Queen of Prison

Lucian Protection Brigade - Headquarters

"Name."

"I refused to testify without my lawyer."

"Miss, that's not how it works here."

"Lawyer."

"Miss..."

"Lawyer!"

The elf officer sighed heavily as he tried to get some answers out of the young black-haired woman. He rubbed his temple and looked at the blank paper, where after about half an hour, nothing had been filled in because this woman was very stubborn and refused to say anything.

"We'll continue in a moment," he said, getting up and walking out of the room. They were at the police station, where they had arrested a suspicious group who at least hadn't resisted arrest. However, the black-haired woman told all her people not to say a word without their lawyer. As the security officer walked around the other rooms, he saw that his colleagues were doing similarly and were in various stages of frustration.

The Elven officer took a bottle of cool water from the ice room and drank almost half of it before feeling refreshed and letting out a long sigh. He hadn't thought he would have to deal with this kind of drama when he had started duty today. Besides being brought in by the Royal Guards, there were charges of illegal entry, as well as intimidation, death threats, sexual harassment, theft, and talking back to authority.

"Peterik. Hey, how's it going?" came the voice of another officer who had also come in for water, looking as dejected as young Officer Peterik felt. Peterik was slender with narrow shoulders and waist, so he looked even younger than he really was, but it gave him that air of youthful naivety that made everyone like him. His hair was a rare light green color and his eyes were also bright green.

Like the rest of his colleagues, he wore the official Lucian uniform that showed their position as the city's Guard Brigade, in the form of a loose tunic of bright green with gold Orichi insignia. Orichi was their national treasure which was a plant only found exclusively growing in High Elf settlements.

Underneath the tunic was a loose white long-sleeved shirt, a large brown belt around his waist, and thick leather forearm and arm guards on his hands. Naturally they also all had armor as well, but it was only used sporadically when monsters showed up.

"It's going terribly," Peterik replied. "She just keeps yelling at me that she wants a lawyer."

"Huh. That's better than mine. That guy is scary. He just stares at me, makes a face like a piece of stone and says nothing. I've even tried the trick of having one of them talk already. He didn't even blink. At least yours talks."

Another officer came in, she took iced tea instead of water and drank it all in one go. "Aaaaahh! Who the hell are these people? And why did I have to get the half-demon?" She twisted her face in disgust, pretending to spit when she really hadn't. She didn't dare spit in her workplace.

Both officers looked sympathetic at their colleague's situation. "Maybe it's because we don't have many women in the brigade. It would be inappropriate for a man to not hold his own in the presence of a half-demon. However, if it was a woman, it probably wouldn't be taken so seriously," Peterik said.

The officer groaned. "That's what I get for not going to the Royal Guard like my sisters. To deal with dirty demons."

Peterik cleared his throat. "I know you don't like it, but please try to remain professional. You know she's not a real Demon."

The officer snorted and tossed the bottle in the trash. "I don't see the difference. They're all the same." She grumbled while she headed back to continue her attempts at interrogation.

Peterik talked with his colleague for a while before regaining his strength. He took another bottle of water and returned to the room, where a black-haired woman with violet eyes was rocking in a chair, looking as if she were at home.

Peterik frowned and set the water bottle fiercely in front of her before sitting down on the chair opposite. The woman took the bottle and examined it against the light coming from the lamp above the table. "What's that?" she asked curiously.

"Water," Peterik replied, staring at her, uncomprehending. Was she all right?

"No, I don't think that. What's the bottle made of?" She asked, tapping the surface of the bottle, which looked a lot like a plastic one, only there were a lot more air bubbles in the material and it was thicker.

"Ah, that's hardened, refined kelp goo. It's a natural material, so it dissolves easily and doesn't leave behind any contamination," Peterik explained, picking up the clipboard again.

"What is this used for?" The intrigued woman continued to ask, and Peterik sighed.

"It's a disposable material. As long as it's kept cool, it's usable. We mostly use it to store drinks or food. Shall we continue?" He frowned after explaining.

"So, name?" Peterik looked at the woman again with little expectation.

The woman took a sip of water and examined the bottle for a moment before looking at him. "Lawyer," she repeated again.

Peterik felt like picking up the clipboard and slamming it into his face. He gritted his teeth. "Miss, you're not in a human court here. We're not assigning you a lawyer here."

The woman put the bottle down while she continued to rock in her chair, folded her hands behind her head, and made a facial expression that threw Peterik completely off balance. She raised one eyebrow while frowning again with the other, one corner of her lips lifted, and her upper lip curled up, making a sound similar to a growl. "What did you say?"

Peterik hesitantly flicked his eyes around, feeling uncomfortable. Suddenly, he felt as if he were dealing with a crazed criminal.

Thud

The legs of the chair hit the floor loudly as the woman straightened up, leaning one elbow on the corner of the table, still casting that strange look of someone about to eat him. "So listen, sweet ass..."

Paterik flinched, and his cheeks began to flush. "S-Sweet a-ass?" He stuttered.

"I'm being accused of something I didn't do. I don't see why I should cooperate, especially when you're supposed to judge me by your standards which I don't even know. And hey..." She pointed a thumb at herself. "I'm human. So I should be judged by human standards. It's unfair for you to judge us purely by your rules. Where's the justice in that?" She slammed her fist on the table, and Peterik jumped with fright.

Peterik took a breath to calm himself. "Ma'am, you're being really unreasonable..."

"Unreasonable?" The woman interrupted him and smiled wickedly. "You haven't seen anything yet. I'll show you the proper Karen! I WANT TO TALK TO YOUR MANAGER!" She slammed her fist on the table again, and Peterik jumped to his feet, holding the clipboard in front of him like a shield.

*****

Alarr sat in the next room, stripped of his equipment and weapons, wearing only a canvas shirt vest and pants. His arms were folded across his chest, and his eyes were closed while he pretended not to listen to the elf in front of him.

He was listening, but he wasn't answering exactly as instructed. Rather, he was thinking about what curious situations he was actually getting himself into. He couldn't figure out who the twin elves were that had accused them of a crime out of nowhere. It seemed like complete nonsense. But he had to understand that the locals would simply trust their own people more than outsiders, no matter how false the accusation sounded.

He wondered the reason. And the only thing he could think of was that it had something to do with why they had come here in the first place. To cure the World Tree. Presumably, the ones who caused this were still present and somehow learned of their mission? But how? Lady Eliz was quite cautious about who she talked to about this. She didn't even mention it to her own family.

Who could have caused the leak? Fraril and Grash naturally attacked him. Which made it ironic that they were the only ones to disappear before they were apprehended. One minute they were just there, the next they were gone.

The guards had searched for them briefly, but they'd vanished and since they couldn't leave the rest, they'd been taken out first and now they were probably searching for those two. Finally, these were also the questions of the elf before him, asking Alarr where the two were.

However, Alarr wouldn't say even if he knew. His thoughts of the two quickly vanished, replaced by concern for Raiana. He knew Holm would be fine, but Raiana was going to have a bit of a hard time. Oddly enough, he wasn't even worried about Lady Eliz. If anyone could reduce people to trembling wrecks with mere words, it was her. No sooner had he thought that than he heard a muffled scream. "I WANT TO TALK TO YOUR MANAGER!" Then he heard a door slam and hurried footsteps as someone ran.

Alarr opened one eye and looked at the wall, the corner of his lips curling up. Then he opened the other eye as well and looked at the elf in front of him, who was looking at the closed door. He heard it too. "You have no evidence for anything except the dubious words of those two. Either lock us up or let us go. It's as simple as that," he said coldly.

*****

At the same time, Fraril and Grash were sitting on the high ground of one of the buildings, which had many floors and many balconies. They had found a spot where no one was at the moment and had a good view of the building they had taken their group to.

"The two rogues haven't come out yet either," grumbled Grash, who was squatting on the very edge of the balcony, looking down. His tail wagged from side to side, looking very much like a black cat. All he had to do was start licking his hand.

Fraril snorted inwardly, turning his head from side to side. "They'll probably interrogate them too."

"What are we going to do? Go rescue them?" Grash asked, his eyes seeming a little brighter than before. Finally, he was excited. He enjoyed these unexpected situations.

"No, we wait," Fraril replied.

Grash looked at the blind wolf and narrowed his eyes. "Not your problem, huh? I thought you liked Kitty." He asked, and Grash wasn't sure if he liked the idea or not.

"Sure, but not as much as my own skin," Fraril replied amusedly. "Besides, I don't think it's something they couldn't handle. I'm more interested in the pair of elves who framed us. They'll leave sooner or later, after all, they are the supposed victims. Let's look into them a little more."

Grash smiled cheerfully. "Are we going to hunt them down? Great!"

"By the way, did you smell anything from them?" asked Fraril. Grash shook his head. "They're not Dark Mages."

Fraril was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Then at least there won't be a problem with making them disappear. After all, if there are no witnesses, there is no blame."

Grash chuckled. "Haha! I like your style, old wolf."

*****

Eliz sighed and swung back in her chair. She was thinking with all her might how to get out of this. For now, she made herself unapproachable, even resorting to scaring the poor cute officer with a scene cut out of a video of crazy Karen. She did her best to hold the whole thing up and figure a way out.

Like the others, she was surprised by the sudden accusation. She'd never seen the two elves either; suddenly, they appeared and did this. Eliz decided that when she reached Shannon, she would kick her root and demand a bigger reward for all the trouble.

At least Fraril and Grash managed to sneak away before they were all arrested. They could have fought their way out of it, but what would have been the point? Then they'd have to disappear with their tails between their legs and Eliz wouldn't have a chance to get to Shannon. Eliz didn't have to think long, however, and came to a similar conclusion as Alarr. Presumably whoever had caused the poisoning of Shannon's roots was still present and had somehow learned of their destination.

Eliz was naturally the first to suspect the System. But she couldn't be sure. Who else, then? Grash hardly, he was always with them. Fraril? He could do it if he had any use for it, but Eliz didn't think that was the case. So how could anyone know?

Eliz narrowed her eyes suspiciously and sat up straight. The only other possibility was Draikini or Shannon herself. As this thought occurred to Eliz, she stood up and began to pace back and forth thoughtfully. She didn't suspect Draikini too much, after all, he was a hermit and an outcast; who would he hang out with after they left? Unless he used the communication crystal.

And then there was Shannon herself. She claimed that she couldn't communicate with her guardians because of the rot suppression. Maybe that wasn't entirely true? Or could it have been a complete lie? What if Shannon was actually okay? But why would the World Tree be drawing her into a trap?

The door knocked and someone walked in. Eliz paused and let her thoughts slip away only to stare at the newcomer. It was an elven woman. Pretty, of course, like all elves. With pretty blue eyes, short blonde hair in the style of a tousled pixie, wearing a similar green uniform to Officer Peterik, just a little different. But Eliz wasn't familiar with the ranks of elves so she didn't know what rank she was, but since she was asking for a superior, she suspected it was her.

"Commander Olliena Investigation Division of the Lucian Protection Brigade," the elf introduced herself calmly. Peterik appeared behind her, still hugging the clipboard. "Officer Peterik said you wanted to speak to a superior officer. So I'm here," Olliena uttered and went to sit at the table. Eliz followed her and sat down as well. Peterik remained standing a short distance behind his superior.

"I'm not going to be judged by your court system. I don't understand your laws; I want to be judged by human standards," Eliz said calmly as well, liking that she could talk to someone more knowledgeable and who had some real power.

"I've never heard of a criminal making such demands," Commander Olliena said.

"I am innocent until I am proven guilty," Eliz objected, folding her arms across her chest.

Olliena reached out, and Peterik placed the clipboard in her hands. She took it and looked at the blank paper. "True. For now, you're just detained, but not charged with anything. But you know, Miss Unknown, until we go through all this paperwork, nothing will happen. You're just delaying yourself and us unnecessarily. Maybe if you weren't so rebellious, Miss Unknown, we could have this all sorted out by now, and you could get your papers and walk away." Olliena gave Eliz a stern look.

Eliz hesitated when she explained it that way and then shot an accusing look at Officer Peterik. "But that's not what this little cutie told me."

Olliena raised her eyebrows and looked back at Peterik, who blushed again at Eliz's words, his eyes moving away in embarrassment, even his ears turning red. "What did you tell her?" Olliena asked.

"That... well, that we need to fill out her information. But she refused to cooperate. I followed protocol exactly, Commander!"

"Exactly as he says. He didn't explain anything," Eliz pointed a finger at him.

Olliena sighed and closed her eyes for a moment before standing up and giving Eliz a small bow. "I apologize for my subordinate's mistake. Truth is, none of them have ever had to deal with a case involving another race. So he automatically assumed you were familiar with our procedures."

Eliz was a little surprised at the apology. No, she really hadn't expected it. But as the commander straightened, Eliz recognized the expression. It was the expression of someone who was annoyed at having to apologize for someone else's mistakes.

Eliz finally waved her hand. "All right. As long as it's explained. So... will you explain how things will proceed then?"

Olliena sat up. "Naturally, once we fill out your information, the first thing we'll do is verify your identity. However, since this is a charge of a crime that is verbal, it is hard to prove. It's word for word. For that reason, we'll have to ask for the assistance of a Fortune Teller who can evaluate the truth," she explained.

Eliz was fine with everything up until the moment they mentioned the Seer. She frowned. Were they going to put her innocence or guilt in the hands of some charlatan? "What if the Fortune Teller is being manipulated?" Eliz wanted to know.

Olliena stared at her in silence for a moment, then shrugged. "Judicial errors can happen."

Eliz's expression turned cold, and her eyes began to glow a little as she suppressed her anger. "I hope you're joking now because if you're not, you don't want to know what hell I can unleash."

Olliena, however, didn't seem affected by her look. "Are you threatening?"

"You bet I am."

Olliena lifted her chin and looked at Eliz mockingly, as if she were something cute. "Interesting."