He woke up to the sound of heavy steps coming toward him. He didn't know what to do and expected the worst. He was stuck under the shelf, with nowhere to run. The light was coming closer and closer to him from around the corner. He pushed with all his strength, but the shelf wouldn't budge.
"Alex, where are you?!" He recognised that voice, it was the first time since forever that this flutelike voice didn't annoy him.
"Malena, I'm here!"
"What happened? I heard your scream all the way from the entrance." She had a rod in her right hand and was ready to start swinging.
"Did you cross anyone on your way here? I'm sure I saw someone," explained Alex, still on high alert.
"Ohhh, poor baby, are you scared of ghosts?" Malena was already lifting the shelf so Alex could get up. She let out a grunt and barely moved the weight to let Alex crawl out.
"No, I'm serious. He stared me in the eyes, and what was wearing a weird mantle," replied Alex.
"Of course... anyway, we don't have time, the guards will be here in less than ten minutes for their round," answered Malena while dusting Alex's clothes.
"Huh?! How long was I out for?!"
The two friends walked as fast as they could, and after getting lost a couple of times, finally reached the hallway to the entrance. Just as they turned the corner, their vision went black simultaneously."We got them chief. You filthy thieves don't know what's coming for you." Said one of their aggressors.
They walked them to the end of the hallway, and then they heard a familiar voice, a voice that had always been so reassuring and filled with love. The worst voice that they could have heard in this moment.
"Alex, Malena... Please tell me you have an explanation for this..."
"Dad, what are you doing here?" Alex and Malena still had the blackout hood over their heads.
"I'll be asking the questions here!" Herald tried to keep a neutral tone but began to up the volume.
"But Uncle, I swear we can explain. We wanted to h..." Malena tried to diffuse the situation, but was cut off before she could finish her sentence.
"Guards, take them to the cells. I will speak with Clan Leader Klutz about the matter."
Elder Herald cut the conversation short so that they wouldn't incriminate themselves more in front of the guards. He was already thinking about what he would say to the Clan Leader.
Alex and Malena were taken to the prison cells at the base of the hill. They never used these cells, since the village had only a couple of hundred inhabitants. They were meant for the scum of the scum. The prison was cold and dark. The air's humidity reminded them of the archive they had just been snatched from.
The childhood friends weren't in the same cell, to top it off. They couldn't even talk to pass the time.
After what seemed like an eternity, they heard steps coming down the stairs.
"I understand your concerns. As I was saying I must have left the door open, and they went through. We found them at the entry of the archives, so they shouldn't have found anything inside."
"We'll see what they have to say first."
Everybody was here, Alex's parents and Malena's mother. Celia went to see her daughter first at the other side of the building, and Klutz came straight to Alex. He looked at him with menacing eyes. Zora already had tears filling her eyes.
"My poor baby! I know you're innocent. Explain what happened so we can get you out of this filthy cell."
Alex couldn't even look at his mother because of the guilt. He knew that he wasn't innocent, and he knew that he had broken the very first rule of the Grand Library. In fact, he already knew what their sentence would be.
"Alex. Would you care to explain what you were doing in the forbidden archives?" Elder Herald had inquisitive eyes, but there seemed to be a message hidden underneath.
There must be something that I'm missing. Father doesn't seem to know why I was there, but he's looking at me like there is a correct answer to the question. Think... Think...
When he came down the stairs, he was saying something that seemed out of place. Why did he lie and say the door was open when he hasn't been down there for ages?
A voice resonated within Alex's head."Tell them that you found the door open and went in to catch a thief."
What is happening? Am I going crazy? That voice, it wasn't my own. What is happening?
"Hurry, the more you wait, the more you'll look suspicious." The voice was calm and reassuring, as if stating the obvious.
"We were just having a quick talk in the library with Malena, like we always do, when we saw that the door was wide open. Since I'm on guard duty during the day, we decided to take matters into our own hands and look for the thief." Alex tried his best to convince himself that this was the truth. He didn't even have a choice, to be honest. He knew the sentence for entering the forbidden archive without authorization was:
DEATH
Alex never really understood why there was such a harsh penalty for entering the place. It didn't contain anything that would cost that much. But since they were kids, he and his brothers were always warned to never even think about entering. that place.
"What an honorable feat. As you can see, Clan Leader Klutz, it was a mistake on my end, and the poor kids were only trying to correct it. I went looking for star rocks to give to Xander tonight, and in my hurry, forgot to close the door. It would have closed automatically, but they must have entered the Archives before the timer finished." Elder Herald's tone was shaky; he knew that the explanation wouldn't keep Klutz at bay for long.
"No matter the reason! These kids have committed a criminal offense punishable by death. The sentence shall be carried out immediately!" replied Klutz, saying these words like he was talking about the weather. He looked at the guards and pointed at Alex.
Zora's mother froze in place. The tears she had in her eyes were long gone. She slowly began to tremble; her whole world came crashing down before her. Her son had just been sentenced to death. The only thing she could think about is how to save her son.
She bolted in front of her cell and pulled out her star ink.
"Take one step towards them, and I'll blow this whole place up! Who do you think you are, placing death sentences like it's a formality? You lowly coward! Getting pushed over by that animal called Xander. He's drowning in debt since he's been cast down from the dais. That's why Herald had to go search for Star Rocks in the archives in the first place. If you pulled your weight around here, we wouldn't even be in this situation." Alex had never seen his mother in such a state. The only person who didn't seem shocked was Alex's father.