtedly had to have seen its fair share of power plays and false accusations over the centuries that they had presided over justice across the kingdom. The Elders that sat in the Courtroom were the oldest, and mos
"How Dare you!" Leopold roared, standing from his seat and turning to glare at the spot above him. The same dark chuckle answered him, only increasing his fury. "The assumptions about my wife and I are not even relevant to this trial and not up for discussion!" The King roared almost foaming at the mouth in his rage. "This is treason! How dare you speak up against your king!" A chorus of titters arose from the council from multiple sources as he looked around him frantically, his paranoia beginning to get the better of him. Ann watched with a mixture of horror and pity. She felt sorry for him because of the state that he had found himself in, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a small spark of satisfaction, as the Elders spoke the words that she had been dying to say for years. It was heartening to know that the Elder's opinions, in this case, aligned with her own. "We dare to speak against you when we disagree with your decisions because we are the only peo
Ada stood at the lectern with her eyes lowered and her arms wrapped protectively around her belly. She was nervous and it showed. "Lady Ava, you bring serious charges against your step-sister to this court." The female voice stated. Ada simply nodded without raising her eyes. "So, in your own words, tell us exactly what happened in the room with Ann." Ada took a shaky breath as Ann turned her gaze toward where she stood. Their eyes met for the briefest of moments and all Ann saw was the pure unadulterated hatred that burned there, before it was quickly replaced with the all too familiar, doe-eyed innocent look that usually graced her features. "Well, we went to see Ann with the intention of smoothing things over. I at least wanted to try one more time to make peace with her. I know I did wrong, and if I could turn back the clock then I would do things differently but… wishing things would be different… doesn't actually change anything." Ada said in a small voice as she sigh
Both Ada and Leopold exchanged a frantic look as they began to realize that this trial was not proceeding how they had intended at all. "Treason? Are you insane?! It is you who is treasonous!!! You should be asking your King's permission before you enact or move to do anything! No one is above the royal family!" Ada shrieked suddenly as she banged her fists on the balcony in front of her. "Do you not respect his authority?" Ada snapped as she continued, her innocent demeanor evaporating almost instantly, "You want his throne for yourselves don't you?" She snorted maliciously as she looked across at Leopold, with fire in her eyes. Ann was watching this all with a mixture of disbelief and horror. This was madness! The audacity that Ada had to insinuate such a thing, and so fearlessly in front of them, just proved that she thought she was untouchable in her father's presence. Her arrogance was sickening and to the Elders assembled, incredibly offensive. "Leopold, either rei
"Once the incident was resolved, I never had cause to use it again, but it kept running and saving backups to the dedicated server and storage that we had set up. I knew what had happened in the office, but it was my word against Ada's so, having found this only recently, I wanted to offer you the opportunity to see it for yourselves." "Preposterous! It will be nothing more than a fake designed to discredit Ada!" Leopold hissed from his seat. "Why would she go to all that trouble when Ada is doing such a good job of discrediting herself, Leopold?" A smooth female voice commented dryly. Ann took a deep breath and flicked her gaze to her father again. "I don't care that you've already disowned me, Leopold. You'll never hear me call you father again because you never afforded me the basic decency of impartiality. No matter what I said in the conflicts, Ada was always right, so this time, I have proof that she lies." "Princess Ann, do not concern yourself with addressing the
The atmosphere in the chamber weighed heavily on her as she waited with bated breath for the Elder's return. The chamber remained deathly silent, apart from her father's heavy breathing as he struggled with his anger whilst his eyes seemed to bore into her very soul. Ann didn't fear her father, but the intense hatred that was being directed at her was more than a little disconcerting. She was fairly sure that if she had been here alone without Adam at her side, then her discomfort would have been obvious. Ann glanced over at where Ada stood, still frozen in an elaborate pose and rooted to the spot between the two burly golems. 'I have to say that's quite an improvement on her normal behavior,' Maeve sniggered before adding thoughtfully, 'I wonder if the Elders would teach us how to do that too? It could be quite useful…' 'Doesn't it look familiar to you though Maeve? It's incredibly similar to what Ada must have used on us.' Ann mused, 'Do you think that she has an Elder he
The Elders had been true to their word and Ada had been partially released from the hold that they had placed on her and her panic stricken eyes showed just how aware she truly was. Maeve howled with satisfaction as they watched Narcissa and Ada confronted with evidence of their own schemes. Although Narcissa was not directly implicated in this particular recording, Ann didn't care. It was enough for her to clear her name and retain her title, as much as she no longer wished to be associated with this poor excuse of a family. Adam was her priority for now, and the Dark Moon Pack was her home for as long as she remained with Adam. As the recording ended and the holographic display disappeared, Leopold was stood frozen with an expression of shock as he mouthed soundlessly words that he clearly wanted to say, but couldn't force out. Narcissa didn't bother to raise her head to glare at the elders, instead, in the final few minutes of the recording, she had come to the realizati