Loki X Reader One-Shots [SLOW UPDATES]

#53: The Trial For Murder

Hey! Yes, I finally updated. Ooof.

Anyway, There are, in this chapter, references to a sister of yours. For this purpose, I use the following symbolism:

*Y/S/N [= Your Sister's Name (ex. Janis)]

If you do not have a sister, idk pick a name your imaginary sister would have. If you have more than one sister, choose one lol.

Also, the trigger warnings for this chapter are mentions of rape, mental illness and suicide (nothing detailed/graphic, only mentions of past events). Also murder. We don't generally put trigger warnings for murder but maybe we should?

Published on June 2023

...

Ms Andrea Engel adjusted the crème-coloured collar of her shirt and dusted her knee-length skirt before clearing her throat with a dry and assertive cough. Her eyes went from the yellow envelope she was holding, which she had been studying the seconds prior to that moment, to the woman sitting opposite to her, the woman charged with murder on the first degree.

Ms Engel was unusually tall -- not just for a woman, but for anyone in general, for she was around 6ft2 tall -- neatly dressed, with a pair of strict and smart brown eyes. She was, as a solicitor, highly reputed and regarded, and could not be easily fooled. When she spoke, her voice was emphatic but not unsympathetic.

"I must stress, madam, that the case that has been filed against you is a rather ghastly one, and that you are in severe danger. The only thing that can help you now that you are in this critical position is the truth and the truth alone."

Her client, Y/N Y/L, who had been staring at her entwined fingers this whole time, turned her gaze to the solicitor.

"I am aware of the fact, Ms Engel," she said, untangling her hands and running one through her hair in a hopeless manner. "I am aware -- how could I not be after all these times you've told me so? I simply cannot fathom how I ended up being charged with such a dastardly crime -- murder, of all things! Murder!"

Ms Engel, understanding Y/N's emotionality but refusing to participate in it, carefully tugged a strand of hair behind her ear, adjusted her thick-rimmed glasses and looked at the contents of the folder again.

"I shall do my best to spare you a guilty verdict, Ms Y/L", said Ms Engel. "We have a fair chance of succeeding at that. But in order to do so, I must have the truth, all of it, for I must be aware of how damaging the case against you can be."

Y/N looked at her solicitor with narrow, probing eyes, with a gaze that was dazed with hopelessness and horror.

"You are convinced of my guilt," she reasoned, her voice low and timid. "But I swear to my mother's honour that I am not guilty! I am aware of the gravity of the case, and I know how easy it seems to assure my guilt, but I didn't do it! Oh, if not even my own solicitor cannot believe me, how am I to convince a jury?!"

It was the truth that, when Ms Engel first studied the case against Y/N, she had been convinced that the woman was guilty. She had been trapped like a fish in a net, an inescapable net of proof of her guilt. And, even in such a position, anyone was very likely to fight, to insist upon their innocence even when they were culpable. But now, Ms Engel had to admit to herself, Y/N's protests had put her into thought. With such fervour she defended her honour that -- who knows? -- perhaps she was, indeed, innocent. She produced a pen, clicked it and held it over a blank sheet of paper she kept in the folder.

"You are correct, Ms Y/L. The case is dangerously incriminating. However, I do not disregard your claims of innocence. But first, we need to establish the truth. To begin with, I need you to describe how you came to know Mr Joseph Bailey."