3. the trial

Draco pov. Regret. That is all I felt as I stood in the strange court, where everything was so magical. Had I just stayed at home not bothered to go and explore the devil’s triangle, I wouldn’t have been stuck in this bizarre place. I followed the guard until we reached a huge area which I guessed was the courtroom.  I was dumbfounded by how strange it looked. The judge’s bench, jury box and the defendant’s table all hovered in the air. I stared at the defendant’s table where I was supposed to stand, wondering how in the world I was going to float up there.  “Whoa!” I almost screamed when the pink-haired guy waved his hand making me float up to the defendant’s table. He rolled his eyes. “Pathetic.” He murmured as he secured me at the table with chains. “What? I cannot do crazy hocus pocus like you guys and float whenever I please. Excuse me for being normal.” I scoffed at him. But then he just glared at me with his dazzling eyes which then I noticed had a purple tint to it. The purple glow in his eyes slowly intensified as he continued to glare at me. “Whoa. What the hell!” I exclaimed trying to inch away from him. But there wasn’t much I could do. I was secured magically to a floating table! What in the world could I possibly do? Just then the blue-haired guy tapped on his shoulder, making him stop whatever he was doing.  “Hey. Control. We don’t want trouble here.” He murmured into the pink-haired guard’s ears, but it was loud enough for me to hear him.  The pink-haired guard took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It was obvious that he was trying to control himself. When he opened his eyes, his eyes were back to his normal colour, black. He glared at me one last time before floating away from the defendant’s table.  I looked around. The whole place was dazzling. The defendant’s table looked like it was made of black opal while the judge’s bench and jury box too sparkled mysteriously. The benches for the public were already filled with people, no, weird beings who kept on murmuring hushed whispers among themselves. My eyes travelled to the ceiling of the room, which looked like it was being lit by mysterious lights. The whole place was so mysteriously attractive. The entire ceiling was lit up with a rose gold light, making it look like this place from another world.  Heck. This was from another world. I was no longer in my world. The world where I belonged. I got lost in the devil’s triangle. No wonder whoever got lost never returned.  “Wow,” I whispered to myself. Just then, a door opened and some people, which I guessed were the jury, started to fill in the jury box. I watched in utter amazement as they floated in harmony, their long white beards and thick grey robes waving in the air as they floated and took their seats. All of them sat down in silence and looked forward. They all looked so similar as if they all were peas in a pod. Then another door opened and floated another person who was dressed in a huge robe. He made himself comfortable on the judge’s bench and took his gavel. His stern glare was enough to make me melt onto my seat in fear. The hushed whispers suddenly died down as everyone turned their attention towards the one I suppose was the judge.  “Prosecutor. Proceed!” the judge boomed, his voice echoing throughout the vast room. His voice was loud, deep and it made me shiver uncomfortably.  Suddenly, out of nowhere, another person who looked equally powerful appeared right in front of me.  “Holy s**t!” I exclaimed involuntarily. How many more surprises does this place have? How could someone who was not there suddenly appear out of nowhere? “SILENCE!!!” The judge ordered louder than he did before, making the whole place rumble with the power of his voice.  The prosecutor snickered and faced the judge.  “My lord! This human was found trespassing our land. He had drunk from the pond of purity as soon as he saw it. He didn’t even wait for anyone’s blessing or permission.” The prosecutor bowed down.  “My lord. I suggest that we give him the worst possible punishment.” The prosecutor ended his speech and floated over to the side.  The judge glanced at the jury box. I was ready to defend myself. In the end, I was lost. I shouldn’t be punished for getting lost...right? But to my dismay, the judge started to call out for the juries.  “Jury no. 1.”  “Guilty.” He said at once. I frowned, shocked and aghast. What kind of a trial was this? “Jury no. 2” “Guilty.”  “What the f**k!” I shouted. “Don’t I get to defend myself? Where is my lawyer? I demand justice!” I continued to yell, but my feeble screams were nothing compared to their powerful gestures and voices. I watched in horror as the jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts. “I condemn this. This is torture! You all are sadistic villains!” I didn’t know what came over me. But before I knew it, I screamed those words which I wished to take back as soon as they were said. A “Shut up human!” the judge ordered, at last, once again making the courtroom rumble. Those who were present cowered in fear as he stared at me with his death glare. Gulping down a hard lump that blocked my throat, I stared back.  “How dare you interfere with us! And how dare you accuse us while you are on our land, in our courtroom! Don’t you remember how your kind had treated the sea? You all think that you are the lords and masters of the universe, you pathetic beings! You pollute the earth! You mistreat the animals. And you call us sadistic villains? You, humans, are despicable!”  His accusations made me gulp. He was right. He was so damn right! It is true that among humans are those who mistreat the animals and the environment....but that is not all of us... “But.....” I tried to reason, however, I was silenced.  “You have no right.....” it was clear he was seething in anger.  Yup. I should have controlled my stupid mouth. I bit my lips and lowered my gaze. I knew I had messed it up. Well, life was good when I lived. I guess it is time to say goodbye. I was certain that he would sentence me to death.  The judge started to go through the papers in front of him. I squeezed my eyes shut as he prepared for the sentencing. Clearing his throat, he straightened up. “This worthless mortal has trespassed our peaceful territory! These treacherous humans have no right to interfere with our peaceful lives. The only suitable punishment for this is a million years of hard labour!”  The judge slammed his huge gavel on his desk, making its sound echo throughout the atmosphere. There were cheers, and murmurs among the public who were present.  My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. Holy cow! Were they insane? That was not even possible! “What! A million years? I won’t even live that long!” I protested as I struggled against the chains that bound me. But in vain. Everything was stronger than me. My protests, requests or demands will surely be ignored in this place.  “Silence!” he ordered. And clapped his hands, making me immobile. Even my tongue was tied, making it impossible for me to speak. “Guards! Take him away!” he ordered. Soon the hovering freaks that were covered from head to toe in their hooded robes floated over to where I was held.  I felt as if the grim reaper was coming to suck my soul out of my body. I watched in utter shock as the so-called guards snapped their fingers at me and the chains that bound me were no more. However, I was not able to move a muscle. Nor move my tongue.  I was being taken away as their prisoner, with absolutely no hope of escaping. What could a weakling like me possibly do? They could do wonders with just a simple gesture. They could make me immobile with a flick of their hands.  Good lord help me! My heart cried when I saw that there was absolutely no way of saving myself. The guards grabbed me with force and started to drag me out of the courtroom. Though I couldn’t move a muscle, I could feel and see what was going on. I was being taken to my room! “Halt!” Another powerful voice made all of them stop in their tracks. I saw them lower their gazes and display obedience to whoever that was.  I was forced to turn towards the voice. There in front of me stood someone with long white hair and a long white beard. There was a golden crown on his head, which was adorned with what looked like precious stones and rubies. He was wearing a long white robe with golden patterns on it and held a long golden staff.  Ok, this guy looked like trouble. He emitted a powerful aura that made even a human-like me submit to him.  “I want him in the palace. He will be my servant.” He ordered making the guards bow down in obedience.  "Yes your majesty," they said in unison. Great!