The Story of Amara Kuran | Mariah Bryant

Book One, Chapter Seventeen

My Trial (Part One)

Kaname gave me a look that said that he was preparing. He had on his serious face. I acknowledged that with my eyes. I had never had to be business-like before, but it was in my genes.

Ichio stood at his seat. "Now I will list the items we have against you. After each item is listed, you will tell us how you plea. From there we will debate, but there will be no debating until every item has been dealt with." Ichio announced.

I nearly cried with joy, but my face showed nothing but that I agreed with what he was saying. I had expected that, like other criminals of my severity, I would not be able to speak for myself.

"During the debating, you may use your witnesses. They must stay silent until then. All agreed?" Ichio called.

Everyone in the room nodded.

"Good. Then, Amara Kuran-sama, do you swear that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

I would have screamed with laughter if I had not been scared out of my right mind. "I do."

"Then we begin." Ichio said. He lifted a folder from the table and opened it. Reading its contents, he began.

"You have rebelled against the senate, Kuran-sama. How do you plea?" Ichio asked.

"Innocent." I said.

"And why do you plea innocent?"

I smiled with admiration. "I love my country and the senate who makes it easy to do as one wishes without fear of rogue vampyres. A world without a strong and capable governing body is nothing. I would never rebel against the senate. What I did was misinterpreted."

"You evaded apprehension by the Assassins of the Senate, and thus the senate. How do you plea?"

"Innocent."

The room filled with murmurings. Kaname gave me a reassuring look.

"And why do you plea innocent?"

"The leader of the group of Assassins of the Senate who attacked me in the train station told me his intentions, and they were to execute me and take my brother into custody, though he was innocent. I did not evade apprehension."

The room was much louder this time.

"Did you evade the law?"

"I did not. I was never told my charges, and I was unaware of any reasonable reason that I should be executed."

The room erupted.

"She was not told her charges? Why is that even necessary?"

"The Assassins failed to inform her of her charges? Is that not against code?"

"She was unaware of any reasonable reasons she would be executed! Ha! She attempted to murder an innocent pureblood!"

"Order." Ichio called. "We have not begun the debating, and until then there must be silence."

"Yes, yes. We are aware of that. Ichio, ladies and gentlemen, are we really going to accept her pleas? We know what happened." Shiki said.

"You are correct, but we are dealing with a pureblood. She must be able to defend herself."

"Purebloods should not be allowed to be above the law any longer." Shiki announced.

"Shiki-sama, not here." Ichio said. "Please, everyone settle down so that we may continue."

Shiki adjusted himself in his seat, crossing his arms.

"Amara Kuran-sama, you murdered about twenty of the senate's assassins. How do you plea?"

"Self-defense."

"Would you care to explain?"

"The lead assassin told my brother that he would be put to death after a short trial. Neither of us were aware that we were guilty of anything. They moved to kill us. I defended us." I said simply. I knew we would debate this endlessly later. It was best to keep things short and sweet now.

"You had vampyre hunters attempt to kill fifty assassins at the docks. How do you plea?"

"Innocent." Ichio nodded for me to continue. "I had called on the vampyre hunters for protection until I could get things understood. They tried to buy me time so that I could escape, and while they succeeded, they were all killed."

"You had one vampyre hunter kill about two of the senate's assassins. How do you plea?"

"Innocent. Cho Cross was protecting herself, my brother, and me, and was killed."

"You destroyed the body of a pureblood and nearly killed him. How do you plea?" Ichio asked, his face dead-serious. This was probably the most important inquiry.

I had thought about it during other questions and still had no answer. So I went by instinct.

"Guilty." I said severely.

Shiki, surprised, leaned forward to see me more clearly. He was amused.

"You are gifted beyond the normal pureblood?"

"I am."

"And you are a threat to the senate?"

"I am not. Just like every other pureblood, I have no intentions of being a threat to anyone or anything."

Ichio seemed perplexed. Only I could tell that it was not hate behind his eyes. "Alright. That draws the list to an end. Now, to avoid conflict, I have decided we should let the witnesses and victims speak first. Shiki-sama, would you please tell us your story?"

"I would gladly do so." Shiki stood as Ichio sat. He looked out over the crowd slowly before he began. "Well, I heard about the special new Kuran child just as everyone else here did. I was busy, regretfully, on the night of her soiree and did not attend. I was working here, in the senate. I did not hear of what had happened with Shikuza Hio-sama. I thought it was polite, so I scheduled a visit at the Kurans' mansion. The child, Amara Kuran-sama, threw a temper tantrum. I was holding her in my arms one minute, the next it was as if a small tornado was in the room. She became blisteringly hot, and scorched my skin. She began screaming. Kaname Kuran-sama took her from me and rushed her away. I did not return to the Kurans' Mansion, not wanting to upset the girl again. When the controversy began here in the senate over whether or not she was a threat to us, I noticed her parents becoming very ill-looking. I followed them home the night that they won the fight, fearing for their health. They both looked like they had lost their minds. When I arrived, they had killed themselves. When Amara Kuran-sama and Kaname Kuran-sama arrived, the daughter of my colleagues screamed again and I felt tremendous pain. It lasted for a long time, so severe that I did not know what part of me was hurting and for what reason. Then, I blacked out. I remember waking up years later under the care of my uncle-in-law, who helped me heal. When I heard that Amara Kuran-sama had finally been found, I asked my dear son Senri if I might use his body to attend this meeting tonight. He agreed. My body now lies in a rectangular-shaped tub on the floor, with a contraption dripping blood slowly into the needed areas. Slowly, I am regenerating."

Ichio nodded. Shiki sat back down. "Could you kindly fill us in on what condition you found the body of Shiki-sama in?" he addressed Senri's great uncle, who nodded and stood.

"His body was an unrecognizable mound of flesh and bone and blood on the floor. It had been ripped apart, bled, and turned inside out. He was both frostbitten and burned. A purple flame still happily consumed him."

There were murmurings and shudders. Everyone eyed me, terror on their faces. They stared at Shiki's uncle-in-law incredulously and awestricken.

"Amara Kuran-sama, would you care to share your side of the story?" Ichio asked.

I stood and bowed my head to Ichio. "My memories as an infant are strikingly sharp." I began. I told the entire story, even the things about Shikuza Hio. When I was finished, the senate was split between an uproar and silence.

"Who would you like to back up your story?" Ichio asked.

"My brother, Kaname Kuran-sama." I said. Kaname immediately stood and told the story through his eyes.

"My grandson, Ichijo, would you tell your side?" Ichio asked. Ichijo did as he was told.

"Did you ever feel that she was a threat?" Ichio asked.

"All powerful beings can feel overwhelming at times, but no, I never felt that. I always felt that she was kind and caring."

Ichio stopped himself before it could become obvious that he was biased. "Three of the victorious assassins from the docks have joined us today. They will now share their sides of the story."

Three men stood. They had been sitting in chairs against the wall. The one in the middle bowed his head to Ichio.

"I am the head assassin from that day. I remember it well. We were waiting for the Kuran children to arrive. We had guessed that they would be escorted by vampyre hunters, and we were apprehensive about fighting them. War was our last intention. We had our orders, though. We were to bring the Kuran children into custody, and we were to let no one stop us, even if it meant taking their lives. We were told that they were extremely dangerous. We handled the situation with care, but the vampyre hunters did, too. Though they were outnumbered, when we moved in they attacked. They managed to hold us off just until the children boarded the ship and it departed. That was when we broke their barrier. They did not back down, so we fought and killed them."

One of the other men nodded once. "My experience was the same."

"Mine was the same, as well." the last one said. "The vampyre hunters attacked us bloodthirstily, in my opinion."

"Thank you. Everyone's input is greatly valued. Now, the debating will begin." Ichio said.

I went very cold and very still. Unable to stop myself, I looked back at the wall behind me. Searching for support, I sought Mike's eyes. He had already been watching the back of my chair. Our eyes locked and conveyed a silent message. Mike would vouch for me if it was called upon. He did not have a lot to tell, but he would be able to tell the senate what I had been doing for the past couple of years . . . and what I had not been doing, such as drinking humans' blood.

I turned back to the senate.

"The first item to be debated using the information we have received: is the defendant guilty of rebelling against the senate?" Ichio asked.

There was a lot of hesitant and careful murmuring. Finally, one woman of the senate stood. "I am afraid that now is not the time for debating, either. I think that the senate needs some time to mull things over, and perhaps to gather more evidence. Accusing a pureblood who has been known as the victim of the crime one has been accused of committing of being the murderer . . . is not a shallow subject and must be handled with extensive care."

Everyone in the room agreed except for those whom Shiki had on his side, but Shiki's influence could not penetrate the majority's reasoning.

"This trial will be postponed until tomorrow. No more cases will be seen until this one is brought to a close. All witnesses, defendants, and victims will be housed in the senate building under close watch until then. None of them are to leave these grounds or to be without supervision until then. Understood? Dismissed." Ichio said. In a flourish, he swiped up his papers and strode out of the door.

Shiki looked slightly flabbergasted. Angrily, he jerked his head meaningfully toward the door through which Ichio had exited, meeting his uncle-in-law's eyes. They stormed after Ichio noisily, Shiki leading the way.

"You are not allowed to speak to anyone as you depart. Please, come with me, Kuran-sama." an assassin behind me said. He pulled my chair back as I stood, and he held his arm ready to escort me. As we left, I saw other assassins tending to my friends, telling them that they could stay and mingle if they wished and that they could talk to me at any time in my chamber.

Some people, however, wanted to ask each of them questions. Investigators and medical examiners and lawyers flocked from chairs I had not noticed and descended upon my friends and searched, confused, for Shiki.

Four men assembled behind my escort and me. Soon, our footsteps and breathing were all that I could hear in the large building. I was led down a wing that resembled a fancy hotel hallway. Along the way, some guards joined us. When we got to my designated room, they opened the door for me and walked me inside.

At this point, the assassins left.