I won't bore you all with my super long apology. I wish I wasn't so busy so that I could write more. I never intended for there to be such huge gaps in between my updates when I first started writing this. Thanks for sticking with me even though I'm horrible about updating regularly. Thank you for all your reviews. I appreciate them more than you know. Enjoy the chapter!
My hearing would take place at Andrew's house. He had been a member of the Administratio the longest and a lot of official business took place there because it was so large. I assumed they would be expecting a big turnout for my trial.
Cheryl teleported me there since I couldn't do it on my own, and I resisted the urge to cringe when the entire room stared at me. Of course Cheryl would teleport me straight into the middle of the room. It was situated like a ballroom, with round tables all around for people to sit. I noticed that all the seats were filled up and some people were standing. The members of the Administratio were seated up front at a rectangular table facing everyone else.
The tables at the front of the room were reserved for the guilty party and the people speaking out against them. Caroline had a vindictive look on her face when I looked at her. Ethan's father, Greg, kept perfect composure. His face was like stone, but he didn't even glance at me. He stared straight ahead, not seeming to focus on anyone or anything in the room.
A hushed bit of chatter erupted in the room after the initial shock of my entrance wore off. There were whispers coming from everywhere so I couldn't make out what anyone was saying, but I could make a fairly decent guess. I was certain no one was on my side.
I saw the nine members of the Administratio already seated in front of everyone else. There was an empty chair at the table – my mother's chair. Only two of them, Rick and Priya, bothered to look at me. I knew that if there was any leniency in my punishment tonight it would be because of them. Rick was the youngest and generally easy going about everything. I was confident he would listen to my side of the story the most. Priya was my mother's friend. She was an Indian woman who was about thirty-five years old. When she looked at me I saw the pity in her eyes.
I knew I would get no sympathy at all from Eileen and Sandra. They were two harsh, very no nonsense women who were good friends. It also didn't help that Eileen was Caroline's sister.
Andrew knew the rules better than anyone else. So while he knew all the rules to convict a criminal, he was also good at finding a few loopholes to save someone.
Patrick was Sandra's husband, so I had could guess about what his opinion would be towards me.
Darren, I knew had been one of my father's friends, and he was a wildcard in my mind. I really didn't know him that well, and I couldn't guess how he would vote.
Cheryl led me to the empty table that was reserved for me and I was surprised that all of my sisters sat down with me. I half expected them to let me deal with this one on my own or be ashamed to be seen with the outcast. But even Olivia walked dutifully next to me even though everyone stared.
"Let's begin," Andrew said in his deep voice. He looked to be in his late thirties although he was actually eighty-five. He had light brown hair with a bit of gray in it and light blue eyes. He had a prominent chin and his muscles, though obviously apparent, were not exceptionally huge.
The room had fallen silent and everyone waited anxiously. I started fidgeting and cursing myself internally. I'd had all day to think about this, but not once had it crossed my mind to come with a story. I wouldn't lie, it would be pointless. But if I'd thought about it, I might have been able to be prepared with at least a few rebuttals.
"This trial is for Evelyn Sinclair," Andrew continued. "Caroline Bentley will speak first."
Caroline stood up and she didn't face the Administratio or the rest of the other hunters while she spoke. No, she faced me.
She cleared her throat before she began to speak in her sickly sweet voice. "As you all know, my son Ethan died recently, and Evelyn here was the only one to witness it. Instead of providing full details or even vaguely useful information, she told a half baked story I refused to buy." She paused for a minute letting that sink in. "On the day of my son's funeral, she left the wake to see his grave. There I found her with a vampire who mentioned having a romantic relationship with her before being involved in my son's death. When I made my presence apparent, I tried to kill the vampire who I found to be partially responsible for Ethan's death. Evelyn refused to help when two other vampires showed up and allowed them to get away. She deserves very strict punishment. This type of behavior cannot be tolerated in the least."
There was a murmur of approval from the crowd. I knew what the general consensus was. No one would be on my side, with the possible exception of Nicole who couldn't even support me without ruining herself along the way.
"So kill her," someone said.
Every head in the room turned toward the voice and my mouth dropped when I saw my mother standing in the doorway.
There was a collective gasp in the room. Suddenly, the night was no longer about me.
"Ava," Andrew whispered my mother's name.
"By all means, just punish her," my mother continued, "just completely ignore the fact that she could have possibly gained some useful information from that vampire. As long as we indulge your whims everything will solve itself, won't it Caroline?"
"Mom," Cheryl and Olivia jumped up and practically ran to her. Other hunters were starting to crowd around my mother, all of them wanting to know how she could be here.
"Settle down everyone!" Sandra, called out.
I was frozen in my chair. Nicole had stood up, but she seemed torn between going to our mother and staying next to me.
Sandra started talking to my mother when people seemed to get over the initial shock. "Ava, we need to tell you about the trial we're in the middle of. I hate to burden you with this right now, but –"
Mom cut her off. "I know why Evelyn's on trial. Lucas informed me that his nephew was involved with my daughter."
I looked at my mother and was surprised at how put together she seemed. Her hair was perfectly combed into a neat bun. There were new bandages on her arm and she had all of her knives.
"Ava, I am happy that you're okay, but offended that you think wanting my son's death avenged is a whim," Caroline said.
"Evelyn was not the one who killed him," Mom replied calmly.
"All the vampires involved will die, obviously," Patrick said. "The fact that Evelyn's involvement made it easier for Ethan to die is why she is on trial."
Every time someone mentioned my involvement in Ethan's death it felt like I was punched.
"How do you plan on killing them? Or even finding them? How do you know that Evelyn did orchestrate scheme, albeit a naïve one, to get information from these vampires?" I was surprised by the way my mother defended me.
"I heard her conversation with him at the cemetery. It was no scheme, Ava. She all but admitted it the day I found her with him." Caroline practically snarled.
My mother kept her cool as she stared Caroline down. "So far we've only heard a one sided story. And regardless of whether or not it was a scheme, I believe we should allow Evelyn an opportunity to redeem herself."
I was confused about how my mother could stand there looking as calm as ever while everyone had been panicking for so long. I'd never considered how she would react about my relationship with Anthony, but I supposed that was part of my problem. I don't think ahead.
"By all means," she continued, "Let us completely disregard the idea that Evelyn may have some very valuable information."
"Now, now," Andrew said before Caroline could respond, "No one's made a decision yet. The hearing's just begun."
Ethan's father spoke for the first time. He spoke evenly, but I could hear the anger in his voice. "Since when do we allow traitors opportunities to redeem themselves, Ava? I think you may be biased because this concerns your daughter."
"And I think you may be biased because this concerns your son," Mom retorted. She continued to speak before Ethan's parents could get another word in. "In light of what I've learned while I was away, I think we should hold off on this trial for a bit longer."
"Obviously she'll tell the information she has first," Caroline said.
My mother snorted. "I raised my daughter with better bargaining skills than that."
"The girl isn't just going to give everything up and then let us kill her," Greg said quietly to his wife.
"If she doesn't want to be any more of a traitor than she already is…" Caroline was furious.
"Wait a minute, Ava," Andrew said. "How would you propose having Evelyn redeem herself?"
Caroline's mouth dropped in outrage. "You're not considering this," she half screamed in her high pitched voice.
"Relax, Caroline. I'm just considering the options that we have. Yes, Evelyn did something very wrong, and I know she was aware that she knew what she was doing, but she is still only sixteen years old. If Ava has a suitable punishment for her daughter that is not death then I would like to hear it." Rick said all of this very carefully.
I began to feel my hopes rising. If enough members of the Administratio agreed that I wouldn't have to die, then Caroline couldn't do anything about it.
"Well," Mom started, "regardless of whether or not Evelyn had a scheme in mind, she must have gained some valuable information. She must have something that could help us take down Lucas."
"This is ridiculous," Caroline screeched. "Where have you even been all this time, Ava? You go missing for so long, and show up here trying to save your daughter after she committed an unforgivable crime." Caroline paused to take a breath before turning to the rest of the Administratio. "If you ask me, the whole family is corrupt."
I was glad when I saw Priya stood up to speak. "In light of these events, perhaps it would be best to postpone Evelyn's trial so that we may deal with some of our bigger problems," she said, taking charge.
"Bigger problems? My son is dead," Caroline hissed.
"Caroline, this is the life we live," Andrew said in a chastising tone. "We are all very sorry about Ethan, but we must focus on finding Lucas, who if I may remind you is the one primarily responsible for Ethan's death."
"I agree," said Greg. "Lucas is the biggest threat right now."
Caroline looked around the room in outrage one more time before deflating. "I want to help kill him," she said after a big sigh.
A hunter I didn't know came running in to the room before anyone could respond to Caroline's statement. He was young, probably about eighteen or nineteen, with bleach blonde hair down to his shoulders and a lot of acne. He had a wild, excited look on his face. "We've found her. We found Emily."
Everyone started talking at once. Nicole and I exchanged a worried look.
"Enough of this," my mother said. She pointed to hunter, "you stay here," she ordered. "Cheryl, Olivia, Nicole, take Evelyn home and stay there. Everyone else, you're all dismissed."
I could see Olivia and Nicole open their mouths to protest, but before anything could come out Cheryl was there ready to take us all back with force if necessary. I knew better than to stay anything. Any argument from me was not going to help anything. As it was, I'd been incredibly lucky tonight as far as my trial went. I needed to get to Emily though. I had no idea how long she had now that the hunters seemed to have found her.