Chapter One: Judgement

(Annabelle's POV)

I heard the grating sound of the iron door and I opened my eyes, my heart already pounding against my chest. My neck was sore from sleeping on the cold hard floor so I bit back a groan as I sat up. Two Royal guards were now inside my cell, staring at me with cold contempt.

“Get up,” one of them gestured at me. I nodded and pushed myself from the ground. The chain bounding both my hands rattled as I got up. The two guards led me out of my cell into the long dark corridor that seemed to lead to my doom.

I trailed behind the guards glancing at the other inmates in their cells all cooped up and silent. In here, no one is sane, not even me. This has been my fifth week in this goddamn place and I have felt more pain and sorrow than I have in my entire life.

“Oh, queen lady,” an icy voice whispered through a cell and I turned to see a hunchbacked prisoner gazing at me with an unhinged smile. His lips spread wider than normal, and his tongue was split in the middle, appearing almost forked. Even before I was thrown in a prison, I have heard tales about him.

The people call him the Unhinged. He was once a royal alchemist and a bodyguard to an important figure. People said he read too much and one day his mind twisted under the pressure, so he killed his ward and then set the royal palace on fire. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

“Queen lady, your life…” his voice sizzled as the guards slowed down, they seemed interested in what the mad man had to say. “... It's at its tail end, but do you know. What is dead doesn't have to stay dead. The greatest gift of alchemy lies in its principles. To give, and to take. If you give, you can get.” He paused, then all of a sudden threw himself into a fit of laughter.

“I told you, he is just mad, you and your stupid  superstitions,” one of the guards muttered to the other and shook his head.

“Well, my wife is alive thanks to his madness, so yes, I will always listen to him.” The other guard said and they continued on their way.

“Queen Lady!” The mad man's voice echoed through the entire corridor. “The veil between space and time is at its thinnest. The Alchemy of life is the only key. The equation is quite simple, and your life is already forfeit!” His voice rang through the cells and it seemed to rattle the iron cages. After this, there was silence and the guards shook their heads leading me out of the prison grounds.

To everyone else, what the man said was complete gibberish, but to me, it meant a lot. I was an alchemist like the man and he just spoke about a forbidden art, one that even my father thought was a mere myth. I sighed, remembering the face of my dad; I know soon enough, I will get to meet him in the afterlife.

My life wasn't always like this. I mean it wasn't really all that better, but I had hope and I had people that I felt I could trust. I lost my mom when I was five years old. I didn't really feel sad about her death, she had never been really present in my life due to a disease she contracted during.my childbirth. The only thing I felt was guilt so I vowed to be there for my dad, to give him the warmth of family.

Of course, for someone like me to dare hope for such a thing angered the universe, so it took my dad away from me when I was nineteen years old. As the daughter of a common alchemist who had no parents, my life had no direction. I had no one, except Abel…

“Hey, look alive,” one of the guards told me. “We are here,” I heaved a sigh of fear as I gazed at the incredible scenery in front of me. We were in the One Court. This was where all criminal cases related to treason or sabotage against the kingdom.

Several officials were gathered, all of them sitting at the front row of the encircling, ascending rows of the oval-shaped court. Other important personnel sat behind them while the rest of the seats were filled by commoners and anyone who wanted to watch the trial of a disgraced luna. The guards led me towards the center stage, I could feel the eyes of everyone glued to me. I gritted my teeth, refusing to break under the weight of their contempt.

I climbed into the prisoner's box, the floorboard’s thumping seemed to stamp reality into me with each step. I glanced sideways to see my Alpha with a clear expression gazing at me intently while his beta smiled with contempt. I had once thought they were my friends, that I was surrounded with allies who wanted to help the kingdom grow, who wanted the best for my Alpha.

I was mistaken, and when I got to the crux of their corruption and betrayal, they turned on me like sharks. For all my wits, I have been played, made a traitor by the ones I trusted.

“Today we give the final judgement for the criminal, Annabelle Addison Andromeda,” the voice of the judge echoed through the hall. “For the crimes of killing the rightful Luna; Sarah Anderson and conspiracy to usurp the Alpha from his throne…” I stiffened, I wouldn't even be given a chance of free hearing, my world was crumbling before my very eyes and all I could do was clench my fist so hard that blood dripped from my palm. “...you are hereby sentenced to death by toxification in accordance with the laws of our great kingdom Highgale!”

He raised his gavel up and my life flashed before my eyes. There was nothing I could do, I was all alone, tired, my clothes were torn, soaked with blood, my breath was uneven and even without looking at the mirror, I knew my eyes were empty. The gavel was about to strike when the entrance door flung open in a loud bang.

I glanced back with furrowed brows as I watched the last person I expected to see walk into the court dragging a lady with him as he yelled. “Sarah isn't dead you assholes!” His face was brazen and filled with fury. My eyes lit up with surprise and excitement. My mouth hung open, I wanted to say something, but whatever it was got stuck in my throat.

He was holding the very person I was accused of killing as he tossed her to the center of the court. “This is Sarah Anderson. She is not dead. How the hell would you accuse the current Luna of killing a living person!”

I sighed, maybe I had hope. Maybe I could be saved.