The night at the detention center had been dull, and so had the day been. No one had come to visit her or Reina, or given them any food or drink. Thankfully, Lyra had a sub-space inventory, so she had just pulled out a few steaming hot meat-sticks for her and Reina. When the guards had noticed, they had quickly confiscated the food, but Lyra just pulled out more, which didn't earn her many favors.
Then, come afternoon, they were taken into the large Helos Courtroom. An expedited trial, to be sure. High Profile too, it would seem, or so Lyra figured. Kiana was sitting in the stands, as was Karnir, and plenty of cat-tribe "Nobility" too, based on their fancy and colorful fur clothes. Lyra and Reina were taken to sit in the very center, at a table more to the right, while the "Prosecution" were sitting by a table to the left. Before them on an elevated platform sat a rather old yet snobby looking man, his hair and cat-ears grey with old age. Lyra could tell right away that this judge did not seem very partial at all.
Moments later Reina and Lyra were joined at their table by another man, wearing a monocle and carrying a briefcase with him. He nodded their way and smiled, before speaking:
"Good day, Miss Lyra, Miss Reina. I am Barthos, Master Karnir's own lawyer. I'll be defending you, during the trial."
-"Ah, a pleasure meeting you, Barthos. How long will this take?" Lyra asked in return.
"Probably a few hours. But... let me be frank. It is not looking good." Barthos responded with a sigh, correcting his monocle.
-"How come?" Lyra asked, eyebrow raised. Barthos leaned forward, before glancing back over his shoulder, nodding in the direction of a rather fat cat-man sitting in the stands, taking up 2 spots by himself.
"See that man? That is Donbar, President of the Donbar Trading Company. The main rival to my master's Etherum Mechant Company. Now, Karnir is relatively new to his market, his company only having made waves for the past ten year, while the Donbar Trading Company has been around for nearly 100 years. They have a lot of power in the older institutions because of their long history." Barthos explained, before he turned back, gesturing up at the judge.
"And that is judge Jeevan. He has been on Donbar's payroll for ages. We can't expect any kind of fairness this trial what so ever."
-"Is there no Jury or anything?" Lyra asked, but Barthos just looked confused.
"Jury? What is that?" he asked.
-"Never mind... so who decides the outcome of the trial then?" Lyra responded. Surely not all power was with the judge right? Surely...
"That would be the judge." Barthos said, as he opened his briefcase and put a few papers on the table, while also shattering every bit of faith Lyra had in this justice system at the same time.
-"Then... is there even any point to doing this?" Lyra said dumbfounded.
"Well... if anything, we can at least show our evidence and our version of events. Many influential people in the crowd, and they might not agree with the judge and his verdict either. Which will give us more support for an eventual appeal down the line." was Barthos's response. It didn't exactly fill Lyra with confidence. Then, the judge smacked his wooden gavel, a kind of small hammer, against his table, as he called the room to order.
"Welcome everyone, to today's trial of "The Cat-Tribe vs Lyra Lunarsong & Company". We shall begin with an opening statement from the persecution. You have two minutes." the judge said, before gesturing for the prosecution table. A man stood up and walked to the middle of the room, before he began his statement:
"Thank you, honored judge. I want to remind everyone that we cat-kin are a society of laws. Without law and order, society will cease to function, and that is the foundation upon which we have built this glorious and fair nation. Yesterday, that foundation was severely shaken when these two foreigners assaulted a woman out on the streets, and then attacked the innocent bystanders who tried to help the injured woman. Their horrific attack left 22 people severely injured, and three people dead. As a nation, we must put our foot down and not allow foreign criminals to act however they want. For that reason, the prosecution is urging the judge to consider the maximum punishment. That is all, your honor."
There was a gasp and murmur going through the courtroom. How barbaric! Then the judge turned Barthos.
"Defense, your opening statement." he said simply. Barthos rose and took to the center of the room.
"Thank you, honor judge. My colleague in the law profession in the prosecution is right in saying that we are a nation of laws. But laws have to be enforced without discrimination. There is very clear evidence to support to my two clients were acting fully within the scope of self-defense, defending from an attack aimed to take their lives. The defense is is urging the judge to consider that this was all done in self-defense, and therefore dismiss this case and instead open an investigation into a criminal conspiracy against my two clients. That is all, your honor." Barthos said, before returning to his seat. Reina shot the man a thumbs up, nicely done, but the judge did not seem pleased.
"You seriously expect me to believe that load of nonsense? The defense must think this entire courtroom is made up of idiots, my word..." the Judge said loudly, as he looked down on a set of papers. He then continued:
"Prosecution, you may go ahead and call the first witness."
"We are calling on Miss Rona, the primary party subjected to this criminal assault." the prosecutor said, and from the stands came the woman from last night. The one who had pretended to be hurt, the "Sister" of the young child. She was limping, her right hand in a cast, her left shoulder bandaged. Lyra had not hurt her legs at all, so it was clearly just for show.
"Miss Rona, do you swear to say the truth and only the truth, under the watchful eyes of the gods?" The judge asked her.
"I do." she said, shooting a look down the stands at president Dunbar, before looking back up at the judge as she sat down on a chair in the center of the room. The prosecutor then approached, and began asking his questions.
"Would you mind telling us what really happened yesterday, Miss Rona?" he said.
"Of course... so my sister and I were walking down the road. My little sister is only eight, and accidentally bumped into the elven woman over there, who got very angry. We were pulled into the alley, and told to pay compensation for having soiled the elf's clothes with our dirty cat-people paws. We were so scared... so I offered to pay, but when I did, it was not enough.. she wanted to hit my precious little sister..." Rona started, forcing herself to the point of tears, before continuing.
"I stepped in, and took the slap myself, which made her even angrier. I was... thrown to the ground... kicked mercilessly, while my little sister ran away to get the guards. I recall... that others came to try and stop the elf, but what could we do? We are just.. ordinary, law-abiding citizens.. and they are adventurers... By the time... the guards showed up, I was badly hurt, and some... were even... dead..." she broke down, crying wildly. Not a bad show at all, Lyra mused to herself. Rona could definitely have a career in acting, though she supposed the woman already did. She had to fight the urge to clap her hands, that's how impressive the performance was. Reina on the other hand was fuming. How dare they sit there and make up lies about her master! Once more, Lyra had to calm her down, putting a hand on Reina's thigh under the table.
"Absolutely horrible. What despicable, deviant behavior... please, Miss Rona, return to the stands and get some well-needed rest and support." the judge said, wiping at his eyes, clearly moved.
"Objection, your honor! The defense needs to cross-examine the witness!" Barthos expressed, standing up. He however was only met by a stern look from the judge.
"DENIED! You'd try and intimidate a scared woman, who is gravely injured at that? Miss Rona needs her rest. SIT DOWN." was the judge's answer, and Barthos had to sit down, albeit with a heavy sigh.
"Prosecution, you may call on your next witness." the judge then added. In came the Captain of the guards, Captain Kalar. He just affirmed the narrative, that when he arrived Lyra and Reina had been massacring the towns-people, and even gone so far as to assault him. Barthos cross-examining him also yielded nothing, as the Captain stuck to his story. Then finally, it was time for a witness for the defense, which ended up being Guild-Master Kiana.
"Guild Master, when you arrived at the scene, what did you see?" Barthos asked.
"I saw the Captain of the Guards swinging his sword at Miss Lyra, and felt I had to intervene to keep Lyra and Captain Kalar safe." Kiana said calmly.
"Understood. In your expert opinion, what do you think happened that night?" Barthos then asked.
"It seems very clear to me that the Lyra and Reina were attacked by a group of thugs, and just defended themselves." she answered.
"OBJECTION! Speculation and defamation!" the prosecution screamed.
"Granted..." the judge said simply, before adding: "...I will not a witness defame the citizens who were gravely hurt by calling them thugs and hired assassins."
"If they were not thugs, why were they all armed to the teeth, and why were so many people in a back alley all at once?" Kiana said, speaking out of turn.
"ORDER! Defense better get your witness in order, or be removed!" the judge just shouted in response, banging his gavel against the table. Barthos raised a hand, before he got back to questioning Kiana.
"You believe there was a conspiracy to harm Lyra and Reina, Guild-Master Kiana?" he asked.
"Without the shadow of a doubt. The entire narrative does not make any sense. Why were there so many people, armed to the teeth, in that alley? And no offense to the guards, but 2 minutes to respond with over 10 men to a disturbance is nothing short of a miracle. It is almost as if they knew to be nearby and ready-" she responded, but was silenced by a loud:
"OBJECTION!" shouted from the persecutor. He then added: "Speculation, defamation."
"Granted. Witness is dismissed." the judge said, waving his hand, and Kiana was forced to leave. Then, the Prosecution called their final witness, someone no one had expected. It was Remi, the former guild receptionist. She took to the center, clad in a very elaborate dress, not really fitting the setting of a court room.
"The Prosecution introduces Miss Remi, who knows Lyra and Reina from the Adventurer's Guild. What can you tell us, Miss Remi?" the prosecutor asked her.
"I only met with Miss Lyra and Miss Reina once, when they first arrived at the guild HQ, and I had the misfortune of being their receptionist. They were both terribly rude and snide, clearly looking down on us Beast-Kin-"
"We've done nothing of the sort!" Reina shouted, unable to contain herself, which prompted the Judge to slam his gavel into the table and call for order.
"I will hold you in contempt of court if you utter another word out of turn! SILENCE! Now continue, Miss Remi." the judge shouted at Reina, before letting Remi continue, which she did.
"They were very rude, and later caused a big ruckus in the HQ due to their attitude. So I had them expelled. I was then later called up into the office, and dismissed from my position as a receptionist without warning!" Remi said, sniffling.
"You were dismissed? On what grounds?" The Prosecution asked.
"Because I had dared punish Lyra and Reina for their actions." Remi answered.
"Now why would the Guild-Master do that? What do you think?" the Prosecution asked.
"Objection! Leading the witness!" Barthos tried, but was shut down.
"Denied. Answer the question miss Remi." the judge said.
"Because... they are important guests of the Etherum Merchant Company. And the Guild-Master is the sister in law of the Etherum President. He was likely upset his guests had been punished, even if it was according to guild rules, and thus pushed to punish me." Remi said, sniffling some more.
"Alright, I have heard enough... it is clear that the Guild-Master is trying to run damage control for these two criminals, on behalf of her brother-in-law. Despicable, truly. Miss Remi, you may return to the stands." the judge said, sighing dramatically, as Remi excused herself and returned to the stands, sitting down next to President Donbar. The judge then looked out over the crowds, as he said:
"I do need any deliberation. The situation is clear. My judgement is as follows..."