William's words struck Ravenna. She repeated them, just to be sure. "Mr Reed…he…he stole your son from you? What happened to Samuel? I don't understand?"
In Edward's hold, Henry hung his head. "He means me. I belong here. I can tell this is where the bad folks go when we die. Ravenna, dear, I do not expect your forgiveness for the things I have done to hurt you. I do not expect your forgiveness for the things I have done that helped others hurt you. I just want you to know I am deeply sorry. I did terrible things in the throes of my addiction. I became someone I was not. Peter funded my habit with alcohol, and it turned me into a monster; I was willing to do anything to keep my addiction fed."
Ravenna turned her body away from Henry, holding her elbows as she crossed her arms across her body. "Thank you for your apology, but what does that have to do with Samuel, and how you two ended up in Lucifer's realm?"
Tears welled in Henry's eyes as he looked toward the healer who stood next to the miller. "In my alcoholism, anyone who stood in my way of getting paid to feed by habit had to pay. You escaped from Peter, and he never came back for me. I became desperate for a drink. I tried to capture you, but you escaped me, not that I need to tell you that. The demons of my addiction were in my head, they told me it was your fault I was in withdrawal, and you had to pay."
The Lost coachman sighed. "I knew it was wrong. But in my mind, it was your fault. I…I'm so sorry. I barricaded your home. I lit it on fire. This young man tried to stop me, and I stabbed him a few times for trying to stop me." The tears fell from Henry's eyes, as the realization of what he had done washed over him again.
Ravenna's breathing hitched. "You're telling me…the young man…with what Mr Reed said…you killed Samuel?" Her knees gave out, and she fell to the black marble floor of the Great Hall, her heart breaking for the loss of the kind young man.
Lucifer stood from his throne, and gently picked up the devastated woman from the floor of his Hall. He carried her back to the throne, placing her on the throne, knowing the higher arms and back of the chair would keep her more upright. The Fallen man sat on the left arm of his throne, keeping an eye on Ravenna.
William stared at Henry with contempt, waving his hand dismissively at the other Lost man. "Tell her the rest of it, Henry. See if she will accept your apologies and begin a path to forgiveness then."
"Please, miss. Please know that I would have never done these things…I cannot apologize enough for who I was in my addiction...your grandmother was…I'm so sorry Ravenna. I cannot ever expect you to forgive me."
Ravenna began to scream at the Lost coachman. "Are you telling me that you not only killed Samuel, but my grandmother as well?! You're right, you DO belong here! Lucifer, Edward, do something!" Ravenna curled her knees to her chest, and sobbed heavily.
"So you see why he had to die?" William shrugged nonchalantly as Ravenna wept.
Edward reached over and smacked the miller's arm. "Not now, sir. The young woman is distressed. This is not the time for poor comments."
Lucifer put his hand on Ravenna's shoulder, trying to comfort her through the sobs that wracked her body. "Edward, perhaps return her to her bedchamber. She does not need to see the Judgement of these men. She needs time to process everything."
"No!" Ravenna's firm denial of Lucifer's orders shocked the Fallen man as she sat up in his throne. "I'm tired of having no say in what happens to me! I want to stay. I want to watch the trials. And then I want to go home."
A smirk crossed Lucifer's face. "There's the fire in you that I was worried had burned itself out. Dry your tears, girl. Edward will take you to the bedchamber to wash your face, and then we have trials to perform."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The initial shock having passed, Ravenna allowed Edward to escort her back to the Great Hall. She tried to gather as much of her composure as possible, and prepared to face the man who admitted to murdering her grandmother and her former suitor. Taking a deep breath, Ravenna stepped into the Great Hall, and sat on the bench next to Lucifer on his throne. "I'm ready."
"Wonderful. We may continue our processes. Henry Yarrow. William Reed. Step forward. The time has come for your judgement. I, Lucifer, rule over the Lost, the souls that were not good enough for the Forever. Now, which of you would like to be judged first?"
Henry stepped forward first, kneeling at Lucifer's feet. "I would like to go first to be judged, Master Lucifer. It is my fault the two of us are here, and I do not ask for any leniency in your judgement. I know what I have done is wrong, and I know I caused Mr Reed to do wrong in turn."
Lucifer looked at Edward, one eyebrow raised, and nodded. The man's words impressed Lucifer; it had been quite some time since a new arrival had openly admitted guilt to the wrongs they had committed in their life. "Your request to be judged first is granted, Mr Yarrow. You may stand. Join me, Ravenna, and my right-hand demon by the fire."
Henry complied with Lucifer's orders, wanting Ravenna to see that he had changed; that his addiction no longer held him in its grip. Nothing could make amends for what he had done under his addiction's influence, but perhaps she could see him in a better light.
Lucifer pulled a vial from his pocket, and prepared for his judgement on the man. "Mr Yarrow. Give me your wrist." Again, the Lost man complied. Lucifer quickly slit the man's wrist, collecting the silver drops of essence into the vial. "Edward?" Lucifer passed the vial to his demon, and offered his hand as well. The demon quickly pierced his master's fingers, gathering the drops of blood into the vial, passing the vial back to his master as Ravenna looked away. She was not unaccustomed to blood, but to see someone have their fingers pierced so willingly was uncomfortable to the healer.
Lucifer swirled the blood and essence until the mixture was a pearlescent red. He handed the vial to Ravenna, and the young woman took it hesitantly. "What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Pour it over the fire, dear. You will understand soon."
Puzzled but curious, Ravenna did as Lucifer instructed. She stepped back from the fire as an image began to shimmer in the flames. Ravenna stood next to Lucifer as she watched the flames; she watched her home be barricaded and set ablaze. Her heart ached with longing for home, the loss of her home and Anne, and anger at Henry for doing such a thing. She watched Samuel fight bravely against Henry, trying to save her grandmother and her home. The flames showed William and the blacksmith Robert capturing Henry outside of her home, and Robert chaining Henry to his anvil. The flames shimmered, and showed William sneaking up on Henry, slapping his hand over the coachman's mouth, and sliding his weapon into his stomach, pulling the dagger across his stomach. The fires showed no more, as that was the end of Henry's story.
"Well, my dear, what is your judgement on Mr Yarrow? You have seen his deeds, you have seen his death. What do you think?" Lucifer put a hand on Ravenna, who still stood in awe of the Essence Fire, and the things it had shown her.
"I…I do not know. He did admit his guilt to his deeds, but I don't think I can cast a fair judgement, Lucifer. The things he has done affect me directly. I cannot give a fair vote."
"Correct. I just wanted to know if you were corruptible, given some power over someone's fate. Shame. You still have that spark of goodness in you." Lucifer turned to Henry, who looked forlorn, his eyes trained on his feet. "Henry, for your crimes in your life, you will remain Lost. Your repentance is acknowledged, and I am glad you were able to overcome your addiction before you died; not everyone gets the chance to change their lives. Edward will bring you to the UnderKingdom momentarily, where you will spend your eternity."
"Thank you, Master Lucifer. I understand the ruling and accept your judgement. I know this is what I deserve." Henry bowed, and wiped the tears from his eyes. Edward led the judged Lost man away from the Great Hall, and out into the UnderKingdom.