Hall Of Lies and Trials

"Jessica, where are you?" It was dark everywhere, with nothing to light to way up. "Jessica!" Nothing responded. Suddenly torches lit up as if it was ignited with magic. "Jessica!" exclaimed Lucas. "Lucas! Help me!" A scream from Jessica could be heard. The torches soon lit up around a platform, with 3 familiar faces tied up to a pillar. "Jessica! Amelia! Axel!" exclaimed Lucas. As he rushed to untie them, he was launched back. "Maxim, spare him. The boy's mine. Go ignite the three." said Commander Corvis. "Yes, my lord."

"No!!" exclaimed Lucas. As he opened his eyes, he came back to his senses. His body woke up in a cold sweat. "What's gotten into you?! What an idiot." said one of his prison mates which then proceeded to go back to sleep. "(breathes) It was just a dream. Everything is fine. Breathe in, breathe out. Phew, you got this Lucas. Just sleep and focus for tomorrow's trial." said Lucas to comfort himself.

1 week ago...

"What an odd person. Not everything is what it seems?" said Lucas. "Sir? It's your turn now. Please head on to the court" said one of the secretaries. "Oh right, sorry."

"The defendant candidate may be seated." said one of the judges, who was wearing a white toga and an olive branch on his head. "Can you please state your name?" "Lucas, Lucas Owlivia."

The judge continued asking questions about his address, family and identity. But he couldn't answer any of the questions as he doesn't have any of them in this era. "Mr. Lucas, if that even is your real name. Your case is a light case, petty crime, so please cooperate with us. If you cooperate, you'll just need to do community service." said the judge for the 28th time. "I am! Please believe me! My name is Lucas Owlivia, I have no home or identity here. My only family here is my sister, Jessica Owlivia." plead Lucas. "I've had enough Mr. Lucas! You'll be held trial for contempt of court and perjury! There is no evidence of your identity or your sister's! What confuses me even more is how do you even not have a birth certificate! It was just a petty crime but now you'll be trialed in court. Is this what you wanted? I really hope you have a good defender to defend you in court." said the judge as he lost it. "No, your honor." said Lucas as tears started forming in his eyes.

*contempt of court: any action done by someone in the court that interrupts the court's ability to give an innocent or guilty verdict

*perjury: lying in court

As soon as he was alone in a holding cell, he burst into tears. "I-I can't do this (sobs) Th-this is unfair. I did nothing wrong. I don't know anyone who will defend me either. He-help me Jess. I ca-can't do this alone." said Lucas as he cried. "I-I'm sorry Jess. (sobs) I-I'm sorry I'm not with you right now. I hope you're okay. That's all that matters. Stay ha-happy for me ok." said Lucas as he stared at the sky through the cell's window and smiled. "Mr. Lucas? You have a visitor." said the prison guard. "A visitor? Could it be Jessica?" said Lucas as he got excited. The prison guard escorted him to a room with a wooden table, with a very familiar face sitting across.

"You again?" said Lucas. "(sips drink) You don't seem very happy to see me." said the man. "Sorry, I was expecting someone else."

"You mean your sister?" said the man. "How did you know?" asked Lucas as he was shocked. "Kid, what did I tell you? Don't ever ask me a how do I know question. Now listen to me, the prosecutor who's going to be on your case is ambitious, vicious and most importantly, sly, so be very careful of what you say to her as she can use it against you. Remember, not everything is what it seems. I promise you, as long as you don't say something stupid, you can see your sister again." said Maxim. "Who are you and why are you being so nice to me." asked Lucas.

"Kid, I am everything but nice. Take this as a business deal." said Maxim as winked and laughed. Before Lucas could say anything, he left the room. "He's still as strange as ever. Business deal? What's in it for him?" said Lucas as he was confused. As Lucas was about to return to his cell, another guard approached him. "Sir, it's time for your questioning. Your prosecutor as moved your session forward to now." said the guard. "(in his mind) Dammit, he's right. This prosecutor is really sly. I haven't thought of any excuses. Shit." said Lucas as he walked with the guard towards the interrogation room. "Mr. Lucas, please, sit down (smiles)" said the prosecutor. "I believe you're here for perjury and contempt of court, correct?" "Yes ma'am." said Lucas as he nodded. "(scoffs) Unbelievable. You dare still lie!" said the prosecutor as she banged the table. "Miss Fransesca, please refrain yourself." said one of the guards. "You! You're not allowed to see this interview! I'll hold you for obstruction of justice!" said the prosecutor. "Yes ma'am." said the guard as he left.

"Now, why don't you admit what've you done! You can say anything, no else will hear it." said the prosecutor. "I-I committed theft." said Lucas. "(laughs then stares at Lucas) Do you think I'm blind! I can read from your report that you did theft. But what I wonder is, why on earth would someone who was indicted for theft, commit contempt of court as well!" exclaimed the prosecutor. "Now would you please tell me, what, is, your, name, Mr. Lucas?"

"(sobs) My name is Lucas Owlivia. I have no where to live or any family and relatives other than my sister." plead Lucas. "(throws everything off the table) ANSWER ME CORRECTLY! WHAT IS YOUR NAME?"

The night before...

"Jessica! Phew, huh, sorry t-to keep you waiting." said Helix. "Helix-"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry! I-" said Helix. Suddenly Jessica grabbed him and covered his mouth. "I'm angry at you, but I can't be bothered right now. Look at the sky." said Jessica. "Wow. I've never paid any attention to the sky before. It's.... beautiful." said Helix. "Mm, I've never seen a sky like this before as well." said Jessica as she shed a tear.

"Jess, look at the sky." said Lucas. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Hey prick! I'm not finished getting mad at you yet! You can't do tha-" said Jessica as her mouth was covered by Lucas' hands. "I know, I know. You can complain another time. Just come sit with me and look at the sky right now." said Lucas. "Hmph, fine." said Jessica as she sat down. "Do you see those stars? It's funny how we're seeing them but they're probably not shining anymore. As if they shined their light in advance to guide us." said Lucas. "(smiles) Look, it's only the three of us now, and mom rarely can come home. I need you and you need me." said Lucas. "Mmm, ok. (puts head on Lucas' shoulder) Thanks." said Jessica. "Now, enough of your bullshit. You were the one who left the sugar open right? Now thanks to you, I have ant bites all over me." said Jessica. "Welp. Look there!" said Lucas. "Gotta go! Bye!" said Lucas as he ran. "Oh hell no you don't!" said Jessica as she chased after him.

"Someone once told me, if we're ever lost, just look at the stars and let them guide you." said Jessica as she smiled. "(smiles) Yeah. Oh no! It's really late! Lady Birsha is gonna kill us." said Helix. "Shit. I forgot I was a slave now. Let's go quick!" said Jessica. Both of them ran for their life as if it depended on how fast they could run back. As they were running back, their road was blocked by an angry crowd.

"The royal Jester was killed after going against the court. How are we supposed to stay silent?" exclaimed the villagers. "I'm pretty sure I saw one of the guards stab the jester!" exclaimed one of the villagers. Suddenly all went dead silent when a carriage arrived. The doors opened and from inside came out a lady in a white toga, with a prosecutor pendant on the toga. "We all have no evidence on what happened that evening! How could you accuse with no evidence whatsover!" said the prosecutor as she pointed at the villager. "You will be arrested for lies against the court!"

"Then who killed the jester?" exclaimed the villagers. "(in her thoughts) Think, think! I can't prosecute the guard who did this."

"Ma'am, you still have a client who was accused for perjury and contempt of court. He's been waiting for quite awhile now." said the secretary who accompanied her on the carriage. "What? What's his name?" said the prosecutor. "(reads) Mm."

"Calm down citizens! When has the law not seen everything through! We'll work hard to find whoever is behind the murder of the court's jester. After all, the law sees everything from all angles. But I can most definitely tell you that it wasn't one of our beloved guards." announced the prosecutor.

"If it wasn't the guard then who was it! There are no other suspects!" exclaimed the villagers. "Actually there is. (pretends to sigh) You see, we caught someone in the wagon of wheat earlier. I think you all should remember the thief in the wagon." said the prosecutor. "Yeah! But he was just a child!" exclaimed the villagers. "Who said a child can't commit such a thing? We've proven a lot of cases with children as the prime suspect." said the prosecutor. "Then what is his name? We won't rest until justice for the jester prevails!"

"His name is Lucas Owlivia. And don't worry. We as the law will bring justice." said the prosecutor. "(gasps) Lucas. What've you done." said Jessica. "Wait a minute. His last name sounds familiar. (realises) Isn't your name Jessica Owlivia?"

"(falls down onto the floor) Lucas. Where the hell are you." said Jessica as she stared into the sky. "Jessica? Jess? Someone help!" said Helix.

Day 2

"Why won't you just admit to the crime you slimy bitch!" exclaimed Prosecutor Fransesca. "We all know this is a crime of passion. You killed the jester!" said the prosecutor as she walked around the room. "(clenches fist) On what reason and evidence?!" screamed Lucas as he sobbed. "(plays with pen) The jester was criticizing the court for raising the price of wheat. Because of this, it raised even higher and you couldn't buy food. You were too coward to face the king so you put it all out on the jester instead." said the prosecutor as she smirked. "No matter how much you deny it, I will prove your guilt in court. Now we can continue this all day again, or will you admit it and stop fighting?" The prosecutor handed him a paper filled with a statement that the suspect admits to the crime. "You can sign this and we can stop doing this."

"You wanna give up now?" shouted his father. "Yes!" said Lucas as he sobbed. "This hurts my head too much. I've worked on this for 3 months and it still doesn't work!" Suddenly his father took a bolt and screwed it in the machine. "You were this close! A bolt close! And you chose to give up! When you want to give up, think about the effort you did first! Once you've given up, everything that you've done will be thrown away, as soon as you say those words! So, never give up, unless you want to be a failure." said his father as he walked away.

"No thanks. I'll prove my innocence alright." said Lucas as shredded the paper. "(smirks) I see how it is. Mark my words, you will never be able to prove your innocence." And the endless interview continued on for the entire day with no rest. Suddenly, a loud knock was heard on the door. "Miss Fransesca? His defender is here." said the chief prosecutor. "And you need to give the defendant a break as the defender has issued a restraining order and has agreed to bring him to his house."

"(Fake smiles) Oh right. I wanted to give him a break but he just won't let me. He says that he will exhaust me to prove his innocence. I haven't slept for days. But what can I do, after all we have to chase the truth right." said Fransesca. An exhausted Lucas glared at both of them, but he couldn't say anything as he was fully exhausted. "Of course Miss Fransesca." said the chief. Suddenly the prosecutor collapsed. "Miss Fransesca!" said the chief. "Sorry sir, I'm just a bit tired that's all." said the prosecutor as she faked a yawn. "The defendant is pleading innocence after murdering the people's hero? What a heartless child." whispered the chief. "I know right. I'm trying hard to uncover if he actually killed him or not but he won't help me." said Fransesca. "You truly are a prosecutor who hunts the truth even if it exhausts you. Truly amazing!" said the chief as he laughed along with Prosecutor Fransesca.

"Lucas!" said Maxim. "Yo- you're my defender?" said Lucas. His eyes looked like as if his soul has left his body. "Lucas? Lucas? Are you ok? Lucas?" was the last thing Lucas heard before falling unconscious.

"Did they both faint?" said Helix. "Looks like it. I wanna say it's a coincidence and maybe its what the Owlivia family often do, but I sense it's something else." said Maxim as he hovered his staff over the both of them. "How did she faint again?"

"It was after she heard that Lucas was the prime suspect. Then she fainted." Suddenly, Jessica's eyes opened up and a scream was heard. "AAAAAAAAAK. (pants) Huh, phew, phoo. Where's Lucas? Is he alright?" said Jessica. "He's right beside you. Hold on, are you alright?" asked Helix. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Luc, mate you ok?" said Jessica as he shook Lucas. "You can't and won't be able to wake him up yet. There's no point." said Maxim. "What happened?" asked Jessica. "(sighs) He was interrogated endlessly for 2 days straight by Prosecutor Fransesca without food or sleep." said Maxim as he sipped a cup of tea. "What I'm curious of though is how I can't find you both in any citizen or birth certificates. I've searched through the whole city records building and there's nothing." said Maxim. "Thank you very much, I'm sorry, I didn't get your name." said Jessica. "Oh right. Pleasure to meet you, my name is Maxim Delacroix." said Maxim as he shook her hand. "Could you leave us two for awhile?" said Jessica. As Helix was about to say something, Maxim covered his mouth and dragged him out.

"(sobs) I'm sorry Luc. I couldn't be there for you when you needed me. But I need you right now. I-I'm not sure what we have to do." said Jessica as she shed a tear. Suddenly, Lucas' hands moved a bit. "(caresses Jessica's hair) It's fine Jess, I'm sure we'll come up with something. After all, we are the Owl Duo right?" said Lucas with a faint voice. "(smiles) Mmm, yes we are." said Jessica. "But for now, can we rest a bit. I'll stay here and talk, but don't you dare ask me to get up." said Lucas with a smile on his face. "So what happened on your journey?" asked Lucas. The two began chatting and sharing about what they had done when seperated.

"(laughs) Not a bad guess though. If I escaped that stupid wagon, I would've definitely come to the Warlock's house. Did Helix tell you about it?" asked Lucas. "He did and said that the Warlock was a dangerous being. He does know about the library though." said Jessica. "Does he? That's great news! Where is it?" asked Lucas. "That's the problem, he told me and pointed to me where it was, but I couldn't see what he was seeing." said Jessica. "That's strange. Ow ow ow." said Lucas as he tried to get up to think. "Mate, you told me not to make you get up and you just did it?" said Jessica. "Lie back down prick."

"Now it's your turn, what happened to you?" said Jessica. They chatted on and on as the rest of the day passed by.

On the other side of the tower, Maxim was meditating by his staff. "(holding his chest) Arghh, what do you want to show me?" said Maxim. "Why... do you never reveal everything in one go? This is frustrating." said Maxim as he tried to foresee more of the future.

"(gasp) Oh dear, you two have a rough future ahead of you...."