Inquiries

"I'm 21 years old, I'm wealthy and famous, hmmm..., I'm allergic to mangoes," Kat stated, letting out a sigh at the end. "There's no lie in your answers," Nikolas stated with a smile. "He is right," Kat said. "We will begin the questioning now, Lady Katherine," Margaret announced, nodding at Nikolas to proceed.

"What is your name?" Nikolas asked.

"Katherine Young," she replied.

"Do you have any other acquaintances who came with you to our world?"

"No, I do not. Actually, it's less of a world difference. When I asked for the year, it turns out we are both living in the same timeline, meaning we are from two separate dimensions. Although, technically it could still be referred to as another world."

"And when did you deduce this information?" He asked, intrigued by Kat's intelligence, as it wasn't often that girls were so educated in their universe if they weren't of high status.

"Yesterday at noon," she replied. Nikolas asked Kat a few more questions. The atmosphere shifted into a more serious one as though pressing questions were about to be asked.

"Are you a witch of any kind?" He asked.

"I'm not," she answered.

"You were said to have attacked Lord Herrington and the crowd, is that true?" He asked. As the questions were asked, Lord Serum was documenting each question and answer given.

"No, I did not," Kat responded.

"But you were said to have attacked a guard?" He questioned.

"It wasn't an attack, it was more of self-defense, and they came at me first. I had to protect myself."

"And what was the thing you used against the guard?"

She reached into her dress pocket and brought out the canister of pepper spray, placing it on the table. "It's just pepper spray," she stated. Lady Margaret picked up the canister and raised it to her nose to sniff it. "I had examined it and it is a mixture of pepper and alcohol, it wouldn't do any permanent damage," Sebastian stated. "You are right," Margaret confirmed. "You were also said to have another thing with you that startled the crowd, may we see that too?" Margaret requested. Kat nodded and handed her phone to Margaret. "What is it?" she asked. "It is a gadget from my world, it's called a phone. It's mainly used for communication, it could be used for a lot more but it is useless here because it can't access the internet or any sort of network."

"I see... Mr Herrington stated that you captured him in this umm device."

Kat's lips drew in a straight line at the mention of the incident. "I accidentally took a picture, I didn't capture anyone, it was just an image, you know like a painting but more advanced. Here, I will show you," Kat said, stretching her hand out for Margaret to hand her the phone, which she did.

Unlocking the phone, Kat faced it towards Sebastian, but as he was standing really close to the king from her angle, it seemed as though she wanted to aim it at the king. "What are you doing?" she heard Lady Adela question slightly alarmed. Kat then realized that pointing what they thought to be a weapon in the king's direction wasn't exactly a smart thing to do. She was about to retreat and just take a selfie of herself, but the king's devilishly cold voice spoke. He raised his hand stopping Adela from talking further. "Go on, Katherine," he said to Kat, his piercing gaze still on her. She took the picture but before she could hand the phone over to Margaret, the king asked for it. She handed it to him. As he examined it, looking at himself in the picture and he simply hummed, he didn't give any comments and handed the phone back to her. She handed it to Margaret. "Intriguing," Margaret muttered, handing it to the rest of the council members. They examined it, not finding it to be anything dangerous, they handed it back to Kat.

"Was anything else brought with you when you arrived here?" Lady Adela asked. Kat gave a thoughtful look before responding, "yes, Just my suitcases."

"If you don't mind, we will have to examine that."

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I didn't quite like the idea of them going through my stuff, but I had to agree to clear myself of any suspicion. "Sure," responded.

A guard was ordered to fetch them. When he brought them back, they were placed on the table. Lady Margaret took the liberty of searching them. The first one was zipped open, and she brought out my box of chocolates. Their eyes scanned the image on the chocolate box, a look of curiosity in her eyes as she asked me, "What is this?" "Oh, that's chocolate, it's a type of candy," I replied, "May I?" I requested. Margaret handed me the box. I brought out a chocolate, unwrapping it. I broke a piece, as the sweet cocoa taste touched my taste buds, I couldn't help but let out a satisfying hum. "Here, try it," I stretched it out for Margaret to take. "Oh no, thank you, but I'm not a fan of sweet things," she refused. "Oh, come on, one bite wouldn't hurt, try it," I insisted.

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Margret hesitated for a moment before taking the chocolate. She broke a piece and ate it. She shut her eyes in anticipation for the taste, and everyone around the table was also anticipating what she was going to say. "It tastes great," she commented, surprisingly.

"Of course it does, it's chocolate," Kat said.

"Let me try it," Nikolas said.

Tasting the chocolate, he also commented, "It tastes absolutely great. What is it made of?"

"Um... cocoa, sugar, and milk, I guess."

"Brilliant," Nikolas commented enthusiastically as he enjoyed the chocolate.

The rest of the council also took a piece and all agreed it tasted nice. Kat handed another bar, stretching it out to the king, not wanting to be rude.

He stared at her, then at the treat in the girl's hand, his head tilted slightly. Taking the chocolate from her, "I will have it later," he said, handing it to Sebastian.

Kat didn't say anything and just nodded as the search continued. Lady Margaret brought out some other things, books, three pairs of sneakers, and a few flat shoes. She also brought out fluffy white bunny room slippers. Everyone watched as items were being brought out one after the other. Lady Margaret brought out another object, their curious eyes turned to Katherine. "It's a flashlight," she said, collecting it and demonstrating how it worked. "Fascinating," Sebastian commented. The net compartment of the suitcase was filled with chips and other snacks. Kat continued to explain each thing that was brought out and its purpose.

After checking through the first suitcase and finding nothing suspicious, Lady Margaret opened the other one and began to search that too. It was mostly filled with clothing that looked unusual to them, making them understand that the way people dressed in Kat's world was extremely different from theirs. She brought out other things like perfume, hair clips, nail polish, glasses, handbags, makeup, and a lot more. At the bottom of the suitcase was Kat's laptop. Curious, they waited for her to explain. Kat saw this as an opportunity to show them how her world was. She opened the laptop and played a random movie and videos, placing it in a position where they could all see it.

Fascinated by the usage of cars and other modernized things, as well as the cultural differences, they watched attentively. Similarly to how Kat could take a picture of a person's image with her phone, they learned about videos and more from the movie Kat played. She also explained how back in the day, their worlds were more similar in culture, and she played a historical film to explain better, explaining concepts like democracy and the law as much as she could. After everything, they had a better understanding of how alien everything in her world seemed to them.

There was only one item left, a mini storage bag. Lady Margaret was about to open it when Kat's eyes widened, and she panicked, "Don't open that!" Everyone raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Why can't we open it?" the king spoke, raising an eyebrow. If it weren't for her dark skin, Kat's face would have flushed red. "It's private," she said.

"Sebastian, bring it to me," the king ordered. Sebastian placed the bag in front of the king, who opened the zipper. As he saw the contents, everyone stared at him in anticipation. He looked over to the girl who had been ever so confidently staring at him, now avoiding his gaze. He chuckled, closing the zipper back. He handed the bag back to Sebastian. "That will be all for the search." The suitcases were returned. Although everyone was curious about what was in the bag, no one dared to say anything. The inspection went on.

"Sebastian had given us a brief intel on the incident that occurred the night before your arrival here. "Please tell us everything," lady Margret requested.

Kat exhaled slowly before beginning her explain. "I lost consciousness and found myself here," she concluded.

The council's expression was a mix of surprise and intrigue. "This is a serious matter, we do not know who or what the old lady is, and what her motives could be behind send you here," Nikolas stated. "Can you remember what this old lady looked like? With your description, we could get a sketch of her that would help with the investigation," Margret stated. Kat nodded in response.

"Call the court artist at once," she ordered one of the guards, but she was stopped by Kat. "That won't be needed, I just need a pencil and paper please?" Kat requested.

"Of course," Margaret nodded for the guard to get what Kat had requested. The parchment of paper and the pencil were placed in front of Kat. She picked up the pencil to examine it and as she had expected, it was pure graphite. Satisfied, Kat began sketching. The council members were curious to see how the sketch would end up. it wasn't often did they see a woman confident to openly show off her artistic talent.

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The image of the old lady remained crystal clear in my mind as I continued sketching. My mind trailed to the people around, who were deferent compared to how Vivian had describe the shadow council to be, no one had treated her with disrespect or hustliy, I wandered how a quirky man like Nikolas could even fit in with the word cruel. Setting the thought aside, I focused on sketching the old lady.

I could feel their gazes on me, but the one that got to me was the man seated on my right, his gaze wasn't of anything I could explain, but rather something else entirely. The courtroom fell silent, the only sound coming from the pencil I held, scribbling on the paper as I finished the sketch.

Satisfied with the results, "This is her," I showed them.

"Impressive, Miss Kat. Your skill is simply commendable," Sebastian complimented.

"Thank you, Sebastian," I thanked.

"Not only are you beautiful but intelligent and talented," Nikolas chirped like a fanboy, which made me wonder if he was truly a member of the council or just happened to have tagged along.

Margaret cleared her throat and gave him a stern look, which was echoed by the rest of the shadow council. He returned her gaze with an awkward smile.

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Clearing his throat, he spoke, "we will ask a few more questions, and that will be all." She nodded in response. "Is there any ones, friend or family who have ever said anything related to our dimensions you can remember or anything out of place?"

She paused, reflecting on my past encounters, but nothing significant came to mind. "No, not that I can recall," she responded honestly.

"And your family?" He inquired. Kat's expression faltered for a moment, a shadow passing over her features before it was replaced with a calm smile. "They passed away long ago, I only have my uncle," she replied, not going into much detail. "We are sorry to hear that," Lady Margaret said. "It's alright," she responded.

Nikolas leaned forward, his gaze intensifying, "And for the last question, it's very important," he said, his tone suddenly serious, catching everyone's attention. "Are you in any relationship whatsoever?" He asked.

Everyone: "....."

Kat stared blankly at him, pausing before replying, " No...."

His lips parted, about to say something, but underneath the table, Lady Adela stomped on his feet, making him wince. "Ouch, what was that for?" he exclaimed. Ignoring him, Adela looked ahead as though she had done nothing wrong.

Margaret shot Nikolas a sideways glance, silently reprimanding him. He returned her gaze with a sheepish smile.

Like the warning gaze from Margaret and the stomp on his foot by Adela wasn't enough, Nikolas's smile fell the moment he heard the king's speak "Nikolas" the king said his face carried a bored expression. Nikolas turned his gaze to the king slowly, his own expression changing to one of dread. He sank back into his seat, closing his mouth shut.