Your Honor

(Day 45: Tuesday Afternoon)

"State your name for the court, please."

She stares up at the judge, "Mal Bertha."

"Prior to your stay in Auradon, you were a resident of the Isle of the Lost. Is that correct?"

Mal slightly nods, "Yes. It is."

"Have you ever committed a felony before?"

The lawyer whispers in Mal's ear, "A felony would include arson, or setting fire to a building, the production of drugs, and aggravated assault."

"No, Your Honor," she quickly responds.

He nods, "And what is your species?"

She slowly answers, "I am a hybrid of dragon and fairy heritage."

"Where does this heritage come from?"

"My mother," Mal begins. "Her mother was a fairy and her father was a dragon."

"You mean to say," the judge corrects, "that he was a dragon hybrid like you."

"No," Mal looks down for a second. "He was a full dragon." She feels eyes on her, and when she turns around she can see the doubt in Adam's eyes; however, even though it looks as though Belle also has her doubts she seems more concerned than anything. The same concern I saw when she took that knife from me. Looking to Belle's left, Mal can see Ben is focused on the situation, and one more person over is Evie, offering her a sad, supportive smile.

"Alright," the judge continues on. "What about your father?"

She turns back to the judge, "I was told he was human."

"Have you never seen him?" the judge inquires.

"No," Mal admits. "I only know what my mother told me."

"So, there's a chance that your father may not have been human at all," he accuses.

The lawyer interrupts, "Your Honor, I would like to remind the court that fairies are considered a human species; therefore, just by looking at her mother's side, it can be determined that she is in fact a hybrid and not just some creature."

There's a long pause before the judge states, "Mal Bertha. You have been accused of aggravated sexual assault in reference to the victim Princess Audrey Lee. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty," she answers.

The judge nods, "The trial will begin on the morning of Monday the twenty-third, nine o'clock sharp. Until then—" He shouts, "Bailiff." before looking down upon her. "You will be held in contempt of the court."

"In contempt of court?" Ben furiously whispers.

The bailiff forces to turn Mal around. "What?" she shakily questions as she looks over her shoulders, and when she feels the cold metal caress her wrist she twists herself back around and pushes the buff guy away. "Don't touch me!" Surprisingly, he listens, but when she looks down it's too late. The metal restraint is already hooked onto her, and as she fails to pull it off her breathing quickens.

The judge yells, "Hey. No magic in the courtroom."

"Mal?" She hears Evie's voice and turns around. She's the one with the long hair. She's standing right in front of her left.

Mal shuts her eyes as she pulls at the metal again, "Get it off." and when she opens her eyes she pulls even harder. "Off. Off me."

"Stop it," Evie says as she fails to take Mal's hand away from the handcuff. "You're hurting yourself."

After she says, "Off." again she notices the hot heat signature coming towards her.

Ben breaks the handcuff apart and shows it to her for a second, "It's off." before he places it over the bench. "It's off. It's okay now."

"I—" She can't get any more words out. Her breathing won't settle down. It's short, too short, like the air isn't even making it to her lungs. "I—"

"Mal?" Evie worries.

"Bailiff." The judge instructs, "Restrain her." but even though the bailiff takes a few steps towards Mal, he doesn't touch her.

Ben watches as Mal brings a hand up to her chest, as though testing for a heartrate, "Focus on my voice." She looks up at him. "Try to take a deep breath."

"I—"

"Bailiff," the judge yells even louder. "Do your job or I will have to report you."

"Don't speak," Ben instructs. "Just breathe."

She tries to, but the breaths are still too shallow and she doesn't know how to change that. Her heart is pounding too, as she can feel the pain in her chest. Is this a heart attack? Could she be dying? "I—" After she cuts off the sentence again Mal can feel the hand turn her as the other is placed onto her face, and it's not a moment later that the kiss is felt. The lips aren't hot, but they're soft. They're soft and warm.

When the two girls break apart Ben watches Mal's eyes open, and when they do he notices the bright green glow is gone. "Are you okay?"

Mal takes in a couple deep breaths, before she smiles in relief, "I think so."

"What did you do to the bailiff?" the judge accuses.

Evie turns to the judge, "She just hypnotized him not to touch her, but it will wear off. She didn't hurt him."

"I'll be the judge of that," he sternly replies. "Magic isn't allowed in the court of law. It's a crime in of itself."

"She wasn't doing magic," Evie denies.

Ben steps in, "Your Honor." and he looks down upon him. "Please. She was just scared. She doesn't understand what's happening here. Whether it was magic or not, is it truly a crime if she thought she was just defending her own safety?"

"I told her what was going on," the judge refutes.

"By using legal terminology that she's never heard before," Ben explains away. "And how can you hold her in contempt? She answered all of your questions, and she answered honestly. She referred to you with respect. She didn't do anything wrong."

"You honestly expect me to believe," the judge drones out, "that a full dragon and a fairy somehow managed to have offspring?" Ben licks his lips. "Only humanoid creatures can have humanoid offspring, and two creatures so different would never be able to have a child."

"Then how do you explain Mal?" Ben inquires. "How do you explain her mother?"

"As with humanoid fairies," the judge easily responds, "hybrid dragons must have simply evolved to what they are."

Ben shakes his head, not even bothering to question why Mal wouldn't be considered fully human if dragon hybrids evolved from humans as the fairies did. "She told you what she honestly believes to be the truth. Even if her mother somehow deceived her on this matter, then it doesn't mean that she believes it to be any less true. She was honest and respectful. She did not commit contempt." He watches the judge slowly nod in thought. "She has the right to bail."

The judge widely grins, and Ben feels the dread emanate from his laughter. He leans over his stand, "I don't mean any disrespect, King Ben, but I think you need to brush up on your law a little." Ben's frown deepens. "Title 7c of the Human Rights to Safety Act clearly states that if a hybrid is accused of a felony, then they have no right to bail."

"No," Ben insecurely disbelieves. "You're making that up."

"No, Son. He isn't." Ben turns to his father, and he watches him fold his glasses in his hands. "I drafted and signed that legislation myself. It exists."

Ben's jaw drops, "How? How could you do that?"

It takes a moment for his father to excuse, "It was a tough time. Humans were very fearful of any magical creature, and the hybrids themselves were forced into hiding until they were found out and hunted down." He eyes his glasses for a second. "Integration was needed, and drastic action was necessary."

"Integration?" Ben loudly recuses, "Hybrids already don't have decent medical care, and now you're telling me they don't have the same legal rights as humans either?" His father stays silent. "You call this integration? You know what the consensus says. Twenty-five. twenty-five percent," Ben infuriates. "That's the percentage of the people in our country who are hybrids. How could you do this to them?"

"Ben," his mother sweetly states, "back then it was a lot harder to gather information anonymously. We may have known that there were attacks on magical beings, but there was no way your father could have known that so many people were."

He sadly responds, "You were accused of being an enchantress once. If fairies and witches weren't considered to be human, then you could have faced the same lack of rights Mal does right now."

His mother shuts her eyes, and Ben swears he can see tears escaping them before his father takes her hand and replies, "I cannot tell you how much I regret what I did. I know it's made life difficult for a lot of people…" He looks down, "And some may not even know it." before he eyes his son again. "But to this day I don't know if anything else could have worked."

"Humans attack things they don't understand," Mal frowns in acknowledgement, before Ben turns to her. "It's because of your father that I can't be sentenced to death." She looks over at Adam and slightly nods, "I should thank him."

"Yes, yes. This is all sad," the judge interrupts, and then they face him. "However, because Mal is a hybrid accused of a felony and therefore not allowed bail, she will be brought to jail to be held until the trail." He glares down at Ben, his next words louder with spite, "And because you broke the handcuffs, we will just have to trust that she won't run." He looks over at Mal, "Because, if she does run or escape custody, then she will be presumed guilty and the trail will become null and void."

Ben sighs, "She won't run."

He smiles, "Good. Now, for you. You've destructed government property. As I'm sure you're well aware of, that means you will be fined for your actions."

"You mean that costume piece?" Ben stares up at him, "You're supposed to use police sanctioned handcuffs. Maybe if corners hadn't been cut, then I wouldn't have been able to break them. Such a code violation would actually cause this court to be the one fined."

"Hmm," the judge hums. "Are you saying you would like to settle this in court?"

Ben shuts his eyes before rolling them as he shakes his head, "You're lucky I don't have time for this trivial nonsense." He takes the checkbook from his pocket and begins to write, "The taxpayers will be happy to know I'm doing this out of my own pocket." before he goes over to hand the check to the judge. "Make sure it gets to whoever's in charge."

"Don't worry," the judge reassures. "No matter who cashes it in, it will be sent to the same account." Ben nods. "Now that this has been taken care of, I do have another group waiting." He looks over at the bailiff, "Take care of her."

The Bailiff looks at Mal, "Follow me." and as he starts walking towards the stands Mal follows; however, Ben grabs hold and hugs her.

"I'll visit you. I promise."

She starts to smile, as she watches him take her hand and kiss it, "Thank you."

He squeezes it for a moment, "We'll get you through this."

"That's enough," the bailiff interrupts.

Mal looks into Ben's eyes, "How did I ever find anyone as wonderful as you?"

He nearly smiles, "I was going to ask you the same thing."

The bailiff grabs Mal's arm to turn her around, "Come on. Your boyfriend said you'd cooperate. So, cooperate."

Mal glances over her shoulder, "Bye." as she's led towards the side door.

"I'll see you tomorrow afternoon," Ben calls to her, and a second later she's gone.

"Hey. You okay?"

Ben puts the hand down from his eyes, before he turns and sees Evie, "Yeah. I'm fine." and with a glance at his parents he moves toward the isle. "Come on. We should leave."

When they exit the court room Ben follows his parents out the front doors, but it's then that a barricade of people stand in their way. He walks forward, making his way through, and he quickly moves, as a mic nearly hits his face. "King Ben. You've just come from the hearing. Is it true that your girlfriend committed sexual assault?"

"No comment," Ben ignores as he follows his parents down the stone steps.

Another reporter questions, "How does it make you feel to know that your current girlfriend attacked your ex-girlfriend?"

"No comment."

"Why isn't your girlfriend with you?" another one inquires. "Are you upset with her? Do you really believe she's guilty? Or has she been denied her right to bail?"

Ben stops in his step an angrily faces the reporter, before he yells over the chaos, "Mal is a hybrid. She has no rights." and with that there's a moment of silence; however, afterwards the reporters seem to erupt even louder than before. He pushes his way through and manages to make it to the black limo, his parents waiting for him, but as he takes a relaxing breath he glances around, "Where's Evie?"

His mother looks over his head, "It looks like she's not used to reporters."

Ben turns around and sees her blue hair through the surrounding cameras, before one of them moves out of the way and she's revealed. She's standing completely still, almost like in a daze, as she holds her hand over her eyes, trying to block the harsh lights. Ben lets out a stressed breath and moves towards the crowd, but when he reaches Evie he finds her on the ground. "Oh, no." He kneels down and props her up, "Evie."

A noise escapes her, and she whispers, "Mal?" as her eyes flutter open. "Ben?"

"Can you stand?" he hurriedly questions.

"Uh, yeah. I think so," she answers, before she grabs hold of his arm and he helps her to her feet.

"King Ben. Do you know this girl?" a reporter asks. When he doesn't answer, just trying to guide Evie out, more questions hit him. "Who is she? How do you know her?" He continues to walk. "Is she your new girlfriend?" another reporter asks.

Ben's mouth gapes as his eyebrows furrow, before he turns to the man and spats, "No. This is not my new girlfriend." He shakes head and eyes him in absurdity, "She's Mal's best friend, Evie. You might remember her from the coronation. She designed Mal's dress." This time he doesn't wait for the reporter to react, opting to instead get them out as soon as he can.

When they get into the car Ben sits across from Evie, and after he shuts the door his father directs the driver, "We're ready to leave."

It becomes quieter, as they get away from the news media, and when it becomes too quiet Ben looks at Evie, "Are you okay?"

She nods, "Yeah." as she frowns. "Uh, sorry for what happened back there. It was the camera flashes, I think." She glances down for a second. "It was just too much."

"It can be quite annoying," Ben agrees. "I don't know why they need the flash on during the day, but that's just how it is when you're famous." He uneasily smiles, "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It's fine," Evie downplays, before she looks out the window.

There's a minute of silence, where Ben looks over at his parents and find them quietly observing, before he turns back to Evie and brings up, "About what happened in the courtroom." She looks at him. "Does Mal get panic attacks a lot?"

"Panic attacks?" Evie questions.

"How she got so anxious that she couldn't breathe," Ben explains. "Has that ever happened to her before?"

"No," Evie answers. "Not that I know of."

"Then how did you know a kiss would stop it?" he questions.

Evie nearly smiles as a laugh escapes with her breath, "I didn't." before she looks down. "There was just this one time on the Isle, where, uh, Mal…" She looks back up at him, "I was so upset, and nothing she said was working. And, uh." Evie eyes the floor for a second, "She kissed me." and when she looks back up she sees Ben keep his eyes on her. "I figured that if it was able to calm me down, then maybe it would do the same for her." She laughs, "Actually, I wasn't really thinking at all. I just did it. But that's probably why." Ben slowly nods, his hands clasped, as he looks down. "What about you? If you knew a kiss would stop it, then why didn't you?"

Ben wets his lips and looks back up at her, "The idea of a kiss stopping a panic attack is just theoretical. It would just be because the person is holding their breath, and it's probably better to just get them to breathe instead. When your brain is deprived of oxygen it doesn't function as well, and to stop a panic attack you need to realize you aren't in any real danger." Evie hums in thought. "Also, with everything Mal has gone through I wouldn't have thought a kiss to actually work." He eyes her for a moment, "Mal must really trust you for it to work."

"Well. I am her best friend," she reminds him.

He slightly nods, "Yes. Of course."

After another moment of quiet Evie questions, "How does the whole court thing work? I mean… what will be brought up?"

"Well, considering the premise of the case," Ben begins. "They're probably going to start with what exactly happened that night, and then they might get into how Mal and Audrey know each other… Other people will be brought in to testify too."

"Will they ask about how she gets heat?" Evie questions.

"Assuming that they can wrap their minds around the idea that she can't just make her own," Ben raises his eyebrows, "then yes. That would probably be a concern of theirs."

She hesitates, "And… what about Mal's past history with getting heat?"

He tilts his head and nods, "It's definitely possible." before he notices her worry. "What is it?"

"Um," she laughs with unease. "It's just, uh…" She forces herself to stay still as she looks at him, "You've been great to Mal— really great— and I don't want you to be surprised by anything that they might bring up." He waits for her to continue. "As Mal's boyfriend, I think there's some things you deserve to know."

He's quiet for a second, "Like what?"

Evie looks down for a moment, "It's nothing that serious. There's just some things I think you should know before anyone else does." and then she eyes him for a second. "We should talk about it somewhere private."

"What's wrong with here?" Ben questions.

Evie glances at his parents, "No offense, but it's private. If it turns out not to be brought up during the trial at all, then Mal might be mad that I told you. I'm not going to tell it to your parents too."

"They're my parents," Ben excuses.

"They're not her boyfriend," Evie points out, and then a breath is heard escaping his nose. "You're a really nice guy, and you deserve to know these things. But, really, Mal should be able to tell people this herself." Evie rolls her eyes, "She should have been able to tell you this herself, but she can't."

"Why don't I just ask her tomorrow?"

Evie looks down, "One, because you don't know what to ask." before she widens her eyes at him in seriousness. "And two, because she wouldn't tell you."

"It can't be that horrible," Ben denies.

"It's not," she lets him know. "But just as it's hard for you to talk about some things, there are a lot of things Mal doesn't like to bring up."

"I'm her boyfriend," Ben negates. "She should be able to tell me these things."

"You just met her," Evie furrows her eyebrows at him. "She doesn't tell you anything."

Ben frowns before slowly stating, "She's told me things."

Evie shakes her head, "We're from the Isle, Ben. We all have a lifetime of things to share. That doesn't mean that we will." She shuts her eyes, "For crying out loud, I've been Mal's for three years and there's still some things she won't tell me."

Ben becomes quiet, but after the second of tense silence his mother interrupts, "What do you mean, you've been Mal's?" and at that Ben looks up again.

"Her friend. Her best friend," Evie softly interprets.

"That's not how it sounded," Belle carefully comments.

Evie stays quiet for a moment, "That's because it's not just a best friend thing. It does feel like she owns me sometimes, but..." She lets out a breath, "It's not a bad thing. I'm there when she needs me, and she protects me when I need it." She glances down, "It's just been that way since the beginning."

"When she needs you," Ben recognizes the words. "You're her heat source."

When Ben's parents stare at Evie she looks away from the sight, "Not as much anymore."

"But you were?" Ben insists.

"That's one of the things I thought you should know," Evie confesses, and she watches as he runs a hand through his hair in stress. "Ben—"

"It doesn't matter." He flattens his hair before straightening up, "If Mal's trial doesn't go well, then she won't be here for either of us."

- Yay. The hearing is done. Now all that's left is the actual trial. I know, legal stuff is a painfully long and somewhat boring experience. Just hold in there. That's what the subplots are for, is for distracting you. Let me know if it works about five chapters from now... actually, it might even technically be two chapters from now.

- ThePeridotRanger. Your dedication is remarkable. Thank you so much for reading. I hope I don't disappoint. Don't forget to continue commenting: likes, dislikes, and loves to hate on the referenced chapter. Glad to have you here.

- Let me apologize for any confusing dialogue in this chapter. I wrote the first half of the chapter before I added in more dialogue from the judge (because it didn't seem like he would stand idly by and watch things play out), and so it may have made the back-and-forths a little more confusing.