30
I try not to gasp as I look sideways to see Imrin rising to his feet. His eyes are locked with the Minister Prime’s.
‘Imrin has a very interesting story to tell,’ the Minister says.
I feel a hand on my back and turn to see Pietra’s eyes wide. She nods towards the door as if to tell me to go but I turn back to see the stare-off between Imrin and the Minister Prime.
‘Would you like to repeat in front of everyone else what you told me earlier?’ the Minister Prime says.
My heart is beating so quickly that I feel as if I could collapse. I try to breathe in but something isn’t right and I end up struggling for breath. All I can feel is a sinking sensation as Imrin starts to speak, his words slow and deliberate.
‘I found a passage that leads out of the boys’ dormitory, Sir.’
The Minister Prime purrs a response. ‘When did you discover it?’
‘A couple of days ago, Sir.’
A lie.
‘And what did you do about the tunnel?’
‘I followed it, Sir. It leads to a corridor somewhere between the male and female dorms.’
There is a stunned shock along the full length of the bench. Only three people that I’m aware of know about the tunnels: Imrin, Pietra and myself.
‘What did you find?’
‘A map.’
The Minister Prime spins and claps as a Kingsman steps forward and hands over a roll of paper. I don’t need to look twice to know it is the map we created together. He unrolls it, stretching it out for everyone to see. He only has one of the pages – of the floor we are on with the hall, not the one above which includes the recently added medical area.
There are more gasps along the line although, strangely, they seem to be more in admiration than anything else. I hear someone say the word ‘camera’ quietly before the Minister Prime rips the paper in half and tosses it to the ground.
‘Did you have anything to do with the creation of this map?’
‘No, Sir. I just found it.’
Another lie. Imrin is surprisingly good at it.
‘Why do you think somebody might be making a note of where all the cameras are on this particular floor?’
Imrin coughs but I can tell it is put on. ‘I don’t know, Sir.’
The Minister Prime laughs heartily. ‘Come now, Imrin, an intelligent, honest young man such as yourself – you must have some ideas?’
It is as if the two are putting on a show for everyone, fake-laughing and palling around just to torture me for a little longer. I feel Pietra’s hand on my back again but don’t turn to face her this time.
Imrin stammers through his reply. ‘I guess … if someone was trying to escape, they might want to know where all the cameras were …’
An accepting nod. ‘Why would you want to escape from serving your King?’
‘I don’t know, Sir.’
He points towards one of the other boys on the bench. ‘Would you want to escape?’
‘No, er, Sir.’
The Minister Prime jabs his finger towards three more Offerings and everyone responds that they wouldn’t want to leave. If I wasn’t so scared, the charade would be laughable.
‘So, what do we have here?’ He holds out his gloved hands and counts on his fingers. ‘An attempt to escape, sneaking out of permitted areas, unauthorised materials. That is quite a list. I suppose the question is who is responsible for all of this?’
Imrin wipes his hands on his trousers but it gives me little comfort that he is sweating too.
‘Do you know?’ the Minister demands.
‘Yes, Sir.’
‘How do you know?’
‘Because I saw the person. She forced me not to say anything.’
‘She?’
‘Yes, there is a second tunnel that leads to the girls’ dorm.’
The girls are now shuffling uneasily. I can tell that, aside from Pietra, none of them knows about this.
‘Did you follow this second tunnel?’
‘Not really, Sir. She showed me where she had stored some blankets. I think she snuck out regularly.’
The Minister Prime scratches his chin, glancing along the line at us. I meet his eyes again because I don’t know what else to do. Inside it feels as if my stomach has fallen out. There is an emptiness I cannot explain. I feel as if I am drifting again; watching myself from above. I am a scared, small girl who has almost certainly tried to do too much.
From above there is a clang as the door at the back of the royal box opens. The King staggers in holding a bottle of wine in each hand, clearly drunk. Behind him there are two Kingsmen, one of whom seems to be there to hold him up. For the first time, he is wearing something other than his usual robes – what looks like a pair of pyjamas; they are white and ill-fitting, with a crusty-looking red stain on the front.
He fumbles his way to the front of the box and looks down upon us before muttering something inaudible. The Minister Prime seems annoyed to have been cut off mid-flow but bows graciously. ‘Welcome, Your Majesty. I was just dealing with the matter at hand.’
The other Kingsmen move from Ignacia and the Minister Prime until two of them are standing behind our bench and the other pair are near the door.
The King mutters something impossible to hear but the Minister Prime ignores him.
‘I suppose there are only a couple more questions, Imrin. Firstly, how did she force you?’
Slowly Imrin raises his shirt to reveal the burns, bruises and scars underneath. Ignacia steps towards him to take a closer look. The Minister Prime is unmoved while the King doesn’t appear to know what’s going on; he is staring upwards towards the lights.
The Minister Prime nods slowly. ‘There can only be one final question: who did that to you?’
I hold my breath and try to imagine him saying any name that isn’t mine but from the moment he stood, I knew what he was doing.
He turns, he trembles, he points, he lies.
‘It was her – Silver Blackthorn.’
Everyone turns to face me, but it is Faith’s confused expression I notice first, staring as if to ask what’s going on. Only Pietra understands but she says nothing. There is no point in both of us getting into trouble, especially considering it is nothing to do with her.
As I am grabbed roughly from behind and pulled to my feet, my eyes lock with Jela’s. There is some sort of understanding, but it is mainly sorrow. She knows more than anyone the type of fate that could await me. The Kingsman behind has my hair and yanks me towards him. I hear the ripping sound before I feel the pain. I try not to scream but, perhaps to test my resilience, he slaps me across the back of the head. I manage to shake my head clear, although the Kingsman still has my arms pinned behind me.
‘He’s lying,’ I shout.
The Minister Prime looks to Imrin. ‘She says you’re a liar, that you made all of this up.’
‘I didn’t, Sir.’
He rubs his stomach for good measure, as if emphasising how I have somehow hurt him. The Minister Prime nods gently and places a hand on Imrin’s shoulder.
‘You should all know that we have now blocked these passages. Any attempt to find or re-enter them will be dealt with extremely harshly.’
He tells Imrin to sit and then turns to the remaining girls on the bench. ‘How many of you knew about this?’
I know the answer is only Pietra but silently plead with her not to say anything. The Kingsman is pulling my arms further up my back until they feel as if they are going to be ripped out of their sockets. I try to push myself onto tiptoes to ease the pressure but cannot stop myself from squealing in pain. There is a grunt of enjoyment from behind as his knees connect with the back of mine, forcing me to stumble and increasing the strain on my shoulders.
Nobody steps forward as the Minister Prime looks towards Ignacia and then strides back and forth in front of the girls. ‘You’re lying. You must know something.’
Another squeeze of my arms, another yelp, more silence from the girls.
The Minister Prime nods acceptingly, a smile slowly spreading across his face. ‘In that case, you will all be punished.’ He looks up towards the box, where the King is hanging over the edge. ‘Your Majesty, I suggest that if you are looking for a champion tomorrow, then it should be an all-female affair.’
‘No!’
The words are out of my mouth before I can control myself. The punishment is instant as the Kingsman kicks my legs out from under me. As I begin to fall he lets go of my arms and grabs my hair, hauling me back into a standing position. I try to stop myself crying but it isn’t a voluntary thing by now. Instead the sheer pain has tears running uncontrollably down my face.
The King jolts in surprise, possibly because of the noise I made, but it looks as if he has just woken up. He waves his hand, muttering something that sounds like ‘fine’.
The girls begin exchanging glances of terror. I feel nothing but guilt as a few of them glare towards me, wondering why I have put them in this situation. I can’t explain from the position I am in that I was trying to do something to help everyone.
The second Kingsman grabs one of my arms, with the one who has been torturing me taking my other. The Minister Prime turns to the bench of boys, then back to the girls. ‘Men, you will feast tomorrow as a reward for Imrin’s brave decisions. Women, you will be locked in your room until tomorrow evening when you will be brought back here for the King to decide what to do with you.’
He turns to me, his smile wide to let me know he is going to milk as much of the moment as he can. With a slight nod, the Kingsman slices through the band of my thinkwatch, sending it clattering to the floor before he stamps on it.
‘And you … what do you have to say for yourself?’
I look towards the girls on the bench, where they are hugging each other. Faith is in tears, Pietra doesn’t know where to look and Jela has her arms wrapped around herself again.
‘If you touch them, any of them, I will kill you myself.’ I try to sound convincing but my arms and shoulders hurt so much that it is more of a squeal.
The Minister Prime looks into my eyes, perplexed, and then bursts out laughing. ‘Are you threatening me?’
I nod before I feel my hair being pulled backwards again and the sharpness of a knife next to my throat. I close my eyes, ready for the blade to slice. The Kingsman’s arm is tense but willing, as he asks what he should do next, running the sharp edge across my windpipe.