Chapter 7 - The Trial of Oak Haven
The grand estate of the Reed family was surrounded by midnight-black snowcats and Lycan infantry before dawn. Word traveled like wildfire through Oak Haven: the untouchable Reed family, pillars of high society, had been overthrown in a single night.
Thomas Reed was dragged out into the cobblestone courtyard in his nightshirt, shivering in the freezing dawn air. Martha and Beatrice wept hysterically as they were forced onto their knees beside him.
Stepping out from a carriage bearing the royal crest of Frostpeak was Giselle Reed.
She wore a heavy white-fur cloak lined with silver silk, her snow-white hair blowing softly in the crisp morning wind. Her crimson eyes were cool, devoid of the fear that had defined her entire life. Standing protectively behind her was Stellan, his arms crossed over his massive chest, his golden gaze fixed on the cowering nobles of Oak Haven who peeked from behind shuttered windows.
Thomas raised his head, his eyes widening in sheer terror as he recognized the girl he had locked away for nineteen years. "Giselle... daughter... please! We fed you! We kept you safe!"
Giselle stopped a few paces away. A bitter, cold smile touched her lips. "You kept me in a dark cage, Father. You fed me table scraps and sold me like cattle the moment your debts caught up to you."
"We are your family!" Martha sobbed, crawling forward in the dirt. "Beatrice is your sister!"
Beatrice looked up, her face tear-streaked and desperate. "Giselle, please! Don't let them kill us! We're blood!"
Giselle looked down at her sister—the same sister who had smiled as she was dragged away into the storm. She knelt down slightly, meeting Beatrice’s terrified eyes.
"When you locked me in the dark, Beatrice, did you ever wonder if I was human?" Giselle asked softly. "You called me a ghost. You called me a monster."
She stood back up, looking toward Stellan. The Alpha King nodded once.
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"I am not a monster," Giselle announced, her voice carrying clearly across the silent courtyard. "And I am no longer your victim. Thomas and Martha Reed are hereby stripped of all titles, wealth, and property. Their estate is seized by the Northern Crown. As for their debts... they will spend the rest of their lives working the northern ice mines."
Screams of protest echoed from Martha and Beatrice as guards hauled them away, their expensive silk gowns dragging uselessly through the mud. Thomas slumped forward, utterly broken.
