"I'm 21 years old, I'm wealthy and famous, hmmm..., I'm allergic to mangoes," Kat stated, letting out a sigh at the end.
"There's no lie in your answers," Nikolas stated with a smirk.
"He is right," Kat said.
"We will begin the questioning now, Lady Kat," Margaret announced, nodding at Nikolas to proceed.
"What is your name?" Nikolas asked.
"Katherine Young," she replied.
"Do you have any other acquaintances who came along with you to our world?"
"No, I do not. Actually, it's less of a world difference. When I asked for the year, it turns out we are both living in the same timeline, meaning we are from two separate dimensions. Although, technically it could still be referred to as another world."
"And when did you deduce this information?"
"Yesterday at noon," she replied.
Nikolas asked Kat a few more simple questions. The atmosphere shifted into a more serious one, as though pressing questions were about to be asked.
"Are you a witch of any kind?"
"I'm not," she answered.
"You were said to have attacked Lord Herrington and the crowd, is that true?"
"No, I did not," Kat responded.
"But you were said to have attacked a guard?"
"It wasn't an attack, it was more of self-defense, and they came at me first. I had to protect myself."
"And what was the thing you used against the guard?"
She reached into her dress pocket and brought out the canister of pepper spray, placing it on the table. "It's just pepper spray," she stated.
Lady Margaret picked up the canister and raised it to her nose to sniff it. "I had examined it, and it is a mixture of pepper and alcohol, it wouldn't do any permanent damage," Sabastain stated.
"You are right," Margaret confirmed.
"You were also said to have another thing with you that startled the crowd, may we see that too?" Margaret requested.
Kat nodded and handed her phone to Margaret. "What is it?"
"It is a gadget from my world, it's called a phone. It's mainly used for communication, it could be used for a lot more, but it is useless here because it can't access the internet or any sort of network."
"I see... Mr. Herrington stated that you captured him in this umm device."
Kat's lips drew in a straight line at the mention of the incident. "I accidentally took a picture, I didn't capture anyone, it was just an image, you know like a painting but more advanced. Here, I will show you," Kat said, stretching her hand out for Margaret to hand her the phone, which she did.
Unlocking the phone, Kat faced it towards Sabastian, but as he was standing really close to the king from her angle, it seemed as though she wanted to aim it at the king. "What are you doing?" she heard Lady Adela question slightly alarmed.
Kat then realized that pointing what they thought to be a weapon in the king's direction wasn't exactly a smart thing to do. She was about to retreat and just take a selfie of herself, but the king's cold voice spoke. He raised his hand, stopping Adela from talking further. "Go on, Katherine," he said to Kat, his piercing gaze still on her.
She took the picture but before she could hand the phone over to Margaret, the king asked for it. She handed it to him. As he examined it, looking at himself in the picture, he simply hummed, he didn't give any comments, and handed the phone back to her. She handed it to Margaret. "Intriguing," Margaret muttered, handing it to the rest of the council members. They examined it, not finding it to be anything dangerous, they handed it back to Kat.
"Were anything else brought with you when you arrived here?" Lady Adela asked.
Kat gave a thoughtful look before responding, "Yes, just my suitcases."
"If you don't mind, we will have to examine that."
Kat didn't quite like the idea of them going through her stuff, but she had to agree to clear herself of any suspicion. "Sure," she responded. A guard was ordered to fetch her suitcases. When he brought them back, they were placed on the table.
Lady Margaret took the liberty of searching them. The first one was zipped open, and she brought out Kat's box of chocolates. Their eyes scanned the image on the chocolate box, a look of curiosity in her eyes as she asked Kat, "What is this?"
"Oh, that's chocolate, it's a type of candy," Kat replied, "May I?" she requested. Margaret handed her the box. Kat brought out a chocolate, unwrapping it. She broke a piece, and as the sweet cocoa taste touched her taste buds, she couldn't help but let out a satisfying hum.
"Here, try it," Kat stretched it out for Margaret to take. "Oh no, thank you, but I'm not a fan of sweet things," Margaret refused. "Oh, come on, one bite wouldn't hurt, try it," Kat insisted.
Margaret hesitated for a moment before taking the chocolate. She broke a piece and ate it. She shut her eyes in anticipation of the taste, and everyone around the table was also anticipating what she was going to say. "It tastes great," she commented, surprisingly.
"Of course it does, it's chocolate," Kat responded in a obvious tone. "Let me try it," Nikolas said. Tasting the chocolate, he also commented, "woah it tastes so good. What is it made of?" "Um... cocoa, sugar, and milk, I guess." "Brilliant," Nikolas commented enthusiastically as he enjoyed the chocolate.
The rest of the council also took a piece and all agreed it tasted nice. Kat handed another bar, stretching it out to the king, not wanting to be rude. He stared at her, then at the treat in the girl's hand, his head tilted. Taking the chocolate from her, "I will have it later," he said, handing it to Sebastian. Kat didn't say anything and just nodded as the search continued.
Lady Margaret brought out some other things, books, sneakers,flat shoes. She also brought out fluffy white bunny room slippers. Everyone watched as items were being brought out one after the other. Lady Margaret brought out another object, their curious eyes turned to Katherine. "It's a flashlight," she said, collecting it and demonstrating how it worked. "Fascinating," Sebastian commented.
The net compartment of the suitcase was filled with chips and other snacks. Kat continued to explain each thing that was brought out and its purpose. After checking through the first suitcase and finding nothing suspicious, Lady Margaret opened the other one and began to search that too. It was mostly filled with clothing that looked unusual to them, making them understand that the way people dressed in Kat's world was extremely different from theirs.
She brought out other things like perfume, hair clips, nail polish, glasses, handbags, makeup, and a lot more. At the bottom of the suitcase was Kat's laptop. Curious, they waited for her to explain. Kat saw this as an opportunity to show them how her world was. She opened the laptop and played a random movie and videos, placing it in a position where they could all see it.
Fascinated by the usage of cars and other modernized things, as well as the cultural differences, they watched attentively. Similarly to how Kat could take a picture of a person's image with her phone, they learned about videos and more from the movie Kat played. She also explained how back in the day, their worlds were more similar in culture, and she played a historical film to explain better, explaining concepts like democracy and the law as much as she could.
After everything, they had a better understanding of how alien everything in her world seemed to them. There was only one item left, a mini storage bag. Lady Margaret was about to open it when Kat's eyes widened, and she panicked, "Don't open that!" Everyone paused at her sudden reaction. "Why can't we open it?" Nicolas asked.
Margaret held up the mini storage bag. "Lady Kat, we need to check what's inside."
Kat's shook her head. "No you can't, It's private."
"We can't just ignore the possibility that you might be hiding something" Nikola's stated
Kat hesitated, her eyes darting around the room. " You don't understand...." She could find the words to explain.
"What's in the bag lady kat?" Margret asked. Kat parted her lips but only ended closing them and biting her bottom lips, she tried signalling a look to Margret but Margret just blinked at her confused.
Kat sighed. "But there's nothing bad inside, I promise! You don't need to check it."
Lady Margaret's voice was firm. "I'm afraid it's not up to you to decide what we need to do, lady Kat. We have to check the bag."
The king's sudden interruption cut through the conversation. "Sebastian, bring me the bag."
The atmosphere shifted, and Kat's eyes darted anxiously between the king and Lady Margaret. Kat's words caught in her throat as Sebastian handed the bag to the king. She couldn't finish her protest, her eyes fixed on the bag as if willing it to stay closed.
But the king had already opened it, his eyes scanning the contents. A knowing glint appeared in his eye, and he glanced at kat.
If it weren't for her dark skin, Kat's face would have flushed red. Kat could feel his gaze on her and she avoided meeting his gaze.
Lucain now looked over to the girl who had been so bold to stare at him a while back, was now avoiding his gaze. He chuckled, closing the zipper back. He handed the bag back to Sebastian. "That will be all for the search."
The suitcases were returned. Although everyone was curious about what was in the bag, no one dared to say anything. The inspection went on. "Sebastian had given us a brief intel on the incident that occurred the night before your arrival here. "Please tell us everything," Lady Margret requested. Kat exhaled slowly before beginning her explanation. "I lost consciousness and found myself here," she concluded.
The council's expression was a mix of surprise and intrigue. "This is a serious matter, we do not know who or what the old lady is, and what her motives could be behind sending you here," Nikolas stated. "Can you remember what this old lady looked like? With your description, we could get a sketch of her that would help with the investigation," Margret stated. Kat nodded in response. "Call the court artist at once," she ordered one of the guards, but she was stopped by Kat. "That won't be needed, I just need a pencil and paper, please?" Kat requested.
"Of course," Margaret nodded for the guard to get what Kat had requested. The parchment of paper and the pencil were placed in front of Kat. She picked up the pencil to examine it and, as she had expected, it was pure graphite. Satisfied, kat began to sketch something on the paper, leaving everyone quietly staring at her in curiosity.
Kat's mind remained focused on the old lady's image as she continued sketching. She couldn't help but notice the contrast between the council members' respectful demeanor and Vivian's description of the shadow council. Nikolas, in particular, seemed out of place, his quirky personality contradicting the cruel reputation of the council.
Pushing the thought aside, Kat concentrated on her sketch. The silence in the courtroom was tangible, the only sound being the scratch of her pencil on paper. The weight of the council members' gazes was intense, but it was the man seated to her right whose gaze unsettled her, his eyes seeming to bore into her soul.
As she finished the sketch, Kat felt a sense of satisfaction. "This is her," she announced, holding up the paper. "Impressive, Miss Kat. Your skill is simply commendable." Sabastain complimented, and kat responded with a "thank you'.
Nikolas's enthusiasm was evident. "Not only are you beautiful, but intelligent and talented!" His fanboy-like behavior made Kat raise a eyebrows, she wondered if he was truly a council member or just a tag-along. Margaret's stern glance and the council's disapproving looks silenced Nikolas, his smile faltered.
The councilor cleared his throat, speaking solemnly. "We'll ask a few more questions, and that will be all." Kat nodded in response.
"Is there anyone, friend or family, who has ever said anything related to our dimensions that you can remember, or anything out of place?" Kat reflected on her past encounters, but nothing significant came to mind. "No, not that I can recall," she replied honestly.
"And your family?" he inquired. Kat's expression faltered for a moment, a shadow passing over her features before it was replaced with a calm smile. "They passed away long ago. I only have my uncle," she replied, not elaborating further.
Lady Margaret offered condolences. "We're sorry to hear that." Kat responded with a simple "It's alright."
Nikolas leaned forward, his gaze intensifying. "And for the last question, it's very important," he said, his tone suddenly serious, capturing everyone's attention, Everyone fell silent, awaiting his question. "Are you in any romantic relationship?" He asked
Everyone: "....."
Kat blinked a couple time's not expecting such a question and everyone else seemed to be in the same boat as her. "No...." She responded.
Nikolas let out a sigh of relief, his lips parted, ready to speak, but Lady Adela stomped on his foot underneath the table, making him wince in pain. "Ouch, what was that for?" he exclaimed, his eyes wide with surprise. Ignoring him, Adela expression stayed plane, as if she had done nothing. Margaret shot Nikolas a sideways glance, silently reprimanding him. He returned her gaze with a sheepish smile.
The warning gaze from Margaret and Adela's stomp on his foot were not enough to deter Nikolas. However, the moment he heard the king's voice, his smile fell. "Nikolas," the king said, his face carrying a bored expression. Nikolas turned his gaze to the king slowly, his own expression changing to one of dread. He sank back into his seat, closing his mouth shut.