Chapter 34: Exile

                                    

                                          
After a while of combing the Enclave, two Ladair Castle guards eventually found Garson—who had been previously returned to the Enclave by Lily—and returned to the foot of the steps leading to the keep, with Garson in chains—once again—between them. However, this time, the situation at hand was much more dire. 
Balfort, Lily, and the royal family soon came down those same steps—albeit with Agnes's steward using a side ramp to wheel her down instead—with the vampire lord staring down Garson angrily as the rest of the Enclave's vampire population looked on, emitting exclamations of concern and worry.
"What's going on? Who's that guy?" one asked.
"He looks like.....a human!" another commented. "But.....but they've never found their way to the Enclave before!"
"The only others humans who found us before him were.....the assassins......"
"You don't think he could be one of them, do you?"
"If he just gave away our position to the rest of those murderers.....I swear. Lord Balfort had better do something to put this guy in his place." 
"Garson!" Mavis wailed as she tried to dart forward towards him. However, she was aggressively stopped by her father, who approached Garson in her stead. 
One of the guards jostled Garson's arm. "You'd better have a good excuse for that little stunt you pulled back there. Our lord is not happy with you."
"Garson. Look up at me when I'm talking to you," Balfort admonished, to which the young man reluctantly did as he was told. "Why did you come to the Enclave? Was it really to see Mavis? Or was it to lure me into a trap?"
Garson was nearly at a loss for words. It had indeed looked like he had deliberately led Balfort into Frank's ambush, but how could he possibly explain to the vampire lord that he meant no harm?
"Lord Balfort....." he began. "I promise you.....I had nothing to do with—"
"You don't belong here!" Balfort snapped. "Here I am, tirelessly trying to protect my people from harm. We get found out for the first time in eons by a group of assassins that you're apparently a part of. And when you found your way to the Enclave, I was initially dumbfounded; I already had enough to deal with, anyway. Still, your love for Mavis seemed genuine, and I was just about to allow you two to be together. And then you led me into an ambush that almost got me killed."
"Father, please! Listen to him!" Mavis wailed emotionally, reverting back to being utterly distraught by how quick her father was to act. Meanwhile, Lily and the rest of the royal family looked on as Balfort tore into Garson, also wanting to speak up but also being genuinely afraid of the lord in that moment.
"SILENCE!" Balfort growled at his daughter, before turning his attention back to Garson. "This is inexcusable. I should have known you were a spy for the Dark Stake from the start. To spearhead an assassination attempt on the lord of the Enclave is a very serious matter. So I hereby pass your judgment now....."
Mavis gasped. 
The onlooking crowd of vampires began hurling insults and derogatory language at Garson, having believed every single one of Balfort's baseless accusations.  
"Judgment! Judgment! Judgment!" they all called at different times, often over each other. "Give the mole what he deserves!" 
And then, all Balfort needed was one word.
"EXILE!"
"NO!" Mavis cried. 
The drums beat. Ominous chanting filled the air. Vampires from the crowd began stalking towards Garson, causing him to back away cautiously. Eventually, they became more dogged in their pursuit, forcing Garson to break into a sprint towards the town's exit.