Slowly stirring from what was another night of restless sleep, Yuli heard the lock on her cell being disengaged. The single, almost bare room she had occupied for the last two days was suddenly lit by a pair of lanterns carried by a pair of figures.

 

As Yuli's eyes adjusted to the light that was brighter than the small candle she had to light the room, she looked at the figures and realized that one was a guard while the other was dressed in what looked like exquisite garb.

 

“Yuli, this is Aldrun, a royal scribe who has been tasked with taking down your statement of what happened," the guard stated through their helmet that mostly obscured their face in a stern but soft voice.

 

Before anyone else could move the scribe headed over and sat down at the small table. With the only seat in the room being that one, the guard chose to simply stand by him.

 

Yuli ruffled her blankets on the cot into a flat and somewhat comfortable space for her to sit whilst she prepared to speak to the scribe.

 

“Please, tell me what happened that day, and please start from the earliest you can," Aldrun said in an almost creaky voice.

 

Yuli sat for a moment in quiet thought back to that day and what exactly had happened. Now that she stopped to think about it though, she realized she hadn't thought too hard about it until now.

 

That day had been much like many others when she needed to head out of the house that she had once shared with her family. She put on some of her nicer clothes that were slightly uncomfortable and collected some of her mother's stashed money before going to the markets and purchasing her needs.

 

Having been left a decent sum of money from her mother after her passing as well as the house, Yuli had little need of finding a job or going out much. So, she preferred to take the back alleys to avoid too much contact with others.

 

That was her downfall though. Yuli had left the house like normal and took her usual shortcut through the alley across the walkway from her house to get to the market quickly. The alley was rarely used except by an occasional guard or by Mr. Kurrji.

 

Yuli hadn't seen Mr Kurrji for years though. Old Man Kurrji as her mother used to call him was somewhat of an oddity in the burrows. Having lived there almost as long as anyone could remember even though he wasn't a rabbit like everyone else.

 

Mr Kurrji had been a jackalope. Apparently, a cross between a rabbit and a deer or something like that. It'd been so long since Yuli had heard it that she couldn't remember completely.

 

The alleyway that day had two people in it as she had found out upon turning the corner in it a little too quickly. In her haste, she ran directly into a guard and they both had fallen. It was then that the other person had moved into Yuli's view as she had lifted her head.

 

They stepped towards Yuli and the guard. She thought that they were going to help but they had suddenly pulled open the cloak in which they were almost completely obscured and thrust a dagger in her direction.

 

“After that things are kind of a blur" Yuli admitted. “I remember closing my eyes and looking away, but I never felt it" She stated softly. “Instead, after I opened my eyes, the figure was running away and the guard beside me was gagging on blood from the dagger that was now in their throat," Yuli stated remembering it a little too vividly which made her shudder.

 

“So, you're telling me that there was another person in the alley with the guard before you went in there? And you saw neither of them before you collided with the guard?" The scribe questioned in an almost doubtful tone.

 

“Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying!" Yuli replied emphatically.

 

“Did you get a look at this person at all? Did they have any defining features? The colour of their fur? Anything at all that might help us narrow it down?" Aldrun questioned, now seeming a tad curious.

 

“I did see something." Yuli hesitantly spoke. “When I saw them, the first thing I noticed was their horns or antlers, like what Mr. Kurrji used to have".

 

“Antlers? Horns? Old Man Kurrji was indeed the only person in the entirety of the burrows that had them" Aldrun said sounding slightly huskier than before “I knew him personally, and I can say with certainty that he has been deceased for the past few years. You're going to have to do better than blame a dead man if you want us to believe your innocent girl!" Aldrun spat almost viscously at Yuli.

 

“B-but I'm telling you the truth!" Yuli stuttered back “I swear that they had horns poking through the top of the cloak!" she reiterated.

 

“Okay so you say there was a point before you closed your eyes that they opened their cloak, did you not see what they looked like then?"

 

“I'm sorry, I didn't look, no. I was too focused on the dagger that was now coming at me," Yuli softly spoke.

 

“Well, I must say that everything you've told us hasn't added to much we didn't know." The scribe started writing down the last few things Yuli had said. “As much as I hate to sound like I'm passing down judgment, this doesn't really help to prove your innocence at all."

 

Slowly standing from where he had been seated at the table the scribe Aldrun turned one last time to look at Yuli. “As it currently stands you will continue to be held here until a member of the Queens Council is ready to listen to all the evidence given by the guards and from yourself here".

 

Stepping towards the exit he made to leave before Yuli cried out one last time standing and approaching the scribe “I didn't do anything! I swear! Please!"

 

Just as suddenly as she stood the guard who had until this point pretty much done little except stand there and keep an eye on Yuli drew his short sword before stepping between Yuli and the older scribe.

 

“Stop there!" He commanded in a loud and fierce tone, making Yuli almost jump away from him.

 

The scribe turned once again and for the first time, Yuli got a good look at what he looked like. An older bun who had likely served many years under the queen. His face was slightly saggy and there were grey patches coming through his light brown fur.

 

“I understand how you feel about this entire situation young lady but there is nothing that can be done at the moment" Aldrun spoke calmly before opening the door and taking his leave.

 

Now suddenly alone with the soldier who still had his sword drawn and pointed in her direction, Yuli felt vulnerable and scared again. Almost more so than when this all happened.

 

Much to Yuli's relief, however, the guard slowly lowered his sword, tucked it back away into its sheath, and eased his stance to a more relaxed pose leaning by the door.

 

----x----

 

From the other side of the door, Emila could hear the Queens Council continuing to argue and dispute their opinions and the facts on the current situation.

 

 Much to her dismay after relaying her part in capturing Yuli and placing her in the holding cells some of them had claimed that because Yuli was her niece she was given preferential treatment despite Emila having followed the guard commander's explicit directions for an arrest of a violent criminal.

 

Emila had also learned that the unfortunate individual who lost their life was the son of one of the council members, which only further complicated matters. The councilor, Hallum, also refused to withdraw himself from the council's decision on what should happen to Yuli.

 

Whilst she didn't know Hallum personally, from all she had heard about him and the business dealings he ran he was a man who believed in an eye for an eye which only made Emila fear more for poor Yuli.

 

Emila's thoughts were quickly interrupted, however, by a gentle touch on her shoulder which caught her off guard. Wheeling about on her heel to see who had abruptly broken her train of thought Emila came face to face with a fellow guard.

 

Not expecting her to spin so quickly and face him the young guard was caught by surprise as well and quickly fell backward landing with a solid thud on his butt. Unfortunately for him, the cup of water he had decided to fetch for Emila ended up splashing all over him and drenching the front of his armour.

 

Looking down on the now-soaked and stuttering younger rabbit sitting on the floor before her, Emila couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him. He was a newer recruit to the guards judging by the lack of weapons he carried.

 

He was clearly quite young as well, potentially he'd only joined the guard in the recent summer recruiting period. Judging further, she guessed he wasn't on duty either as he wasn't wearing the helm like all recruits were made to wear.

 

His face was white with some greyish black mottling across the top of his head fur passing between his now drooped ears which made his almost icy blue eyes stand out. The recruit also had a noticeable scar running across the side of his cheek up to the base of his ear.

 

Emila remembered hearing about the recruit with the scar. He was what the longer-serving guards referred to as a stray. Homeless either by choice or force. With nothing else to gain or lose they either join the guards or simply go missing one day, presumably having left the burrows. Occasionally though some are found in the more brutal winters tucked in a corner of a building or alley having frozen to death.

 

Kneeling in front of the poor young rabbit in front of her, Emila put her hand on his shoulder to break him out of the stuttered rambling he had broken into.

 

“Recruit Vhern, was it?" Emila asked politely.

 

“Y-yes Ma'am that's me" he continued to stutter.

 

“It's okay. I didn't mean to scare you like that. Are you alright? Not injured from the fall?" She questioned more to distract him from his almost panicked seeming thoughts.

 

“N-no I'm fine Ma'am. Unless you count being humiliated in front of a superior by soaking myself with a simple cup of water" he answered with a soft sigh now finally looking up at her.

 

That was when Emila saw the wet patches of fur under his eyes as well. Had he begun to cry? Was he that upset by being embarrassed in front of a superior? Or did she scare him that badly?

 

“I just saw you still standing out front the council's chambers after seeing you hear earlier so I assumed you hadn't really left whilst they… pardon my language, bickered like children." Vhern gestured vaguely at the door to the council's chamber as if to emphasize his point.

 

“I thought you could at least do with some water, but apparently I can't even do that without messing up" He sighed lowering his head again.

 

Picking up the cup Emila stood up and looked down at the younger bun in front of her. She was known as being a hard ass amongst the guards but the trouble for poor Yuli had made her now start to feel more caring and considerate for others. Like poor Vhern here in front of her. She couldn't help but pity him.

 

She was almost sure that the senior guards had been singling him out specifically and he had likely also been targeted by the other recruits as someone who could be seen as weaker or less likely to succeed given his apparent upbringing as a stray.

 

“Well Vhern, this cup is not going to quench my thirst empty as it is." Emila stated reaching her empty hand towards him to give him a hand up “So why don't you and I go find somewhere to find a cool drink? Because you are right, I've been here almost all day and I don't think those… what was it? Bickering children. Are going to need me again any time soon."

 

----x----

 

Since the elder scribe had left her room, Yuli had spent the entire time sitting on her dusty old cot. The silence was almost deafening to the point where Yuli could hear her own heart beating. Neither she or the guard had said a word, nor had they moved from the places they were.

“Ma'am," the guard said like he was attempting to sound more confident than he seemed. “I-I'm sorry if I scared you before when… when I pointed my sword at you. So many people have been saying so much about you. Especially the other guards and I kind of got a little scared when you suddenly approached."

 

He shifted his position from leaning against the wall and moved over to the table where the scribe had been sitting earlier today. To Yuli's surprise, he then proceeded to undo his belt that had his sword attached to it and placed it down on the table. He then grabbed the chair, brought it over near Yuli's cot, and sat down on it.

“I don't know if you really did or didn't do what you're accused of, nor do I know if what you told the scribe before is the truth or some made-up lie you've come up with in your time here to cover your tracks," The young guard said in a softer tone again

He then reached up and removed his helmet and to Yuli's surprise he appeared barely older than she was.

“I'm Ferran," The young guard stated.

 

Looking over his face now that she could see him, he was almost completely white aside from a black splotch that ran from his nose to cover his left eye. His brown eyes looked into her and she could swear that she could feel the sympathy he was feeling for her.

 

“I'm Yuli b-but I guess you already knew that though," Yuli replied feeling nervous as well but also calmed by Ferran's less threatening demeanor now.

 

“Yeah, I was told your name and what you're accused of," Ferran spoke before looking nervously towards the door as if he wasn't sure when someone might come barging into the room. “If I'm to be honest, however, I'm not entirely sure that I feel like you killed that guard." He almost whispered to her.

 

“I'm telling you I didn't kill him" Yuli spat feeling a little disheartened that even after hearing her tell her side of the story as honestly as she could he still wasn't fully convinced.

 

“I want to believe you Yuli, I do!" Ferran shot back at her.

 

He knew he shouldn't be here. He knew he shouldn't even be involved in this situation at all. If it was found out he'd volunteered to escort the scribe down here then escort the prisoner to the council chambers once they'd reached a verdict. He'd be in more trouble than ever.

 

“Yuli," Ferran spoke softly again before reaching out and gently grabbing her hands and getting her to look directly at him. “Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn't kill him. Please. Tell me you didn't do it." He was almost begging her at this point.

 

Bewildered by the guard's actions she almost didn't say or do anything once he had grabbed her hands. Looking into his eyes though she could see a deeper sadness in his eyes.

 

“I, did, not, kill, that, guard." Yuli emphasized every word as she stared directly into the guard's eyes.

 

No sooner had she finished speaking, Ferran fell forward into her lap absolutely bawling his eyes out. Whimpering and crying like a kit taken from his mother. All Yuli could do was sit there and gently rub his head while this guard let all his emotions out.

 

“I-I believe you Yuli" Ferran choked out through his tears

 

After what felt to Yuli like an eternity Ferran sat back up and looked at her.

 

“H-he… Neela… H-he was my partner. I-I loved him," Ferran managed to stutter out through the tears and crying that he was still doing. “He saved me from a dark time in my life. H-he… was supposed to be here for me always. Now I'll never see him again."

 

Yuli was stunned to silence. Ferran had lost someone who meant the world to him yet had the restraint to find the truth, no wonder he had struggled so hard to believe her.

 

“I... I was supposed to be on duty that day. In that alley. B-but I hate that place. It gives me the creeps. I was always so uncomfortable. So Neela spoke to the commander and got our shifts swapped"

 

“I know no words I can ever say can help you in a time like this. But I'm sorry for your loss." Yuli felt more heartbroken for poor Ferran than herself at this point even though there was nothing she herself could do to make anything better.

 

“Thank you." Ferran softly said. Slowly choking back the tears and calming his breathing. He knew that at any moment another guard could walk through that door and find him in this situation, one that wouldn't look good, to say the least.

 

Wiping away his tears as best as he could he stood up and began to recollect himself before calling out to her, “Please don't speak of this. No matter what."

 

----x----

 

Emila and Vhern had found a nice small café not too far away from where the council chambers were. They'd both grabbed a nice cold drink and sat down on an outside table out of the way in the corner of the garden area. Much to Vhern's surprise once they had sat down and he had calmed from his nervousness Emila had become quite open and friendly towards him.

This kindness was somewhat of a new thing for him as almost all the senior guards and even most of the younger guards treated him like scum for being a stray.

“It's been a long time since I've taken the chance to relax and just destress with someone else" Emila said to the younger bun across the table from her.

“I know now probably isn't the best time for you so I'm glad I've been able to help just a little now" Vhern responded glad that he had been able to help the clearly stressed-out woman.

 

“Poor Yuli hasn't had the greatest life, unfortunately. Her mother died of the viral infection that plagued us when she was naught but a teen and since then she's chosen to mostly live alone in that old house," Emila explained to the younger bun.

 

“She's chosen to shy away from pretty much all the rest of her family, including myself. I've only really managed to keep in contact by regularly checking to make sure that nothing had happened to her in that house by herself. Perhaps I should've checked on her more when she was out too" Emila sighed. “Maybe this could have been avoided."

 

“Nothing you could have done would have prevented this from happening Emila." The younger bun said before realizing his casual tone as he followed up, “Er, ma'am. There's nothing you could have done"

“It's okay Vhern," Emila said with a smile, the first Vhern had seen all day. “We're off duty and I think it's fine for you. It's kind of nice"

“Oh, uh." Vhern had been caught off guard again. “Emila. How did you manage to get involved so quickly? If you don't mind me asking. I've heard from other guards that you yourself were the one who imprisoned Yuli that day" Vhern asked as if to almost change the subject back to the matter at hand.

 

“Well... I shouldn't have been, to be honest" She spoke plainly “As you know familial relations aren't meant to get involved. However, that night at the guardhouse I was the most senior guard there and no other members of the guard there had dealt with anything like this. So it was left to me."

 

Looking away towards the plants beside them Emila let out another heavy sigh.

 

“I wish it hadn't," she said quietly before turning back to face the male rabbit in front of her. “I had to force that poor girl to strip to nothing! I had to take away every bit of dignity she may have had!" Emila continued beginning to get louder and more animated her anger and frustration getting the better of her. “She was scared as hell and all through it I had to continue to keep the pressure on her!"

 

“Emila it's-" Vhern attempted to speak before Emila stood up leaning over the table towards him, the fire and anger clear in her face.

 

“She was like a frightened little child cowering from the monsters in the dark! She looked like she could have emptied her bladder in fear at any moment!" Emila almost yelled which made several heads turn to look at her.

 

Realizing she was causing a scene, she slumped back into her seat looking Vhern in his eyes, a defeated look on her face.

 

“I couldn't even bring myself to search her. I simply let her strip and called it there."

Vhern was taken back a bit by that confession. Yuli had supposedly murdered someone, a guard at that! And Emila hadn't even searched her properly. Emila was supposed to be a hard ass amongst the guards he'd heard but had she broken? Had she found a point that had broken through the tough outer shell?

 

It was clear to Vhern now that Emila was questioning everything not only about the situation with Yuli but with Emila herself. He hadn't been in a situation like this before. He'd never had anyone confide in him or even be this kind of friendly to him. He didn't know what to do.

 

Looking across the table at the older woman in front of him who had her head in her hands and was almost quietly sobbing he knew he had to do something.

 

Getting up from his seat he moved around to her side of her table he leaned down beside her and wrapped his arm around her in a soft and gentle hug.

 

She turned towards Vhern and he wholly expected her to either shove him away or even hit him but to his surprise, she pulled him closer and hugged him tightly, tucking her face towards his neck as she wept quietly.

 

Holding her there for what seemed to him like hours, he felt a kind of warmth in that hug he had never really felt before. It brought a pleasant feeling to him. The moment was cut short however as a commotion out on the street drew their attention away.

 

----x----