The Tribunal of Marius de Romanus, Pt. 24

carrie-on-standI decided to leave Natasha up at the box to continue questioning Va’lis so that he’s prepared for every possible question they might throw at him.  As they sworn in Carrie, she seemed strong… undoubtedly gaining some strength from her sister’s encouraging words.  Counselor Windsor stood up but did not approach the witness.

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Couns. Windsor:  “I have nothing for this witness, Chancellors.”

Chancellor O’Connor:  “And why is that, Counselor?”

Couns. Windsor: “She brings nothing useful to our case here today.”

Chancellor Gray: “But you are basing your charges against Mr. Romanus on the fact that she and Mrs. Romanus are, or rather were, rogues.  How is it that she brings nothing to this case?”

Chancellor Grimm: “Counselor Windsor is within her rights.  Duly noted.”  *looks to Counselor Talbot* “Any cross examination from the defense?”

Couns. Talbot: *smiles* “For certain.”

Chancellor Grimm: “Very well then, we’ll hear the cross.”

Couns. Talbot:  *walks over to the stand* “Thank you Miss Parker for coming in here today, I know this is a very difficult thing to do.  Especially for someone of another world.”  *smiles warmly to her*

Miss Parker: *smiles back to David*  “You’re welcomed. Marius is an important part of our lives. I would do anything for him.”

Couns. Talbot:  “Miss Parker, if I may call you that?”

Miss Parker:  “I am actually Mrs. Parker-Perry now.”

Couns. Talbot: “Ahhh yes, you are married aren’t you.  Very well,  Mrs. Parker-Perry,  could you tell us how you came to know the Romanus family?”

Couns. Windsor:  “Objection, relevance.”

Couns. Talbot: “Chancellors, the entire reason we’re here is because of the abduction of Mrs. Romanus and by association Mrs. Perry. How Mrs. Perry came to be involved with my client is relevant to this case.”

Chancellor Grimm: *thinks a bit, then silently confers with his fellow Chancellors*

Chancellor Grimm: *after a long pause*  “You may ask the question as it refers to Mr. Romanus himself.”

Couns. Talbot: *nods* “Mrs. Parker-Perry, how did you come to know my client, Marius de Romanus?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry: *trying to hold back emotion* “I met him after I.. after I was turned.”

Couns. Talbot: “Let’s talk about that, you had been a student of Mr. Razele’s correct?”

Couns. Windsor: “Objection, relevance again.”

Couns. Talbot: “The turning of Mrs. Parker-Perry was one this court should be made aware of. The relevance here being that the prosecutor’s client forced her turning on Mr. Razele when they took him. And when they did, Mr. Razele was bonded to Pandora de Romanus.”

Chancellor Gray:  “Overruled.  I’d like to hear the circumstances of her turning.”

Chancellor Grimm: “I challenge the ruling.  I do not think it is relevant. They can bring a case against them and we would hear it then.”

Chancellor O’Connor:  “I stand with Linda on this.”

Chancellor Grimm: “Vote it.”

Chancellor Grimm:  “Sustained.”

Chancellor Gray:  “Overruled.”

Chancellor O’Connor: “Overruled.”

Chancellor Finley: “Overruled.”

Chancellor Grant:  “Sustained.”

Chancellor McCormick: “Sustained.”

Chancellor Larson: “Overruled.”

Chancellor Grimm:  “Very well then, proceed.”

Couns. Talbot: “As I was saying, you had been a student of Mr. Razele’s correct?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry: “Yes.”

Couns. Talbot: “And you had no idea that he was a vampire?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry: “No.”

Couns. Talbot: “When did you find out that fact?”

Couns. Windsor:  “Objection, ambiguity.”

Couns. Talbot: *clearly annoyed“I’ll re-phrase,  how did you find out that Mr. Razele was a vampire?”

Couns. Windsor: “Objection, relevance.”

Couns. Talbot:  *looking to the Chancellors*  “If I am going to be objected for every question,  we’ll be here all century.  I feel as though Ms. Windsor is trying to stifle this witness’ testimony.” *looks to Counselor Windsor* “Afraid of what she has to say?”

Couns. Windsor: “Cite your relevance, do your job, Mr. Talbot.”

Chancellor Grimm:  “Enough.”

Carrie jumped at the volume of Chancellor Grimm’s voice.  She was not as strong as Merida.  They meant to rattle her, they meant to silence her with a sleuth of objections and to nitpick every single question.  I had to take a different approach.  I would have to testify for her in my citing’s.

Couns. Talbot:  “Mrs. Parker-Perry was made keenly aware that Va’lis was a vampire when the Draconians forced Va’lis to turn his favorite alumni. That’s the story they do not want you to hear Chancellors.”

Chancellor Grimm: “Sustained.”

Chancellor Gray:  “While I agree with Chancellor Grimm on his ruling,  I would like to understand why this was not brought to the Order’s attention prior.”

Couns. Talbot: “Many things are not always brought to the Order’s attention.”

Couns. Windsor:  “So none of it is admissible to this hearing.  If they wish to file a complaint on their own, they should.  No fault of ours that we filed one first.”

Chancellor Grimm:  “Duly noted.  Any past crimes that have not been heard before this council, cannot be brought to light here. Please stick to events of that evening.”

Couns. Talbot:  *smacks teeth“Very well, the night of your abduction, you were in a town called Zento correct?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry: “Yes, I was on my honeymoon.”

Couns. Talbot:  “So sorry that happened to you. What exactly happened when they took you?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry: “I was buying some flowers.  They have the rarest types in Zento.  My husband was out perusing the armor shop.  A man came up behind me and then I felt myself flying, I looked down and the town of Zento was small.”

Couns. Talbot:  “Where did this man take you?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry: “It was a dark dingy cave in what I think was Ice Island.”

Couns. Talbot:  “Who was there with you?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry: *pauses a moment, looking up to the private box searching for Merida*  “Two men, then a woman came.”

Couns. Talbot:  “Did you recognize any of them?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry: *having found Merida, who nodded to her, she found a second wind*  “The woman that came was the same woman that had abducted my sire and forced him to either kill me or turn me.”

Couns. Windsor: “Objection, relevance again.”

Chancellor Grimm:  “Mrs. Parker-Perry, please refrain from referencing to events prior to that night.”

Couns. Talbot: “Did any of them hurt you?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  *nods, eyes welling up with tears but holding it back*   “The one,  he… he… backhanded me when I—”

Couns. Talbot:  “When you?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  “… when I demanded to know… where I was.”

Couns. Talbot:  “Where did they take you?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  *sighs heavily*  “They argued a bit about who was going to take me… it was decided that the one they called Kirk would take me through the world gate to here, London.”

Couns. Talbot:  “Please note that the witness has referenced Kristof Draconis, who was known as Kirk Draco.”

Chancellor Grimm: “Duly noted.”

Couns. Talbot:  “Mrs. Parker-Perry, what if anything occurred once the other man and the woman parted ways with Kirk?”

Couns. Windsor: “Objection, assumption. The question assumes something as true for which no evidence has been shown.  The only other witness is now deceased.”

Chancellor Grimm:  “Conferment.”  *looks to his fellow Chancellors to a brief discussion*

Chancellor Grimm:  “Vote.”

Chancellor Grimm:  “Sustained.”

Chancellor Gray:  “Overruled.”

Chancellor O’Connor: “Overruled.”

Chancellor Finley: “Overruled.”

Chancellor Grant:  “Sustained.”

Chancellor McCormick: “Sustained.”

Chancellor Larson: “Overruled.”

Chancellor Grimm:  “Alright, the witness may answer.”

Couns. Talbot:  “Go on Carrie.”  *smiles to her*

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  “He took me through the world gate, not the one I’ve known about in Paris, but one that lands in Iceland.  It landed us in what I now know to be Vatnajökull National Park.”

Couns. Talbot:  “Once you landed there, what happened?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  *shifts in her chair*  “He taunted me, because he knew I had just gotten married.  He was happy to have disrupted that.  And when I challenged him, he struck me again, knocking me unconscious.”

Couns. Windsor: “Objection, assumption.  The man is dead, Chancellors, he can neither dispute or affirm these events.”

Chancellor Grimm:  “We are well aware of that fact, Counselor. We will take that into our consideration upon judgement.” *turning to Mr. Talbot* “Please proceed.”

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  “When I next woke up, I was in a cell.  I didn’t know where at that time, but I did notice the climate change.”

Couns. Talbot:  “And who else did you come in contact with at this new facility?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  “The one they call Frank.”

Couns. Talbot:  “And is he here today?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  *sighs*  “Yes.”

Couns. Talbot:  “Can you point him out to us?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  *flashes eyes over to the Draconis side, pointing to Frank Draco, then quickly looking back to David Talbot*

Couns. Talbot:  “Let the records show that the witness is pointing to Franco Draconis, known as Frank Draco.”

Chancellor Grimm:  “Duly noted.”

Couns. Talbot:  “And what conversations did you have with Frank Draco?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  *shifts again in her seat*  “He drew samples of my blood. He beat me when I refused to cooperate. He chained me up.  He starved me.”

Couns. Windsor:  “Objection, scope.”

Couns. Talbot:  “There was no direct examination to scope my line of questions.”

Chancellor Grimm:  “Overruled, you may continue.”

Couns. Talbot:  “So Mr. Draco beat you and tortured you and left you unfed. Did the other Mr. Draco, Kirk Draco, visit you?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  *pauses knowing where this is going*  “Yes, several times.”

Couns. Talbot:  “But he is not a scientist, if they wanted to inspect the makeup of your bloodline, Kirk would have little to do with that.  So what transpired during his visits?”

Couns. Windsor:  “Objection, leading.”

Couns. Talbot:  “I’ll re-phrase the question.  Can you tell us what happened during his visits?”

Couns. Windsor:  “Objection, relevance.”

Chancellor Grimm:  *sighs, his annoyance clearly showing“Overruled.”

Couns. Talbot:  “You may answer, Carrie.”

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  *eyes welling back up, a single tear escaping*  “I…”

Carrie once again looked up to find Merida, who had her hand out flat on the glass. Her own eyes tearing up at the pain that her sister would have to relive here today.

Couns. Talbot:  “It’s alright Carrie, go on.”  *Armand gets up and hands David his handkerchief to give to Carrie*

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  *taking the handkerchief from David*  “He was taunting me, he would prick his finger letting the blood run out egging me to drink from him. And when it looked like I couldn’t handle it anymore, he would lick his finger to instantly heal it. I’ve never seen anyone heal so fast. And when I lashed out at him for it,  he would beat me… and… and…”

Carrie breaks down and starts sobbing. I couldn’t help myself but to touch her hand, even though I was not supposed to.  When I looked over, I saw Marius shed a tear and Armand’s agitation at his sister in law’s clear despair was evident.  And when I looked at the Dracos… David, that bastard, had a smug smile on his face.  I realized then, that he had known what had happened. Frank’s face however, was questioning.  I do not think Frank knows what his sons had done.

Couns. Talbot:  *squeezing her hand*  “Carrie, tell the court.”

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  *in sobs* “… he raped me. Not just once… but every time he went in there.”

Couns. Windsor: “Again I must object on the basis of assumption.  No one can confirm or deny these events.”

Chancellor Gray:  “We’ll allow it with a contingency. The alleged rape of this witness has not been proven.”

Couns. Windsor: “But Chancellor…”

Chancellor Gray:  “Sit down Counselor!”

Couns. Talbot:  “A moment if you will Chancellors,”  *holding on to Carrie’s hand* “could you allow Armand de Romanus to come up for a few?”

Chancellor Grimm:  *nods*  “We’ll allow it.”

With that Armand sprung out of his seat taking flight, landing right next to Carrie.  Carrie fell into his arms sobbing.  I looked up and Merida was beside herself pacing back and forth, I knew she desperately wanted to be down here but could not.  Va’lis stared down, his eyes firmly held to David Draco’s head.  Draco could feel the stare… so he turned to look up at Va’lis, tipped his hat and winked at him smugly.  Lestat caught wind of that, and I felt my sire jump.  I flew to him to stop him.  Now is not be the time for revenge.  “Lestat, sire… sit. You will ruin everything.”  Marius hung his head, his rage was slowly churning. The thousands of years working for him at this moment he was fighting to contain it.  Lestat still had a lot to learn from him.  “We must acquit Marius!”  Lestat calmed down enough. Armand managed to get Carrie as composed as he could. As I walked back to Carrie, Armand walked back to his seat, he nodded at his wife and his father in law.

Couns. Talbot:  “You okay to continue, Carrie?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  *nods, wiping her eyes* “Y-yes.”

Couns. Talbot:  *sighs*  “Besides the physical abuse your body suffered, Mrs. Parker-Perry,  you said they starved you, yes?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  “Yes.”

Couns. Talbot:  “They provided no means to quench your thirst?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  *looking pale, already exhausted“Oh, they knew I was a vegan. That fact pissed them off because I did not “feed the blood” enough to make it strong. They were unable to decipher anything from it.  So to hurt me further, they threw a human in the cell with me.”

Couns. Talbot: “What happened to the human?”

Couns. Windsor: “Objection, narrative.”

Chancellor Grimm:  “Overruled, the witness may answer.”

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  *cries again* “What do you think happened?  When they took Merida away, who was helping me stay focused,  I drained him dry.  This poor man had three children, had lost his job and had been unable to feed his family.  He was caught stealing food from a local shop, his only crime.”

Couns. Talbot: “So Merida was there with you?”

Mrs. Parker-Perry:  “Yes, when they couldn’t get what they wanted out of my blood,  they went after the next best thing… her.  They kept her in the cell across from me.”

Couns. Talbot:  “Thank you Mrs. Parker-Perry.”  *turns to the chancellors“I have nothing further.”

As Carrie stepped down, Armand waited for her right at the edge of the forum. He would be escorting her with the guards up to the forum doors, as he could not go past them.  She fell into his arms, and he hugged her tight, wiping at her blood-stained face. He held her up as they walked.  He looked towards the box, motioning for Merida to come down by the doors… and she ran towards the door of the box. No guard would ever try to stop her.

Chancellor Grimm:  “You may call the next witness.”

Couns. Talbot:  “I call Va’lis Razele, Chancellors.”

Couns. Windsor: “Objection, due diligence.  The defense had not submitted the witness in their list of witnesses for today. We’ve no time to prepare.”

Couns. Talbot:  “Chancellors, Mr. Razele was on the list of possible witnesses. Not on the docket for today’s questioning, but the prosecution was made aware of the possibility of his testimony in general.”

Chancellor Grimm:  *after reviewing the witness list* “He is listed here.  We’ll allow it.”

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