"Who is your next witness, defense, we haven't got all night!" said the judge irritably.
"Of course not, your honor." the Doppelganger said with a bow, "My next witness will be the defendant's uncle, Allen Schezar."
Dilandau turned quickly to look at Uncle Allen. He was dressed in his formal clothing, that of an advisor to the king. The years had not taken the spring from his step, or the soldier's bearing from his demeanor. He gave Dilandau a regal but familiar nod, and smiled confidently.
The young man's stomach settled. If there was any way to make this trial turn his way, he knew his Uncle Allen would be part of it. He trusted Allen, despite the way his old self had felt about him.
Zongi stepped out in front of the witness box as Allen got in, "Please state your name for the court, sir."
"Allen Crusade Schezar." Allen said, evincing an air of dignity. He settled down in the chair, exuding confidence. He caught Dilandau's eye and winked.
So old and firm they scarcely show the breeze,
Were not, as 'twere, the merest mask of gloom,
But stretched away unto the edge of doom.
I should not be withheld but that some day
into their vastness I should steal away,
Fearless of ever finding open land,
or highway where the slow wheel pours the sand.
I do not see why I should e'er turn back,
Or those should not set forth upon my track
To overtake me, who should miss me here
And long to know if still I held them dear.
They would not find me changed from him they knew--
Only more sure of all I though was true.
Robert Frost - "Into My Own"
Zongi swept quietly out in front of the jury, turning his head swiftly to look at Allen, "You're the defendant's uncle, correct?" he asked.
Allen nodded sharply, "I am." he said.
"And you've known him since he was reborn…" Zongi trailed off as if it was a question.
"I was there when it happened, so yes." Allen said.
"But you also knew him before he was reborn, when he was known by the surname Albatou, correct?" Zongi turned to face Allen.
"Yes." Allen said with a nod.
"What did you think of him at that time?" Zongi asked.
Allen paused to think for a moment, pursing his lips lightly so that the lines on his face were abruptly more visible. Dilandau realized with a start that his Uncle wasn't as young as he used to be.
In fact, Allen was more than fifty by this time, though he was only just acquiring a slight belly. Despite that he could still best most of the youths in the service, the position of advisor had not slackened his swordsmanship, but he was starting to feel the creaking in his joints more acutely than ever, and it was becoming obvious by the way he moved.
But Allen was answering, "Frankly, I thought he was insane." he said.
A part of Dilandau was hurt, but he realized that Allen was not one to lie and the observation was accurate. Was, he reminded himself shortly.
"Would you care to elaborate?" Zongi asked.
Allen gave him an appraising look, and then decided to go on, "He was obviously disturbed, in my opinion. It wasn't just that he was a good soldier. He was, but that was secondary to him. It seemed to me that he was just unchained, that he wanted to cause as much damage as he possibly could. There was one thing that really… frightened me about him. It was this terrible mad look his eyes had, this look like they were fire itself." his voice was serious and emotionless, but his eyes flashed over to Dilandau, wide, as if he was afraid of what he said.
Dilandau gave him an almost imperceptible nod, as if to tell him he was all right with it. He had noticed that those few who had known him in his past incarnation treading lightly around him, wary of telling him things they'd observed about his other self. Allen probably hadn't thought about the fact that, remembering years and years back, Dilandau saw that face in his memory, staring back at him with those smoldering eyes from the mirror.
"I see." Zongi said, "Now, you were there throughout Dilandau's second life. Were there any times when you could see the old Dilandau in him?"
Allen shifted, "Yes. A few times." he felt the need to elaborate, "There were times in his youth that he seemed to me to take on a bit of his old self…" he looked uncomfortable again.
Zongi nodded, and changed the subject, "Do you remember what happened three years ago?"
"Yes." Allen said wearily, as if this was the topic he most wished to avoid, "As his friend Ravi said before, Dilandau began to regain his memories. He was stopped right in the middle of it, causing him to attempt to take revenge on King Van. We… tried to stop him, but like Ravi said, we didn't get there in time. Thankfully we weren't needed."
"What were you feeling at that time?" Zongi asked.
"I was… sad. Terribly worried. I didn't want Dilandau to come back to his former self."
"Were you aware, that he in fact, did?" Zongi said.
"No, he didn't." Allen said, "I knew the moment I saw his face clearly after that. He had changed, that's for sure… But he hadn't become his old self. He was something completely new."
Zongi nodded, "New… I see. What about him had changed, specifically?"
Allen sighed, "Actually, it was a bit strange to me, knowing that he had recalled all of his memories as his former self. What happened was that he retreated a little more, became a little quieter, a little more withdrawn. I thought that he would become more wild, but he settled down."
"So, really, when he regained his memories he changed to be even less like his old self?" Zongi asked.
"Yes." Allen said, "That's exactly how I'd put it."
"No further questions." Zongi said, and went back to his seat.
Allen moved around a bit in his seat, playing idly with the ends of his hair. Dilandau couldn't quite remember when his Uncle had finally relented and cut his hair short, but he was sure it had something to do with the gradual dulling of the gold of it. His hair now almost matched the color of Dilandau's mother's hair when she was young, a dullish platinum blonde that Allen refused to call gray. In any case, it was now a few inches above his shoulders, and becoming quite wispy.
Allen must have felt the pressure of Dilandau's gaze, and he turned to look at the boy. Dilandau's eyes were deep and expressionless. Allen steeled his own gaze. He couldn't read the young man as well as Celena, but he knew that Dilandau's eyes were a warning that the worse was yet to come.
Folken stood, sweeping out his robes with an imperious gesture. Allen remembered him from those years ago. They were the two of them very similar at that time, he thought now that he was so much older. Folken was very sure of himself, but still very wounded. Allen liked to think he'd gotten over that a bit with age.
"Allen." was Folken's short greeting, accompanied by a nod.
Allen nodded in return, making it too curt for Folken to mistake it for friendship.
"You fought against Dilandau in the Fate Wars, am I correct?" Folken said.
"Yes." Allen said shortly, wary of where this was going.
"And you thought he was insane at that time…" Folken asked brusquely.
"I did." Allen said.
"In your opinion, is insanity a disease of the mind or the body?" Folken said.
Allen frowned, "I'm not an expert." he said shortly, "My ideas would probably be laughable to someone like you."
"Entertain me." Folken said.
"I'd assume it was a disease of the body." Allen said, scowling.
"Then that would mean that your sister, who still retains the body of the 'old' Dilandau, would be insane, would it not?" Folken said, somewhat triumphant.
"Objection!" Zongi cried, "Your honor, Celena's not on trial here."
The judge considered for a moment, "Sustained." he said finally.
"Then…" Folken said, softly considering, "In your experience with Dilandau, you've found him to be different from the 'old' Dilandau?"
"Yes." Allen said, wary again.
"What about those times you stated earlier that he.." Folken eyed his notes, "'took on a bit of his old self'?"
"They were isolated incidents." Allen said.
"How isolated?"
Allen thought hard, "It was a long time ago…" he said, "but as I recall, he most often had them when he was still waking up, or when he was practicing swordplay."
Folken nodded, "Well… One would think that a growing boy would sleep at least every night..." he said, in a mocking tone, "And young Dilandau practiced often at the sword, did he not?"
"Before three years ago, he practiced every day." Allen said flatly.
"That's a lot of opportunities to 'take on a bit of his old self,' seems to me…" Folken said airily, "But then you said that he'd seemed different?" he said, his eyebrows raised.
"Yes." Allen replied, no emotion in his voice.
Folken lowered his eyebrows, his face for a moment flickering. Allen noted that he looked exactly as he had almost thirty years ago when he wasn't concentrating on being caustic.
Folken paused momentarily, seeming to be lost in thought. Then he looked at Allen once more, "You had said… that after he changed he was even less like his old self." he said, regaining his speed, "Why do you think that would be?"
Allen shrugged, "After the war was over, I wanted to be as far away from battle as I could for a very long time. I even avoided conflict in my home life. Maybe for Dilandau, the war's only just over, maybe it's only just starting." Allen's voice gained volume, "But I know that if I were him, I'd want to avoid conflict as much as possible, if only because I was afraid of what I'd do." he looked directly into Dilandau's eyes, "It would be terrible not to be able to trust my own judgement." he said, his voice filled with pity.
Folken's expression did not change, making him seem once more like his old self, "No further questions, your honor."
Dilandau, to his credit, did not cry. But it shocked him how well his uncle had seen through him, almost as though his eyes were a mirror into his mind itself. At the heart of all this was the fact that Dilandau didn't trust himself, didn't like himself. He fought against his own judgment all the time, trying to see if this was what he wanted, or what the so-called 'old' him wanted. He watched as Allen got up and walked back to his seat, wondering how long his Uncle had known him better than he had known himself. The words that Allen had spoken were intended for him, he knew that. They had carried a specific message to Dilandau, one that he was sad to say he didn't quite understand. What did his uncle want him to do? Dilandau breathed roughly, feeling strange. When Zongi put a comforting hand on his arm, it seemed twice as cold as usual. He tried to ignore this.
Dilandau turned to him, looking at him, "Who's the next witness?" he asked softly.
"Your mother." Mouthed the Doppelganger, taking his cold flesh from Dilandau's warm body. Dilandau rubbed his arm where the frigid touch of the doppelganger had frozen it, and puzzled. He felt disjointed for some reason, as if he was feverish.
Zongi stood, eyes on the Judge, "I call Celena Schezar to the stand." he said, confidently.
Meanwhile, the figures outside the room were watching Dilandau with some interest.
"That Schezar was more… aware than we thought he'd be." Gaze said.
"Certainly he was. He's changed in the many years since we died." True said, nodding.
Shy interjected, "Perhaps. We knew of him only in passing." his voice was somewhat disdainful, which was uncharacteristic for him.
"In any case," said Last, "We're coming to the end."
"Can we tell if he's…" Care said, then rethought, "If we're succeeding?"
"No…" True said vaguely, "from here, it's up to him."
"Not a comforting thought." Gaze observed.
"The mother's next." Last said.
"She is." Shy said softly, "We have no way of knowing what she'll have to say." The circle tightened, and the figures watched with increased interest, waiting ever-patiently for the results of their hard work to show.
Author's note: Whew! I managed to get that one out! This one's, IMO, less quality than the chapters before and after will be. Think of it as a lull. The next ones will be better I swear. Also, this one had an unfortunate problem with the poem. I couldn't get it to fit. So, look forward to better ones, and soon!!
Here's all the reviews!
Etowato: You finally got in first! (waves little 'Etowato' flags around) Yay for you! Yeah, I thought Ravi would be creeped out by Folken. Despite how much I love him, Folken can be a really creepy guy. I really liked the idea of the paintings showing both sides of Folken, too. It just came to me, really, and it made so much sense. The next witness is Allen, as you can see, and you'll be happy to know I made no mystery of who the witness for chapter 15 is!
Feye Morgan: I'm sorry about the wait. From here on in the chapters get a lot more interesting for me to write, and I'm sure (I hope) that I'll have the whole thing finished up before the end of August. If not, I'm sorry! It's this foolish thing we call a life! Heh, yeah, Ravi actually talks a lot like me when I'm at my least eloquent. So in that respect it was easy to make him sound natural. (grin) I'm always good to Dilandau! It's one of my character flaws… (tragic sigh) Probably the reason you can see the madoushi so much better is because I'm freeing myself to give them more character. I'm fudging it by saying it's because they're interacting with the living world. (sticks out tongue) Oh well, fudging is fine…
Eboni: Yay! No drugs! The 'enemy side' line was one of my more witty comments. Cherish it, they don't happen very often. (winks) Ravi is cute… (hearts him) And about Folken, I don't know why he looked like that, truth be told. He just wanted to act smug like that. Actually, I think he took a bit of pleasure in making Ravi so affrighted, hehe. Evil guy. I'm not sure he has any evil plans, tho… O_o (don't think he does, anyway) If Ravi still wants to beat Miguel up afterwards, I'll let him, K?
dilanda: Sorry if this update's too late! I tried, but things kept thwarting me! I didn't leave you in suspense about the next witness, if that makes you feel any better! I hope Dilandau walks away OK, too. I'm confident that he'll be better than ever after this whole thing is over. (But then, I'm the author, so I can afford to be confident. ^-^)
BlueAloe: I thought it was a super-cute moment when Ravi clarified best friend too, he makes me grin! You're right, pitiable is a bit cumbersome in that sentence, but I didn't want to see Dilly-sama as pitiful! ;_; I think I'll leave it. I know, I loved the painting idea as well. I can see them in my mind's eye, too. I wish I had the gumption to draw a fanart. Aw, maybe later. (is afraid it won't be as beautiful as she pictures it) Why did Folken give up so easy? Me no know. I think he just realized he wasn't going to get any more use out of Ravi. He's not exactly the star witness for the defense. (idly) That's the last witness, really… (grins) Sorry! I really love that poem, too, and I thought it fit really well with Ravi's testimony. Turns out I fudged it a bit, here's the real poem. Still, it's beautiful..
DEVOTION
The heart can think of no devotion
Greater than being shore to the ocean--
Holding the curve of one position,
Counting an endless repetition.
Robert Frost