The Night of Julia's Judgment.04:12 Aug 19 2009
Times Read: 1,207
I never cared for High Council meetings. But since I was a Master Vampire, my attendance was mandatory. The last major meeting in which a Master Vampire lost his head was held right after World War II, when Lord Krieg was beheaded by Queen Makafisa, for investing - and losing - vampire wealth with the Nazis. She made sure to execute Lord Krieg right before his Nazi minions, whom she later tortured and killed. "Let their final vision be that of a 'mud woman' killing them all" she later replied dryly. High Council meetings usually meant that someone was going to die a final death...oh, how I longed to be home in Los Puertos instead, with my three donors and my cats!
The annual seasonal vampire balls were more to my liking. Even though deals were brokered and sentences were passed on occasion, the overall atmosphere of the balls was pleasant...
Not so this night. I was almost finished dressing when there was a quiet knock at the door of my suite. I opened it to find Ankh-Re in a black evening suit, shirt, and tie. He came in, wearing a somber expression on his handsome face.
"Are you almost ready?" he asked quietly.
"Yes. If you would not mind zipping up my gown." I turned my back to him, and received an electric shock when his warm fingers touched my skin.
"You look lovely, Isis, even for this depressing occasion" he replied. I wore a black gown that was overlaid with handmade black Valencian lace. My hair was swept in an up-do, with black pearls intertwined in the tresses.
"Thank you, Ankh-Re. It is appropriate that we dress for a funeral." There was silence between us for a moment. "I feel somewhat sorry for Julia" I added.
Ankh-Re actually looked miserable. "How do you think I feel? I just spent the last hour listening to her begging me to set her free."
"Well" I said "We both know what would happen to you if you did that, Ankh-Re. After we vote, and when all is said and done, Julia will have to pay whatever price Makafisa exacts from her."
Ankh-Re sighed. "True. I am still hating this though. Well - let's get going and get this shit over with."
The limousine drove to Makafisa's palazzo in complete silence. A truck followed us, carrying the antique crate which held Julia in her casket prison. Erik drove the truck, with Fujiro seated next to him.
When the familiar rose-colored marble of the palazzo came into view, I felt a heaviness in my heart. Upon entering the formal entryway, we saw that some of the master vampires were already present: There was Lady Anala, wearing a black form-fitting one-sleeved sheath, lounging upon a blood-red couch; Lady Ma-zu, walking down the corridor with her hands clasped behind her back, gazing at the Renaissance paintings; Lord Gad, sitting quietly in a gilded chair, staring at the black marble floor; and Lord Sebastian, leaning against the wall opposite Lady Anala, nervously wringing his hands. Ankh-Re looked at Lord Sebastian, shaking his head.
"This is really hard for him" he whispered.
"I know" I replied. "To have to judge one's own sire..."
Ankh-Re and I joined the others with polite, brief exchanges. I put an arm around Lord Sebastian, and led him to a seat; I took both of Lord Gad's hands in mine and I kissed him on the forehead. The smile he returned softened his usually harsh features. Lady Ma-zu and I hugged one another. As I turned to nod a greeting to Lady Anala, I caught her staring at Ankh-Re while licking her lips...good grief. This was going to be a long night.
Fifteen minutes later, the rest of the Master Vampires arrived: Lady Sirara came in with Lord Kratos; they looked like a young couple on a prom date. They were followed immediately by Lord Pen, whose flowing red hair contrasted sharply with his deep blue evening suit. Lord Pen was not the suit-wearing type - and he looked magnificent.
"Wow, man...you clean up pretty nicely" said Ankh-Re. There were a few chuckles from the other vampires who were present.
The double doors to the entryway opened again, to allow Lord Aray's arrival. He was also dressed from head to toe in black evening attire; he even wore a velvet cape, which was lined in dark red silk. His long black hair, pale skin, and glittering green eyes reminded me of the mysterious Huey.
Activity from a side door caught our attention. Makafisa's chief advisor and confidant - a High Sire named Lord Bekan - led two servants to the great hall. They were wheeling in a television and other audio-visual equipment. One of them had a briefcase and charts under one arm.
"Oh shit" murmured Ankh-Re, as he came to stand by my side. "Pie charts."
Telepathically, all of us groaned in unison. Lord Bekan soon reappeared, with a solemn look upon his dark face.
"Lord and Lady Masters...Her Majesty is ready."
We quickly lined up by rank, and entered the great hall, where we found Lord Mikal already present and seated. We all bowed to him and took our seats.
The silence was torturous as we waited for the Queen. Our odd seating arrangement made it somewhat comfortable at least, as we were not piled up on top of one another: Down the length of the table, we were placed by rank in a zigzag pattern. This gave us ample space between each other. What I wanted -at that moment though - was to be seated as closely as possible to Ankh-Re...
The double doors at the opposite end of the great hall opened to Queen Makafisa. We all stood as she glided elegantly to her throne. In contrast to our dark somber clothing, Her Majesty wore a gold silk gown, glittering with diamonds and small gold discs. The edges of the gown's sleeves were heavy with more diamonds.
"Whoa...' murmured Lord Gad, out loud. He did not block his thoughts, so we heard him say in his mind "She is so damn hot."
It was so quiet that the only sound we heard came from the rustle of Queen Makafisa's gown. She smiled and said out loud "Why thank you, Lord Gad. You are a sweetheart." There was an audible sigh of relief from us all, which made Queen Makafisa laugh. She took her seat and nodded for the rest of us to take our seats as well.
'Well" she began. "We all know why we are gathered here this evening. There has been a breach in protocol, and we must deal with the transgressor."
The doors at the other end of the great hall opened to two High Sires, who wheeled in the antique crate. They were Lord Erik and Lord Fujiro. They both wore the Order of Makafisa around their necks for their help in capturing Lady Julia. They bowed before us all, then exited the hall.
Lord Bekan pulled a skeleton key from his dark robes, and unlocked the chains from the crate. His two assistants lifted the casket from the crate, placed it on the floor, then left, quietly closing the doors behind them.
Bekan gently helped Julia from the casket, and guided her to a chair that was placed before the High Council. He then removed the Lariat of Horus from her neck. It was the first time that I ever saw fear in Julia's eyes. In spite of her fear, she looked beautiful in the black gown Ankh-Re had provided for her.
Bekan went to stand behind Queen Makafisa's throne. Makafisa stared at Julia awhile before speaking.
"Lady Julia Aurelius - you are charged with treason for breaking the laws that I have set forth millennia ago. You have wantonly disregarded these laws, and you have recklessly endangered the lives of other vampires. You have caused monetary damages with your selfish greed and stupidity. How do you plead?"
Lady Julia's bottom lip quivered. She stood up, shaking, not wanting to believe what was happening to her. "I plead not guilty, your Majesty."
"And what is your argument?" asked Makafisa. Julia stood quietly for a moment before replying. "Your Majesty - I'm not well. I'm sick in the head. Have mercy on me!"
A harsh laugh came from Lord Aray. "You've always been a little 'sick' in the head, dear" he said. "What made you suddenly go bat-shit crazy now?"
Julia glared at Aray. "I once loved you! How can you be so heartless, Lord Aray?"
Aray glared back at her. "'Loved' being the operative word here..."
"Enough!" snapped Makafisa. She continued on. "Lady Julia - you are detrimental to our well-being. We are not ready - if ever - to make ourselves known nor become friendly with humans. We do not relish poverty either. You have jeopardized much." She ordered Bekan to turn on the television, where we had to watch depressing financial news on CNN.
Afterwards, Queen Makafisa stood up, and began to slowly pace back and forth. Her heels clicked ominously on the marble floor.
"In ancient times, it was easy to control everything. Now, it is more difficult, and we must always adapt to science and technology." She focused her gaze on Julia. "Have you ever considered the consequences if human scientists got a hold of one of us? Especially if they captured a nightstalker?" Makafisa looked lovingly at Lord Mikal, then focused her wrath back on Julia.
"But your Majesty" blurted Julia "We would never let that happen! The humans are weak and can be controlled - paid off!"
"To an extent" snapped Makafisa, between clenched teeth. "Humans are getting smarter - and their very numbers pose a threat, you stupid little bitch!"
"Oh shit - here it comes" said Ankh-Re to me, telepathically. Everyone began squirming uneasily in their seats. Lord Bekan bade Julia to take her seat.
Queen Makafisa took a deep breath, then walked over to a chart on an easel. She flipped the top page over, to reveal a graph. There were several red arrows zigzagging downward.
"As you all know, many of our holdings are in American companies. For the last two years, these companies have been hit pretty severely with the global recession. Some of my personal holdings in California - in the Bay Area, to be exact - have plummeted in value, thanks in large part to the serial 'Blood Killings'. I wonder who is responsible for that mess? Hmmmmm."
Lady Julia remained mute. She knew that her argument was over. On several occasions in the past, Ankh-Re had warned her not to leave a trail of bodies behind, and not to fuck with the Queen's money. Julia rarely heeded Ankh-Re's advice, and now she had to pay for her carelessness.
No longer proud and haughty, Julia began to cry. It was a pitiful scene. She felt powerless and had to lash out at someone.
"It's not fair! While I was under the power of the Lariat of Horus, Lord Ankh-Re raped me repeatedly! I demand restitution!"
Ankh-Re's mouth fell open. All eyes turned towards him. Lord Aray actually had an amused look upon his face. Lord Sebastian look appalled.
Ankh-Re recovered quickly. "I find it highly disingenuous that you accuse me of rape, Lady Julia" he said. "You were quite pleased as I plunged my tongue into you time and time again."
Lord Aray busted out laughing. "Checkmate!" he exclaimed.
Lord Mikal looked at Queen Makafisa, shaking his head. He wore a bemused expression. Quiet snickers erupted from the rest of the High Council, including myself.
"Lady Julia" said Queen Makafisa softly "You are more trouble than you are worth. I have been lenient with you for centuries, yet you keep pushing my buttons." Makafisa sauntered up to Julia and tenderly caressed her tear-streaked face. "We will now cast our votes."
Queen Makafisa took her seat upon her throne, and motioned for Lord Bekan. Julia's guilt was all but settled; the voting was more or less a formality.
Bekan opened a papyrus scroll that had all of our names listed for the vote - except Julia's name, of course. He called out our names, beginning with the Master Vampire of the lowest rank.
"Lord Sebastian - what is your vote? Mercy or death?"
Lord Sebastian looked at Julia, his sire. He could not bring himself to condemn her, so he replied "Mercy." Julia gazed at him, thanking him with her eyes.
Lord Bekan marked Lord Sebastian's vote with a sun pictograph, then proceeded to the next Master Vampire.
"Lady Ma-zu - what is your vote? Mercy or death?"
"Mercy" replied Lady Ma-zu.
"Lord Kratos?" Kratos looked a bit confused before replying. "Mercy."
"Lord Pen?" Pen had no confusion. "Death." A pictograph of a skull went next to his name.
"Lord Gad?" Gad looked even more confused than Kratos. Then, a wicked smile formed upon his lips. "Take her power away from her, and give me the woman...mercy."
His reply brought a few chuckles.
"Lady Sirara?" I was shocked when she replied "Death." She glared at Kratos when she cast her vote.
"Trouble in paradise" said Ankh-Re to me telepathically.
"Lady Isis?" I looked at Julia. I wanted to beat the crap out of her...and I realized that I did not want her to die. "Mercy" I replied. A look of surprise came across Julia's face.
"Lord Ankh-Re?" Ankh-Re did not need a moment to reflect on his vote. "Death." He then said to me telepathically "The bitch just tried to set me up on fake-assed charges."
"Lady Anala?" Anala looked bored. "Death."
"Lord Aray?" Aray looked at Julia, and blew her a kiss. "Death." An audible cry escaped Julia's lips.
"Lord Mikal?" Lord Mikal looked at Julia and sighed, shaking his head. "Death."
In the ensuing silence, only Julia's weeping was heard.
"Five votes for mercy; six votes for death" declared Lord Bekan. The final vote - and the ultimate decision - was in the hands of Makafisa.
"Rise, Lady Julia" ordered Queen Makafisa. Julia stood up, on shaky legs. "I will now cast my vote. Death. You are guilty as charged." Julia crumpled to the floor. Ankh-Re actually appeared to feel sorry for her.
"Is there anyone here who wishes to amend his or her vote?" asked Makafisa, eyeing Ankh-Re.
No one offered to change a vote.
"Well" said Makafisa. "Lady Julia Aurelius, I hereby sentence you to death. As I am feeling somewhat merciful this evening, you will not be tortured. I will behead you quickly, and your remains will be cremated. Your ashes shall be released to the Four Winds."
Lady Julia stood up straight and ceased crying. She was asked if she had any final words - she did not. She was determined to meet her death as a true Roman of the patrician class. I had newfound respect for her then.
Lord Bekan brought Queen Makafisa's sword to her. It was a heavy gold and iron weapon that had a handle and pommel encrusted with jewels. The sword had produced countless deaths over the millennia.
We all stood up and circled Lady Julia, as protocol dictated. She closed her eyes and waited for the strike. It happened quicky and quietly. Lady Julia's lovely head hit the marble floor with a soft thud, then rolled across it to stop in front of the huge marble fireplace. Lord Bekan ordered the two assistants back in to gather Julia's remains for immediate cremation.
It was done.
I wanted to run from the hall and escape Queen Makafisa's Chamber of Death.
© MFH 2009
COMMENTS
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Theban
00:20 Aug 23 2009
I find myself pondering on what will happen next..
DarkOsmosis
21:02 Aug 24 2009
very good