Justice Divine slammed the gaval and the case resumed. "Court is now in session, my little Willy, you may prosecute the defense until your heart's content..."

Mina rolled her eyes and rested her head on her hands. "Of course, she gives her relatives more time to question suspects. Now I'm gonna have to marry him if I want more cross examination time!"

Blind Justice crossed his arms. "Now that's a legal agreement I'd stay far away from. Now, Ms. Sumac, please, let's not waste any more time here. Come up to the stand please."

Winona looked nervously at Mina. "Normally goths don't get intimated," she said, "But that prosecutor has a dark aura to him! I can tell there are many ghosts in his past!"

Mina placed a consoling arm in her friends shoulder. "Just try to stall him for as long as you can. As soon as Chet's safe and sound, we can put this sham trial to rest!"

There was a faraway look in Winona's eyes. "Luckily, there's no one spacier and distracting than goths!"

She rose to her feet, a strutted across the room staring widely into space. Blind Justice rubbed his hands together, and Mina was expecting him to tie a bib around his thick neck. Luckily, she knew Winona was good at being offbeat.

"State your name, age and relation to the suspect..." William asked.

Winona lowered her heavily mascaraed eyes. "My name..." she said in a hollow, monotonous voice. "Winona Chandra Sumac, and much like the plant, there is an oily poison running through my blackened veins."

The judge slammed the hammer on the table. "Willy...get her some medical attention immediately!"

Blind shook his head. "She belongs to the goth subculture, grandma. She's not really poisoned…"

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"But…" the judge stammered. "I thought in history class they taught us the eastern roman empire defeated the goths in the sixth century…What is she doing here?!"

Blind slammed his head in his hands. "It's not those kind of goths, grandma. These goths are just overly depressed high school students who write bad poetry and listen to music performed by men in lipstick."

"Actually," Winona winked. "I'm an emo!"

"Kids these days…" justice Divine muttered. "They think they're long necked birds."

"That's an emu," the prosecutor hissed. "Miss Sumac…or should I say, Miss Hillside. Please state your name. Your REAL name…age and occupation and relation to the client…or I will hold you accountable for obstructing justice."

Winona dropped her hands. "Must I really tell them my real name? It makes me look all happy and perky and I'm anything but that…"

"NOW!" Blind snapped.

Winona sighed. "My birth name is Beverly Hillside. But luckily, my age is 700! There is vampire blood running through these veins!"

The dark skinned judged widened her eyes. "She's surprisingly unwrinkled for a 700 year old pale high school girl!"

"Real age!" Blind demanded.

"18…" Winona sighed again. "Must you stake me in my heart before these people, Mr. Justice…"

Blind growled and pointed a finger in his deep voice. "State your relation to the suspect…."

Winona closed her eyes and smirked on the stand. "Chet…" she giggled in her low deep voice. "Is one of my victims!"

The crowd rumbled before her. Many people were horrified. "Did she murder Chet Cody?" an old woman asked.

"Or is she truly behind this?" her husband asked, equally surprised.

"Elaborate, Miss Hillside…" Blind asked.

"He keeps me young!" Winona said throwing her hands up like a vampire. "I suck his blood and…"

Mina pounded the desk, causing her legal papers to go flying. "That's too far, Winona! She's his boyfriend! Geez louise! Goths make the worst clients!"

"Sorry, Mina," Winona said. "I gloom'd around too much."

Blind raised his voice to an unbelievable and scary pitch. "Hawkins! Did you put her up to these shenanigans? Have you been coaching this suspect to act like even more gothic than she already is?!"

"What?!" Mina said, acting shocked. "Me?" She giggled nervously. "I'm not gothing up the works."

She covered her mouth. "Eep..I mean gumming!"

"Grandma…." Blind pointed right at the judge. "Erm…I mean judge. I would like to have this defense attorney barred from this court session!"