Kingdom Born

CHAPTER 24: Kingdom Law

There was a tone of solemnness in the air when Karl lead me into the Great Hall. Merric and Sanderson were missing but it seemed everyone who had been in on the banquet the night before were assembled. They were edged forward on their benches eager to see the strange woman who had broken one of their sacred laws. The anticipation made them quiver like hunting hounds. I straightened my spine and walked as gracefully down the centre aisle holding onto Karl's arm. I was not one of their veils, and I would never be. Deep inside my stomach muscles clenched tight as they did before a battle. I called on the calm that served me so well as Captain of the Guard so the eyes did nothing but deflect off my invisible armour.

A loud hammer echoed throughout the Hall and all whispered conversation ceased. Lord Sander was dressed regally, in red silks ornately embroidered with golden threads. Any traces of the man who had greeted us yesterday were gone, in his place a magistrate, a law overseer. Off to his right another man stood at attention with a draping of red silk handing around his shoulders. When Karl and I stopped before them he lifted the staff he was carrying and slammed it hard on the floor. The hammer blows echoed again.

"The Court of the Northern Stronghold is now in session. Everyone rise." The sounds of a hundred people rising to their feet behind us, set my neck hair on end. Karl squeezed my arm supportively then dropped his hand away. "Lord Matthais Sander presides over this court. His judgement is law."

"Please sit down. Today, we have before this Court a serious crime that may result in grave punishment. The court calls forth Captain Phara Longsword from Sandshore, our sister city from across the sea."

"She is here." Karl's voice rang true in the Hall.

"She is a stranger here but there can be no exceptions especially in a charge as serious as this. Any visitor is bound by the laws of that city or land that he or she is visiting. No woman may handle weapons within our borders. Phara Longsword is charged with touching a weapon of war inorder to commit an act of violence. Does anyone speak for you?"

"I do." Karl stepped forward.

"Your relationship to the defendant." Lord Sander looked down from his bench on high. Any sign of the man we had met yesterday was suppressed by thew robes and duties of a magistrate.

"I am her husband." Karl took a step forward and bowed reverently.

"Has your marriage been recognized by your Father?" Karl shook his head negatively, "The law states clearly that only a spouse or family relative may speak for the defendant. Since you do not have a blessing, then you are not legally married."

I addressed the court loudly. "If my husband will not be allowed to speak in my honour then I will speak for myself."

A loud murmur rose up behind us threatening to rise into screeches of outrage. I centred my attention forward on the high bench well aware what kind of sight I made standing in rumpled tunic and breeches. Tainted. Foreign. I stood taller, thrusting my chin forward and blanking my face as I called on the discipline that I had cultivated in the captaincy.

"Order...order...." The herald slammed his staff repeatedly on the floor.

"Lord Bezer, please advise the defendant that she is not allowed to speak at her trial." A short man dressed entirely in black waved an impotent finger at my direction.

"Then why am I here? What am I here if I can't offer any sort of defense for myself? Wouldn't it be easier just to have sent the hangman to my cell rather than go through this...game?" I saw Karl's face still with apprehension.

"Lord Bezer, the court appoints you to be speaker for Captain Longsword. Advise her to stay silent or she will be held in contempt of Court."

The sound of the pole of justice slamming repeated into the floor echoed around in my head. Cool sweat beaded along my scalp and in my armour. Karl turned to me and saw the heat of anger and outrage in my eyes. He leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "They'll cut out your tongue."

I ground my teeth together and nodded that I understood. My fingers kept flexing and tightening. My knuckles were white with the strain of staying silent.

"How does the defendant plead?"

Karl's voice rang out loud and clear. "Self-defense."

"Let the trial begin. The Voice of Law at this court is Lord Devon." An older man dressed in black robes rose up from a velvet chair at the calling of his name, around him were stacks of books and scrolls. Cold black eyes swept over me and a thin wicked line that passed for a smile knifed across his pointed pale face. I had never met this man but hatred shone back at me.

His head bowed infinitesimally - mockingly. His focus shifted from me and lingered on Karl. Lord Sander began speaking again but I blocked it out by concentrating on this Lord. He had another purpose here than vying for my life...something that involved Karl. His dark eyes flicked off into the crowd behind us. I traced his gaze to a man, another Lord, judging from his appearance. This Lord was grey, his hair his eyes, his pallor and even the clothes he wore. The Grey Lord narrowed his eyes and jerked his head slightly, accepting a nonverbal message. His gaze flicked over to Karl and caught me staring at him. Quickly he turned his attention back to Lord Sander but his actions told me that I was an inconsequential target. Some how Karl was in danger!

"Lord Devon call your first witness"

"I call on Guardsmen Reynolds and Henderson." A pair of middleaged men rose from the benches behind us and stepped up to the circular stand in the middle of the floor. Lord Devon putter up to them, "On your oath to King Halsem, tell the court what you saw."

The older of the two men stepped into the stand and addressed Lord Sander, "We came into the War Thane's room and found Lord Bezer and the woman here, " He turned and pointed a finger at me, "in the room. The War Thane was on the floor, Lord Bezer was holding him and there was blood on his hands."

Lord Devon questioned, "Did you see the woman with a weapon?"

"No, milord."

"Think carefully."

"When we came in there were two swords laying on the floor, one was broken."

"Was the other covered in blood?"

"No..."

"How long did you stay in the room?"

"We secured the prisoner at Lord Bezer's request and took her to the Tower."
"Did she resist?"

"No, milord."

"She didn't struggle?"

"No, milord. She seemed in shock."

"Are you a surgeon?"

"No."

"Then you should keep your medical opinions to yourself. What do you think happened?"

"I'm not a foreteller, milord. I can only tell you want I saw."

"Which was?"

"The woman was standing across the room at the door. Lord Bezer was holding the War Thane and there was blood on his hands."

"No further questions."

Karl stood up, "No questions."

"I call High Surgeon Temple to the stand." A man with a clean shaven head stepped forward, swore his oath then took his place in the stand, "You examined War Thane Bezer's condition."

"Yes. He had taken a hard blow to the back of the head with a blunt object. The blow was hard enough to cause swelling that a resulted in the coma that he is in now."

"What kind of object would have cause this?"

"I'm not sure what you mean?"

"Would a blow to the head with a sword hilt have cause this..coma?"

"Yes."

There were more muttering.

"No more questions." Lord Devon returned to his chair and wrote something down before him.

Lord Sander directed his words to Karl, "Lord Bezer, do you have any questions?"

"High Surgeon, did you examine the swords that were in the room?"

"Yes I did."

"Did you find any blood on any of them?"

"...no..."

"No further questions."

"But...." The sturgeon glanced warily over at Lord Devon.

"No further questions." Karl repeated sitting himself beside me.

Lord Sander said, "You may step down High Surgeon. Lord Devon, call your next witness."

"I call...Lord Matthais Sanderson." His words were accompanied with an evil gleam.

"I object." Karl jumped to his feet.

"This is highly unorthodox, Lord Devon." Lord Sander admonished.

"I plan to show the court that this, woman..." His finger quavered at me from the strength of his scorn, "is capable of murder. Lord Sanderson was present when she questioned captives at sea, in a manner that would prove to what lengths this female would go."

I was growing tired of being refered to in the third tense. Karl laid a restraining hand on me. "He calls me female like that again, I'll prove that I can do." I whispered back to him.

"That's what he's trying to get you to do."

Matthais rose from his position at the front of the rows of onlookers. He paused at our side then stepped toward the stand.

Lord Devon walked up to the him, "By your oath to King Haslem the Just, will you answer the questions I ask you?"

"By my oath I will." Matthais stood at attention, only his narrowed eyes and high colour betrayed how annoyed he truly was.

"On your journey, you were attacked by pirates...you captured about a score of them...Tell the court what happened next."

"The incident you are referring to, has not been made common knowledge, Lord Devon. I will demand your sources when this trial is concluded."

Lord Devon paled considerably, "Please answer the question, Lord Sanderson."

"We were in Free waters when this incident happened."

"What happened?"

"Captain Longsword interrogated the prisoners for information on who sent them after us."

"Interrogated? How?"

"With necessary force."

"I believe the report was that all prisoners were killed."

Matthais's voice was a promise of peril, "We will have to talk after the trial, Lord Devon."

"Were all the prisoners killed?"

"We were at war."

"I did not know that King Halsem had declared war on the lands across the sea."

"Lord Bezer was held captive in the city of Coveport. These pirates were sent to keep us from returning to free him. What Captain Longsword did, was necessary."

"How many prisoners did you take?"

"Seven."

"How many did Captain Longsword kill?"

"Seven." Matthais's words were terse.

"All in all how many did you see her kill?"

"Each death was a necessity."

"How many?"

"Twelve."

"No further questions."

Lord Sander offered the questioning the Karl, "Lord Bezer."

Karl rose to his feet, "I don't think I thanked you for my life, Cousin."

A wry smile bent the unscarred side of his face into an handsome profile, "No, you didn't."

"Thank you, from both us, Phara and myself. If it wasn't for you, we would still be slaves in Coveport."

"It was my duty."
"No more questions."

Matthais exited the stand and returned to his seat, glaring at Lord Devon as he past by.

Lord Sander gestured to Devon, "Do you have any more witnesses?"

"Just one. I call Captain Phara Longsword."

Karl jumped to his feet. "No!"

Lord Devon turned with an innocent expression on his pale face, "Why do you object, Lord Bezer? Do you believe that Captain Longsword would lie? I call Captain Phara Longsword."

I rose to my feet and approached the semi-circular stand. I stepped into it and ran my palms along the smooth wood of the waist high railing. "Lacking knowledge of your customs, I don't know if your kind swear oaths." His voice was full of disrespect and scorn.

"My oaths are more binding than most. I swear to the Goddess that I will answer truthfully."

"If that means anything..." he whispered under his breath, loud enough more me to hear it but no one else. His eyes danced cruelly. "What are you Captain of?"

"Nothing. It is a title that I cannot claim any more."

"But you did claim it once."

"Yes."

"Why can't you now?"

"I disobeyed orders and the Council of Elders banished me for one year."

"What did you do?"

"I took my elite guards and hunted down raiders who had attacked our village."

"How many prisoners did you take?"

Karl jumped to his feet, "What does this have to do with the charge?"

"I am establishing the character of his woman to the court. May I continue?" Lord Sander nodded abruptly, "Answer the question. How many prisoners did you take?"

"None."

Voices rose up again.

"None?" His voice was theatrically shocked.

I curled my fingers into my palms to keep myself from diving for his smug face. "These were Badlanders. Things so deformed by the lingering remains of the Fires that they had to steal men to get mates. This particular group had raided villages up and down the seacoast. When we attacked them, we freed sixty prisoners."

"You could have taken the...Badlanders prisoners."

"It was against the Laws of the Goddess."

Karl jumped to his feet, "Lords, it has already been established that Phara was the Captain of the Guard of Sandshore. What she has done in the past was done in the name of duty! This has nothing to do with the situation with my father!"

Devon turned toward Karl. His voice full of undisguised contempt, "You are in an awkward position are you not Lord Bezer...do you defend your father or your lover? You have divided loyalties."

"I am not on trial here either, Lord Devon."

Lord Sander spoke up, "We are dancing around the issue. Do you have any questions to be directed at Captain Longsword about Lord Bezer's injury?"

"Did you strike Lord Bezer with your sword?"

"Yes. He..."

"Did you batter his head with the hilt of your sword?"

"No."

"You are under oath here, woman. Penalties are severe for lying. I will ask you again. Did you strike the War Thane with the hilt of your sword?"

"No. He fell back and struck his head on the bedpost."

Devon rushed forward and grabbed the wooden rail before him. He leaned close and hissed, "Lies! You went to him to plead for recognition and when he refused, you drew your weapon and struck him when his back was turned!"

I was dimly aware that Karl and Matthais had leaped to their feet but all of my attention was focused on Lord Devon and his shifty eyes. They were glowing with a sense of righteousness that belonged in a priestess, not a law speaker. He was enjoying my march toward death. I grabbed his robe front and yanked him hard against the wooden stand's railing. It creaked under the force of him. "I am a woman of honour." His face paled with fear, weakly his hands pawed at my forearms, but I steeled my grip and pushed my angry face up to his, "Those I kill see my eyes when they die..."

Strong hands ripped my hold off him. He staggered back clutching at his throat as if I had grabbed him there instead of by his rich robes. I stood easily in the guards hold, fighting back the urge to struggle and pin that man's ears back with the point of a dagger.

"Clear the court!" There were cries of outrage as the rest of the royal guard began herding the people out of the Hall.

Soon only Karl, Matthais, Devon, Lord Sander, the herald, guards and myself were left in the huge echoing hall. "Your remarks Lord Devon were uncalled for. And you Lady Longsword, act your station!" Lord Sander admonished.

"She is!" Karl spoke up. "You look at her and see only a woman. Phara was raised in a land were women are the protectors, the providers. She has never failed in her duties to her family nor her position. You are treating her without the respect that she deserves."

Lord Devon pointed a finger at me, "Kaleb is laying in a coma. She caused it!"

"She didn't do it!"

"How can you be so sure, Lord Bezer, you saw how she reacted to simple questioning!" Devon returned, gaining confidence now that I was held between two burly guards.

"I'm surprised that she didn't slap your head off." Matthais returned. "You tried that accusation with a man, you would have no tongue before the echo of your words died away. Phara showed remarkable restraint."

"Silence!!!" Lord Sander stepped out from behind the large desk and approached us. "Release her." The guards dropped their hands away; I resisted the impulse to rub at my wrists. "We had found out nothing from this trial. Lord Devon...you are not of equal rank to be speaking of the War Thane in familiar terms." Devon spluttered and blushed crimson. "Lady Phara...you broke bread with me at my private table. You entered into my home and were welcomed, on the strength of that, answer this question. Did you fight with the War Thane?"

"Yes...He came for me at the women's quarters. We walked back to his rooms for privacy. We argued and fought then he fell and hit his head on the bed post. Karl came in right afterwards and then the guards."

"What was the argument about?" Lord Devon demanded.

Matthais spoke up, "You mean you don't know? So your spies aren't everywhere."

"Matty, shut up!" Lord Sander snapped back.

"That was between Lord Bezer and myself. If anyone else was meant to hear it, we would have done so at the gates."

"This may be the key to your life, Lady Longsword." Lord Sander returned quietly, his voice weighty and full of unpretentious authority.

"Lord Sander...our words were in anger and they were directed to me."

"Who struck first?"

"I did."

"Ha!" Lord Devon flipped to a page and ran his finger along the print. "The law says here that if a woman attacks without provocation then her sentence is clear."

"Phara, they'll kill you!" Karl reached out and grabbed my face. His thumbs traced along my cheeks.

I considered Karl's earnest face then spoke, "I told him that Karl and I had a son. The War Thane said that he would have to kill Kyle because he was too old to re-train."

"Are you sure that you heard him correctly?" Lord Sander demanded.

I returned cooly, "You do not mistake threats to your family."

"Lord Devon, do you concur that Lady Phara was provoked into attack?" Lord Sander turned to the black robed man.

"Lord Sander, how can we take the word of this woman as truth. I cannot concur with you until the War Thane verifies he said that. She is an unknown quality here. Order her confided to the women's quarters. It would be safer. If the War Thane Bezer verifies her words then Lord Bezer will only have been inconvenienced. If he denies them, then we know were she is."

I could see the anger clouding Karl's face. Quietly I spoke, "I agree with his judgment. Back home, I would suggest the same."

Lord Sander returned to his bench, "Then, Lady Longsword, you are restricted to the women's quarters until Kaleb regains awareness."

"I will honour your judgement." The guards dropped their hands away at their Lord's command. I bowed in respect to his authority.

"Accompany these guards back to the women's quarters."

I took my place between the two guards that had stepped forward at Lord Sander's command.

Karl took a step toward me but halted at Lord Sander's voice, "Lord Bezer, until your father returns to his self, you are master of his domain. There are duties that have to be fulfilled and they have been neglected long enough. You have a lot to learn and not a lot of time to learn it. Lady Phara will be safe enough in the woman's quarters."

"I will aid you as much as I can as well, Lord Bezer." Lord Devon offered with an artificial smile that no one seemed to question. Didn't they see the danger in this man?

"Lord Bezer is an intelligent man with a family to support him. I doubt that he would need your assistance." Merric spoke quickly glaring at Lord Devon. She pulled Matthais over toward Karl in a show of familial unity. Her eyes flicked over to me offering reassurance as I was lead out of the room.

I was grateful that at least she saw through to this man. He was like a calm sea that beckoned easy passage but hid killing reefs and strangling weeds. Being aware of the danger was only one element. Avoiding it was something harder to do.

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