Archive of Our Own ^beta

"You will regret this, Bren," Is what Trent Ikithon said as he walked out of the office.

Calmly.

He was so calm despite the damning evidence that had been laid before him. Not even an eyebrow twitch, which made Caleb worry. Caleb wouldn't be worried if Ikithon had raged, screamed, twitched, or done anything other than sit and listen as Dairon laid out the evidence before him.

Calm meant it wasn't over. Calm meant Ikithon could see a way out.

Caleb left the meeting with shaking hands and headed toward the group of people who had been waiting for him. They all stood as the Tiefling who'd been worriedly pacing rushed toward him. He folded himself against Molly's shoulder and felt warm lips press against his temple,

"You good?"

Caleb shook his head, "He was too calm,"

He felt Molly's chest expand under his hand lips back against his hair, "It'll be fine, Caleb. Ikithon can't squeeze out of this one,"

Mollymauk had been wrong.

Barely twenty-four hours after the meeting, Trent Ikithon was found dead in his home. 

No details had been released to the press and Dairon hadn't said anything about how it had happened to Caleb. She'd only showed up to his and Molly's place to ask if either of them knew anything. And that sent Caleb spiraling.

Because why would Dairon ask that? Unless someone thought that Caleb had done something to Ikithon. 

But he wasn't the one who got arrested.

Yeza and Veth had dropped Luc off at his and Molly's place for the day. They were sitting on the floor around a board game, Frumpkin in Luc's lap as he explained the rules to Molly who was sprawled on his stomach, kicking his feet in the air while Caleb refilled their snacks when the knock came.

Caleb had answered the door without checking, thinking Veth or Yeza had forgotten something, and instead was greeted by a group of Crownsguard. Along with a few people with badges that identified them as members of the Cerberus Assembly. One of which was holding a warrant.

His throat went dry,

"We have a warrant for the arrest of Mollymauk Tealeaf,"

Caleb's mind came to a screeching halt as he blinked dumbly, "Was?"

"Mollymauk Tealeaf. Is he here?"

"I- Wait- Was- What's going on-"

"Mr. Widogast, if he is here-"

"Caleb?" Molly was behind him, grasping his shoulder and the members quickly raised their hands.

Caleb quickly blocked their path and hissed, "There is a child inside!"

The leader lowered her hands and her subordinates followed suit as she peered around Caleb,

"Mollymauk Tealeaf. We have a warrant for your arrest. You need to come with us,"

While gripping to door, Caleb demanded,

"Why?"

"For the murder of the Archmage Trent Ikithon. Step outside and come with us. Now," They both heard the warning, but Caleb still didn't move,

"Caleb-"

"He didn't- He had nothing to do with that!"

"His fingerprints were all over the scene. That's enough for him to be brought in-"

"Nein! He didn't-"

"Caleb-"

The door was shoved back and slammed into his side which forced him back into Molly and gave the crowd at their door the opening to come in. Molly tried to catch them, but one of the Cerberus mages shoved them further back with telekinesis. One stood over Caleb with fingers glowing as the rest of them surrounded Molly while the one leading the charge began to deliver his rights in a monotone voice.

Caleb's fingers were twitched and a spell was forming on the edge of his tongue-

"Get off him!" The small voice was accompanied by a surprised grunt as Luc began kicking at one of the people holding Molly down, "Let go!"

Luc was shoved away and he hit the wall with a loud thud,

"He's a kid! A fucking kid! Who the fuck pushes a kid?!" Molly seethed as he was hoisted to his feet, arms cuffed painfully behind his back.

Caleb was still on the ground and his vision was red.

His fingers sparked, but he couldn't send off a spell without harming Mollymauk or hurting Luc.

The leader of the group stood over him now with an impassive gaze,

"I should charge you with obstruction of justice," She just turned and exited the apartment, leaving the door open so that Caleb got a good view of Molly trying to look back over his shoulder.

The next time Caleb saw Mollymauk was during his arraignment. He had tried to visit before then, but even with Dairon and Beau both making calls, Molly had been denied any visitors except for his lawyer.

Molly was led in by two bailiffs who tugged him harshly to the defendant's side of the courtroom where Dairon was eyeing the prosecutors. The uniform he wore was a bright orange that clashed horribly with his skin and eyes.

He met Caleb's eyes and tried to smile, but it opened a cut on his lip that hadn't been there when the Crownsguard arrested him.

The judge entered and began listening to the arguments.

Yasha was a silent shadow presence behind Caleb, and he knew she was seconds away from snapping the arm of the chair. Beau sat next to her girlfriend and was glaring at the prosecution who began painting Molly as an unstable person. 

Fjord kept his face neutral and looked a bit indifferent to the whole thing, but he was ready to donate the money he was saving for his business start-up in Nicodranas to Molly's bail. Beside him, gripping his arm with white knuckles, was Marion Lavorre who had flown in with an offer of her own savings towards Molly's bail. Seated in front of her mother was Jester whose tail had curled nervously around Caleb's ankle as she repeatedly bit her lip in frustration.

On the other side of Caleb were the Bernattos who were both seething. Yeza was practically vibrating in anger while Veth glared angrily at the people on the prosecution's side of the room. Their son was now terrified that someone would take away someone else he cared about and Luc would wake during the night after having a terrible dream of his parents being carried off. Both parents were very vocal in their complaints, on and off the record, about how Molly's arrest had put Luc in danger, and that Molly shouldn't have been arrested at all!

Although a bit new to their friend group, Caduceus insisted on joining them. He tried to be a steady and calm presence for all of them. He was, offering words of support to everyone, but they all knew he'd run out of his emergency pocket tea hours ago.

The arguments lasted over two hours despite it being a bail hearing and by the time the judge made a decision, Caleb had picked the end of his tie and made it a frayed mess,

"I've heard enough. The defendant will be remanded back to Rexxentrum's Federal Prison without bail," The echo of the gavel reverberated in Caleb's skull.

They had been warned that this was a very high possibility, but Veth, Yeza, Jester, Yasha, and Beau all jumped out of their seats in protest. Fjord would have stood as well if only to stare disappointedly at the judge, but Marion's grip was close to breaking skin at this point and he could barely hide his grimace.

Caleb was also standing and he tried to reach for Molly who was saying something he couldn't hear of the ringing in his head, but was stopped by a bailiff stepping into his path.

Beau had called at exactly five-o-seven in the morning two weeks after the bail hearing,

"Yash and I are coming to get you. Darion managed to get approval for a visit,"

That was how Caleb found himself outside the largest prison in the Empire with mismatched shoes, too-tight pants, his rumpled sleep shirt, and his jacket inside out.

The visit, sadly, had been approved for one person only. Caleb had turned to Yasha, but she pushed him forward with a strained nod.

He was led into a small room with a small stool in front of a plexiglass window and the lavender Tiefling behind it. Caleb nearly tripped over himself to grab the nearby phone and then froze. Bruises were covering Molly's face and his wrist was in a cast.

Like in the courtroom, Molly smiled at Caleb, but it split open the same cut from before back open as he grabbed the phone,

"Shatz-"

"It's not as bad as it looks," Molly's reassurance did nothing to ease Caleb's worry.

Or his guilt,

"I'm so sorry-"

"Don't, Caleb. This isn't on you, dear," He put his casted hand on the glass, and Caleb mimicked the gesture. Caleb pretended that he could feel the warmth from Molly's hand against his.

"Was he with you the night Ikithon was killed?"

"Ja,"

"And you can say that with certainty? Swear to it?" Dairon asked,

"Ja, I can-" Caleb paused then put his head in his hands with a low curse.

He'd gotten drunk that night, wanting to ensure a full night's sleep without feeling as though the worry would eat him alive. Caleb remembered that Molly had helped him to bed, but he didn't have any memory of Molly joining him,

"Prosecution will argue that Mollymauk would have slipped out after you'd fallen asleep,"

"But he did not do this! Mollmauk knows the importance of putting Ikithon behind bars! This, this just turns him into a fucking martyr!" There was so much, terrifying truth to Caleb's statement.

Almost all the news outlets in the Empire were talking about Ikithon's accomplishments and work with the Cerberus Assembly, and how his funeral was going to be the largest memorial event outside of a state funeral for a member of the royal family. No one seemed to remember that this, esteemed member of society was being brought up on charges of abuse and unethical experimentation on his students.

No, everyone heard that a Tiefling's fingerprints were found at the scene and now there was an uproar with demands of justice for the poor man who had done nothing but serve his Empire. 

And it didn't matter how loudly Caleb screamed that Molly was innocent or demanded everyone remember what Ikithon was being accused of. Dairon had called for one of their people with the Cobalt Soul to compare the prints found at the scene to Molly's. It had come back a match, with no room for doubt.

Caleb was certain Ikithon had orchestrated the whole thing before he was killed and his friends agreed. One of the man's jobs had been in charge of training covert government agents for the gods' sake!

His friends agreed with him, as did most of the Cobalt Soul, but, as Fjord and Dairon pointed out, unless they could find something, no one would listen.

The courtroom was being filled to the brim. The King himself was not present, but members of his inner court were in attendance along with the remaining heads of the Cerberus Assembly.

Molly and Dairon sat on the defendants' side with a few members from the Cobalt Soul while the prosecution had Zana Deelio standing tall with her underlings.

Four identical Firbolgs entered and ignored the reserved seats that had been set aside for them a few rows behind Ludinus Da'leth and shuffled to sit next to Bryce Feelid who had taken an abrupt leave of absence from Alfield to attend.

Further back were three, former carnival workers who had come back out of the woodwork to support their coworker.

And in one of the upper levels was an ex-crime boss who's crept out of the shadows to watch the proceedings of his daughter's friend. However, Babenon Dosal already knew how this would end. He'd run cons like this before,

"All rise for the honorable Sydnock Truscan, Prime Arbiter of the Empire!" They stood, Jester's hands grasping Caleb as if it were the only thing keeping her upright.

"We the jury find the defendant, guilty,"

"The defendant shall be remanded to Rexxentrum's Federal Prison, and await his sentence, of death by lethal injection," There were uproars from both sides of the room, and the Arbiter left the second his gavel hit the bench.

Caleb had jumped over the barrier and grasped Molly by the shoulders to spin him around,

"We'll get you out! I swear, Mollymauk-" Molly cut him off by pulling him in for a desperate kiss that had a hint of iron.

Bailiffs roughly pulled Caleb away as Molly called out,

"This wasn't your fault, Caleb! None of this is on you! Alright, Caleb? I-" The door slammed shut.

Caleb would have hit the ground without Fjord and Caduceus catching him by the elbows to hold him upright.

That hadn't been the worst thing to happen.

Nor were the numerous denied requests to visit Molly.

Or the failed appeals that didn't even make it to the courtroom.

Not even the reporters that hounded Caleb's steps and invaded every ounce of privacy he and his friends had hit them the hardest.

They'd all been sitting around Yasha and Beau's house when the call from Dairon came in. It lasted less than a minute and made Beau shatter the phone against the wall. Her shoulders heaved and her eyes were red as she turned to face them,

"Beau?" Yasha's quiet voice had her breathing harshly before addressing the room,

"Molly's dead,"

Caleb's world had gone dark, but that hadn't been the most terrible thing to happen.

No, that happened later, so much later.

After he got the letter with shaky handwriting that said,

Never your fault dearest love you Molly

After Caleb read the autopsy report of healed bones, chipped horns, twisted tail, and the determined cause of death, two long, self-inflicted cuts that reached from Molly's wrists to his elbows.

After he saw the grey skin that had once been purple.

After Caduceus and his family prepared Mollymauk for burial.

After Molly had been in the ground long enough for flowers to fully bloom.

Caleb was sitting next to Yasha on the couch with Beau hanging off the back as the three of them watched the news,

"... Unredacted government documents were leaked to the public earlier this week, by an anonymous person who, as of now, is only known by the internet handle Garmelie. Most of which were concerning the murderer of Archmage Trent Ikithon, Mollymauk Tealeaf. And while the Cerberus Assembly has adamantly denied that these documents are legitimate, we have spoken to an Annex of the Assembly who confirmed the letterhead and signatures shown matched ones he has received on many occasions,"

It cut away to outside the Invulnerable Vagrant where Pumat Prime stood in front of the camera,

"Respectfully, the Cerberus Assembly has done alotta good in the past. I'll admit to singing a few of their praises in the past, but I'm not going to be able to after this. I'll also admit to taking a few screenshots of the documents ta read them and had all of the other me's take a look," Pumat pointed behind him where three Firbolg's stood, "All of who, were created with the help of the Cerberus Assembly, agree that the signatures match ones we've gotten over the years,"

"Yep,"

"They did,"

"Identical,"

"Look, I'll be the first to say Mollymauk Tealeaf was a friend of mine, I knew him pretty well. I and alotta others knew he was innocent, but these documents prove that! The Cerberus Assembly needs ta be held accountable!"

The feed cut back to the news anchor, one Caleb recognized as one of the few who spoke in Molly's defense, who nodded,

"While the Cerberus Assembly is denying that these documents are real, the Cobalt Soul has begun looking into the claims and is demanding the release of everything from the murder of Trent Ikithon, and the investigation has been officially reopened to discover whether or not Mollymauk Tealeaf was truly the person they were looking-"

Caleb turned off the TV,

"Now, they're asking if he's innocent?" Yasha seethed as Beau shook her head,

"Three fucking years too late,"

That had been the worst knife to the heart for Caleb, as he stared numbly out the window while clutching at the multi-colored scarf around his neck.

Mollymauk was going to be proven innocent, but it was far too late.