Last chapter got pretty dark. But there were call backs to another fanfiction in Nora's past. The little boy had a connection to Nora, The Serpent, and that 'poisonous' fog. We also got a callback to The Beast, which is basically the monster manifested of her negative emotions and actions (See All' Fair for more details). So,here's to happier tales!

Ch 9: Trying Trial

Cheshire Cat led me back to the ballroom. Instead of the Tea Party going on, the whole room had been redone to look like a courtroom! The Queen and King sat high above on dark wooden stands. The Queen was holding the gavel and the King was adjusting an odd wig. On one side of the room was the jury of people who were present at the party. But it looked like the Anti-Tea Party had been invited to the trial too! Even Kimmie, still a small dog, was sitting in a chair just for her. The Wursts made up the Guards, lawyers, but Jester-Barrage was playing the bailiff. At the very center, at the mercy of the court, stood Gryphon in his magician attire, and held in chains.

"What exactly is he being accused of?" I whispered to Cheshire.

"It could be anything." He said. "The Queen has held a trial for her son stealing tarts, the duchess for showing up when accused of treason, the Mock Turtle for wearing stripped socks, the Tweedles for painting her roses and over there," He pointed to Barrage. "She once sentenced her General to be the jester after failing to protect the prince."

Sounds like Mrs. Ping to me. I looked over at Jenny sitting between Lou and Biffy in the jury stands, and I remembered something. "Hey, didn't you once do something to the prince?" I asked.

He laughed evilly. "I did. But the Queen still hasn't caught me~!" And he disappeared with his grin saying, "Thanks for coming in my place by the way."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head at myself. "Should I have seen that coming?"

"Probably." Said a voice behind me. For once it was someone I was happy to see! The Prince of Hearts (who looked exactly like Lee Ping) walked up next to me. "He's the reason all black cats are considered bad luck. I told my Mom to try luring him in by inviting him to the Party. Guess you just lucked out."

"More or less." I told him. "Sorry about that. So you're the Prince of Hearts?"

"Sure am! And I know who you are. Tina told me you need to catch the Tazelwurm. Stick around, that guy is hard to catch, but he's bound to show up sooner or later."

A familiar, and annoying face popped up between us. Apparently Chaz had found a way to sneak into the Party after all. "Attention Ladybugs and Gentleworms! The Prince is in the building! And he's been caught between corridors whispering to a mysterious member of the opposite sex of unknown origin. I'm Chaz! Bringing you the latest news in even bigger proportions!" Chaz was playing this to a non-present camera.

I was already annoyed by him and so was the Prince. "Dude! Seriously, you've shed five times just by growing your ego. You weren't even invited to this Party, what makes you think you're allowed to make up gossip about it?"

Chaz's eyes darted left and right, then he threw his arms up and shouted into his microphone, "Denied of my rightful place, I Chaz Soon-To-Be-Butterfly, will not stop bringing you awesome cover age to-"

I'd heard enough. I called out, "Guards! You have an intruder that's harassing the Prince!" A Wursts of Hearts and a Wurst of Clubs appeared from behind Chaz and lifted him up by the shoulders. Chaz was taken away screaming and protesting about his hair being messed up, and his clothes getting wrinkled.

I wondered if I might have over done it (I doubt it). Looking over at the Prince he seemed happy with what Chaz got as I felt. "C'mon," he gestured me to follow him. "We better take our seats."

So The Prince sits in the jury too. But he sits closer to the judge stands. I saw his mother and father waving at him with small smiles. I took a seat between Tina and Jenny, both of which gave me a smile as I sat down. "Glad you made it." Tina said.

"You got away from the Cat?" Jenny asked.

"More like my double-cross turned out to be his easy escape so he wouldn't have to come here." I told them.

"Huh?" Jenny asked.

Tina leaned over and explained. "There's a reason we hand back our invitations, March Hare. The Queen counts them, and whose ever she doesn't get back she can demand they be immediately be executed!"

Jenny and I both shared a scared look. Those invitations sure were important. "Good thing the Prince gave us the okay." She remarked. "I need my head to drink tea in the morning."

Biffy leaned over and whispered, "Yeah, her big mouth gets her in trouble, but she does use it for other stuff!" That earned him a snickering from Lou and a hard punch in the arm from Jenny.

"Order! Order in the Court!" The Queen shouted banging her gavel rapidly on the stand. It broke, then her husband handed her a new one. "Read the accusation!" she ordered the King.

The King of Hearts stood up and unrolled a scroll. "The Court of Hearts in the Queendom of Enigmaland here by accuses Maxwell A. Gryphon on the charges of false magic, selling magical items with no papers, along with abandonment and betrayal!" The whole room gasped expect for me. I wasn't sure of the look on my face, but all the others were glaring down at Gryphon.

"Off with his head!" The Queen roared. The crowd agreed with her.

I stood up. "Wait!" all eyes fell on me. "With all respect, Your Majesty, shouldn't the accused be given a chance to defend himself?"

"Not on abandoning and treachery." The Queen stated. Then she cast a sideways glare down at Gryphon down in chains, hanging his head like he was ready to lose it. "But… with the spoiling of my Party, we should not become guilty of wasting time." The King and Prince both looked relieved. Even if the Queen was replacing this for entertaining her guests, at least Gryphon now had a chance of escaping death. "You!" She pointed down at me. "Nora Prowler shall be his lawyer!"

"But she's like," Tweedle-Cam raised his hand and asked, "like a Counselor, Queen-lady. What can she do in, like, a political system, yo?"

The Queen was turning red in anger. Calmly, the King spoke in her place. "All Miss Prowler needs to do is find a reason during the trial why Gryphon hasn't committed these terrible crimes." I haven't know most of the people in this room for over an hour! How am I supposed to find evidence to someone like that at the drop of a hat? "Please, Miss Prowler, take a stand next to the accused."

I was feeling so cornered. Jenny's not the only one with a big mouth. But… Gryphon just looks so… It's like he truly believes he's guilty. Why does he look so sad now than he did when he walked me in? I guess I missed a lot being down in the dungeon with Cheshire. Walking down, my outfit changes back to my normal attire, like Cinderella at midnight. No one makes a big deal of it, and I don't really care either way. Someone needs me, even if he doesn't realize it, he needs someone to speak up for him.

I try to look at Gryphon, to tell him that everything will be okay. His top hat covers his eyes, and he doesn't even raise his head when I come up. I put my hand on his shoulder; he doesn't even respond.

"Right." The King addresses the Court. "Now that's over: Call the first witness!"

"Call the first witness!" The Wursts at the door call back.

"Call the first witness!" The Wursts behind them call back.

"Call the first witness!" The Wursts behind them call back.

And so on…

Until Mad Hatter had enough. "Urgh!" He grunted out in frustration. "We're all here already!"

"Ah, yes good point." The King nodded. "Who would like to go first?"

Everyone looked at each other. Clearly, no one knew what they were supposed to talk about. Even in Enigmaland, when in politics… "The defense would like to call…" I looked out into the stands. Yes! She's the best choice! "Tina! Could you please take the stand?"

Tina looked around nervously, then she flew up into the air and gracefully landed in the witness stand. I tried to speak like a lawyer. "Now, everyone here knows that it's Tina's job to report the actual news stories in Enigmaland, correct?"

"Why are you asking us?" The Queen said.

I turned to her. "Well, I want it to be a fully accepted fact. If we ask Tina what she knows about Gryphon, then we know we're hearing a fully accepted truth."

The court hummed with agreement to my logic. The Queen huffed and leaned back in her chair. To Tina I said. "Tina, addressing what Gryphon is accused of, what do you know about these charges?"

Tina reached into her back pocket and pulled out a notepad. "Here, I write down stories in Enigmaland just in case new evidence comes up or to find holes in the stories. As far as Gryphon's charge of false magic: he is extremely old, even in Gryphon years, so his magic is fading. The so called 'false magic' is only used to entertain people."

"Off with his head!" The Queen shouted.

I stepped up. "Your Majesty, he works for you! If you tell him to come here and perform then he's just doing his job! You can't judge him guilty for doing as the Queen commands."

"No back-talk!" The Queen slammed down her gavel.

The King gently put his hand on her arm. "But she is right, my heart. To find Gryphon guilty on that charge is to find yourself guilty."

The Queen was taken aback by that one. She looked around the room before recomposing herself and saying. "Very well. Charge lifted." She banged the gavel once. I gave a breath of relief, but Gryphon remained unresponsive. I nodded up to Tina for her to continue. She flipped the page of her notes. "When it comes to the story of him handing out magical items: Almost all of the antiques have only ever belonged him, since he made them. And the law of Enigmaland states: 'If the items properties are unknown to the receiver, then the consequences fall upon the giver.'"

"Off with his head!" The Queen roared again. So loud Tina fly back to her seat and hid behind Lee (or… you know).

"Objection!" I called back. "Your Highness, I have it on good word that Gryphon's belongings and whatever they can do were known by the receiving party."

"A party I received no invitation to?" the Queen asked incredulously.

"I mean the person who got it. Gryphon can't even remember most of his missing things so they end up being pretty much stolen."

The King asked. "How do you know this?"

I probably shouldn't have said, but I did. "The Cheshire Cat." The whole room resounded with frightened gasps. Wow, tough room. The Queen smiled with a wicked grin that could have easily outmatched even the Cat's.

"Ha! No one can produce The Cheshire Cat as a witness." She pointed down at Gryphon. "This duck is cooked!" I didn't bother correcting her.

From out in the stands, the Prince of Hearts cried out. "Give her a chance, Mom!" The rest of the jury agreed, they wanted to give me a chance. The Queen banged her gavel and whole room feel under silence again.

"One. Chance." The Queen said.

I did start thinking that I had painted myself into a corner. That guy, in every form, only shows up when he's not wanted. He disappeared once he brought me to the courtroom, then vanished before my eyes. He plays it up then dashes out every time. Getting him to show up upon command is impossible! Not even the Queen here could do it. Even in my head that guy is a plague upon my well-being! Unless…

"Oh, that Cheshire Cat!" I called out to the whole room. "Clever, sneaky, and sleek! He wouldn't dare show up. Least of all in the witness box!"

The audience was met by a purr, and lo and behold, lounging in the witness stand's chair was the infamous cat. "How puurrr-sumptuous of you, young lady." He mused.

"Gotcha." I said. "Guards!" Two Wursts had club-spiked spears on him in a second. "The witness is present!"

The room was a mix of clapping and cheers. Ego-maniacs… can't resist an intro. "Hm. Well played, Little Fox." The Cat admitted. "I suppose you will want for me to admit how I have the bird-man's pipe and smoke."

"Yes," I said, flatly. "That will be appreciated."

Cockily he replied. "Then I refuse."

"False witness!" The Queen slammed the gavel down.

I looked up at the Queen. "But he just confessed it!"

"Did not." Said the Cat.

"Yes, you did." The Prince of Hearts stood up from the stands. "How else could you know the Miss would ask about the pipe, if you did not already have it?"

I smiled with relief in the prince's direction. So there is some intelligent life in this room. "Ooo! That's my little Prince!" The Queen of Hearts happily squealed. "Smart, just like I've raised him to be!" Then she pointed the gavel at me. "Then what does the Cheshire Cat having the pipe even prove?"

I looked at Gryphon while I spoke to the queen. "It proves that his mind is naturally failing him. Gryphon IS a great magician, but at his age he can't be expected to remember every single thing. It's… just something that happens to people."

The whole courtroom fell into nodding their heads and talking in agreement. The jury shared looks with each other. I turned to the Queen and King and said, "Thus, Your Majesties, Gryphon's distributing of magical items can't be deemed his own fault as he either can't remember they are enchanted or he can't decipher what these 'receivers' really intend to do with them."

The King asked. "Why did you just use quotes?"

"Because the Cheshire Cat knew what the pipe could do when he got it from Gryphon. He took it anyway, not caring if Gryphon would ever need it to recall memories for himself."

"Does the witness deny this?" The Queen asked over to the witness stand. But all that was there were the Wurst guards pointing their spears at empty air. The Queen gaped and roared out, "The witness is fleeing the court! Capture him and it's OFF WITH HIS HEAD!" The guards immediately took off in different directions.

The King lifted a scroll from his lap. "Well, it looks like the charges of false magic and dangerous magical items have been dropped."

Somehow it looks like all this chaos has almost got Gryphon in the clear! This is great! Yet Gryphon has yet to raise his head or even smile. "Gryphon?" I whisper over to him. Putting my hand just above his wing where I'm pretty sure his shoulder is, I ask, "What's wrong?"

For the first time since the trial started, Gryphon looks up and me and says, "A third charge remains… my dear. The worst of them all…"

The Queen loudly banged the gavel. "The final charge!" Everyone was already looking up at her. The Queen stood up and glared down at Gryphon with look of complete disgust. "In the heart of Enigmaland's laws is a deep seeded truth. A truth which no one my defile nor deny for it is at the center of our land's beliefs, customs and life." Slowly, the queen leaned over the stand, intensifying her gaze. "You, The Great Gryphon, a magician, advisor, mentor and long-lost hero, have betrayed Enigmaland by breaking our most sacred law."

The whole room drew out a long gasp, and many of the court started whispering to each other. I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but I caught 'How could he?', 'He dared…!', 'Why isn't his head already off?' I can only look over at Gryphon, whose shoulders and wings dropped lower, and a few feathers with them. What could he have done? I can't disprove anything if I don't know the charge. I don't even know what these people consider sacred: They just pretty much seem to throw common sense out the window. So I can't imagine anything Gryphon could have done will be that hard to prove him innocent of.

"Your Highness?" I meet her furious gaze with my neutral one. "Would you please state the charge in the most specific way possible?"

"Very well," she stated. "The charge is: Performing an act of betrayal so great it has caused a tremendous influx of power to shift the balance of power to The Beast!"

I heard Brandy's screaming along with Tweedle-Holger's. I heard Chaz and Chad shouting accusations down at Gryphon. I heard Butterfly-Tina was shouting questions around the jury. I heard March Hare going off on a rant in rage with Dodo holding her back. I even heard Prince Lee's voice responding back and forth with Mad Hatter's about the subject. I heard everything….

And said nothing.

A/N:

It's been a reeeeeeeeaaaaaaalllllllll long time since I updated. But if anyone would like to ask questions or share their thoughts: Please do.