Chapter 22

Giants

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"Why?" The Inquisitor bent down, her face mere inches away from Lucie. "Why would he send those threatening messages and then try to kill you?"

"Because - because he was testing me all along. Because he wanted to see exactly what I could do - magic-wise. And when he had seen enough, he decided that I was a threat to him. Bad for business, he kept saying."

Murmurs broke out among the Council members as well as the Shadowhunters behind Lucie. She heard a Council member whisper: "How can we trust what she is saying? She's a Witch, the Mortal Sword can't have the same effect on her as it has on us!" while her seat neighbour argued vehemently that she was still part Shadowhunter which meant she still had to respond to the sword. Lucie wanted to scream that yes, she was a bloody Nephilim just like them and yes, the Mortal Sword had the same effect on her; it was slowly but surely tearing her insides apart.

Just when Lucie thought the situation couldn't get any worse, the doors to the Council Hall burst open and in strode the Seelie Queen with what seemed like her entire court.

Inquisitor Abdelnour hoisted herself up to her full height and met the Seelie Queen in the middle of the Hall, leaving Lucie still crouched on the ground with the Mortal Sword tugging at her soul.

"What is the meaning of this? Your Majesty, you have no right to intrude this Council meeting. Your Fey representative is already present, this trial does not require your attendance!" The Inquisitor's voice was more than slightly elevated.

The Seelie Queen smiled, as usual. By the Angels, this couldn't mean anything good. "My Faerie representative has made me aware that there is an important witness missing. As I am sure some of the Council will doubt that all of Lucie's statements are trustworthy since she is part Downworlder-" She enjoyed saying that word far too much for Lucie's liking. "I have come to present the Council with a witness of my own. Aurion, come forward."

A Faerie in gleaming armour and a spear in his hand stepped out of the ranks of the Seelie Queen's guard. He had sharp lines in his face and a near triangular chin. His hair was sleek and ran well over his shoulders in a deep purple.

"Aurion is one of my best guardsmen," the Seelie Queen continued. "He was patrolling the grounds around the entrance to my court in the same forest in which Lucie met with the Warlock. Aurion saw what happened that night."

"Forgive me," the Inquisitor interjected. "But I have to say that we rarely take on Faeries as witnesses since they are immune to the influence of the Mortal Sword."

"Yes, but you are as much aware of the fact that us Fey are inclined to tell the truth as anyone else in this room." The Seelie Queen eyed the row of Council members. "And I am certain, Inquisitor, that you will ask the right questions."

A muscle twitched in Inquisitor Abdelnour's jaw. Nonetheless, she said: "Very well."

As if she had just noticed that Lucie was still kneeling on the floor, she turned to her, pulled the sword out of her hands and motioned for her to get back to her seat. Relieved from the weight and influence of the Mortal Sword, Lucie staggered back and flopped down next to Ms. Ashburn. From there, Lucie could only marvel at the spectacle that was unfolding itself in front of her eyes.

The Seelie Queen remained in the corridor between the rows of Shadowhunters, her court surrounding her from all sides, while her witness approached the Councillor's platform. He knelt down with no hesitation, his head raised to meet Inquisitor Abdelnour's piercing gaze.

"Mr.-"

"Aurion."

The Inquisitor's nostrils flared. "Aurion. You are a guard of the Seelie Queen?"

"Yes."

"And you were patrolling the woods near Hogwarts castle where there is an entrance to the Seelie Court on the night of May the 29th?"

"Yes."

"What did you see that night?"

Lucie could only see the river of purple hair flowing down Aurion's back. There was no movement on his part. The guard was utterly calm, composed. He was prepared. So prepared that his story matched Lucie's perfectly - both of them had not even mentioned the topic of the Heiress.

"I was guarding the entrance to the Court when I heard two people arguing in the late of night." His voice was melodic; just like his hair it resembled a flowing river. "Since I needed to see if these two would pose a threat to the Seelie Court, I came closer to the clearing they were standing in. It was a beautiful night, the sky mostly clear. The stars were twinkling above and the moon gave a very bright light, dipping the clearing into liquid silver."

"Would you please get back to the two people arguing, Aurion?"

"Yes, of course, Inquisitor." If Lucie wasn't so delirious from holding on to the Mortal Sword for so long, she could have sworn Inquisitor Abdelnour had rolled her eyes. "As I approached the two, I recognised who they were. A young Shadowhunter and a well-known Warlock. The first was Lucie Redcliff, who is here with us today. The second was unmistakably Fabrizio Agnellini, a very ancient but rather mischievous Warlock."

"There is no need for judgement of character," the Inquisitor said through gritted teeth. "The Council would like to hear of the events you witnessed."

"Yes, well, I watched them debate for a short while. Then the situation escalated rather quickly. From what I could see and hear, the Warlock made it clear that he wanted to end Lucie's life."

"What exactly did Mr. Agnellini say?"

"He said that he had hoped that the basilisk, the magical creature at Hogwarts castle, would have finished her off, but since that hadn't worked, he'd have to deal with her himself."

"Did he mention why he was trying to kill Lucie?"

"Bad for business, he kept saying."

The Inquisitor let out an exasperated sigh. "Any explanation on that part?"

"No."

"If I may," the Seelie Queen interjected. "I am familiar with the Warlock that goes by the name of Fabrizio Agnellini. I might be able to shed some light on that statement of his."

Inquisitor Abdelnour - who looked like she had already given up on the idea that this trial would go according to plan - simply took a quick look behind her at the Council members. They were as much at loss of words as she was. So the Inquisitor simply said again: "Very well."

The Seelie Queen glided forward. Behind her, a trail of wildflowers managed to blossom on the cold stone floor of the Council Hall. "Throughout the centuries, Fabrizio Agnellini has made himself a name among Downworlders for aiding the Clave in matters regarding what you know as Wizarding crime. He successfully tracked down Wizards and Witches that came too close to interacting with members with the Shadow World, thus coming too close to discovering the hidden world of Downworlders and Shadowhunters. The Warlock then either fiddled with their memories or - how should I best say - made them disappear. I dare say, he has been of much use to the Council in the past centuries." Not a single Councillor dared making a move. "Thus, I believe that the threat Fabrizio Agnellini saw in this young Shadowhunter slash Witch was exactly that. She is the reunion of both worlds in one person. I dare suggest that the Warlock feared Lucie might even, as ludicrous as the idea sounds, reunite both these worlds. That would indeed be bad for business. He would no longer hold his position as aid to the Clave in dealing with rogue Wizards or Witches since there would be no need for such aid anymore."

The Council Hall was dead silent. Lucie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. What the Seelie Queen was telling the Council was so close to the truth that Lucie was sure no one would believe it.

Inquisitor Abdelnour did, indeed, stare at her in disbelief. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but those are some very wild speculations."

Behind her, a man with cat eyes cleared his throat. He was the Warlock representative in the Council. "I can confirm with certainty the important parts of Her Majesty's statement. Fabrizio Agnellini is well known around the world amongst the Warlock community. He has gained a great deal in his work with the Clave - as I am sure you can acknowledge as well, Inquisitor."

"While that may be true, Mr. Bane, to deduce from it that Mr. Agnellini saw Lucie Redcliff as a threat to his business, is quite a stretch." Consul Bridgestock had raised his voice as well. He was a tall and wiry man, Lucie could easily perceive his height even though he was seated. The red of his robes was a stark contrast to his pale skin and black hair. His hawk eyes had been scanning the room for the entirety of the trial. What was even more unnerving was the fact that he had been smiling all the while. Not a gloating grin or a stiffened grimace that never reached his eyes - he genuinely seemed to enjoy himself.

The Warlock didn't seem concerned by his interjection. "There have actually been similar incidents like this one. Only in the past cases, Agnellini won the upper hand..." Lucie leaned forward in her seat as did everyone else in the Hall. They were all waiting to hear what Magnus Bane knew that they didn't. "As you may know, Consul, there have been quite a few Shadowhunters that were Wizards or Witches as well throughout the ages. Even though Lucie seems quite unique to you, I have seen many of her kind during my lifespan. While many of them were kept under secrecy, some were also found by Fabrizio Agnellini. Whenever I heard that he had been seen with a Wizard-Shadowhunter or whatever you may call them, that specific Wizard-Shadowhunter mysteriously disappeared not long afterwards... So I dare say that what Fabrizio threatened Lucie with, he has threatened many others with - in which cases he succeeded in his threats and they were never to be seen again. Lucie, however - may it be through skill or luck - survived this long-existing chain of attacks... And now the Council wants to punish her for defending her own life?"

Murmurs broke out in the Hall again. Lucie felt a hand squeeze her shoulder. She looked behind her to see Kayden crouching down behind her.

"Everything's gonna be alright, he planted the seed," he whispered.

"You think so?" Lucie's voice had gone hoarse.

"I know so." He gestured towards the row of Councillors.

Kayden was right. They were all putting their heads together, debating heavily in hushed tones. Lucie might just be able to get out of this one.

Inquisitor Abdelnour tried to bring order into the Hall. She raised her voice even louder. "This long-existing chain of attacks you speak of, Mr. Bane? How come the Council was never made aware of it?"

The cat-eyed man smiled faintly. "What proof was there that Fabrizio had done them any harm or killed them, leaving no trace behind?"

"The reason why these cases are known amongst Downworlders is simple," the Seelie Queen added. "Shadowhunters like Lucie have long been interesting for us because they are special. That is why we are much more alert if mysterious things happen to them. We are watchful, we keep an eye out for them since they are as much a part of our Shadow World as of the Clave. In the past, the Clave didn't want to associate much with this type of Shadowhunters but I think that nowadays you would agree with me, Councillors-" She turned around to look Lucie directly in the eye. "What is as powerful as the might of two worlds must either be kept on one's side or on no side." The Seelie Queen cast another look at the Inquisitor. "For the latter, I presume killing the person in question is the easiest solution."

And with that, the Seelie Queen glided out of the room, her entire court trailing behind, including Aurion who had resumed his place at his queen's back. The doors to the Council Hall closed shut with a loud bang.

All heads turned back to the Council members. It was so silent that Lucie could hear the blood rushing in her ears, her heart pounding against her rib cage. The Seelie Queen had laid out the ugly truth for everyone to see - Lucie just hoped the Faerie knew what she was bargaining with.

The Council members stood up all at once and left the room to discuss the verdict. While they were waiting, Kayden kept his hand on Lucie's shoulder the whole time.

It didn't take long for the Councillors to return. The entire Hall got to their feet as well. Where there had been many murmurs and whispers exchanged beforehand, silence spread among all those present.

Inquisitor Abdelnour reclaimed her position on the elevated platform. She let her gaze flicker over the crowd before announcing: "The Council has come to a decision. There will be an investigation concerning the mentioned Shadowhunter disappearances where Fabrizio Agnellini is suspected to be involved. Even though he has passed away, it is still in the interest of the Clave to shed light on these incidents... The Council has also come to the agreement that Lucie Redcliff acted in defence of her own life on the night where Mr. Agnellini was killed and she is therefore cleared of all charges."

The Redcliff dominated part of the Hall erupted into excited cheers. Lucie was nearly suffocated by Kayden and Abigail crushing her in an embrace. Aunt Jodie and Uncle Matthew soon joined in as did the other members of the family. Out of the corner of her eye, Lucie saw Ms. Ashburn gather her papers together. She couldn't quite decide if her representative looked relieved or even more concerned.

Either way, Lucie couldn't feel any relief just yet. She could still see Fabrizio's limp body when she closed her eyes. She still had the sensation of his blood on her hands. She had killed him. Even though the Council didn't lock her up, that didn't mean that she was innocent.

Lucie tried to shake that thought away. She should be fine. She was a Shadowhunter. A Redcliff. They were soldiers of the night, prepared to fight off every attack. She had proven herself a worthy opponent. She had been the one to end the Warlock's chain of attacks.

For now, that meant she would get through this. Whatever it took.

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A/N:

Wow, I can't believe Part I of The Chosen Ones is already finished! I had so much fun with this and I hope you had, too :)

I've already continued with writing the first chapters of Part II... however I am going to wait a little until I start publishing again so there won't be any long breaks again. University likes to overwhelm me at times, so I'll make sure to keep enough buffer chapters... If you're interested in how Lucie's story will go on, make sure to follow my author account so you can get a notification when I upload the first chapter of The Chosen Ones: Proximior.

A massive thank you to my beta reader Storms and Stars! Every time you're excited about a chapter, I am even more so... I look forward to your brilliant comments on Part II.

And a massive thank you to everyone who is still reading! Your reviews and favourites help me through the dry spots. I hope to see you again in the next part and let me know what you thought of this one!

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"Break through the barricade
You gotta keep on fightin', facin' giants unafraid
Born to move these mountains out of your way
Keep on fightin', facin' giants"

Giants by Silverberg feat. Ruelle