The court room had three stories of balconies to accommodate the elder vampires from each clan, as well as their company. At the head of the room was Adriel standing behind a large desk with two elders beside him. Trent stood in front of the large crowd, though he was more worried about the woman he saw sitting behind him. Corliss had looked so relieved to see him as the large guard walked him down the isle.
He hadn't smiled at her as he had been stunned to see her. Upon entering the court house, he had already seen what had been done to Marcellus and the other elders. Each was crucified above the entrance doors, as a display to all vampires that this behavior was not tolerated. Their blood ran down the walls of the building and was being collected. Trent didn't know what they would use it for, but he was more concerned about Corliss' future than his own.
Corliss' mother held her hand and she had fought the urge to hug Trent the moment she saw him. Her brothers and father filled the pew at the front of the courtroom. It was the first time that she had ever seen Trent in his complete transformation. She worried for his life, even though she knew that Adriel would not kill him. There were worst punishments than death..
"Trent Monte." Adriel began, "As an unsanctioned turn; the sentence is normally death. However, your circumstances are unusual. You and your master were both unwilling participants in your transformation, which makes death an radical punishment." He looked at the young man standing in front of him. Trent didn't seem afraid of the judgment that was to come, perhaps because he knew that Corliss had done this for him. "Have you anything to say before I pass sentencing?"
"No, sir." Trent answered as his hands folded behind his back.
"After speaking with you, I find that you are not like minded to those in the Macrea clan. Your introduction would cause us no small amount of grief, and therefore I am banishing you from our buildings and our clan name. You are a rogue kine, do you understand?"
"Yes, sir." He bowed his head seeming rather calm. Though, in truth, his heart pounded in fear. He knew there was an Upper Circle spy in here somewhere, there always was. He wouldn't be outside the court house for a minute before they swooped in and returned him to his cell.
"Excuse me." Cassius stood from the bench and all eyes fell on him. "Since his master is, in fact, a Fausto, our clan will gladly accept Trent Monte within our ranks."
Adriel nodded his head, "So be it then." He looked at Trent, "Do you understand what has just occurred?"
"Yes, sir, I do." His heart throbbing eased, and he was able to breath again. He knew that Corliss had something to do with this, and feared he would never get the chance to thank her.
"Please, take a seat then." Adriel ordered.
Trent turned around to find a place to sit when three men rushed towards him and pulled him from the building. He recognized two of them as Julian and Silvio Fausto, and the third looked a great deal like them.
"I want to watch Corliss' trial!" He snapped at Julian when they reached the sidewalk outside the court house.
The red head glared down at him, "Corliss has asked that you not be present." He told him as a limo pulled around the corner.
He was shoved inside along with the other men, and the limo began to drive forward before he could react. It was silent for several moments, before Trent's worry for Corliss overcame his own self-concern. "What is going to happen to her?"
"They are going to kill her." Silvio growled.
"She did this for you. Right now, she could still be a member of the Macreas and Adriel could be dethroned." Dante hissed, "But now she will die, all for you. Does that please you?"
"Don't blame him." Julian jumped to his defense, "This was all Corliss' choice. This is the way she wanted things to play out." He looked at Trent, "She loves you and didn't want you to suffer for her mistakes. She asked our father to accept you into our clan, and she wanted to exchange her life for your freedom."
"He… he's going to kill her?" Trent's voice shook.
"That is the price for betrayal." Silvio explained; a look of rage in his eyes.
"Don't worry, our father will treat you like his own son." Julian patted his leg, "You are… you will be all that we have left of Corliss."
Trent tried to fight back his tears, but several escaped him. "Are you shitting me?" He barked, "How can you think that I am worried about my own well-being, when Corliss is going to be executed? And how can you just sit here knowing that you are doing nothing to defend her?"
"There is nothing to defend!" Dante snapped and leaned forward in his seat across from Trent, "Don't you get it? She admitted her guilt, so that Adriel would claim you are a Macrea member. The Upper Circle couldn't do anything to you if you were a member of a clan."
Trent rubbed his tears away with the back of his wrists, "Why?" He sobbed; he didn't really need an answer as he already knew.
Corliss' three brothers said nothing to him in response. Each seemed just as upset as he was, but tried not to show their grief. Silvio and Dante both glared angrily at the man across the limo from them. Julian took a softer route, and seemed to be the peacemaker of the group.
Clearing his throat, Julian tried to lighten the mood, if there was any way to do so. "You a big reader?" He asked Trent.
Folding her hands in front of her, she waited for Adriel to begin his speech. She would have much rather he just announced that she was sentenced to death, so she could get this over with. The wait was excruciating.
"Corliss Macrea, you are accused of betrayal to your high elder and your master. As well as creating an unsanctioned turn, and withholding critical information about human spying in the clan. How do you plead?" Adriel asked, he was being more formal with her then he had been with Trent.
"Guilty." She responded; her voice unshaken, but her body was tense.
All sentences were carried out immediately, and in front of the court. She could see the large executioner standing in the corner in front of her. He knew what her verdict was going to be and he prepared himself.
"For two hundred years, you have been a loyal servant to the Macrea clan." Adriel began, "Before I announce sentencing, I would like to know why you suddenly chose to betray your family."
She cleared her throat as she did not expected to have to explain. "Before I was a Macrea, I was part of the Fausto clan. I met Elder Marcellus during a party, and we began an affair. He fell in love with me, and tried to use the war to marry me by suggesting I wed a Macrea. Years later, he approached me and offered me my freedom as a toy, and a place at his side if I were to betray my master. I did so willingly and without hesitation."
Adriel nodded as well as the other two elders beside him. "Tell us why then did you inform your master of your betrayal?"
"To save Trent Monte from the Upper Circle and to ensure that he was not killed when his turn was found out. I blackmailed my master with information about Marcellus." Corliss heard the whispers behind her, as they had been ongoing every time she opened her mouth.
Adriel frowned, he had wished she would say something about realizing that she was wrong and asking for forgiveness. "Very well, Corliss Macrea. As you know, part of your plea bargain included that you would be punished no worse and no better then Marcellus Macrea. Even though he was the organizer of this entire assault, none of it would have been possible without you. He used information that you gave him to coax other elders to his side. I believe that makes you just as guilty, do you agree?"
She bowed her head, "I agree, milord." She swallowed as she saw the large executioner stand up and begin to move towards her.
"Do you have anything you wish to say before I pass sentencing?"
"I do." She sighed, "I wish to apologize to the Fausto clan for any grief that I have caused them, and I offer my apologizes as well to the Macreas. I acted out of selfishness, and I pay for my crimes today. Most importantly, I want to beg forgiveness from you, Adriel." She looked into his eyes, "You treated me fairly throughout the years, better than most toys, and I spit in your face. Please do not think back on me bitterly."
He nodded his head, "I can not speak for the clans, but for myself when I say that I hold no grudge against you."
The executioner grabbed her upper arm. "Thank you."
"As in accordance to the judgment given to Marcellus Macrea; Corliss Macrea, you are sentenced to…"
"This is bigger then my entire apartment." He was trying to be kind to Julian; who was showing him nothing but genuine concern and compassion.
Trent really wanted to be left alone to mourn, but knew that Julian too was suffering from the loss. He inspected the room briefly. A canopy bed, a wide dresser, double doors that lead out into a balcony, a fireplace, and large Chinese design rug.
"You can screw around with it and make it your own. Believe me, my room looks like a punk teenager lives there." Julian grinned, as his cell phone rang. "Hello." He said when he answered it. His friendly demeanor vanished, and a deep frown impaled his face. "I see, thank you, father. Yes, I will tell him." He hung up the phone and put it in his inner coat pocket, "Corliss' sentence was just carried out." His voice broke when he spoke, "Excuse me, I need to…" He didn't finish just shut the door as he exited the room.
Trent sucked in some air while he tried to suppress his tears. He wanted to tell her that he forgave her for what had happened to him, and that he felt better now that he was a kine. He wanted to thank her for everything she had done for him. No one else had ever accepted him, faults and all. No one else had ever held their tongue when he was being a fool, but let him know gently with their eyes.
Suddenly, he couldn't breath anymore, and grabbed at his heart. It was being torn to pieces. He sat down on the bench at the end of his bed, and allowed the tears to flow.
"God damn you, Corliss." He mumbled, "God damn you."
Why did she have to make him care? Why couldn't he be mad that she had made him a kine? How was it that he had dreamed the night before of the future he would have with her? He had given himself hope and now it was all ripped away. She had been so close in that court room, he could have touched her face when he walked passed. Pride had told him not too, even though he wasn't angry anymore he wanted her to think he was. He wanted her to beg for his forgiveness after the trial, so he could humbly give it.
He hated himself for running out on her at the museum, if he hadn't been caught by the Upper Circle, then this… no, this wasn't any good. No matter what or who he blamed, all this had happened. Corliss gave her life so that he could live, but for what? Now that she was gone there was very little he wanted to live for. She had given him a reason, she had been the obsession that kept him going. All he had wanted was to see her another day, to touch her, to smell her, to kiss her, and now that would never happen again.
Standing up, he walked out onto the balcony and looked up at the stars. If he had thought he would have been left undisturbed, he would have screamed into the night's eternal blackness.
A limo pulled into the driveway after what seemed like an eternity on the balcony. He watched it drive up, then disappear behind the corner of the mansion. It was probably Cassius and Kamila coming back from their daughter's execution. He wondered if Cassius would come and speak to him now.
Trent wasn't in the mood to talk with anyone. Leaning forward, he laid his forehead on the cool stone of the balcony's railing. Tears streaming from his eyes and onto the stone flooring below him. He wanted to hit something, destroy anything, but this wasn't his home, not yet. Throwing a fit right now in front of strangers would be interpreted incorrectly, and they would believe he had a violent temper.
"Trent." A soft voice spoke from the balcony doors.
Standing up straight, he turned his eyes to meet with the intruder. His heart and breath stopped. "Corliss?"
She tried not to grin and pointed to his bedroom door with her thumb. "I knocked, but you didn't answer. I just wanted to make sure that you were alright. I didn't get to talk to you before the trial and find out like I had hoped."
He ignored everything that she said. "I thought, they said you were executed." He wanted to run to her and hold her in his arms, but he didn't believe any of this.
"I was not to be given a punishment any worse or better then Marcellus' own. It turned out that he wasn't killed, just hung up outside the courthouse to humiliate him." She held onto the balcony door as she spoke, a little sad that Trent hadn't approached her. Initially she thought he was crying for her, but now she wondered if he was crying for himself. For what she had done to him.
"What did they do to you?" He finally asked after they stared at each other for a moment.
"I was whipped naked in front of the court, I have welts and cuts on my back. They collected some of my blood for the cleansing ritual and stripped Marcellus of his ranking." She couldn't believe it herself, when Adriel had announced a whipping as her punishment. She had actually asked him to repeat himself, which he refused to do. "You got the nice room. This was always my favorite. It was Rylan's." She looked behind her.
"Why… why are you here?" He still couldn't believe this.
"I was made into a rogue kine, and my father accepted me back into the Faustos. I think that really pissed Adriel off, both me and you finding a clan right after being banned from his." She grinned at him.
Trent stared at her, but said nothing.
"Well, I will leave you alone now. I'm… I'm sorry about all this, Trent. I really am, and I hope you believe me."
"Don't leave." He whispered when she turned her back to him. Trent hadn't expected her to hear him, but she stopped in her exit and turned to face him.
Corliss stood silently; waiting to see what he wanted. Both feeling the need to run into the other's arms, but too proud to actually give in.
"What happens to me now?" It really wasn't his concern, but he knew it would keep her near.
Corliss shrugged, "You aren't a toy, you are a free kine. My father will probably teach you the same way he taught me. Give you some money, show you how to spend it, and let you start your own life."
"My own life? I can do whatever I want with it?"
She smiled, "As long as you follow the Fausto law, but those will be explained to you later." She watched him shake slightly, as he fought back an urge to walk towards her.
Corliss stepped out onto the balcony, and positioned herself in front of him. He still refused to reach out and touch her.
"Are you free?" He asked.
"Free in the clan or free for dinner?" She smirked.
His worry began to melt, "Both."
"Yes." Hesitantly, she reached her hands up she touched his neck. "I'm sorry, Trent, I'm…"
He dropped his forehead to her own and shook his head. "No, I am sorry. I realized now that being a kine was something that I always wanted, but was too proud to admit. I am the one who should be sorry. I knew that I was turning long before I bit you." He stared down at her with a quizzical look on his face. "You're a Fausto princess now, right?"
She nodded.
"Can I… am I beneath you now?"
"A little less then when I was a Macrea toy and you were human." She joked.
"I'm serious, Corliss."
Her grin faded, "I love you, Trent. My father knows it, my brothers and mother know it. They would never stand in my… our way."
"I don't have to hide my feelings from anyone then?" His hands rested on her hips.
"I beg you not to." She grinned when Trent wrapped his arms around her back.
He pulled her close to him, kissing her bottom lip gently, as if to test the reality of it all. Corliss didn't give him time to think it through, as she pulled his lips to firmly meet her own. His passion increased when it struck him that it was all true, and this world full of unhappy endings had given him a rare blissful one. Though, this wasn't truly the end, he would have many years ahead of him with Corliss.
He gently pushed her back. She looked like she had lost herself in the kiss, before finding a somber glare in his eyes. "When do I get a sports car?"
She played punched him in the chest, "Bastard."
Trent ordered a coffee from the road side stand, and grinned at the man who came to stand beside him. He didn't look a day older then when he had last seen him on the sidewalk in front of his apartment, in fact his old partner looked younger.
"Long time, no see." Isaac said before he ordered his own coffee.
"How's life been treating you?" Trent asked him.
"Good, you?"
Trent tugged on his expensive suit to show it off. "Very well. I heard that my father retired and gave you his seat in the Upper Circle. Congrats."
Isaac smiled as they both took their coffee cups and began to walk together down the sidewalk, "He asked your brother, but he declined. He thought of me because of my courage to turn you in."
"I never got to thank you for calling my sister, Isaac." Trent patted his shoulder, "I appreciate it."
"It wasn't me. It was Samara." He confessed.
"You gave her the number, didn't you?" Trent watched him nod.
"I couldn't call myself; it felt like betrayal."
"It's all the same to me."
Isaac cleared his throat, "I am sorry about doing that to you, Trent, but I just knew that…"
Trent raised his hand, "I told you before, I would have done the same to you. Don't worry about it, alright?"
Isaac felt ashamed and dropped his head before allowing his eyes to fall down to the ring on Trent's finger, "Married now, are you?"
"Yep, and a kid on the way." Trent took a drink out of his paper cup, then pointed across the street.
Isaac watched the pregnant Corliss step out of a clothing store and wave at them, before getting into her car. "Talk to Samara or Coyle lately?" Trent asked before Isaac could congratulate him.
"Yeah, I have actually. They are working a case for me right now." He nodded his head, "It's good to see that you are happy now."
"It's good to be happy. Tell Samara that I said thanks. See ya around." He waved as he crossed the street and found his way to his car.
"Looks like Isaac is well." Corliss pointed out the window at him.
Trent smiled, "Yep, where to now?"
She sighed, "My feet hurt, let's head home. I still need to buy some things, but that can wait until tomorrow."
Reaching over Trent kissed Corliss' forehead and then her stomach, "I still want to name him Franklin." He said pulling on his seat belt.
"That's a terrible name!"
"It's my father's name." Trent chuckled as he started up the car.
"And yet, it remains terrible. My family would never allow it." She frowned, "How about Sergio or Antonio?"
Trent stuck out his tongue as he pulled out into the street. He waved at Isaac as he drove by, thankful to be arguing with Corliss about baby names, and rid of the life that old life.
He hadn't smiled at her as he had been stunned to see her. Upon entering the court house, he had already seen what had been done to Marcellus and the other elders. Each was crucified above the entrance doors, as a display to all vampires that this behavior was not tolerated. Their blood ran down the walls of the building and was being collected. Trent didn't know what they would use it for, but he was more concerned about Corliss' future than his own.
Corliss' mother held her hand and she had fought the urge to hug Trent the moment she saw him. Her brothers and father filled the pew at the front of the courtroom. It was the first time that she had ever seen Trent in his complete transformation. She worried for his life, even though she knew that Adriel would not kill him. There were worst punishments than death..
"Trent Monte." Adriel began, "As an unsanctioned turn; the sentence is normally death. However, your circumstances are unusual. You and your master were both unwilling participants in your transformation, which makes death an radical punishment." He looked at the young man standing in front of him. Trent didn't seem afraid of the judgment that was to come, perhaps because he knew that Corliss had done this for him. "Have you anything to say before I pass sentencing?"
"No, sir." Trent answered as his hands folded behind his back.
"After speaking with you, I find that you are not like minded to those in the Macrea clan. Your introduction would cause us no small amount of grief, and therefore I am banishing you from our buildings and our clan name. You are a rogue kine, do you understand?"
"Yes, sir." He bowed his head seeming rather calm. Though, in truth, his heart pounded in fear. He knew there was an Upper Circle spy in here somewhere, there always was. He wouldn't be outside the court house for a minute before they swooped in and returned him to his cell.
"Excuse me." Cassius stood from the bench and all eyes fell on him. "Since his master is, in fact, a Fausto, our clan will gladly accept Trent Monte within our ranks."
Adriel nodded his head, "So be it then." He looked at Trent, "Do you understand what has just occurred?"
"Yes, sir, I do." His heart throbbing eased, and he was able to breath again. He knew that Corliss had something to do with this, and feared he would never get the chance to thank her.
"Please, take a seat then." Adriel ordered.
Trent turned around to find a place to sit when three men rushed towards him and pulled him from the building. He recognized two of them as Julian and Silvio Fausto, and the third looked a great deal like them.
"I want to watch Corliss' trial!" He snapped at Julian when they reached the sidewalk outside the court house.
The red head glared down at him, "Corliss has asked that you not be present." He told him as a limo pulled around the corner.
He was shoved inside along with the other men, and the limo began to drive forward before he could react. It was silent for several moments, before Trent's worry for Corliss overcame his own self-concern. "What is going to happen to her?"
"They are going to kill her." Silvio growled.
"She did this for you. Right now, she could still be a member of the Macreas and Adriel could be dethroned." Dante hissed, "But now she will die, all for you. Does that please you?"
"Don't blame him." Julian jumped to his defense, "This was all Corliss' choice. This is the way she wanted things to play out." He looked at Trent, "She loves you and didn't want you to suffer for her mistakes. She asked our father to accept you into our clan, and she wanted to exchange her life for your freedom."
"He… he's going to kill her?" Trent's voice shook.
"That is the price for betrayal." Silvio explained; a look of rage in his eyes.
"Don't worry, our father will treat you like his own son." Julian patted his leg, "You are… you will be all that we have left of Corliss."
Trent tried to fight back his tears, but several escaped him. "Are you shitting me?" He barked, "How can you think that I am worried about my own well-being, when Corliss is going to be executed? And how can you just sit here knowing that you are doing nothing to defend her?"
"There is nothing to defend!" Dante snapped and leaned forward in his seat across from Trent, "Don't you get it? She admitted her guilt, so that Adriel would claim you are a Macrea member. The Upper Circle couldn't do anything to you if you were a member of a clan."
Trent rubbed his tears away with the back of his wrists, "Why?" He sobbed; he didn't really need an answer as he already knew.
Corliss' three brothers said nothing to him in response. Each seemed just as upset as he was, but tried not to show their grief. Silvio and Dante both glared angrily at the man across the limo from them. Julian took a softer route, and seemed to be the peacemaker of the group.
Clearing his throat, Julian tried to lighten the mood, if there was any way to do so. "You a big reader?" He asked Trent.
---***---
Corliss walked in front of the court, Adriel's eyes piercing into her flesh. Her mother had fought to not let her go up there, but Cassius had pried her hands away. Now that she was up there, she felt naked and vulnerable. It was time to be judge and she was ready to accept her punishment. She had wronged everyone in her life with the way she had acted, and now it was time to pay.Folding her hands in front of her, she waited for Adriel to begin his speech. She would have much rather he just announced that she was sentenced to death, so she could get this over with. The wait was excruciating.
"Corliss Macrea, you are accused of betrayal to your high elder and your master. As well as creating an unsanctioned turn, and withholding critical information about human spying in the clan. How do you plead?" Adriel asked, he was being more formal with her then he had been with Trent.
"Guilty." She responded; her voice unshaken, but her body was tense.
All sentences were carried out immediately, and in front of the court. She could see the large executioner standing in the corner in front of her. He knew what her verdict was going to be and he prepared himself.
"For two hundred years, you have been a loyal servant to the Macrea clan." Adriel began, "Before I announce sentencing, I would like to know why you suddenly chose to betray your family."
She cleared her throat as she did not expected to have to explain. "Before I was a Macrea, I was part of the Fausto clan. I met Elder Marcellus during a party, and we began an affair. He fell in love with me, and tried to use the war to marry me by suggesting I wed a Macrea. Years later, he approached me and offered me my freedom as a toy, and a place at his side if I were to betray my master. I did so willingly and without hesitation."
Adriel nodded as well as the other two elders beside him. "Tell us why then did you inform your master of your betrayal?"
"To save Trent Monte from the Upper Circle and to ensure that he was not killed when his turn was found out. I blackmailed my master with information about Marcellus." Corliss heard the whispers behind her, as they had been ongoing every time she opened her mouth.
Adriel frowned, he had wished she would say something about realizing that she was wrong and asking for forgiveness. "Very well, Corliss Macrea. As you know, part of your plea bargain included that you would be punished no worse and no better then Marcellus Macrea. Even though he was the organizer of this entire assault, none of it would have been possible without you. He used information that you gave him to coax other elders to his side. I believe that makes you just as guilty, do you agree?"
She bowed her head, "I agree, milord." She swallowed as she saw the large executioner stand up and begin to move towards her.
"Do you have anything you wish to say before I pass sentencing?"
"I do." She sighed, "I wish to apologize to the Fausto clan for any grief that I have caused them, and I offer my apologizes as well to the Macreas. I acted out of selfishness, and I pay for my crimes today. Most importantly, I want to beg forgiveness from you, Adriel." She looked into his eyes, "You treated me fairly throughout the years, better than most toys, and I spit in your face. Please do not think back on me bitterly."
He nodded his head, "I can not speak for the clans, but for myself when I say that I hold no grudge against you."
The executioner grabbed her upper arm. "Thank you."
"As in accordance to the judgment given to Marcellus Macrea; Corliss Macrea, you are sentenced to…"
---***---
"And this is your room." Julian opened the door in the Fausto mansion. "We can stop by your old home tomorrow and pick up any of your stuff that you want." He watched Trent enter into the room."This is bigger then my entire apartment." He was trying to be kind to Julian; who was showing him nothing but genuine concern and compassion.
Trent really wanted to be left alone to mourn, but knew that Julian too was suffering from the loss. He inspected the room briefly. A canopy bed, a wide dresser, double doors that lead out into a balcony, a fireplace, and large Chinese design rug.
"You can screw around with it and make it your own. Believe me, my room looks like a punk teenager lives there." Julian grinned, as his cell phone rang. "Hello." He said when he answered it. His friendly demeanor vanished, and a deep frown impaled his face. "I see, thank you, father. Yes, I will tell him." He hung up the phone and put it in his inner coat pocket, "Corliss' sentence was just carried out." His voice broke when he spoke, "Excuse me, I need to…" He didn't finish just shut the door as he exited the room.
Trent sucked in some air while he tried to suppress his tears. He wanted to tell her that he forgave her for what had happened to him, and that he felt better now that he was a kine. He wanted to thank her for everything she had done for him. No one else had ever accepted him, faults and all. No one else had ever held their tongue when he was being a fool, but let him know gently with their eyes.
Suddenly, he couldn't breath anymore, and grabbed at his heart. It was being torn to pieces. He sat down on the bench at the end of his bed, and allowed the tears to flow.
"God damn you, Corliss." He mumbled, "God damn you."
Why did she have to make him care? Why couldn't he be mad that she had made him a kine? How was it that he had dreamed the night before of the future he would have with her? He had given himself hope and now it was all ripped away. She had been so close in that court room, he could have touched her face when he walked passed. Pride had told him not too, even though he wasn't angry anymore he wanted her to think he was. He wanted her to beg for his forgiveness after the trial, so he could humbly give it.
He hated himself for running out on her at the museum, if he hadn't been caught by the Upper Circle, then this… no, this wasn't any good. No matter what or who he blamed, all this had happened. Corliss gave her life so that he could live, but for what? Now that she was gone there was very little he wanted to live for. She had given him a reason, she had been the obsession that kept him going. All he had wanted was to see her another day, to touch her, to smell her, to kiss her, and now that would never happen again.
Standing up, he walked out onto the balcony and looked up at the stars. If he had thought he would have been left undisturbed, he would have screamed into the night's eternal blackness.
A limo pulled into the driveway after what seemed like an eternity on the balcony. He watched it drive up, then disappear behind the corner of the mansion. It was probably Cassius and Kamila coming back from their daughter's execution. He wondered if Cassius would come and speak to him now.
Trent wasn't in the mood to talk with anyone. Leaning forward, he laid his forehead on the cool stone of the balcony's railing. Tears streaming from his eyes and onto the stone flooring below him. He wanted to hit something, destroy anything, but this wasn't his home, not yet. Throwing a fit right now in front of strangers would be interpreted incorrectly, and they would believe he had a violent temper.
"Trent." A soft voice spoke from the balcony doors.
Standing up straight, he turned his eyes to meet with the intruder. His heart and breath stopped. "Corliss?"
She tried not to grin and pointed to his bedroom door with her thumb. "I knocked, but you didn't answer. I just wanted to make sure that you were alright. I didn't get to talk to you before the trial and find out like I had hoped."
He ignored everything that she said. "I thought, they said you were executed." He wanted to run to her and hold her in his arms, but he didn't believe any of this.
"I was not to be given a punishment any worse or better then Marcellus' own. It turned out that he wasn't killed, just hung up outside the courthouse to humiliate him." She held onto the balcony door as she spoke, a little sad that Trent hadn't approached her. Initially she thought he was crying for her, but now she wondered if he was crying for himself. For what she had done to him.
"What did they do to you?" He finally asked after they stared at each other for a moment.
"I was whipped naked in front of the court, I have welts and cuts on my back. They collected some of my blood for the cleansing ritual and stripped Marcellus of his ranking." She couldn't believe it herself, when Adriel had announced a whipping as her punishment. She had actually asked him to repeat himself, which he refused to do. "You got the nice room. This was always my favorite. It was Rylan's." She looked behind her.
"Why… why are you here?" He still couldn't believe this.
"I was made into a rogue kine, and my father accepted me back into the Faustos. I think that really pissed Adriel off, both me and you finding a clan right after being banned from his." She grinned at him.
Trent stared at her, but said nothing.
"Well, I will leave you alone now. I'm… I'm sorry about all this, Trent. I really am, and I hope you believe me."
"Don't leave." He whispered when she turned her back to him. Trent hadn't expected her to hear him, but she stopped in her exit and turned to face him.
Corliss stood silently; waiting to see what he wanted. Both feeling the need to run into the other's arms, but too proud to actually give in.
"What happens to me now?" It really wasn't his concern, but he knew it would keep her near.
Corliss shrugged, "You aren't a toy, you are a free kine. My father will probably teach you the same way he taught me. Give you some money, show you how to spend it, and let you start your own life."
"My own life? I can do whatever I want with it?"
She smiled, "As long as you follow the Fausto law, but those will be explained to you later." She watched him shake slightly, as he fought back an urge to walk towards her.
Corliss stepped out onto the balcony, and positioned herself in front of him. He still refused to reach out and touch her.
"Are you free?" He asked.
"Free in the clan or free for dinner?" She smirked.
His worry began to melt, "Both."
"Yes." Hesitantly, she reached her hands up she touched his neck. "I'm sorry, Trent, I'm…"
He dropped his forehead to her own and shook his head. "No, I am sorry. I realized now that being a kine was something that I always wanted, but was too proud to admit. I am the one who should be sorry. I knew that I was turning long before I bit you." He stared down at her with a quizzical look on his face. "You're a Fausto princess now, right?"
She nodded.
"Can I… am I beneath you now?"
"A little less then when I was a Macrea toy and you were human." She joked.
"I'm serious, Corliss."
Her grin faded, "I love you, Trent. My father knows it, my brothers and mother know it. They would never stand in my… our way."
"I don't have to hide my feelings from anyone then?" His hands rested on her hips.
"I beg you not to." She grinned when Trent wrapped his arms around her back.
He pulled her close to him, kissing her bottom lip gently, as if to test the reality of it all. Corliss didn't give him time to think it through, as she pulled his lips to firmly meet her own. His passion increased when it struck him that it was all true, and this world full of unhappy endings had given him a rare blissful one. Though, this wasn't truly the end, he would have many years ahead of him with Corliss.
He gently pushed her back. She looked like she had lost herself in the kiss, before finding a somber glare in his eyes. "When do I get a sports car?"
She played punched him in the chest, "Bastard."
---***---
Epilogue
Trent ordered a coffee from the road side stand, and grinned at the man who came to stand beside him. He didn't look a day older then when he had last seen him on the sidewalk in front of his apartment, in fact his old partner looked younger.
"Long time, no see." Isaac said before he ordered his own coffee.
"How's life been treating you?" Trent asked him.
"Good, you?"
Trent tugged on his expensive suit to show it off. "Very well. I heard that my father retired and gave you his seat in the Upper Circle. Congrats."
Isaac smiled as they both took their coffee cups and began to walk together down the sidewalk, "He asked your brother, but he declined. He thought of me because of my courage to turn you in."
"I never got to thank you for calling my sister, Isaac." Trent patted his shoulder, "I appreciate it."
"It wasn't me. It was Samara." He confessed.
"You gave her the number, didn't you?" Trent watched him nod.
"I couldn't call myself; it felt like betrayal."
"It's all the same to me."
Isaac cleared his throat, "I am sorry about doing that to you, Trent, but I just knew that…"
Trent raised his hand, "I told you before, I would have done the same to you. Don't worry about it, alright?"
Isaac felt ashamed and dropped his head before allowing his eyes to fall down to the ring on Trent's finger, "Married now, are you?"
"Yep, and a kid on the way." Trent took a drink out of his paper cup, then pointed across the street.
Isaac watched the pregnant Corliss step out of a clothing store and wave at them, before getting into her car. "Talk to Samara or Coyle lately?" Trent asked before Isaac could congratulate him.
"Yeah, I have actually. They are working a case for me right now." He nodded his head, "It's good to see that you are happy now."
"It's good to be happy. Tell Samara that I said thanks. See ya around." He waved as he crossed the street and found his way to his car.
"Looks like Isaac is well." Corliss pointed out the window at him.
Trent smiled, "Yep, where to now?"
She sighed, "My feet hurt, let's head home. I still need to buy some things, but that can wait until tomorrow."
Reaching over Trent kissed Corliss' forehead and then her stomach, "I still want to name him Franklin." He said pulling on his seat belt.
"That's a terrible name!"
"It's my father's name." Trent chuckled as he started up the car.
"And yet, it remains terrible. My family would never allow it." She frowned, "How about Sergio or Antonio?"
Trent stuck out his tongue as he pulled out into the street. He waved at Isaac as he drove by, thankful to be arguing with Corliss about baby names, and rid of the life that old life.