"Dahlia Hawthorne?"

Mia watched Iris closely. The girl's posture was the same, her back straight against the chair, and her face was blank. But, unmistakably, there was a change in her aura. Mia could see everything she needed to see; the tremor in her hands, her skin turning a shade paler, and her chest rising and falling. Her heartbeat was growing faster.

"If I may ask, Ms. Fey, how is this important to my trial?"

Mia waved her right hand casually, but her left hand went towards her neck. She thought with near-certainty that the purple magatama, a companion to her since childhood, would be necessary for this task. It did not escape her notice that Iris' gaze had shifted to the magatama.

"I am your lawyer, and I believe you are innocent. I have been researching someone of interest, and I am beginning to suspect that this person is involved. We need to trust each other. So I will repeat this question: 'Have you ever heard of someone named Dahlia Hawthorne?'"

"No," Iris shook her head. "No, Ms. Fey."

Mia's eyes narrowed. There it was.

*BANG*

*clankclankclankclank*

The barrier was still transparent and the room was the same dull gray color, but Mia's eyes could not mistake the black aura surrounding Iris, or the four red locks around her, linked by chains.

Psyche-Locks.

Mia's left hand was now holding her magatama between thumb and forefinger. This would be tough, but not impossible. She looked intently at Iris. "I'm sorry, Ms. White, but that statement is not true."

Iris gasped. "W-what do you mean?"

Mia folded her arms. "Dahlia Hawthorne was a student at Ivy University eight months ago. In truth, she studied under the name 'Melissa Foster.'" She watched as Iris gaped, her mouth dropping into an "o." She pointed. "What is that expression, Ms. White? You did not make it when I mentioned 'Melissa Foster'," surely?"

Iris winced, and Mia could see one of the Psyche-Locks break. She was on the right track. The lawyer watched her client lower her head.

"I-I am sorry, Ms. Fey." She stammered. "It's true. I did hear of someone named Dahlia Hawthorne. She was a suspect in an attempted murder, right? But," she recovered her posture. "There is no reason to think she could have been dangerous here, at Ivy, right? Everyone and everything's pretty tightly-knit here. There was a weapon identified, but there's no reason to think she could have found it here!"

Mia shook her head, smiled, and brushed some of her hair out of her face. "That too is untrue, Ms. White. What killed someone at the university lab?"

Iris spoke too soon. "Atroquinine." She paused, gaping. "At-ro-quinine…." She stared blankly as Mia leaned in closer.

"Yes, Ms. White. Atroquinine. The accidental recipe created in the lab. Odorless, tasteless, dissolves in liquid, and can kill a person with a dose no bigger than a couple of teaspoons. And that is what Dahlia Hawthorne used in her attempt at murder."

Another Psyche-Lock broke. Iris breathed in and out, hard, for one minute before trying, and failing, to steel her gaze.

"Why don't you tell me the truth?" Mia asked. "As I said, we need to trust each other as attorney and client. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes," Iris moaned. "Yes, yes, yes, I understand." She squeezed her eyes shut. She did her best to breathe more openly. "But please, Ms. Fey. What link would you think I have to Dahlia Hawthorne? How is it possible for me to know any more about her than a common newsreader would?"

Before Mia could open her mouth, she heard a call from behind the barrier. It was the guard, and he was looking right at her.

"Visiting hours are concluded. The accused will be brought back to her cell." Mia looked back at Iris. Two locks were left.

"I will arrange to see you again tomorrow, Ms. White. Understand?"

"I...I understand."

Franziska sighed and lay back on her bunk, content.

The practice exam had gone exactly as she expected. There had been three rooms allotted in the Ivy Law School for prosecuting, defense, and judgeship students, each of which would have a slightly altered form of the test.

There had been the usual multiple-choice questions, and the essay. Her pen hand had gone unerringly to each question, and her prose and handwriting for the essay had been, as it always had been, perfect. The test itself was simple, but the less enlightened would call it tedious. It had gone on for four consecutive hours, with only ten minutes allotted during that period to get water. She had not gone. Each of the two hundred-and-forty minutes she been allotted had been spent on the test, and she was pleased to have gained a better perspective on what the true bar exam would be like. The test results would be released next week, and she had no doubt she would have another "100%" for her tally.

Slapping at the wall lazily with her crop, Franziska took out her phone. Before this semester, she knew she would have called her mother straight away to inform her of what she had done and what she had learned. But she was not thinking of her mother right now.

She dialed Phoenix's number.

She had not seen him after the test time expired. Curfew had started right then, and she had been obliged to go straight back to her dorm. Now was a chance to "catch-up," so to speak. And she knew what she would do. It would be her first time attempting such a thing, but she wanted to invite him to IV Chinese. That was the place they had first seen each other.

No...not that, she corrected herself. It was the first time we truly...connected…

An odd sensation, almost like a flutter, went through her body. She did not understand it, but the "call" button of her phone was glowing, and so she pressed it.

After all, she reasoned to herself, Phoenix would needed time to relax and take his mind off the upcoming trial.

And off of Iris White. The thought struck her mind before she could stop it.

-A multi-chapter story; Chapter 24; story idea by CRed1988 and writing by Jerviss.