Betrayed (The Secret World Of Atlantis 3)

Chapter 8 - The End Is The Same For Everyone

As the words leave his mouth, the entire Courtroom seems to hold their breath in expectation. The judge is staring at us for a moment before his gaze turns towards Sophia. “Accused. You chose to be your own defender, yet you failed to deliver a proper defence. In fact, you decided to insult the whole crowd and admitted, that you were guilty of plotting against the King.” He shakes his head in disapproval, before rising from his chair.

My gaze immediately turns back to Zara, who seems like a living statue. She doesn’t seem to be breathing and her eyes keep staring at her mother without blinking, like she’s trying to remember every detail of her face. I dig my nails into my palms to prevent myself from screaming my anxiety out, and turn towards Sofia, only to realize she is staring right back at her daughter with a loving gaze.

But the moment she notices me looking, her eyes flicker towards me and her expression hardens. She turns away just as the judge opens his mouth once again. “Prosecutor, you’ve won the case. I hereby declare Sofia Io guilty of all the accusations, made against her. From this moment on, she is stripped of all her titles, including the one she was born with. Her punishment is death. And she is going to face it immediately.”

All the gasps of shock, the sighs of relief that it’s all over and the murmuring rising from the crowd suddenly disappear. Instead, a loud scream pierces through the air, making many people flinch because of its high volume. I don’t even need to turn my head to realize who it’s coming from. But I still do.

And I look just in time to see Zara trying to leap over the barricade in front of us, while Flora tries hard to pull her back. I stare at the scene, shocked for a moment, before suddenly Zara hits our cousin with magic, making her fall back to her chair unconscious.

But instead of gaping at her, I decide to take measure and conjure an invisible shield in front of Zara. She stops screaming for a moment, as she realizes what is going on, and turns her murderous gaze on me. “PUT THIS DOWN!” she yells, her tear-streaked face turning into a grimace, that looks almost grotesque.

There is only Elena on her way to me, and she begins to advance on her in a menacing way. I put more power into the shield, weaving it in front of my best friend just in time to prevent Zara from reaching her. I shake my head, my heart aching for my sister. “I’m sorry Zara, but it’s better this way,” I explain, trying my best to calm her down, but all I do is make her let out another ear-piercing scream.

That’s when our Guardians finally make their way towards her and try taking her away after my father’s nod of affirmation. But she tries to knock them out with magic as well, almost succeeding with one of the men. However, they are too quick and put magic-blocking cuffs on one of her hands. Her shrieks keep piercing through the air, as they begin to take her away from the Courtroom.

But in that moment, Sofia also joins in on the racket. “COWARDS! LET ME SAY GOODBYE TO MY DAUGHTER!” she rages, her eyes holding a desperate gaze. However, when she turns to my father, she looks like one of the furies. “AND YOU CALL YOURSELF GOOD AND JUST?!” I glance between her, my conflicted father and Zara, who is being dragged away by Guardians, still screaming her throat out. The pressure is so high, that it makes me feel like I’m going to burst under it, if I don’t do anything.

“Wait!” I yell out to the Guardians, causing Zara’s screams to tone down as the men freeze in spot. The whole crowd is staring at me in expectation, including every single member of my family. They are all shocked, that I decided to speak up. But I couldn’t stand by and just watch. Not when I know how being motherless feels like. “Bring her back down. They deserve to say a proper goodbye,” I order, but the Guardians first look at my father.

I turn towards him, seeing that he still doesn’t know what to do. But as his eyes land on me, I stare at him with determination, hoping that he doesn’t undermine what I just tried to achieve. For the love of Olympus, they both have their magic blocked, it’s not like they can join powers and escape. I breathe out a small sigh of relief, as he looks back at the Guardians and gives them a slight nod.

A lot of murmuring begins to rise behind me, as I take my seat again and watch Zara being brought down to her mother. As I hear movement somewhere to my left, I look there, realizing that Flora has just woken up. I then turn to Sofia, who glances at me, and a split second is enough for her to make another unnecessary remark. “You must be proud at how merciful your daughter is,” she observes, directing her words at my father, while staring into my eyes.

That’s when I have enough of her. She is going to be dead in a short amount of time and she’s still wasting her last moments for bitterness? “Just for the record, I’m doing this for Zara, not for you,” I declare loudly enough for the whole Courtroom to hear. Her face sours, but luckily her focus is shifted by the arrival of Zara.

They wrap their arms around each other, my sister sobbing into her mother’s shoulder, like she still can’t believe what is happening. I try to force myself to look away, but I can’t. I keep watching as Sofia whispers something into her ear and even as they gaze at each other so lovingly, that it feels like I’m invading something sacredly intimate.

I know why I can’t turn my eyes away from the scene. Not because I am trying to be disrespectful, but because I was never able to get what I just gave them. The chance to say goodbye. I wasn’t able to gaze upon my mother’s face, as she was dying. I never even got to speak to her. Not even a single word.

That’s why my heart is aching for Zara all the more. I am able to feel the pain she’s feeling, because I’ve been living with it my whole life. And it started to hurt even worse after I found out what truly happened to my mother. You know how people always say that time heals everything? Well, they usually tend to leave something out … That some things just aren’t healable.

As father motions for the Guardians to take Zara away, she begins to scream again. “NO! MOTHER, NO! PLEASE, NOT MY MOTHER!” she shrieks, making a lot of people inside the Courtroom flinch one more time. Sofia stares after with a longing gaze, her arms extended into her direction, like her daughter is just within her reach. As Zara is being taken out, she lets out one last scream. And even if she’s sobbing madly, we’re all still able to make out her words. “I LOVE YOU, MOTHER!”

“I love you too!” Sofia yells out after her. She stares at the now empty doorframe, only then seeming to realize that this is it. She is going to die. I am able to see that she knows she is about to meet the inevitable finality. And that there’s nothing for her on this world any longer.

When she notices me watching, her lips form a thin line, before looking away angrily. “Family members, this way, the rest of you may leave!” the judge suddenly declares, motioning with his hand towards the door behind him.

The crowd begins to stand up and I then turn to my father, who still seems overwhelmed. I put a comforting hand on his shoulder, making him flinch before looking at me. “This is not your fault, do you hear me? She made her own choices, no matter how strained your relationship was,” I tell him quietly. He doesn’t answer, he just lets out a heavy sigh.

As we make our way out of the row, we split up. My grandparents, my father and I head with the judge, while Elena and the rest of our family get back to the carriage. My best friend squeezes my hand in comfort, like she’s trying to tell me to stay strong. I send her a grateful gaze, before we part our ways.

Walking behind the judge feels odd. Especially because we can hear other footsteps behind us. It’s the guards, taking Sofia with us below the ground. In one way I find it odd the criminals are being executed in the dungeons, but in other way it seems almost fitting, that their lives end in a cold, dark place. As a punishment for inflicting pain on people, who did nothing to deserve it.

My throat seems to tighten as I notice the rope, that is hanging from the ceiling, ready to end the former Queen’s life. It’s not a pleasant feeling at all. And it gets even worse, as Sofia is led up the staircase in a solemn way. Her face is expressing a mixture of emotions. Fear, anger, perhaps even acceptance. But the one emotion I am not able to make out is regret. She was telling the truth, when she stated she would betray my father one more time, no matter what the consequences were. However, she won’t be able to repeat her mistakes ever again. This ends here and now.

I realize that being here, making sure that justice is served, isn’t easy at all. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t think it would be easy, but I also didn’t expect it to be this difficult. Especially not after seeing Zara crying into her arms. She should have been here instead of me … Beside her mother in her last breaths. But that would leave here even more scarred. She would never get over the trauma. It’s better this way.

As the guards begin tying the rope around her neck, I clench my hands into fists. I dig my nails deep into my palms to prevent myself from losing it. Everything that I heard and witnessed today hasn’t left me indifferent. I’ve felt every word, sensed every pain around me. And it’s a wonder, that I’m still holding myself together.

“If you have any last words, this is the time to speak up,” one of the guards tells Sofia, making me stiffen. My father seems as tense as I am, while my grandparents freeze on spot. I don’t know why we all react that way, but it’s like we just realized, that this is the last time we’re going to hear her say anything. She’s betrayed our trust … But we lived under the same roof. Dined together. Talked every day. And now we’ll watch her die.

Sofia turns to us, her expression suddenly shifting. She looks so calm and collected, that it takes us all by surprise. It seems like she accepted, that this is the end of her way. But in contrary to what we expect she’s going to say, which is at least a goodbye, if she doesn’t intend to apologize, her words take all of our breaths away. “If you think my death is the end of all your troubles, you couldn’t be more wrong. You have no idea what is coming for you, but I do. And I’m going to enjoy every moment of my punishment in Tartarus, as I watch you all suffer. Because this … This is only the beginning.”

Before either of us is able to react or even open our mouths, she jumps from the podium all by herself, leaving even the guards speechless. As I hear her neck break with a sickening crunch, I must turn away from her hanging body, to prevent myself from throwing up. I lean myself against the wall, taking deep breaths and refusing to turn back towards the corpse. I suddenly feel a comforting hand on my shoulder, and in the next moment my father’s familiar voice reaches my ears. “It’s alright. It’s all over now.”