Trial - -

Lina followed the woman back behind the Elders' desks, down several lengthy corridors, and finally approached a door labeled, "EDUCATION". Lina had never been here before, and had a feeling that it wasn't the type of education that required books.

The elder opened the door, entered the room and continued on in the dark while Lina followed her.

"Have you ever thought of reproducing, Lina?" She seemingly asked the question or of nowhere which flustered Lina but she didn't let it show.

"Not exactly. I figured it might be nice to do so, but I never learned that it was possible anywhere but on quadrant 1.187.4."

"Hm." The elder continued walking in the pitch black. She didn't slow down or move anywhere but forward.

"Given the opportunity...What would you do?"

"What exactly do you mean, 'given the opportunity?'" Emily questioned, half out of breath from all of the walking.

"Oh." She mumbled something to herself that Lina was unable to hear.

"May you elaborate?" She raised her eyebrows in annoyance. Lina despised this formal way of talking, and over time her tone in public had become somewhat mocking like it was now.

"No. You may ask your star when you return home. Sit." As they finally approached a small lighted area that had to have been at least 70 feet from the entrance, the elder gestured towards a chair. It was angled backwards and padded, beside it was a small brown side table. When Lina sat down, her feet couldn't reach the floor and she was half blinded by the bright light above her.

"May I-" Lina began as the elder lifted Lina's skirt just above her waist.

"No." She hissed.

"Here, have some Auga."

To save time, Lina took the liquid filled glass and lifted it to her lips, holding back her protest.

As she sat it down, she missed the table and the glass fell to the floor. Her eye lids became heavy and the cup seemed to move in slow motion. She watched it float through the air at the speed a feather would. Then, all of the sudden, it hit the floor. Lina tilted her head in confusion; the glass made no noise. She knew that it should have- glass against tile, there was no way it didn't break. She forced her eyes wide open and focused in on the tiny shards of glass flying through the air.

"It had broken, so why wasn't there a sound?"

The thought echoes thought her mind as her sight went black.

She tried to lift her hands to open her eyes with, but they wouldn't budge.

"Wh-" Lina sat up towards the elder to speak, but when she did the woman firmly placed her hand over Lina's mouth.

"Shhhhhh." The snake like sound that left the woman's mouth was the last thing she heard, while the scaly palm of the elder on her lips was the last thing she felt before she slowly faded away.