Chapter 8:
Diana failed to keep her promise to Leona, once the next day came around she couldn't bring herself to return the books and scrolls as she had been asked to, she continued to read through them. She found herself looking at pages that detailed Lunari tradition and prayer, it was all similar to the traditions of the Solari but yet opposite, Diana couldn't put her finger on it.
Diana was able to keep up the act of hiding that she had these books and scrolls for a few more days until a routine check of the archives caught her out. When a group of Elders and a few guards appeared at her door, she wasn't surprised that they had immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was her that had taken the books. She had a long past of ignoring duties and prayer sessions, checking out books on other religions and cultures despite being warned that her fascination with things other than the Solari culture and faith was dangerous, Diana was the obvious culprit.
They banged on her door, demanding that she open it and face them before they opened it for her. She took the time to hide her notes, placing them in a crack in the wall behind her book case, she knew they would take the books and the scrolls but they didn't know she had made intense notes on what she had found and she planned to keep it that way. They could take away the books and they could punish her for her disobedience but they couldn't stop her from continuing her research, not until she found out what came next.
The guards forced the door open when Diana didn't open it for them; she was knocked ruthlessly to her knees before her arms were locked into some cuffs behind her back. Diana found herself wondering in this moment, not about what was to come next as she expected one of the most severe punishments they could deal out, but about what Leona's reaction would most likely be. She knew the Chosen would be hurt that she had lied to her, had failed to keep her promise but more than that she would be afraid of what would come next for Diana, what kind of punishment she would receive.
The guards forced Diana to walk through the main streets of Mt Targon, refusing to hide her arrest from the spotlight, refusing to hide their contempt for her and her lack of faith. She was brought to the Solari temple and into the council room of the Elders. They had gathered every single Elder this time, not just a select group that were familiar with Diana's misgivings in the past like normal, her eyes found Leona seated among them. She tried to prevent herself from staring at Leona, not wanting to give away her feelings but the brief glimpse she had gotten showed both disappointment and worry on the Chosen's face.
"Diana, you have once again disregarded the tradition and laws of the Solari. This time you stole artifacts that were placed in the archives to protect the Solari people. What do you have to say in defense of your actions?" Diana moved her eyes from the floor to acknowledge the Head Elder and what he had just said; she gnawed on her lower lip before speaking.
"I was curious. Nothing more, nothing less. I pose no risk to the Solari people, I was just curious." Diana said, not choosing to really defend herself as there was no defense, not in their eyes. She had been curious as to what other faiths existed, she had found information that had been hidden away and she couldn't resist looking into it more. Diana knew that after her punishment was dealt out she wouldn't be able to stop looking, even if Leona begged her, there was a reason that the Elders were furiously attempting to hide this information from the public and she needed to know what it was.
"You risked everything for pure curiosity? How could you expect us to believe that? How can we know that you aren't planning to leave the faith and harm the Solari people with your radical beliefs?" The Head Elder continued, she had never bothered to learn the man's name and she didn't care to learn now, he held up one of the books that had been confiscated from her room. It bore the symbol of the Lunari on the front of it, he had decided that Diana had converted, had left the Solari faith in order to harm them. He was assuming that Diana had belonged to their faith in the beginning.
"I don't care much for faith, I was simply curious and I will stick to that as my reason. Now, get on with my punishment." Diana said, she just wanted this to be over with, she let her eyes move to where Leona sat. The Chosen's brow was furrowed with worry though she did her best to cover up her emotions, not wanting the Elders to know her connection to Diana when it came to discussing her punishment.
"Remove her for now, hold her restrained outside until we come to a decision." He said and the guards pulled her from the centre of the room, dragging her through the doors and out of the council room, sitting her on a wooden seat outside, her wrists still bound in cuffs behind her back.
The Elders and Leona discussed her punishment for over an hour. Occasionally Diana could hear shouting back and forth, mostly from Leona, they were arguing over the severity of the punishment. She knew that Leona was arguing for a lighter punishment for Diana despite everyone knowing that Diana had done this, that she had indeed broken the law. Eventually the shouting ceased and she was brought back into the room, being forced to kneel in the centre of it, kneeling under the scrutiny of the Elders that sat around her.
"We have come to a decision on your punishment. Originally exile was considered but you're lucky that someone is on your side, Diana. Instead your punishment will be six months of daily enforced worship in the sun room, if you fail to appear daily for six months, you will be exiled from Mt Targon." Diana took a shaky breath in at the sound of that, she knew that if she failed to appear for her punishment, it would be likely that she would never see Leona again. She took a moment for a quick glance at Leona, she looked devastated by the outcome of this, she knew what kind of punishment enforced worship was like. It was likely that she wouldn't make it through the entire six months and would be exiled from Mt Targon, no one else had made it through their entire punishment before but it was the best Leona could get for her. Diana was grateful that the Chosen had tried, grateful that Leona loved her enough to put her own standing with the Elders at risk just to lighten her sentence. "Do you understand?" The man continued, wanting a verbal response from Diana before the session ended.
"I understand." Diana responded, her eyes now glued to the floor. The guards pulled her up from the floor and returned her to her room, only then did they remove the cuffs around her wrists, leaving her in the dark of her now ransacked bedroom.