Chapter 9

The Trial

Shade lowered his wings, panting heavily, while Rachel did the same, placing her hands on her knees.

"Shade, are you okay?" She asked as she placed her left hand on her chest, trying her best to steady her heart.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay." He nodded smiling. Then his eyes lit up when he noticed the scratch on her right arm. "Rachel, your arm! You got cut!"

"Huh?" Rachel placed her free hand on her right arm, surprised that the owl actually got her as she closely examined it. "Wow, and I didn't even feel the owl's talons. Point one for him." They both chuckled a little that last sentence.

"You don't think we'll get in trouble, do you?" Shade asked curiously.

"Trouble?" Rachel chuckled, "Nah. You're only trouble if you get caught."

"Shade Cassiel Silverwing!" The young bats both flinched and looked up to see Shade's mother, Ariel, flying towards them with a furious look. 'Oooooh… busted.' Rachel thought, 'we're in trouble.'

As Ariel landed by them, she tightly embraced her son and sighed in relief, "Thank Nocturna you're safe". Then she showed a strict expression on her face, after she let him go from her embrace. She asked, almost raising her voice, "What were you two doing out there?!"

Rachel felt so guilty for betraying Ariel's trust and for getting Shade in trouble. She knew, from the bottom of her heart, that she had to take responsibility for this mess. "Ariel, I can explai-"

"Nothing." Shade interrupted.

'Aaand… she's not buying it.' Rachel thought.

"'Nothing'?!" his mother exclaimed in outrage. "That owl nearly killed you and Rachel!"

"We got away." Shade replied, trying to ease his mother's worries.

'Well… most of us.' Rachel mentally corrected him, while she was rubbing her scratched-up arm.

"Do you two have any idea what you've done?!" She exclaimed more. She sighed, having her claw on her head. "Oh children… you broke the law."

The two teens glanced at each other with guilt. Rachel felt even worse after hearing those words. Especially when she was the one who insisted the law about the bats forbidden to see the sun should be changed for the better so the bats can have freedom. Instead, she only made things worse by being so reckless putting her best friend's life in danger and getting him in trouble. Then she began to wonder that maybe she had the whole "freedom" thing backwards.

Rachel, Shade, and his mother looked up to see fearful and angry faces of all the Silverwings in the colony as they glared down at them. Breeze and Todd detached themselves from their roost and landed on a perch right above them. "You two are in so much guano! Chinook's been grounded for a week!" Todd smirked as he slightly chuckled, amused by Shade and Rachel getting in trouble and not him and Breeze.

'Seriously,' the Goldwing thought, raising one eyebrow while giving Todd an annoyed "are you kidding me right now?" expression. 'Shade and I break the law and Chinook's gonna be grounded for a week?'

Shade, on the other hand, was rather surprised by what Todd just said. "Why? He didn't do anything… that big mouse." That last part he said silently.

Breeze, who was standing on the right side of Todd, was actually very impressed with Shade and Rachel seeing the sun that she just had to hear of their experience."So Shade, did you and Rachel see it? You know."

"Todd!" called out a sharp feminie voice. Shade, Rachel, Todd and Breeze turned their gaze to see three adult female Silveerwings who all looked absolutely appalled. Judging by their appearances, Rachel knew right away that the three adult females were Chinook's, Todd's and Breeze's mothers, for they all shared the resemblance.

"Roost!" Todd's mother, who sharply called out earlier, commanded with a strict tone while pointing. Her son did what he was told without question, as he was afraid of his mother's anger like every other child should be. Breeze was right behind him and then took to her roost.

Todd's mother then turned to Shade's mother and snapped "Ariel! This has gone too far!"

"Far too far!" the second mother, who closely resembled Breeze, agreed with her.

The third adult female, who Rachel had to assume was Chinook's mother, flew down to their level. She glared at the two young bats, mostly at Rachel with great distrust. "Keep those troublemakers away from my baby!" She snapped, pointing at them.

"Tch, that's a laugh." Shade muttered while rolling his eyes, knowing that Chinook's mother called him her 'baby'. Rachel nudged him with her elbow. "Ow!" he winced in pain, rubbing his arm. He then gave her a "what was that for?" look.

"Shade!" hissed the Goldwing.

"You two… roost now!" Ariel stricted the two, glaring at them with disappointment.

"Yes mame." Rachel sighed as she lowered her head, looking ashamed. Then she and Shade took off to their roost with his mother right behind them.

As the three of them flew up to the root, Rachel could hear the constant whispers of the other Silverwings, who had thought that she would cause trouble in the colony. She tried to drown out what they were saying about her, but they only brought back memories of when her own colony was talking about her behind her back.

When Rachel, Shade and Ariel arrived at the roost, they all bedded down to get some sleep. Rachel rubbed her right arm a little, but then Ariel noticed the slight scratch there

"Rachel, you got cut. Are you alright? Does it hurt?" She asked as she grabbed the girl's arm to closely examine the cut. Rachel shook her head.

"No, I'm okay. It's just a scratch." she responded. "The owl's talons were so sharp that I didn't even feel them."

Ariel was relieved that Rachel wasn't seriously injured or worse. "Thank Nocturna. You were lucky you didn't lose your entire arm, or get your wing ripped in half."

Rachel hung her head in shame and sighed before giving her an apologetic look. This was her chance to take responsibility for what happened. She had to be honest with Shade's mom. "I'm so sorry, Ariel. This is all my fault. I didn't mean for things to get out of hand."

Ariel was taken by surprise by Rachel's sudden apology, but she was also a bit confused. "Rachel sweetie what are you talking abou-"

"I had just found out about the law. I didn't know that the Northern bats were forbidden to see the sun until Shade and his friends told me earlier."

Ariel was even more surprised that Rachel had no knowledge of the law. "You never knew?"

The young Goldwing shook her head in response. "No, never." As she further explained to Ariel of her assumption about the Northern bats having complete freedom and how she strongly believed the owls should treat the bats as equals instead of outcasts, Ariel didn't know what to say, at first, but she was very grateful that Rachel opened her heart with honesty and came clean. Somehow, she knew that this young lady just wanted to help.

"I appreciate your honesty, Rachel. Thank you for telling me." She said with a motherly warm empathetic smile, while Rachel smiled back. And then Ariel went right to sleep.

Shade couldn't help but overhear their conversation, and judging by the tone of desperation and a hint of sadness in her voice, he could sense that Rachel somehow had experience. She knew what it was like to feel like an outcast... or a runt. She was treated like one... in her own colony. The only question was... why? Why would the other Goldwings in her colony treat her like an outcast?

Rachel was just about to close her eyes until, "Hey… Rachel, are you awake?"

"Hmm?" she turned her head and waited to hear what Shade had on his mind. "Well, I haven't exactly fallen asleep yet. What's up?"

"Well… first, I wanna say thanks… you know, for having my back earlier. No one has ever stood up for me like that before."

"Hey, that's what friends are for." she replied.

"Also… Chinook could've bitten your head off, you know." he smiled.

"Could've, would've, should've." She joked with a smirk, and they both laughed softly.

She sighed and looked at Shade sadly. "Shade, I'm sorry you got in trouble. If I haven't brought up-"

"No, Rachel. Seeing the sun was my idea." Shade interrupted her, shaking his head.

"But I encouraged you when I should've just kept my mouth shut and respected that dumb law in the first place."

"Well, you were right about some things. We Northern bats should be respected by the owls as equals and we should have every right to see the sun."

Rachel said nothing but gave him a warm thoughtful smile before turning in, but Shade stopped her for. "There is… uh… one more thing I'd like to ask you."

She looked over her shoulder, "what is it?"

"Were you treated like an outcast in your colony?"

"What?" That caught her off guard. 'How did he know that?'

"Is it because your wings glow?"

'How could he have deduced that?' Rachel thought as her eyes lit up. 'Did he see them glow? No… that's impossible! They only glow whenever I sing. How could that be?' All she could do was respond with a simple nod. As much as she wanted to further explain to him why, she just couldn't… at least not now. She then closed her and looked away, "I'll tell you on the way to Hibernaculum, Shade. I promise."

Just as Rachel went to sleep, Shade began to think about his father, Cassial. Was Chinook telling the truth? Was his dad really a troublemaker and a coward? He had to know for sure and the only Silverwing who would know more about him was his mother. He decided to ask her what he was like. "Mom? Mom… Mom? Hey are you awake?"

She hummed in response. Rachel, who was awake as well, couldn't help but listen, as she could sense that something was up.

"Was dad a troublemaker?" Shade asked his mother with worry.

This subject certainly caught Rachel's attention, for she was curious to know what his father was like.

For a moment, Ariel was silent, but then she turned her head towards her son. "Go to sleep."

"... Was he a coward?"

Finally, Ariel replied."He was brave… and impulsive… and defiant." She continued with a small smile, remembering her beloved Cassial. "Sometimes a little foolish… like you."

Rachel couldn't help but chuckle with a soft warm smile on her face as she secretly learned more about Cassial. 'Like father like son,' she thought.

"But he was no coward." Ariel added, before heading back to sleep.

Shade asked his mother one last question, wanting to know of what had become of his father. "Did the owls get him?"

"No one knows for sure," she softly replied before closing her eyes, "now try to sleep."

'I was afraid you were going to say that,' Shade thought as he sadly sighed. He then scooted in closer to his mother's side and gently leaned against her in comfort and then fell asleep. Then Rachel scooted in to join them in comfort, not wanting them to feel alone.

Neither Shade nor Rachel knew what was going to become of them now… but, all that is for certain was that whatever happens next… they were going to face it together.

Before slowly drifting to sleep, the young Goldwing began to think of her colony, mostly her family. What she had learned so far from Shade and Ariel about Cassial, Rachel couldn't imagine losing her loved ones. She had also learned that in the Northern forest, things were not what she assumed, and life in a real forest is never easy. But one thing is for sure… Rachel was not one to give up, especially when she had come this far.

Mercury landed on top of the roost where they were resting and whispered, "Hey! Psst! Wake up you three."

Rachel was the first to wake up as she hummed and groaned in response. Then Shade and his mother woke up. The Goldwing lifted her head in the scout's direction and adjusted her to get a clear vision of his face. "Mercury?" she said sleepily.

"What is it?" asked Ariel.

"The council of elders have met. They want to see the three of you now." Mercury whispered to them again.

Shade's eyes lit up, surprised by this news. "But only adults go up there."

The scout hushed him. "Shh! Yes, and anyone who looks at the sun. So spit wash your face and follow me."

The three bats did as they were told and then followed Mercury to the elders' roost to meet with the council. Rachel knew right away that both she and Shade would be on trial for breaking the law. She could almost imagine the disappointed look on Frieda's face and the I-told-you-so scowl on that cold, spiteful and bitter Bathsheba.

Five minutes later, they arrived at the elders' roost and landed on a large wooden ledge, the same ledge where Rachel stood when she first met with Frieda and the council. Then Mercury took off, leaving Shade, Ariel and Rachel behind to meet with the elders. Ariel protectively placed her hands over both the youth's shoulders. Neither of them knew what to expect, and they were nervously about finding out. They all looked up to see the five elders gliding down onto their ledge above them, and as Rachel shamefully feared, Frieda was disappointed and Bathsheba did wear the I-told-you-so scowl on her face.

"Shade Silverwing and Rachel Goldwing, step forward." Frieda commanded.

Ariel let go of the teens bats as Shade and Rachel did as they were told. The young Goldwing did not want to disappoint her any further than she already had.

"You have both broken the most ancient law of our colony." The elder leader continued as she raised her left hand, at the same time her band glimmered. Shade gazed at Frieda's band in amazement as it glimmered across his eyes. She followed his gaze, knowing that he was staring at her band, and then returned her glance towards him and Rachel before continuing the trial. "Do you have an explanation?"

Rachel was about to come clean when Ariel quickly stepped in, in an attempt to defend her and Shade. "Just youthful exuberance and curiosity! They only-"

The bitter Bathsheba rudely interrupted her. "Curiosity that will be the ruin of this colony. The owls will want retribution and quite frankly, who can blame them?"

"Silence!" Frieda snapped before Rachel could protest against Bathsheba's hateful words, not liking her attitude. Frieda then turned back to the young teens. "Do you have anything to say for yourselves?"

Ariel tried to defend them again. "No! No, they don't! Shade is just a boy, and Rachel-"

"Yes! I do." Shade interrupted his mother, causing her to fearfully step away from him. "The law is… wrong!"

All of the adult Silverwings who were witnessing the trial gasped with shock, anger and disgust by what he just said. Even Bathsheba was furious. "What?!" She bellowed with a snarl.

"Shade!" Ariel gasped.

Frieda did not take offense. "Let the boy speak!" she declared, for she wanted to hear him explain why he thinks that.

But Bathsheba growled at him as she hopped over the edge of the wood, completely ignoring her leader. "Listen you insolent upstart! The law guarantees our existence."

Rachel tried to reason with the ill-tempered elder, "Bathsheba, please. Give both of us a chance to explai-"

"YOU WILL REMAIN SILENT, GOLDWING ROUGE!" She snapped at the girl, making her flinch.

"Bathsheba." Frieda said warningly before gesturing for the young bats to continue, "go on."

Shade began, "Well… What's wrong with bats seeing the sun? Rachel and I didn't get turned into stone. The only reason we cannot go out in daylight is because of the owls. It's unfair!"

Then Rachel stepped in with an open, honest heart, "Frieda, elders of the council, this all my fault. I never meant for things to get out of hand. Before I came to this colony, one of the many things that I've always wanted to do in the Northern forest was to see the sun. But I never knew that it was forbidden until I had recently learned about the law from Shade. And for that very reason, I take full responsibility."

The council of elders, along with the witnessing adults, were quite surprised to learn that the young Goldwing never knew about the law. Frieda, herself, was quite shocked by this news but she said nothing. 'She doesn't know about the Great Treaty?' she thought in astonishment.

The wise elder allowed the girl to continue, "but like Shade, I too believe that the law is wrong. I strongly believe that law should be changed for the better and that all bats of the Northern forest should have the equal amount of respect as the owls."

Once the Goldwing girl had finished, Frieda held up her wing and finally spoke, "I have heard enough."

"Indeed." Bathsheba righteously agreed. "We have no choice but to hand over the lawbreakers to the owls."

"What?!" Ariel was struck by Bathsheba's outrageous decision and protectively wrapped her wings around her son and Rachel, pulling them close to her. "No! Please! Frieda!" She begged.

Rachel tried to protest. "You can't-"

Ignoring them completely, Bathsheba further insisted Frieda to heed that decision. "And we should do it now, before the owls come for them!"

"I'll take the appropriate action at the appropriate time." Frieda calmly addressed her fellow council member, while she walked towards the edge of the wooden ledge. Bathsheba was stunned that her leader didn't consider turning the lawbreakers in. She then crossed her arms and huffed with a sneer.

Frieda gracefully spread out her wings and glided down to Shade and Rachel. Landed in front of the two teens and walked a little towards Shade's direction. "Come with me," she instructed him and then turned to his friend before walking away. "Rachel… You as well."

The two friends looked at one another in puzzlement and then glanced at Ariel who appeared hesitant.

"Ariel, it's for the good of the colony." Frieda insisted as she turned her body towards them, waiting for Shade and Rachel to follow.

Ariel sighed and then turned to her son and the Goldwing, urging them to follow her. "Shade, Rachel, go with Frieda."

Not wanting to keep her waiting, Rachel gave Shade a quick nod and they both hopped over to follow Frieda.

As Frieda led the two friends further down to the bottom of the hollow tree, Bathsheba flew down to Ariel, who showed a worried expression, and said to her, "It's not like the boy and the Goldwing are strong enough to make the migration anyway."

Goldwing16's Note(s):

Alright guys! That's Chapter 9!

So, yes... Rachel AND Shade both got in trouble. But Rachel has the heart to admit that she had been reckless and take responsibility for her actions. And she has learned that things in a real life forest is not at all what she had expected. But is that going to stop her? No sir!

Now what will Frieda do with Shade and Rachel? Find out in chapter 10