3 Whispers

Two tall men fetched Josephine from her room. They did not speak one word but flanked her from both sides, each of them carrying a torch. Was there even electricity in this place?

The corridor they walked down was long and gloomy. An uncountable number of portraits covered the walls and were illuminated by an eerie moonlight, shining through the large window facade.

The dress Josephine was wearing brushed the stone floor with a wooshing sound. Her long, auburn curls matched the simple and single-coloured garment. In the end, she did her bit by turning into a presentable lady for these lords, whoever they were. She hoped her effort would pay off, and they were going to allow her to return home, leaving this nightmare behind.

After what felt like an eternity and a labyrinth of hallways, they arrived at a gigantic wooden double door. Sarah stood in front of it, obviously waiting for them, her countenance a little unsettled.

'Now listen to me,' she said, turning to Josephine. 'Listen to me carefully.' She took a step closer, their faces now only inches apart. 'Your fate depends on this. Don't speak until you are asked. Bow as you enter the room. Do as you are ordered and don't stare at them. These men in there are dangerous, and they can smell a lie a mile away.'

'What do they want from me?'

'You have to defend your case, and then, well, I guess we will see.'

Sarah turned to the guards and motioned them to open the door.

Josephine could hear her heartbeat pulsating in her ear. What case was there to defend? She had done nothing wrong, except for waking up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yet, she had the odd feeling that Sarah had no ill intentions, that she was somehow on her side. But why? She was one of them, so why was she so eager to help her?

The two guards opened the gigantic door with a squeaky sound. Warm light shone on Josephine's face, and she believed for a split second that everything was going to be alright.

*

The room she entered was, in fact, no room at all, but a great hall as if conjured from a history book. Hundreds of candles lit up the place and reflected against the old fashioned floor-to-ceiling windows. Two green banners covered the back walls, and Josephine recognised an embroidery on each of them: a wolf's head separated in two halves - one black, the other white. In front of the banners stood a crowd of men, talking and gesturing. Some of them were old, supporting themselves on walking sticks, their white beards long but well barbered. Others were young and of an athletic physique. Each of these men wore a sort of military hussar, plastered with medals and other tokens of worship.

The hall fell silent as the guards came to a halt. They stepped aside and made way for Josephine. No one uttered a single word, and when she was about to say something, she remembered Sarah's warning: ~Don't speak until you're asked. Bow as you enter the room.~ Josphine had never bowed to anyone in her life before, but the silence weighed heavy on her mind, so she did the only thing she could think of. She lifted her dress on both sides and made a curtsey. Faint laughter echoed through the hall and was followed by approaching footsteps.

'Get up,' a harsh voice said.

Josephine stood up and looked at the person before her. He was a bear of a man. His body towered over her, and his muscles bulged under his clothes. The row of horizontal golden braids on his jacket and the colourful shoulder straps indicated some sort of high military ranking. His blond hair was cut short, and his eyes were of a piercing blue.

~Don't stare at them.~

Josephine lowered her gaze. She felt miserable, humiliated, like a submissive dog.

'Your name?'

~Do as you are ordered.~

'Josephine.'

Sarah walked past her and stood next to a man who lingered a little aside from the rest of the group.

'Now tell us, Josephine,' the man with the blond hair continued, 'how come we had to hunt you down and bring you here?'

'I don't know.'

'What do you mean you don't know?'

'I mean, I have no idea how I ended up in that forest,' she said, telling the truth just as Sarah had advised. 'I was on my way home, from campus. And then, I woke up lying on the ground, outside in the rain. What is the indictment anyway?' The men in the background put their heads together and discussed Josephine's statement, their murmur resounding through the place. Then again, silence.

'Trespassing,' the blond man said. 'And we have found this in your pocket.' He growled and pulled out an item Josephine was very familiar with.

'What is that?'

'It's my mobile,' she said and saw a big crack running across the screen. They must have taken it while I was unconscious.

'Your what?'

'My mobile. You know, the thing I call people with.' Again, the men put their heads together; this time, their chatter was loud and full of excitement.

'She calls people with it,' one said.

'Whaaat?' another one with an ear trumpet answered.

'She might be a witch.'

The man who interrogated her turned around and looked at the guy standing next to Sarah. He looked like he was still in his twenties, but unlike the blond giant, he had a dark complexion with long black hair falling on his shoulders and bright green eyes. He was tall, not bear-like tall, but tall. He had a rather slender stature, and he wore his military jacket in complete black with no colours indicating any rank.

None of the two men said a word, but their eyes, Josephine noticed, flickered with a golden shimmer. They only stared at each other; mute, not moving a single muscle. And all of a sudden, the blond man glared at Josephine, his face dark and foreboding.

'What sort of witchery have you brought with you?' he said. And out of nowhere, she was surrounded by a chorus of whispers whilst the dark eyes of the numerous people present pierced her.

~We don't like it.~

Shocked, Josephine looked around, trying to figure out who had just spoken.

'We burn witches...,' the blond man said, seemingly not aware of the voices, and his lips curled into a sneer.

~Burn the witch,~ the chorus chanted.

'...and scatter the ashes into no-man's-land.'

Josephine stared at her opposite, looking as stumped as she was. 'You think I'm a witch?' she said, her mind trying to comprehend all this madness.

~Guilty until proved otherwise.~

'You can't be serious! I'm not a witch – this is just a mobile phone! It's technology! You must know that!'

'Take her away,' the blond man ordered and dismissed her with a nonchalant wave of his hand. It seemed he had heard and seen enough.

The two guards flanked Josephine immediately. But this time, they grabbed her by the elbows and took her away, completely unimpressed by her attempts to break free.

'We'll see about that!' she screamed. Her feet left the floor by an enormous force pulling her back. Within a split second, she was yanked into the air and looked into the blond man's face, who firmly clutched her arm. Josephine gasped, not only because a nasty pain shot through her shoulder, but also because an amber yellow replaced the man's piercing blue eyes. His face displayed an ugly snarl, looking like an animal that was ready to tear its prey apart.

'Never take me for a fool,' he said, his voice as poisonous as a snake's bite.

'Let go of me,' Josephine demanded through gritted teeth. And to her astonishment, he put her down. In a flash, the brute turned to the man next to Sarah as if he had received an order. And Josephine wondered, Did his eyes betray resentment? The blond man nodded, angrily and humiliated. And the others in the room returned to their conversation as if nothing had happened.

~Maybe someone has sent her,~ Josephine heard a voice say, and then she saw red.

'Listen to me, you lunatics! I'm not a witch nor a spy! So, whoever said that why not say it at least into my face!'

The chattering stopped in an instant. Again those furious stares. The man with the black hair, however, looked at Josephine in utter disbelief. He had raised one of his leather-gloved hands as if to say stop. And when the blond man bowed to him hesitantly, the scales fell from Josephine's eyes.

'This is impossible,' she whispered. The guy she had believed as the leader was subordinated to the man with the green eyes. HE was the one in charge. HE was the one who gave the orders. But how? How?! He had never said one damn thing.

'What is it, you madwoman?' the blond man grunted, his expression challenging her. It was not the first time someone had called her a nutcase. Maybe she was crazy, yet she had heard the voice loud and clear.

And so she declared, 'I'm done talking to you.'

'I beg your pardon?'

'I said, I'm done talking to you! You brought me here to face the Lord Commander, and you, sir, are not the Lord Commander.' She turned to the strange man next to Sarah and looked him straight into his eyes. 'It's him,' she said. 'So next time,' addressing him now directly, 'YOU want to talk, why don't you do it yourself instead of sending your puppy.'

A gasp went through the room.

And before anything else could happen, she turned to the guards and said, 'You can take me now to my room.'

*

Cuthbert's expression was dark and thoughtful. He looked at Sarah.

'How is that possible,' he asked her. 'How was she able to hear my thoughts?'

'I don't know,' Sarah answered, her face as white as a sheet. Cuthbert's mind went round in circles. Only THEY were capable of mind links, and the girl was certainly not one of them. Timothy, the blond man with the piercing blue eyes and Cuthbert's second-in-command, approached his Lord.

'Do you want me to find out who she is?'

Cuthbert wasn't sure if it was a good idea to send Timothy but nodded his head in the end.

~Is everything okay?~ he asked Cuthbert per mind link and was shocked when his master shut him out. He had never been blocked by Cuthbert, which could only mean two things: the issue at hand was quite serious. Or, his Lord Commander did not trust him in this matter.