Things Happen

-Lucas' POV-

"What's going on?" I said, standing at the defense bench in the courtroom yet again.

"I really don't know, Lucas." answered Iris.

"Court is now in session-" started the judge, "Now, hold on a minute."

"Is something wrong?" asked the young man at the prosecutor's bench.

"Why aren't you on the other side?" asked the judge.

"Things change." he said.

"Ron… why?" I asked.

"I intend to reveal the truth," he answered, "regardless of which side of the courtroom I am on."

"Seriously, Ron." said Iris, "Why?"

"There aren't many prosecutors here." I answered, "And Matthias is questioning the former chief prosecutor right now. It seems he was a witness in this case, so I'll call him when we need him."

"Okay," I said, "I can do this… probably."

"Our victim, Sophia Burns was murdered in town somewhere near the dungeon, which explains why Bob was a witness," said Ron, "anyways, ironically, Sophia was burnt to death. Erica Courtney was the only one nearby during the time of the crime."

"Nearby?" I said, "You call that proof!?"

"Well," responded Ron, "I have stronger evidence I can show you if you want."

"Ah!" responded Lucas.

"There was a box of matches at the scene of the crime," Ron revealed, "and Erica's fingerprints were on it!"

"Nngh!" I responded.

"It's just a flesh wound!" said Iris.

"Only one match was used," Ron continued, "and that very match took the victim's life!"

"And someone saw this?" asked Iris.

"Another person saw it." answered Ron, grinning.

"Didn't you say there was only one witness?" I asked.

"No." answered Ron, "I just said Bob was a witness, as in ONE of them."

"…Shoot." I said.

"I'd like to call my first witness," Ron said, "the one who isn't behind bars!"

"Forgive me for asking," said the judge, "but are we not doing the séance?"

"We already checked it." answered Ron, "The victim saw nothing but flames."

"I… see." responded the judge, "Now if a witness would come forward."

A familiar face was at the witness stand. It was the princess.

"H-her!?" I exclaimed.

"Your name and occupation, please." said Ron.

"Leah Prihn C'ess, princess of Mihr'hai." she answered.

"And you saw…?" started Iris.

"Yes." answered Leah.

"All right," said Ron, "let's hear your testimony."

"I was walking around town," said the princess, "and things seemed fine until I was near the dungeon."

"Hold it!" I said, "Why were you even in that part of town?"

"I was going to question our former chief prosecutor for yesterday's crime with my brother." answered Leah.

"Your brother?" asked Lucas, "Why?"

"Because he's a prosecutor," answered Leah, "and I know you've gone up against him."

"Huh…?" I responded, looking at Ron.

"This is news to me to too, Lucas." he responded, "Although, there is one thing I'm a bit curious about."

"What is that?" responded Leah.

"Why do the two of you have different last names?" asked Ron.

"That's because the two of us have different roles." she answered, "Anything else you'd like to ask about us?"

"No," said Ron, "just get back to your testimony so we don't get too off topic."

"Anyways," Leah said, "my brother had already arrived. When I got there, I saw it happen."

"Hold it!" I shouted, "So, how exactly did it happen?"

"It all happened too quickly." answered Leah, "But I remember the killer dropping the box of matches in the fire-"

"OBJECTION!" I interrupted.

"…What?" responded Leah.

"That's just not possible!" I answered.

"Why?" asked Leah.

"If it was thrown into the flames, it would have been destroyed!" I exclaimed, "In other words, the prosecution wouldn't have anything to present!"

"OBJECTION!" responded the prosecutor, "But what if the box was fireproof…?"

"Match boxes aren't made out of that strong of material!" I returned.

"But what if it's made to look like it isn't fireproof?" suggested Ron.

"That's… really dumb!" I exclaimed.

"Hmm…" said the judge.

"Well, can you prove this box isn't the same one used in the crime?" asked the prosecution.

"It would be real easy to prove." I said, "We'd just have to try to burn it right now!"

"Am I correct to assume I know where you're going with this?" asked the judge.

"All this leads me to believe that the box of matches was fake, meant to throw us off!" responded Lucas.

"…Ah!" exclaimed Leah.

"Well," said Iris, "if it was fake then that creates the possibility of a third party's existence!"

"So," said Ron, slamming his fist on his desk, "you think it's fake!?"

"Yes." I responded.

"No." responded Ron.

"Huh?" I reacted.

"This box of matches I presented is genuine." said Ron.

"How do you know!?" I asked.

"This box of matches is flame-resistant, just like I suggested!" answered Ron.

"Huh!?" I responded.

"And you wait until NOW to tell us?" exclaimed Iris.

"It didn't come up until now." responded Ron.

"Asshole." reacted Iris.

"He planned that, didn't he?" I said.

"Probably." answered Iris.

"So, what now?" I asked.

"Well," answered Iris, "what do you think about that box of matches?"

"Hmmm… maybe it is legitimate," I said, "but perhaps it was tampered with…?"

"I'm going to assume you want to look at the box," said Ron, "all right."

Within a few seconds, the small box was in my hands.

"There's a little blood on it." I commented, "It doesn't look like there's much else on the outside."

Then I opened it and saw only one empty slot.

"Well?" said Ron.

"I think… we should check for prints." I answered.

"We've already checked." responded Ron.

"Did you check the MATCHES!?" I asked.

"…Ah!" responded Ron.

"I believe checking these will prove that Erica never touched a single match!" I claimed.

"Nngh." responded Ron.

"What was his name?" said the judge.

"Will Charles Ainsley please come to the stand and help us check?" I asked.

Within seconds, he ran to the defense bench with fingerprinting tools. After a couple minutes, he spoke.

"There isn't a single print on any of these matches." he answered.

"As you can see," said Iris, "no prints were found on the matches!"

"Oh yeah?" said Ron, "The accused was probably wearing gloves!"

"But her prints are on the box!" exclaimed Iris.

"People do strange things," responded Ron, "she likely just 'forgot' or something just because she knew this kind of argument would come up in court!"

"T-that's just dumb!" I reacted.

"Is that all?" asked Iris.

"Perhaps." answered Ron.

"You're the one that claimed that she was wearing gloves," said Iris, "so YOU'RE the one that needs to prove it, rather than suggest it."

"Nnnngh!" reacted Ron.

"What you said was stupid." I said.

"Objection!" responded Ron, "She still had her hands on the box, so she could have used a match without touching it."

"Um… how?" I asked.

"By holding it with a towel or some kind of paper or something." answered Ron.

"Again, you need to PROVE something." suggested Iris.

"Well," said Ron, "then let's just look at this case from another angle – literally. I call Bob Bob to the stand."

A minute later, we saw Matthias instead.

"Where's the witness?" I asked.

"Dead." he answered.

"W-what!?" responded Ron.

"Someone killed him while I was in the middle of questioning him," said Matthias, "unfortunately, the killer got away."

"Well, that's unfortunate." commented the judge.

"Fortunately, we can still hear his testimony." said Matthias.

"You write stuff down?" asked Ron.

"Yes." answered Matthias.

"You going to read that stuff?" asked Ron.

"I'm not testifying for him, earth turd." answered Matthias.

"You really need to work on your people skills." commented Ron.

"Well, what were you going to suggest?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious…?" responded Matthias.

"Um… no?" replied Iris.

"Channeling." said Matthias.

"Ah." said Ron, "So, we can get his testimony if someone channels his spirit!"

"Oh!" I responded.

"Lucas," said Ron, "how is Erica with channeling…?"

"Not as good as Lilith." I answered.

"Then let's get Lilith to channel Bob." said Ron.

A couple minutes later, Lilith was at the witness stand.

"Are you prepared to channel our former chief prosecutor's spirit?" asked the judge.

"Yes… I am." answered Lilith.

It took her a few minutes but she was able to channel Bob.

"W-what happened!?" exclaimed Bob.

"You died." said Ron.

"Y-you!" he exclaimed.

"What need you to tell us what you saw." said Matthias.

"When?" asked Bob.

"When you witnessed that death." I answered.

"Which one?" asked Bob.

"The one you saw from the dungeon." answered Ron, "Y'know, the one with the fire."

"I was really bored in my cell," said Bob, "but I noticed something going on outside. There were flames."

"Hold it!" I said, "Uh, anything else?"

"I saw someone run off," answered Bob, "but I couldn't see who it was."

"Could you tell their gender?" I asked.

"It was a woman." he answered, "But that's all I know."

"Anything else you have to say about the case?" asked Ron.

"After some time, I was called away for questioning, answered Bob, "and I have nothing else to say on this subject."

"Hold on." I said, "I'd like to ask you something."

"What is it?" asked Bob.

"I'd like to know about… questioning." I answered.

"I was asked about that one murder from yesterday," said Bob, "soon after, Matthias wanted to know about what I had just witnessed."

"Well, what do you think?" asked the judge.

"It's… contradictory." I answered.

"How so?" asked Ron.

"It's not possible for Matthias to have just known about the murder!" I pointed out.

"…Ah!" exclaimed Bob.

"He entered the dungeon before Leah," I continued, "and the incident happened after he went in."

"Are you… accusing me?" asked Matthias, angrily.

"I'm… not accusing you." I answered.

"Then who?" asked Ron.

"That's not what's important right now!" responded Iris, "We need to know how Matthias knew. Any ideas, Lucas?"

"Yes… somebody told him." I answered.

"Who is this person, defense?" asked the judge.

"The real killer." I replied.

"You don't know who this 'real killer' is, do you?" asked Ron.

"I'm not certain," I said, "but I have an idea."

"Then let's hear it." said Ron.

"Mess this up and you get a harsher penalty." said the judge.

"All right, then." I said, "The one responsible for Sophia's death… is none other than this country's own princess!"

"…I should harshly penalize-" started the judge.

"Matthias didn't have a chance to hear about it before he went in." I said, "So, he must have heard it from somebody… like his sister."

"She told him to do what she was going to do," said Iris, "he was an accomplice!"

"Objection!" responded Ron, "You two are quick to jump to conclusions."

"What is this about?" asked Iris.

"You're wrong." answered Ron, "Matthias DID have an opportunity."

"Name one." I demanded.

"Before he got Mihr'hai's former chief prosecutor out of his cell for questioning," Ron said, "he could have looked out one of the windows. Heck, he likely saw something when he went to get Bob."

"What are you getting at?" I asked.

"Matthias is the third witness," responded Ron, grinning.

"I-I thought there were only two." I said.

"I never said that." responded Ron.

"Grrrnk." I reacted.

"Did he set us up again!?" exclaimed Iris.

"Yeah, I saw it." answered Matthias, "But I wasn't really planning on testifying."

"C-Can you prove you saw-" I started.

"Objection!" interrupted Ron, "I've got proof."

Ron held up a picture.

"In this picture, Matthias is looking out the window," said Ron, "right at the scene of the crime! Also, we can see the defendant in this image."

"Ron, what the hell is wrong with you!?" I exclaimed.

"You're an asshole." said Iris.

"Do not address me with such a filthy word ever again." responded Ron, "Now, Matthias, I'd like you to testify about the moment of the murder and your response to the defense's accusations."

"Before I picked up Bob for questioning," said Matthias, "I saw something out the window. That something was the murder. I saw pretty much the same thing the other two witnesses saw. To accuse the princess, though… that just wasn't cool."

"Hold on!" I said, "Um… maybe it wasn't?"

"Lucas!" responded Iris, "What are you doing!?"

"I don't really know." I answered.

"We could just get to the verdict, y'know…" suggested Ron.

"How about NO." I said.

"Well," said Iris, "we really just need to either prove she did it or prove there's a way she could have."

"Wait… that picture." I said, "I've got it."

"Got what?" asked Ron.

"Proof that Leah is the one who committed this crime!" I exclaimed.

"You're bluffing!" responded Ron, slamming his first on his desk.

"Take a look at the photo… here!" I said.

"What are we looking at?" asked the judge.

"Notice the bits of pink in the bush on the bottom right of the picture?" I asked.

"…Ah!" exclaimed Matthias.

"They're from a certain somebody's dress!" I answered, "When escaping from the crime scene, Leah's dress got caught on a bush."

"Do you have proof?" asked Ron.

"Think back to when Leah was testifying." I said, "Anyone else notice holes near the bottom of her dress?"

"No, because the writer didn't include that detail." commented the judge.

"I don't even know what that means." responded Iris.

"Why were you even looking at the bottom of her dress, you pervert!" exclaimed Matthias.

"That's not what I was trying to do!" I exclaimed.

"Okay," said Ron, "tell us where you're going with this."

"The holes in her dress are from when she ran from the scene of the crime, temporarily getting it caught on a bush."

"Gack!" exclaimed Matthias, falling over.

"Well, looks like we're going to have to hear from her." I said.

"Fine." responded Ron.

"Bailiff!" said the judge, "Bring the princess back and tell her why we need her."

About five minutes later, Leah returned to the stand, seeming angry.