Fading Colors in Shadow

The Trial

A/N: Hey, just in case anyone missed the warning I'd put up, I'll reiterate here. This fanfic has some Archon Quest spoilers.

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The woman stood on the other platform, tears streaming down her eyes, messing up her makeup, but it seemed she didn't care about that at all. And she was a pretty woman. Camille almost felt bad about her losing her husband, if only her husband hadn't been such scum.

Camille stood on the other side of the Court, at the defendant's side, wondering why she ended up here, and considering every bad choice she'd ever made in her entire life. She felt true sorrow for the prosecutor, even though she was going to be the one who was going to the Fortress of Meropide. She knew she would, because there was no excusing what she'd done.

Neuvillette stood at the seat of the Chief Justice, above, between the two of them. The Oratrice was underneath him, and she could imagine the scales leaning towards the prosecutor's side. Neuvillette was looking at Camille, his eyes cold, but Camille didn't let that scare her. Everyone knew he was a kind person, but in court, he was authoritative. Sometimes, she wondered how he could so easily switch masks like that.

"Miss Camille Moreau, you have been accused of murdering Louise Andre, husband of Celine Andre. How do you plead?"

Camille looked down and intertwined her fingers in front of her. She looked at the Oratrice. The balance was perfect, but she knew there was no denying the inevitable. There was no point prolonging it. "I plead guilty."

Whispers broke out in the audience, and Camille bit her lip. Here she was, her life about to change inevitably, and people were watching as though this was a stage and this was a drama. And the most amused of them was Lady Furina, watching from a seat of honor.

"She's not even going to fight? Boring," said the Hydro Archon.

Camille gave her a look, and then looked away, deciding not to invoke divine wrath. Thankfully, she was not the only one who thought she'd spoken out of turn.

"Lady Furina, please do not provoke the defendant." Neuvillette's eyes then moved to Camille. "You plead guilty? You accept that you murdered Mister Louise Andre?"

She nodded. "Yes. I accept all charges."

"Why?" asked Celine, tears still streaming down her cheeks. "Why did you murder my husband? What did he do to you!?" She was screaming, and Camille flinched slightly. She looked almost murderous. But she looked past that, to Celine's grief. She didn't want to be the one to break to her the fact that her husband had been utterly worthless scum.

She ignored Celine, and looked away. "I have no intention of answering you, Miss Celine."

"Miss Camille, perhaps a reminder of your current circumstances is necessary," said Neuvillette, meeting her gaze and holding it. "If nothing else, your words may change your sentence."

She shook her head and smiled softly. "I have no evidence for my claims. What does it matter with no evidence?"

He held her gaze, and something in his eyes shifted. "Speak."

Camille looked down at her folded hands resting on the railing. "He tried to assault me that night, and I fought back. He died in the ensuing scuffle." She looked up at Celine, who had stopped crying and was staring at her incredulously. "It does not, however, change the fact that I murdered Louise Andre." She looked back to Neuvillette, whose expression had not changed, but there was a certain tenderness in his features now. "And hence, I accept all charges."

"There's no way my husband would..." Celine faltered, as though she were thinking about it. Dear lord, Camille thought, she had doubts about her own husband?

She heard someone from the audience speak. Camille hadn't turned to look properly at the audience all throughout the session. She didn't want to see how many people had turned up to see her misery. "Louise has been known to stalk women. Didn't he stalk that girl Juliette before?"

"But this changes everything!" Camille heard someone yell. "She acted in self-defence. She's innocent!"

More voices began to break out in the audience, and Camille just stood there, listening as people debated the verity of her claims. The chaos was starting to fray her nerves.

"Order, order, I say!" The look Neuvillette gave her held a lot of emotions that she couldn't put her finger on. She just grimaced at him and nodded. If this was her fate anyway, she would accept it with grace. She looked up at the Archon's seat. Furina had left. No wonder, she wouldn't stay if it wasn't 'interesting' enough. "Although the circumstances were irregular, in view of the law, I declare Miss Camille Moreau to be... guilty."

There was another outbreak of voices. Camille nodded, looking down and avoiding the Chief Justice's gaze. She stopped listening to the audience.

Perhaps she was not as courageous as she thought she was. She swallowed and looked up as Neuvillette berated the audience. "Order, I say!" He slammed his cane down in front of him. The audience went silent. "The Oratrice Mechanique d'analyse Cardinale will pass the final judgement."

Camille watched as the Oratrice shone, and a piece of paper appeared in front of Neuvillette. She watched as his expression became impassive. "Guilty," he said again. "You are sentenced to one year in the Fortress of Meropide. Is there... anything you would like to say?"

Camille looked to the prosecutor's dais, at the woman who had tears clinging to her lashes, who looked like her entire world had been dragged from underneath her, because of her husband... and because of her. "I... am truly sorry."

She looked away. A guard took Camille by the arm, her fingers closing on her just above the elbow. Camille gave Neuvillette one last look, wondering what he was thinking about all this. His expression betrayed nothing, but something in his look was gentle. The guard led Camille out of the courtroom, and Camille sighed as they moved further away from the murmuring of the people. The steady click-clack of her shoes on the polished floor was all she could hear now.

"It feels dehumanizing." The words left her mouth before she realized it.

"The Fortress of Meropide, your sentence, or the trial?" asked the guard quietly, as though she would get in trouble if she was heard speaking aloud to a prisoner.

"The trial," answered Camille. "The Opera Epiclese. People treating this as though it were a drama, while my life will be destroyed forever."

The guard nodded as they stepped into the sunlight. Camille looked up at the sky, it was too bright for her liking, her life just felt like it had turned dark and gray. The guard followed Camille's gaze, also looking at the sky. "You will forever have the brand of a criminal, no matter how justified you were in your crime. This is the truth of Fontaine." Camille let the words sink in.

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A/N: Hi, this one will likely have slower updates because while I do have a bit already written, I'm still figuring things out. Happy 2024, folks.