A Small Matter of Justice

"You are no longer welcome in Drémeadow. I do not want you ever disgracing my kingdom with your presence again. You have three days to leave the borders. If seen after that, you will be arrested."

 

The king’s hall went dead silent. The paladin, astonished, looked at the king. “Good Highness,” Kiran protested, “I swear to you by my god Heironeous that I had absolutely nothing to do with this terrible deed! I swear on my honor I would never commit such a heinous crime as murder. Especially not royalty!” A slight hum rose as the guests began murmuring their opinions.

“You lie!” accused the enraged king. The mutters among the guests intensified. Most occupants of the High Table were utterly still except for the youngest Foxtrot. Folco, looking troubled,  squirmed in his chair.

“I’m not lying, I swear it. Good Highness, I would take my own neck before slaying the Lady!” Kiran inhaled an aggrieved breath.  “Her Majesty is the fairest of all!” As he said this, he saw Folco stand up out of the corner of his eye.

“I don’t believe you.”

“What motive would I have?” the frustrated paladin challenged. The youngest prince took a tentative step toward his father.

 The king’s face flushed puce. “You dare ask me to fathom the mind of a murderer? Leave at once, before I decide I.C.T.A.  protocol be damned and rid myself of you now despite your diplomatic immunity!” He slammed a fist on the table beside him. “You are the Benoits’ vassal, yes? Did Cancalia order this? Make no mistake, I.C.T.A. will hear of this!” I.C.T.A., which stood for the Intracontinental Trade Alliance, had dealt with intracontinental law for about three--quarters of a century.

            “Duke Benoit did nothing wrong!” The voice of the human rose almost to a shout. Kiran could not believe the  implications of the Halfling king’s words. “His Grace had nothing to do with this! Nor did I!” The guests fell silent again, listening. Prince Folco scuffed the toe of his boot into the ground. “Please, Your Majesty, I could prove my innocence. Paladins can’t do such a malicious deed and still…”

Folco dashed forward, ducking under the elf’s attempt to stop him, placing himself between the paladin and the king, staring at his father. King Hrothgar looked at his son in surprise. “Prince Folco, this is not the proper time, sit down!”

            “Father, he didn’t do it!” interrupted the prince vehemently. “There’s no way! I saw him, he was nowhere near the kitchen! He couldn’t have…”

King Hrothgar shook his head dismissively. “There was quite a lot to supervise and do in there. He might easily have slipped past, even if he is double our race’s size.”

 

Folco emitted a sharp breath, throwing up his hands. “Kiran was nearby while Lindo, his siblings and cousins, and I were playing Hide and Seek this afternoon, I saw him. Then he was helping the servants while the four of us got ready!” Folco nodded toward Princess Nora, Princess Jillian and Prince Odo. “He’s innocent, he must be. Nobody can be two places at once!”

The king’s voice went forebodingly low. The guests towards the front of the tables leaned forward to hear. “Wait. What do you mean? Are you telling me that you disobeyed my orders? You were supposed to be in the kitchen.”

A stricken expression flitted across the youth’s  face. “Yes,” the prince said impatiently, “I did, I’m sorry, but that’s not the point, I-“

            “You are eighteen years old, you know that-“

            “But I saw…”

“We will discuss this later.” There was a note of finality.

            “But…” Folco spluttered desperately, “please listen… I’m trying to tell-“

“That. Is. Enough.”

 “Kiran didn’t do it, he couldn’t have, he was there all afternoon! I’m begging you, please! Hear me out! Or talk to the-”

  “I will say no more.” The king nudged his son aside, moving closer to the flabbergasted human. The prince jumped off the dais, virtually running to Lindo. A few sets of eyes followed him but most remained on the paladin and the king, who did not notice his son, too fixated was he on denigrating the paladin. “Now. You heard what I said before.  Get out, on pain of death. You are no longer welcome in  Drémeadow.  I do not want you ever disgracing my kingdom with your presence again.  You have three days to leave the borders. If you are seen after that, you will be arrested on sight.” Kiran stared in horror.  Meanwhile, news of the proceedings had spread quickly from front to back. The atmosphere was charged with discord.  Reactions varied from distress to amazement to grief to terror.

Presently, the prince returned to the platform, his anxious-looking friend beside him. The king remained fixated on the paladin. His golden-brown eyes fell upon the two youths, but he ignored them. “You dare defy me?” he said.

“Your Majesty,” Kiran replied pleadingly, “please, I beg you, please continue your investigation before condemning me.” What he really wanted to say was “don’t skip the investigation” but he suspected that would anger King Hrothgar further. “With all due respect to Your Highness, you are making a terrible-“

            “I have many things to do now that my queen is dead other than wasting time further proving your guilt.” snapped Drémeadow’s king.  Kiran noticed that the halfling’s voice choked slightly on the words “my queen is dead” and sighed. It could not be more obvious the king’s shock and grief clouded any rationality and logic.

“Father! Please…” a tentative Folco Foxtrot began.

 The king glared at the youngest of his progeny. “Did I not say we will speak later?”

“But  Lindo was with me, he also knows-“'

            “Do not answer back! I don’t need you wasting any more of my time.

 Lindo reached up, grasping Folco’s shoulder.  The prince bracingly returned the gesture. Catching the eye of the king and inclining his head respectfully, Lindo said “Your Majesty…”

            Hrothgar retorted “that is quite enough from the both of you. I’ve much greater problems than you two.”

 Lindo looked at the ground but Folco stared defiantly back. The king’s face was devoid of clemency and understanding. Folco was first to break the staredown. Shaking his head forlornly, the prince tilted his head towards his father, who looked away in dismissal, then muttered something to his friend. “You could at least give him a fair trial,” the adolescent snapped resentfully before leading Lindo back to his family.

Most seats were vacant. Small clusters of hobbits merged into larger group. Halfling guards fidgeted on the outside perimeter, torn between awaiting orders and taking action. “Now. This is your final chance. Leave Drémeadow at once or face a well-deserved execution for the blood you have shed! And spare me comments on intracontinental protocol! Guards!”  The squirming hobbits and the eager orcs subsided. Orcs and hobbits alike formed a line in front of the High Table, erect, motionless, attention rapt on the agitated guests.  Several guests stepped forward, forming a line at the front of the room. They appeared wary of the guards and stood about eight feet away, but nonetheless something had emboldened them.

“Your Majesty, Prince Folco  is just a lad but he’s right,” entreated an elderly hobbit, “there should be a trial.”

“Forgive me, Your Highness, but you’re not being very just in this…”

Around them, tension buzzed. Many of the guests grumbled about disrespect to the king and insisted he likely knew better than they. " It had to have been him. What hobbit would do such a thing?" one said. Another chimed in, "I always said humans are up to no good, they're greedy violent louts. I don't get why the king let him stay the holiday to begin with. Something was bound to happen"

 However, there were dozens of others who either believed there should be a trial or were outright certain of Kiran's innocence. Comments unheard by Kiran included ones such as "does he still have his powers? Maybe His Majesty should check. I heard paladins can't heal wounds or summon those magic horses I heard they have if they do something bad. You know, like regicide," and "he's donated so much money to charities here, I've heard, and helped people fix leaky roofs and things like that."

 

The king looked, if possible, angrier as he observed his subjects. His neck, face and ears were virtually the crimson of blood in his wrath. “How dare you!” he roared. “Who is king? That murderer or me?! Your duty is to be loyal to your king! Anyone who would side with the man who just slew your queen over me is a traitor! You know the penalty for treason!” The hobbits imploring for a fair dealing looked stricken and afraid.

“But Your Majesty, please!”

 “Majesty, we aren’t traitors, we're just trying to…”

"Why can't there be a trial?"

The enraged king quavered with choler, hands balled into fists. “Silence!” he bellowed. “Paladin! Why are you still here?”

Kiran turned around. “You said these subjects are traitors.” He nodded at the swelling group. “They are not. They merely seek proper justice,” he said quietly. “That is not treason. I will leave, but do not punish them for suggesting a fair trial, that is no crime.”

Several of the supporters actually clapped their hands two or three times before remembering themselves and subsiding. “If he leaves, I’m going with him, I’m sure he’s innocent!” Several echoed agreement. Kiran cringed. This whole affair was only getting worse. Gratified though he was that many of them did not automatically assume he was guilty, it meant things could get bad for them.

The king straightened to full height. “NO!” he bellowed. "You are all going to stay right here! If you depart from this hall before I give you permission you are clearly on the side of the assassin! Leave, and you are guilty of treason and receive punishment befitting defectors and traitors! My word is law. Paladin, get out or die!”

However, King Hrothgar’s threat had not cowed the brave halflings defending the paladin’s right to a just investigation. As a collective unit, they moved close to Kiran.  Without warning, the king’s face changed to a very ugly look. “Guards… seize them! Use force if you must!”

            “No!” shouted Kiran, horrified, as the scraping of steel sounded around the hall. Screams erupted as the orcs rushed upon the king’s unarmed and helpless subjects. Drawing his own sword, he threw himself between the guards and the innocents at risk, barely able to focus on  swinging his sword. Blood, both red and black, began to stain the floor "Your Majesty! This isn't just!" The words went unheard in the cacophany pounding his ears. No longer did he care about his proving his innocence. Now all he wanted was to get the guiltless hobbits out of harm’s way. However, they were sure to be refused exit once word got to the guards outside about what happened.

 

~*~*~

Out in the courtyard, a thin youth sprinted towards the guards manning the gate. Both hobbits inclined their heads. What sounded terrifyingly like faint screams permeated the chilly winter air.

"Your Highness," one said, eyes on the ground, "is everything well? What's happening inside?"

"Something went wrong with the food and drink," the lad promptly replied. A half-truth and understatement if there ever was one. “So, there’s a bit of commotion because of it. Tonight is definitely… memorable…”  He fell silent. How was he going to pull off what he felt morally obligated to do despite the terrible price he'd have to pay? Just then, Lindo appeared next to him wearing his overnight packs.

            “Does His Majesty require us in there?”

            “No. But he wants the gate open, there will be people leaving early,” said Folco. There., He’d done it. It was a tremendous relief they had not heard about his mother yet.

"Now?"

            “Yes, now,” said Folco. “The people leaving early are to be allowed to go.”

            “But why are they leaving?”

"Stop asking so many questions!" snapped the prince. The guard winced. Folco wished he could apologize, but he had to see this done. He did not like scolding them for doing their job and asking natural questions, but he had to make sure things did not get any worse. “No matter what, you're to let them through. Father's orders."

            Just then, the guard looked more closely at the pair. Folco’s stomach turned over. Had he figured out the prince was lying? But then the guard asked “Did you change your clothes?”

            "I SAID, stop asking questions and open the gate. Or do you wish me to go back inside and inform my father- who’s already in a foul mood, by the way- that  you seem hesitant to follow orders?"

The guard recoiled. "Forgive me, Your Highness, I meant no disrespect." He and his more taciturn partner moved to open the gate.

            Folco swallowed hard. His mouth felt as though he'd quaffed sand. It was done. Meanwhile, he felt like a complete churl.  With luck, those hobbits accused of treason merely because they felt the king was jumping to conclusions too quickly would get out before his father found out he'd outright lied about orders to the outdoor guards.

Reviews

[Skai Rain]

Wow, I can not find one single mistake. You kept me enthralled this whole time. Screw the a*****e King's of our stories! Haha. In all seriousness, this is a great work with wonderful imagery. I already enjoy reading about Kiran and Falco is beginning to grow on me as well. I like how he has the guts to lie about the King's orders. Now, excuse me while I google the meaning of "churl"...

[SpeedyHobbit Armstrong]

Yeah, His Majesty can definitely be more than a bit of a dick!

And yes, Folco can definitely be brave when he sees a situation where he needs to be- like his father flipping a nut out of the blue. Though, we both know lying about a king's orders is generally a bad idea! xD

[Skai Rain]

I think we both know that for a good plotline, it isn't! Aahaha.

[NoelHC]

Well written, I didn't notice anything I would correct. I find the entire concept of the King just ordering Kiran out of the kingdom after the Queen is killed a bit unusual. Maybe this aspect of the culture will be revealed later. Most kingdoms he would have either been run through with a sword right there, or thrown in a rat infested dungeon. But, then there would have been no journey quest to write about.

[Mila]

An intriguing and excellent chapter! Hardly found any mistakes with this one! :D Very gutsy of him to lie about the king's orders. I love Folco's character development, he really is growing!

-Mila

[SpeedyHobbit Armstrong]

Thanks so much! I hope other major characters for this early portion of the story (Lindo/Kiran) are doing the same!

[Valkyrie Warrior]

Wow just wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SpeedyHobbit Armstrong]

Thanks for dropping by and reviewing!

[Valkyrie Warrior]

Your very welcome

[Oberon Duke]

Another excellent chapter! Very intriguing story. Only found two (I think) mistakes.

I swear on my honor I would never do commit such a heinous crime as murder." - You don't need both do and commit there.

"It had to have been him? - No need for that question mark, a period would be better.

Nothing aside from that, which is very impressive, I must say! I really like this story a lot, Folco is a great character, I admire his guts. I felt his and Kiran's frustration in this chapter, signifying that I'm already identifying with them. Good work and thanks for sharing. Looking forward to continuing!

[SpeedyHobbit Armstrong]

Awesome, it's really encouraging to hear that! And yes, Folco can be ballsy, definitely both a good and bad thing especially depending who you ask. [=

[Sami Khalil]

This was different and very enjoyable. Thank you for sharing...:)....................

[SpeedyHobbit Armstrong]

Thanks Sami!

[Sami Khalil]

You are welcome...:)..........................

[C. Rose]

The change from the actors to the food excuse is fine. The "stop asking questions" bit works well. Besides, the actor line was humorous and, in this situation, a terse line is better than a witty line.

[SpeedyHobbit Armstrong]

Thanks so much, C. Rose! [=

[Jennie Baron]

A good decision regarding the chapter division. Wow! I don't really have any criticisms and am really enjoying this prequel. Well done.

[SpeedyHobbit Armstrong]

Thanks so much! #LateReply