Our statements had been recorded, all that was left was the questioning. Each representative was allowed to ask us anything they wanted, and we had to answer, if we refused, even if it was unrelated, we would be found guilty on the spot. A merciless law, but rarely abused… From what I heard anyway...
Of the eight representatives, each one asked for more and more details, and so I gave them what they wanted, the men tended to only ask about facts.
"Why didn't you turn in the quest?" or "How specifically did you kill the minitour without a party?"
Those questions were fine, they were easy to take, and it was almost fun to recount my epic tale in front of such a crowd.
The woman judges tended to ask different questions though… Ones that were… Harder to talk about… "You said Alden ordered the guards to strip you?"
I froze up… If I wasn't wearing my armor I don't know how I would have reacted, but I held myself together. I may not have been able to answer with words, but I could at least nod. 'Of course, this would come up…' "Y-yes, that's right…" Again, dead silence filled the arena… Although this time the sentiment was much different.
Of course, that wasn't the only question. They had me describe in detail what happened, which, really wasn't much honestly… Although admittedly, I was unconscious for half of it.
After answering I felt as though my legs were about to collapse from under me, and I was starting to feel faint, but the questioning continued, seemingly random things kept getting mixed in, but I still had to answer them…
"Why are you so skinny?"
"It's true that you don't look much like a girl, what are your measurements?"
Or, of course, my favorite. "Are you a virgin?" Admittedly, that might have been the least embarrassing one to answer, and technically the most relevant in a certain sense. I was always taught by the nuns that you should be proud of being a virgin if you weren't married… Still, saying it out loud was… harder than I thought… Especially in front of so many people… All of those questions came from the representative of the Discord guild, and well… 'I think I'm starting to get why that lawbringer doesn't like her…'
My chest continued to feel tighter every time I spoke, but I answered all the same… By the end of it, my body felt cold, and the moment I finally returned to my seat I was sure I couldn't have stood up again if I tried.
"Hey…"
I heard someone's voice, but I didn't react even a little, laying my head down on the table and closing my eyes.
A warm fur cloak suddenly touched my chilled skin. "You doing alright?"
"Not for the past 8 years or so, why do you ask?" I grumbled.
She sighed. "This is why I hate her… She doesn't take anything seriously, or think before she speaks."
I rolled my head to the side as I pulled the cloak tighter around me. "The girl from Discord?"
She rested her chin in her hand as she glared up at the mage that had entered so dramatically. "Miss, Obsidian Darkstorm… The one that asked you all those weird questions at the end… I'm sorry about her…"
I looked over at her as well. 'The mage from Discord.' "That's really her name?"
She grinned. "Ridiculous isn't it? That's her parent's fault though so I never teased her about it like the other kids."
'I guess they have quite the history…' I slowly lowered my eyes back to the girl next to me. "You shouldn't say you hate her… I don't think you mean that."
She closed her eyes, relaxing for a moment. "What if I do though?"
I smirked. "Then you wouldn't have smiled just now when you said her name."
She let out a soft groan as she looked at me from the side. "Ok, ok, But she seriously pisses me off, asking you those things… Forcing you to answer in front of so many people."
I couldn't explain why, but seeing her get mad about it somehow made me forget it bothered me at all. I chuckled. "It's fine, I've been through worse anyway, and I'm sure Alden is about to go through worse as well."
Letting out another sigh, she finally calmed down again. "Right, next he will get to question you, and then you will question him. After that the trial will open up to debate, are you ready for this?"
I sat up straight and took a deep breath. "No… But I'll do my best… I have to at least try to repay you're guild for helping me... All I have to do is get him to lie right?"
She nodded. "Even if you can't, you're still going to win, so don't worry too much."
My eyes fell to the side. "Yeah… Whether or not I make it out with my reputation intact though, that's still kind of important… Well, I guess no one would party up with me anyway… Oh yeah and… the whole world knows that now…"
"I wouldn't worry about that… The only thing any of these people will remember about this trial is who wins, and that you were supported by White Light and seven of their lawbringers. Mm… Maybe also that you killed a minitour."
Alden finished the questioning period, and I let out a heavy sigh as he returned to his seat. "They won't remember, right? Somehow… Even if I believed you I don't think it would make this any easier…" I grumbled again, mentally preparing myself as I remembered Aurelia's words. 'He's going to say whatever he can to make me feel sick… That's going to be a heck of a lot more than asking my measurements… Even if I can't bring myself to answer, I just have to not leave right?'
The tables moved. Mine span around the room and placed itself directly in front of the judges, while Alden's moved opposite of mine. Since He wasn't a judge, I didn't necessarily have to answer any question he asked, I could object, or the judges could object for me… If I really wanted to look good though, I wouldn't do that. Traditionally speaking, it was better to let the judges be the only ones to object to any questions asked. ESPECIALLY if you were playing the victim… And seeing as how harshness was yet another way he could technically lose divinity… Really, by all accounts, the best option was to just take whatever he had to throw…
"Alden Soot, you may begin you're questioning of the opposing side."
He looked right at me and grinned widely, sending a chill down my arms as his eyes traced my body… Thankfully I didn't have to stand up like before… I'm not sure I would have been able to without making a fool of myself. 'If this was a fight things would be so much easier…' suddenly I stopped shaking as I imagined beating him to a pulp. 'I can do this… This should be fine… Right…?'