The defense stood once more. “We agree that the kitchen page was not the intended target. We believe the tea being delivered to the sitting room was intended for the crown princess of the Court of Sirena. Our initial theory was that the tea had been poisonedbeforeAlthea arrived.”
My heart stopped. I grabbed Lucas’s arm, and we looked at each other. Others were just as surprised. There were gasps and whispers around the room. I was glad none of them knew I was sitting there.
“What proof do you have?” the judge asked.
“Well, we knew a page would not have been called to delivertea to the healer. It was more likely that, upon delivering it to an empty room, Marikit had decided to sneak a sip of the poisoned tea, having no idea it was tainted. Althea, as she maintains, happened to be in the palace and heard her cries, and she rushed to Marikit’s aid. Our theory made sense.
“But, sir, our initial assumptions were wrong. Because there wasnotrace of poison in the teapot. If Marikit Baluyot died of poison, it was delivered in a different way.”
More gasps from the audience.
“And what way was that?” demanded the judge.
“Beetles. Althea did not poison Marikit Baluyot. She is merely a scapegoat to cover the truth that this kingdom is hiding.” The defense drew a long breath. “Marikit Baluyot was poisoned by a mambabarang.”
This time the room exploded.
“Order! Order!” the judge yelled.
When the crowd settled, the judge stared down the defense. “The Kalahok was disbanded and exiled after the Endless Wars. What proof do you have that a mambabarang caused her death?”
“I call Althea Ramos to serve as her own witness. Althea, please tell the court what you saw.”
Althea stood up and bowed. In a soft, scared voice, she told her story. “I received a note saying to come to the palace and meet the page, who had something for me. When I got to the receiving room, she was confused as to why I was there. There was a pot of tea in the room, but neither of us took some. She said she didn’t call for me. I was about to leave, when all of a sudden, the darkness came out of the walls.”
“Darkness?” the judge said.
“Sudden, and complete. And then when it was over, the girl was lying dead.”
“That is your testimony?”
“It’s what happened. It’s what I saw. I didn’t harm the girl.” Althea sat down.
“Do either of you have any further evidence to present to the court in this case?” the judge asked the prosecution and defense.
“No, sir,” both of them responded.
“In that case, barring any further evidence, this case is concluded, and we will have a verdict in due time.”
The judge sat down. I thought that meant we should leave, but Lucas stopped me when I started to stand. “Aren’t we done?” I asked him.
“No.” He explained, “They will have an answer any minute.”
The team of justices conferred for a while, writing things down, passing papers back and forth. The entire process was baffling to me. They didn’t even leave the room to do this. I added a mental note to do something, anything, about this inherently unfair system of justice.
Suddenly the judge seated in the middle of the row stood. “We have arrived at a conclusion,” he announced. The courtroom quieted down. He waited until all whispering ceased. “Now we shall read the decision.” There was some fumbling among the judges, and then they passed a sheet of parchment down to the middle of the table.
The judge put on his glasses, a pair of narrow, rectangular frames that perched precariously on the tip of his tiny nose. He read over the paper, then proceeded to take notes.
My leg was shaking, and my palms were clammy. Others in theroom were getting impatient, too. They started fidgeting and scooching around in their seats, whispering to one another again. The judge looked up over his glasses as if he was reprimanding some rowdy children.
Althea sat motionless in her chair, shoulders slumped. She stared at the floor in front of her. She was so still, it almost looked like she was sleeping, except every so often, she blinked.
“Ah, yes. Here we are,” the judge said. “Per the rules, regulations, ordinances, and so forth and so on, et cetera, et cetera, concerning the application of laws and bylaws of the great kingdom of Biringan and all of its courts...”
“Oh my god, I wish they would speed it up,” I whispered to Lucas and Nix.
“According to the ancient Book of Justice set forth by our esteemed ancestors and their rightfully anointed kings...”
