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Bowing on her knees, the young girl looked up to the Council. An elderly man sat in front of her on a beautiful mahogany throne with plush seats, bushy brows and wise eyes looking down upon her. His wrinkled skin, tan and leathery from working in the sun as a young farmer, sagged a bit below his eyes, giving him a solemn look. His chapped lips and sharp nose made him resemble a bird, but Roza knew better than to notice his features. What was going on behind his hideous face was more important. Finally he looked away, speaking more to the audience of courtsmen than her. "The punishment shall be four years on Earth."
Roza's eyes widened. "What?!" she cried, her lip quivering. Not here, her brain said, you will not show weakness to the Council and courtsmen. "No!" she objected, standing up, disrespectful but necessary. A ringlet of black hair fell forward, past her ear. A patch of her skin on the back of her neck showed, revealing her scar, visible to the audience. A few whispered, but out of courtesy, they did not mention it directly to her. "I demand a different punishment! One longer! Harder! More challenging if it must be! But anything than Earth! Earth is awful! The people . . . They are lazy! The planet is trashed and their sky is in terrible condition! I just returned back to Estonia . . ." Her pale face was filled with concern, searching for an idea. "I'll stay here! And go to prison! I promise, I won't breakout this time. And it can be for life!"
The Council exchanged glances, but the High Counselor shook his head. "No. Roza Tiffanna Merine, you are hereby banned from Estonia for four years to be lived on Earth! A guardian shall be sent with you. You shall not leave her sight." Shoulders slumped, Roza nodded. No point in arguing. There were more felons to be dealt with. She wouldn't make a show and get longer time to serve. "A story shall be sent with you. No one shall know who - or what - you are, where you came from. The usual. You leave tomorrow. House arrest until then."
Released, the sadness she had felt towards her loss of Estonian freedom was replaced by anger. Ridiculous High Counselor Mehman! He thought that just because he was so old, he could boss her around. Alas, she had no choice however. All of a sudden, a girl, around the age of Roza's, sixteen, caught up to her under the crystal clear blue sky, the soft grass beneath their feet. "I'm your guardian." she said out of nowhere. "And my name is Annabelliahna, but you can call me Anna." She offered Roza a dazzling white smile, but Roza just grunted in response. "Look," said Anna, "I know you're ticked about Earth . . . But it'll be fun! We can be friends, and it's just four years."
"Yeah. Four years of my life breathing nasty Earth air. Four years that I won't get back. Four years that mean everything to me. Four years until I can return to my family and friends." The stubborn female glanced at Anna. "My real friends. The ones I've known since I was little. Not the ones who are just going to be sure that I'm obeying my banning. Now if you excuse me, I have to return home for a few last hours of Estonia . . ." she hissed, unlocking the door to her apartment. Anna looked about to follow, but instead got a face full of wooden door. She exhaled her breath pushing back onto her face. "Six thirty! That's when we're leaving! Don't be late, or else it'll be an extra two years!" she hollered, unsure if Roza heard.
The next morning, bright and early, Roza appeared. She sat on the shuttle to take her to her prison. Snatching up the window seat, she growled a low, inaudible growl as she passed the Council. Their old ears didn't pick up on the noise, but Anna did. She frowned, disapproving and slightly upset at her show of immaturity. Fine. The Council stepped back off of the craft without a word; typical. They didn't want to wish her goodbye, they just wanted to make sure she was really there and hadn't bribed someone to lie to them again. "Buckle up." said Anna, looking ahead, obviously not interested in talking with Roza during the upcoming fourteen hour ride.
Roza leaned back and fell asleep as the vibrations coming from the shuttle's engines rocked her to sleep. She awoke only once, to see a vast amount of space - outer space. So they had left the solar system that Estonia belonged to. 'Goodbye home,' she thought miserably. She pulled the other eye open a crack, watching Anna read. She glanced over at Roza. "You awake?" she asked, "Or just spying?" Roza kept her mouth shut and turned back towards the window, resting her head on the cool pane. She wondered what Mara was doing. What about Nolina? Her two best friends in the entire world, millions of miles away. Well this was just great. She wouldn't know anyone on the new planet. A voice came on overhead, interrupting her curiosity, the captain speaking. "Miss Merine, the Council wishes you to pick up the phone." Rolling her eyes, Roza snatched the phone attached to the cheap plastic seat in front of her off the receiver. "What?" she snapped into it.
"We wish you to think about what you've done to deserve this punishment, Miss Merine." said a raspy voice. Not High Counselor Mehman's voice . . . Probably just a councilmen doing the old man's bidding. "Mhm." was all she replied before slamming it down on the receiver. Moments later, it rang again. "UGH." she sighed grabbing it again, ignoring the snicker from Anna. "What else do you want?!" yelled Roza. "You didn't let me finish." the raspy voice continued. "I wish you to write a sentence every night you're on Earth telling why you were wrong and why you are here. I want all the laws of Estonia included."
"Well, I don't listen to you." The beauty snarled. "I might listen to Mehman. Not often. But I don't even know your name. So I don't give a crap about what you say." Anna's phone rang, distracting both girls. Anna picked it up, listening, frowning. Roza watched her facial expressions as she listened to the councilman go on and on about how she should respect all her elders. But Roza was more occupied with observing how the shades of Anna's face was listening. Her light blonde hair suddenly seemed incredibly dark now compared to her face. Her lips, once pink, were blue. Roza dropped her receiver. "What's wrong? Anna? Do you want some water? A medic? MEDIC!" Roza called, gripping her guardian's shoulders, shaking her.
After minutes of silence, scary silence that Roza hated, Anna came back. She was dazed, in shock. She looked around, taking in her surroundings. "Thank goodness. We're safe." she whispered, a few patches of red returning to her cheeks. She glanced back up at Roza, stuttering. "The man on the phone didn't tell you?" Roza shook her head, eyes widening at the gravity of Anna's tone. After a little while, Anna broke the news. "The council and councilmen were murdered. Gassed out. Just now. They were just discovered. We are ordered to stay on Earth until they find the killer. See, experts have begun to think that you're a -"
Roza closed her mouth, that had dropped when she had heard 'murdered'. "I know what I am. Don't mention it. Really."
Anna frowned, narrowing her eyes. "No. You need to know this. I know you know, but you don't understand. All the Temperters were men. In the Council."
Roza stared. "So?"
"So you're the last Temperess." Anna said solemnly.
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