Having thousands of eyes on you all at once wasn't the most pleasant experience for Gwynevere Grim. She never had stage fright; she even performed in a school recital or two. Here, before the Great Eight, that fear was being reconsidered.
"What House DeMeteor is really asking is whether her special ability has manifested or not." General Strangulation had her arms crossed. "Don't pretend you give a shit about her, Panne."
The DeMeteor ruler sat a little straighter when General Strangulation spoke.
"She hasn't manifested… yet. Give her time!" The Head Whisperer answered. "Animals seem to be fond of her, however. When she visited my office, several creatures—"
"Thank you, Head Whisperer." The King raised a hand to his temple.
The crowd laughed a little at this response.
"Actually…" Gwyn began. Everyone turned to her in surprise. "I have a question… Great Eight."
Should I be polite or not?
Archimedes raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"H-how do I get home?"
Archimedes' face was unmoving.
"You don't."
That can't be right.
"What do you mean?"
"There is no returning until the Red Death is expunged from Keceo."
No… No!
Gwyn shook her head.
"You can't send me home, or are you unable?"
Archimedes had to stop himself from shouting. Chosen One always posed these questions during the Meeting of the Chosen. This time, the implications were much darker. Gwynevere Grim had not been given the same resources as all the other Chosen Ones. The gold, pleasure, and amenities provided often relieved some of the stressors of being pulled from their home planet.
"As long as the Red Death remains, so do you."
Gwyn ground her teeth.
"My father needs me; I am all he has!"
General Strangulation rolled her eyes.
"You and every other Chosen One here."
Gwyn turned to the red-haired woman, who seemed like she preferred to be somewhere else.
"Excuse me?"
Archimedes retook control of the situation.
"Let me ask you something, Gwynevere Grim."
The young woman stood resolutely, trying to hide her emotions.
Don't show them how nervous you are.
"If you could summon one creature from anywhere in the cosmos to give your race a slight chance of survival, would you do it?"
Gwyn tried to think about it, but felt as a whole disconnected from humanity.
"I don't know if I would."
"Then why worry about returning home, then?"
Gwyn blinked, confused at his implication.
"I've already told you, I want to see my dad! You don't know what we've been through!"
Archimedes laughed.
"You say you want to see your father. But wouldn't you give anyone else of your race the same chance? Not even your dad, you claim to care so deeply about? Are you just that inherently selfish, Gwynevere, or do you not love your father?"
Gwyn's head spun.
"Are you really accusing me after you've stolen me from my planet?"
"Yes, you wouldn't make a small sacrifice for anyone, let alone your father."
Gwyn swallowed hard, her voice not as powerful as before.
"I would."
"Which is it then? Would you help or wouldn't you? Where do you stand?"
Thousands of eyes have caught her in a contradiction.
What was the right thing to say?
Archimedes sighed.
"This is why I did not wish to summon you, Gwynevere. I wished for us to come up with new solutions. Instead? Here we are, arguing about how you want to go home like a lost child. Your lamentable reaction is exactly why I didn't want us to go through with The Summoning. You haven't manifested; you have no talent. You are a burden."
His words rang out.
Gwyn let out a shaky breath.
Don't cry.
The DeMeteor ruler's expression fell.
"Archimedes…"
"Enough. I'm sorry it was you, Gwynevere Grim, but now there are things you must answer." Archimedes, the tall, gaunt man, faced Gwyn. "We are going to be doing something slightly different. As tradition dictates, we used to provide Chosen Ones with any service they requested within reason. However, with the events of the twenty-fourth, we have seen that this mindset is faulty and will lead our people to ruin."
Lazlo Waterborne looked forlorn.
"Yes… due to… the King of Terror." He spoke as though his name were poison. "We are allocating our resources towards more fruitful efforts."
Archimedes pointed an accusing finger at Gwynevere.
"Do you have any particular special talents, magical abilities, known technology from your realm, or know-how to create artifacts or technologies we currently do not possess?"
Gwyn stood, dumbfounded in front of everyone, not prepared for any sort of questioning. The words from earlier still stung. She muttered inaudibly to herself.
Another question from Archimedes.
"Have you ever had any arrest record or criminal history from your realm?"
What?
"N-no!"
"Trembling at that question? Are you that cowardly?"
Archimedes accused.
"Do you carry any known diseases to your people that could be studied?"
Lazlo asked eagerly.
"Diseases? I'm clean, I—" Gwyn was interrupted.
"Do you express any desire to betray our people for personal gain?" General Strangulation barked.
They all dog-piled on her.
"I don't!" Gwyn shouted, hands trembling.
Everyone looked down on her, their expressions disappointed.
"This one is pathetic," Strangulation said plainly.
"I do have to admit… she is… um…" Panne DeMeteor trailed off, not helping Gwyn whatsoever.
"My members." A voice that had yet to speak rang out, a man in red and white robes. "I say we should at least evaluate her abilities before we berate her with dozens of questions."
Gwyn tried to steady her breathing.
"With how you are speaking, I hope you don't intend on taking this Chosen One as well, Talos," The Queen of the Moon said coolly.
"The Kosmairians will always do what is best for the elven people," Talos looked towards General Strangulation, and she nodded.
"She belongs to House Sylvian," the King said as if there were no question. "That is final."
"She belongs to no house as of yet! She is adolescent and faulty," Archimedes shouted. "She will attend Kaldere College for the next year at minimum, in which all of you can place your bids on the infantile Chosen One."
Elise stared at the members arguing. She thought her father was in charge, but that did not seem to be the case.
Gwyn wanted to speak, but her heart beat furiously in her chest. They all had an almost unimaginable power over the young woman. She figured they could destroy her with little effort.
"We can teach her at the DeMeteor Castle?" Panne suggested.
"The final answer is no!" Archimedes shouted. "Mark my words, she will be the last Chosen One. We need to make sure she is properly trained and doesn't betray us as the twenty-fourth has."
"I won't betray you!"
Gwyn shouted; she didn't know where it came from. Every member of the Great Eight looked at her skeptically.
"That is exactly what the twenty-fourth said, and now he mind controls our people. Slaying them. Making them do unspeakable things." Aldwyn DeMeteor, the Dean of Kaldere College, said.
"Not to mention the ever-so-slight complication that is his immortality."