The Trial of Mother Gothel part 1

- Battle At The Tower

"Rapunzel! Rapunzel, let down your hair!" Called Eugene.

Mother had just finished gagging Rapunzel who was just coming around after having been knocked out with the frying pan. Gothel paused, looking from the girl she called daughter to the window.

Rapunzel had a look of hope in her unfocused eyes. Eugene had come back. He could save her from Mother, the person who had stolen her from her real parents, who kept her here in the tower, who never wanted her to leave the tower, who had lied to her, who had said she loved her most, but didn't.

Mother considered for a moment, biting her lip, a pensive look on her face, then threw the hair out of the window and pulling out her knife faded into the shadows near the window.

Rapunzel had to find a way to warn him, she looked around for a way to get the gag off, but then she started sliding across the cool tile floor as Eugene's weight started to pull on her hair and her. She began to panic, she hadn't braced herself, there was no way for her to hold her hair. It hurt terribly when Mother stepped on her hair by accident, Mother was very careful not to step on the hair. Her eye's went wide toward Mother as they understood what was going to happen, Mother gasped.

Rapunzel tried to get on her knees, at least, but the dress got in the way. She lost her balance as she came to the end of the chain and her arms spun her around, Eugene's weight pulling her head forward. Her arms were pulled tight behind her as the chain anchored her to the pillar under the stairs, her shoulders strained as the weight of Eugene was on them.

Rapunzel's upper body was lifted off of the floor. Her own weight was now on her shoulders too since she hadn't even gotten to her knees, she was stretched out between the window and the pillar. The hair bent Rapunzel's head down, grinding her chin into her chest, as she took the full weight of Eugene on her neck and shoulders.

Eugene was climbing her hair to try and save her, but he was killing her!

Rapunzel was screaming her last breath into her gag as it felt like she was being ripped apart. She couldn't breathe from the tension on her neck and shoulders. She could feel the muscles and tendons in her neck and shoulders straining beyond the limit, tears shot from her eyes as the bones began to separate and the muscles to stretch and rip. Her bare feet slamming against the hard tile floor; the only thing she could do against the pain as she felt and heard popping sounds coming from within her own body.

"Please somebody, help me!" Rapunzel screamed in her own head, as black splotches appeared in her vision.

Then the pain began to ease, she could breathe again. "Mother's here, I have you." Mother was next to her, pulling on her hair and chain, supporting the weight. Mother did care.

"I thought I'd never see you again," said Eugene, as he climbed in the window.

Mother's hand dipped and the knife was at Rapunzel's throat. "No, you can't take my Flower away from me!" Gothel yelled.

Eugene didn't leave his crouch, but he opened his hands and made calming gestures, "It okay. I don't want your flower, I just want Rapunzel."

"She is my flower and neither of you can take it from me! It's mine and I have to protect it!"

"I'm sure you can find a way to protect it, if you tell me more about it." Eugene tried to sound calm, boring almost, taking a slow step closer, but the glass from the broken mirror crunched under his boot.

"Stay back!" Gothel yelled, dragging Rapunzel a step back, but the knife slid a little and a rivulet of blood began to run down Rapunzel's throat and between her breasts.

Eugene's eyes widened, and his arms go out, but he resisted the urge to dive for the knife.

"Stop! Please, stop! I can't hurt her, but I can't let you take her! I'll die without her! Please, stop!" Eugene stopped, he was beginning to realize that things were extremely dangerous. Gothel was screeching at the top of her lungs, sounding so scared, tears in her eyes and she was clutching Rapunzel close to her.

"Okay, okay. I'm staying." Eugene sat on the floor. "You want to protect Rapunzel. I want to protect Rapunzel. We agree on that, right?"

After a few moments, Gothel nodded, slowly.

"Rapunzel is special, and needs to be kept safe. I want her safe. You want her safe too, don't you?"

"You'd take her from me!" yelled Gothel.

"Where would I take her? I'm the most wanted man in the kingdom," said Eugene reasonably, trying to calm the situation.

Gothel's laugh was teetering on the edge of hysteria, "Oh, you're one to talk, they have your face plastered on most trees around here. Even more then me now. Which took some doing. I'm sure you've seen all the wanted posters."

Eugene was trying to figure out who she is. The only person with more wanted posters then him was the Kidnapper of the Lost Princess, but she was a old woman. Rapunzel's mother wasn't all that old. But Rapunzel's hair could heal, could it heal even old age? If she was the Kidnapper then that would mean that Blondie would be the Lost Princess, who had blonde hair, green eyes and just had her eighteenth birthday yesterday, just like...
Eugene's eye's go wide as he puts the pieces together.

"The posters don't do you justice," he acknowledged with a flourished bow as he was sitting on the floor.

"They only saw me as an old woman and it was dark. They never seem to get your nose right." Gothel commented slyly, waving the knife toward his nose.

Flynn rolled his eyes, "No kidding, you should have seen the one in the Snuggly Duckling. I looked like Pinocchio."

Gothel actually laughed out loud.

Rapunzel's head was swimming, nothing made sense anymore. What was Pinocchio? She hurt so much, it made her head swim, but she couldn't sing with the gag over her mouth. Moving any part of her upper body shot bolts of pain into her brain. Tears were running down her face from the pain, she could barely see.

Rapunzel was so scared and confused and she wasn't sure if she should fight or not, or even who to fight.

Mother had loved her, but had lied, Mother had saved her and now was hurting her, but holding her.

She had trusted Eugene, but he had left, trading her to those thugs and their sack. He came back, but he had almost killed her.

She thought she had been a girl with a special gift and now she was a princess. Her world was upside down and spinning like a top, there was no one to trust not even herself, because she didn't even know who she was anymore.

"You don't want to see Rapunzel hurt. Neither do I. But you're hurting her. You're cutting her throat. She's bleeding." He gestured to Rapunzel.

Gothel's eyes nearly bug out her of head as she sees the blood running down the front of her Flower. "What?! Flower gleam and glow..." The hair glows and heals Rapunzel. Eugene just sits and waits, with Rapunzel healed she should feel better, maybe even find a way to help.

Gothel noticed the bloody knife in her hand, the gag and chains on the girl she had tried to raise as her own. With a look of terrible pain on her face, she shook her head as she dropped the knife.
Gothel took the gag off of Rapunzel and said, "I'm sorry. I was trying to keep you safe. Well, the flower; your hair." Touching the hair gently.
"I guess I just can't do anything right. I lost everything else, I might as well lose this too. I'm sorry, Jon, I tried," she finished quietly to herself. Gothel pulled out the key from her bodice and unlocked the chains from around the wrists of the Lost Princess.

Rapunzel was so deeply confused. So much had happened in the past few minutes she wasn't sure what to do, but to go along. Mother had kidnapped her, but was letting her go. It actually felt like Mother loved her.

"So now what?" asked Eugene.

"Let me guess, the guards are after you and will be here soon." The Kidnapper of the Lost Princess asked the Thief of the Crown of the Lost Princess.

"Most likely."

"Let's go down and meet them."

===
- Meeting the Guards

Rapunzel, Pascal, Eugene and Gothel in her cloak come out of the stairs behind the tower.

"Maximus, are you okay?" Asked Rapunzel, going over to the gallant steed.

Max shakes his head, he's exhausted from the all-out run he gave Flynn to save the good girl who was in front of him now.

"Here, I'll help." Rapunzel threw a loop of golden blonde hair over his neck and began to sing. Before the song was done he was feeling as strong as ever. That was very nice. He could run forever with her as his rider.

"That was so nice of you, dear. You're a good girl. You can run and play until the guards get here," said Gothel.

Rapunzel nodded, she didn't feel like doing any of the things she had done when she had left the first time. She just looked at the tower for a little while, it was so beautiful, she hadn't really looked at it the other times she was Outside.

Eugene put her paint box, books and doll down. Important things that she wanted to take with her to her new home. Mother had explained that they might be leaving the tower forever and that she might want a few of her things in her new home, her real home.

Soon the guards came pounding into the canyon. Rapunzel ran over the Mother, it was more then a little scary.

Gothel stood regally and called, "Welcome gentleman, I'm sure you know Flynn Rider." A couple of the men nodded as they steadied they crossbows at the most wanted man in the kingdom.

"This is Rapunzel, but you know her as Princess Solara, the Lost Princess." They all gaped at the princess, who waved nervously from behind Gothel. There were some happy looks exchanged among the guards.

Gothel took a deep breath to steady herself, "And I am Freiin Gothel von Ellwangen and I kidnapped her. I surrender."

Crossbows that had been aimed at Flynn suddenly were all pointing at her.

"Please, don't hurt her!" Rapunzel stepped in front of Mother to protect her.

The sergeant wasn't exactly sure what to do having captured the two most wanted criminals in the history of the kingdom and finding the Lost Princess all at the same time. He had the criminals chained and offered the princess a ride on Maximus.

"Do you have to chain them?" Asked the Lost Princess.

"Yes, I do, ma'am." He replied as they started the journey back to the kingdom.

===
- The Test

The heavy-set seneschal had been alerted to the coming of the party. The Testing Chamber had been provided with extra security. The Captain of the Guard was there as well as a couple of scribes to capture everything that was said, and quite a bit was said by all the parties.

But it was finally time for the test. The seneschal brought out the scissors.

"What are those for?" asked Rapunzel fearfully, as she caught the flash of the metal and heard sheering clash of the blades as the seneschal tested them.

"The test is very simple, I need a sample of your hair," said the seneschal in his deep voice.

"Mother!" Rapunzel ducked behind the kidnapper. The seneschal would have been amazed by this, but from what he had learned in the last few hours, it wasn't really a surprise.

"Please, isn't there some other way? Cutting the hair destroys the power in it," begged Gothel, holding the Princess Solara under her arms next to her chair.

The seneschal looked suspicious.

"When I snuck into the nursery I found that the power was in the hair of the baby, I cut a lock of hair to take just that. I didn't want to take the babe, but I needed the power to stay alive. I thought a piece would be enough but it wasn't it turned brown and the power faded. It was terrible but I just had to live, so I took her. I'm sorry. See here, the other end of the hair that I cut," Gothel revealed the brown lock under Rapunzel's hair.

The seneschal looked and brought the lock close to the brown lock, they looked the same. Gothel began the song, the hair glowed and then the lock in the vial jumped out and fused with the cut lock on the girl and it quickly grew to match the rest of the hair.

"I guess that would conclusively prove that she is the Lost Princess," quipped Flynn.

There were nods about that.

"Well then, I will take you to your parents. Come with me, your Highness," said the seneschal.

"But, Mother,... Eugene?" Asked the princess uncertainly as Mother's arms fell away. She wanted to meet her parents, but what would happen to Mother and Eugene?

"They will have to remain in custody for now, their crimes have been most serious." The seneschal was leading Rapunzel to the doors, but she ran back and stopped in front of Mother, biting her lip and bouncing on the balls of her feet. Gothel smiled sadly, opened her arms and they hug.
"I love you very much."
"I love you more."
"I love you most."
There was a gasp at that and Gothel winced.

The Lost Princess hugs Flynn Rider.
"You are my new dream."
"And you are mine."

A last look back at the door.

And then she is gone.

===
- Waiting

The queen was sitting, looking like she was reading a book, but she wasn't.

There was another false princess being tested right now on the other side of the palace. After the seventh false princess she had given up on the embroidery, she had looked at it after they had gotten the head shake from the guard, it looked like the work of a drunken spider. She just couldn't concentrate, the fear and worry got in the way.

The past few days had been incredibly hard. The depression that came with the preparations of the Anniversary (there was no way to call it celebration) of the Lost Princess' birthday was awful. She knew in her heart that her baby still lived out there somewhere, she knew that! But if that feeling ever went away....

Then her baby's crown was stolen by Flynn Rider. She had been strong while they were told, they had seen the empty pedestal in the throne room. Her husband had shed a tear and had simply ordered the death of the perpetrators, by any means necessary, no questions asked, just bring back their heads. No one had argued. It was wrong to do that, but she hadn't cared either and hadn't checked her husband on that. She just wanted Flynn Rider dead, dead, dead!

She had gone to her private library and raged and screamed herself hoarse. She had eventually crumpled to the shattered-porcelain covered floor, hating Flynn Rider, hating the Kidnapper, hating herself for not being a good enough mother to protect her miracle baby. She had taken the vial with the Lock of Hair out of her bodice and held it close to her cheek, kissed it, the last evidence that her baby had existed and prayed that her baby was okay, was good and would come home soon.

It had been her daughter's eighteenth birthday yesterday and now another worry was that she would be a woman now and was she good? Could she have any influence on the life of her baby now that she is all grown up? She prayed all the time for her miracle daughter to come home and be a good person. If her baby wasn't good everything would fall apart, everything.

She flipped the pages of her leather-bound book regularly, but she couldn't see the words any more. That had left her after the eleventh false princess. She vaguely wondered what book it was she was supposed to be reading.

The agonizing hours of waiting took their toll. The wild mood swings from hope to despair were something she could not control. She rode them like a ship in a storm. Her husband, her love, nearby, was her anchor, but she knew he suffered too. By the fourth false princess they had stopped trying to talk to each other about their daughter, it was easier to just wait quietly.

They had tried waiting separately once, but she had devolved into screaming and weeping, somehow being together was easier, like two boats tied together are more stable.

She was glad that the maids always remembered the extra pillow after false princess days, she generally cried longer on nights after a false princess had been sent away, sleeping on a soggy pillow wasn't very nice, except in the worst of the summer heat.

Today was a nice day though, sunny but not too hot, the roses were nice this time of year. She wondered if there was flounder available, oil-poached flounder with herbs sounded nice for dinner, but she wasn't hungry. The theatre always did something special this time of year. Maybe a play to take their minds off of the false princess. She turned the blurry page.

A guard slid through the doors and nodded.

A nod.

The guard had nodded.
That was ...different.

It had always been a shake before.
Why would the guard nod?
They never gave a nod before.
A nod meant ...something, something important.

Her heart began to slam against her chest.
The queen stood and moved near the king, the book in her hands forgotten.

A nod would mean....

She looked at her husband and he at her and then back to the guard with the crossed white sashes.

A nod....

...would

mean....

The mother found herself running, alongside the father for the plaza balcony, as the guard dove out of the way, his fez flying.

===

- Meeting The Parents

Rapunzel felt that finally meeting her parents was so strange. Standing all alone on the balcony overlooking the kingdom and the water. So much water. She could see so far, further then she had ever had before. Pascal was comforting her and she was worrying her long blonde hair piling it next to her. Her hands were shaking too much to have any success trying to braid it herself, like those little girls had, was it only yesterday?

She was going to meet her real parents! She thought she should be happy, why was she terrified? Why did she want to run back to Mother? Though she wasn't sure if she could find her by herself, there were so many twists and turns. She felt so lost and staying still was the only thing she could do, because she had no where she could go. She wasn't even sure which way the tower was from here.

The door creaked behind her and she turned. She saw two persons come through into the light. A woman with dark hair and big green eyes came down first. There were slow drifting steps to those eyes, the ones that stared back from her mirror, but this was no mirror, but the person who gave birth to her, who brought her into this world. Did she love her? All she could see was terror in those eyes, like she felt in herself right now. Was this real in the warm, bright sunshine?

There was warmth near her cheek and then a touch, the wonderful warmth of touch, and a smile that said this was really real. A breathe neither knew they were holding released and then closeness, a hug that encompassed her world. Then that other person was there too and she was completely surrounded by love, but it wasn't the same as the hugs Mother gave her, they were hugging her, really hugging her, and not just her hair.

"We love you so much," said the woman who was Rapunzel's real mother.

"I love you more."

"Come, let's go inside and sit and talk, there is so much to tell," said the person who Rapunzel understood to be her father.

Rapunzel bit her lip, it wasn't finished, and they didn't know.

===
- The Complication

"Your Majesties, it appears that her claim to the barony of Ellwangen has some potential legitimacy," stated the seneschal, sitting across from the royal couple at a darkly stained wood conference table, putting down a very old leather bound book.

"What!?" They shout.

"That Barony was given in trust to the crown about 500 years ago," said the seneschal.

"I know that. We've managed that land as our own, it is fertile and productive, a good source of income. But how did she survive all those centuries?" asked the king.

"I don't know, but since the flower was able to heal the queen she must have used it to heal herself, somehow," shrugged the seneschal.

King Leonard thought about that, the flower had healed his wife, since Gothel had survived all those years she must have used it to heal her old age.

"So she really is a Baroness?" asked the king.

"Yes and in addition to that, the house of Ellwangen was placed as wards of the crown, she did it in her dotage as a prelude to her expected death. According to the notes the manor house burned down, there were no deaths but she was the last of that line. She released her chattel and came to the palace. That is done for nobles that have no children and want there to be no disputes over the land after their passing . She has provided the proper passphrases and identifications." He touched the heavy leather book he had put down on the table.

"She couldn't have read it from the book as you were looking?" asked the king.

"Please, sire, give me that much credit. I found the information before returning to her and even opened to the wrong page. She really is a Baroness and ward of the crown."

The queen gasps. "You mean to tell us that she is one of those children or elders we personally take care of as if they were our own. Even until they die."

"Uh, yes, your Majesty," the seneschal said quietly. "It is a rather convoluted and complex situation here."

"If you gentlemen would excuse me..." the queen rose and glided off, her voice tightly controlled.

"Of course, dear," said the king rising, and the other men rising as well.

===
- Finding the Queen

The king of Corona was looking for his wife. He was having a bit of a hard time dealing with the fact that the Kidnapper was one of their wards was ...distressing. Not that they knew her personally like the others, but it was the whole idea. They weren't their children, but they did try to love them as their own. It was a way to keep love alive in their own hearts after the terrible loss of their daughter.

He had had so many special tortures in mind for the kidnapper. Why did it feel like one of their children had kidnapped their daughter? The betrayal stung worse for some reason.

The king was wandering down the hall, his wife had not been in her sewing room as he had expected. He needed to talk this out with someone, but only his dear wife could understand the complexity of the situation. He saw a maid with crossed apron strings come into the hall carrying a pile of dishes.

"Angela, do you know where the queen is?" The king asked.

"Yes, sire. She is in her personal library. Shall I announce you?" Angela the maid, curtsying. She was going there herself, the queen needed more plates, and would be best to tell her the king was there, so the queen could pull herself together. The queen didn't like people knowing how she raged and didn't want the king to worry about her. She was one of the few maids privy to this information. This would allow Angela to protect them both.

They went together to the library and the maid knocked and announced herself and that the king was there as well. After a long moment the queen came out, but held the door closely behind her.

"Hello dear," the queen said.

The king saw the redness in those huge eyes of his dear wife and asked, "What particularly is wrong dear?" he asked as he pulled her into a hug.

"I am having a hard time getting over the fact that one of our wards stole our daughter. I love them like they were my own daughter and the betrayal hurts so much." Said the queen.

"Yes I know, I wanted to talk this out with you. She was the ward of my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, it's not like we knew her." Reminded the king.

"But I would have tried to love her and she betrayed everything we hoped to instill in our wards to steal our daughter." The queen put her arms around her husband.

It didn't make much sense, but this was an emotional issue. The queen had cared for so many: the wards, the widows, the orphans and pretty much anyone who needed help. The king knew his bride had some issues, but she was so full of love, hope and strength. She was his anchor in the terrible depression he fought all the time.

"I know," said the king.

===
- Introducing the Judge

Getting the trial organized was a major challenge. While there had been plans to deal with the kidnapper when she was captured, and there were even plans that anticipated a criminal rescuing the Lost Princess. The sheer scale of having Flynn Rider, the second most wanted criminal in the kingdom and the Pubthugs from the Snuggly Duckling, put a strain on the system.

To keep the careful balance of justice and mercy Corona had developed over the centuries they needed to gather testimony and evidence and keep the accused apart so they couldn't adjust their stories to match, so the kingdom could weed out the liars.

So many details to attend to.

Then they had to find an impartial judge. Obviously, neither the king nor queen could not preside over the trial, being the victims. They had also expected the judges of the kingdom to recuse themselves as they have had to deal with the issues the kidnapping of the princess had made.

The University of Corona had an extensive law library and College of Law. Many kingdoms sent judges and lawyers to learn here to improve their own kingdoms. Most were not very familiar with Coronaian law, and so were unsuitable, but at present there was one who was knowledgable and willing.

A pygmy visiting from Africa, who had come to learn all about the renowned Coronaian law so as to build a better justice system for his king.

The victims of the crime, the royal family were in their designated place in the courtroom. Most of the courtroom was filled with the criminals: The Kidnapper of the Lost Princess, Flynn Rider, and the PubThugs from the Snuggly Duckling and plenty of guards.

The jury was seated as well. The judge had interviewed the potential jurors most carefully, with a pair of his visiting colleagues from the law school. There were enough new immigrants to Corona that they were able to find twelve that would be able to serve impartially, however he had made sure to remind them of the applicable laws to this case.

The large oak-paneled courtroom was called to order and all rose to honor the judge.

The judge, Ota Benga, resplendent in full traditional ceremonial garb, mounted the bench deeply carved with the kingdom's sigil, backed by a huge Coronaian sun banner, climbed the step stool to the raised seat provided to him to see over the heavy wood structure of the judge's bench, turned to the assemblage, nodded to the royals and smiled.

The princess went "Eek!" and dove behind her father. Judge Ota Benga had pointy teeth.

"Oh, please. Oh, please. He's going to cut my hair." Rapunzel was hugging her huge braid tightly and she was scared she didn't have her frying pan to defend herself with. Mother had said men with pointy teeth would come to cut her hair. She hadn't seen any so far, but now there was one right there in front of her and he seemed so important, even her parents had stood for him and they were royals and not supposed to bow to anyone.

The king and queen were holding their daughter between them not understanding what was wrong.

Gothel, who few had noticed was looking a bit older, was reaching out toward Rapunzel in her chains from her place behind a darkly carved banister, guards hauling her back to her chair.

"Rapunzel, please, it's okay! I...I lied. I didn't think there really were anyone with pointy teeth, it was just a lie to keep you in the tower. I'm sorry. I didn't want you scared of anything real. I guess I was wrong about the not being real part," said Gothel, ruefully.

The judge was standing there dumbfounded. Why would the princess be scared of him cutting her hair? He was a judge not a barber. Why would she be so afraid of a haircut? What kind of lie was that to tell a child to keep her in a tower?

This might be a more challenging trial then he had expected.

===

- Hookhand's Testimony

They brought Hookhand in to testify. He was the last of the PubThugs, as they called themselves, to testify. Given the large numbers of defendants they had simply gone in order from least to most wanted. There had been some grumbling in the prison over who was more wanted then whom, but that was besides the point.

"So how did you first meet Flynn Rider?" Asked the judge.

"That was a few years ago, he'd stop by the Pub to pawn off something he'd stolen. He was very smooth for one so young. I didn't really like him as he always seemed to think of himself as better than us. Holding himself away from us." Rumbled Hookhand.

"Really? And yet you broke into the royal prison to rescue him, not even offering resistance when you were captured." The official report and the testimony of the guards had made interesting reading.

"We weren't breaking him out because we liked him. We busted him out so he could go rescue the girl." Hookhand gestured to the princess with his chained stump. "We didn't even know she was the Lost Princess until you told us."

"You broke a man you didn't like out of the royal prison to save a girl, that wasn't special in any way," the judge summed up.

Hookhand barked a laugh. "Oh, she was special all right, but not because she was the Lost Princess, but because she had a dream and was going for it."

"A dream?"

"To see the floating lights, uh sky lanterns. She had captured Flynn and was making him be her guide to see them, she didn't even know where she was. She was pretty brave to have done that. Not like me." Hookhand finished sadly.

"Not like you?"

"I wanted to be a concert pianist, but you know, no one is going to take a student with only one hand," He waved his stump around vaguely. "I taught myself, I'm not great, but pretty good, I guess." He stole a glance at the princess and she was looking at him like he was better then 'pretty good'.

"When did you first meet the princess?" asked the judge.

"That was the day before the princess' celebration. She comes in with Flynn, who walked in like he owned the place. I hate people who do that. She was pretty cool though. She was scared, but she looked ready to take us on with her frying pan, that shows a lot of guts. Flynn was pretty dumb though, he didn't seem to have noticed how much his reward was upped to. We were going to take him in for the reward, but we got to squabbling amongst ourselves but she got my attention, and I started telling her about my dream."

"Got your attention?" Ota was suddenly curious.

"She, um, whacked me with a tree branch." Hookhand ducked his head.

Everyone looked at Rapunzel who smiled shyly and nodded.

"A tree branch?"

"It's not like it hurt, really." Hookhand shrugged. Rapunzel gaped as her braid slipped from her shocked hands; she had hit him as hard as she could.

"And then what happened."

"After all of us have confessed our dreams to her, including Flynn, the guards showed up and we helped them escape out the secret passage. Then the horse figured out the passage and he and the guards and the Stabbingtons took off. We didn't see them again until the next morning, well only the horse showed up. He said the girl was in trouble but didn't know where she was, but he knew that Flynn knew where she was. But Flynn was in the prison, so we had to bust him out by getting him up to the battlement where Max could jump to the neighboring building. Then we were captured."

The judge nodded. "Thank you for your testimony. You will be returned to your cell now."

===

- Maximus' Testimony

Maximus was brought into the courtroom. The judge thought it odd to have a horse testify, but the princess, the Captain of the Guard, Flynn Rider and the PubThugs had all testified of how he had done incredible and important things.

But how to hear his testimony? And how to sort truth from lies?

Anything able to communicate can lie, the judge knew. Even a flower lied to get bees to come and pollenate them. But what of a horse?

The princess was able to communicate with animals, and while she seemed so very honest and had promised to not lie during the trial, he needed to make sure that the trial ran as fairly to all parties as possible. There were not a lot of people with good animal communications skills in the kingdom, and the kingdom was so very biased against the kidnapper.

Ota was so often left in wonder at just how much effort had gone into the conception and birth of the Lost Princess. Not just by the King and Queen and the medical team, but by the entire kingdom. He had talked with many people as he studied here in Corona and so many of them had a story to tell about their part in helping the queen have a child, finding the magic golden flower and the search for the Lost Princess. All that love for the royal family had turned to hatred aimed at the kidnapper.

The kidnapper was heavily guarded mainly for her own safety. What one or two might dare in the darkness of the night wouldn't be done when there were 20 about with bright torches.

This was also the most emotional charged trial he had ever been a part of. This was not what he had been expecting when he had come to Corona. He had come to Europa to study the legal systems because his king had wanted to improve things and lighten his load. His king had felt that too many people were bringing minor suites to the king to aggrandize themselves or annoy their enemy.

He had come to Corona to study and found it quite wise in its legal construction. The government, the victim and the accused all had certain rights that needed to be abided by, and it had been carefully balanced over a long period of time so no one party dominated. Most trials concluded will all parties agreeing that justice and mercy had been served.

He was hoping that he could let that happen here in this trial.

The judge had spent some time with Maximus trying to get to know him. Maximus was very smart and quite articulate for a horse, so he was thinking that he could question him in front of the court and to make sure had placed three citizens in the courtroom whose job it was to write down their interpretations of what Max had communicated.

So Maximus told of his chase of Flynn Rider and the Stabbington brothers. His battle with Flynn over the satchel. Then the search that lead him to his encounter with Gothel and eventually the Snuggly Ducking and the dam. Finally finding Flynn Rider and the girl. The girl had talked to him and understood him and he helped her enjoy her birthday, but kept Flynn Rider in sight all the time, except when they went on the little boat.

But Flynn had come back alone and was captured, he searched for the girl but only found the Stabbington brothers. He needed to find the girl, she had vanished into the forest something was wrong, he needed Flynn to find the girl but no one would listen in the stable so he had to go to the Snuggly Duckling to get the men he needed to get Flynn out and take him to the girl. Finally the guard had followed and found them all at the tower.

It felt odd to the judge to thank a horse for his testimony.

===

- The Stabbington brother's testimony

"The two of you and Flynn Rider stole the Tiara of the Lost Princess," asked the judge of the two Stabbington brothers. The one didn't seem able to speak so they were brought in together.

"Yeah. It was his idea. He needed us to do the muscle work. Drop him down and pull him up again. He ditched us and left us to the guards in a little box canyon," said Lance.

The judge nodded, he had heard the reports from the guards.

"Had you known him long?" asked the judge.

They shrugged, "A few weeks, though we had bumped into each other from time to time, but mostly only knew each other from reputation. Flynn was more of a loner."

"Why did you join up with Gothel?"

"She offered something worth more then a thousand crowns, but the clincher was we could take our revenge on Flynn Rider. He double crossed us too often to let slide. He took the crown and left us for the guards, then got away again at the dam. Then he tries to give us the crown so he could take off with the girl with the magic hair. She is worth far more then any old crown."

"So, you thought to kidnap the Lost Princess?" asked the judge.

Lance and Dirk traded a look, but Lance said, "We didn't know she was the Lost Princess. She was just a girl with magic hair. We saw her magic Flynn's hand. It was pretty obvious that what she could do was very valuable. Magic artifacts are very valuable. Magic beings even more so, if they don't blast you. But since the girl didn't attack the old lady, we figured she wasn't all that dangerous. We could get the magic girl, take care of the old lady and get plenty of money."

"You were going to sell a magical being into slavery, just for the money."

"We gotta eat too." They shrugged together.

"But you'd get a lot more then just eating money," said Ota as he leaned back and peaked his short fingers in front of him.

The Stabbington brothers could only shrug, but they were beginning to sweat this was not a good kingdom to be accused of kidnapping in. About the only good thing was, they hadn't been successful at all. Attempted kidnapping was not nearly as bad.

The judge knew that the black market trade in magical artifacts was very high stakes. Most magical beings were either strong enough to defend themselves like fairies, unicorns and dragons or would live in large enough groups to hold off attackers, like gnomes and pixies. As a magical being the princess seemed powerful, yet quite defenseless, she would indeed be seen as very valuable.

"So, who were you going to sell her too?"

The brothers exchange a look.

"I'll ...consider a reduction in your sentence for that information." Finding a dealer in illicit magical entities and artifacts would be very valuable. The magical black market was one of the most violent and heartless in the world. Many people have been killed because they were rumored to have an artifact or ability. Many forests were destroyed in the search for magic.

Another look.

"We don't know his real name, but he goes by The Mustache, he's based in Ulm."

"Very good. I'll see what can be done for you."

(A/N: I can hear the plot bunnies getting it on. Anyone want to run with them? Be my guest.)