[edited: 05/08/2017]

Remy shuffled uncomfortably in her chair, wanting to look at Maksim for at least some source of comfort but willing herself not to. He had not spoken a word to her since his brother's appearance, not even to apologise for the mess he had gotten her into, so she had decided to match this with a hostility of her own. Now, she was sat before the Warlock Council with Maksim beside her, appearing equally as nervous. From the corner of her eye, she saw that his trembling fingers were fidgeting with a button on his coat. This only caused Remy's own nerves to heighten, for she knew from the few days she had spent with him that Maksim was not one to show his emotions often.

The Principle Warlock cleared his throat and stood behind a long marble desk that seated the entire Council, his large chair—which Remy thought looked more like a throne, with deep red cushioning and golden carvings—squeaking against the tiled floor. "We shall begin the trial," he began with the same sense of superiority that Remy had witnessed yesterday, "by questioning Mr. Opal, son of fellow Council member, Hilda Opal."

Hilda, who was sat among the other members, lowered her eyes as though she was ashamed as the Principle Warlock slowly made his way towards Remy and Maksim. The table had not seemed an obstacle for him; one moment he was behind it, the next in front of it, and all without any sense of acknowledgement for its existence.

"Maksim, you have stated many times that the mortal girl's presence in Astracia is your doing. Would you care to elaborate? What do you mean by this?" The warlock crossed his arms behind his back as he waited for his answer, his robe, this one a grey colour that was only a little darker than his hair, swishing each time he moved.

"I mean that pushed her through it without her consent," Maksim responded without hesitation, and he looked at Remy for the first time that day with something, an emotion that Remy could not decipher, glinting in his light eyes. "The Dark Ones were after me in the Mortal World, and I did not want to risk them hurting the girl because they had seen the two of us together. When I saw that Bliviar had found me just after encountering the mortal, I pushed her through to make sure that would not be the case. Obviously, I did not know that the portals would close soon after."

The Principle looked at Remy then, his thick eyebrow raised. "Is this the truth as you remember it?"

Remy simply nodded. She thought that if she tried to talk, her voice might have cracked; she had not had a drink of water since yesterday, and she was growing very aware of this fact now. Her throat was so dry that no amount of swallowing could help.

The warlock turned back to Maksim. "An awful lot of effort for a mortal girl, was it not? You could have left her and hoped that your brother's associates would not harm her. I am sure that they had no business with the girl, anyway."

"I did not have much time to decide whether they would or would not harm her, sir. I did not have much time to think about much at all, save for an innocent's life was at risk and I was to blame for it. I did what I thought was best at the time, and I cannot—will not—regret it."

The strength behind Maksim's words caused a low rumble of whispers to erupt from the Council, and among them Hilda was blushing furiously. Remy frowned and glanced at Maksim, wondering why he would say something so clearly controversial when he seemed not to care for her at all, but his gaze was still directed at the Principle in front of him. The specks of silver in his eyes glittered like stars against the natural light coming from the large window to the right of them both. The room was bathed in a pink haze where the sky bled through the glass, and it was large, so large that Remy wondered how it could possibly fit in the building along with the hall and the other corridors and rooms it held. Her eyes wandered to the walls, where paintings of stars and people with bright hair and eyes appeared over and over again. She found it all rather interesting, and only looked away when Maksim continued without permission.

"I do not wish to have a mortal's blood on my hands. Would you?"

The warlock looked unfazed, his cold eyes like impenetrable ice. "Quite frankly, mortals are not any of our concern. Your duty is to us, your own kind, not to those silly little degenerates who think they are above everyone."

"Excuse me?" Remy interrupted in disbelief.

The Principle Warlock seemed to have forgotten that she was even there, and now he regarded her with little care, despite having just offended her. "I am sorry, little mortal girl, but your kind have always been weak and insignificant. You are born, and then you die. That is what your lives are based around."

"No." Remy sounded much calmer than she felt. "You're wrong, and you're a hypocrite."

"Is that so?" A spark of curiosity flamed in his eyes, and he tilted his head to the side expectantly. "Please, do enlighten me."

"Remy," Maksim muttered in warning. Remy ignored him.

"Our life spans may be much shorter than yours, but that doesn't mean that we are insignificant." Her voice was hoarse, but she didn't care. She had never been able to keep her mouth shut when defending something, and she didn't now. "Our lives aren't based around life and death; they're based around the parts in between that. They're based around love and passion. They're based around family, around making something of ourselves. I might be from a stupid little town where nothing ever happens, and I might never matter in the grand scheme of things, but I matter now. I matter just as much as you and all your Council members. I matter because I feel things and think things, and that's more than I can say for some of you." She looked at Hilda as she said the last part, thinking about the way she treated Maksim as though she didn't love him at all. She was surprised to find that she was out of breath when she finished.

The Principle Warlock smirked wordlessly, looking only slightly stunned. "Perhaps you are right. You are different to other mortals, young lady. You have something in you that even witches and warlocks do not."

"Why? Because I can stand up for myself?"

"Because, as you said, you base yourself around love and passion." He scrutinised her for a moment as though she was a peculiar type of food that had accidentally been placed on his plate, before shaking his head and beginning to pace, his shoes, hidden beneath his robe, clattering against the floor. "You have certainly chosen an interesting one, Maksim."

"I did not choose her," he said quietly, "but I am glad you think so."

"So what will you do with her?" a green-haired warlock questioned from behind the marble desk. "With both of them?"

"I see no reason to punish them any further, though I have not finished questioning them just yet."

Remy sighed, feeling her body droop in tiredness. The chair was uncomfortable, especially after spending almost twenty four hours in a cold cell, not to mention being attacked by an evil warlock. All she really wanted was to find somewhere comfortable to sleep.

"Yesterday, your brother paid you a visit, did he not?"

Maksim swallowed. "He did, sir."

"Your mother tells me that the girl has something that he wants. How did this come about?"

"I picked it up on the beach a few months ago," Remy answered for him. "I didn't think anything of it. It was just a key, a piece of metal."

"Isn't quite odd that you come across a key that holds an infinite amount of dark magic, and then, afterwards, you end up in Astracia? Quite convenient, I would say."

"What are you suggesting?" Maksim questioned, though Remy was quite sure that he already knew the answer.

"Well, wouldn't it be a revelation if it turned out that Remy was working with the Dark Ones?"

Remy gritted her teeth, wiping her clammy hands against her jeans. "Like you said, I am just a mortal girl. I have no business in your world of magic and darkness, and I hope I never will have. If you want the key, you can have it."

"Then have it I will."

Remy unclasped the chain around her neck. The metal was cold against her hot skin as she handed it over to him, only to pull it back again when the Principle gasped and flinched away from it.

"It burns."

"Yes. That is the reason why my brother did not take it." Maksim looked smug as he watched the old man shake his hand in pain. "He could not."

Remy thought that she could see an angry red mark where the Principle had pressed the key into his palm. She was only a little glad for it.

"I have a better idea." It was Hilda who spoke now. She stood up slowly and walked around the table until Remy could see her green cat-like eyes glowing in the sunlight. Her voice echoed in the almost empty room, and she seemed to exchange a strange look with the Principle Warlock before she spoke. "It is the key that the Dark Ones want. If they are to come back, and if we are to have even a chance at catching them when they do, we must keep it somewhere where they will be tempted to get it. Remy's neck is the perfect place for such a thing, don't you think? They are certain she is only a mortal girl, an easy target."

"No." Maksim's voice was harsh, and he glared at his mother as his sharp cheekbones flushed in what appeared to be anger—but then, that wouldn't make sense, would it? Maksim did not care, and had made that quite clear. Then, though, Remy thought about how he had carried her to the Medical Wing last night and was not so sure anymore. "You will not use her as bait. This is not her battle."

"If that was the case, you should not have brought her here in the first place." Hilda looked more intimidating than the Principle Warlock ever could as she towered over the both of them, her red cloak sweeping out behind her and matching her radiant hair. Remy could barely believe that she was real as she stood in front of them, seeming to radiate a glow that made her look like something divine rather than corporal. It was clear where Maksim's godly looks came from. "Whether you like it or not, Remy is a part of this now, and if she cannot go home yet, she may as well help us. This key is important, and we mustn't let it fall into the wrong hands."

"She's right," Remy agreed, shocking even herself. "I've gotten myself into this mess, now. If I can help, I want to."

"No," Maksim repeated. His metal chair flew out from under him as he jolted up onto his feet, his hands clenched into fists. Remy noticed that his nails were blackened from his night in the cells just as hers were. "I will not allow it."

"You will not have much of a choice, boy," said the Principle Warlock, and then nodded at Hilda. "We will do it. We will allow the girl to reside in Astracia, making sure that there is always somebody nearby in case the Dark Ones make another appearance. Make sure that the key does not leave your neck, not ever, is that understood?"

It took Remy a moment to realise that he was talking to her, and she nodded, though nobody noticed as Maksim scoffed at just the same time.

"This is ridiculous. You can't do this," he said.

"It's my choice," Remy responded reasonably, but Maksim clearly was not in the mood for reason. She was quite shocked that he had enough nerve to behave in such a way in front of his mother and the Principle, not to mention the other twenty-odd Council members.

"Then I will play no part in it!" He shouted, causing everybody to jump. "I will not let you risk your life for this!" And then, as though realising that he had an audience, he glanced at each of the Council members in turn before storming out of the room.

The door slammed shut behind him.