Burn good

August 5, 1997, xx:xx

The Higher vampires mounts

Alastur Clan

The Contrary Crime Court

Alastur Clan

Edgar family                                                   No.  1 98 – 4 3 7

Versus                                                                        Section "Q"

王李沁(Wang LiQin)

Testimony and Notes of Evidence, taken

in the above-entitled and -numbered cause, before the

HON. ISAO MASANORI, Judge, presiding on the 5th day of August, 1997.

Appearances:

Representing The Edgar Family

Erick Edgar

Special prosecutor

_____

Representing The Defendant

Amara Artem

Attorney of law

Reported by:

Lavinia Mathew, ccr, prp,

Official court reporter in

And for Alastur Clan crime

Court.

Bang.

The gavel pounding sound pulls LiQin out of his daze. He looks up at the Kitsune Judge from where he's chained to the ground with metal chains. He can tell by the heaviness and the heat radiating from those links around the curves of his body that they are iron ones. It's not surprising, really, LiQin was no stranger to the knowledge of how obsessive vampires are with heavy dull stuff. Still, he was thankful that they at least plated his with copper, otherwise he would have been looking like a charred glittered brisket by now.

LiQin lets his eyes roam over the fox's face. He doesn't look a day over 25 but LiQin knows this creature have surpassed a hundred years old now, after all, LiQin was the one who trained him personally back when he was just about the size of a winter sprite.

LiQin would have smiled at the memory under any other circumstances but this.

Masanori stands up and the rest of the attendees in the court follow him as they exchange bows.

Before sitting back down, Masanori glances at the fairy with a sympathetic sad smile, and if LiQin wasn't reading too much into it, he also saw a glint of determination, or was it? LiQin can't tell.

"The court will come to it's decision by the next dawn. Till then, the culprit will be kept in a solitary cell at the AFO prison. Thank you for your participation in this trial."

With a last bang from the kitsune, the court wraps up and before he knows it, he's back on the hard rock mattress in his now, very familiar dungeon. Frankly, It isn't the worst of places he has been locked in. It was a text book average vampire clan located cell that you can ever imagine. Dead, dark, desolated, stench of blood and all that. The only thing that LiQin found himself complaining about often is that they can't afford having the minimum amount of sunrays seeping through the brick cracks to give him, what he now knows on the most primal of levels, the essence of life, but he can't even get mad at them for it.

He thinks about what has been said during the trail and what he was able to read on the ones who have his life between their fingers now. LiQin wasn't able to read or get through much anyways as he was under the control of a hulijing witch through out the whole trail, preventing him from using his natural fairy magic to sense the energy around him and the eyes of the presences.

LiQin made a mental note to ask Amara or Hilla to teach him the spell the Hulijing used since it sparked some curiosity in him, that, if he lived to be free enough to do so, the case so far proves the opposite.

Speaking of the moonfolks, the cell guards announce the arrival of his favourite royal child, prince Amara.

"Thought you might need some company. ",Amara chimes as he takes off his coat and places it on the floor, where he sits cross-legged in a swift movement beside LiQin.

LiQin shoves at his shoulder playfully, which earns him a soft laugh from Amara, and honest to god, he really misses the whole royal family.

"How's the new tutor finding quest going?"

"Terrible. Evdokia chopped off the last chimera's tail when he was teaching her how to shapeshift."

LiQin laughs whole hearty, "Sounds like Evdokia to me."

"Remember when I told you there is a line of tutors longer than our castles Waterfall? Scratch that, they're fucking petrified of even seeing Eve at this point. "

"She listens to you though? I'm sure if you asked her to behave and accept that I'm not coming back, she'll move on and take this seriously. "

"You don't know that though." Amara mumbles.

"I don't know what?"

"You don't know that you're not coming back." Amara says in the most composed voice he can muster up, he knuckles white as his hair from gripping onto his legs.

LiQin sighs and leans his head backwards. Amara thinks that he has long accepted his fate. It's unfair and a cheat of life, but it's his fate, and he knows better than running away from his own destiny. Every creature's days are numbered, be it from an infant who died as he came out of his mother's womb, or a thousands year old phoenix who's stuck in a never ending loop of life and death.

When the higher court sent enforces, LiQin knew whatever is happening is bigger than him. Be it his local knowledge or his fairy guts. LiQin stares up at the damp ceiling and thinks about his days and what he was able to accomplish in his life. He likes to think he had a good one, even if he lost all he had when he was only seven, he was still gifted a family's arms to give him the love he was deprived from. And LiQin knows he was able to give back every inch of kindness and knowledge back to the royal moonfolk family.

LiQin feels Amara's head as it falls onto his shoulder. He reaches out to untangle Amara's hair with a soft motion.

"Please don't give up on your life." Amara says with a quivering voice, barely holding back whimpers.

"We both know it's not up to me anymore." His voice is hurt, and none of this is fair.

"You know the moonfolk kingdom stands by you, right? We would kill for you. We're ready to kill for you."

"Amara, look at me," LiQin shifts in his place, holding Amara's cheeks between his palms, tears streaming down the little boy he once held at night while he cried his eyes out because his fire bird died, now all grown up and ready to hold a sword to slit necks for his mentor. "You know you'll lose way more than me if you, or anyone else killed in my name. Wars would flare, kingdoms will fall, we both know better than that, don't we?" he smiles softly at Amara and kisses his forehead. Amara knows he once prayed for the Yúns to never need to let loose a tear, under no circumstances they'd be hurt or in pain that they'd need to cry, and now him being the reason one is crying feels like a million rocks are crushing his heart, leaving it nothing but a pile of blood and teared tissues, he imagines.

"I just want you to come back to us." Amara whispers, his voice low like he's scared the walls would hear and come crumbling down over them to deny him his request.

"I know, I know."

*