Silence filled the whole town of Shredville.
After all, the whole town had gone to watch the trial go down.
And not to mention, that the identity of the masked hero was none other than the person who killed their queen.
"And that is why everyone up here- is on trial." Cory stated, as Tommy stood there, frozen with mixed feelings. "The four standing here all knew about Tommy's identity, and his crime. Yet none of them sid anything; not to mention, the Jester Jon and Princess Ashlie survived a fire that burned their kingdoms to the ground- which they both did nothing but run away."
Cory sighed, staring at the crowd. "Uni lives in the dark forest. In a cottage, and he let this criminal inside of his own home. Do you see the problem?" Cory paced on the wooden boards, hands clasped together.
"Jury, what is your current view on these criminals?" Cory asked.
"Guilty. For death penalty" A male said. Cory nodded. Then, he started asking the other jury members.
"Whos that? I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind after this-" Ashlie mumbled, trying her best not to send a death glare at the male.
"That's Ddawn; a male that is so despicable, yet so honored by the king, that anyone would've thought he was up to something." Oli whispered.
"Innocent." Cory paused, staring at the last jury member.
"And why is that?" Cory questioned, brow raised.
"Because," the unknown male stood up. "I believe that Tommy is innocent." He continued. He walked up to Cory, and then faced the crowd.
"The queens murderer could've been anyone, yet we all believe that since Cory had witnesses it, that Tommy is guilty? There is no proof he had done anything." The male said, with a nod.
"I agree!" Everyone's attention had turned to someone in the crowd. A woman in her thirties gave a smile. "After all, why else would he be the masked hero? Maybe he was trying to redeem himself, and show the town he was innocent!" She exclaimed.
Cory scoffed. "You don't really expect that to be true, right-"
"He's a good man, I tell you." An old woman, and by the way Oli's eyes lit up Ashlie could only assume this was his grandmother. "He was always respectful when I invited him over for dinner. Couldn't kill a fly, or anyone innocent I tell you."
Everyone in the crowd had suddenly been enlightened by the mysterious man from the jury. The crowd came to an uprising, all defending their masked hero.
Tommy, who was still frozen, was slowly realizing that the town was supporting him- not outcasting him, or hating him. He seemed to regain control of his own body as he put on a grin.
"Heck yeah! See? I am innocent! Of course I am! This is the last time the town will listen to your false testimony, worm!" Tommy exclaimed, winking at Cory as he ran off towards his friends.
Cory stood there in shock for a moment, before turning to face the unknown jury member. "You..! This was going right until you said something! Why?!"
The man chuckled. "Because; I refuse to let Oriana get her way."
No one noticed Ashlie, Jon, Tommy, and Uni leave. And surely, no one noticed that the mysterious man wore a cloak, and how shocked Jon seemed to be.
×
"Whoa, did you see that?! Cory was like, hahaha! And then that one guy was like, innocent I say! And then-" Tommy seemed to ramble on about what had just happened, and Uni and Ashlie just ignored him and kept walking. Oli had left to the crowd, and Jon was falling behind his friends.
His eyes seemed to keep on widening as he stared at the Cobble path, as he stared at his shaking hands.
"Jon, are you okay?" Jon didn't react to Ashlie's words. The group stopped in the middle of Shredville's path to the gates, all looking back at Jon.
"Jon? Buddy, you there?" Tommy walked up to Jon, saying those words as he grabbed Jon's shoulder.
No reaction.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Uni questioned. Jon slowly looked up, plastering a smile on his face as he shook his head.
"No, sorry. I got lost in my thoughts. I kept thinking about what would've happened if that guy didn't save us, haha.."
"Oh, alright." The group continued on. Ashlie couldn't help but stare at Jon as the group walked.
Something was definitely wrong.
A sudden coughing interrupted the silent walk, and in turn, the group spotted a burned and badly bruised Nick running towards them. He stumbled slightly, and Tommy and Uni quickly went to his aid.
"What happened to you? We need to get back to the cottage and-" Uni started, but Nick quickly interrupted.
"No, no..we.." He coughed. "Can't. Bri burned.." He coughed again.
Tommy groaned, dramatically falling to his knees.
"What? Then where are we supposed to go?!" He shouted. Ashlie rolled her eyes.
"Why don't we stay in Shredville?" She suggested. "After that trial, the people are supporting and believing in you, Tommy. So we should be welcomed to stay here-"
"No." Nick interrupted once more. His hand slowly raised, revealing the crumpled letter he grasped in his hands. "R..read this. Shredville is where she wants us.."
"She? Who is she?" Tommy asked. Nick sighed, shaking his head.
"...some girl named Oriana? Either way, we need..to get out." Ashlie stated at Jon with a frown, watching as his shaking increased.
"Let's go to Smallville. Shelby should still be there, right?" Everyone turned towards Uni, who had said those words with a high uncertainty.
"Let's go then."
×
The guards of Shredville seemed to recognize our protagonists, as they let them in without any hesitation. The group didn't seem to mind it, but Ashlie was surprised. After all, they looked like a mess.
Jon would not shaking, mumbling, and holding his head in his hands. Nick had burns and scratches all over him. Tommy was proudly wearing no mask, happy to be able to show himself to the world. Uni seemed to be glancing around, shoulders stiff as if he feared Smallville. And Ashlie stared at her friends, brows furrowed and a frown on her lips.
The group approached Shelby's house, in which she almost immediately walked out, as if she was expecting them. "Are you alright?!" She questioned, letting out a gasp as she ran to lead Nick inside. She pulled Jon along as well, and Ashlie let out a sigh of relief, as she knew she wasn't the only one who noticed Jon's odd gestures.
This left Ashlie, Uni, and Tommy to sit in one of the rooms, and wait for the others.
"So… since I wont be going over to Oli's for awhile, how about you worms and I have dinner here? It would be hecka cool man!" Tommy suggested, eyes shining brightly.
Ashlie stared at Tommy for a moment, in the faze of shock from being able to see him express so much genuine emotion. She quickly nodded her head, turning to Uni with an equally bright smile.
"We totally should! We should ask Shelby when she gets back." Ashlie added, clasping her hands together.
"That could be fun." Uni stated, nodding lightly. He looked over at a window, staring out. "Who do you think that was? Defending Tommy- us?" He pondered aloud.
Ashkie shrugged. "Maybe it was just a good guy? Someone who saw what happened during the queens final moments? Someone who knew about Cory?" She was just throwing ideas around at this point.
"We'll have to thank him one day! But today, worms, we should celebrate. Forget about all that wack, let's just stay in this moment."
"Yeah, if we can."
×
I had way more planned for the trial, so I wrote down everything on a piece of paper...
And of course, I lost it. So the trial time wasn't as long as it should've been.
I'll probably come back and fix this when the time comes. Until then, enjoy the ride! We'll take things somewhat slow for the next few chapters. :)
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