So, as a sort of apologetic gift, I was brought to Justice. Well, not immediately. She's a very busy woman.
The waiting room was full of marble. Marble floor, marble on the walls up to elbow-height, marble columns, and some marble trim on the ceiling. Much nicer than the court room. But it was somewhat disturbing and a bit tacky. The bit of marble that came flaking off as I leaned against it left me with a small bit of doubt.
Time passed, and I waited. The enormous waiting room was otherwise empty. So long was I stuck in a marbley haze that I failed to recall which door I came in. Soon after, the doors blended into the walls and I was in a marble prison.
Trapped within the marbled walls for an eternity, I felt myself growing old. My hair grew out to show the graying roots, my joints grew stiff, and my once rippling muscles faded away. A secretary, equipped with glasses, a small pad, and a self-inking quill, made a buzzing noise as she peered out of a doorway, "The Lady will see you now."
At once I was myself again, young, sprightly, and like a small child walking into the candy shop for the first time.
Lady Justice was seated calmly in a sandstone throne, orange against the white-gray marble. I swept into a bow, somewhat pointless, but custom nonetheless. The guards at each side of the lone door nodded in approval.
"Defendant number one-eight-seven-nine-three-zero, you have been proven not guilty." Boredly she recited, "You are permitted, because of the regretful waste of your time, to inquire one thing of Lady Justice. What shall it be?"
Having had the eternity in the waiting hall to ponder this, I had been too busy aging to think. So I now took this time. The blindfolded woman perched so stiffly continued to wait.
Finally, I cleared my throat (so the old man's voice would not disturb my youth's), "I would like, Lady, if you should tell me how it came to be you were blinded."
She raised a brow, "An interesting question...." I had thought so myself, and beamed slightly. "Many people think there is but one Lady Justice, but it is not so. There are many, at least one in the greatest court of each kingdom, and then several in smaller cities. It is, of course, difficult to find a blinded woman of young enough age to be taught the law. But they were lucky with me. I was but a child.
"I suppose you might think there was some heroic or tragic happening to result in my blindness: born deaf and blind and praying to the gods and only getting the auditory sense, or perhaps a Giant Lizard attack, where the heat from his breath burned the sight from my eyes, or maybe I witnessed my parents being killed, and this was so traumatized that I was struck blind in an instant, or, more commonly, a wild beaver stole my eyes while I slept. But I did not lose my sight in such an interestingly enlightening way.
"I was about seven years old, and wandering through the streets of Verinda, searching through gutters for scraps to eat. I was a street rat. A simple commoner, with not a scrap of clean clothing to my name. Well, I did not remember my name either, as my parents had simply left when I was tall enough to reach into garbage canisters.
"On this one day, I had found a particularly shiny item, which was somewhat transparent. Curious to see if this were some sort of currency, I held it up to the light. I rubbed the square piece with my hand, trying to clear it. I must have stood that way for a while. As I was staring, the Light moved in the sky, and I saw it.
"I knew it was the Light, because I saw her being pursued by her brother, struggling to keep her from falling downhill. Well, the Light was not slender, so I should say, he kept her from rolling downhill. It was mid-afternoon, and I was amazed to see that the temple-keepers did not just speak of random delusions, but that Balkaro and his sister did exist and did cast light upon us all.
"At this moment, her glow struck me so strong, that I was blinded. It was several weeks before the Law found me, after arresting me for walking straight into a post that was supporting a building, I don't remember which, and causing the entire structure to collapse.
"As you can tell, the blindfold is utterly pointless, but I don't mind, seeing as silk is very soft."
I blinked, shifting from foot to foot, having both of them fallen asleep during her tale, "How interesting. Thank you."
I swept into another polite bow, and was escorted out of the court building.
I went then to seek my youngest niece, only nine and living in poverty, wondering if she would mind being blind to have such an interesting, comfortable occupation.
