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“All rise!” the bailiff called out. “This court is now in session, the honorable Maxine Lex presiding.”
Father and I rose from our seats at the defense table. My surprise at the empty spectator seats now was as great as my surprise at the full ones at the prior trial.
“Good morning, Gladborn of Catalonia,” Maxine Lex said, sweeping the room with her gaze and bringing that gaze to bear on me. “Please be seated.” She settled into hers as everyone else did in theirs.
Her eyes hadn't left my face. “The irony and tragedy of your situation, Allison Strange, is not lost upon this court. However, justice must remain blind until it is given eyes by the appellants. As labgrown, you will not be recognized nor acknowledged by this court henceforth, despite how aggrieved this court might be by t
