Toffé Hyssop

Toffé stood before her people's court, chained by her wrists to a raised platform that only the judges could see her face from. Her clothes were dirty from prison and stained with both her own and His blood. On her left cheek was a long horizontal slash, just below her eye. After four days of court the mumbles could still be heard from the crowd below.

"I can't believe she did such a thing..."

"Toffé's always been such a good natured child."

"What do you think the royal family will do now?"

"She'll get what's coming to her, that's for sure!"

She couldn't help but sneer, she knew what was coming but procedure made her have to wait so long to hear it.

There was a moaning squeal as the large door of the court room open. The judges came forth dressed in their black hooded robes. They were mostly priests with a few royals mixed in. They marched forward and seated themselves in the great chairs before her raised platform. The crowd was silenced by their entry.

"Toffé Hyssop," she flinched and looked up into the eyes of Adevel Vinewill, the brother of the king and high judge of their courts. "You have been charged with the murder of Prince Failkin, our once future king, your fiancé, and. my dear nephew. You choose not to fight the charge, making it easy to determine a swift sentence for you. Even though it is a horrible offence, it is only your first and due to the circumstances. you will not get the death penalty."

There were many angry shouts of protest from the crowd, Adevel raised his hands for silence and continued.

"But you are forever banished from our lands, never again are you to walk amongst your people in our village, never again will you see your family never again will you be welcomed in our shops, homes, roads, or elsewhere the Tartas may be."

This raised cheers form the crowd.

"And never again will you speak with your people!" he continued, raising his voice over the crowds cheers. "This trial is over, leave. Guards, take Toffé back to her cell."

~

Toffé was sitting high in the barred window of her cell, looking out upon her town while she waited for Adevel.

"Don't bother remembering it, you'll never see it again and heading into the outside world with a heavy heart will kill you faster than our executioner's axe." Adevel said, coming down into the dungeon with a guard on either side and a priest behind him.

"When do I leave? Do I get to see my family one last time?" she asked, not moving or turning from the window.

"You will then leave tonight with Father Hobbwood. Once you are outside the barrier, he will strip you of all knowledge of our magic and language."

A tear ran down her dirty face as she said, "Sometime this sentence seems worse then death."

"You asked for it and deserve it."

"But... will I get to go home first?" she pressed again.

"Yes, you will."

"Good, I want to change. These clothes stink of Him."

"Why do you not speak his name?! He was to be your groom!" Adevel shouted angrily at her.

"It was by arrangement! And did anyone ask me? No! The only person who agreed to this was my father!"

"That is all that's required in an arranged marriage."

"Well, then it was my father's fault he's dead! I've never loved anyone outside of my family, what made you people think I would just marry Him?! Because he's our prince? Do you think I care about our Hierarchy?"

"ENOUGH Toffé! I do not want to hear anymore! Take her home you two." Adevel stood aside with his back turned to them as they lead her out by her arms, Father Hobbwood gave her a solemn bow as she passed.

~

"Toffé, oh thank Olidamarra, I thought I'd never see you again!" cried her mother, Della, who came running up to meet them on the road. Fresh tears ran down her already tear streaked face. The guards let go of Toffé's arms as she ran up into her mom's embrace.

"Oooohh. look at the mark on your face! It looks infected!"

Toffé touched it gingerly, "I'm sure it is."

"It's sure to leave a scar. Tanta! Bring out some cleansers, numbing weeds, stitches, and warm water for your sister."

Soon Toffé's brother emerged from the house with the articles Della asked for. As her mother was fussing over her wound, Toffé asked Tanta, "Is father home?"

Tanta grit his teeth and she felt her mom falter.

"Wonderful, and he wants to talk to me, right?"

"Now dear, stop talking so I can stitch up this cut."

~

He was sitting at his desk, upstairs, in his favorite room, the training room. All forms of Tarta weapons littered the walls.

"Why Toffé. why?" he sighed, his head resting in his hands, his eyes covered.

"He was a Worm father, a disgusting parasite!"
He pushed up roughly from his desk, and as he walked around said, "Why did you kill him though? You're a superb Tarta rouge, if you didn't like him you could have easily ran away! He was the last of the Vinewills! Our dying king has not spoken in years, and now he must name an heir or else some sleazy relative will take over!"

"Maybe I could have, but I believe I did you a service. If you heard of the wars he wished to wage upon the outside world, you too would wish for his death! After our marriage he planned to kill his parent's and then make it look like an accident! Afterwards, using the Vinewill's power and the priests, he was going to brainwash you all into this madness of his "Holy" war!"

Her father looked dumbstruck, "He said such things?"

"Yes, that is the true reason I did not get the Death Sentence, I told his uncle."

"I can not believe this..."

"Believe what you will, but it's growing dark and I must still clean, change, and pack, Good-bye. Dad."

She walked out of the room, grabbing her weapons from the wall and then climbed the ladder up into her room.

~

". and some more numbing weed for if your stitches start to hurt you."

"Thank you mom."

Della stepped back for a moment and looked at her daughter, yet another wave of tears flowing down her cheeks.

"I'll miss you soooooo much!" she cried and smothered Toffé with another giant hug.

"I'll miss you too mom."

When Della finally let Toffé go, Tanta came over.

"Vines, Wine, and Time?" he asked.

"Party Hardy, bro of mine!" she responded.

Tanta chuckled and pulled Toffé into a noogie. She turned around and gave him a huge hug.

"I'll miss you Tanta."

"Stay strong Toffé, and never do anything to disgrace the Tartas out there." He said in his warm gruff voice.

"I promise."

She turned away before she started to cry, she didn't want them to remember her leaving that way. She cast her eyes up into the window that her father was watching from. He simply motioned for her to get lost with his eyes and she walked away.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Look for my brother Poad! If you find him, he will be sure to help you!" cried Della after her.

~

The town was dark, all light from the indoors cut off by shuttered windows. No one is supposed to watch a banished one leave their village.

Father Hobbwood met her at the entrance of her village. He gestured for her to lead the way out and they stepped through the gate. She turned to face him and knelt on one knee, head bowed. He chanted a prayer in the first language of the Tartas, one that had been long lost, as he did sweeping motions with his hands and staff. She could feel the knowledge of her language and her spells leaving her as the village faded from her sight, the cloaking magic working on her emptied mind. He then bowed and pointed her in the opposite direction, saying "Leave." She stood and turned away. If she had looked back she would have seen Father Hobbwood disappear through the spell.

But she didn't look back, she didn't need to, didn't want to. She walked away and began her own adventure.