~~
Trinity
~~
With everything going on the last couple of days, I had almost forgotten what day it was, until Gabriel asked me a question while we were all eating dinner together in one of the large dining rooms.
"Your Grace, what time would you like the punishments to begin tonight?"
My mind blanked for a few moments. Punishments? What punishments? Then it hit me like a smack in the face. Right, today is Saturday and I said I would take care of the punishments for Ralph and Charles tonight. How had I forgotten that?
"Let's begin at eight this evening." I told him as I looked at my watch. It was six-thirty now and we would have plenty of time to prepare after we ate. Right?"
"That sounds fine. We will have them moved to the courtyard."
"The courtyard?" I asked, shocked.
"Yes, my lady, it will be done in the courtyard, so that all can see." He looked firm and determined with that statement.
Deep down I knew he was right. It was best if everyone could see that I was able to perform the punishment that I had sentenced them to. If I couldn't prove that I was capable of it then it was likely that some would not believe it was possible, or that I had done it at all.
"That's fine." I finally answered after several more moments of stunned silence. "I will pass judgement on them in front of everyone and carry out their sentence for all to see." I spoke much more confidently than I felt. This was not going to be a pleasant time for me or the two being punished.
I finished my meal in silence. I knew it was a delicious meal because I had tasted the first half, but my taste buds seemed to have stopped working mid way through. So had my ability to maintain my body heat apparently since I was feeling cold and numb after that conversation.
The time after dinner passed in a blurring blink of the eye. One minute I was sitting at the table and eating my tasteless meal and the next I was standing between Reece and Vincent while Gabriel Ghirald stood before the entire Sentinelle.
The nearly one hundred and fifty people were all standing before us. Ralph and Charles were on their knees bound with magical cords that Crawford had summoned for us. Gabriel and Ghirald had their backs to me as they watched the crowd. And behind Vincent, Reece, and myself were the rest of those who had come with us, wolf and non wolf alike.
"Thank you all for gathering on such short notice." Gabriel's words rang with the authority that was granted to him by his position as their leader. "You all know of the crimes that were committed here earlier this week. This is something that has never been seen in our midst before, but these traitors were among us all along. They simply went unseen by us."
There was a small murmur that swept through the gathered wolves as they stared at us all. Their eyes would flit from Gabriel to me then to the two men bound and sitting on their knees and then back again. Some of them had fear in their eyes, but most were looking at me with reverence and the traitors with disgust.
"These two men never had the intention of serving the new queen and Goddess Incarnate. They simply used our power to secure themselves a much longer life. They wanted nothing more but to stay in our ranks until they could be released from their positions here and live life in another time. They joined us for their own selfish reasons and that is unacceptable. We are a noble and honorable organization that dedicates ourselves to the service of the Goddess." Gabriel's words were ringing with truth, conviction, and anger. And I saw several people nodding along with him as he spoke.
"Our new Queen, and the new Goddess Incarnate, has men with her who have all been granted an ability by the Goddess herself. Among those men there is one that can see the true intentions of someone's heart. If they are not true to their word or honorable, he will know." Ghirald explained to the crowd. "I took her men around the entire village as you know, and only these two were found to be untrustworthy. I am beyond proud of everyone else who was proven to be honorable."
"These two did not just prove untrustworthy." Gabriel's voice became deeper and angrier as he spoke. "They outright insulted our Queen and King. They out right refused to accept them as the Goddess chosen royals. They even dared to fight against our king, who is the only wolf to be granted a lycan form in over two thousand years. If any of you needed another confirmation as to the validity of their positions, that is yet another indicator, another proof if you will."
There seemed to be no doubt in any of the eyes I could see. The crowd listened with rapt attention as the men before them spoke. But now it was my time to take the lead.
Moving to stand between Gabriel and Ghirald, I raised my voice to address the crowd.
"These men have shown that they are no ally of ours. Mine or yours. We are all in danger as long as they know what our plans are. I do not believe their crimes warrant death, but they cannot remain among us. They must be punished for their actions. For that matter, they will be stripped of their status by the Sentinelle, allowing them to age again. As no one knows what this will do to their bodies, they may have a shortened life span now." I saw genuine fear take the lead on the two faces that were looking up at me. Their anger dropped and fear took over. "Furthermore." I began again. "They have expressed no desire to follow the leader of their people. The Goddess chose me to be the queen not just of the wolves but of every shifter on this planet. If they choose not to follow my lead or my command, then they have no need, no right, to call themselves wolves."
Another ripple ran through the audience at my words. There was curiosity on all the faces looking at me from the crowd.
"Since these men are not worthy of being wolves, I will be locking that part of them away along with all their memories of the abbey. They will no longer be able to find their way back here. They will live out the rest of their lives as humans."
"No, you can't do this!" Ralph yelled when he heard my declaration.
"No, she can't. She doesn't have that ability." Charles seemed petulant as he spoke.
"I wish you would have shown at least a little remorse, Charles. But the fact that you didn't means that I no longer feel sorry for what I must do." I gave him a look that I know was full of anger and frustration.
I moved forward, placing a hand above each of their heads as they looked at me. Ralph had a face full of fear and anger but Charles only looked at me with disdain and smugness. I felt my magic swelling within me. The gathering felt like it did when I was training earlier in the day.
I thought of what I wanted, what I needed, to happen. I thought of their wolf forms from when they had fought against Reece the other day. Then I imagined putting those wolves into a cage. I locked the cages and sealed them with magic. After the cages were locked I covered them in a cloak of magic so strong the voices from their wolves would never be able to penetrate its barriers.
"No, no, no, no, no!" Ralph was screaming over and over again.
"No, how could you? You can't do this to me. Give me my wolf back you bitch." Charles screamed at me with venom dripping from his words.
"Pay heed to how you address my wife." Reece snarled at him.
"Fuck you and your wife!" Charles yelled back to Reece. "Give me my damn wolf back. I can't hear him. Did you kill my wolf? You bitch, you murdered my wolf!" Charles began to thrash on the ground yelling while Ralph began to sob with his head bent toward the ground.
"My wolf." Ralph moan. "My wolf."
"You bitch. You will never rule. I will see to it that you never rule our people."
There was a rush of movement as six men rushed past me all at once. Frustrated by Charles' constant berating and foul language, Reece, Dietrich, and all the guards had moved in unison. Not paying attention to the actions of the others and focusing on their own task, they all six landed a kick on him at the same time. Their feet all landed in various points from his head, abdomen, groin (that one was Vincent) and legs. Charles' ranting and raving ended abruptly with a very painful sounding cry.
"I told you to watch your mouth asshole." Reece snarled as he walked back to me and put his hand around my waist.
"I'm not done yet Reece, I need to lock their memories." I told him, causing him to retract his hand from my waist and instead settle it on my shoulder.
Shane and David violently pulled Charles back up so that he was sitting on his knees again. He was still glaring at me with angry eyes, but this time they were filled with tears and rimmed in red. Was he crying because of his wolf or the pain of six kicks?
Ignoring his look I placed my hand over his head again. Doing the same to Ralph's as he still sat there sobbing. I thought of the abbey. I thought of the name of the village, the closest airport, the roads we took to get here, the scenery I had seen. I thought of everything to do with the abbey that I could.
Then, as I was certain I had gathered as much information as I knew of, I felt the link to others in their minds. I followed those links, pulling more memories to the bundle I was gathering in their heads. Once I was certain that I had them all, I imagined placing all these memories inside of an incinerator. These weren't just going to be locked away, they were going to be destroyed. They will never again be able to recall these memories.
I was momentarily saddened by that thought. But then I saw the anger on Charles' face and that feeling instantly melted away. They would be a danger to us if I didn't do this. It was for the best.
With all of their memories burned from their minds, my job was done. I took my hands away and the moment I did, they lost consciousness. The two of them slumped to the ground, not moving but still clearly breathing. I had hoped that this would happen. I didn't need them seeing the abbey after the memories were destroyed.
"Don't worry, they are merely sleeping." I told everyone looking on who had gasped when the men fell over. "I require some volunteers. I want these two men removed from the village and taken somewhere safe. Leave them money and any of their belongings that does not mention the abbey. They will wake in twelve hours." I felt the ripple of magic that meant the sleep spell would last just that long. "They need to be far enough away that they will not even remember what country the abbey is in."
"I will go, your grace." A buff looking man about six feet tall with a head full of thick brown curls and bright yellow orange eyes that looked like the sunset, stepped forward.
"Thank you Nick." Reece nodded to him.
"As will I." Another man stepped forward. This man was maybe an inch taller than Nick with ashy blond hair and grass green eyes, he was also equally buff and powerful looking.
"Much appreciated Lucas." Oh, he was the man training everyone.
"I'll go." This man was the same height as Nick with black hair and gray eyes. He wasn't as burly and buff looking but he still looked strong. I couldn't help but notice his eyes, they looked so familiar. Just like Shawn and Shane's eyes. And the more I looked at him the more similarities I saw.
"We are thankful for the help, Grant." Reece thanked this man as well.
"I will go, Trinity." David spoke up. "We can use your private plane to get them out of the county. That will be the easiest way to do this."
"Thank you David." I was happy that I could thank someone by name like Reece had. "Take Shane, Shawn, and Dietrich please. I don't want any mishaps to occur."
"Understood." With that the seven men converged on the two sleeping men.
"I will gather their things." Ghirald moved forward.
"And I will help." Perkins, the man I had seen before came forward. Perkins was a definite contrast to Ghirald. He was a little taller with graying hair and bright orange eyes.
They all left the courtyard with the unconscious men. After they left the crowd dispersed. I was now alone in the courtyard with Reece and Gabriel.
"You did wonderful." Reece leaned down and kissed the top of my head.
"Indeed you did." Gabriel turned and smiled at me. "You have proven yourself once again. But I suggest that you rest now. You have had a busy day."
"I think you're right." I smiled weakly. "I feel so tired."
"Come on Little Bunny." Reece scooped me up into his arms. "I will carry you to our room."
"Hmm." I just agreed with a nod and a murmur.
I wasn't ready to fall right to sleep, but I was content to let him carry me off to the room. When we got to the room we took another bath together. The hot water was relieving some of the stress I was feeling from the day, and night.
Reece's firm, strong hands, powerful arms, and warm embrace helped to ground me so that I didn't feel like I was the worst person ever. I needed that comfort, that reassurance.
Slowly, and methodically, we got ready for bed. There wasn't much talking, just him helping me to get ready. But once we were in bed we started to talk a little.
"Are you alright?" He asked me, worry clearly present in his voice.
"I'm alright, just a little numb really."
"You did the right thing, you know that right Little Bunny?"
"I know. But that doesn't make me feel any better about it." I snuggled in closer to his chest and he kissed my head gently. "Plus, I'm so tired. Tired down to my core. It was a long day even before dinner."
"Just rest, baby, I'm here for you" He pulled me in tighter and held me close.
Right as I was on the verge of sleep, I felt that pull from the Goddess. I had felt it before, when I had spoken to Nehalennia in my dreams. It was happening again. But this time,it was stronger, more powerful. I didn't even close my eyes, it was like I couldn't move enough to even do that.
