This is an expert of a short story I'm writing... It's a first draft, so not the best I can do, but I figured I might as well share it because ... well, I don't know.
...enjoy!
...enjoy!
Index Librorum Prohibitorum - an excerpt
A book lay closed upon scarlet silk draped over a splintered wooden table. Hundreds more of the same name lined the shelves along the wall and stretched up into the void above, where candle light could not penetrate. The table sat in the middle of a large, cold room, maybe one-hundred feet both ways and behind it was a wooden chair, almost thrown like in size, yet it was as splintered and crude as the table was. The uneven stone floor dug into Hannah’s knees, but her wrists and ankles were chained, so she could not do anything to alleviate the pain. How much longer? She had been kneeling in this room for over an hour, at least. Why won’t they just get it over with?
As if she herself had summoned them, she heard a door behind her swing open and through it came a procession of men and women in scarlet and black cloaks. Twenty or more of them filled into the room and formed two lines to her left, but the last of them to enter went to the table. Without sitting, he lit a desk lamp, opened the book and began to flip through the pages and stopped when he was a few inches from the end. He looked up into her eyes, held her gaze for a second or two, and then turned to the men and women standing beside her.
‘We shall begin,’ he said. Instantly, the sound of monotonous chanting filled the room.
It was Latin by the sounds of it, but Hannah could only make out a few words... In the name of our Lord ... Father and Spirit... The chanting stopped abruptly, and just as abruptly it began again, this time in a different language, one Hannah could not understand. The room went silent. Then the door opened again and she heard heeled footsteps moving towards her. The woman paused no more than a foot behind where she was, so close that Hannah could hear her breathing. Then she moved quickly to the table and sat down.
Hannah raised her head to the figure sitting before her. She wore a white robe, but unlike the others her face was hidden beneath her hood. She sat in silence for some time, her head bowed as if she were in prayer. Then she took the Index librorum Prohibitorum and scrolled down the page with scarlet red finger nails, giving it a light tap when she had come to her desired place. Her hand disappeared into her cloak withdrawing from it another book, filthy, tattered and held together with tape, and placed it beside the open one. The man, who had prepared the table, now among the others and threw himself to the floor, prostrated and chanting loudly. The others were quick to follow suit, but the woman cut them short.
‘Let us forgo all formality, however necessary,’ she said. ‘Just this once.’
She waited until the others had risen, unsurely, to their feet, and then turned her attention to Hannah.
‘This,’ the woman nudged the tattered book, ‘was found in your possession. Where did you get it?’
‘I found it.’
‘Where?’
Hannah said nothing, yet the woman did not seem in the slightest bit bothered by Hannah’s silence.
‘You are aware that this book, among many others, is prohibited to Citizens, no?’
‘Yes,’ Hannah said.
‘Then why do you have it?’
The pain in Hannah’s knees seemed to become more unbearable by the second. ‘I found it.’
‘Then surely you were capable of reporting it to the authorities?’
The woman waited for a response, but when one did not come, she continued. ‘Our State is sure to thoroughly educate our Citizens in every tenant of The Law, so ignorance is no excuse... The most important among them is as follows: “Anyone found with one or more Prohibited Text will be subjected to punishment, the severity of which is determined by said texts rank of prohibition...”
‘And we do not discriminate between hours or days; if a Prohibited Text remains in one’s possession for even a second without being reported to the authorities, one is liable for punishment.’ She paused.
‘Were you aware that you had broken this law?’
‘Yes.’
‘Of course you were.’ The woman leaned forward in her chair and lowered her voice. Though it was still as emotionless as before, it was clear she was trying to convey a sense of understanding. ‘But our State recognizes a repentant heart, as does He above, and may grant leniency in kind. Tell us where you ‘found’ this and your confession might just be considered.’
Hannah, exasperated, lowered her face to her chest and began to cry. She did not fear dying; in fact, she was sure this night would be her last alive, no matter what they discovered from her. She feared pain and what she would do to escape it.
‘I can’t,’ she said.
‘Very well,’ the woman spat. ‘To be honest, I expected much less from a mere flee-ridden catamite ... STRING HER UP.’
A book lay closed upon scarlet silk draped over a splintered wooden table. Hundreds more of the same name lined the shelves along the wall and stretched up into the void above, where candle light could not penetrate. The table sat in the middle of a large, cold room, maybe one-hundred feet both ways and behind it was a wooden chair, almost thrown like in size, yet it was as splintered and crude as the table was. The uneven stone floor dug into Hannah’s knees, but her wrists and ankles were chained, so she could not do anything to alleviate the pain. How much longer? She had been kneeling in this room for over an hour, at least. Why won’t they just get it over with?
As if she herself had summoned them, she heard a door behind her swing open and through it came a procession of men and women in scarlet and black cloaks. Twenty or more of them filled into the room and formed two lines to her left, but the last of them to enter went to the table. Without sitting, he lit a desk lamp, opened the book and began to flip through the pages and stopped when he was a few inches from the end. He looked up into her eyes, held her gaze for a second or two, and then turned to the men and women standing beside her.
‘We shall begin,’ he said. Instantly, the sound of monotonous chanting filled the room.
It was Latin by the sounds of it, but Hannah could only make out a few words... In the name of our Lord ... Father and Spirit... The chanting stopped abruptly, and just as abruptly it began again, this time in a different language, one Hannah could not understand. The room went silent. Then the door opened again and she heard heeled footsteps moving towards her. The woman paused no more than a foot behind where she was, so close that Hannah could hear her breathing. Then she moved quickly to the table and sat down.
Hannah raised her head to the figure sitting before her. She wore a white robe, but unlike the others her face was hidden beneath her hood. She sat in silence for some time, her head bowed as if she were in prayer. Then she took the Index librorum Prohibitorum and scrolled down the page with scarlet red finger nails, giving it a light tap when she had come to her desired place. Her hand disappeared into her cloak withdrawing from it another book, filthy, tattered and held together with tape, and placed it beside the open one. The man, who had prepared the table, now among the others and threw himself to the floor, prostrated and chanting loudly. The others were quick to follow suit, but the woman cut them short.
‘Let us forgo all formality, however necessary,’ she said. ‘Just this once.’
She waited until the others had risen, unsurely, to their feet, and then turned her attention to Hannah.
‘This,’ the woman nudged the tattered book, ‘was found in your possession. Where did you get it?’
‘I found it.’
‘Where?’
Hannah said nothing, yet the woman did not seem in the slightest bit bothered by Hannah’s silence.
‘You are aware that this book, among many others, is prohibited to Citizens, no?’
‘Yes,’ Hannah said.
‘Then why do you have it?’
The pain in Hannah’s knees seemed to become more unbearable by the second. ‘I found it.’
‘Then surely you were capable of reporting it to the authorities?’
The woman waited for a response, but when one did not come, she continued. ‘Our State is sure to thoroughly educate our Citizens in every tenant of The Law, so ignorance is no excuse... The most important among them is as follows: “Anyone found with one or more Prohibited Text will be subjected to punishment, the severity of which is determined by said texts rank of prohibition...”
‘And we do not discriminate between hours or days; if a Prohibited Text remains in one’s possession for even a second without being reported to the authorities, one is liable for punishment.’ She paused.
‘Were you aware that you had broken this law?’
‘Yes.’
‘Of course you were.’ The woman leaned forward in her chair and lowered her voice. Though it was still as emotionless as before, it was clear she was trying to convey a sense of understanding. ‘But our State recognizes a repentant heart, as does He above, and may grant leniency in kind. Tell us where you ‘found’ this and your confession might just be considered.’
Hannah, exasperated, lowered her face to her chest and began to cry. She did not fear dying; in fact, she was sure this night would be her last alive, no matter what they discovered from her. She feared pain and what she would do to escape it.
‘I can’t,’ she said.
‘Very well,’ the woman spat. ‘To be honest, I expected much less from a mere flee-ridden catamite ... STRING HER UP.’
