yonderland but it's not yonderland.

Panic! In The Courtroom

The days felt longer and longer as Winter drew in. The court of Elders was tense, Flowers off with a cold and Pressley in an increasingly bad mood due to the weather each day. Weather effected him immensely. Choop and Vex tried their best not to snap at him. He'd been foul to most of them, and Ho-Tan had even decided to take a few days off due to it, only coming in to discuss important matters. Evander missed her.

Choop yawned, laying back in his throne. Vex and Evander sat either side of him, equally as tired. Pressley hadn't arrived yet, much to their relief. Evander sighed contently, his hands pressed together as he sat. The room was blissfully quiet.

"It is alot stressful without Pressl-eh, I do have to say," Vex stated, gesturing with his hand to Pressley's empty chair. Evander nodded.

"Yes, as much as I hate to look down on other members of the Elder clan, it does seem slightly less.. tense" Choop agreed, his hands set politely in his lap. There was a frantic rush of footsteps outside the room, and in through the large doors came Ho-Tan, her hair brushed and plaited like usual, but there was a blossoming flower set above her left ear, just like Evander's. Her cloak had been newly washed, that was clear to see - it shone in the artificially beautiful lights of the hall. Evander looked over to her, and for the first time in the few days that he had known Ho-Tan, Ho-Tan turned and smiled warmly in his direction. Evander felt a kind warmth spread across his body. He wondered if the flower idea was taken from him. If it was, it was a sweet gesture.

"Good to see you back, Scribe," Vex nodded to himself as Ho-Tan took her seat, her face returning to it's normal, glum stare. With a swift motion, Ho-Tan pulled a bag of letters onto her lap, some spilling out onto the floor. "That's...a lot of letters.." Vex mumbled, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. I know. I was walking here this morning and I went past your houses as I trecked. Many letters were left unattended for you. However, some took my attention, and I thought it would be important to bring them to light," Ho-Tan replied, taking out five letters. "Fortunately, if I am right in my hypothesis, it's good you do not have a letter, Evander."

"Whyever so?" Evander asked, fret bubbling up inside him. This wasn't good. Ho-Tan's predictions were always correct whenever he had made one from all the time Evander had known him so far. Whatever was up with those letters - it was a problem.

"I'm not quite sure.. they seemed unusually heavy.. and the aura being given off is very off-putting.." Ho-Tan explained, taking a letter in her hand and looking at it skeptically. "It may perhaps be a good idea to read the contents of the letter, but not touch whatever has came with th-"

Choop leaned forward, taking the letter in his hands, and opening it quickly.

"It can't be that bad! I mean, what harm can a letter have?" Choop said with a laugh, but the panic that crossed Ho-Tan's face was immeasurable. Choop pulled out the letter, but along with it came a dark violet jewel, which when it came in contact with his hand, caused a sudden cut in his skin. "Ouch!"

"Well, it doesn't seem too bad..?" Vex suggested, shrugging. "A cut in the skin isn't too awful, is it?" Ho-Tan growled in frustration, and Vex gave him a questioning look.

"You're not listening to me! My predictions saw an outbreak of an infection enter whoever got cut from the same jewel, along with a deadly dose of poison!!" Ho-Tan cried, obviously stressing out badly. Evander broke out into a cold sweat - just the sound of Ho-Tan's desperation sent shivers through his whole body, and also, the fact that his father might die if Ho-Tan was correct? That was the most daunting feeling Evander had ever known.

In a frightful frenzy, Choop let out a piercing, painful shriek, clutching his wounded hand tight, blood dripping onto his robes. Evander let out a cry of pure shock, rushing to his father's side. Vex gasped, and covered his mouth with his hands. Choop groaned in pain, and even more scarlet blood spilled from his hands. The jewel rolled out of his grip and onto the floor, Ho-Tan watched it's every move. The jewel glinted unrealistically brightly, making Ho-Tan flinch massively, shielding her eyes.

"We need to get him an antidote, quick! Before it's too late!" Evander yelled, holding up his father in his arms. It was clear that tears pricked at his eyes, for they glistened like the jewel of Kendal's across the floor. Ho-Tan was about to move, but Vex sprinted out before her. Fortunately, in a way, as someone still needed to be there to carefully inspect the letter. Ho-Tan secured that job.

Picking up the letter with shaky hands, Ho-Tan unfolded it, and skimmed it with quick eyes. A look of pure shock crossed her face for the millionth time in the last five minutes of the incident. She rushed off to find Vex, leaving Evander to tend to his father, though it wouldn't be much use, as the poor boy was crying his eyes out anyway, and what was he supposed to do? He hadn't mastered his magic skills yet, or anything to help his father. Evander felt hopeless as he kept his father upright in his arms, weeping.

The two could hear Vex babbling on nervously in the other room, and Ho-Tan making noises of agreement, and lots of scraping of pots, pans and plates. Were they making the antidote? Evander hoped to the Gods they were. They needed to act extremely fast, however. If the poison kept raging on for at least five minutes more, the result could be fatal. Evander fretted more than ever.