34Witness Fifteen: The Loose Ends
The people of Chir buzzed around the scene like vultures to their kill. Everybody stood a distance away, whispering towards one another and casting surprised glances in his direction. Dmitriv preferred if the transaction was done secretly quietly, but in a place like Chir, it was impossible to keep anything a secret, especially if that event included a respectable man.
"Well, Officer Gourne," Dmitriv said, forcing himself to ignore the crowd, "take good care of this man for us."
He promptly pushed Sir Khayan towards the town's deputy officer.
Officer Gourne looked surprise as he tied Sir Khayan's hands and held him fiercely by the back.
"To think," he muttered hollowly, "the most respected man in this town a murderer." He turned to his subordinates and beckoned them to come to him. "Take this man to jail for the time being."
The other officers nodded their heads in compliance and promptly took Sir Khayan away, but not before the man shouted to Dmitriv, the officers, and the crowd:
"I did it all for good! I did nothing wrong! I did it all for good!"
Officer Gourne turned back to Dmitriv. He gave a supportive smile and lightly patted Dmitriv on the shoulder.
"Well, you did a fine job, Inspector. We will take Ezra Khayan to the Capital, as it is the only place where he will be tried fairly for the crime committed against those young girls. And you don't have to worry about us sympathizing with him. Most of the officers here, myself included, was schooled at the Capital. We only returned to Chir because it was our hometown. We're definitely more sympathetic to any victim, regardless if they are supposedly a disease to society."
Dmitriv simply shrugged, hoping that his trust in Officer Gourne was rightly placed. "Do what you like, but make sure he doesn't cause any other harm."
Meanwhile, the crowd began to whisper amongst themselves as Khayan was carried off. Dmitriv wasn't curious about hearing the words spoken. However, being in the middle of the crowd allowed him to catch every single word.
Sir Khayan is a good man. What he did wasn't wrong. He only cared to help save this town from those horrid women. So his actions were a bit skewed, but his intentions were pure.
Dmitriv breathed deeply and clenched his fists trying to ignore the words that they were speaking. Breaking through the crowd, he quickly put off as much distance as possible from it. He knew that if he listened to those words, he would lose his mind and all resolve to stay calm. But, the truth was incredibly frustrating. Nothing would change even with Sir Khayan convicted as a cold-blooded killer. Khayan was a mad man, but still people would love him. He would still be adored and revered, while those young women would always be scorned and hated – and all for a few prejudices. Sometimes, human nature just disgusted him. Love was always so hard to maintain with humans, while hate lasted forever. Humans: people of jealousy, selfish desires, and prejudices – mankind could be vile.
So why was he there trying to save them? Why was he trying to stop him and him's questionable plans towards the human race? Why did they deserve his help?
"The doubt is in your mind, isn't it?"
Dmitriv halted in his progress and turned to the source of the accented voice: S.
"What do you mean?" Dmitriv asked, irked at starting at conversation with the disagreeable scientist.
S. grinned knowingly. "You're wondering why you're doing this."
"Does it matter?"
"If the heart is not in it, then what difference will the actions make?"
"Him is murdering innocent lives, such as Miss Orayne or Lady Corithn. So I'm stopping the pain from happening. I'm helping our universe. My heart is in it because I'm bringing justice and that is what I've always wanted to do. I'm bringing justice to the innocent."
"But one day, one of those murder victims might not be innocent." S. looked pointedly at Dmitriv. "One day, that human might deserve what was coming to them. How will you feel then? Will him be doing wrong then? And will that change your perception of this whole mess?"
Dmitriv remained silent. He turned away from the man and began to walk away.
"I have one last thing to add," S. called out. "Humans are cruel, yes, but what makes stvorenjies any better? But of course you would now that, wouldn't you, stvorenjie?"
Dmitriv didn't reply. He just did what he always did at hard times. He kept moving forward.
~pReJuDiCeS lYiNg~
D. Valerie stared down from the balcony at the scene before her. The officers were carrying Sir Khayan off to a carriage where he would be transported to the balcony. The man was making uproar, screaming that his motives were pure and that he wasn't the real evil in the town. It was disgusting and shameful to watch really, but she never really cared about such things. She did things in her own pace, regardless of what others thought. The sound of approaching steps broke her from her concentration. A second later, the Duke of Nornel appeared on the balcony beside her.
"I got your letter," he explained. "You said that you had something important to tell me."
D. Valerie turned back towards the scene below. "That I did."
"Well, what is it?" His voice was urgent, begging even. He was clearly impatient and dying to know what was so important.
"It's about your sister."
The words produced an immediate effect on him. The Duke grew silent and stared at her dumbfounded.
"What about my sister?"
She turned towards him and stretched out her hand. "Can I see that handkerchief with your family's emblem? You do carry it around with you, right?"
The Duke reached into his coat and pulled out a small piece of cloth. He handed it to her, and she stared down at it, searching for the emblem. Finding it, she took in the image and compared it with the picture in her mind. It was exactly like the one that she had asked Lorrayne Gyles show her. She folded the handkerchief back and returned it to the Duke.
"Did you find anything of interest?" the Duke hurriedly inquired. "Do you know how I can find my sister?"
D. Valerie turned around and prepared to leave the balcony. As she passed the Duke, she quickly said the words that she planned to say.
"You know, you nearly helped two people get away with your sister's murder."
The Duke's horrified expression was priceless. He froze, and all color drained from his face. It was laughable really if the situation wasn't so serious.
"Your sister is Lorrayne Gyles, one of the heiresses of Chir. She was the third person that you visited under the mysterious person's instructions. That's why the clue you got afterwards said you'd already met her… because after that meeting, it was completely true."
Still, the Duke didn't say anything. He continued to stare at her shell-shocked. D. Valerie arrived at the threshold leading out of the balcony. She turned to face the Duke.
"You can do what you like with that information, but from what I've heard, your sister is missing something in her life, too, and I fathom that you can fill it. She needs support."
With those words, D. Valerie left the Duke alone on the balcony. She didn't need to see his reaction or learn what he was going to do. She didn't care. She had fulfilled all that her job entitled her to do. She had told him what she knew, and he could make his own choices. As she returned to her sister and the Group, she couldn't help but think about one certain word again.
Family.
Even after discovering her sister, she never could understand the importance of families. Her attitudes and happiness level didn't change with her sister there. Everything was exactly the same. Families were insignificant, and the idea of them was superfluous. The only promise families gave was warmth, love, and belonging. Somehow, after the case in Chir, families didn't seem so warm to her anymore. And what was the use of belonging? What was the use of love? For most of her life, she had never had any of it, and she was fine. Families didn't seem to be that wonderful, anyways. It seemed like so much effort to be in a family, and there were always such adverse effects – the case of the Duke of Nornel being an example.
So, why did families matter?
~pReJuDiCeS lYiNg~
Rowan looked down from the hill at the town as the Group began making its retreat. To think it was all over. He breathed. For the first time in a long time, a warm feeling swelled in his heart – a feeling of relief, a feeling of release, a feeling of right. He had done something good. He had righted a small part of the wrong, which he had created. But, this small step would hopefully make a difference. Miss Lorrayne Gyles was saved, and though the prejudice in the town remained, maybe, it would all be over one day. Maybe, all people can learn to love one another.
"I've been thinking about something."
Rowan turned around to see Kevin, still feeling uncomfortable around the man. "Yes?"
"That girl, Miss Gyles," Kevin clarified. "Remember what she told, S.?"
"Not exactly. I was thinking too much about dying that I kind of didn't pay attention to anything else."
"Well, I remember."
As the older man spoke those words, Rowan noticed a change in Kevin's demeanor.
The memories Rowan had of Kevin in the past were of a maniac, who was heedless of the suffering he created or the pain surrounding him. But, for this moment, Kevin was different. There was something about Kevin that was more grounded. He seemed serious, calm, composed, and thoughtful. He seemed human, not at all the monster that Rowan remembered him to be.
"She said that you had to live life to the fullest so that one day, you could look back when you're dead and not feel regretful," Kevin said his eyes misting in profound thoughts. "And I've been thinking that, maybe, that's why I'm here doing this. Maybe, that's why I'm living again for a second time – to make up for the life that I've missed and the joys that I should have experienced. Maybe, that's why all of us are here – to live our life to the fullest and have no one stop us."
Rowan looked up at the sky.
To live his own life. To be free from suffering. To rebuild the life he had lost.
Is that really why he was here? Wasn't it just to right a wrong? Or maybe, there really was a second reason for it all. Maybe, the Creator had given him a second chance. Maybe, Kevin was right.
Rowan looked at the Group convening on the hill and smiled. A small step in a new journey of his life had just ended. And the journey still waited. He might be dead, but suddenly, the old facts that weighed him down didn't matter any longer. It was time for him to forget all the pains of the past. It was time for him to stop pitying himself. It was time for him to begin anew. It was a new beginning, and though he knew there would be suffering, it wouldn't stop him. No matter what happened, he would always try to live his life to the fullest.
A/N: Well, that's it! That's the end. Though as this is the first story in a series of stories, the whole story doesn't quite end here. I already have the second story (A Cry for Trust) written and the prologue posted. However, the second story doesn't have enough fantasy elements interspersed within it to categorize it as "Fantasy," so the genre for the second story will be "Mystery." Hope you'll continue reading the stories though because I have a lot in store for the Group and their journey. Thanks so much for your support!
Signing off...