Justice is a broad category [Julian/Annette/Open]

[Eoghan]

Eoghan’s job was done; he had brought the faerie to justice. Though he felt a small tinge of regret that he hadn’t run the nimbus asunder with his blade, the feeling of pride at having subdued the man overwhelmed any negative feelings he had. Eoghan was sure this would be the first step in the right direction, respect and power were not far off now, he thought as he marched behind Julian with his daggers drawn. Perhaps Annette would make note of him at the next judgment. Yes, then he would be certainly moving in the right direction, the fast track to success.

Lost in his thoughts of upward mobility Eoghan looked up to notice the throne was in the distance. He felt his heart begin to beat; his eyes flickered towards the marble lion that treaded in front of Julian, leading the way towards the throne. He spoke, his voice breaking the silence of their footfalls through the damp foliage, ”I’d wish you luck, but I honestly can’t wait to see what happens to you.” His words were accompanied by a short winded chuckled, but he silenced quickly because before long they were at the foot of the throne.

”My Queen, I have brought you Julian, the nimbus who has affronted you.” He bowed deeply and stepped to the side allowing Annette a clear path of vision at Julian. His eyes drifted to the marble lions that now sat alongside the Queen. There was no mistaking the fact that she was the ultimate authority in this land.

[Julian]

Julian trailed behind the pixie and the marble lion, not saying a word. Being arrested was so much more fun back on Earth, where handcuffs were jokes and the police were far less observant. As the odd trio trudged through the forest, Julian could sense that there was an overabundance of happiness radiating from the pixie, and it disgusted him. If his bear hadn't decided to suddenly run off when Julian surrendered, he would have asked her to make a pie out of him.

He barely heard Eoghan's words, offering only a simple and sarcastic, "Yeah, whatever. Keep it in your pants, pal."

He found himself standing before the Queen again, the full weight of the unfavorable circumstances bearing down on him. It was one of those rare moments that he would take Eoghan's previous words to heart and hold his tongue. He had no honorable speech prepared, and nothing to justify his actions. The only comforting thought was that the other pixie would walk away from this unharmed. Julian's eyes were downcast, his arms clasped in front of him. He waited for the Queen to speak.

[Queen Annette]

Her rose kissed gaze transitioned from fondness to satisfaction in the matter of an instant as Eoghan bowed, spoke and moved aside; effectively delivering the nimbus she sought to the foot of her throne. Annette was surprised the man came willingly, without a scratch on him it appeared the pixie did not have to come to blows with the man in order to bring him here. The prospect of the nimbus giving his self over to punishment willingly surprised her. This was the same man who had denied her request to battle the pixie, the same man who recanted his very own challenge after Eoghan had promptly and eagerly accepted. Why now did he give himself over to be publically punished by the Seelie Queen, as opposed to fighting until the very end? Perhaps he realized his efforts were futile, perhaps he thought she would have mercy on him. Either way, it mattered not, for the outcome was always the same.

As Julian knelt before her, the look in her eyes changed from that of satisfaction to something stern. The look in her eyes was akin to a menacingly gray sky, a foreshadowing to a ferocious storm that was about to erupt. Julian was the unlucky sailor.

She spoke her voice dripping with a tone that teetered between anger and something condescending, rhetorical. ”Do you know why I have required your presence?” She gave a moment for brief pause but did not allow him to answer. ”Because you are a coward.”

She took a breath and continued, the volume of her voice raising as she spoke but never reaching the point where she yelled. ”You challenged a garlanger and then fled once he accepted. Do you fear a fae of thinner blood?” High pitched laughter resonated from her vocal chords as the words left her mouth. ”And even as I, your queen, urged you to duel you still fled. Are you mad? No one denies me.”[/b]

The two lions moved toward Julian and began to circle him, move around him so that he would not have a hope of escaping. She spoke again and as the words left her mouth Julian would find his shirt began to tear, dissected at the seams until it fell to the ground, nothing but shredded fabric. ”What have you to say for yourself, nimbus?”[/color]

OOC: Feel free to skip over Eoghan. He and I are going to have a seperate thread after this.

[Julian]

Julian listened as the Queen berated him. Yet, amongst the flurry of unfamiliar words and rhetorical questions, he couldn't help but notice that the Queen had failed to mention anything about the pixie girl. Had Eoghan duped him into surrendering peacefully for the sake of his own status? Julian reflected on this briefly, promising himself that should he survive this ordeal, he would seek out Eoghan and pummel him until he was satisfied.

He hesitated to answer the Queen, realizing that he could not construct anything that didn't sound like a lame excuse. She looked as though she were hellbent on reducing him to a bloody pulp, and anything he could think of saying would fail to sway the situation away from this result. He racked his mind for the right words, the right way to structure his sentences, as he watched his shirt fall to pieces. Though half-naked, he felt no shame as the Queen and the other members of the court looked upon his body. He had spent innumerable hours sculpting his torso, and he was proud of his efforts.

After the Queen's last question, Julian's lips quivered slightly, before finally speaking. "I won't beg for forgiveness, for I realize that I have wronged you, and you most likely won't accept my apology. However, for what it's worth, your world's customs are far different from the one I came from. My only regret is that I did not take the time to fully assimilate myself into your court. Do what you will, but I still stand by my actions, for I believe that I have done no wrong in trying to protect a woman." He consciously ignored the bit about garlangers and his own status, still not quite piecing together what those terms meant.

Julian's eyes had locked with the Queen's as he spoke, never once looking away. His gaze wasn't quite a glare, but there was clearly a lot of anger in his stone gray eyes. What he really wanted to say was, "Bitch, you just ruined my favorite Burberry shirt and I fucking hate you."

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OOC: Aahh!! I'm so sorry, I meant to post sooner, but life went apeshit, and I just couldn't crank out a post after. Sorry for the delay!!

[Queen Annette]

She laughed, a loud caustic sound, condescending even. ”Protect a woman? Oh how ironic then, that you now need protection from a woman! “ She rose from the throne, her height even more towering from the grandstand of the throne’s platform. Her eyes cast their gaze down upon Julian. The queen held the beauty of a pristine blade, gleaming and ornate, pleasing for the senses but still very dangerous. She might have been beautiful, a gem even amongst the sidhe but there was no denying that with her presence was an ever looming sense of foreboding, the idea that she could be used to spill an unimaginable amount of blood.

She noted the anger in his eyes and it only urged her on. She smiled wickedly, as if she would enjoy what was about to come. Her voice came once again but it held no emotion and was a very conversational tone. ”Let this be a lesson to all fae. I am not to be crossed.”

She let her hand of mastered Hand of Striae rip through the air, but this time her intended target was not some inconsequential piece of clothing, but the nimbus. The sound of his pants tearing at the ankles was coupled with an unbearable pain. As it a white hot knife had cut through them, his Achilles tendons severed and he came crashing forward. The lions stopped circling him and now stood still, appearing to be more like statues as their placid gaze was focused on him.

Annette sat, and lifted her hand. Using her hand of power she began to slice between his fingers, each like a paper cut slowly being carved into his flesh.

[Skylla]

Annette continued to use her hand of power to carve into the nimbus’s flesh. The queen’s face devoid of any emotion almost the entire time, save for an edge of intense anger that lingered in her gaze. Every wound Annette inflicted was merely skin deep, but they were not erratic in their placement. In addition to the fine cuts between his toes and fingers, she also sliced him across the front and back of his joints. Deep cuts separated the flesh in front of and behind his knees, both sizes of his elbows were severed as well, and the base of his spine was flashed with markings that were similar to a whipping. Movement was very possible for Julian, but it was excruciatingly painful.

Blood streaked across the throne room, the emerald grass painted with crimson. Annette stood and moved towards Julian who sat bleeding in the grass. ”No trance, only true healing.” She said as she placed her hand on him, calling to her second brand of magic.

The Hand of Blood normally coaxed the blood outside of the body, but now Annette was using the magic to keep it in. Annette didn’t want Julian bleeding out and falling into a trance. She’d let his wounds heal the natural way. When she was done she moved back towards the throne and gestured to the lions, which moved in on Julian, taking each of his wrists into their mouths and dragging him from the throne room.

OOC: The wounds will heal in 2 days, 3 posts (whichever comes last). Since these wounds are magically induced some of them may scar and some may heal completely, but that is up for you to decide.