2

The dark closet had barely enough room for fifteen year old Sara as she tried to hide silently behind the uniform coats. It hadn't been difficult to get into the closet before the council meeting, she just had to volunteer to set the table and be sure she was the last of the staff in the room. She had spilled a plate of peas, which would take enough time to clean up that no one would want to wait for her in the council chambers or even in the hall outside. No one would care if she didn't show up back at the kitchens, she wasn't on the kitchen cleaning crew for the day, she volunteered to cook and set the table, but never said she'd volunteer to clean up after.

The most difficult thing of this whole ordeal was remaining hidden in the back of the closet while the council members hung their coats. She hoped she'd be able to remain hidden after the meeting when the councilors picked up their coats.

Sara could hear the remorse in the voices of the councilors when they finally spoke.

"What are we supposed to do?" A woman's shaky voice broke the long silence; the echo was unnerving through the council chambers.

"Do?" From across the dark hall came the low, slow voice of another council member. "The president and vice president of this council are dead, and one of the great Kæavs has been destroyed."

Sara perked up, bumping her shoes she'd removed, this wasn't what she was here for, this was worse, much worse.

"The President and Vice President are dead?!" Came the angered voice of a hobbot, "That's your concern? our leaders, and a sky island. Not the twenty-five million other people who are dead! Unresurrectable."

"No one will be able forget this," another voice echoed through the hall.

"I'll ask again, what are supposed to do?" said the woman.

"We cannot worry about the dead, Illek shall have its meal. We must move forward--"

"No one will be able to forget this," said another person that hadn't spoken yet.

"perhaps its time for a shift," said a voice that came from a man that had to have been far taller and stronger than anyone else in the room.

"what? turn our world of peace back into a world of war?"

"War is inevitable, we might as well give them a reason," the large sounding man said.

An old man responded, "We have projected images of peace, we have erased memories of pain and torment, now you want us to project images of hatred into everyone's minds?"

"People are going to war over this, we're just going to make sure everyone wants to fight." 

"And what of those who are not suseptable to our influence?"

"we do what we've always done, if they become problematic, eliminate them," said a snide voice.

"I haven't worked for 200,000 years to bring peace to a world to let it fall to ruin over this."

Two-hundred thousand years? she thought, how could anyone be that old? not even the Eternal Matthew Clevel is that old.

"And Matthew thinks he's helping," said the old council member.

"Matthew? why are you bringing him up, we agreed a few of those thousand years ago that he would no longer be Captain, that we would no longer speak of him."

"He just popped in my head."

She couldn't help the gasp. Did they hear here thoughts? The room outside the closet got suddenly silent. Then a chair scraping on the marble floor, and footsteps moving closer to her location. There was nothing she could do, but she had known that going in, she pressed the stone on the necklace she was wearing. She was invisible, but only for a short time. She hoped the search would be given up quickly.

"Yes, your thoughts betray you."

The door to the closet opened. The darkness vanished and was replaced with the brilliant white marble reflecting the light of Verroi, the white sun, straight into the closet. The man was silhouetted in the glow as he walked into the closet.

"Was that what you wanted to hear, child?" His slow voice was low and cold.

Sara scrunched up as much as she could, Can he see me? she thought.

"Yes, I can." He knelt in front of her, looking her square in her invisible eyes. "And at this distance I can hear your thoughts. Now what is kitchen staff doing with items like these?" He removed her necklace and headband, she became visible and her mind was now seen by everyone. She was exposed. "Come, put your shoes on, do not walk on this floor in your bare feet."

Sara did as she was instructed, it was no use at this point, her defenses here gone. She had been caught in the Council Chambers of Pen and Key. She knew the meetings were secretive, she knew the council member were anonymous to anyone outside the council, and here she was in the middle of them all, seeing their brightly lit faces amongst the white marble floors and walls with gold lacing, and the white and gold robes of the council members. She was now the only person outside of this council to have ever seen any of these people. And she now knew that they had manipulated world events and memories, and had killed those they couldn't change. 

"Sit," the man said pointing at a chair at the long table. She sat, looking at him but not making eye contact. "My name is Jo'grep, what's yours?" 

She wasn't sure if he was trying to sound friendly and failing, or completely not being friendly; he could read her mind, he knew everything about her. The other council members had gathered around the table, all staring at her but they did not sit. "I...I'm Sara." She finished with confidence.

"Ah, of course you would be. No doubt your ancestry to the Lady Saresae inspired you to hide in this closet. Why? I wonder." 

"You're in my mind, you know more about me than I do, you tell me."

He tossed the necklace and headband on the table in front of her, but out of reach. "Who gave these to you?"

"You tell me," she was defiant. She never lived weak, she wouldn't die weak.

"That's not our way."

"No, you don't look, you change what's in people's minds."

"Would you like me to do that do you." He stood tall, with his eyebrows raised, looking down his strong nose at her. 

She looked up at him, barely able to see his eyes over his grey moustache and pointed beard, he was close to her, and taller than most of the Selans she'd met. 

"Or we could kill you." One of the other council members spoke up, sounded like the one she had heard suggesting killing those whose minds they couldn't change. He was even older than the man talking to her, but he was broader.

"No, that won't be necessary."

Jo'grep placed his hand on her head, and everything went black. 

Black, and blank.