Title: Attornia
Rating: PG
Characters/pairings: Maya/Franziska, Miles/Edgeworth, Gant/Cammy and Wocky/Pearl
Summary: King Manfred is furious at Lord Edgeworth for refusing to marry Princess Franziska and has him arrested for a murder he hasn't committed as well as treason. When Phoenix hears the word from fellow Knight Gumshoe he returns to Attornia as soon as possible with two princesses, his daughter and apprentice. Together they try to save Attornia and Lord Edgeworth from injustice and vicious plots.
Author's notes: I would like to say a big thank you everyone who kindly helped out with the story. It is still far from perfect, but I would like to improve this in any way I can. Feedback is always appreciated, and the more critical, the better.
ATTORNIA
An Introduction From The Ghost Of Adrian Andrews
I know why you are here. You are here for a tale of adventure ... am I right? I can tell you a tale of adventure, and not only that; adventure, betrayal, romance and action. That voice behind you: do you know who it is? Can you feel the chills down your spine?
The voice you hear is me. I am Adrian Andrews, I was once a maid of Lord Engarde, and Princess Franziska's lover. Franziska's father is a powerful king, he rules Attornia and his lust for power still his children were murdered, all but baby Franziska. He took Miles Edgeworth in, and raised him as his own child. He had planned for Franziska and Miles to be married and rule Attornia after his death.
Things can't always go right all the time. Princess Franziska met me at a party going on in Engarde's residence. Lord Edgeworth suspected Lord Engarde of treason and tried to clear his name by inviting the royal family over to a lavish dinner. We formed a friendship that night and visited each other often afterwards. Eventually we fell in love and kissed. We always wrote poems to one another. I kept the poetry inside the wooden box in the corner of my little chamber, under my bed.
One night, we were caught by one of the most respected men in the land: Lord Gant. He had a reputation for being gracious and trustworthy. He knew that homosexuality was illegal and that having a relationship with a member of the royal family without the king's permission was a crime, but he shrugged it off. He told us to embrace who we were and to be fearless. He took us to Attornia Lake and discussed the beauty of nature and swimming.
I had made good friends with a lot of people from the kingdom. As for Princess Franziska, she taught me how to face my fears and fend for myself.
I met Franziska's mother, Fantina. I served her fruit and water. She said I was a very kind person and she knew about the affair. She said she's glad that Franziska had someone like me in her life. However, just because the queen approved, it doesn't mean the king will. I have heard she's tried to lift the homosexual ban for years.
That very same night, I went into Franziska's chamber and gave her a passionate kiss. His Majesty, King Manfred walked into the room. He screamed.
I was too shocked to bow. My common sense abandoned me, long ago and I was helpless. The king pinched his forehead and ordered me out of the room. I was sentenced to be executed without a trial. You see, a lot of people would describe Manfred as a good king. Although others would criticize him for declaring too many wars, and holding too many executions, Manfred would never listen to the criticism as he wanted perfection, and he saw me as an imperfect suitor to his daughter.
It was also the last time I ever saw Franziska while alive. I was thrown in a black dungeon never to see Franziska again. I was forced to make a confession saying that I have sinned. I only confessed my utter love for the future Queen of Attornia. It was the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I didn't lie to the priests, I made my confessions and he helped me make peace with God before I died. The king thought my sins were too deep for just one priest: He ordered three to be present.
When dawn broke, I knew my fate. I was nervous, naturally and yet I knew what I had to do: die for Franziska. I said my prayers and walked into the final light of day. The crowds jeered and threw stones at me. A lot of them screamed whore, a failure of a maid, a witch and a traitor. It did not surprise me, what did was how the news spread like a wild fire in the forest. I was crowded and ashamed. I never got any sleep so I was trembling all over the place. One of the guards had to slap me while the other dragged me up to the scaffold.
"Pray for my love, the future Queen of Attornia and the queen of my heart."
There was nothing more to say. I knelt down and closed my eyes. The executioner held me down to the block and my soul left my body. While Franziska is free to love another, I will always be her angel. My death is just a fraction of the story. There is much to know about Attornia.
The story begins at the lake where a veteran knight stands alone. The same man is Lord Gant, the cheerful man with silver hair of wisdom.
He sounds like a hero doesn't he? Well, not exactly. A true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength - but by the size of his heart. He had the strength, but his heart was not as he made it out to be. Nobody could see his cruel and calculating ways that grew colder as he got older. Damon had trained to be a knight since the age of twelve, but his true ambition was to become King of Attornia. He hated the laws of the kingdom, but he loved his country very much.
A woman appeared out of nowhere, with red locks of hair whipped back and wearing a white loose dress. For a witch, she was attractive and beautiful. I could not say the same about her heart which was full of rotten ice. The witch was the daughter of West Fey's Queen Morgan. She was once called Dahlia, but Queen Morgan expelled her from the kingdom. Queen Morgan declared her a witch, a bastard and a whore.
Dahlia stood next to Gant who offered her a black cloak to fight the bitter cold. She did not feel repulsed, and snatched the cloak from his hands.
"What do you want from me?" Dahlia asked.
"I ask of you to do me a favor," Gant said. He bowed on one knee and revealed a purse. "Send Lord Edgeworth to sleep and disguise yourself as him. Kidnap Miles and dump him in Von Karma's court. Once you've done that I would like you to kill Manfred's children."
"Well, well," Dahlia said, "never in my life would I have expected such a well respected man such as yourself to ask me, Dahlia Hawthorne, the bastard witch princess of Queen Morgan to kill the princes and princesses of Attornia."
"I'm full of surprises you see," Gant laughed. "Just one request: keep the youngest alive."
"As you wish," Dahlia said. "Since you paid me so... handsomely."
Dahlia did as she was requested to do. Prince Edward and Robert were stabbed to death and Princess Katherine was poisoned in her chamber. Gant asked for the youngest child to stay alive, but there was nothing Dahlia could do about it since baby Franziska was in the arms of Fantina. Her long locks of purple hair had become a toy for the baby princess. She would twist and turn it so the ends of Fantina's hair would curl. She placed baby Franziska in her cot and she approached the corridors to her husband's room.
Dahlia painted an illusion before her. She planted the vision of Gregory Edgeworth killing her eldest three children in her mind. She ran to Manfred's chamber and the place was deserted. She took a glance out of the window and saw young Miles Edgeworth sitting alone in the corner outside the servants' chamber. Fantina screamed again, and Dahlia vanished and never been seen again since. Fantina sobbed as she ran into the guards desperately asking if they had seen the king.
They led her to King Manfred who was sitting on his throne drinking divine wine. He was chuckling at jokes composed by Lord Gant who was mocking young Master Butzello's ambition to be a knight and Master Gumshoe, a clumsy child also shared Butzello's dream. King Manfred laughed. They would fall at the first hurdle, he thought. The two boys reminded him of Master Phoenix Wright, an orphan who lived in Edgeworth Castle. Phoenix had always wanted to be a knight himself and Miles would tell him that he would have no chance either.
King Manfred had a fascination with Miles. Not of lust and not of affection. He had always hated Lord Gregory Edgeworth for how popular he was with the people. He despised how people had started to think of him as a king. Then when he saw his queen distraught, he knew that something was wrong. Fantina would never display her personal emotion in public, and she would never have her long locks of purple hair down.
"Katherine, Edward and Robert are dead," she wept. She fell onto Manfred's knees and cried. "Lord Edgeworth did it."
Manfred gasped and jumped out of his throne. He fell to his knees and banged his head against the floor. As other witnesses confirmed what Fantina believed to see he banged his head harder. He asked for immediate and full protection on both Miles and Franziska and ordered Lord Gregory Edgeworth to be executed without a trial. Gregory Edgeworth had always proclaimed his innocence denying the outrageous evidence stacked against him.
On December 28th 1501, Gregory was beheaded on the Bridge Of Attornia. He died an uncomfortable headless death and had no funeral. King Manfred took all of Edgeworth Castle and gave it to Lord Gant for it was near Attornia Lake. Lord Gant believed it was a success. He gained new land and money and as long as Fantina did not give birth to a male heir, Attornia Kingdom was his for the taking. Franziska was a potential threat to Gant's plans, but as long as she didn't marry, Lord Gant considered her harmless.
Young Miles Edgeworth was made a lord and became betrothed to Princess Franziska since was she two. Now turning the clock forward to 5th March 1516, three days after my execution, we see Princess Franziska sitting on grass as winter gradually faded away to spring. She didn't have to mourn for me, but I appreciated the fact she thought of me day and night. At the same time, I'm disgusted at myself for not being able to comfort her. I still love her as much as I did while I was alive.
There was a new local hero. Phoenix Wright grew up to be the strong knight just as he promised he would be. He was a jousting champion, but his connections with Lord Edgeworth gave King Manfred a cause for concern. Queen Fantina shook it off, whilst Lord Gant always hinted for the two of them to go skinny dipping. Phoenix and Miles did embark on a passionate affair, they were caught in bed by Lord Gant, who ironically had naked maids by his side.
Phoenix and Edgeworth remained close until 1520, when Queen Morgan of West Fey declared war on Attornia. Phoenix and Edgeworth married in secret in the presence of Lord Gant, Cammy and Rhoda, his two ladies-in-waiting and Father Layton. The honeymoon lasted five hours as Phoenix had to ride of to Attornia with his apprentice the very next morning.