The House Master

Courtroom Drama

Adrian squirms uncomfortably as he sits before the bench in the stuffy courtroom that resembles a 1970's sitting room. Walls that were previously cream-coloured have dirtied to a deep yellow over the years. He watches the judges deliberate in preparation for his trial.

In the gallery, Vincent waits in anxious silence, tightly gripping Diedrich's hand, the friend he forced to come for moral support. Grell is here too, amused by the entire process and serving as moral support for Adrian. William sits beside them, scribbling notes about the trial for further reference.

The judge approaches the bench. Unlike Mr Phantomhive's trial, they aren't wearing wigs. Blavat told Adrian that for Youth Court, the judges try to make it more informal by not wearing wigs and by calling the offender (Adrian) by his first name, unlike adult court.

"Adrian Spears, please approach the bench," the judge addresses Adrian and he does, wrapping his hands around the banister. His hands shudder, feeling nauseous and terrified with the impeding dread of a possible conviction.

"First, we must address the matter of trespassing. Can the defence please present their case?"

Blavat looks up from the table, having been boredly leaning on his hand the entire time.  He scowls ahead and clips his papers together. "Adrian Spears has been falsely accused of a crime exclusively on the basis of Cedric Phantomhive's reports. It is only because of the other charges that trespassing was escalated to criminal court. Otherwise, this would have been a civil matter which the Phantomhives did not, and due to his incarceration, Cedric Phantomhive cannot pursue. Adrian caused no property damage, nor was he charged with any violation of privacy laws, anti-social behaviour or disturbance while on the premises,"

"I am inclined to agree with you," the judge peers over his desk, looking down at Adrian imperially. "I trust that the experience of going through the court system will deter Adrian from trespassing again and therefore, I'm dismissing that charge,"

The tall boy sighs in relief, knowing he'll be breaking into some abandoned factory or school by the time the week is over. Being deterred from trespassing, my ass, he snickers.

"However, there are more serious charges which now need to be addressed," the judge's face becomes grave. "Can the prosecutor please come in?"

Adrian's hands almost shatter the wooden pew with how tightly he grips it, his teeth almost grind down to nothing, when he sees the prosecutor. From the side door, in walks Aleister Chambers.

"What the fuck is he doing here?!" Adrian's can't contain his rage, his body shudders with the desire to jump over the barrier and finish what he didn't last time. What Aleister was going to do to him doesn't matter - what matters is that he made Vincent stressed during questioning. That's all he hates Aleister for.

"I would advise you to stop shouting immediately!" he judge demands. 

Blavat grabs Adrian by the collar and whispers in his ear with vitriol. "Stop that, they'll hold you in contempt and then you really will get locked up!"

Blavat lets him go and straightens his tie. "With all due respect, I must question Aleister Chambers' credentials for acting as a prosecutor in a Youth Trial. As far as I know, he's a defence lawyer,"

"I'm trained in Child Law, which is why I was allowed to question Vincent Phantomhive as a witness during his father's trial," Aleister explains, mostly to Adrian.