Ghost in the Roses

“What is she doing here?” Nina hisses at me.

I look behind me and spot my client and a few of her familiars entering through one of the many double doors. A round sea with a marble bottom decorated with pieces of granite stood between us. Against the many flowing currents of people moving, she works her pathway towards me.

“Ta-da,” my hands reveal myself as the reason for her arrival at the High Court.

“No way,” Kai laughs.

"You are her court representative? You are representing your ex?” With her eyebrows rising, Nina tills down her head at me.

"I am representing her cause. Besides, her case is the only one that actually seems like it could hold water in this court. All other ones were the same disputes that you constantly hear about at the lower courts.”

“And you call me desperate? This isn’t the way to rekindle a broken romance,” his suspicions grow at the same rate as his frown.

“I have no interest in rekindling anything,” quickly, I shut it down, “but this can be big. This can really do something.”

“You will be the only one completely exposed. It can crush you, that’s what it can do,” still, Nina’s objections remain the same.

“It’s for a good cause,” I say.

“Oh, I have no doubts about it, but that’s not what worries me.” Her eyes shift letting me know that she doesn’t trust Lada, not when it comes down to me.

“Too late to look back now,” I shrug.

“Then good luck to you. Hope the ruling turns in your favor,” Nina spots her client. “And most of the good luck to you,” but before she conveniently separates herself from becoming close to Lada, she steals a supple kiss from Kai’s lips and gives him a smile in exchange.

“You too, Nina,” a lovestruck Kai watches her leave.

“Do I get a good luck kiss too, smoochie-poo?” batting my eyes, I tease him with a higher pitch voice.

He mocks me back and does a fake gasp. “Mister, what kind of a cadet do you take me for?” But then he sees Lada getting closer and ends the joke. “I let you and your client be. I got to keep waiting on mine,” Kai too, drifts away.

Here she is, Lada, the friend repellent. My true opinion is not that they hate her, they just don’t trust her. I can’t say that I trust her either, but for the sake of representing her case fairly and becoming a decent knight, I must put all of my personal impressions aside.

“Hello, Lada,” I greet her. Who are the other three that are with her, I do not know.

“Hi, Adrien,” she’s clearly excited to be here. “Wow, this place is incredible.”

“Is this your first time here?” I ask.

“Yes. Yours?”

“In the High Court, yes.”

“I’ve never seen an official flag of The Capital up this close before,” she points at the massive black rectangle with the golden four-headed eagle in the center.

“It looks like a lot of stitch work,” I nod.

“It’s so beautiful, but I never understood why the background is black, it’s so depressing.”

“Black is what you get when you mix all the colors that symbolize the Domains. It stands for unity.”

“And why the eagle has so many heads?”

“Well, The Capital is the center and is surrounded by all of the Domains, so the four heads keep watch over the United Domains from all four directions: North, South, East, and West.”

“Wow, I bet those heads argue with each other a lot.”

“Good thing I learned how to argue too.”

“Then, which way, kind Sir?” Her warm eyes melt into mine.

“This way, please,” I smile.

However much this is for a good cause, I’m not going to fool myself about all the other truths of why she and I are here. This is going to help a lot of people, but Lada’s case is also my meal ticket and my involvement is hers. Still...

For about a solid hour, Lada and I review all the documents and I have her sign page after page consenting to her understanding and agreement for this proposal. At last, the documents are ready and I submit them to the guards who’re waiting on the other side of our office room. It doesn’t take long for the guards to come back and call for us to come forward. It’s our turn.

“Here, eat this,” I instruct Lada to take the voice to disembody. “It will work till the end of the hearing.”

For a moment she looks at the square piece wrapped in silver foil, that looks very much like a candy sold at the street vendors.

“It’s okay. This will hide your voice. It’s for your protection to avoid bias.”

She takes it and swallows it.

“Also, this isn’t the most glamorous, but you have to wear this too,” I instruct her to put on a black robe.

“How do I look?” her voice is now drastically lower.

I can’t help but laugh a little at this gothic teapot cover twirling before me.

“Oh my, is this my voice?”

It does sound really strange to her.

“And now, for the finishing touch,” I hand her a porcelain mask next.

“Am I auditioning for a horror show?” a deep nervous laugh escapes between her words.

“In a way, yes.”

“What about you? Don’t you need to do the same?”

“No, it’s not part of the protocol. I’m the mediator, so my face must stay open,” I explain.

Alright, then. There goes nothing. I take a deep sigh, before walking past the doors opening for us. Lada is right beside me, but only till the end of the walkway. She, as the representative sits at the desk, and I, the representative take the podium. Before me, a judge sits with his identity protected as well behind a plain mask. Behind him, in the shadows, I can see silhouettes of people sitting in a row of twelve balconies. Ambassadors from each of the Domains no doubt, but no Domain colors are set up to avoid being detected.

“The Represented, rise!” they motion for Lada to stand up.

Without hesitation, she stands up in all of her poofy dark glory.

“Do you come here to the High Court willingly and knowingly?” the raspy voice rose in question.

“I am, Your Honor,” her fake voice answers for her.

“Is Adrien Rivers, a cadet of The Knights’ Academy, your selected representative of goodwill and of no ill agenda?”

“He is, Your Honor.”

“Are you here of goodwill and of no ill agenda?”

“I am, Your Honor.”

“Do you still allow him to be your voice for your case?”

“I do, Your Honor.”

“I’m ready when you are, Representative,” a non-natural voice commands me to begin.

“The honorable members of the High Court, I, Adrien Rivers, am here to represent a public proposal on behalf of the people and my client.”

The guard approaches me as I offer the petition for the judge’s review.

“Okay, and what is it they ask for?” he gives me permission to go ahead after quickly browsing through the lengthy document.

“Your Honor, the people are overwhelmed with the current health crisis and are desperate for your help. If you check the data collected from the local hospitals' records, you can clearly see that the rate of the rising numbers is showing no signs of dropping. This condition is affecting everyone and is about to get out of complete control if nothing gets done.”

“Are you suggesting this is a plague?” someone from above asks.

This is a trap. I have to remember that I’m here for real results, and not to fall into their pissing contest. In the end, I need to make them want to do this.

“No, not yet. That’s why we are here,” very carefully, I place the data into the guard’s hand for another round. “The people are in dire need of your help. You’re the ones who can make this happen.”

“If there’s no plague, then what is this? Another asking for a hand-out?”

That’s when I need to hit that anonymous ambassador, “Do you wait for the enemy to knock down the front door before you start looking for your swords? Of course not. This response will show assertiveness and command. It will show how aware you’re of what’s going on and that nothing escapes the Kings’ watchful eyes.”

Nobody wants to be the blind eye, because everyone knows what the kings and queens do to the useless part of the operation - it gets plucked out and replaced.

“Of course! All this data is nothing new to us. We’ve been keeping track of this all along!”

“Good! I, the people, my client, and the kings are glad to hear that the eyes have not turned blind. The kings and queens from every domain are facing backlash from many groups and organizations, this will prove how wrong they are about our leaders. This will show who are the truly blind.”

“Your Excellencies, we must consider how much our rivals have used the people’s grief and pain for their own cause. This could be our kings’ great come-back,” the judge looks up at the occupants of the balconies.

“If you look closely at the proposal, you can see that the funding is very much at the reach of the kings and can be very quickly passed out to all of the clinics, hospitals, and even new constructions to beat the demand,” I continue to add in.

“Dozens of grand openings to state-of-the-art medical institutions will be opening doors to hope. This will show how competent and qualified their leaders are,” another voice from above steps in, trying to shine the idea into their own.

No matter which one of the noblemen can piss the farthest, Lada and I will be the true winners. Even though they are acting out of their own interest of keeping their titles, the people will not be left out of this benefit.

“Thank you, young cadet. I think we heard enough and I’m ending this court session. The ambassadors and I will review this proposal together and you’ll have your answer tomorrow.”

Wow, that’s soon. This means that they already made up their mind and this declared meeting is only out of formality.

“Thank you, Your Honor. Thank you, Your Excellencies. I and my client appreciate the time given,” I excuse myself and Lada out.

This looks very promising.