CHAPTER 25 – OPENING ARGUMENTS
Mitakahn and his advocates reached the mall of congress, a large circle where the courthouse was one of many halls of law and legislature. They entered the giant stone-clad doors with the same crimson finish and golden outlay as the rest of the courthouse. They walked into the grand hall of honor and found their spot in front as everyone was settling down. This trial was controversial; everyone across the Serengeti wanted to watch, but only the privileged Zepathorum citizens who were first on line to get in and select houses of the Pride by lottery: Arnastes, Casterosi, HyGard, Trenoble, and Ventrilles were able to bear witness. Mitakahn gave a subtle wave to Cipher and Kara, sitting with their families in the stands. Kara tried to smile back at her friend, the prince. Cipher gave nothing in return, but Mitakahn knew that look. His cousin was working something out in his head.
The banners of the state, which all too eerily resembled the Senate’s white cloth with a black globe spiraling down, but with the iconic golden lion sigil of the Pride at the center, were displayed right next to the House Arkenoir and House Borigini banners. The Arkenoir banner had the same lion sigil woven with the finest golden thread over a crimson cloth. A silhouette of Zepathorum’s symmetrical skyline masterfully outlined in royal blue sandwiched between the sigil and the crimson cloth.
The Borigini banner was a simple brown stallion sigil with dunes of sand over a black banner. Anilithyìstad admired it standing proudly in the Zepathorum court. He was immediately hit with the truculent mood of the committee below the banners, a polar opposite of the Pride spirit during the funeral. The opening ceremony was underway. A ritualistic proceeding of rites, praise to the gods, and reading of formalities and obligations required of court conduct. Mitakahn mostly ignored the overbearing ceremony, its regal splendor was causing him to gag. Instead, he admired the architecture of the courthouse.
Mitakahn could not remember ever being in here before. Its smooth, sharp angles of ivory and amber stone gave it great appeal. Sequential ridges along the series of columns in the front and back of the room were wrapped in thick golden ropes and curtains. Long, thin, pale stained windows lined the sides of the courthouse bringing a meager tone of light inside. Flat round windows on the box ceiling created a spotlight for the cast of the trial. At the front of the assembly room, in between two massive statues of lions, were a row of nine elected officials known as the Tribune Prestigent.
The Tribune consisted of the Prestigents, the highest of judges in the kingdom, most of which, deep in Demeter’s pocket. The sad truth was even with all of the tenure and merits these master judges had they were merely puppets put on stage to do the will of the governor, who was the presiding prosecutor for the case. The Tribune Prestigent sat on a lifted bench looking down upon the rest of the courthouse. Next to them was one chair coldly separated from the rest, facing the crowd. Separating the crowd from the Tribune were two tables, hosting on the left, the prosecutor, Demeter, and on the right, the defendant Mitakahn, and his council Galastad and Anilithyìstad; behind them… a small thick wooden gate and the rest of the audience in attendance for the controversial State vs. Prince hearing. A red crimson carpet was rolled out, splitting the house evenly in half until it reached the front doors.
The middle chairperson and appointed Head Prestigent stood up. It was Jirulian, one of Demeter’s stooges from the council meeting. He announced the start of the trial and requested the prosecutor step forth and present the charges. Demeter rose from his seat, walked to the center of the floor and spoke with clear, precise, and most of all, loud words, “The state of Zepathorum, and the Lion Pride charge Prince Mitakahn Arkenoir, second son of the late King Theomitus, with committing false-prophecies, usurpation, attempted demagogy, and blasphemous behavior unfit for a prince.”
“Will the prince please stand,” ordered Jirulian.
Mitakahn stood up with Galastad and Anilithyìstad standing up beside him. “How do you plead?”
“Not guilty on all accounts, your prestige,” answered Galastad. The three of them sat and the hearing was formally underway.
“The Tribune will now hear the governor’s first word.”
Demeter stood up and walked out onto the floor. “Prince Mitakahn has been brought here for one simple reason…and that is to show that no one is above the law. Not even a prince. In these troubled times, people are beginning to falter over where they should put their support and faith. This country has been living in a golden age for many years under the rule of the late King Theomitus and before him, King Benethor the Just. We have not witnessed hard times for a while. When the world was under a great depression, we were miraculously saved from it. When the kingdoms were fighting Border-Wars, the Serengeti was untouched. Thanks to our kings and guardians this kingdom, the Lion Pride Nation, has been allowed to flourish for countless years.”
“Now it seems that times are not so golden. The king has passed away from some unknown illness, and what have his sons done to protect us, his kingdom? Besides, avoiding the throne, they have offered us these telling’s of unsolicited danger and false prophecies. Prince Mitakahn has taken the opportunity, in both his father and brother’s absence, to conjure up a compelling act to put himself in the spotlight.
“He has told us wild stories of impending doom upon our nation. And what is his source for all this speculation? …His dreams!” Demeter paused to add a soft snicker before he continued, “Yes, we all understand that the grieving process is a hard one, and yes, you have our deepest sympathies, but prince, you have forgotten two distinct points in your bereavement…The first of which is, we, the nation of the Lion Kingdom, lost our king too. Theomitus was not just a father to you and prince Axion; he was like a father to all of us too.
“You cannot be so selfish to think that you are the only one affected by this crisis, which leads me to my second point…In your selfish mentality you want us to… volunteer tolerance… And I tell you, no! That is only saved for those who deserve it. You want us to let you slide, let you do what you want, indulge your fantasies, well that is all well and good until you break the law.
“I have here, one of the oldest books in our kingdom, one of the first books of law ever written in accordance with the Kingdom’s commonwealth. This book contains over five hundred laws, most of which we still abide by to this day. And I am going to read only one of them. It is listed as number eighty-eight. ‘To the occurrence of False Prophecy, premonition, or divination: One who comes to the Kingdom and foretells by dreams that which cannot be seen will suffer under the code of law for their idol leadership towards a wrongful path and evil end. Be wary of demagogy, the attempt to gain control and power by influencing the emotions and prejudices of the public. Any conspiracy as such should be seen as espionage and treason and should be condemned to life imprisonment or death.’” This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
The entire courtroom gasped upon hearing Demeter read that last word from the ancient book of laws. There was no getting around it…Mitakahn’s life was at stake.
“…You see ladies and gentlemen. This should be taken very seriously. The State is worried that Prince Mitakahn is using his indulgences as royalty to take advantage of an open throne, to swoop in and take power for himself through coercion of prophecy. And under the evidence of code eighty eight, a law so important it was one of the first hundred codes created for this country, we are told to treat his demagogy and potential espionage as serious as we have to……even if it means a death sentence.…So together, today, as a country united, we will hear testimony, examine evidence, and decide whether this prince’s actions are justified or condemnable…Thank You.”
Demeter walked back to his seat and poured himself a glass of water. Pitchers of water were present at both tables, for both counselors would be doing a great deal of talking throughout the hearing, and the water was to prevent their mouths from getting dry, their throats from getting sore, and their voices from getting hoarse.
It was now time for the prince’s first word. Anilithyìstad was bright red with anger and resentment over Demeter’s distracting speech, contrasting his nephew’s colorless face beside him. He went to stand up, when suddenly Demeter yelled out, “Prestigent, the State wishes to appeal to the co-counsel of the Horse Kingdom in terms of proper kingdom boundaries and appropriate representation.”
“The court agrees with the State-”
PROPER BOUNDARIES!!” screamed out Anilithyìstad, “I’LL SHOW YOU-”
“SILENCE!” screamed Jirulian over Anilithyìstad’s outrage, “Guards! Reprimand the shorider and take that ridiculous banner down.”
“If you take my banner down from these sacred grounds,” Galastad intervened, “I will not stop legal pursuit of all nine of you until every secret on that side of the room is exposed and you have been collectively reduced to nothing.”
“How dare you threaten the Prestigent!?”
“It is okay,” Jirulian mediated, careful not to show the pure terror behind his eyes, “the guard will leave the banner and escort Prince Anilithyìstad out of the courtroom.”
Two guards came forth and restrained Anilithyìstad. He twisted out of their grip, threw one over on top of the other, they both collided into one another and fell onto the floor, and Anilithyìstad rushed for Demeter. Jericho, Anilithion, and Mortikahn intercepted Anilithyìstad’s consuming rage, but not before he was stopped by his nephew’s request, “Uncle! …Please…” begged Mitakahn, now standing, and looking at his rambunctious uncle, still with an emotionless face.
The guards got back up and timidly escorted Anilithyìstad out of the courtroom, to be placed temporarily in the brig for the remainder of the hearing. The Tribune Prestigent asked Jericho, Anilithion, and Mortikahn to also leave the courthouse. They did so without causing a ruckus, in comparison to their captain, the exception being Anilithion nearly tripping over his own two feet in front of half the kingdom. From the stands of the great pride houses Mercinestor whispered to his son. Cipher listened to his father''s words and stood up, attracting the attention of most of the people in the stands, including Kara Ventrilles. Cipher nodded at her then left his spot, approaching the judge.
“You can dismiss the lion’s share of the prince’s co-counsel with technicalities all you want. We will just keep coming to his aid.”
“The state recognizes Cipher Casterosi as the defendant’s co-counsel.”
There was a brief cheer from the crowd before they were quieted. Cipher sat down next to Mitakahn who welcomed him earnestly. Galastad stood up and walked out to where Demeter was just standing. He looked around; first at the Tribune, then at Demeter, and finally at Mitakahn. He went to talk to the judges of the Prestigent, but instead, turned his back on them and addressed the audience, “Governor Demeter talks of espionage, treason, demagogy. What he neglected to include in his opening statement were words like rhetoric and propaganda. You see these words are used to describe the art of twisting the truth. The truth…a right that goes beyond any law, up there with family and honor. And I ask you, I ask all of you…”
“How long have you known the prince? How long have you watched the celebrity lives of Prince Axion and Prince Mitakahn in scrutinizing detail? And how many times have you seen Prince Mitakahn called a liar, get caught lying, or admitted to lying? The answer is never. Mitakahn is one of the most outstanding members of our nation. Less we all forget, this prince is so outstanding…he was the only person in the entire kingdom to be selected for the Knighthood of the Silver Den, the most exclusive school in all of MagnaThora. An endless supply of supporters comes to his aid, proving before our very eyes the caliber of his character. Prince Mitakahn stands before you, his flawless image smeared by the governor because he was so worried about this kingdom’s well-being that he went to the high lords and councilors…and how did they reward his loyalty? They betrayed his trust and convicted him unjustly!”
“Prince Mitakahn has never been guilty of demagogy. Dema means the public, that’s people like you and me, but Mitakahn never went public with his visions. He specifically chose to address the council first. He does not seek power for himself. Sometimes the truth is disguised by propaganda and rhetoric. I urge you all to see through the smoke and mirrors. Because in the end, it does not matter what a Tribune of sycophantic bureaucrats thinks, what matters is what you, the people, think. Our noble prince’s life is in your hands! You call him selfish, when he is really one of the most selfless people I have ever known. He resembles his father in not just looks alone, but in heart.”
Mitakahn stifled the knee-jerk reaction he normally has when people say that about him.
“He has suffered, yes, the defense does not deny that. But to say that he has suffered to the extent of treason is absurd and the same as saying he has suffered to the point of insanity. And, as we can all see, he sits amongst us as sane as ever-”
“And sane people, of course, always dream of the future,” interjected Demeter. Galastad quickly turned around to face the Tribune, “Prestiges!”
“You may proceed, councilor…”
“In conclusion, I say to everyone in this courthouse…You must not cast judgment based on what is said about a person, but rather the character that you know to be at the core of them. If you believe that Prince Mitakahn is so caught up in his suffering that it has twisted his ways to treason and greed, then there is nothing I can do or say to change your mind. But if you believe that this prince is innocent and just trying to protect the home and kingdom that his father left him, then I urge you not to allow him to be punished by a corrupt system. Thank you.” Galastad sat back down and mumbled to himself how his closing could have been stronger.