AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I leaned over toward her, figuring this was my last chance to try to talk to her.
“Why did you think you knew me?” I asked.
I didn’t have much time, so being blunt was the best way to approach this. If she felt any sympathy for me, I could possibly get her to assist in whatever was about to take place.
She stared straight ahead and ignored me. Didn’t even blink or move. I leaned in closer, letting it be known I wasn’t backing down.
I would have held onto the position too, if the judge’s gavel hadn’t echoed through the courtroom.
“Ms. Bingham, you'll serve in the House of Stevenson for the next five years. Should your donations be satisfactory, you may request leave from time to time. At the end of your sentence you will be reassigned, or you may choose to stay with the family.”
The judge’s eyes shifted back and forth between the people standing before her.
“Any questions?”
There was silence. The judge shook her head and banged her gavel once more. “Settled.”
The woman who had been on trial shuffled out and the lady beside me rose.
I realized she moved because she was going to usher me forward. Pull me up for my turn. I reached out suddenly, grabbing her arm. “Where’s my lawyer?” I asked.
She frowned and tugged her arm away, still not answering anything. I watched her walk farther away from me and toward the judge’s stand. The red envelope was passed to the judge, and then she walked out of the room with her head down, not bothering to give me another glance.
A shaky breath escaped my lips as I attempted to put on my brave face. I was really alone now.
“Ms. Coraline Fray, to the table at my left if you would, please,” the judge announced.
I’d seen the look the judge donned on her face before. It was one that said, I’ve been here all day and I want to be done. It was why we foster kids hated being at the end of a docket. We were already jostled around through the system, a tired judge didn’t help us one bit.
The judge opened the golden-bound envelope and flipped through it quickly. Before I even got to the seat at the table, she looked up as if she knew all she needed to about whatever it said in that tiny clump of documents.
Ones that had been thrown together in the mere moments since my arrival that couldn’t possibly capture any information relevant to some sort of official judicial decision.
I rocked my legs steadily as I sat in the chair, doing just as I’d been instructed to.
The guard who had found me by the water and started this whole mess approached the table opposite me. I wanted to glare at him, snarl even, but every action I took now could be seen by someone important, or the judge herself. I knew enough to know she was the last person I wanted to piss off.
The judge leaned forward, resting her face on one hand as she watched us both settle in. She adjusted herself in her seat, sitting up tall before clearing her throat.
“Charges?” she asked.
Charges? So this was serious. And I still had no representative. No lawyer. What kind of place was this?
The guard rose. “Yes, Your Honor. I stumbled across the defendant here on my patrol. She was found disoriented by Medeis Lake muttering nonsense.”
I couldn’t help but stare at the ridiculous-looking chain-clad wannabe cop now. Muttering nonsense? I most certainly was not.
There was a stir in the crowd behind me though. Like the guard had said something of relevance to everyone else in the room. Everyone but me, that is.
The judge scratched the back of her head before sighing. “Anything else?”
The guard looked over at me disdainfully. “She’s been a bit feisty since bringing her in.”
The judge stopped scratching her head and looked at him as if he’d just uttered the most asinine comment in the world. “Well if you found her disoriented, I guess she would be feisty during the whole process, yes?”
The guard nodded once.
The judge shook her head and looked over at me next. “Do you have anything to add?”
