"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of the court. I apologize for my tardiness. I wanted to make sure my ducks were all in a row, and universal travel is such a pain," she whined and began to walk into the room with confidence.
Ceil followed as the doors closed behind them. Once Lisette reached the end of the hall, she bowed her head to Alexis and the rest of the judges.
"Fellow judges. Thank you for accepting my arrival. It will be justified, during my briefing."
"Very well, Lisette Cross. Please settle into your position. Does your assistant need to be present with you?"
"Oh yes," she emphasized. "You don't have this type of magic in this universe, but he's my shadow. Think of him like a twin of myself," she suggested while her eyes looked over to Elisha. "He won't say a word. Just needs to give me the documents I need when I request them."
"Very well," Alexis replied.
"Your Honor! What is this other universe nonsense?" Mr. Waters spoke up.
Everyone turned to see his fuming face before he pointed at Lisette. "This woman right here has tormented me to keep silent about the mistreatment my daughter has received for months! I've even gotten death threats!"
Lisette pouted her lips as she seemed to think about it. "Your Honor, how would that be possible when this isn't my universe?" she genuinely asked while blinking her eyes. "I already sent my information to you and your colleagues mere hours ago and the proof is there that I'm a universal lawyer hired by Ms. Harlow herself due to the complex circumstances of this trial. Was that not approved by you?"
"It was approved by all five of us due to the complexity of the case," she announced to everyone. "Since the Harlow family has major roots in the court system, it was agreed that a universal lawyer that doesn't reside in Witchling would be a better choice than the previously chosen lawyer."
"We weren't informed of this!" Mr. Waters argued and rose up to pat the lawyer's shoulder. "Stop doodling and defend my daughter!"
"Hmm? It's not our turn to speak. Why would I interrupt?" he inquired. "You stated you needed me to sit in as your backup lawyer since the first one may be late. You didn't say I was going to be the main rep, so what do you want me to do?" His words only made the poor man's face grow redder, and he only shrugged. "What Her Honor is stating is correct. Plus, I did give you the updated list of attendees, which included this lawyer's name, and you tossed the paper and said you didn't give a shit. So, not my problem."
"Why would you reveal that, you idiot?!"
"We're in court, buddy. All under oath. Even if we're not sitting at that fancy spot over there, it applies, and I'm not here to carry some ungrateful family's sins, thanks."
"You damn ass-"
"Order!" Alexis slammed her black gavel before her eyes landed on Mr. Waters. "I'll warn you once, Officer Waters. Stay in line or the next time I slam this gavel, you'll be silenced for the rest of the trial."
He gritted his teeth while slowly sitting back down, while Lisette came over to get situated.
"Thank you, Brianne, for having enough hope in me to represent you on this case." She winked and fixed her glasses to sit higher up on her nose. "Jade says hi."
I blinked before a smile formed on my lips. "You told her you were coming here?"
"Mhmm. We're dealing with another universal issue on our end, but she has the quads and Calvin, so I wasn't too worried about leaving them behind. I just gotta be out of here two hours before midnight, or Jade won't cuddle with me, so let's get to the point and win this, shall we?"
"S-Sure," I voiced before quietly asking. "Quads? Calvin, and wait. You and Jade are dating?"
"Minor details," she assured me. "One day I'm sure we'll have a girl day and talk it out."
With a smile in my direction, she took a deep breath before letting it out and snapping her fingers. Ceil was at her side as he opened the book to the exact page she needed, which contained a black folder.
"Thank you, Ceil."
"You’re very welcome, Your Majesty."
She opened the file and began to walk to a podium that stood in the perfect direction to face the jury, Elisha, and the judges, while I got a side glimpse of her face and body.
"My name is Lisette Cross. I'll be representing Brianne Marie Harlow. Again, I apologize for my tardiness, but I've been able to gather the proper resources for my client." She bowed respectfully three times - once to the judges, another to the jury, and a slight bow in Elisha's direction.
The way Elisha's eyes darkened in pure envy was making me less nervous.
"If you could, Your Honor, give me a brief recap of what I just missed."
Alexis did exactly that while one of the guards got a copy of the magically written notes of this session thus far. I was impressed by how swiftly everything was recorded onto paper and audio editions. That was definitely a positive aspect of this trial.
Elisha can run in circles, but she won't be able to deny the truth for long.
"Perfect. Thank you for the privilege of catching up," Lisette expressed her gratitude before her intimidating fierce eyes landed on Elisha. We all could feel the sudden shift in the room, the intensity of her gaze, and the way Lisette stood with commanding power as if she were the ultimate crucifer in this grand room.
"I'm not going to waste my defendant's or your time, Elisha Waters. So I'm going to acknowledge everything at once, and you can simply tell me your verdict," she began. "However, I'd like you to demonstrate something for me. Please use your magic to come and stand before this podium."
Murmurs began to rush through the courtroom, and I didn't blame anyone for the curious whispers because it was an intriguing request.
"Ugh, fine." She closed her eyes briefly before she rose up and took her time walking to the podium.
She was wearing a white dress and black tights with her hair down. She looked more like she was going to some sort of gathering than dealing with a court case. The dress was sparkly and expensive-looking, but the neckline was far too low for professionalism while squeezing her breasts like they needed to be plump.
I stared at her legs specifically as she complained, "Happy?"
"Sure," Lisette replied. "You may return to your seat."
I could hear Elisha's exaggerated sigh, but my eyes were still glued to her legs as she walked back to her spot. It finally clicked in as if I'd completely forgotten the prime point of this trial.
Wait a minute. She didn't use any magic to walk. There wasn't even an aura. Not only that, Elisha was already in her spot when we arrived in the courtroom. Why is that? Not to mention the fact that there's no wheelchair around for if she loses her strength.
I'd been so stressed that I hadn't taken into consideration who exactly this Elisha was: the one who we were monitoring in the mental institution or the evil one.
Oh no. We fucked up. She's the evil one hands down. She doesn't need magic for her legs. She isn't disabled like the current Elisha. How are we even going to prove this?!
My eyes locked on Lisette as she waited for Elisha to sit back down, and though her lips remained in a straight line, I caught onto the side glance she gave as her eyes momentarily met mine.