Vione’s sleep was disturbed by the soft footsteps approaching her cell. She blinked and turned around. In the darkness she saw two shewolves approaching.
“Good morning, Vione.”
Vione took a long breath and stood up. She rubbed her face for a moment before approaching them. “Good morning and thank you. Without you, I wouldn’t know the difference between morning and night.”
The two shewolves exchanged guilty looks. Then one of them handed Vione a tray of food through a small opening in the iron bars.
“This is your breakfast.”
Vione took it with a hollow smile. “Thank you.”
She turned to sit in the corner of the cell, but another shewolf spoke to her.
“Do you know? The pack has petitioned the Alpha. We demand a retrial for you.”
Vione’s steps stopped. She paused for a moment, then asked to confirm, “A retrial?”
“Yes.”
“What do you mean?” Vione asked, turning her body. Her eyes narrowed to see more clearly in the darkness. “A retrial for what?”
The shewolf hesitated. “We know we made a mistake with you, Vione. We should not have doubted the loyalty of a Luna. You surely did not commit the mistakes you are accused of.”
“Forgive us, Vione, but we promise you. We will do everything to set you free. We will clear your name and restore you to your rightful place.”
Vione fell silent. She took a deep breath, feeling the damp air pierce her lungs. “This is impossible.”
This time it was the two shewolves who were silent. Vione’s pessimistic words felt like a slap, silencing them.
“Usher would never allow a retrial for me. He won’t want to spend time on anything that has to do with me. Besides, why are you asking for a retrial for me?”
The first shewolf took a breath before answering. “We regret that we doubted your loyalty as a Luna, Vione. We realize that we should have trusted you. We should have defended you during the trial. Forgive us for not being able to protect you.”
“That is in the past. There’s nothing left to forgive,” Vione said with an open heart. “We don’t need to bring it up again. Everything is quiet now, and I hope you won’t do anything that could cause trouble.”
“We can’t do that, Vione. In any case, Alpha must hold a retrial for you before it’s too late.”
Vione frowned. “Before it’s too late? What do you mean?”
The first shewolf bit her lip. She seemed to have said something she shouldn’t have. So, Vione approached her again.
“What do you mean?”
“Ayla had a vision, Vione.”
Vione turned to the second shewolf who had just answered her question. “What did she see?”
“She saw that disaster had struck the Frostholm pack. According to her, Usher and Mireya’s baby will bring disaster to all of us.”
Vione’s expression changed. She froze with a mixture of turbulent emotions. “Disaster?”
“Yes, Vione, a disaster. And it must be the punishment of The Moon Goddess because we doubted your loyalty as a Luna,” the second shewolf said. She reached her hand through the iron bars, grabbed Vione’s free hand and held it. “Forgive us, Vione. Forgive us.”
“Y-you-”
“We know it’s not just because of the prophecy, Vione.” The first shewolf spoke again. “We also have eyes to see the reality all the time. If you were really having an affair and your parents were planning a coup as accused, there would surely be one or two incidents after the High Court, but there weren’t any.”
The second shewolf nodded, fully agreeing with the first shewolf’s words. “So, we believe that you have never cheated on anyone, and the man who is accused of being your lover is just nonsense. You didn’t cheat on anyone, especially not with Alpha of another pack who is planning evil schemes to destroy the Frostholm pack, that’s impossible.”
Vione took a deep breath. Months had passed since that cursed day, and it turned out that the wounds in her heart still echoed the same pain. Basically, she had tried to forget everything, but she couldn’t. Especially when the two shewolves mentioned the coup, her mind recalled the injustice that had happened to Addy and Hilary.
Her chest thundered. Blood surged. Vione tried to calm herself in the onslaught of grief that led to emotion. “We’d better not talk about this again.”
“Vione.”
Vione sighed. She forced a smile despite the pain. “Thank you, though. I’m glad someone finally believes in me.”
They fell silent. Vione’s words and expression overwhelmed the two shewolves with various feelings of remorse. They felt guilty.
“So, I hope you won’t do anything. I don’t want Usher to get angry and all of you to end up in trouble.”
“Vione.”
Vione turned around, and this time she didn’t flinch. She walked toward the corner of the cell. Her demeanor clearly signaled that she didn’t want to continue this conversation, nor did she want to get involved in the petition and other matters.
The two shewolves could only sigh. Vione’s words and expression left them with various regrets. They felt guilty.
“We’re leaving, Vione.”
They left, and silence returned instead. Vione accompanied herself in the loneliness that followed.
Time passed, and the untouched breakfast sat before her. Vione thought with an empty mind. She did not think of anything, but her mind felt full. So, she closed her eyes and tried to calm down.
It didn’t work. The restlessness made Vione rub her face and run her fingers through her messy hair, then mutter to herself. No need to think about anything. Everything that will happen is no longer your concern.
Vione heard soft footsteps approaching her cell. She turned and frowned when she saw who it was.
“Garth?”
Garth smiled and held up a tray. “It’s lunchtime, Vione.”
“O-oh.”
Vione stood and approached Garth. “How are you, Garth?” she asked, bending down to take the tray of food, then standing up again. She noticed that Garth sighed deeply. “What’s wrong?”
Garth looked at Vione. “You didn’t eat your breakfast?”
“Oh, that.” Vione stammered, unable to answer Garth’s question. “Something has been bothering me since earlier, so I forgot to eat.”
“I hope you won’t miss your meal again, Vione. You have to eat to stay healthy. Do you understand?”
Vione smiled and nodded. “Of course, Garth. Thank you, and I’ll make sure I finish both breakfast and lunch.”
“That’s good then,” Garth said, relieved but still curious. He asked, “So, what was bothering you that you forgot to eat?”
Uncertainty made Vione hesitate before answering. She avoided Garth’s gaze for a moment, feigning a sigh, trying to buy even a brief moment of time to come up with a suitable distraction.
But Garth was no fool. His sharp eyes caught the change in Vione’s demeanor.
“Nothing important. I just…”
“About the petition, isn’t it?”
Vione’s words hung in the air. She froze for a moment, then blinked. Garth spoke again.
“Looks like my hunch was right.”
Vione couldn’t deny it. She closed her eyes dramatically, let out a long breath, then nodded. “It is indeed about the petition.” She opened her eyes again and shrugged. “According to the news I heard, the pack has petitioned The Palace for a retrial for me.”
“And also to hold the Honesty Tribunal for Mireya.”
Vione’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know about that.”
*