Chapter 134 134. The Trial Part 2

Chapter 134 134. The Trial Part 2
Ben was glaring at Isolde as if she knew exactly what he did a year ago. He knew she knew what she had done. Ashford had been meeting with his lawyers, his representatives. He told him everything. The Willoughby family was grateful for his advice. The man was powerful and had gone out of his way to help his family.  

He had not stood by and blamed Ben for burning down Arcane Academy; no, he sought out the boy to find evidence that it had been him. He gave him a chance; no one else seemed to give him. Even during his short stint with healers for the damage the fire had done to him, Ashford had come to visit.  

He got to the bottom of what had happened, and he was sure he would not leave his trial with punishment. No, Ben was sure that Isolde was going to be the one chained and imprisoned; it had all been her. He had worked carelessly with his representatives, and as the accused, he wouldn't get his chance until he was called; that is where he would wipe them out with the truth.

That Isolde was the young dark wielder who had entered his mine because she couldn't take some bullying, and she lashed out, making him the one who burned down Arcane Academy. She was dangerous, and he wanted to show the Nexus of Power that unchecked wielders of the dark posed a threat. Those laws needed to be enacted so that the ones out and about should be locked up because they're dangerous.  

Both his parents had agreed, and even Ashford talked to them about how a big public trial could assuage the population. Ben's trial was postponed for so long. Ashford, his parents, and anyone Ashford could gather support from. They wanted the public to watch; if they did, it would force the Nexus to find the true guilty party, and things would change. Ashford had talked with Ben in confidence; he apologized.  

Ben had been flattered, of course. Ashford had done nothing to him; it was all Isolde. Ashford apologized, saying it was because his hands had been tied and he couldn't get Isolde out of Arcane. Ashford told Ben that this trial was much bigger than him and that he was being exceptionally brave. That history would be right about the trial, and the world would see they were right.  

The plan was simple: when he was questioned, he answered truthfully, and when his lawyers had their turn, then he could tell his whole truth and give his reasons for what he did, why he was scared of Isolde. He went through them; keeping his anger in check was the hardest part of this whole thing. It shouldn't be him; it should be Isolde on trial.  

Finally, the last question came. He sat with all eyes on him. "Mr. Willoughby, are you the one responsible for burning  Arcane Academy?"  

"Yes," Ben said. He went to say why but was cut off. He looked to his lawyer, who nodded. He knew his chance was coming to explain why, what led up to these actions; he had gone over them again and again the past several months.  

His lawyer was finally given his turn, and he spoke, asking Ben the bigger question. " Mr. Willoughby, is there a reason you burned down the school? It does not seem like something a child would do without reason. Can you tell me what led you to make such a decision?"  

Ben took a breath. This was his moment; he wouldn't fuck it up, Ben told himself. He took a deep breath. "Thank you for asking. I never intended to burn down Arcane Academy, and I certainly never wanted anyone to be harmed by my actions. To understand my reasoning, we have to go back a way. Isolde Thorne, formerly Isolde Brown, had been going out of her way to do some very dark craft on myself and my friends, since she first learned to wield dark craft."  

After taking another breath, he saw someone taking notes. Ashford said the press would be there, reporting for the masses. If he did this right, not only would he be free, but the world would turn over and imprison those who wielded darkness. Who ought to have out information they had no business learning.  

"She had not been well monitored at school, and despite the headmaster's rules to contain what she could do in school, she was still rather dark. I saw her lurking in the library and was generally concerned for the student body. It was getting close to curfew, and it seemed I had been the only one with enough courage to confront her, despite her previous attacks on my friends and me."  

Ben went on, "See, the student body had been giving her space since she had scared a lot of them. She has very few friends, as if everyone knew she was dangerous, so when I walked past the library late, I saw her alone; there was no one in there with her, and she was hissing at her snake; she looked to be plotting."  

"I did not go in there with the intention to do her any harm, as I was too scared of her; I just made sure she was not doing something evil or wrong. To check, confront her, I suppose. When I approached, I started to hear voices in my head, not my own; it was strange, but I fought off the words; it didn't make sense. Then I felt her serpent bite me. She yelled, "Do as you're told!" She screamed at me.  

"I must admit I am not proud of this, but we got into a physical confrontation. I have been raised that it is never alright to hit women, but I was scared, and I knew I couldn't win if I chose to wield craft. So it turned into a physical fight between the two of us. Something was ripped from my chest: a talisman my parents gave me. Once she came back to school, I didn't know that was what was preventing me from being under her mind manipulation. Then, once it was gone from my neck, she forced her control, and I couldn't object, and so, because she forced my mind to comply, I was forced to burn down the school."  

The courtroom stilled at his words. Ben took the time to look at Isolde. She knew that was not the truth, but based on what he said, it made her look bad, guilty, and it was close to the truth but not entirely. He sent her a smirk.