The beam of light finally inched its way across the bed to fall across her face. As she cracks open her eyes to glare at the offending light, she knows that it is time to get up and face the day before Ster is forced to come find her. She glances over at the desk across the room where all of the papers are strewn about from her late night research. At least she found the notes that she was looking for. It only took her nearly ten chimes and fourteen books from deep within her college storage. But she had done it. After a long stretch she finally abandons the warmth of her bed and starts her daily routine.
It is just past the noon chimes when Aeacus bursts into the office, arms full of precariously balanced books, papers, and scrolls. Her sudden entrance doesn't phase Ster who continues to work quietly at her desk. Aeacus quickly moves to the open table to the side and drops her load with a heavy thud and quick scrambling to keep everything from falling, especially the jug at the top. She whirls back towards her assistant, her robes swirling about her legs.
"I found it, Ster. I knew it was there."
"Of course you did, uh, Aeacus." Ster finally looks up. "But you know the, um, case starts at the next chime. You don't, ah, have enough time to let, uh, Honour Officer Kreli find any more evidence to, um, support your clause."
"No, I found better. Now I know what was bugging me. I knew I knew it. I just couldn't remember it exactly. They already have the proof they need. Just look at this." Aeacus reaches behind her and grabs one of the books. Several scrolls roll to the floor but she ignores them to hand the book to Ster. Several pieces of paper marked the passage. Ster opened it and quickly scanned over the page.
"Oh."
"Yea."
"Oh."
"Do you know where Icereles would be right now?"
"I'd, um, assume she'd be with, uh, Honour Guard Sotaria at her office."
"Perfect." Aeacus takes the book as Ster hands it back to her and darts for the door. She pauses and turns back to Ster just as she crosses the threshold. "Do I have anything else today?"
"Just a review of a, um, new case at late chimes. Otherwise I've, ah, blocked off the day, um, for Honour Sotaria's case. Even if it, uh, isn't yours."
Aeacus ducks her head sheepishly at the soft accusation. "Thanks, Ster. You are a lifesaver. I promise to review the case even before the meeting." And then she's off hurrying down the corridor.
"Arbiter Aeacus, I do not have time to entertain you on a case that you do not have any jurisdiction over."
"Icereles, I know. But please read this."
"The wine has finally gotten to your senses. That textbook is ages old."
"But still valid. Prosecutor Icereles, when Sotaria came to me, I referred you because you are the best in the field."
"There is only so much I can do however."
"Which is why I am handing you this. Please."
With a sigh, the prosecutor held out her hand and Aeacus hands over the book. "I cannot delay the court any more. I cannot issue any more evidence searches."
"You won't have to. Read this passage." Aeacus points to the section in question.
"Aeacus, this is ridicul-" the word stops halfway in her mouth as she reads. "Oh."
"Exactly."
"Icereles? Aeacus?" a concerned voice from the other side of room speaks up.
"Oh Sotaria. Don't worry. We got him now. We got him good. Right, Icereles?"
"With this, absolutely. Our case was almost solid, but this will secure it. Aeacus, stay with her while I go find this."
"Right." Aeacus crosses the room to the young woman. She sits next to her on the couch, making the cushion bounce a little. She reaches over hand grab the nervous hands. "I promised you, didn't I? I will make sure that he leaves you alone for good. When Icereles gets done with him, you'll never see him again. It will be like he was banished from the Capital and sent to the south for the Vimn to beat to a pulp."
"That sounds wonderful. It will be nice to stop watching my back to see if he's there. Are you sure it will stick?"
"Absolutely positive. I swear on my wine." She holds up the jug and grins.
The courtroom is silent as High Wisdom Uscythe reads over the proffered section. Icereles had used the passage in Aeacus' textbook to find the actual law pertaining to the case. The official wording made it evident that this was exactly what they needed to win their case.
"I did not realize this was still on the books." His gravelly voice echoes through the room.
"I checked and made sure, your Wisdom. Otherwise I would not be presenting it to you."
"The last time I've even seen this referenced was-"
"Thirty cycles ago," the defense finishes for him. "Certainly such an antiquated law cannot be valid in this circumstances."
"Just because it has not been drawn upon in recent times does not mean it is not as valid as a common law," Uscythe muses. "I deem it valid. Defender Zelibe, do you wish to change your arguments?"
After a short stunned silence, "No, your Wisdom," he answers with a defeated tone.
"Then counselors, you may return to your clients." Once they had, he stands from his seat. "Members and visitors to the Court. I have reached a verdict."
A moment later the silence turned into an eruption of joyous cries.
It takes a while to get to Sotaria's side. Especially with all the commotion as everyone files out of the courthouse. But eventually Aeacus slips in close to Sotaria with a quick wave at her nearly larger than life Liaimore on the other side.
"Aeacus! We did it! We did it. We really did it."
"I knew Icereles could handle it."
"We couldn't have done it without you though."
"I always keep my promises."
"How did you know we needed help?"
"Oh I keep my ear to the ground."
"Well, I appreciate it. It's like a weight lifted off my chest. Theos and I are going to celebrate tonight. Dinner at our place. Will you please come?"
"Of course. How could I ever say no to Theos' cooking?" The man in question chuckles as he overhears her remark. "What time?"
"Ah, evening chimes."
"Perfect. I'll be there. I promise."
"It worked."
Ster looks up from the documents she is putting together. "Of course." She goes right back to work.
"All work and no play with you," Aeacus pouts.
"No play in the, um, office. You have your case to, uh, study."
"I know, I know. You did manage to take some time off to have lunch right?"
"Yes."
"With Krist?"
"Yes."
"How's that going?"
"Aeacus." Ster levels a stern glare in her direction.
"Oh come on! The two of you are just so cute. I mean seriously, the two of you are absolutely adorable and he is honestly heels over head for you." Aeacus slips into the seat across from her and leans heavily on the desk. A blush quickly forms on Ster's cheeks as she fights to maintain a straight face. "Has he asked you yet? Have you ask him yet?"
"Aeacus."
"Oh please?" She rests her chin on her hand.
"No. Neither has, uh, asked the, um, other."
"Aww, why not?"
"Aeacus. Have you, uh, been celebrating a little, ah, after the trial? You still have, um, work to do."
"Maybe a little." Aeacus rolls her eyes at the soft gesture Ster makes to the jug in her lap. "But I still wanna know. You really should go for it."
"You only, ah, have a short time before, um, everyone arrives to, um, review the case."
"Fine." Aeacus gives up her line of questions and rises from the chair with a flourish. "I assume you've done an excellent job preparing the documents on my desk."
"Yes. Everything you should, um, need is there."
"Thanks. You are such a sweetheart to me, Ster," she comments with a wide grin as she disappears into the back office. She closes the door and sighs heavily, her shoulders drooping and the smile sliding off her face. She knows she was pushing a little too hard, but honestly she couldn't see a more perfect match for her assistant. She sighs again and moves to her own desk, smiling softly at the folder neatly prepared on her desk. She's glad that Ster puts up with her even despite her obvious shortcomings.
The case review went a little longer than planned because Aeacus had to drag the truth out of one of the two clients that finally put everything neatly into perspective between the two Merchants and made for easy resolution. It was always better when clients didn't need to file all the way to court over issues. She sent Ster home with one last push to ask Krist to become her Liaimore, forgetting to hold her tongue even after the afternoon's transgressions.
She now hurries along the streets after stopping at her favorite wine store to pick up a bottle to bring to dinner. She doesn't head directly there, choosing to stop by the Maker's district. She glances around the square and sure enough she sees a familiar light on in one of the firms. She quickly crosses the open space and ducks inside the nearly empty building.
"You can't always work this late, Alke."
"I'm almost done." The larger woman doesn't turn away from her desk. Aeacus can hear the pencil furiously marking the page. She leans slightly over the desk but can't make sense of any of the numbers laid out on the drawing in front of her. She can barely recognize the section of map it is so heavily marked up.
"You better be. It's almost evening chimes. They can't keep working you this hard."
"It hasn't been that bad."
"This is the fourth day this week."
"We have a big deadline."
"Then why isn't anyone else still here?"
Alke finally looks up, glancing around the room before settling on Aeacus' concerned face. "You know why."
"I do. Doesn't mean I have to like it."
"I promise to leave early tomorrow. I'll even take you out for some good food."
"Promise?"
"Promise. Now, why are you bothering me and making me stay even later?"
"Oh, right. I just wanted to warn you that I might be doing something stupid tonight."
"Does it have something to do with Sotaria's case? I heard from Theos that it went well."
"It did. It went excellently."
"So what are you planning?"
"Just a little insurance."
"You aren't actually going to tell me, are you?"
"Not tonight? I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow."
"Then why make me worry, Aeacus?" Alke rubs her eyes in tired frustration.
"In case I don't tell you tomorrow. Well, I have a dinner I have to get to." Aeacus pushes away from the table and heads back outside. "Go home soon, Alke."
"Don't kill anyone, Aeacus."
"No promises."
"Damn it."
Okay, I'm going to pause it here because I have an idea of where it is going but the words aren't coming. Stay tuned!
Ster looks up from the documents she is putting together. "Of course." She goes right back to work.
"All work and no play with you," Aeacus pouts.
"No play in the, um, office. You have your case to, uh, study."
"I know, I know. You did manage to take some time off to have lunch right?"
"Yes."
"With Krist?"
"Yes."
"How's that going?"
"Aeacus." Ster levels a stern glare in her direction.
"Oh come on! The two of you are just so cute. I mean seriously, the two of you are absolutely adorable and he is honestly heels over head for you." Aeacus slips into the seat across from her and leans heavily on the desk. A blush quickly forms on Ster's cheeks as she fights to maintain a straight face. "Has he asked you yet? Have you ask him yet?"
"Aeacus."
"Oh please?" She rests her chin on her hand.
"No. Neither has, uh, asked the, um, other."
"Aww, why not?"
"Aeacus. Have you, uh, been celebrating a little, ah, after the trial? You still have, um, work to do."
"Maybe a little." Aeacus rolls her eyes at the soft gesture Ster makes to the jug in her lap. "But I still wanna know. You really should go for it."
"You only, ah, have a short time before, um, everyone arrives to, um, review the case."
"Fine." Aeacus gives up her line of questions and rises from the chair with a flourish. "I assume you've done an excellent job preparing the documents on my desk."
"Yes. Everything you should, um, need is there."
"Thanks. You are such a sweetheart to me, Ster," she comments with a wide grin as she disappears into the back office. She closes the door and sighs heavily, her shoulders drooping and the smile sliding off her face. She knows she was pushing a little too hard, but honestly she couldn't see a more perfect match for her assistant. She sighs again and moves to her own desk, smiling softly at the folder neatly prepared on her desk. She's glad that Ster puts up with her even despite her obvious shortcomings.
The case review went a little longer than planned because Aeacus had to drag the truth out of one of the two clients that finally put everything neatly into perspective between the two Merchants and made for easy resolution. It was always better when clients didn't need to file all the way to court over issues. She sent Ster home with one last push to ask Krist to become her Liaimore, forgetting to hold her tongue even after the afternoon's transgressions.
She now hurries along the streets after stopping at her favorite wine store to pick up a bottle to bring to dinner. She doesn't head directly there, choosing to stop by the Maker's district. She glances around the square and sure enough she sees a familiar light on in one of the firms. She quickly crosses the open space and ducks inside the nearly empty building.
"You can't always work this late, Alke."
"I'm almost done." The larger woman doesn't turn away from her desk. Aeacus can hear the pencil furiously marking the page. She leans slightly over the desk but can't make sense of any of the numbers laid out on the drawing in front of her. She can barely recognize the section of map it is so heavily marked up.
"You better be. It's almost evening chimes. They can't keep working you this hard."
"It hasn't been that bad."
"This is the fourth day this week."
"We have a big deadline."
"Then why isn't anyone else still here?"
Alke finally looks up, glancing around the room before settling on Aeacus' concerned face. "You know why."
"I do. Doesn't mean I have to like it."
"I promise to leave early tomorrow. I'll even take you out for some good food."
"Promise?"
"Promise. Now, why are you bothering me and making me stay even later?"
"Oh, right. I just wanted to warn you that I might be doing something stupid tonight."
"Does it have something to do with Sotaria's case? I heard from Theos that it went well."
"It did. It went excellently."
"So what are you planning?"
"Just a little insurance."
"You aren't actually going to tell me, are you?"
"Not tonight? I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow."
"Then why make me worry, Aeacus?" Alke rubs her eyes in tired frustration.
"In case I don't tell you tomorrow. Well, I have a dinner I have to get to." Aeacus pushes away from the table and heads back outside. "Go home soon, Alke."
"Don't kill anyone, Aeacus."
"No promises."
"Damn it."
Okay, I'm going to pause it here because I have an idea of where it is going but the words aren't coming. Stay tuned!
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