The Sacred Blade

Chapter 4-The Verdict (Hooray?)

I walked into a wide, circular room paneled with the same, dark wood along the walls and ceiling. A judge's panel, with a grand judge's seat, was set up opposite the entrance, and the front half of the room was lined with smaller square panels where six judges sat in silence, all with their eyes on me. They were dressed in midnight blue robes and all their expressions were serious and closed-off, but one near the center smiled at me and winked. His eyes twinkled with friendly mischief, but I was too nervous to feel at ease with the casual gesture. Then, the grand judge next to him, wearing a large pair of spectacles, with a long and wispy dark grey beard, and narrow slitted eyes, stood up slowly but confidently, causing the others to rise, and he began to speak.

He cleared his throat and began to read from a piece of faded parchment with a lofty and airy voice.

 "We are gathered here today to discuss an urgent and important matter. A young girl," he sneered, "has stumbled upon our settlement, seemingly out of nowhere. She seeks visitation rights when they have not been granted to a traveler in many years. The panel of judges will declare a verdict by the end of this session. Minora, you may sit in the chair designated for you." He paused, peering down out of his spectacles.

A small chair with deep cracks in the light wood grain sat forlornly in the corner. Minora looked completely relaxed as she eased into the seat, setting her hands on her lap and looking up with the slightest hint of a grin. I wished I shared her confident composure. Besides her, I was the only other person in the room with this council of judges, and it did NOT look like a place where very many people were given good news. I tried to hide the fact that my legs were shaking beneath my dress.

The judge who stood at the beginning addressed the room once more in his airy voice. "Judges and those present, please stand as our Exalted Chief enters: Hedenaeas of Ether Meadow."

A large, ancient man dressed in a silvery floor-length robe embroidered with leaves and tree branches (that, to me, looked like a dress, though I didn't dare tell him that) entered the room from behind a door I hadn't seen until he was announced, due to the fact it blended in with the paneling. He had a straight back that only a man used to being in charge of telling others what to do for a LONG time can pull off, and a pinched face that seemed to be permanently etched in a deep frown and cold blue eyes, with gray hair that reached his shoulders in loose, neatly groomed strands. As he strolled towards the largest seat on the stand, the judges all stood and bowed to him. Luckily, I remembered to curtsy but stumbled a little bit while doing so. I hoped that no one noticed.

When Hedenaeas took his seat, he addressed me in a surprisingly deep and strong voice for someone of his age. His green eyes met mine, cold and composed.

"Do you promise on your life to never lie, twist the truth, manipulate the facts, or withhold information?"

Well, let's just get right to the point, shall we?

"Yes," I gulped, feeling guilty for existing.

"You do realize," he continued, "that if you are found to contradict this vow you will be severely punished?"

He fixed his cold eyes on me, and I couldn't help but shudder a little under his gaze.

"Yes," I replied again, even more timidly than before, my response coming out as a mere squeak. I'd like to keep both of my hands, please-and-thank-you.

"Then this session officially begins. You claim to go by the name of your birth, Camellia Dahlgren. Is this true?"

"Yes," I answered. I don't know how he knew my full name, especially when I hadn't even told Minora. Maybe I was babbling in my sleep while I was knocked out and I had full conversations with her about my childhood (which would have been a pretty boring conversation) and then she told the council. But if she'd had time to do that,  how long had I been knocked out for?