***Aubrey's POV ***

"Are you ready parvulus?" Darious questioned.

"I am." I confirmed.

Today is my first act as a warrior. I was worried. Not so much about the choices I would make, rather the details I would learn.

I had made a point in this new life to bury the pain of my past existence. This day would no doubt exhume my past. Either way, I was ready.

"We will all be here when you return." Darius kissed me as he released me from his hold.

"Thank you." I whispered.

I hurried to the human realm, my assignment was to be the judge and jury for a young mother who was accused of killing her newborn. She relinquished the opportunity to have a trial by jury. Instead, she would leave her fate to my hands. Judge and Jury, it all rested within my power.

I sat upon my worldly throne, looking across the courtroom. The mother had not made her way to the room. I scanned the attendees, soaking in the feelings that saturated the air.

Fear, disgust, hate and sorrow latched onto my being with a vengeance.

My heart immediately broke as the defendant shuffled to her seat.

Young. Extremely young. The file that was now offered to me stated her age as 14. Too young.

I scanned the documents, bringing the details of the plaintiffs to my attention.

"The details provided state you waive your right to a trial by a jury of your peers." I address the young girl.

"Yes ma'am." She confirms.

"You realize, by doing so, your fate lies solely to my discretion with no room for appeal." I clarify.

"Yes, your honor. I am aware of the consequences of all of my decisions." She sniffles.

Her eyes were red and puffy. Her choices have no doubt weighed heavily upon her small frame. She was already suffering the burden of guilt.

"Prosecutor, please state your case. The defense attorney will state his afterwards." I continued.

Persephone had coached me thru my role in this case. I confidently acted the part.

"The defendant is accused of infanticide." The Prosecutor echoed thru the courtroom.

A series of hushed oohs passed thru the crowd as the woman's scarlet letter was presented to the surveyors.

The defendant's head hung low as her shoulders heaved upon hearing their judgement.

"What evidence do you have to present?" I questioned with false bravado.

As I awaited the evidence, the Bailiff urged the room to settle to silence.

I drank from the glass of water that sat upon my judgmental perch. My mouth was instantly dried by the first exhibit.

"Exhibit A." The prosecutor pointed to the projector on the right of my seat.

My stomach lurched and I fought to keep down the breakfast I had consumed in the early morning.

An innocent angel, her baby, was was offered to me in its lifeless state.

My mind became muddled between the portrait of her angel and my own. Flickers of Ellie washing thru my sensory perfunctory. Tears threatened in the cusp of my eye lids in milliseconds.

I cleared my throat and breathed slowly. Focusing on the Prosecutor who was gleaming at the shock instilled upon my face.

"Please remove Exhibit A from the projector." I demanded.

"Continue with the next piece of evidence." I ordered.

Exhibit B was introduced, the death certificate. All eyes were zeroed in on the cause of death.

Suffocation.

The details were spread like dandelions in the wind, as the mother, the defendant held her hands over her ears. She was silently begging for her crimes to be extinguished.

I watched in pity as she shook from the tremors that raked her abused form.

My mind was sorting the details of her transgression. They seemed far away from the reactions she was depicting.

"The defendant killed her newborn in an attempt to cover her promiscuous behavior." The Prosecutor accused.

"Is this a theory or a fact?" I requested. Clearly he believed stating falsified hypothesis would sway me in his favor.

"Theory your honor. I was not there when the mother of this innocent child chose to steal his breath." The Prosecutor laid the blow with such austerity it felt like a gentle caress of words.

The gasp from the defendant confirmed that his words left their intended puncture upon her fragile soul.

"Please refrain from inducing opinion upon myself. I will stand for nothing less than what the evidence depicts." I harshly spat towards the offensive party.

"Noted, my apologies your honor." The Prosecutor feigned innocence.

"Exhibit C, the state in which the child was discovered." He continued.

A garbage bag was pictured with the clear indentations of a human child carelessly discarded into a drainage outlet.

Once again I was thrown into the quarrels of my past. My angel's face dancing beyond my grasp. Relentlessly, her features raced into my memory. Their presence pulling me apart by my heart's strings.

I fought against my recollection of memories. I struggled to separate the two sleeping angels from my conscience. The weight of my success nestled between my shoulders.

Atlas would do well to hold his own under these circumstances.

"Do you have any witnesses?" I begged.

"We call the Medical Examiner to the witness stand, your honor." The Prosecutor revealed.

"As you wish." I agreed.

The M.E. took the stand, swearing in her truth by placing her hand on the Bible. Her confidence radiated off of her but, I did not miss the trace of pity that tinged her emotions.

I listened intently, soaking in every detail. I willed myself to concentrate on the professionalism she imitated. Her facts were concise, although she clearly left room for interpretation.

I could hear her spirit begging me to read between the lines. Her opinion mixed with the truth, allowing me the opportunity to refute her findings. She was unsure of the details surrounding the clear cause of death.

As she closed her testimony, the Prosecutor looked vindicated. His smile was laced with pride.

I honestly wanted to shoot daggers his way. I refrained, somehow.

The last details of the evidence were exposed. The Prosecutor took his seat, satisfied with the assault upon the defendant that he had skillfully administered.

I called for a brief recess. The child needed a breath and I could also use a moment of fresh air to clear my tangled thoughts.

I stood within my chambers, clearly distraught. I breathed slowly, glancing out of the window. I watched as the bustling city moved thru it's morning. The whole world entranced by their busy schedule, immune to the tribulations that were being conducted within the confines of these walls.

My spirit was crying out for the silent angel, whose lack of presence, defiled the courtroom in which I was to rejoin.

I collected my calm demeanor and urged myself back into my seat to continue towards a resolution in this daunting case. Although my heart was burdened by the knowledge that was already brought to life, I refused to come to a conclusion without hearing all sides. I would do my service to my title and use compassion to bring atonement to the innocent party.

Which party that stood to be, remained a mystery.

As the courtroom regained its composure, I settled myself in knowing that the defense would be the other half of this sullen equation. I sent a prayer to Persephone for an intelligent argument, one that would cast light in the direction of my perception.

"We will start by cross examining the M.E." The D.A. announced.

I sighed a breath of relief at his statement. Maybe Persephone had heard my cry.

"Medical Examiner." The D.A. addressed with a smile and a nod of his head.

"It's undeniable that suffocation resulted in the death of Exavier." He started.

"Objection, the child does not have a name." The Prosecutor demanded.

"Did the child take a breath?"  The D.A. questioned.

"Yes." The M.E. confirmed.

"Then Exavier does have a name because he was born alive and live births result in names. I expect the death certificate to reflect this upon closing this case." The D.A. clamored.

"Let the record show, the child, Exavier Alexander Welsh, will be addressed as so during the remainder of these proceedings. The death certificate and birth certificate will be altered to cogitate this." I ruled.

The Defense Attorney smiled softly at me and his defendant. She nodded her head to me in a silent thank you for her small victory.

"Continue please." I carried forth.

"Do you have any evidence that the child was manually suffocated?" The D.A. requested.

"No sir. Evidence only offers the cause of death as, in fact, suffocation." The M.E. admitted.

I witnessed the slow breath the Medical Examiner expelled. A small light was apparent. She was relieved that the question had been addressed.

"Therefore, could we presume, that the infanticide may have been accidental?" He continued.

"Objection. Theory." The Prosecutor seethed.

"Your theory was introduced. As long as there is supportive evidence, I will acknowledge your objection. Let the record show the prosecutor has objected." I started.

The prosecutor smiled.

"And please record that I have over ruled that objection." I finished.

The prosecutor's smile fell and I felt good knowing I could take his boastful pride down at least one notch.

"Let's introduce, as a theory, that Exavier was accidentally suffocated by the defendant, Lacy Welsh." The D.A. Continued.

"Is this plausible?" He requested to the M.E.

"Yes, sir." She agreed.

"I have no further questions. I would like to call Lacy Welsh to the stand please." The D.A. announced.

Thank you Moon Goddess!

Lacy stood feebly from her seat at the defendant's table. Her eyes were soaked in tears. She wiped frantically as she made her way to the stand. She looked directly forward as she swore under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So help her God. Or Aubrey.

I listened as she explained the raw details of her life, pregnancy, at home birth and the death of her angel. Her tears poured heavily down her face between broken hearted sobs.

"Where were your parents during the birth?" The D.A. requested.

"Out." Lacy answered.

"Where were your parents during your pregnancy?" He again addressed Lacy.

"Out." She replied.

"What happened to baby Exavier?" He finally asked the question we all wanted answered.

"I went into labor during the early hours of morning. I tried desperately to get down stairs to the home phone. I couldn't make it because the pain was excruciating." She started.

Her eyes were wide as if the pain was seeping once more into her fragile physical being.

"I went to the bathroom, in my room, and crawled into the tub. I laid for hours, panting and breathing like I had seen on TV. Suddenly the urge to push was all I could wrap my brain around. I tried desperately to hold in the baby, unsure of how I could deliver it alone." She continued.

Small gasps broke the air as we all took in the information that was being given.

"I was so busy fighting the urge but, he was ready. I felt him descending the birth canal and  then he ripped thru my body, his head becoming lodged between my legs. I grabbed his face on either side of his head and tried pulling on his body while I pushed but he wouldn't budge. When I became breathless from the struggle, I closed my legs to keep the warmth around his head while I prayed to figure out a way to safely deliver his shoulders. His small whimpers went silent." She cried.

"What happened next." The D.A. urged softly.

"I became frantic. I pushed down, bearing down until my body shook with tremors. I yanked at any skin I could feel and finally squeezed his shoulders and feet out." She confirmed.

"What did you find?" He questioned.

"He wasn't breathing." She wailed. Her scream drenched the courtroom in terror. Her body was violently pushing her pain thru her covered mouth.

Tears began to flood over my eyes as I fought the urge to expel the remnants of anything that coated my violated stomach.

She wasn't a murderer.

She was a mother grieving her loss.