The boy sat in his dungeon, as his trial drew closer and closer, in introspection. He thought about what that guard had said to him, and about what would happen to him. He saw no point in preparing a case for himself, he wasn't even provided a paper on which to write his thoughts down, much less any texts on judicial proceedings by which he could construct an argument. Anyway, Ameni knew that whatever feeble motion he made, it would be instantly destroyed by the fact that he wasn’t chosen by a companion, for that was something that had not even happened to the worst criminals in society. All that awaited him now were the gallows.

“Oi”, a voice yelled

Ameni’s head abruptly snapped to the direction of the voice. Sitting there was a guard, a different one from the one Ameni had a conversation with. The guard motioned for him to leave, and Ameni put two and two together, inferring that his trial had begun. He got up, waited for the guard to disenchant and open the gates, and followed him through multiple different doors, till he reached a long, dark corridor, at which point the guard simply pushed him in and locked the door behind him. Ameni looked ahead, seeing a door which had light streaming in from it, with the loud noise of thousands of people talking streaming in from it. Ameni gathered what little courage and determination he had left, shook off his apathy, and walked towards the door.

The courtroom looked less like a place for informed reasonable debate, and more like a theatre stage. The judge sat on an elaborately carved and constructed mahogany-wood platform in the centre of the entire courtroom, his chair was high and mighty, giving him a sense of grandeur, he wore flowing black robes and had an intricate white wig. Below the judge, directly in his eyeline if he looked down, were two similarly wooden platforms, both looked largely identical, long, polished wooden tables, with three velvet-clad chairs on one side, however one had a intricately carved wooden cage around it. Surrounding the ensemble were three rings stacked on top of each other, which had gigantic wooden chairs and lookout platforms inside of them. These were for the defendants friends and family as well as any nobles that fancied watching some poor sod having their life ruined. On top of the rings, sat a stack of thinner rings, that had railings and were without any chairs, which went up and up as far as the eye could see. Every single ring was jam-packed with people, they were chatting, eating and laughing, each and every one here for a spectacle.

As is clear from the description of the courtroom, its focus was largely for entertainment, and not for justice, as almost all cases placed before the court were seen as guilty. Ameni shuddered as he felt the sheer number of eyes on him, the worst kind being the eyes of people he knew. Some looked at him with pity, some with anger, however most looked at him with abject disgust. Ameni could place himself in their heads, to them he was a seemingly normal overachieving boy who was secretly committing crimes so heinous, he was passed over by every single companion. Ameni found this strangely infuriating, he wasn't even given a chance, he was simply judged as guilty! What's more, by the looks of things, he’s even been demonised by the media!

As Ameni looked around, the part of him that was drowning him in self-pity dying down and the part of him that wanted to fight back grew stronger, until he caught her eyes His former mother looked at him with an expression of self-satisfaction, watching him flounder and get overwhelmed at the sheer amount of people observing him. That face, those eyes. They pierced Ameni’s very soul. They looked at him as if he was trash. As if everything was his fault. The ember that was his determination turned into a raging wildfire. Ameni’s well-groomed fingers dug into his hands to the point that they started to bleed. Ameni’s teeth bit down on his lower lips. He was not going to let her get away with this. He WOULD NOT let her feel any more self-satisfaction.

He did not care if it was small-minded. He did not care if it was sad. He was going to live, if only to spite her. Furthermore, he was going to make her regret her words! What is more, he was going to make her feel true envy!

Ameni suddenly regained his will to live, and closed his eyes, his mind began to race. “Oh God why did I not prepare he though”, he thought, “I will need to prepare an impromptu case for myself, thankfully”, the edge of his lips lifted into a very slight smile, “I am very good at improvisation”

“Order in the court!”, the judge yelled, in a deep, booming voice, banging his hammer on a gavel that magically increased the volume so that it was heard at the same volume by everyone,“Today, We are going to hear the case of Ameni Goldmell v The Free City of Briaze”

Silence filled the room and Ameni's prosecutor, a clean-shaven man with a face that had a suspicious resemblance with that of a turtle, in a flowing black robe with a fabric cap, raised his free arm and said, "May the defendant please go to his seat."

Flying platforms appeared in front of Ameni, going down in a spiral to the floor of the great tower that was the courtroom. Ameni stepped down and reached his cage, which magically opened, letting him step in, and closing right after he walked in. Once he did, the judge banged his gavel once more, and announced that the trial would commence.

“Wait”, the judge asked, eyeing the prosecutor, “Where is the defence’s public defender?”

“The defendant’s family opted out for him”, the prosecutor explained, “Since, according to law, the defendant became the adult the week before the trial, he is considered and adult, meaning he can argue for himself”

“I see”, the judge said, looking at Ameni with a pitying look, “In that case, it seems we must try him as an adult”, there was particular emphasis put on the must

“Thank god, he’s not biassed”, Ameni grimly thought, while forming a case at the back of his mind, using information on law that his dad drilled into him as a future merchant, though he could no longer call the man his father out loud, he could still use information he gave him to succeed

“The prosecution may begin their opening statement”, the judge announced

“The case we will examine today is the case of a serpent”, the prosecutor said, beginning to dramatically pace back and forth between the two tables and the judge's platform like a tiger, “Ameni Goldmell was known to his friends and family as an unassuming boy, he had a good head on his shoulders and a bright future ahead of him.”

“However”, he continued, dramatically raising his hands, “Today, we will prove to you that this was but a facade, that he cleverly orchestrated in order to help him commit the most heinous of crimes. Crimes, in fact, that were so horrible, so summarily inhuman, so wretched and disgusting, that no companion, that’s right ladies and gentlemen, no a single one, chose this horrid monster as their contractee.”, he pointed to me with his whole hand, “The defender might be a master at fooling us humans, however he flounders when it comes to fooling our companions”

After that theatrical end, the prosecutor was met by a deluge of applause, to this, he gave a deep bow, his showmanship and pandering to the crowd apparent. Ameni collected his thoughts and stepped forward.

“Greetings one, Greetings all”, he said, imitating the prosecutor's way of speaking, hoping the charisma and persuasiveness carried over, while being met with a torrent of boos and, from a particularly rowdy collection of guests, even some thrown peanuts, “Though, on the surface, this may seem like an open and shut case, if one were to look just a little closer, we would realise just how many holes there are in the prosecution’s case. Foremost, under what authority am I being charged with? You, my friend, have not once, not even once, charged me with a specific crime, is it not non-judicial to punish me for being guilty without also accusing me of something in particular. This gets to the core of the problem, you do not possess any evidence other than my lack of a companion, who are transcendental entities that care not to explain their decisions, something, which, I remind you, has never happened before, therefore, I believe, that it is imperative, if legality is to be followed, to decide as NOT GUILTY”

Ameni looked at the judge hoping he could ascertain what his opinion of the statements were, however, unfortunately, the judge was an experienced one, and so, his face remained stiff and neutral. Ameni then looked around himself, staring at people in the crowds, who very clearly favoured the prosecutor.

After their opening statements the court case proceeded similarly, the prosecutor utilising his showmanship and charisma to repeatedly emphasize on the fact that Ameni was not chosen by a companion, while Ameni, imitating the prosecutor’s charisma, repeatedly asked him which crime he was guilty was and tried to put importance on the unknowability of the companions. However, though Ameni put up a valiant defence, he was left floundering against the seasoned prosecutor, who ran metaphorical circles around him, utilising rebuts and prebuts masterfully. And in the end, the judge decided…

“This court, after excellent debate, finds that”, the judge finally announced, averting his eyes from Ameni, “The defendant is guilty”

A cheer erupted across the room, everyone having already decided on Ameni's guit.

“Now we will move onto sentencing”, the judge bellowed, employing the authoritative bent of someone who was not used to being trifled with, “The court finds that though Ameni Goldmell has been decided as guilty, as the defendant pointed out, the prosecution was unable to properly accuse him of a federal crime, as such execution is off of the table. Taking that into account, the court has decided that the best course of action is deportation…”

Ameni’s eyes widened in abject horror and a gasp filled the room

“Deportation”, the judge continued, utilising the same authority, “to the colonies”

Ameni felt a strong urge to cry, the pit in his stomach threatening to swallow him whole from its size, as Ameni was fired multiple pitiful glares.