Sadly Sings Destiny

5

The morning brought the story to the lips of every person in Albion. The printing enthusiasts of the city were fast to circulate newspapers that told of the daring raid and the impromptu criminal trial in the streets of the town. There were mixed feelings, but the majority of people were disgusted with the original crime. Some people in the city were of the opinion that since the initial victims were men, that the only crime was the riot Verona instigated. Others, a vast majority of others, believed that the embezzlement was a crime and that it was a crime that deserved investigation and punishment, but that Verona had gone too far in instigating a riot. The brown-haired girl could agree with them on that point, but she had done nothing more than publicly reveal the facts behind the crimes of the Agents. There were also more than a fair number of people who agreed with what she did. In the coming days, she had found that a healthy population was as outraged as she was, and were demanding answers from the Governess.

Verona immediately capitalized on this anger and turned to one of her friends who had a small printing press that she typically used to produce a poetry magazine of little popularity in the slum. Verona and her friend, Martha, worked together to create a pamphlet urging them to check their anger and wait until she could properly organize them. Mob violence would only get them so far, and widespread outrage would only divide the city, and the county, further. Verona urged people to join her for an organized meeting to decide how to proceed and possibly even form a group that could bring changes without further violence.

Conroy herself, though, had her own mixed feelings on the whole ordeal. She was not proud of what she had done, but she had no shame in her actions. Still, then again, she did feel guilty for her hand in the deaths of the Agents, but she was able to remind herself that she did not physically hurt anyone. She had used magic against various people, and she had no idea how they would react to her spell, but she had done it to prevent further violence, and she was informed that none of them had fallen prey to the mob. That small detail was enough to considerably ease her mind. But, she still had to live with the fact that her mock trial had resulted in the death of three women. The blood was on her hands, and their blood did not wash away the grief of her father’s death.

What did relieve that grief, however, was that the people of Albion were now seeing the problems that the city had. People, men and women alike, were having their eyes opened to the issues that caused just as much, if not more, pain than Verona’s instigation of mob justice had. Verona used this awakening to her advantage, and with Martha’s printing press, she distributed her pamphlets through the city. She did not do the distribution herself but had her friends and their friends help her by passing the literature to those who they thought would be interesting. Many people took the pamphlets, and soon the contents were the talk of the town. Verona hadn’t had anything printed that could point to her as an enemy to the state beyond what she had already done, and she did not urge people to take immediate action. All she put in the pamphlets was information about the inequality in benefits between men and women in the same situations socially, and about the disparity in taxation between the two genders, which took its toll most on the men who did most of the physical work for the country.

As the days progressed, Verona achieved her second goal. She had opened a discussion that had been ignored for a long time. She did not expect to bring about equality, and she did not see the need for there to be true equality in society, but only in the eyes of the Crown. There were spirited debates as people took sides and agreed with her to varying degrees. What she was happy to see was that many people took her side to enough of a degree that made it clear that the Governess would have to take some form of investigatory action or action against the Crown, or not be re-elected to her position.

Three days after the lynching on the steps of the Welfare Agency of Albion, the city guards knocked on Verona’s door with a Royal Law Enforcer. The Enforcer asked Verona if she had time to answer some questions that she had, and Conroy knew that she could either have the conversation in the comfort of her home as a free woman or have them in an interrogation room in the dungeons below the Governess’s keep. Verona put tea in the kettle over the hearth in the main room of her home as the tall, lanky, and somewhat awkward looking blonde woman idly poked through her belongings. The Enforcer was an Elsedarian born woman named Astrid Gtrettasdraught, Astrid was not overly formal and spoke more like an acquaintance who was interested in the recent events of Verona’s life.

Despite the open friendliness of the Enforcer, Verona knew that she couldn’t trust the other woman. Verona politely declined to answer any questions until the tea was finished, and she knew that Astrid was hoping to have been able to read her body language as they spoke. It would have been far easier for Astrid to do this if Verona was forced to focus on two tasks, the tea and the questioning, then it would be easy to see her working too hard to answer a question, even if it was an easy task.

“Ms. Conroy,” Astrid said when the cup of tea was finally warming her hands, and the other girl was seated across from her, “I’m not here to arrest you. Not today, anyway. I’m just here to ask you a few questions. Nothing more.” Verona wanted to believe her, but warmth and understanding was not how the Crown treated those who worked against it.

“Of course, but I don’t know much outside of that little speech I gave,” Verona said, sipping her own tea. She made sure to meet the ice blue eyes of the Enforcer.

“I suppose the first few are already answered. Where were you on so and so night, did you instigate a riot, did you do this or did you do that. You really did me a favor by giving your name and motives the other night. My question to you now if just about the spell you used on the people you didn’t have lynched.” Astrid said, not asking directly as she ran a finger around the rim of her mug.

“It was just a simple hex to put them to sleep. One word, nothing that could hurt anyone. I did it to make sure they didn’t get in my way and to make sure that innocent people didn’t get hurt.” Verona said candidly.

“You know that hexing people is a crime, right?” Astrid said, pausing her finger and looking up at Verona.

“Yes, I do.”

“Normally, I would be here to arrest you for that, but in my legal opinion, your actions with that probably saved lives. So I’m going to let that one go.” The tone of Astrid’s voice showed that she thought she was doing Verona a favor.

“Interesting. It’s not every day that an Enforcer comes to my door to tell me I haven’t been charged with a crime. I do appreciate the courtesy.” Verona said with a wry smile.

“I’m sure,” Astrid said with a laugh. The Enforcer looked at the city guards who had come with her and gave a nod. Astrid waited until the last of them had left the house before she continued speaking, “I’m going to tell you this once. Next time you see me, it won’t be for tea. You’ll be taken to the dungeon and forgotten to history, and your name will be removed from all records. If you see me again, then all traces of your little movement will be erased forever. The Governess has decided, with Queen Andretti’s help, that you will be forgiven this once. You did do a service, though none of us approve of your methods. Consider your freedom our thanks. If you take violent action again, or if you implore others to create violence, well, you’ll see me. If you so much as kick a stray cat in the street, your little friends won’t even remember your name. Do you understand?”

Verona smiled. She had to admire Astrid. Even with the Crown at one’s back, it took a considerable amount of courage to walk into a person’s home and threaten them. But, Verona was not going to stand for being bullied in her empty house. A home that had been emptied by bootlicking dogs like the Enforcer sipping her tea.

“Oh, Astrid, if you see me again, I doubt you’ll be in a position to hurt me. But I’ll make sure you’re remembered for what side of history you were on.” Verona’s smile was chilled with ice, and her blood ran cold as she spoke, but not from anger or passion for her cause, it was adrenaline coursing through her as every sane fiber in her body implored her to not threaten an official of the Governess and the Crown. Even though she was terrified of what her reply would bring, she couldn’t help but be proud of herself for managing to sound threatening. Astrid sneered and set the cup of tea on the table that separated them as she stood.

“Good day to you, Conroy. Watch yourself, or you’ll be the one with a rope necklace.” Astrid replied, her previous friendliness had disappeared. Verona couldn’t blame her for that, and as such, remained silent as she sipped her tea and caught one more dirty look from the Enforcer who was making her way out the door. The instant the pine door closed, Verona started shaking so uncontrollably that she soon had tea dripping from her fingers. Never once in her life had Verona thought that she would stand up to an Enforcer, let alone lead an attack on a social welfare office. It took her a long time to feel her drink burning her fingers, and when she did, she threw the mug on the dirt floor. She felt like she was going to be sick. There was a nagging voice in the back of her mind that told her she had thrown away the life her father had worked so hard to provide her with.

She sat in her chair with her face in her hands. She felt a cold weight, a ball of iron in her stomach. She desperately wished, not for the first time in her seventeen years, that she could say a spell and turn back time and undo her actions. But, it was too late for regret now. There was no way she could turn back, there was no way the people she had riled up would let her turn back. When she instigated her mob justice, she gave away her destiny to the mob in just the same way she had given up the Agents. There would be no way she could slip back into the woodwork and blend in with the crowd in the slums of Albion ever again. Her night of blind rage and well-deserved justice had turned to a defining point in her life.

It was dark when she finally willed herself out of her seat in the middle of the room. The inside of the house was dark, but a lifetime of memory guided her to the window where she looked out onto the street outside. The candles in the street lamps had been lit, but there was no one walking the streets. Few were brave enough to be outside at this time of night in Albion. Verona was no different from those who refused to go out. She was no one special, she was just another face in the crowd. The only thing that made her somewhat special was that she had accidentally stood out for one single second, and in that second she had been seen, and the price for basking in sight was that she would never again go unseen.

She drew the curtains with a shaking breath escaping her lips. The door locked, the cold metal under her fingers slowly bringing her back into her own world. For now, for the night, this single night, she would let herself be a normal girl once more. With the windows covered and both of the two doors locked, Verona lit a single candle in the main room and settled into an old sofa with a tattered book from Elsideria, a book that told the tale of a heroic woman, the woman Verona wished she could be.