Unbalanced -- Justice's Handmaidens

[Imagine_Ink]

extra 1- a moodboard! The text reads: "We need a verdict / They need an answer"
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main comp page --our post
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white masquerade #1589
Imagine_Ink -- Natalia -- female -- The Scales of Justice

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black masquerade #1590
Knickknacks -- Bianca -- female -- The Sword of Justice

[Knickknacks]

“We have come to appeal to the Handmaidens of Justice,” the voice rang out, echoing around the chamber. “Let the beaters of the Scales and the Sword decide our quarrel.” Lanterns flickered around them, flames cracking and whispering like a crowd of witnesses.

The two kalons stood silent, waiting. The space around them was fashioned to resemble a courtroom, with rows of empty seats curving around them and a raised dais in front of them from which the judges could observe.

The most striking feature of the room was the statue of seemingly flawless gray stone behind the dais, depicting a masked kalon with a pair of tipping scales in one paw and a raised sword in the other. The statute was of Lady Justice- and these were her halls.

The visitors waited, the tension between them stretching taut. Though enemies, they were united here in their anticipation- and fear. They knelt before the dais, poses mirroring each other, as another voice- or was it two?- sounded in answer.

“Two warlords,” it mused, echoing around them, sounding contemplative and almost curious. A pale figure emerged, silvery fur washed to molten gold in the lanternlight, her footsteps barely making a sound as she strode toward the dais, her face clad in an elegant mask. A pair of golden scales dangled from one paw, clinking faintly as she raised them up to set them on the dais. The Scales of Justice.

“Your war has raged for four years,” cut in another voice. There was something more severe about this one- something almost accusing. The two supplicants seemed to shrink in on themselves at the sound of it. Another figure joined the first, darker but still gleaming in the light, a black mask obscuring her features, her paws resting upon the hilt of a gilded sword.

“Four years,” the Sword of Justice repeated. “And only now, after much innocent blood has been spilled, do you come seeking an end to the conflict.” Displeasure shone through every one of her words, and the two before the dais felt an almost palpable weight as she spoke.

“Perhaps you had good reasons for going to war at the start,” mused the Scale-bearer. “Perhaps one of you was right in the beginning. But now the conflict is more a matter of pride than of justice. Both sides have committed wrongs against the other- and each has committed atrocities in retaliation. You, both of you, have weights upon your scales-”

“-and blood upon your swords,” the Sword-bearer continued. “We cannot decide a case such as this immediately. Come back tomorrow, and we will have an answer for you then.” The dismissal in her voice was clear.

The Handmaidens’ masks were symbols of their impartiality, their commitment to carrying out justice. They obscured the face, preventing emotion from getting in the way. But as the two warlords turned to leave, one of them turned to see the two figures exchanging... worried looks. As though they were unsure.

500/500 words

[Imagine_Ink]

“What is troubling you, sister?”

Natalia glanced up at the sound of her sister's voice. How had she not heard Bianca approach when nothing but her own thoughts rang through her head? Bianca stood nearby. She had exchanged her robes for a more modest smock. She sat next to Natalia, her black mask clutched in her paws. Bianca smiled warmly, and Natalia sighed.

“Everything.” Natalia's paw drifted over the intricate curves of her own mask, gleaming white on her lap. “Our role in the world. The decisions we have to make.”

Bianca frowned.

“Sister,” Bianca said sternly. “We have been given a great honor. Why should you question-“

“I feel no honor in deciding the outcome of a war,” snapped Natalia. “We were not meant to settle quarrels such as this.”

“Neither side is wrong.”

“But neither is right!” Natalia protested. “Our job is to bring justice, to help goodness over wrong.”

“I know what our mission is,” said Bianca. “But these people are expecting an answer. They have been at war for many years and seek an end to the fighting. We cannot disappoint them.”

Natalia rubbed her eyes tiredly.

“We can't,” she agreed gloomily. “But I wish there was another way. I do not feel right, when there is no better side.”

Bianca's paw laid gently on Natalia's arm.

“We were chosen as Justice's handmaidens,” she said consolingly. “The burden we bear will not always be an easy one, but together we are strong. I am sure we will be able to choose.”

Natalia kept her gaze fixed on the ground. A long moment passed before she spoke.

“I wonder,” she said darkly. “Did Lady Justice expect us to choose between two sides, when neither possess right or wrong? The scales are too evenly balanced. We cannot choose.”

Bianca's grip tightened on her sister's arm. A moment later, it slackened, and Bianca rose. She stood intimidatingly before Natalia, frowning.

“They are waiting for us.” Bianca took her sister's paw in her own. “They expect the Handmaidens to give them an answer.”

Natalia dropped her gaze. “We cannot give them a fair answer. We cannot deliver justice. If we cannot do our job, what are we? Without justice, we are nothing more than kalons in masks.”

“The masks are a symbol of our impartiality,” said Bianca. “We wear them to show that a fair answer will always be given.”

“Maybe the best answer we can give is no answer at all. I will not don my mask this time.”

Bianca started at her sister disbelievingly. Natalia glared forcefully up at her, daring her.

A moment passed. Bianca did not say any more, but merely released her sister's hand and raised her own mask to her face. The black sheen glimmered against Bianca's navy fur as she turned her back and departed. Natalia watched her go. A sense of hopelessness washing over her. If the Handmaidens could not agree, who could?

Natalia glared at the ground. No one.

498/500 words

[Knickknacks]

This isn’t right.

Bianca couldn’t remember the last time she’d been unsure like this. She hated it. She hated the emptiness of the bench next to her. She hated the small voice in her head questioning whether she was doing the right thing.

She hunched her shoulders, glaring down at the immaculate surface of the wood below her. She was the Sword of Justice, not some indecisive youngling. She was swift and stern and not always kind… and she usually had her sister behind her.

Not today, though. Natalia had refused to don her mask for this judgment.

Maybe the best answer we can give is no answer at all.

Her sister’s soft words echoed in her head. Bianca growled in frustration and removed her mask, setting it in front of her. She stared down at it, as though she’d somehow find answers in the elegant curves of its surface.

She didn’t.

152/200 words

[Imagine_Ink]

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Ink- This contest was an exciting one to work on, especially since I got to do it with Knickknacks. It has really tested the limits of my creativity and my writing talent. Knick has been an excellent partner, and I would love to do something like this again. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

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Knick- I'm gonna hijack the last part of the post here for a parting remark of my own, haha. I had a ton of fun brainstorming with my sister on this- we both enjoy creative pursuits, but haven't really done anything like this *together* before, so it was a fun and unique experience! Hope y'all liked our form!
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Final Word Count: 998/1000 for the main prompt; 152/200 extra

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