Banished Pt. 05

I nodded, and Cameron shot me a weird look, and I tried to subtly silence her.

"Okay. So, he left; and you kept watch. Alone? Where were the other Kobalt guards?"

"I sent them away," she said, smugly.

"What? Why?"

"Well, imagine what would have happened if they were there to help him when he attacked me. I would have been done for!"

"Right, of course. So, you sent them away, and... how long after was the attack?"

"About ten minutes... wait. Y-you don't think they-?" she began, a surprised look on her face, as she acted as if an idea was only now occurring to her.

"We won't rule anything out; you can rest assured," I answered, and as Jeannie shot me a concerned look, I tried my best to convey telepathically to my companions to just contain their reactions until we were done.

"So, how did it happen?" I continued, and she took a deep breath.

"He, uh... sneaked up on me, I guess."

"Didn't have time to draw your knife?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"It all happened so quick... he put his arms around my neck, and put me in a chokehold, while he took the belt off of me."

"The whole belt?" I asked, and she suddenly shook her head.

"No- I uh, I meant the knife," she corrected, pretending to wipe away a tear.

"Right. Then what happened?"

"He threw me on the ground, and then he..." she gulped, actually tearing up, and I nodded sympathetically.

"So, you saw when he killed her?" I asked, and she nodded.

"I was so shocked. I- I wanted to scream, but no sound would come out... and then he grabbed me and dragged me off."

"To where?"

"A bush, just beyond the big tree. I struggled, but he was too strong."

"And no-one was around?"

She shook her head.

"Why didn't you scream for help?" Jeannie asked, and Emily glared at her for a split second.

"I was terrified... are you- are you saying this is my own fault?" she said, and I quickly raised a hand.

"No. No-one's saying that. You were probably panic-stricken; right Jeannie?" I cut in, and she shot me another questioning look as Emily smiled, turning her attention back to me.

"Yes, I was. I mean he had a knife to my throat; I had to follow him."

"Follow? I thought you were dragged?" Jeannie asked again, and this time Emily turned on her.

"Hey, what is your fucking problem?" she shot, and I quickly moved between them.

"We're just trying to get a proper understanding of what happened," I said, turning to Jeannie and trying to indicate to her, subtly, to just go along with it, and she nodded.

"Y-yeah, sorry. I just... meant, for clarification..." Jeannie trailed off, and Emily nodded, still eyeing the girl sharply.

"Then he took me into the bushes and... I'm sorry, do you need to know everything about that? It's really hard to talk about," she began.

"Of course, I understand. We just need to ask a few things about it then, and this'll be over. Okay?"

She nodded.

"You said that he raped you, correct?"

"Yes," she answered.

"Did he actually penetrate you, or...?"

"Yes."

"And did he climax?"

She nodded again, tearing up.

"Inside of you, or...?"

"Inside," she answered, and I nodded.

"Okay. Well Cameron over here is a nurse, and she's going to do a little examination," I began, shooting Cameron a look, and she smiled.

"Yes. Just try to relax, okay sweetie?" she said, and Emily shot a cautious look between us.

"Are you serious? Are you doubting me?"

"No, of course not. This is for your own health," Cameron explained. "It's a mandatory assessment that we perform for all rape victims."

As her back remained to me, however, I suddenly moved forward, and wrapping my arms around her, I held her down.

"Emily. Stop resisting," I said, pretending to struggle with her.

"Wha- I'm not! Just. Fucking let me go!" she complained, and Cameron smirked as she studied the look of shock on Emily's face.

"Yeah, just calm down," Jeannie added, shooting me a conspiratorial nod as she got in on it.

As I struggled with Emily, I made sure to grasp her breasts several times, and squeeze and fondle them enough for her to know that I was doing it, very much on purpose.

Eventually, she went still, and as I pretended to hold her down, we moved her to the bed, and she was shooting glares between Jeannie and Cameron.

"Get the knife," I ordered, and Emily glared as Cameron detached the weapon from her hip, and buckled it on, around her own waist.

"Now strip her," I said. "Start with the pants."

Emily struggled a little again, but I tightened my grip on her and she went still...

I had to admit, the strength boost from the armor made me feel pretty powerful, and her struggling wasn't even putting a dent on my grip.

Jeannie stripped her pants off, and as Cameron stepped in to remove Emily's underwear, I could see an uncomfortable look in Jeannie's eyes, but it was momentary, and replaced almost immediately by a look of determination.

"No bruising along the leg," Cameron noted, examining Jeannie, and I smirked, as she actually seemed to be taking the job quite seriously.

"Ugh. Emily, could you spread yourself out a bit," Cameron chided, and Emily cursed.

"You're hurting me," she said, and Cameron tutted at her, as if she were a misbehaving child.

"I know this is uncomfortable, sweetie, but this is for your own good. Now if you behave, you'll get a juice box afterwards and everything."

Emily sighed, but no sooner had she relaxed, than Cameron began to probe her sex, and she tried to fight again.

"Hold her," Cameron ordered, and this time, I leaned back on the bed and turned her to the side, and Jeannie helped restraining Emily's legs.

"Help me with this, Nate," Cameron said, and I smiled, keeping one hand firmly around Jeannie's upper body, locking her own hands down, and pinning her partially with my body, as I reached under her, and massaged her bared pussy a little.

"I'll be honest, Emmy... there's no sign of penetrative bruising. Are you sure that this went the way you say it did?" Cameron asked, and Emmy groaned in frustration.

"Yes. Fuck!"

"I guess you have no choice Nate. Extend the probing," Cameron ordered, and I snickered a little, as she leaned down and sucked on my fingers a little, slobbering me up, and I slowly inserted the fingers into Emily's hole, sliding them around inside of her as I did.

"You fucking assholes!" she cursed again, but her struggling was now muted, and mostly, just little bursts of frustration coming out.

I fingered her for a bit, before withdrawing my hand, and Jeannie studied the part herself.

"Anything?" she asked, and Cameron shook her head.

"To be honest Em, even if he gently made love to you, we'd be seeing at least some minor bruising here," Cameron said, and the girl sighed, and I studied her, wondering if she would double down on the lie, or just let it go.

"Look, whatever," she said, and as we finally released her, she shot us a murderous look.

"Can I put my fucking clothes on now?" she asked, and I nodded, as Cameron retrieved her pants and undergarment, which she quickly put on.

"And my knife?" she asked, and at this, I shook my head.

"You've been through a traumatic incident," I said. "I don't think we should let you keep a knife. Statistically speaking, this is the time when trauma patients tend to do things, like self-harming... stuff like that. We're gonna leave, and let you get some rest okay? We'll be back later when we're ready to pass a verdict on Helmut."

"Helmut?"

"Yeah, that's the name of the person you're accusing."

"Person?" she asked, "that's a stretch," she added, scoffing, and I smiled.

"Yep... and you can rest assured, we're going to do everything in our power to make him admit to every single thing that's happened," I said, advancing on her, and speaking so she would know exactly what I meant.

She scowled, then slumped onto her bed, and we quickly filed out the door.

"Damn... I really thought for a second there she was gonna spill," Cameron said, and I snickered, as we moved away from the door to continue our conversation.

"Have you two done this before? Because that felt... rehearsed, almost," Jeannie said, and I snickered.

"Nah, Cameron's just a natural when it comes to threatening people."

"Yeah, and Nate's a psy- I mean, stone cold bulshitter," Cameron said, quickly correcting her slip up, and I shot her a quick smile.

"Well... you two make a good team," Jeannie said; before adding, "what do we do now, though?"

"Cameron, I think it might be time to get Gisela up, and up to speed if she isn't already. Do you know where her room is?"

She shook her head, and I gave her a quick bit of directions.

"We need a guard stationed here, to make sure Emily doesn't leave the room; and one outside, to keep a lookout on her window," I said, and Cameron nodded, heading off.

As Cameron left, Jeannie shot me a worried look.

"What are we gonna do with her?" she asked, and I sighed.

"That's a good question... I know I said I didn't want executions, but I'm starting to think along those lines."

"Don't you think we can just imprison her?" Jeannie asked, and I shook my head.

"Too risky. Her lies were pretty extensive, and her intent was clear; to both commit murder, and create a rift between us and the Kobalt. It pains me to say it, but an element like that, even in chains, is too risky and beyond our ability to control. The only way we could risk it is if we had a prison system where we could limit exactly who she's allowed to come into contact with."

Jeannie nodded.

"Are we going to have another trial?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Only if it's necessary. We need to convince everyone, Leanna in particular, of her guilt, before we let her speak though. But before that, we'll gather up the core group and see where everyone stands on an actual execution."

She frowned.

"I'm not part of that group, am I...?" she asked, and I chuckled.

"You are. I think you've more than earned that place," I said, and she smiled.

Cameron eventually returned with Gisela, along with one of the Kobalt guards, and we left him, after I made sure that Gisela was assured of his instructions, to gather up the rest of the group.

"Could you invite Eradne as well?" I asked Gisela, and the girl bowed, before heading off.

We gathered in the meeting room that we'd used when deliberating over Candace's fate, and as soon as Eradne and Gisela had joined us, we got started with the proceedings.

We were all seated in chairs, that formed a circle at the center of the room.

"Eradne; I think we should start with you. Have you questioned Helmut?"

"Yes, Auslander. He is most cooperative."

"What did he say?"

"He woke up first light, and got started on gathering the things to prepare first meal for Gods. He headed to the grove tree for provisions, and spotted little goddess, Emily. She called to him, asking help, and he approached with haste, but only to find slain goddess prisoner, tied to tree. He was struck before reaction, and woke up unknowing what transpired."

"Fucking hell... so Emily murdered her?" Jordan asked.

There were tears in his eyes, and I reached across, and placed a hand reassuringly over his.

"You couldn't have known that she would do that," I said, and he nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Why did she have a knife in the first fucking place?" Nolan asked.

"That was a fault in my judgement. She approached me earlier that night, and offered to take up the position, if needed, as a guard; so, when the attack happened, I decided to give her the chance."

"Fucking stupid move that was," Nolan said.

"Uh, he's kind of doing the same thing for all of us at the moment... I mean, hardly any of us really know each other," Jordan replied, and I sighed.

"No; it probably was stupid. I was in a panic over Casey and I made a hasty decision. Regardless, it still was my error," I said.

Jordan shook his head, but before he could speak, Francesca weighed in:

"Actually, I don't think it would have mattered... we needed to arm the girls, and unless we knew that she would do that, which I don't think we could have, she probably would have gotten that knife out of that room by the end of the night, no matter whose hands we put it in."

Jeannie nodded at this.

"As much as I hate to admit it, that's probably true. Besides, she struck when most of us were asleep, anyway. So, technically, we all have some of the blame to share."

Nolan shook his head, but with no-one backing him up, he remained quiet.

"We can talk about who's to blame all night, but the fact remains that it's done, and we can't change that. All we can do at this point is learn from the mistake, and do better; but the big decision we need to make right now is what to do with Emily."

"What would the Kobalt do?" I asked, turning to Gisela, and she quickly shook her head.

"It is not for me to instruct the ways of the Gods," she replied, and Eradne sighed.

"Your subservience betrays you, Frau Schweinchen. Your master requested your advice, not your sentiment."

She turned to me, then answered.

"The Kobalt custom would see her suffer the very fate she inflicted," Eradne said, and I nodded thankfully.

"Now, I know I said in the last meeting that I was against executions... but this time, I have to admit, I'm leaning towards one."

The expressions around the table were grim, and again, it was Francesca who spoke.

"Can't we just banish her? Like what we planned with Candace?"

I shook my head.

"Candace was stupid, but not overly dangerous. Emily on the other hand, might be. Plus... we have a new problem to consider."

Cameron studied me, and I swallowed, before continuing.

"The attack from Palancar is... troubling; and I suspect that there may be a reason behind it, leading back to one of our group that we left behind."

"Vanessa?" Jeannie asked, and I nodded.

"You're saying she got them to attack us?" Jordan asked, and Nolan scoffed.

"No way," he said, and I nodded in agreement.

"I think it's fairly reasonable to assume that she would not have been able to pull that off... but let's say there is a faction within Palancar that wishes to make sure that we don't establish our own grove, given that their princess; a prominent member of their society, is with us... then by killing me, they would have struck a serious blow to the princess' plans."

"They know what our weapons can do, though. Don't they?" Francesca asked, and I nodded.

"They do... and you certainly taught them a lesson about that last night; but... they have roughly twelve suits of armor, like the one I'm wearing. Maybe tier three, maybe even higher; and the weapons to match."

"Fuck! And you were gonna tell us that, when?" Nolan shot.

"Well, we haven't had time to hold regular meetings yet," I explained, and he threw his hands up in frustration.

"So, Vanessa might be in high grade upper tier armor next time we see her then?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"Putting this armor on me is what got the princess banished from the realm. I don't think they're going to be doing that anytime soon... but we do need to consider the possibility that she might have been taken in by this faction within Palancar, and if they did... we need to be aware that if we were to threaten them, we might be giving them the reason they need to arm and weaponize her against us."

"So, they're only a threat if we retaliate? Then it's fine; we'll just leave them be, right?" Francesca asked, and I shook my head.

"In the short term, and especially until we put some serious distance between ourselves and Palancar; it is highly possible that they will keep up the attacks in an attempt to provoke us," I explained.

Eradne nodded in agreement with me at this, and Cameron nodded, as she took in the information.

"So, we step up our security measures, right?" she said, "and no more exiles; at least, not of otherworlders."

I nodded, and everyone seemed more or less in agreement.

"So... execution is really our only option?" Jordan asked.

"If we really want to avoid it, we'll have to imprison her... but that puts us at risk, and I don't like the possibility of her manipulating others into dissention."

"Are you sure that's a problem?" Jeannie asked. "Evie and Molly weren't really falling for her manipulation. Leanna was the only one who listened to her, really."

"Today, yes. But in a few weeks, when she knows everyone better... her manipulation game is going to be much more effective. Then, every single incident will be something she'll use to turn us against each other. I also think that committing murder, in cold blood, should also be where we draw the line."

Jeannie frowned, but apart from her and Jordan, everyone else seemed to be in agreement.

"Maybe I'm being too soft for the world that we find ourselves in, but it still makes me feel uncomfortable," Jeannie said, and I nodded.

"That's good. It should make us feel uncomfortable. The day we adjust to an outcome like this is what we really need to worry about," I reasoned, and she smiled, nodding in agreement.

Nolan, however, shot me a sharp look, and for a second, I wondered if he was about to say something troublesome, but he seemed to think better of it, and I breathed a sigh of relief as he let it go.

"So, do we go ahead with the trial?" Jeannie asked, and I shook my head.

"Only three people are missing, and involving the Kobalt seems to be a bad idea at this point."

Eradne glanced at Gisela, who nodded.

"It is true. The Kobalt only wish to see Helmut released unharmed."

"Good. Let's just bring them in, and let them hear our version of the accounts. If they still wish to hear from Emily, only then will we consider arranging it."

Jeannie set off to find the others, as Gisela and Eradne left the room.

"I will await you outside," Eradne offered

I nodded in response as she left with Gisela.

The rest of us waited until Jeannie returned with the three girls, and as we explained the situation, Molly and Evie seemed visibly relieved, but Leanna furrowed her brow, worriedly.

"So... she tried to make it look like that? But why?" Leanna asked.

"She wanted to drive a wedge between us and the Kobalt, though I'm not sure I know what her plan in the long run was, honestly."

"Shouldn't we find out?" she asked, and I considered the question.

"I'm not sure she'll give us an honest answer. Since this whole thing began, she's shifted her stories repeatedly to appeal to what she thinks each of us want to hear. I mean, if you think about it, the Kobalt have shared their homes with us, and given us luxuries we would never have otherwise had access to. Yet she made them seem scary, because they were different."

Leanna frowned.

"But... how can we be sure? Maybe its all a trick, and she really wanted to save us from them?"

Cameron sighed, stepping forward.

"Come with me for a sec," she said, and as Leanna followed, we all headed out of the room and towards the main hall.

Cameron turned to make sure that Leanna was watching, and as she did, she headed over to a nearby Kobalt man, and as soon as he spotted her, he went on alert.

Cameron, however, reached for him, and at first, he ducked away from her hand; but as she kept after him, he toppled over the table behind him, and then went to his knees.

"Mercy, Auslander, mercy!" the man cried, and Cameron turned back to Leanna, and shrugged.

"They're afraid to even touch us. What chances are there that they would kill, or hurt us?"

Leanna's hands went to her face, and she shook her head.

"I don't get it... then why?"