"We will adjourn for an hour, so that everyone might collect themselves before we have opening statements." Lyubov' moya spoke up suddenly. (my love)
"Guardian Croft, please return the former Lady Natasha Ozera to her cell until we reconvene in an hour." I told him.
Hans bowed his head, "yes your majesty."
Then he turned to the crowd. "Everyone please rise for our queen and king."
As Roza and I walked out the door I heard Hans say, "guardians please escort the prisoner back to her cell." And then the doors closed behind us.
Roza and I had been in the apartment area of our office for less than five minutes when there was a knock on the door.
Alberta opened the door, "your majesties, your family and friends are here."
"Let them in please Alberta." I replied.
She opened the door and the room filled up. Everyone sat around in shocked silence for a while before Christian spoke up.
"Did she really do all of that stuff?" His eyes were actually begging Roza and I to deny it but since we couldn't we simply nodded.
"That is why you didn't want me here for the trial isn't it Thorn?"
"Yes." My beautiful fiancée answered quietly.
"When did she try to compel you to kill yourself Rose?"
"A few days after we got to the ski lodge like I said at my coronation. Do you remember when Eddie, Mason, you, Lissa and I were skiing the third day that we were there?"
"Yes."
"When you and Lissa went back to the ski lodge and I was waiting for my turn to go down the slope. She walked up and tried to compel me to jump off of the nearby cliff. She told me that I was ruining Dimitri's, Lissa's and your lives just by being in your lives. She said that she would promise to look after all of you in my absence. But that I needed to take myself permanently out of your lives before too much damage had been done to all of you and your reputations."
"My God, I don't understand how anyone could do all of those things. We already know that she's not crazy. So how... how can she be sane and do that kind of thing?"
"I would tell you Chris, but I don't think that you would be to happy to hear it." Roza answered.
"I'm not happy with the things that she's done so it can't get much worse. So go ahead and tell me."
"She is spoiled, hateful, cruel, malicious et cetera et cetera et cetera. And according to Sonya, she has a mood disorder called narcissism and she is also a psychopath. She wants what she wants when she wants it, regardless of how it will affect others. But over ninety percent of the royals are narcissist but with Tasha it is one hundred times worse. She doesn't care about anyone else or their needs, wants and desires. She only cares about what she wants, she pretends to care about you and Dimitri but she really doesn't. She just wants to possess Dimitri, she cares absolutely nothing whatsoever about him. She just wants to possess his body and affections, she wants him to worship her and the ground that she walks on."
Everyone around the room just shook their heads.
When the time came everyone reconvened in the trial hall so that Tasha's trial could begin everyone left as they had the time before.
"It is time for opening statements. The attorney for the defense is Wilson Smythe, the attorney for the prosecution is Lord Rufus Taurus. As the prosecution, Lord Taurus will go first, he will present the crown's case. Mr. Smythe will then present the defendants case. And then we will begin with the witnesses. Lord Taurus please begin."
"Thank you Guardian Croft and your majesties. Over possibly the next several days, I will be laying out the complete history for each of the charges against the defendant. As well as calling on several witness who have witnessed the things that the defendant is accused of. As well as people who have been affected by the defendant. At some point I will have to call on our queen and king to testify to some of the crimes that were committed against them personally. As well as the crimes that they have been witness to."
Hans looked to Roza and I for approval for Lord Taurus to continue. Roza and both nodded to him.
"Please procced Lord Taurus."
"Thank you your majesties and Guardian Croft. I would like to call my first witness."
"Does the defense want to proceed with their own opening statement or postpone them until the opening of your own case?"
"I would like to postpone my opening statement until the opening of my case."
Again Roza and I nodded and Hans gave the go ahead.
"Very well. Lord Taurus, please proceed with your case."
"Thank you, I would like to call my first witness, Lord Darius Taurus."
(PLEASE BE FOREWARNED SOME ASPECTS OF DARIUS'S TESTIMONY COULD NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUNGER READERS. SO PLEASE BE AWARE BEFORE YOU CONTINUE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND I HOPE THAT YOU CONTINUE TO ENJOY THIS STORY)
Everyone watched as Darius stood, took a deep breath and stepped forward. Once he took the stand Hans walked over to him with a BIBLE in his hand.
"Lord Taurus, please place your right hand on the HOLY BIBLE..."
Darius did as he was instructed.
"... Lord Taurus, do you hereby swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?"
"I do so swear."
Hans walked away and left Darius on the stand to testify.
"Lord Taurus, could you tell us when and how you first met Natasha Ozera?"
"I met her in one of my night clubs around roughly fifteen years ago."
"So you were a strigoi when you met Ms. Ozera?"
I hated to think it but that was a stupid question since Darius was a strigoi for over three hundred years. But maybe he just asked to set up a line of questioning.
"Yes, unfortunately I was. I was actually turned against my will three hundred and thirty six years ago."
"Thank you Lord Taurus. Now, would you please explain your first meeting with Ms. Ozera?"
"It was a Saturday night in July, I later came to find out that she had just recently graduated from St. Basil's academy. The first time that I ever laid eyes on Natasha she was sitting at a table with seven moroi men. They all seemed to be having a very good time. The men didn't seem to be able to keep their hands off of her and she most certainly returned the favor..."
"To all seven men?"
"Yes."
"So what you are telling us is that Ms. Ozera was being overtly sexually physical with seven different moroi men all at the same time?"
"Yes. She was running her hands all over all of them and allowing them to do the same to her. I observed one of them with his hand up her dress and another with his hand stuck down the front of her dress. She was acting like a common blood whore. And by that I most certainly do not mean just any dhampir female, as most moroi accuse, I mean real true blood whores. Ones that behave as Tasha was behaving that night."
"Did she seem to be enjoying herself?"
"I object your majesties." The defense cried out.
"On what grounds?" I asked.
"How is Lord Taurus to know whether or not Ms. Ozera was enjoying the attentions of these men?"
"Does the prosecution have any way of proving that Ms. Ozera was enjoying the attentions of these men?"
"Yes your majesties, all will become clear soon."
"Very well, you may continue."
"Thank you, your majesties."
He then turned to Mr. Smythe and said, "and I did ask if she seemed to be enjoying herself."
"Lord Rufus." Roza chastised.
"I do apologize your majesties."
Roza and I nodded and then he continued.
"Can you please continue Lord Taurus."
"Of course. As I was saying, she seemed to be enjoying her position quite a bit because she was laughing and openly and rather graphically flirting with them. While she also had each of her hands down two of the men's pants, while also moving her feet against a third and fourth man's penis and kissing yet another."
Again the trial hall filled with gasps.
"Blood whore indeed." Were words stage whispered throughout the hall.
"Well it definitely seems that she was enjoying herself."
"I object your majesties."
"Please refrain yourself from drawing conclusion Lord Rufus, it is the jury's duty to draw the conclusions." Lyubov' moya instructed. (my love)
"I apologize your majesties." Roza and a I nodded and he continued.
"Can you tell us what happened after that Lord Taurus?"
"Of course. One of the men told a joke and all of the men threw their heads back laughing with their eyes closed. And when that happened she caught my eyes smiled and licked and bit her lips seductively then winked and puckered her lips like she was throwing me a kiss."
"And then?"
"I sent her a glass of the house specialty of all of my clubs."
"Which is?"
"Ninety five percent blood and five percent red wine."
"And what was her reaction to your generosity?"
"She raised the glass in salute to me smiled and winked at me again."
"What happened next?"
"Shortly there afterwards she found her way over to my table..."
"Did she know that you were a strigoi at the time?"
"Well, I don't see how she couldn't I made no attempts to hide it. My eyes and fangs were openly on display and the color of my skin would have been a clear give away if she didn't notice my eyes."
"And what happened then?"
Darius continued to testify, in even finer detail than what he'd told us, until it was time to stop for lunch.
Roza and I were sequestered in our office with our circle of friends and family for lunch. But we intentionally refrained from discussing the trial. My mother, babushka and all of the children joined us for lunch. (grandmother)
(DARIUS'S TESTEMONY WILL RESUME AFTER LUNCH, JUST IN CASE YOU WANTED TO READ THIS NEXT PART.)
"Papa look." Came the voice of our little princess Marin. Our youngest baby, as she showed me a picture that she'd drawn.
"It's beautiful baby. Would you like to explain it to me and mama?"
She crawled up into my lap and sat down, "yep." Roza and I gave Marin our undivided attention.
"This is you and mama ruling the world. That is alpha Damon, he is protecting Dasha and their baby Esmey."
"So alpha Damon is married to Dasha?"
"Yep. But that won't happen for a long long time."
She grasped my face between her little hands. "So you don't have to be all grrr and growly. Dasha will be a big girl when this happens."
I saw the look of concern on my fiancée's face. But then she snickered when Marin said that I get 'all grrr and growly.' Which when it comes to the safety, happiness and well-being of my family, I probably do.
"How do you know this Marin?" Roza asked.
"I saw it in a dream."
"How in the hell does she even know about Damon?"
"I don't know my Roza. We will have to talk to babushka, Adrian and Sonya later and see if they can tell us." (grandmother)