Secrets of the Past (Ace Attorney OC story) {On Hold}

Turnabout Fountain - Before Trial (version 2)

~~ July 23, 16:35 PM ~~
~~ District Court - Defendant Lobby No. 2 ~~

Everyone in the Defendant Lobby is silent. We are carried away by our own thoughts, each of us trying to deal with the current problem in our own way. Lily is pacing down and forth from one side of the room to the other, leaving an almost invisible trail in the carpet on the floor. I am nervously reading through the Case Record, trying to understand how I managed to get into this situation. The third person here, Anya Grayland, is sitting on the other side of the couch, crying silently. Her long brownish hair hides part of her tear-covered face, while her hands are hiding the rest. The sadness filling the room almost drives out the uneasiness I am feeling.

Suddenly, Lily stops pacing and sits down between me and Anya. "No need to worry," she says, "everything will be alright!"

"Easy for you to say..." I answer in a voice that is more depressed than reassured. "You're not the one who took on her defense. You only convinced me to do it."

Lily's face changes and she looks like a mother that is lecturing her son. "Stop that, Victor! You have been saying that ever since this morning." I sigh as an answer to her lecture. "That's because it was this morning that I got the job of defending her in Court."

"Well, anyway, it is not nice for her to keep saying that you don't believe you can win this!"

"Lily, this is my first trial ever. Why do I immediately have to defend someone accused of murder. Don't say you weren't nervous the first time."

"Of course I was nervous, but you are overdoing it a little..."

I am getting annoyed by her. How can she not understand what an awful situation I got myself into? "I'm not overdoing anything! if they had only let me search the crim scene...!"

"Ehm," Anya tries to get between the argument. We stop arguing and turn in her direction. She has lifted her head and tries to dry her tears using a polka-dotted handkerchief. She then looks up at us, smiling a watery smile. She continues in a thick voice.

"I really want to thank you for taking on my defense. I know I am annoying somethimes, but I really really appreciate it that you believe in me." Eventhough she is saying that, her face still does not seem all that grateful, but that is mainly because it is difficult to smile when you are accused of murder. I am not particularly familiar with being accused, but I can imagine that it is quite difficult.

"Of course we believe in you," Lily says in a way that it was stupid of her to think otherwise. "There is no way you could've killed him in cold blood. Nor could you have killed him in warm blood."

"Don't joke now, Lily," I interrupt my co-worker before she can spoil the atmosphere. "But she is right, Anya. You are our friend. We know you and we know you're innocent."

Anya's face now does show gratitude. "Thank you so much..." she whispers softly.

My name is Victor Clever and I am a defense attorney for two days now. I currently work at the "Office of Justice",  a law firm being managed by Rebecca Moore. She has been a student of Mia Fey and a colleague of the legendary Phoenix Wright. The Office actually belongs to me, but that is a long and complicated story that I will explain another time. Right now, there are more urgent cases. Like preventing Anya of becoming a convicted murderer.

I look at Anya's wet face. I feel sorry for her. This morning, a murder has occured in the nearby park. A man who liked jogging there every day has been shot in the forehead and anya has been arrested. There was no one who saw her shoot him, but the gun was found in her hands, so the police immediately concluded she was the culprit. And now we are all here, in the Courthouse, for a trial I did not even get the chance to prepare for.