Who's The Fairest free porn video

Who's the Fairest by Arcie Emm See Prior parts of The Journey of Manny and Maude 1. Mirror Mirror 2. On the Wall 3. In This Land Prologue _______ The scene belonged in a fairy tale. A beautiful summer day, the sun shining upon a meadow in which wolf pups boisterously chased one another about, yipping their joy at the moment. For a time they owned the world, but then, from a thicket of trees, a jay's flight distracted them. Let us leave them to their play, instead we will approach that thicket. For why else would it exist, if not to be mysterious? Ah-hah, it hides a small hill, with an opening that surely leads to the den from which those adorable cubs came. Shall we venture inside, making life difficult for the author whose laziness shouts for him to quit? Of course we shall. Oh-ho, is that a fire I hear? Is that candle light I see? Not something expected inside a wolf's den, but this is not a normal den. Instead it has walls paneled in lustrous walnut and chairs so soft, so inviting, covered in ox blood coloured leather. Yet our eyes are drawn to those sitting in the chairs, specifically their hair. Extravagant enough to make one wonder if they were the high priests of the Hair Cult for Men. Two of them, one older and one younger with frames of wiry strength shaved the sides of their heads, but allowed the rest to grow long, before twining it into long braids. Unlike the others, the third man, burly and grizzled, his leather vest hiding few of his scars from past battles, let his bronzed mane flow free. He yelled, "Liz! Liz, where's that information?" "Quit shouting, Wayne!" This answer preceded the arrival of a woman with hair of a winter tigress, that is if a winter tigress had hair instead of fur and if that fur flowed like a river in the midst of winter thaw. Yes, dear reader, I too am momentarily struck by awe at the sight of her. Awe that someone so majestically proportioned remained standing. Taking the leather bag from her, the burly man asked, "Is there a scry of him?" "Inside." With the rolled up parchment in hand, he tossed the bag to the older man and walked to the one uncovered wall, its stone recently cleaned. The parchment unrolled, he used sap to stick it on the wall. An image of a dark haired man, an evil sneer on his face, almost as if the scry existed with the sole intention to say, 'this is a bad guy.' "Okay, Tongueblood, tell me about him," Wayne said, as he reached for a piece of chalk. "Simon Unkler! Stands 2 Yardovian meters tall and weighs in at 16 stones." "Big son-of-a-mother. He'll be dangerous, so everybody be extra careful. What's the charge?" "He skipped out on his upcoming wedding to Duchess Cindi in Angharee." "So add desperate to his faults. Fortunately, I just heard from a little bird who spotted him entering a beer tent at Everlong Faire over at Fairetown. We've been asked by Knobby Green to capture him and that's what we're going to do. So everybody gear up." While the woman checked her make-up and changed into higher heeled boots, the three men pulled on chain-mail tunics and chose cudgels. Done, they gathered in a circle, held hands, and bowed their heads, while their leader said, "Aeola grant us your blessings as you look down upon us during this day and night. Okay, Let's go." At these words, the three men blurred. In their place stood 3 massive, fur covered beasts, each with the head of a wolf, but standing upon two legs. "Big alpha's on the prowl," said the woman, just before she underwent her own transformation, turning into a smaller, all white version of the others. In unison, they dropped to all fours. Not long afterwards the den stood empty. *** In Fairetown, the four asked around for Simon, showing people their scry. Their questioning led them, late in the evening, to The second floor of the Dancing Turtle inn, where Wolf questioned an innkeeper thrilled to help Wolf the Bounty Picker Upper. "You're sure this is Simon's room?" Wolf asked. "He uses a different name, Mr. Wolf, but he sure do match the scry you showed me. He appeared a couple days ago and replaced a right pretty thing." "And he's in there now?" "Yeppers, saw him return with my own three eyes." "Very well, do you have a spare key?" "Oh, we don't use keys, Mr. Wolf." "Do you give me permission to enter the room?" "Me?" "Yes, you. Makes it legal for me to enter and look." "Wow, can I watch? I mean sure thing, Mr. Wolf Sir." "You can watch, but stand back and don't get in the way. Ready, Treehand? Ready, Tongueblood?" At their matched nods, he balled his hand into a fist and pounded on the door. "Simon Unkler, I know you're in there." In answer, they heard a startled shout. "Whaa..." All the cue Wolf needed, he said, "Get him." With this, the other two men burst through the door, cudgels in hand. There they found their target, groggily waking from a sleep, clad only in his drawers. Without hesitation, they yanked him off the bed, threw him to the ground, and kneeled above him with their weapons held threateningly over head. This ended the man's struggles, instead he yelled, "Don't mace me! Don't mace me!" At this surrender, they each grabbed an arm and lifted him to his feet. While they tied his wrists together, Wolf said, "You didn't think you could escape me, did you Simon?" "Who are you? Wait, I'm not Simon. I'm..." "You're telling me this isn't you, Motherpupper?" Wolf asked, the scry thrust in front of his prisoner. "See it's like this." He did not get any further before an older woman, dressed in a nightgown, entered the room and querulously asked, "What's going on here?" Liz moved towards her and said, "None of your business." "But he's my employee." "Madam, you're going to have to leave, you're interfering with the sanctioned bond collection of Simon Unkler and I'm not going to let you take food away from my children." "Your children? What are you talking about?" "Listen, bi..." "No, you listen to me, that is not Simon Unkler. That is my bodyguard, Manny kin Nichino." Sergeant Unkler: Once again Manny found himself cast adrift by his employer. Andy's reigns in hand, he walked away from the Sisterhood of Seamstrist's tent within the Everlong Faire grounds, Maude's locale for the next three weeks while its regular proprietress partook in the annual Extreme Cheese Wheel Rollathon from Madron to Lisbid. With everything unloaded, a task simplified by the witch's walking trunks, he soon dispatched the wagon and auroch, the first to the guarded area at the Faire's edge and the other into the hands of the Faire's herdsmen. Now, with his employer's gentle suggestion to entertain himself in mind, Manny wandered the faire, seeing much of interest, but with a nearly empty purse he withstood temptation. Not that he planned to stop, for amongst the many strange sights and beings at the Faire, he stood out amongst the strangest. Even with his robe, he drew stares, be they surprise, lust, or envy. True, trapped as a bigxie for weeks, Manny found himself less bothered by the attention, but it still owned the power of frustration. He kept moving, ignoring both vendors who hawked their wares and side stepping those of the male species overly impressed with themselves. Not long after avoiding an entire pack of such creatures, he noticed a cloaked man skulk into a tent. The way the man's eyes darted about, lingering on nothing, even the bigxie in the street, initially drew Manny's attention. But what held it were the familiar mannerisms. The way the man walked, even his shape. Manny felt sure he saw Sergeant Unkler, who once served as quartermaster in the Beige Baron's regiment. And though never bosom companions, the man often chose Manny's squad to protect him during his regiment appointed ventures. Almost he followed the man into the drinking tent, but stopped himself. Yet at the end the lane, he turned back the way he came, peeking inside to see the sergeant by himself at the back. Manny continued onward, but the hint of the idea took hold and tossed aside potential embarrassments for the chance to regain some normalcy in his life. Therefore, midway through his fourth trip along the lane, he entered the tent and approached the watching man. A smile came across the sergeant's face, one Manny suspected explained the man's success with woman, something the rest of the regiment envied. "I was not planning on buying anything, but you may be able to change my mind, Gorgeous." "Sergeant Unkler, I'm Manny kin Nichino. From the regiment." For years, Sergeant Unkler kept the regiment well fed and equipped, because he did not easily surprise. This situation proved no different, he allowed an appreciative eye to run over Manny's form, barely hidden by the fitted robe, before he said, "I think I would have known if someone looking like you was in the regiment. However, Corporal Nichino was a rather large, foreboding fellow." Manny searched his mind for a memory to convince Unkler. "Honest, Sergeant, it's me. Remember the campaign between the Counts of Dalodone and Tekmag. How when one of our patrol's stumbled upon the Countess of Dalodone, the Baron ransomed her off without telling the Tekmageans. Well my squad guarded her tent the night before the hand over and I know you received a reward that didn't fit within the regiment's coffers." "Ahh, Nichino, I knew I could rely on your silence, you always were the solid sort. How in the name of all that is holy did you find yourself so...ummm...spectacular." Manny waved off an approaching barmaid and took a seat across from the man. In a soft voice, the former corporal explained his adventures in the Land Beyond. Finished, he waited for the other to express his disbelief. "So, I'm guessing you're hoping to borrow my image?" "Well, I..." "I don't know, Corporal. How would it look if you got in trouble while looking like me?" "Oh, I wouldn't do anything like that, Sergeant." Unkler nodded his head. "No, you're not the type." *** Locked in the main holding pen of Fairetown's gaol, with the pick pockets, drunks, and rowdies common at Everlong Faire, Manny alternated between glaring at the riff raff and cursing himself for an idiot. Why let Unkler disarm him with the comment about causing trouble? Everybody, including the two men, knew Manny may not be the type to do so, but the same could not be said for the sergeant. And why did no alarm trigger when the man met him at Maude's tent without asking for anything in return? The sergeant was an asshole. Everybody in the regiment knew that, but accepted it because he was their asshole. But the regiment no longer existed and Manny should have remembered the Baron controlled his problem children through the constant threat of Lieutenant Finkle, who relished an earned reputation as a vicious killer. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Manny said. "Shut up, git," the nearest man, a scrawny thief, snarled. Despite being a softy, Manny knew you needed to be hard in hard places; therefore, he only stared, until the man looked away. For though Unkler could not cast as foreboding figure as Manny's true form, he could cow most scrawny thieves. What sucked the most, the last couple days were pure joy. Though grown used to life as a bigxie, as a female, even enjoyed it a time or two, it never felt right. Returned to male hood, he felt more himself, so much so that a smile never left his face, at least until the bounty picker uppers burst through his door. A smile he tried upon more than a few pretty maidens, hoping to build enough confidence to see where their answering smiles may lead. Now he wouldn't get the chance. Once more Manny wondered about Sergeant Unkler's crime. He guessed a minor offense, otherwise they would not place him in the common cell. Besides he need not worry, surely he could convince the authorities they held the wrong man. Maude told him that everybody new about shape changing in the Land Beyond. Maude. Her actions of the prior night, her ferociousness when confronting the pack of bounty hunters, made him smile. Only her presence stopped them from bundling him out of Fairetown before anybody knew. Instead she forced them to hand him over to the town's authorities. Furthermore, she also convinced them to let him dress, which after spending time in the cold pen further increased his gratitude. Gaolty ______ While wondering if he would ever fall asleep, three gaol keepers appeared at the gate to the holding pen, where one shouted. "Simon Unkler! Simon Unkler to the gate." Looking out a barred window to see it still dark, he hoped their early arrival meant they planned to set him free. But that did not explain why they called him by the sergeant's name. Realizing an answer waited, he moved toward the gate. The gaol keeper in charge, a bald headed man larger than Manny's true self, opened the door, while the second shackled Manny. The three then escorted him into a long hall, past numerous doors, until they came to a stop. The bald gaol keeper said, "Inside." "Yes, Sir." Hesitantly, he stepped into the small room, where Maude waited. "Maude, you're here!" "Did you doubt me, Manny?" she asked. For the first time since the ordeal had begun, Manny smiled. "Actually, I never did. Thank you." She offered a smile in return. "Of course. But we have little time for pleasantries, let me introduce you to your lawyer, Barrister Ashley Ashtonson." Manny only stared, not with the glower offered the thief in the pen, but with the wonder so often experienced since he crossed the Bridge of Happening. For there stood, on short, stumpy, root like legs, a man tree, with leaves for hair above a face etched into the trunk. "You're a lawyer?" "Why wouldn't I be?" The ent asked, his voice a deep, melodious timbre. "There is no reason an ashent cannot be a lawyer, justice doesn't only matter to oakents." As his voice rose, Manny hurried to apologize. "No, no, I'm sorry. It isn't because you're an, ashent was it? I know nothing about, umm, ashents." "Ahh, forgive me. Aren't I the one, jumping to conclusions. So you're not like my family, believing nobody likes a wise ash?" "What's wrong with a wise ash?" "Exactly. That's what I asked my parents when they tried to void my scholarship to law school. They don't understand I have a calling, instead they want me to leave my practise and join the family's interpretive dance troupe." "Umm, well I'm happy to have your help. What type of pickle has Sergeant Unkler gotten me into? "Yes, yes, let us focus upon the now. It, not the past, is what is important. Fortunately it is only a contract issue, instead of a crime. Unfortunately, the other party in the contract is quite powerful, the Duchess of Were." "Where?" "Exactly." "No, Duchess of where?" Before this could get out of hand, Maude interrupted and said, "Manny, not where, but were as in were-wolves, were-ponies, and such." "Ahh, weres are real? I guess this is the Land Beyond. So how did he rip her off?" "Apparently your Sergeant Unkler was to marry the Duchess, but he disappeared before the wedding. Her people hope to have him, well now you, extradited back to Angharee, the Ducal Seat." Manny said, "That doesn't sound right, the sergeant often spoke about finding some rich woman to look after him." "He probably learned the Duchess is a were-spider, like her mother. The Grove knows there are enough ghastly rumours about her father's demise, nearly nine months before she was born." Manny's eyes widened. "They're going to make me marry a spider! Uh-buh- uh-whu..." "Not if I can help it, I see no reason why we cannot prove you are yourself, not Simon Unkler. Though it would be best not to look like him." As eager as he turned into Unkler, Manny felt even more eager to rid himself of the man's form. Therefore, he hurried to stand in front of the mirror. He said, "Maybe Liriel, Maude? She's so innocent looking." "Not a good idea, Manny. It was in Fairetown she found out about her cheating boyfriend. Dealing with the fallout is what brought Ashley and myself together the first time." The ashent would have nodded his head at this, except for the whole no neck thing, instead he said, "I agree, Liriel is not a good choice. She left a rather large black mark behind when she vanished from town. Maude mentioned you are usually what she called a bigxie, that is best." Flicking through the different images, Maude found the pink-armoured bigxie image. Almost normal now, the change came quickly, marked only by the clang of metal as the shackles slipped from suddenly thinner wrists and fell to the floor. "Oh, we can't have that. Don't want to look like you are trying to escape," At these words, Ashley gracefully moved to the door and opened it to the distrustful stare of the large gaol keeper and he asked. "Excuse me, your shackles fell off, can you come put them back on." Their rush inside, momentary bottle necked at the door, come to a sudden stop when the three men spotted the transformed prisoner. Gaping and drooling ensued before the leader's wits returned. "Hey, what's going on here? Where's the prisoner? And who's she?" "They're one and the same, officer. My client had been transformed and we felt it best to return her to her normal appearance before court." "Umm, but, umm, okay. Let's see about those shackles," The large gaol keeper said, as he knelt to pick them up, stopped for a moment to admire Manny from the new angle, he reluctantly rose to place the shackles around the prisoner's outstretched arms. CLANG!! "Damn it, they don't fit. We'll need to get another pair." "I won't try to escape." Now Manny's voice held none of the vamp, which humbled Sir Steve, he just spoke in that sultry voice Maude gave him early in their journey. Yet the gaol keepers were not tempered in the same fire of righteousness as the paladin, which meant one swayed, another's knees buckled, and the bald one gulped nervously. "Ahhh, okay?" Ashley saved them from further thought, when he said, "Maybe we should head to the courtroom, officers." "Alrighty then." "So early?" Manny asked. "It's not yet morning." Ashley answered, "We, in Fairetown, pride ourselves on our justice system. All those arrested during the night have the right to see a judge before the morning dew is burned away." The seven of them - three guards, a seamstress, her mirror, the ashent lawyer, and the bigxie prisoner - left the room and walked down the hallway into a large waiting room, which held a number of guards and prisoners, most of whom suddenly found themselves distracted by their admiration for the colour pink. While they waited, Ashley asked the gaol keeper. "Who's sitting?" "Judge Rock." Smiling at the news, Ashley led them to the side where they waited in silence. Finally the gaol keepers, at some unseen signal, led them into a small courtroom, similar to most of its kind, with two desks at the front. Behind the lower stood a plump, dark skinned man, while behind the higher and larger desk sat a tall, thin man, idly shuffling a deck of cards. A merry twinkle in his eyes, the thin man's gaze darted from face to face. Stopping on Manny, he grinned mischievously and asked, "What do we have, Zac?" The man at the lower desk read from a sheet of parchment. "It is a 223- B, Your Honour." "Flying while under the influence?" "No, Your Honour, it is an extradition request from the Duchy of Were for one Simon Unkler." "For what dastardly deed is Simon Unkler wanted?" "A breech of contract." "And where is he?" the judge asked. "I would ask the same." Everybody turned to see an impeccably dressed middle-aged man, his salt and pepper hair coiffed to perfection, enter through the main door. Strolling forward, he said, "Your Honour, allow me to introduce myself. I am Phillip del Fia, Court Advocate to the Duchess of Were. When we learned her betrothed had been found, she dispatched me to see to his speedy return. However, I do not see him?" Ashley said, "If I may, Your Honour?" "Ahh, Barrister Ashtonson, can you clear up this mystery?" "Yes, Your Honour. You see it is a matter of mistaken identity," Ashley said. "My client, Manny kin Nichino, was transformed to appear as this Unkler. While transformed, the bounty picker upper Wolf took her into custody." del Fia said, "That seems rather convenient." Judge Stone agreed. "Yes it does, can you prove what you say?" "We can, Your Honour. Seamstrist Maude Zbornak, who is my client's employer, performed the transformation with her mirror, which registered all changes. The truth can be confirmed easily enough." "Zac?" "On it, Your Honour," The clerk said, rummaging around in his desk to find a large scroll wrapped mostly around the bottom of its two wooden rollers. Holding it before him, Zac chanted, "Manny, Manny, bo banny, Banana fana fo fanny, Fe fi mo anny, Manny!" At these words the scroll, well, scrolled from the thick to thin roll, stopping when each neared the same thickness. Now scrolling it manually Zac began said, "Anderson ... Duckles ... Jornigen ... ahh, here it is, kin Nichino. Well there's a recognizable name and that too. Your Honour, it is as Barrister Ashtonson said, Manny kin Nichino was transformed into Simon Unkler three afternoons ago." "Very well, I guess it's case dis..." The duchess's advocate interrupted both the judge's words and swinging gavel, to say, "Excuse me, Your Honour, I would bring to your attention the case of Ticolodin vs the Principality of Desolence." "Eh?" "In it, the Court of Desolence, determined in willingly taking upon the form of another, the transformed may also takes upon the debts of the form." "I see." "Your Honour, the Court of Desolence holds no jurisdiction within Fairetown," Ashley stated, in protest. "True, but it's rulings are highly respected, it may be a good idea to bump it up to a higher court." "The courts of Angharee are at your disposal, Your Honour," del Fia volunteered. "And my client would get a fair trial from twelve Angharee men?" "Of course." "Thank you for your offer, Advocate del Fia, but Fairetown can manage on its own. What's available, Zacadamian?" "There's an opening in five days, shall I book it?" "Counselors?" Judge Stone questioned. Upon receiving two affirmatives, he asked, "Anything else?" "I expect my client will be free until that time, Your Honour?" "I would hope not, Your Honour. We know she is friends with a known runner. Plus she is obvious a flight risk." A boyish grin appeared on the judge's face as he said, "I understand your concern, Advocate del Fia. However, Miss Nichino has currently done nothing for which I can detain her." "Your Honour..." Ashley interrupted his opponent's protests, to say, "Your Honour, my client will give her oath that she will not flee before her trail." Concerned less by the frequent uses of hers, shes, and misses than the possibility of returning to the gaol, Manny eagerly nodded agreement. Distracted by the resulting bounce and sway of ... of ... of ... yeah, that's it ... of long blond hair, Judge Rock took a moment to say, "That would work. Do you so swear, Miss Nichino?" "I swear, Your Honour." Noticing the dazzled manner in which the judge gazed upon Manny, Phillip del Fia plotted the next move in his legal dance. Although nary a twirled mustache provided a hint to his thoughts. Monitor ______ The outcome in Judge Rock's courtroom raised some questions in Ashley's mind, which led the barrister to scurry further into the courts to research the trial del Fia raised as precedence. Meanwhile, Maude guided her guard back to their inn, leaving him with orders to get some sleep and to not leave his room. Rankled by the orders, he changed out of his armour into his nightgown, lay upon the bed, and thought about the trouble in which he continued to find himself. Fortunately skills developed as a soldier allowed him to bury his worries beneath slumber. Slumber broken once more by the sound of a knock on the door. Shocked awake, Manny leapt into the air, his wings blurring to hold him aloft. This time the door did not burst open. Flitting to the door, he settled upon the floor, and asked, "Who is it?" "Auxiliary Gaol Keeper Ruck Ankiel." "What do you want? I thought I was free to go?" "I'm not here to arrest you, I'm your monitor." "What?" "Your monitor. The court assigned me to watch over you." Lack of sleep, anger at Unkler's schemes, annoyance with his entire girlification in the Land Beyond combined in a frustration that made Manny yank open the door and snarl, "I said I wouldn't run." But he saw nobody. "Down here, Toots." Few know of the Island of Tontimtona, in the Sea of Pokato, but those who do, know it has little to recommend it as a place for a ship to stop. Sure, it could serve as the setting for Paradise, but so could the hundreds of other islands that surrounded it. However, Tontimtona did have the Hole of Meleguhle, so named by the people of the island in honour of the great sea tortoises that swam out of the sea and marched there to die. After many centuries, this left the hole filled with a rich dirt, flecked with broken-up tortoiseshell. Dirt the witch doctors of the island used for everything from poultices to the lustrous dyes that offered the one reason for traders to stop. Dyes produced by the most experienced witch doctors, requiring most of a life's learning before one would even be allowed to harvest from the hole, never mind perform the secret ritual to create the dye. A ritual that brought together all skills learned after children proved their worth to walk the path of the witch doctor. Proof that required a child to pass the Test of the Wawkini, where they crafted the Wawkini paste used by the people's warriors to cover themselves before night raids upon neighbouring islands. A paste they believed made them invisible to all but the Moon Goddess, Alice, and which mostly consisted of the droppings of seagulls. Now if you've ever spent time in the study of seagull droppings, and really who hasn't, you know that like snowflakes, no two are the same. Nor do two sets of droppings react consistently with the other ingredients in Wawkini paste; palm fronds, ground up barracuda, silt from the bottom of the sea, and saffron. Which explained why only those whose spirits were rich in chlorimidians (amazingly enough, usually children of witch doctor families) could pass the Test of the Wawkini and begin the long years of study to obtain their witch doctorate. Regardless of success or failure, the paste invariably ended up a putrid grey green colour. Manny did not count amongst those who knew about the Island of Tontimtona, nor even the Sea of Pokato, so of course he knew nothing about Wawkini Paste. But if he did, he surely would think the rough hide of the giant lizard, which waited in the hallway, matched the colours of that paste. However, unaware of the comparison, he just thought the putrid grey green colour, marked with tens of scars, provided only one reasons to make the beast horrifying. For it stood, almost as high as his knees, on four viscously clawed feet, its tail, longer than its body, drooping through the railing of the upper floor, while hundreds, maybe thousands, of serrated teeth shared a mouth with blood tinged drool. Barely did Manny stop himself from shrieking and leaping into the air, but curiosity about the an eye-patch the lizard wore over its right eye made things more a mystery. For it showed the same patch found on the chests of the gaol keepers, a sad jester looking out through four bars. Looking at Manny, the lizard scooched forward and rose upright upon its hind legs. Ignoring the resulting, unstoppable bigxie shriek and leap, Ruck's dexterous claws worked the buckles of a pouch strapped to his torso and removed a piece of parchment. This he held towards Manny and said, "A note of explanation from your barrister." Nervously reaching out, fearing the loss of a hand, Manny took the offering, unfolding it to read: Dear Manny, After you left, del Fia arranged an appearance before Judge Wilco Wilcoxovich, with whom he went to law school. This resulted in an arrangement for you to be monitored. I have filed a protest, but for now you will need to accept Ankiel's presence. Sincerely, Ashley Ashtonson, BL "I'm not going anywhere, Maude told me to wait in my room." "That's great, still I'm to stick to you like a worm to the ground. Well not figuratively, I'm not covered in the tasty slime that coats a worm." About then Manny realized he stood in the doorway wearing nothing more than his nightgown, the one gifted to him by Nikki, the one which Maude steadfastly refused to replace, a naughty smile appearing on her face whenever he asked. With his recent luck, he felt surprise that hall remained empty of everyone but Ruck; however, not wishing to further tempt fate, he said, "Umm...okay. I guess you may as well come in." Once Ruck entered, Manny closed the door. Hands upon hips, he looked down at the lizard, who in turn looked up at him, and asked, "So how does this work?" Ruck answered, "Well you do whatever you usually do, while I watch to ensure what you usually do does not involve leaving Fairetown." "And if I do try to leave." "Well I run fast and have lots of teeth, you can find out what that means if you want. No skin off my snout." "I can fly." "So I see, which is why they picked me to be your monitor, see I'm a were-dragon." "A what?" "Were-dragon." "But..." "Why would I stay a lizard, if I could be a glorious dragon? You wouldn't ask if you knew the size of my appetite when I'm in dragon form, couldn't afford to keep myself fed on a civil servant's wage without the backing of mommy or daddy's hoard." "I was going to say, doesn't there need to be a full moon for you to turn into a dragon." "With you there'll always be a full moon overhead, true maybe hidden by a pink silken cloud, but its there none-the-less." It took a moment before Manny figured it out. When he did, he tried to pull the nearly transparent skirts of his nightgown lower, blushed a pink to match that silken cloud, and shouted. "Hey!" "Don't worry, Toots, you're not my type. Though hearing the guys talk about you in the wardroom today, I may be alone in that." "My name's Manny." "Sure thing, Toots." "Don't call...ahh, never mind. So about the full moon." "During the day the moon looks forward to make sure she doesn't run into a star while we chase her through the heavens. But she's still there, we just can't see her. Then during the night she looks back to ensure we still follow, offering a stare, a wink, or a glower. Regardless, the moon is always full, so I can go were whenever, if ever, you attempt to escape." "You're going to be bored, I can't leave the inn." "I'm a lizard, we live to be bored. Now if there's no further questions, why don't you get back to what you were doing, sleep apparently, and I will join you. Whoops, that didn't come out quite right, you sleep on the bed, I'll sleep in front of the door, since the window's too small for you to squeeze through." Sleep did offer an escape from life's insanity, so Manny climbed once more under his blanket, while Ruck put action to words and lay in front of the door. Both had nearly succumbed when another worry popped into Manny's mind. "Hey!" "Now what?" "If you're a were, how do I know you're not in cahoots with the Duchess of Were to kidnap me like that Wolf guy?" "She's only the duchess of weres there in Were, not weres here or not in Were. Besides the weres in Were don't like beast-weres like me. They think they're the true weres and their agents are always here and they're trying to get weres not in Were in trouble with their neighbours. I don't like Were weres." Hearing the conviction in Ruck's words, Manny said, "That makes sense." Foci Group _________ Late afternoon found Manny awake, Ruck proving that bigxies were not his type when he did little more than temporarily open his single eye while his charge changed into pink armour. However, once dressed Manny mentioned his hunger. Immediately Ruck awoke, willing to head down to the common area for a meal. They bonded while demanding the innkeeper, whom Manny had not forgiven for the bounty hunters raid, feed the lizard raw meet. The man's sullen acceptance almost made up for watching Ruck eat. Their meal finished, the two discussed what they could do until a young scruffian entered the inn, ducked under the outstretched hands of the innkeeper, and dashed to their table, where he asked, "Are you Manny kin Nichino?" "No, I'm Ruck Ankiel." "Not you, silly, the pretty lady with wings. Hey, you're a talkin' lizard." Knowing boys would find a talking lizard more interesting than a pretty lady with wings, Manny said, "I'm Manny, why are you looking for me?" Not taking his eyes off Ruck, the boy said, "The witch sent me." "Maude?" "I don't know her name, but she's the one in the Sisterh'd tent. She said I was to get you to come visit and to bring her something to eat." "Now?" The boy turned his gaze to Manny to answer, "Yep and she said you would give me a fairething when I delivered the message." "An entire fairething, that is generous of her. Maybe we should check with her first." "Did I say a fairething, I meant a quarter-fairething." Deeming that reasonable, Manny took a coin from his purse and tossed it to the boy. Who, in turn, looked back at Ruck, just in time to see the lizard's tongue whip out to catch a fly. Wide-eyed the boy stared until Ruck winked at him, which caused the boy to laugh before he dashed out the same way in which he arrived. Manny asked, "Can I go to Maude's tent?" "Yep, we can go anywhere within the boundaries of Fairetown." "Okay, let's go." *** With Maude's lunch in hand, the two began the trek to the faire-grounds. And if a full sized pixie in a snow white robe did not already draw the eye, adding a giant lizard did nothing to minimize the stares. Not that Manny noticed, lost in his thoughts, nor did Ruck care. At the Sister of Seamstrist's tent, they watched a bored Maude eat lunch while she bemoaned the lack of customers. While Manny commiserated with his employer, two ents entered the tent. He recognized Ashley who carried a basket, while thinking the other seemed female. Not because she wore a dress, both ents were as bare barked as the day they sprouted, but because of her long, lush, red foliage of maple leaves, pruned just so. His guess proved correct with Ashley's introductions. "Maybelline this is our client Manny kin Nichino. Manny this is my particular friend, Maybelline L'Ouest, who I retain as image consultant for my clients." "Image consultant?" Manny asked. "Exactly, while Ashley does a formidable job presenting the legalities of his clients's cases, he needs my assistance to ensure they make a good first impression with the jury. For example, you need to portray the innocent, not the temptress." "I am innocent," Manny said. "Yes, that is all well and good, my dear, but your opinion hardly matters in a trial, does it? First; however, I need to speak to Maude for a moment." While the maplent and Seamstrist talked, Manny turned towards his barrister and again asked, "Image consultant?" "She's very good. She served as the head costumer of the Non-Royal Ballet Academy of Beechswutz and now freelances for the musical troupes and acting companies based in Fairetown. That's when she not offering this special skill to the community's defenders. Besides I like when she's around." An owner of more than a few past infatuations, Manny said nothing, instead he watched as Maybelline removed small crystal pyramids from the basket. Seeing Maude's excitement, Manny asked his barrister what they were doing. "Maybelline captured the essence of many of Fairetown citizens into each crystal foci. When grouped together, she can divine how a defendant should present themselves to a jury of similar citizens." "So this foci group will make the jury realize I'm innocent?" "Not quite, Manny, the courts do not tolerate such magic. Better to say it seeks to ensure no juror takes an immediate dislike towards you." As the two talked, the maplent placed the fist sized foci in a circle upon the tent's floor. Then she took the last large, crystal pyramid from the basket and tossed it in the air. But it did not fall, instead it hovered, just below the tent's peak, in the middle of the circle. "Manny could you stand in the middle of the circle?" Maybelline asked. With a smile of reassurance from Maude, Manny moved forward, his wings momentarily blurring as he hopped over the circle of pyramids. He watched as Maybelline stretched her limbs to the side and said, "Lights! Come on! Action!" Manny found himself inside a strange rainbow. Each of the nearly thirty pyramids shot a beam of coloured light, upwards in a pyramid above his head. In their current incarnation a third of the beams showed red, a third blue, and a third green, which coalesced into a dark grey, almost black, shadow that grasped him in its embrace. From outside this veil came Ruck's voice. "That better not be a teleport device." "Eeek, a giant lizard!" "Worry not, Maybelline," Ashley said. "That's Ruck Ankiel, he's Manny's court appointed monitor." "Once more, or this tent is going full dragon, is that a teleport device?" "No, Lizter Ankiel, it's an Attitudinal Divination Devise. And right now it has divined a third of the potential jurors, those who shine red, will look unkindly upon Miss kin Nichino. If possible we seek to turn the reds and blues to green, but at a minimum want all reds to turn blue." Maude said, "Like I mentioned earlier, I believe Manny could pull off sweet and adorable." Maybelline agreed, "Probably?" "Definitely." "I have a bad feeling about this." "Shush, Manny, you always carp about new clothes." "I liked the suit you gave me at the cab...urk." Jerked into the air by Maude's magic, she cut short his protest. Instantly his armour disappeared into the holding chest, replaced with a blank like those worn when he modeled for the pixie's dresses. With each of these changes, some of the beams of light would changed colour, bathing him in different shades. Yet this proved only the beginning. For as Maude made changes, quick as her thoughts or the image consultant's word, the kaleidoscopic world also changed. First, it distracted him from the ribbons and lace that soon adorned the dress. Then, it distracted him from reality, testing his innate bigxie sense of place, necessary for flying. And even that sense could not combat the spots that appeared in his vision, growing like bubbles in lava until they burst, new ones forming in their wake. Lost in colours, it took a moment to realize he stood upon the ground. He asked, "What did you do to me?" From his right, Maybelline answered, "Step through and see in the looking glass." "I can't see." At this rather plaintive statement Manny felt Maude reach out to take his hand and guide him forward a number of steps. He stood, rubbing his eyes, creating more own bubbles, which burst into clarity. Only his shoes, of pixie manufacture, stiletto heeled and covered in shiny black leather with a buckled strap across his foot, would not be worn by the young daughter of a wealthy family. But above those shoes, his white stockings rose above his knees to disappear beneath the lace trim of multiple underskirts. In turn, all but the trim of the underskirt was hidden beneath the two ruffles of his blue dress, lace and ribbon at the waist, neck and capped sleeves. Manny's immersion in the ADD even left him with a blue ribbon tied in now wavy hair. "I look like a little girl." "Now I'm no expert on human anatomy, since my school couldn't afford cadavers for earth sciences. But I'm fairly sure little girls don't have those big bumps," Ruck said. *** "I wish I could fly," Manny said, in an attempt to distract himself from fiddling with the rose trimmed hem of his white pinafore, which Maude added to keep his dress clean while she made him inventory her bottomless button chest. "If you buy me a cow, I'll let you fly." "A cow, Ruck? Why" "Simple. If you fly, I have to fly. If I have to fly, I need to become an extremely handsome dragon. If I become an extremely handsome dragon, I will become real hungry and need to eat a cow. And the authorities will only redeem my cow expenses if it results from my foiling an escape. So unless you're going to attempt escape, you need to buy me a cow to eat before we go flying." "I'm not going to escape, specially now we're at the court house." "That's when many criminals decide the gig is up and make a desperate run for it." "I'm not a criminal." Manny's protest held less than total conviction. For how could he be sure of anything while he looked like a goddess, dressed as grammy's special girl, and held a conversation with a giant lizard. Sometimes he expected to wake from a dream at his parents. Or, more likely, in the middle of the Beige Baron's camp, feverish because the cooks used the wrong mushrooms in the stew. However, he did not wake, instead the strangeness increased when he spotted Ashley, in a black robe and with a white wig atop his leaves. Ruck said, "I'll leave you with your barrister. Meanwhile, I'm off the wardroom, the guy's will be so envious I got to see you naked." "Hey, I thought I wasn't your type?" "You're not. But I know a couple of horn dogs who'll buy me lunch based on what I saw. Good luck and see you later, Toots. Unless of course the judge sends the weres home or you to the Were home. In which case, glad to have met you." "Thanks, Ruck." Manny hurried towards the ent, who offered a confident smile and said, "Don't look so worried, Manny. Advocate del Fia is the one with the tough job, not us." Heartened somewhat by those words, he still worried del Fia seemed well equipped to handle tough jobs. Yet he did not put his fears into words, instead he put on a brave face as the two entered the courthouse. Following Ashley up a couple of flights of stairs, they walked through a crowd of misfits into the higher court where his case would be heard. Inside, they found a courtroom similar to Judge Rock's, though this judge's desk seemed carved from stone and the room held seats for spectators, all of which sat empty. The administrating clerk, a viscous looking orc, pointed to the right table, closest to the jury box. They settled into place just as a silent del Fia arrived to sit at the other table. With both parties arrived, the clerk knocked on a door at the front the room. Through it a second orc appeared, almost a twin of the first, though wearing a gaol-keeper's uniform. While the clerk returned to the small desk, the bailiff marched between the two parties, towards the room's main entrance. Opening the door, he stuck his head out, and yelled, "Hey, you lot, come in and find a seat." While the bailiff returned to stand to the side of the judge's desk, Manny asked Ashley why there was an audience. "Those aren't spectators, they're the jury pool." "Them?" Manny asked, more than a bit worried this group would choose his fate. "Do we need to have a jury?" "It's okay, Manny, Maybelline's foci were based upon this group. After all, nobody else has time to serve on juries." Once everyone found a seat, the orcs exchanged a look, the bailiff cleared his throat and said, "Everybody rise. Rise I say. Good. Raise your left hand and your right hand. Now bring them together to welcome the Bringer of Light, the Terror of the Dark, the One, the Only, Justice Bufort T. Bonecrusher." The potential jurors clapped, applause that turned feverish when an explosion of flame and smoke appeared at the door from which the bailiff entered. The door through which ducked a figure out of a nightmare. Massive and ugly, skin warted green, with fangs almost to his eyes and below his chin. Yet the ogre wore a robe and wig similar to both lawyers. Basking in the applause, he stared with baleful red eyes at both tables. But only for a moment. Suddenly, the judge spun in place, coming to a stop with a finger pointed towards del Fia. He then began to sing in a soulful and powerful voice. What you want, plaintiff, I got What's you need? You know I got it. All you're askin' is for a little justice in my courtroom. Hey plaintiff, in my courtroom, plaintiff. The clerk and the bailiff moved to flank him, singing background, jiving to the left with a clap, then to the right. All the invitation the audience needed to clap along, as the judge continued to sing. J U S T I C E Find out what it means to me J U S T I C E And to all of thee Spinning, his robe flaring around him, the Judge Bonecrusher now pointed towards Manny I ain't gonna do you wrong, defendant I ain't gonna do you wrong because I don't wanna All you're askin' is for a little justice in my courtroom. Hey accused, in my courtroom, listen. J U S T I C E Find out what it means to me J U S T I C E< And to all of thee All you want, ooh yeah, is a little justice Yeah, plaintiff, a little justice Oh accused, just some justice Twirling once more, the judge moonwalked towards his desk, stopping to face the appreciative jurors and stunned plaintiff and defendant. While he did this the bailiff and clerk alternated pointing at the two tables, first with their right arms, then their left. The entire time, repeating the refrain judgment for you judgment for you judgment for you judgment for you ... Judge Bonecrusher raised his massively muscled arms slowly towards the sky and sang the last line of his introduction, dragging out the final note long past a normal human or an abnormal diva would have been winded. Oooh, you want a little justice. Finally, he grew silent, dropped his arms, and sat behind his desk. All the signal required for the potential jurors to break out in rapturous applause. Only after he decided they honoured him enough did Judge Bonecrusher say, "Please be seated. The jury selection of the The Duchy of Were versus Manny kin Nichino will now begin." The applause died out beneath the shuffle of chairs as everybody took his seat. The judge looked at the clerk and pointed his ears towards the seats behind the tables. At this gesture, the clerk moved amongst the crowd, handing out small shingles of wood, This task complete, Justice Bonecrusher said, "I welcome the potential jurors to my court, sixty two citizens here to do Fairetown proud as you perform kind of a sacred duty. However, we understand lesser beings such as yourself are poor, which means you will receive three fairethings for this morning's choosing. If chosen as a juror, you will receive a further three fairethings each additional session." This statement set off a number of the potential jurors. "Pick me!" "No, pick me!" "They're not going to kick Freddy-boy out of the pub tonight." "Woah, man, I have fingers." "I need money to feed my cats." "Order! Order in the Court!" The judge roared, pulling a battlehammer from beneath his robe and waving it above his head, eyes turning a deeper red as he prepared for a rampage. Into the silence engendered, the bailiff said, "I'll have a pastrami on rye, hold the pickle." The judge burst into laughter, pounding his hammer onto his sturdy desk as he turned a darker green. Finally, he gained control of himself and said, "Brenden, you know that joke gets me every time. Now don't tell it again or I will place you in the Pit of Doom." "Is that the pit with ice cream?" "Yes it is. Maple pecan ice cream." "But I'm allergic to pecans." Brenden said, his ruddy skin turning pale. "Such is the horror of the Pit of Doom. But, anyhoo, back to the jury selection. If you look at the shingle handed to you by my lovely assistant, Jennifer, you will notice a number between one and ninety- seven. If the number called matches the one on your shingle, you will come forward and I will ask you three questions. The lawyers for each party can then propose additional questions, in written format. If I agree the matter is relevant and can read the handwriting, I will ask that question. Note to the lawyers, based on what you heard you can issue sixteen challenges for the following reasons: bias, bat shit craziness, and there's just something about him. However, I will not accept a challenge based upon a person's teeth, smell, or mathematical skills. Everybody understand? Is that a nod or a head shake, Dulcet?" "I have fingers," said a wild haired man, holding up his hands. "Yes you do and I'll take that as a nod. Okay let's get this show underway. Brenden and Jennifer, please start." The former moved to the side of the room where he swept the covering from a set of kettle drums and picked up two mallets, meanwhile the clerk took a bucket from behind her desk. When the bailiff started a steady drum roll, the clerk reached into her bucket, pulled out a shingle, and said, "Number 38, who has number 38, anybody with number 38?" When no one stood, the judge said, "Check you neighbour's numbers. Okay, nobody has 38, try again, Jennifer." "Number 73, who has number 73, anybody with number 73?" When this call again resulted in silence, del Fia stood to ask, "Your Honour, would it not be better to use sixty two shingles, one for each potential juror?" "Well, sure, if you're not interested in building tension." "Ummm, tension?" "Yes tension. It is one of the twenty-two non-foundational pillars upon which I believe the modern court system should be based. Pull another number, Jennifer." "Number 19, who has number 19, anybody with number 19." "Me!" A wizened old fellow shouted, springing from his chair and dashing to the front of the room at the glacial pace allowed by a wonky leg and a cane. "I'm all ready for your questions, Your Honour." "Excellent, what is your favourite colour?" "Still mauve, Your Honour." "Is that a new hairstyle, Lester?" "It is, Your Honour. I were getting a little thin on top, so I thought to myself if I let one side grow long, I could comb it over to keep the sun off the old noggin. Thank you for noticing." "It's quite handsome. Last, If your wagon left Fairetown at noon, traveling five donkey-miles per hour, how long will it take you to get to the Lumber Mill and return?" "Can I stop and wet my whistle at Porky's?" "Of course, both ways if you wish." "Will Lulu be free, when I stop?" "On the way out, but not on the way in." "Eleven hours and forty eight minutes." "Thank you, Lester. Does either attorney have additional questions they would like me to ask?" Ashley said, "I'm good with Lester being a juror, Your Honour." In turn, del Fia looked from the judge to the man. Holding a quill above an ink well, he paused and studied those behind him, he said, "I guess Lester is fine, Your Honour." The two hours that followed often left Manny ready to bang his head on the table. However, del Fia, soon found his bearings and joined in the craziness with great verve. In fact, even after the jury choice and the judge ordered a recess until afternoon, an excited gleam remained in the advocate's eyes. A gleam accompanied by a large grin as he sauntered from the courtroom. His eyes glued to the man's back, Manny said, "He's up to something." Ashley said, "Well he didn't seem to be up to anything this morning. He allowed us to pick the jurors we wanted." "But why would he allow that?" Manny asked. The face of the ent proved expressive as he thought about his client's question, with hope in his voice Ashley said, "Maybe, he was thrown off by Judge Bonecrusher's methods. Or did not notice them gawking at you." However, turning to watch the door close behind advocate, he said, "No, you're definitely right, he's up to something." *** With the jurors chosen, the two found themselves at a booth downstairs, each driven to order a pastrami on rye, which they ate while they contemplated what the advocate from Were held up his sleeve. Those thoughts made them gloomy companions until Maude's boisterous arrival provided a welcome distraction. Soon Manny found himself telling her about the morning, now able to recognized the humour of the session. "But the craziest part occurred when Jennifer, the orc clerk, called number 6. Well these two ladies rushed to the front, the one worried about her cats and a blonde wearing a yellow dress." "June the Cleaver." Ashley said. "What?" "The blonde's name. Don't let her appearance fool you, she spends each winter on her trap-lines, hunting beavers." "Well neither the cat lady nor this June would admit they held a 9 rather than a 6 and before you knew it they started to fight, yanking each other's hair, and carrying on right fierce. This continued until Brendan waded in and separated them, holding each by her collar. del Fia asked us if we wanted to declare both bat shit crazy? We agreed, nor was that the last time we used that challenge. For awhile, I worried there wouldn't be enough people." Ashley said, "Fortunately, most of the Fairetown's Dockworker Brotherhood showed up today. Don't laugh, it may seem crazy to have dock workers when there are no docks, but it's actually a cunning form of lazy." "So the trials ready to start, this afternoon?" Maude asked. "What's going to happen?" "We'll start with opening statements. From there, well it's best not to guess, Justice Bonecrusher runs a rather unorthodox court." "Any more musical numbers?" "Not until tomorrow morning." "I wish I had been there to see it." Manny said, "Surprised the heck out of me." "Surprise is another of the Judge's non-foundational concepts." Ashley said. "However, tardiness is not. We should return to the courtroom." This time the Judge appeared with little fanfare, after the jury of eleven men and one woman took their seats. In fact, he barely seemed awake, obviously the result of a large lunch, some of which clung to his fangs. Pointing a finger towards del Fia, he said, "Let's hear your opening statements, Advocate del Fia." Slowly the Were representative climbed to his feet and moved to stand before the judge. Offering that worthy a bow, he turned towards the jury, placed his right foot forward and raised his right hand in the classical orator's pose, then in a clear, powerful voice spoke. "Lady and Gentlemen of the jury, let me ask you. What is a man? Is it the flesh, the bones, the blood that makes up his body? It cannot be, for I am sure you will agree with me that each of us is much more. We are defined by the relationships we form, the actions we take, and the agreements we make. The memory of these are permanent, surviving long after decay withers away all but our skeletal husk. "Which is why I say, when my excellent colleague points out that his client is not Simon Unkler, your first thought should be that it does not matter. For while we accept that in body they are different people, we will prove that in all important matters they are one. We will show that Manny kin Nichino has a long relationship of working with Simon Unkler. Furthermore we will show that Manny kin Nichino sought out Simon Unkler. And then agreed to become Simon Unkler, while not requiring his friend to make a similar change. "This agreement is what I ask you to hold close while you deliberate upon the matter before you. For just as our friends, our actions, and our words define us. So to do our responsibilities. We are our promises. But can those bind us if we live in a world where a person can change their self to someone else as easy as changing socks? Does this ability not provide the wrongdoer with a perfect escape? For would we not have captured Simon Unkler if Manny kin Nichino did not provide a decoy? Did Manny kin Nichino, in taking Simon's form, not allow the wrongdoer to escape from his responsibilities, from his promises? I say yes that he did. After all, do friends not try to help friends? "And if Manny kin Nichino's actions provided the perfect escape for Simon Unkler from his responsibilities, from his promises, why would friends of other wrongdoers not think they could get away with similar acts? Acts more desperate than the one we consider today. Murder or rape or kidnapping. Do you want people to provide a decoy and then say, but that really isn't me? Of course you do not. "But that is what will happen if we allow Simon Unkler to escape with the help of Manny kin Nichino. People must realize that responsibilities owned and the promises made are part of assuming another's form. "Lady and Gentlemen of the jury, Manny kin Nichino must be held accountable. I thank you." For a moment he held his pose, making eye contact with each juror. Once more he offered a bow to the judge and then returned to his seat, not allowing a look of satisfaction to appear on his face or to spare a single glance for the defendant's table. If he did look, he would find Ashley as inscrutable as a tree and Manny terrified by the sense of the advocate's statement. The smith's son, one-time soldier, current wagon guard and bigxie found himself thinking he should give up and take his medicine. For few would know the Sergeant's ability towards wrongdoing better than he and yet his actions allowed the man to escape. Unfortunately, his memory then began a litany of poor decisions beyond taking the sergeant's form. He thought about his decision to cross the bridge into the Land Beyond. His decision to fight on behalf of the pixies. Or to underestimate the ingenuity of d'wharfs based on their appearance and his ability to fly. Combined together, he realized his decision making ability seemed on par with Good King Chuck of Sandlewood Bay, who cut down the nearby forest of sandlewood in order to cover the nearby bay and make the world's largest dance floor. Therefore, he stayed silent, hoping Ashley's statement would hold the same power as del Fia's. Judge Bonecrusher, who perked up while he listened to the Duchess' advocate, now slumped back into his seat and said, "It'll be a hard act to follow, but it's your turn Barrister Ashtonson." Manny admitted the ashent possessed a surprising grace, which he showed in full as he moved to stand where del Fia previously stood. But unlike the Advocate from Were, Ashley did not possess the same strength and confidence in either his mannerisms or voice. "Lady and Gentlemen of the jury, my colleague has raised an interesting question, what is a man? It is a question I have happily debated many a night over a mug of ale. However, my friends and I never found a satisfactory answer. It is too great a question for the matter before us. Instead we should leave it to philosophers. Today we need to focus on a simpler question. That being, why would you force Manny kin Nichino to live Simon Unkler's life? "Why? Because, for a few days, my client used the man's form? There is no crime in that, as long as the transformation, the parties involved in the transformation, the time of the transformation, and the location of the transformation is registered. And it was, which seems a curious thing to do if the intent behind the change was to create a decoy. For such a registration is immediately available to the public. Here, in Were, in fact everywhere. Further, my client did not hide nor act furtively, my client never even used Unkler's name while in his form. Why? Because Manny kin Nichino never intended to serve as anybody's decoy. Now I admit Simon Unkler' probably intended to use my client as a decoy, but if anybody should be aware that the man is willing to abuse friendship, it should be those from the Duchy of Were. "But the intent of one individual should never provide reason to punish another. Would we punish a landlord for a tenant's crime? Would you feel it fair to receive punishment for a friend's actions? Of course not. Then why would you hold Manny kin Nichino responsible for Simon Unkler's actions? "Lady and Gentlemen of the jury, you should not." It took all of Manny's control not to stand and clap. His doubts about his lawyer faded into the past. Triumphantly he looked towards del Fia, but the advocate did not look concerned. Instead he watched the jury, a smile on his face. This reminded Manny whose opinion mattered in this issue and his gaze swung towards the twelve citizens of Fairetown, none of who watched the ashent, instead all looked over the defendant's head, some with jaws seeking their chests. Once more he followed someone else's, the entire jury's, stare. And who Manny saw, just inside the courtroom, made him understood the dropping of jaws. Beautiful! Gorgeous! Mesmerizing! Stunning! Captivating! So many adjectives, yet all diminished the truth. Despite his own recent experiences, Manny could not stop his eyes from their exploration. Maybe because she invited it, her pose almost demanded worship. Where to start, if not her hair? Like the blackest night above mountains, it crowned her majesty. Long and lustrous, cascading in a wave down one side of her face and chest to play peek-a-boo with dark eyes that drew one into their depths and red lips that promised untold reward to those who accepted the invitation. It proved a difficult task, for Manny, to pull attention from the woman's perfect features, but the effort brought immediate reward. For it allowed him to focus on her body, like one seen only in dreams or in a mirror. A body not quite scandalously garbed in a red dress crafted by a Seamstrist of Maude's skill, for from graceful neck to red tipped fingers and toes not a wrinkle or seam distracted from the lush form covered by a silken caress. He knew he should not gawk, too often the recipient of such lowly attention. But something in the Lady in Red's pose, maybe the way she shone so bright, demanded his and everyone else's attention. With all eyes upon her, the woman stood still a moment longer, smouldering and drawing breath from many in the room. Only then did she move towards the front of the courtroom. Flowing forward, red silk rippling to show the grace of the finest dancers. And though at the end of each step, her delicate sandals did little more than brush the wooden floor, Manny felt each deep in his heart. Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! "Stop that, Brenden!" The judge's command served as the antidote to the woman's spell. People saw the judge glare at a sheepish bailiff, who tried to halt one final stroke of his mallet upon his drum. Thwup! Most allowed themselves only a moment of distraction from the dark haired vision in their mix, but Manny fixated upon the court officers, even more horrible to his newly seared vision. Yet the difference acted as a balm and helped inure him to the new arrival when he again looked. Undaunted at the interrupted spell, confident in her ability to recast it whenever desired, she took two more steps and stopped at the railing to offer a sizzling smile for the jurors. A smile almost matched by del Fia's own, as he stood. Offering her an extravagant bow, he said, "Your Honour, Lady and Gentlemen of the jury, may I please present my liege, Her Grace Cindi, Duchess of Were." We're Screwed if you Don't _______________________ As their party left the courthouse, Ruck kept a wary eye upon the bigxie, ready to spring into action at the first hint of flight. A wise precaution, for Manny quivered, in annoyance, as if he just finished two sticks of candy. Yet the toes of his high-heeled shoes never quite left the ground, because escape would rid him of the needed audience upon whom he could vent his frustrations at the afternoon's events. At the Sisterhood's tent, he exploded. "It's not fair," he said, echoing a complaint heard many times before and since. "Your opening statement was perfect, but do yo