-Jason's POV-

Do I really want to do this? This is the first time I've done something like this. These were my thoughts when I was in the defendant lobby.

"You alive, Jason?" asked Ron.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked.

"Everybody except Kevin and Lilith are in the gallery. They finally took Kevin after he shot Bob in the face in the previous trial and he'll get tried tomorrow morning." answered Ron.

"What about Lilith?" I asked.

"The inquisitor won't let us talk to her," answered Ron, "Also, your first trial is a murder. Are you sure you can handle this?"

"Yeah… I watched you do it." I responded, "You know your first trial was a murder too, right?"

"Right." he said, "Perhaps I should be at the bench with you… in case you get stuck."

"Okay." I responded.

"The trial is about to start," said Ron, "follow me into the courtroom."

I followed him into the courtroom and we went straight for the defense bench. Bob was at his bench and the judge was in his chair.

"Court is now in session for the trial of Lilith Courtney." said the judge, "Will the inquisitor give his opening statement?"

"Yes, milord." responded Bob, "The accused was found at the scene of the crime. The reason for her arrest is because the victim, Jon Hicks wrote 'I like trays' on the ground. Yesterday, a law was passed which stated that whoever wrote it on the ground is saying that they have been betrayed by the one that they love."

"That doesn't make any sense." I commented, "He's just pulling this out of his ass!"

"He lost me at 'trays'." replied Ron.

"Ah, yes," said the judge, "he died from the flames, correct?"

"No, milord," answered Bob, "One look at the body would tell you that he wasn't burnt to death. He was actually stabbed in the throat with a screwdriver. The autopsy report also says the victim died instantly."

"How the hell did they get an autopsy that fast?" Ron muttered.

"Okay," said the judge, "please call your first witness."

"I'd like the accused to take the stand." Bob requested.

"Uh, this could be bad for us." said Ron.

"Let's just go with it." I said, "The defense has no objections!"

"Uh… okay…" responded the judge.

Lilith appeared behind the witness stand.

"Name and occupation." said Bob.

"Lilith Courtney. I work as the head of Dragon Fortress." answered Lilith.

"Please testify about the incident." requested Bob.

"I was escaping Dragon Fortress with Jon-" she started.

"Hold it!" I interrupted, "Why were you in Dragon Fortress?"

"I… cannot remember," she answered, "Anyways, as we ran out, he squeezed my hand. I was soon able to exit the fortress, but Jon wasn't so fortunate."

"Why were you so fortunate?" I asked.

"I… well, Jon tripped and let go of my hand and then I saw something that I wish I had never seen." answered Lilith.

"What did you wish you hadn't seen?" I asked.

"Jon was just lying on the ground. I thought he was burning to death at the time, but Ron proved that it was impossible. Unfortunately, his whistle seems to have burned."

"OBJECTION!" I shouted as I banged my head into the desk.

"Jason, are you okay!?" asked Ron.

"I'm fine," I answered, "Anyways, the whistle was found about a couple feet away from Jon's corpse. Can you explain this contradiction, Lilith?"

"Wait a minute – I remember!" she answered.

"What do you remember?" I asked.

"The whistle I saw belongs to one of my employees at Dragon Fortress." answered Lilith.

"Who does the whistle belong to?" I asked.

"Her name is Donna." answered Lilith.

"OBJECTION!" shouted Bob, "Defender! You better not be planning what I think you're planning!"

"Planning what exactly?" I said, scratching the back of my head.

"You're going to make an accusation just so you can say that your client is innocent!" exclaimed Bob, "People like you that would defend criminals disgust me."

"Oh yeah," I said, "well, people like you… never mind, I can't think of a good insult."

"Jason, you can insult the prosecution later." said Ron.

"Damn." responded the judged, "I was hoping to give someone a penalty."

"Glad I dodged a bullet there," I thought.

"Well," said Ron, slamming his fists into the desk, "I say we call this person to the stand!"

"Does the inquisitor have any objections?" asked the judge.

"None, milord." responded Bob, "What harm could it do?"

"To be honest, Jason," said Ron, "I have no idea if we're winning or losing right now."

About a minute later, there was a black-haired woman with blue eyes that looked like she was in her late thirties or early forties at the witness stand.

"Witness," said the inquisitor, "what is your name and your occupation?"

"Donna Fulbright." answered the woman at the witness stand, "I work at Dragon Fortress."

"Please tell us what you were doing at the time of the incident." requested Bob.

"At the time of the incident, I was trying to escape." Donna began her testimony.

"Why were you trying to escape?" I asked.

"It's okay," said Ron, "I worry about the minor details too."

"That's because some asshole set the building on fire!" exclaimed Donna, "I soon made my way out and then I saw the victim burning to death. I realized that it was too late to help him, so I just left."

"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "It has been proven that victim didn't burn to death!"

"I… I'm sure that… you're lying, aren't you?" responded Donna.

"He's not lying." Bob said, "The victim's corpse had nothing on it that showed that the victim had burned to death. Please tell us why you thought the victim had burned to death."

"On my way out of the fortress," said Donna, "I am one-hundred percent sure that I heard a voice say something about burning alive."

"OBJECTION!" I shouted, as I banged my head into the desk, "It is not possible for the victim to have screamed because he was stabbed in the throat… with a screwdriver!"

"Can the defender explain why the witness' testimony contains contradictions?" asked the inquisitor.

"Uh… Ron!" I said.

"What?" responded Ron, "Do you need help or something?"

"Yes, actually." I answered.

"I don't think it requires too much thought to figure it out." said Ron.

"Yes," I answered, "it is the only possible explanation right now. The defense accuses Donna Fulbright for the murder of Jon Hicks!"

"That's just a bunch of bull!" exclaimed inquisitor Bob.

"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "It is the only possible explanation. DONNA IS THE KILLER!"

"You're forgetting the message that the victim wrote in the ground." said the inquisitor.

"Oh, I… forgot about that." I replied.

"All you have to do is bluff." responded Ron.

"Are you telling me to lie in court!?" I exclaimed.

"Not exactly." answered Ron, "You just have to create a possibility and push on."

"Oh." I answered, "OBJECTION!"

"What the hell is it this time!?" exclaimed Bob.

"The defense claims that the message written in the ground has a completely different meaning!" I yelled.

"It-it can't!" exclaimed Donna, "There can't be another meaning!"

"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "The message that the victim wrote means… whoever writes 'I like trays' in the ground is giving up their own life!"

"OBJECTION!" shouted Bob, "Are you seriously suggesting that the victim committed suicide!?"

"Why the hell would he do that after finally getting out of the building!?" exclaimed Lilith.

"Calm down, everyone." said the judge, "I'm currently looking through our current law book and it's as the defense says! This court made a mistake earlier!"

"Your eyes are deceiving you, milord!" exclaimed Bob.

"My eyesight is twenty-twenty. I fail to see how they could have failed." responded the judge.

"I can't lose… again!" said Bob, "I…"

Bob fell to the ground.

"He must have had a heart attack." Ron commented.

"Well," said the judge, "while we rush Bob to the hospital, I would like to give my verdict. This court finds the defendant, Lilith Courtney, not guilty."

"Wow." said Ron, "I thought you'd fail."

"You didn't believe that I could do it?" I reacted, feeling a bit disappointed.

"To be honest," Ron said, "I don't even believe in myself!"

"Oh." I responded.

"Don't worry about it." said Ron, "Let's go back to the house. Kevin's trial doesn't start until tomorrow."

That day I had my first trial and my first victory. Defending the innocent is very tiring. Together, the two of us left the building heading in the direction of the house where we'd meet up with everyone who was still alive. As soon as we left the courthouse, we were greeted by Cerise.

"Seems like you guys have had a busy day." she commented.

Then I noticed there was someone next to her. This person was wearing a hood. I couldn't see their face.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"This is my apprentice." answered Cerise, "She doesn't speak much."

"I... see." I responded.

"So, did you need anything from us?" asked Ron.

"Not really..." answered Cerise, "I'm just interested in seeing how this all plays out."

"This isn't a game, y'know." said Ron.

"Is that what you think?" asked Cerise.

"We really need to get going." I said, "It's getting pretty late."

"See you guys later." she said, leading her apprentice away from the courtroom.

"She's strange." commented Ron.

A lot had happened since we arrived in Dovacath and only two nights had passed! We were missing comrades, but all we could do was move forward. Our next mission was to save Kevin the next day… in court.