Disclaimer: I only own the Councillor, and the two councilmen Tiana and Flynn. I only borrow the others. I promise to return them when done, no worse for wear.
Author's Notes: This chapter covers the second half of the first hour, as well as the entire second hour. The character Streits' name is in reference to a brand of kosher wine. I had the bottle sitting on my desk, empty of course. His lines referring to the seven stages is a reference to the Shakespeare play As You Like It. Ludo Baggins is another Harry Potter reference. I'm sure you can guess as to which one I own. (The characters, not the wine company).
Ayla: Personalities and appearances for our two lovely councilmen, eh? I suppose I could arrange that. Should I mention the great twist now or later? (oops, now I've said too much grins).
Kill Bill: Good movie, the inspiration of your name. Expect more similar references. This soon enough?
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I'll be strong for all it takes
I'll cover your head till the bad stuff breaks
I'll dance my little dance till it makes you smile --"Never Let Me Down", David Bowie
And, returning the smirk in Flynn's general direction, Tiana returned to his seat. Still, Jareth remained passive, but Flynn snorted. He may have been used to Tiana's strange strategies and behaviorisms, but that didn't mean he liked them any more now than he had when they first met three centuries earlier.
Of course, either way, three centuries was a long time to hold any amount of emotion, or un-emotion.
"Your next witness?" the Councillor interrupted the charade. "I do expect you have one ready?" he added, and he peered over the edge of his podium. His half-moon glasses slipped down his nose.
"Of course, Councillor," Flynn responded easily. He leaned back in his chair, the movement almost cocky. "The prosecution calls Ludo to the stage."
"Ludo Baggins?" Tiana hissed through gritted teeth, but Flynn heard the words, and he tossed him a casual grin over his shoulder. Flynn brought his chair to the ground again, and he briefly leaned his elbows across the table, his chin in his hands, and his long, midnight blue hair falling over his shoulders, and spilling across his hands. Tiana didn't return the smile as he stood. He listened to the standard questions, and he watched Ludo's confused expression as he duly nodded. "Hello, Ludo," he greeted as he walked around the table to the witness stand. "Enjoy your journey here?"
"Journey not nice," the gentle beast wailed.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Flynn sympathized. "How well do you know my client?" he plodded along.
"Client not fwiend. Client hurt Sawah. Client fwiend."
"How did my client hurt Sarah Williams, Ludo?"
"Hurt Sawah."
"Yes, you already stated that." Flynn spoke like he would to a small child just coming into his or her powers. He began to pace. "But how did he hurt Sarah? Did he give her the peach? Hoggle mentioned a peach?"
"Cause Sawah to foget."
Flynn deliberately cast Tiana a pointed look, and Tiana cast him that same previous casual smile he had flipped before. And, still the Goblin King remained completely passive, a perfect mask in place. He found himself wondering if Jareth ever showed true emotion, or if the age-old myth of faces freezing into places was true in the Goblin King's case. "Permission to redirect line of questioning, Councillor?" he asked.
"Permission granted. Move it along, Councillor Flynn."
"Ludo, did or did not the Goblin King harm Sarah with a peach?"
"Jaweth huwt Sawah!"
"No further questions, Your Honor," Flynn sighed, and he proceeded to return to his seat. He startled when Jareth cast him a tiny smile. "Your witness," he hissed to Tiana, and he recomposed himself again.
"The defense rests, Councillor." Tiana did his best to ignore Flynn's decision to gloat, even while he knew Flynn felt his pain, and understood his decision. Ludo was not much help to either of them, even as Flynn knew that when he called the gentle beat to the stand.
"Very well," the Councillor nodded. "Prosecution call your third witness."
"I call Streits to the witness stand," Flynn stated, and he rose again. He didn't pass a glance to Tiana this time. He figured the gloat to be enough. He listened again to the standard questioning and answering, and he smiled easily to this witness. "Hello, Streits. Would you please state your station for the jury of the court?"
"I'm in the ranks of the Goblin King's armies."
Flynn purposely raised an eyebrow. "You've obviously very well articulated for a soldier."
"I was a scholar and university student before I was a solider. You might say I am in the third stage of the seven? Or, is it the fourth?" he rubbed a hand over his chin, before he shrugged his shoulders, and added, "Third."
"I see," Flynn nodded, and he lowered his eyebrow. "Which lifestyle do you prefer, that of the scholar, or that of the soldier?"
"Both have their perks, Councilman."
"I'd imagine." He resumed his earlier pacing again. "What rank do you hold in the army?"
"Third lieutenant, Councilman. Fairly low on the payroll."
"Do you enjoy the work?"
"Again, it has its perks."
"Do you often follow orders given directly by the Goblin King?"
"When he gives them."
"Does he give them often?"
"When he needs to."
"Did he give you orders to protect the castle the day Sarah Williams invaded the Labyrinth grounds and Goblin City?"
"Objection!" Tiana called.
"Overruled," the Councillor sighed. "Proceed, Councilman Flynn. Answer the question, Streits."
"He did, yes," Streits answered.
"What were his exact orders?" Flynn continued. He stopped his pacing.
"To protect the castle using any means necessary."
"Did you?"
"We certainly tried."
"What made you stop?"
"That beast Ludo called the rocks, and Sarah obviously did her research."
"I see," Flynn nodded. "I see," he repeated. "When you say she did her research, do you mean all her research?"
"I assume so. I am a scholar first, Councilman Flynn. Sarah knew what and when the words were spoken, and she knew enough that she needed to get past the Goblin City to the castle. She also knew the Goblin King would turn her baby brother in a goblin if she did not."
"How did she know?"
"I told you, she did her research."
"Nothing else, Streits?"
"Well, he did tell her he would."
"No further questions, Councillor." Flynn smirked, and he rounded the table back to his seat. "Your witness." The smirk did not leave his face.
"As a soldier, did you ever actually go inside the castle walls, Streits?" Tiana rose from his seat, and he walked around the table's side to stand parallel to the witness stand. He tucked a strand of silver-blonde hair behind his ear, and he stepped forward slightly. "Did you ever have reason to?"
"On occasion. We had one room in there to simulate training. Often, the simulations were attacks on the Goblin City. As no other human had ever got that far, we were a bit out of practice in our defending techniques."
"Only a bit?" he muttered. "Then how would you know as to whether or not Jareth ever told her that or not?"
"I said we very rarely entered the castle, Councilman Tiana. We often patrolled the Labyrinth grounds."
"So, you heard Jareth threaten to turn the human babe into a goblin babe?"
"No, not exactly."
"So, how do you know?"
"Objection!" Flynn screamed. "Purposely being vague."
"Overruled. Continue, Councilman Tiana. Answer the question."
"A worm told me."
"A worm."
"Yes, that's right, a worm."
"And, this worm, I suppose he patrolled the Labyrinth too?"
"No, he guarded the second entrances. He let Sarah in."
"I see," Tiana nodded. This witness wasn't going so well. He sighed, and he asked, "Outside of hearing from a worm, did you witness the final confrontation between the Goblin King and Sarah?"
"No, no one did. Except for them."
"So, in other words, you do can not say one way or another that my client intended to or did place any harm on either Miss Sarah Williams or upon the human babe. Is that correct?"
"Well, yes, I suppose so."
"No further questions, Councillor."
Tiana kept his head high on his short walk back to his seat. The Councillor nodded to Streits, and the second lieutenant stepped down from the witness stand. He hesitated at the entrance of the wings. "Is it too late to add something else to the testimony, Councillor?" he asked.
"I suppose not. What is that you want to add, soldier?"
"As you know, the Labyrinth is full of oubliettes. It was there that His Highness did his threatening. There, and on the hill above." With that, he too left the courtroom.
The Councillor frowned. He cast a glance to Jareth, but that mask still lay firmly in place. Seemed the Goblin King was keeping the order of passiveness literally. His frown deepened, and he ordered the call of the next witness.