Athelinda : The Forbidden Name

Ch 37 : Trial

It was the day the of trial. The royal courtroom was huge. A spacious area for the trial to take place and on the walls of the courtroom were rows beyond rows of seats for any audience to sit in. The seatings were divided into sub sections to allow full comfort. Though, there weren't any nobles inside the courtroom. This was an unofficial trial.

But of course, Isabelle sat somewhere among the seatings, with a maid standing behind her and a knight.

And at the front of the trial area, was an elevated platform for the judge to be seated. Since this matter involved a high ranking noble such as the Duke of Quweez and a member of the royal family of a neighbouring kingdom, the trial was arranged in the royal court and the judge would be the Emperor himself.

A few feets above the judges platform was the imperial family seatings. And that's where Athelinda and Nicholas were sitting. Claude was at the front most seat, while the royal children were behind him.

This trial wasn't a normal trial and thus it wouldn't proceed normally either. It was more of a discussion of sorts. And so the trial began with Lucas standing on one side and the Duke of Quweez on the other.

Esteban began by repeating the statement of Isabelle Quweez, regarding the accusation. And then a magician from the Academy proceeded with the answer sheets, to show that the princess's fingerprints were there.

Lucas asked to examine the answer sheets, and within a minute he declared, "These papers already contain traces of magic. These fingerprints were forged with magic. I'll trace them back to the owner of the magic."

The mage from the Acdemy stepped in to confirm Lucas's claims and it took some while for the Academy magician to see the thin layer of magic spread around the papers.

Meanwhile, up in the imperial family sittings, as the magicians discussed the traces of magic, Nicholas spoke up, "Its obvious your gonna be proven innocent."

"How do you know?"

"Magicians from the Academy can't be bribed. All that's left now is to trace the magic back to its owner. They've already proven the fingerprints were forged."

Athelinda gave a small sigh in relief. "That was so much easier and quicker than I had anticipated."

"How can magic be used on the papers within the Academy!? This must be a mistake!" complained Duke Quweez.

"Do you wanna get some fresh air?" Nicholas gestured to the door behind the seatings.

"Ah, but the trial is still. . ." Athelinda looked at Lucas, who had a confident smile on his face.

Nicholas grabbed Athelinda's hand and stood up. "Hey all that's left is complaints from the Duke. It'll be boring."

"I want to see the look on his face when he gets caught."

"We'll be back in about fifteen minutes."

Athelinda stared at Nicholas, and then at the trial taking place a few feets below. The Magicians were arguing with Duke Quweez and Emperor Esteban was about to say something to stop the fight.

She looked at the nobility seatings hoping to see the look on Isabelle's face but noticed she wasn't in the seatings.

Did she go out?

Athelinda sighed before standing up. She first went up to her father and asked for his permission to leave.

Claude stared at her for a while before stating, "The trial has already been decided. It'd be best not to waste any more time over them. You don't need to return either."