I woke to a loud banging coming from down stairs, then a voice. Its the royal guards. You are ordered by the Queen to come out at once. Reluctantly I freed myself of Riff's arms, climbing out of bed. We dressed quickly, the pressure mounting from the guards outside. I may have buttoned my dress wrong, I'm not sure, I was in such a hurry. We ran down the stairs and into the foyer, and Riff pulled me close before opening the door. Remember what I told you, he whispered. I will, I said, and I meant it, I wouldn't let it slip. He opened the door, and the second he did, we were grabbed by the guards, two holding each of us. My eyes met Riff's as I was pushed in front of him, both of us knowing that whatever the Queen wanted with us may determine our lives. They walked us, or pushed us, rather, to the castle. The guards surrounding us threw open the giant doors that reached all the way to the high ceiling, mahogany with jewels and intricate carvings; the doors to the Queen's throne room. We were roughly pushed in front while the many guards stood along the back wall. The Queen held a smirk of superior knowledge on her face, a look which frightened me. When she looked at me, I felt as if her eyes burned through me, reading my every thought. she began, and her voice was frighteningly calm. It was an accident, you say, my son's death? I could tell that she knew something, but I made sure my face didn't show it. Riff said, and his voice was serious. Well, is that so? I believe I have something that may contradict your little story. She held something up in her hand. I couldn't tell what it was at first, just a small black rectangle. Then I realized, it was a tape. She set it in the player that one of her guards had brought to her earlier. She sat back in he throne as the tape began. I heard Riff's voice, then my own.
Well, its not as if it was our fault that Frank set the reactor power too high.
There's no one around now, you don't have to say that.
There was a short silence.
You...do remember, don't you?
Of course, its what we told everyone.
We killed them, Riff, we did it. You have to remember. And that couple, they were there too. Don't you remember this? You have to!
No, Magenta, it was an accident, it was Frank's fault!
Riff, please! You have to remember! You can lie to everyone, we have to, but not to yourself, not to me. We did it, Riff, we killed them, it was us! We killed-
I heard the slap of his hand on my face, then a silence which seemed to last forever.
She switched off the tape. It was a good idea, trying to convince yourselves of your own story. Oh, but you're so naive, Magenta, I nearly jumped when she spoke my name. thinking no one was around to hear you say those things. She had us, there was no way out now. Do you have anything to say for yourselves? She said, implying that these words would be our last. I knew that whatever we said couldn't get us out, but it also couldn't make the situation any worse. I said, after a moment of silence. He deserved it, your majesty. He treated us terribly and he had it coming to him! I didn't look at Riff when I said this, I knew he didn't want me to say anything, and I didn't want to see that look in his eyes. The Queen was angry now, I could tell. She motioned to the guards standing in the back of the room, like statues waiting to come to life. The same four came up and grabbed us, forcing us through the doors. We traveled through many corridors and down fights of stairs until we came to what appeared to be a prison, although still inside the palace. The walls and floors were made of stone and the walls lined with many barred doors. A guard unlocked one and we were shoved inside and the door was slammed behind us. As soon as we were in, they turned and left. I had fallen to the floor from the force of the guard's push, and I hadn't moved. Slowly, I lifted my head to look up at Riff, who stood above me. Avoiding my gaze, he sat down next to me, then he turned my head towards him. What did I tell you, Magenta? he said softly, but sternly. He raised his voice. What did I tell you!? I said nothing. If you had just done as I had told you, we wouldn't be into this! Why couldn't you just keep quiet, Magenta? I didn't know what to say to him. Well I'm sorry, I said quietly, and I sounded especially quiet compared to the tone in his voice. You'd better be, he said coldly. He had always forgiven me for anything I had done, and I had expected him to do the same now. I felt a burning in my throat, like I would cry, but I wouldn't let myself. I lay down on the stone floor, my back towards Riff. The burning in my throat grew stronger, but I held back any tears that wanted to come forth. I closed my eyes, and it wasn't until then that I realized how tired I was. Trying to ignore the feeling of the icy floor beneath me, I drifted to sleep.