On Trial

Mother?

Cassandra's screams had finally ceased. She was too exhausted to scream. She had a headache that felt like a knife going through her head.

The sleeping tonic wasn't helping, it was making her groggy and sick. She had put up fights, begged them not to give it to her, and even tried to spit it out, but every fight was lost, every beg was silenced and every attempt to spit was shoved back down.

The rag in her mouth hadn't been removed, except from when she needed to eat, drink or take that darned tonic, so it had become damp with her saliva and extremely uncomfortable.
They had tied it around her head, so she was unable to spit it out.

As her head pounded, Cassandra shifted uncomfortably. She had spent far too long lying still on her back. Her bones were killing her, as they yearned to get up and stretch.

"I could see if we can get Doctor Jones to prescribe you with any painkillers?" A less horrible guard, named Ruben, offered one day, but never followed up on it.

As searing pain plummeted down her back, Cassandra let out a weary howl. She closed her eyes and tried so hard to imagine that she was someplace else. She had been trying this tactic for a few days and so far it hadn't been working very well, but she was willing to try again, desperate for anything to distract her from the circumstances.

She was at home. Not the castle, her other home, her dad's house. She was lying on one of it's plush sofas, gazing into the stone fireplace, where roaring flames danced about, their warmth, comforting her. Opposite her, was her father, sitting on his armchair, reading the newspaper. He occasionally glanced up to take a sip of his coffee, or to smile at her, but....

"Excited for your trial, tomorrow?" James' horrible, snotty voice barged in.

Cassandra opened her eyes as he tugged the cloth from her mouth. She gulped for air, trying to rid her tongue of it's disgusting taste.

"No comment," she mumbled.

"You know, I was going to take this away," James said, holding up the cloth, "but since you have nothing to say, then, you don't need to talk at all."

James smirked, as he tightened the fabric's knot at the back of the struggling girl's head.

"Don't struggle, you'll only hurt yourself," he sneered, before glancing down at her shoulder, "take this as an example..."

Cassandra gasped, holding in a whimper, as James deliberately pinched her deeply bruised skin.

"I'll be back, bright and early tomorrow morning to take you to the court room." He informed her, "someone will be coming to give you some more sleepy stuff soon, I have a feeling you'll need it, you have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow."

When he left, Cassandra felt a lump rise in her throat. She was so frightened about her trial. The thought of it made her stomach do somersaults. She was afraid of facing everyone, especially the King, she was afraid of the cruel and humiliating comments she was going to receive, but most of all, she afraid of the outcome.

She might be kept in the dark for the rest of her life! The thought of that made her sick, she wouldn't be able to bare it.

What if they banished her? What would she do, where would she go? She'd probably be left out on the streets and eventually starve to death.

Speaking of death, what if they decided to execute her? Bring an axe down on her neck, string her up, burn her at the stake.

She was on the verge of throwing up, when something sounded out in the darkness.

No. Not again. Please, anything but this!

"Hello, my darling."

Mother?

Cassandra scanned around the room, but just like with Zhan Tiri, couldn't see anything.

"Don't be scared, dear, your mummy is here. How about, you come back home to the cottage with me? I won't let anyone hurt you, you poor dear."

No. Leave me alone! You're not real, you're not, you're not, you're not!

A grinning woman appeared in front of Cassandra, before vanishing again.

"Don't be alarmed. Come back home with mummy and I'll keep you safe!"

The demands began getting much more aggressive, echoing all around the room, drowning out Cassandra's distressed, muffled whimpers.

Suddenly, the voice faded, as quickly as it appeared.

Cassandra was shaking from head to toe, trying to steady her breathing.

Why did stuff like this keep happening? Was she crazy?  Was she dreaming? Had her imagination got the better of her? She had no idea.

The door opened, and in walked a guard, to give her another heavy dose of medicine.

Cassandra's body shivered, one more time, before the cloth was pulled down and the spoon delve into her mouth.

Woo! Next chapter is going to be a big one and I'm so excited!
Thank you so much to ngocthach4020 on AO3 for the Cass hallucinating Gothel part. I was going to do her hallucinating Gothel and Fred, but I thought that just Gothel worked better in this chapter, but I'll probably use that idea in a later chapter.

The line where James tells Cass that she doesn't need to talk at all, was based of a line from Shadows, by the amazing PocketProtector! Check it out if you haven't read it!