The Great

Lila Fairheart: Why.

It was a question that I asked myself a lot but lately I have been asking it even more. Maybe it was because Ren was back, maybe it was because of Savain and the empire, or maybe it was because of everything.

But why did everything have to happen to us? What did we ever do to anybody? We were just first years doing first year things so how were we always the problem? I pondered these questions as Aurora and I sat next to each other in chairs inside the headmaster’s office. The interior wasn’t too fancy as there was just a desk and two bookshelves that lined the side walls of the office. Behind him was a portrait of the Eden school logo, a vibrant golden sword surrounded by flowers and vines.

“Now, ladies. I first want to make sure you know that there is a likelihood that you will have to choose a new fourth member. If things go the way I presume Evay will most definitely be cut from the tournament.” Aurora got up and looked the headmaster in the eye.

“But sir you haven’t even heard Evay’s side of the story yet. And additionally, the crimes that Ren have committed have never been held against him. Why should Evay be so quickly condemned and Ren just let free?” The headmaster looked at Aurora with a painful expression and motioned for her to sit down. She did and I spoke up,

“Sir I know we are close friends with Evay but I think you know that he’s had an extremely clean record this year. He’s a model student and someone that hasn’t ever shown aggression or anger towards others. So you must at least give him a fair testimony, no?” The headmaster listened and we sat in silence for a while.

“Aurora, Lila, I understand what you are saying. I am well aware of the things that Ren has done and the hurt that you feel from that, Lila. However, Ren is a member of the royal family and unlike the emperor—his father is not so impartial towards people. Mr.Novak will surely issue his power on us if we were to do anything against his son. Additionally, no matter what crimes Ren may have committed, Evay still struck him first. There is no way to maneuver around that fact.” Aurora and I both gave each other worried looks before we faced the headmaster.

“Get some rest, the trial will be in the morning tomorrow. It will be quite the public experience–which means that there will be lots of people at the trial. A situation like this doesn’t just fly under the press–Eden is already under heavy fire from the Taegan government. Be ready for the worst.”

We gave him a nod and exited his office. We were guided to a small, one room house that was to be our home until the trial tomorrow. It was dark outside now and the stars were dotted in the sky. The multitude of colors in the sky shone brightly like crystals in a dark cavern.

If only the occasion matched the beauty….

I looked at Aurora who had uncharacteristically gone to bed early. Her back was turned to me and her face was turned towards the wall. She hugged her pillow tightly as I saw her hair in a mess. I knew she cared for Evay a lot and she always liked having a lot of friends. Even if she wasn’t too good at making them, she cherished the ones she had. I guess everything was taking a toll on her.

It was kind of getting to me too.

Evay Maver: The trial was held in the acceptance hall which had been remodeled to fit the occasion. There were large podiums that seated the headmaster, his assistant, and any witnesses who were called to the stand. There were also more podiums that were appointed for the other high officials of Eden. I walked into a hall brightly lit with golden torches and the marble floors and walls shone brightly.

Large wooden benches ran along the entire side of the walls and they sat enormous amounts of people. Hundreds of people sat in the stands waiting for the trial to commence. My stomach started to turn and my head felt a little dizzy. I hadn’t ever seen this many people in one place ever……and they were all here to see me.

Random people I had never seen before occupied the stands. There weren't more than five hundred students in Eden so that meant even the public came to watch……More people flooded the halls and more voices could be heard all around me. The mass of sounds mixed and churned in my head.I sat down to ease my tension.

The headmaster finally rang the golden bell on his stand. The sound resonated across the room and silence fell upon the hall. The headmaster took a gaze and took a deep breath.

“Ladies and gentlemen of Eden Academy, the public, and fellow academy institutions I deeply appreciate your willingness to be present here today. We will now commence with the trial of Evay of house Maver for alleged assault on Ren of house Novak. As you all know, the Championship games for our youth is an attraction not just across our empire but across our world. Schools and people from other lands and empires come to witness the future potential of our descents. So such a sacred place has no tolerance for any misconduct and thereby also those accused of such.” His cold voice echoed across the open hallway and into all parts of my mind and being.

“This national matter is important for this reason but there is also the fact that we wish to preserve our integrity among the grounds of Eden. This will not just be a matter of the Championship, but will also address the misconduct among our students. Please note that this will not be a legal trial but a student-academy based trial. There will be no lawyers or legal team, but these wonderful Eden officials and I shall decide the fate of Mr.Maver. He will be able to defend himself upon gaining permission to speak, or he will be allowed to refer to a witness. Now we ask Ren of house Novak to take the stand.”

Ren walked up there and he looked….fine. There were no visible injuries and his body seemed to be well recovered. But he had a deep look of pain and tiredness on his face, as he limped up the side of the stairs leading to the podium. He stumbled a little and grabbed his side.

This little cockroach is faking it….

I tightly grasped the arms of my chair and I saw Geon, Lila, and Aurora look at him in disgust. He sat down on the podium and kept that fake look of pain on his face. “Now, Mr.Novak. I take it that you are still unwell?” The headmaster kept a steady and calm voice.

“Yes sir, thank you for having me here today. I still am experiencing pains from the situation which occurred yesterday as I can not move very well.” He added a fake grimace which caused Aurora to spark in anger.

He kept grabbing his side and continued to talk. “My account of the situation goes as such. Me and my classmates and close friends were finishing our morning classes when we walked out of the arts exhibitory and moved along to our next class. We met Eva—, Mr.Maver and along with him were a group of his friends as well. We had no intention of talking to them. I mean, we are not very close but that does not mean that we do not show each other respect.” Ren talked in an extremely passive voice and his face radiated an aura of loneliness. I admit, he was a good actor. If I didn’t experience his antics first-hand, I probably would have fallen for his lies.

“Then suddenly Mr.Maver expressed aggression towards us and even attempted to use her skills against us.”I heard the crowd whisper in shocked voices as Ren kept his fake facial expression.

“We tried to reason with them and we didn’t attempt to use our skills at all, when suddenly Mr.Maver’s friend, Ms.Fairheart attacked us as well.” I almost stood up but Aurora stopped me by putting her hands on my lap. She looked at me with stern eyes and I could tell that she was thinking one thing. If you screw up here, you screw up forever.

The way he said ‘friend’ made me shake with anger. It was like he didn’t think of Lila as a human, as someone unworthy of being bestowed a title. I glared daggers into Ren’s eyes and I could’ve sworn that he had given me a jeering smile back.

“Now I know the importance of following the codes of Eden academy and so I didn’t attempt to fight Mr.Maver at all. I simply went up and talked to him in private. I admit I was a little curt but I sternly warned him to stop with my words.” Ren’s face then suddenly dawned an expression of fear and grimace.

“I tried everything but he didn’t listen and he attacked me with his full strength. I didn’t expect any of it and unfortunately my words weren’t enough”. I saw him look down to the ground in shame and I heard murmurs in the crowd.

“I wish for a fair trial among us all Professor, but I hope you can see what needs to be done,” Ren said his final words with a desperate pleading voice and he walked off the stand. His face was out of sight of the crowds and he was walking back to his seat. He sat down and looked towards me.

He smirked and looked away.

I’ll kill you…..

I shook my head and regained myself. Evay stop, this is what got you here in the first place…..You can’t let yourself get out of control. The crowd started to quiet down as the headmaster looked at me for the first time since the beginning of the trial.

“Mr.Maver. Do you or any of your witnesses take the stand?” I looked to Geon who nodded but suddenly Aurora stood up first. She had a determined look on her face as Geon gave me a shrug. I looked at her and gave her a weak smile and she gave me a nod.

“I call Ms.Maple, sir” I tried my best to sound loud and confident as my voice resonated across the hall.

“Very well,” Aurora walked to the stand as she sat down and took a deep breath.

“What Mr.Novak had said is a lie. But as a defendant myself I can not disregard some truths to his statement. Yes it is true that Mr.Novak did not unload any form of physical violence onto our party. However, it is also important to note that Evay is not the only guilty figure in this situation either. Mr.Novak said some words that provoked traumatic memories inside the head of Evay. Words that triggered emotions and events that no child should have ever experienced.”

Wait…how does she know…

Then Aurora pulled out a strange looking device from her pocket. It was a rectangular black box, it was completely smooth and had a button on top of it. She then gently fed electricity inside the device and the box started to emit noise. The crowd muttered in surprised voices as even Geon, Lila, and I were sitting in shock. She looked up with a determined gaze. “This is a small device that I myself have engineered. When I flow electricity into it there are several intricate mechanisms inside the box that activate and replay another device called a ‘speaker’. This device was designed to play sound. It can save and replay any sound that I wish. Here’s proof sir, proof of what he said.” Lila clicked the button and like magic, I heard Ren’s voice come out.

The crowd gasped and I sat in my chair, eyes wide with shock. Even the headmaster and school officials uncharacteristically broke their calm and collected gaze.

Ren’s words came pouring out of Aurora’s device and his malicious voice could be heard by everyone in the hall. I turned to look at his face, which was ghostly white. His eyes were wide with shock and anger as I saw his fists clenched tight.

His final words could be heard vibrating around the hall. “Especially whenever she mentioned you”.

The whole hall was filled with dead silence. Even my friends were shocked—not even a single breath could be heard from Geon and Lila. But after what seemed like an eternity, they both turned to me and gave me a small confident grin. I returned their smiles.

Aurora spoke up. “Here it can be seen that not only did Mr.Novak express hateful feelings onto Evay, but he also expressed terms which implied heavy prejudice and discrimination. His clear disdain for the lower class was evident and his use of their title as an insult expresses an image that no student at this school should have. Furthermore, these words clearly brought up some hard memories for Evay and aggression, while not physical, was first expressed by Mr.Novak.” Aurora took a deep breath. Silence filled the hall as tension soaked into the very air.

“These points make a strong argument that Evay should not be fully blamed or punished for his actions, headmaster. I believe that pain which affects the heart comes from both your fists and your speech. You simply just get to choose which way it gets there. I believe that this should be an important consideration.”

Aurora bowed towards the headmaster and officials before walking down to us. The whole hall was still silent in shock. Aurora’s footsteps seemed to pound on the floor like raindrops on the palace roofs. She sat down and I gave her a look of a thousand thankful emotions. She smiled a little bit and looked away quickly.

“I must say engineering a new device just to save your friend’s reputation is a slightly, unbelievable, do you not agree?” Aurora looked at the headmaster with a serious gaze and spoke.

“Sir, I can assure you that this is not fake evidence. My files and blueprints will clearly show what my full capabilities are and you will see that I have no innate ability to manipulate sound. Also, with further inspection, you will see that this device takes no liquor at all. Therefore, I–nor anyone else–can control it and my evidence stands.”

The headmaster looked at Aurora for a moment then turned to his officials. “I believe that Ms.Maple is giving a truthful testimony. However I still do not believe that Mr.Maver is completely innocent. Both students will be punished. I suggest a fine and a three week suspension in combat classes for Mr.Novak.” The whole crowd started to murmur and shocked voices echoed in soft glows around the hall.

“Now for Mr.Maver. Your actions are more severe. Physical harm and harm caused by speech are both definitely hurtful, but hitting another student with such ill intent is strictly prohibited. I suggest a four week ban on all combat classes, a fine, and disqualification from the Championship tournament.” The crowd blew up with an array of voices. Shouts of outrage mixed my gasps of shock and horror. Whispers and murmurs blended into the background of echoed cries. The headmaster sensed the chaos and clapped his hands. The loud noise seemed to spread like a shockwave across the hall as it caught the attention of everybody in the hall. The voices died down and the hall listened for another call.

Suddenly one of the officials spoke out. “While it is important to recognize the severity of the situation sir, do you not think that a full suspension from the tournament is too harsh?”

Another official answered right back. “Nonsense, the boy had committed an assault upon a student. There is no great debate about his fate.”

“Yes but it could be argued that the Novak boy has committed crimes of hate-speech as well.” The officials argued back and forth until the headmaster once again clapped his hands. He looked around the hall and prepared to make his final call. My head spun, my legs seemed glued to the floor. My body churned as I awaited my fate. I stood as I had to wait to find out. What I’ve wanted to do since I got here…Where I’ve wanted to go. Does it all end……here.

The headmaster opened his mouth. “With the accounts of a witness for Mr.Maver and Mr.Novak’s testimony I hereby make this official ruling.”

“The previous charges against Ren of house Novak will stand—with an additional punishment of this event being added to his permanent record. Evay of house Maver will be subject to a four month class suspension, a fine, and a mark on his permanent record as well. In the case of the Championship, Evay Maver will be suspended for one of the matches in the tournament, and with the severity of his actions, he will be suspended for the semi-finals, and the finals of the tournament. If they are to be eliminated from the tournament before this point, his two match suspension will carry on to future matches. However, he will be allowed to participate for a part of the tournament. Final decision.” The headmaster banged his gavel as the crowd murmured in confusion. Happiness, sadness, elation, relief, and confusion all ran through my heart, but the only thing I got out of the trial was one thing.

I was able to go to the tournament.

I looked over at Geon who slumped back in his chair and sighed in relief, Aurora’s eyes sparked in excitement, and Lila looked like she was about to faint. I looked over at Aurora and smiled.

She smiled back.