Ife Adeyemi stepped forward with a toothy grin. "Mademoiselle Claire, enchanté." Claire looked hesitantly at Elias, who smiled encouragingly. "I understand that you are unfamiliar with The Council as a whole?"
"I, um. Well, I," she stammered, uncomfortable with the stares of so many on her. "I've done a bit of, I've read some."
Ife's grin grew; he liked her. She was beautiful, yes. But too many vampires tried to stand too tall to him, tried too hard to seem confident. He liked that she was smart enough to be scared.
"Well, it is my job to ensure that you do not lie. Unlike humans, we prefer to." He licked his lips in anticipation. "We prefer to force the truth out."
At his words, Claire gripped the stand in front of her so tightly, the wood cracked. She was still in so much pain from what Jocelyn had done. She glanced at Elias, who was glowering at the Vampire King. "I have no intention of lying," she said quickly, hoping to save herself.
Ife only laughed boisterously. "No worries, ma petite amie! It is easy."
He stepped right in front of her, far closer than he needed to be. He was enamored by her scent and decided that given the chance, he would take her for himself. "You shall not lie. You shall answer every question to its fullest capacity. And, you will make no attempts to leave until you are released," he said simply.
Claire nodded in response, not feeling any different. Ife clapped once and turned back to his seat, waving for the trial to get on its way.
Marwen Thumblerot was rather uninterested in this entire affair. While they had smelled the hybrid upon her entrance, they did not think a trial was necessary. It was a simple matter of killing the sire and the monster. There was no need for such time-consuming formalities. As the only party untouched by the hybrid, they had taken control of much of the actual situation, allowing the Vampire King his spotlight of course.
Clearing their throat of a bit of lichen, Marwen raised their arms and said, "We shall begin."
A sound echoed through the air that sounded like thunder, but there was not a cloud in the sky. Opposed to lightning shooting out, a ring of fire surrounded The Council and the stand, where a petrified Claire sat. She could no longer see Elias, as the smoke around the fire blocked her view of anything that was not the four creatures in front of her: The High Priestess, The Alpha King, the fae representative, and The Vampire King.
"What is your name?" Marwen asked calmly.
"Claire. Claire Green."
Marwen nodded. "Any other names?"
Claire looked towards where she knew Jocelyn was seated. A shiver ran down her spine along the fresh scar. "I was born Claire Heron."
"Your mother's name?"
"I'm adopted. Who are you referring to?"
Marwen mumbled under their breath. This had seemed boring, but already they had realized that more was happening than initially thought.
"Whoever connects you to this world. And her affiliations."
"My birth mother's name is," she paused and corrected herself. "Last I know, she went by May Heron. When she was a member of the Yew Coven."
Marwen grumbled to themselves. The witches did not mention that she supposedly born into this coven. But Elias was not a fool; why would he risk bringing her back to her homelands if he knew what she was? "And what are you?"
It was such a simple question. But Claire felt her throat heat up as she stared at the cracked wood. "I'm not sure," she whispered.
Marwen was intrigued now. "Let's start with something easier then. What did you think you were last week?"
"A vampire."
"And before you were a vampire?"
"I thought I was human."
It was not uncommon for a witch to be unaware of their heritage. The bloodlines have become so diluted that many with witch blood in them cannot even make a connection, though they may be capable of other magic. But Marwen did not believe that to be the case for this hybrid; they could feel the potential for magic radiating off her in waves.
But the hybrid should not be able to lie. She must've genuinely believed she was simply a human. Unless…
Marwen raised their arms in the air as roots shot out of the ground, holding Claire in place. She screamed, terrified, and Elias jumped to his feet from outside the circle of fire. "What are you doing to her?!" he roared. He could feel her fear.
The dryad grabbed Claire by the hair and looked into her watery eyes. Though Marwen had not been powerful, they had been a druid before their curse. Detecting her thoughts, they found no evidence of dishonesty. Still, to be certain, they turned to Circe and said curtly, "High Priestess, I believe that you should also bind her."
The roots holding Claire withered away, decomposing before her eyes. Circe nodded in agreement and took out a golden blade with a reddish-yellow hilt. Although Claire did not know how, she knew instantly that it was carnelian. Circe closed her eyes and sliced an odd shape into her palm. The moment her blood hit the air, Claire felt her eyes darken. Everything Jocelyn had done to her left her drained, craving sustenance. As the High Priestess got closer, Claire was surprised that she recognized the scent of this blood: it was the same as what Elias had given her just a few days ago, the same blood that finally finished her transformation.
A million questions bounced around in Claire's head as Circe pressed her bloody palm into her forehead. For a brief moment, Claire became hopeful that some of the liquid would drip into her mouth, but it was immediately absorbed as Circe's eyes glowed in the same color as her blade's hilt.
She turned away, nodded at Marwen, and sat back down. The dryad eyed Claire suspiciously and repeated their question, "What are you?"
Slightly confused, Claire repeated her answer, "I'm not sure."
"Elaborate."
Staring at her shaking hands, she replied, "They keep telling me that I'm some sort of hybrid, a witch turned into a vampire. But I didn't remember being a witch, especially not this crazy powerful little kid! They keep telling me stories about me when I was a child; but I didn't remember any of them. And then Jocelyn did something, I don't know what, and all the memories they kept telling me about popped into my head, and more. But I don't know if they're real. So," she looked back at the Council Members. "So, I don't know what I am."
Marwen watched as Claire spoke. Her voice was shaky, with no sense of confidence. And when she mentioned Jocelyn, they watched as she sank into herself a bit, clearly unable to hide any fear. They decided that she was being honest. Turning to their fellow Council Members, they announced, "Then we shall call on Jocelyn Drusus."