If love could win

Wilhelm's questioning

I was nervous when I stepped into the courtroom. I saw the judges sit in their seats. The one in charge that day was an old man with grey hair and glasses. A tidy suit and tie. The woman sitting next to him I assumed was the notary. She was young, brown hair in a ponytail. Her suit was also tidy. The others were local jurymen and women without law degrees. I noticed that they were all a bit older. I wondered what they would think about all of this. Simon wore a knitted sweater and jeans. His chain was as usual on them. The curly hair was perfectly styled. He looked so innocent and sweet. And he was, of course. He was not on trial that day. I wore a suit and tie, as my mother had asked me to dress modestly for court. I thought it made me look older than I was. And it did not feel like me. It was not what I would have chosen to wear myself. But I was of course the crown prince and I had to uphold the royal facade. Even in a trial like this.

"Are you okay?" Simon whispered before we sat down. He seemed nervous, like myself. This was so intimate. A moment that was supposed to just be ours, but that had been shared with I don't know how many people.

"It is okay. How are you?" I replied. He smiled a little and told me he was fine. Our lawyer Annelie told us where we would sit and the prosecutor put her things in place on our desk. We saw August and his defence lawyer step into the room. And after them, people from the media entered. And people like Simon's mom, who were there as support. My dad was also in the building, but he would not be sitting in the room. He had talked to me and Simon before and he would be there for us after, too. The prosecutor had asked us if we wanted her to push for the trial being behind closed doors, which would mean that everyone listening would have to leave the room. We had agreed that we would like that, considering what crimes had been committed against us. And I was not the least anonymous teenager, which would also make Simon more interesting than he already was to the media and the public. Even if I did not want to hide him, I wanted to protect him as much as I possibly could.

"Welcome to today's trial between defendant August Von Horn and plaintiffs Simon Eriksson and Crown Prince Wilhelm of Sweden. My name is Erik Andersson and I am the judge who will lead the trials today. Does the prosecutor or defence have something that they would want to begin with?" the judge in the middle said. The prosecutor began and asked that the trial would be behind closed doors considering our young age and the criminal classifications of the crimes that was the topic of the trials. The defence did not push back on her request, and Erik Andersson and the other judges came to the conclusion that it would be. Everyone, including Simon's mom, had to leave.

"Would prosecutor Anna Nilsen want to start by presenting your claims?" the judge began. Anna Nilsen began by in short telling the court why we were there. What August had put me and Simon through by doing what he did. Soon our own lawyer continued to assist the prosecution on our behalf and talked more about the emotional side. What the crimes had done to us. Then it was August's defence turn to reply to what our side had claimed. He of course denied all allegations. Then the judge asked if the prosecutor had any questions for me and Simon. She of course had questions to further explain what had been done to us.

"Crown prince Wilhelm, would you want to begin by telling what has happened in your own words?" she asked me. When we had talked before the trial, she had taken herself the freedom to not use my title, which had made me more relaxed. Now, she of course had to use titles.

"Sure," I replied. "We were celebrating Lucia at school at the end of last semester. After the performance I got a text from someone, asking if it was me in a video that was leaked online. I panicked when I saw that there was a tape of me and Simon in my bedroom at Hillerska. After about one and a half week later my friend Felice knocked on my bedroom door asking to come inside, as she had something important to say to me. She had figured out it was August who had done it by some dead pixels." I tried to not look at August as I spoke. I was so angry with him. What I felt was pure hate. He had attempted to ruin my life, more than it had already fallen apart by my brother dying.