One month prior to Risha's and Leorin's reunion, their father was sitting at his desk in the room in Guanaca's palace that served as his office, when there was a knock on the door. Since the reports he was currently reading were not the most gripping lecture, Jeraddin was grateful for the interruption and called for whoever it was to enter.
The Visitor turned out to be a young ursine, whom Jeraddin recognized as one of his own officers. The Bear walked up to the desk and saluted:
"My apologies for bothering you, General" he said, standing at attention with his arms hanging by his side. "But I need to talk to you about something urgent."
"Have a seat, Lieutenant", Jeraddin said, indicating the chair reserved for visitors. "Now, what is troubling you?" He asked, once the Lieutenant was seated.
"Well, Sir, I was out on a walk, when I saw a patrol of the city-guards come marching by. They had three prisoners with them. Prisoners that I recognized as soldiers from my own squadron."
"I see. Go on."
"Naturally, seeing soldiers of the Vinolian army treated like common criminals, surprised me, Sir. I walked up to the leader of the patrol and demanded to know the reason why he had arrested these men."
"How did he respond?"
"Only that he did not know the reason, but that he had received orders for their arrest. Orders he claimed came directly from the top. I was about to ask one of the soldiers if they had any idea as to the reason why, when the leader shoved me aside. At that point, I admit that my temper almost got the better of me, but I managed to stay calm."
"That's good, because I really do not need one of my officers getting into fights with the guards."
"I know, Sir."
Rising from his desk, Jeraddin walked up to his subordinate and put a supporting paw on his shoulder.
"You made the right decision coming to me, Lieutenant", he said. "I'll get to the bottom of this, I promise."
"Thank you, Sir. That makes me feel more at ease."
Having thanked his commanding officer, the Lieutenant saluted once more and left. Once he was alone, Jeraddin sat back down, but not to continue pouring over the reports, which were now all but forgotten, but to think about what he had just been told: Orders from the top. Well, as far as Jeraddin was concerned, that could mean only one person. Jeraddin sighed, and this day had actually started out quite well.
****
Immediately after he had taken leave of the Lieutenant, Jeraddin went to the Queen's quarters to request an audience. However, he had to wait for almost two hours before he was allowed to enter. A handmaiden escorted him to a room, here Argath was waiting, her massive body stretched out on a divan. Miranda was also present; fanning the Queen with a palm-leaf. Her eyes briefly met Jeraddin's and the two acknowledged each other with a quick nod.
"Why, this is quite a surprise" said Argath, baring her teeth in a wide grin. "General Jeraddin coming to Us, begging for an audience. Will wonders ever seize?"
"Your Majesty..." Jeraddin began. He was determined to spend as little time in this company as possible. Before he could finish his sentence though, Argath cut him off.
"You will be going home in a few days, General" she remarked. "You must look forward to that."
Jeraddin did not answer. Not that the Queen seemed to mind getting the silent treatment.
"Too bad that your wife has to stay here", she continued. "Alas, no situation is ever perfect. Don't worry, you'll see each other again. Besides, absence makes the heart grow fonder, or so We've heard."
"Your Majesty" Jeraddin said, having mentally counted to ten. "May I speak?"
"Go ahead" Argath replied, making a gesture with that of her hands that was available. "We are curious to know what brings you here."
Wasting no time, Jeraddin asked the Queen about the three soldiers.
"That's true" Argath said. "We did order the arrest of those men."
"Why?"
"That is for Us to know and for you to find out. The Trial will be held tomorrow, as Commander of our army, you have the right to participate in it. Although, if We were in your shoes We would spend our time doing something more constructive. It's going to be a short trial."
I see, Jeraddin thought. So, you've already made up your mind about their guilt, Argath?
"Thank you for your advice, Your Majesty" he said, coldly. "Still, come tomorrow, you will find me at the trial. Speaking on behalf of my soldiers."
With those words, Jeraddin turned his back on the Queen and marched out the room. Argath watched him leave and sighed exasperatedly. Honestly, some people.
****
The Trial was to be held, not in the courthouse, but in one of the wings of the palace, away from public eyes. Having finished his breakfast, which he had been forced to eat alone (Nasari had already woken up and was busy elsewhere), Jeraddin headed there, his head filled with troubled thoughts. After his audience with the Queen, the lynx had gone to Guanaca's prison, with the intention of talking to the three prisoners and see if they could shed some light as to their arrest, but the head-jailer, a portly aardvark with a runny snout had refused to let him see them.
"No visitors, those are my orders" he had said, not even glancing the purse Jeraddin had put down on the table in front of him. There had been nothing left for Jeraddin to do, but leave, taking his money and cursing the incorruptibility of certain government officials. For a moment, the lynx had considered threatening the jailer, but he had then decided against it. Reasoning that it would do no good.
Well, he thought, as he entered the room where the trial was to take place. At least, I will finally find out what this is all about.
The Room in question had apparently been used as a court-room in the past, for it was furnished as one. True, there were no seats for the public, but everything else was there, as far as Jeraddin could see. Beside himself, the only other people there were the Lieutenant, who was sitting on a bench and a guard, posted by a side-door.
Jeraddin walked up to the Lieutenant, who rose and saluted him. The Two were just about to sit down, when the voice of the guard filled the room:
"The Queen is coming, all present remain seated!"
He opened the side-door and Argath made her entrance, striding up to the golden chair that stood on a daise in the center of the room.
"Bring in the accused" she commanded, having made herself comfortable.
The Order was carried out and the prisoners were brought in. As they passed him by, Jeraddin looked at them for the first time. They were a dog, a cat and a rat, they were dressed in gray prison-clothing and wore manacles around their wrists. Their faces were haggard and made them appear older than they actually were.
"Poor blokes" the Lieutenant said under his breath, his voice almost choking.
Jeraddin could only nod in agreement.
The Three were made to kneel in front of Argath, who looked down on them from her elevated position.
"Soldiers" she said. "You are accused of treason, how do you plead?"
Hearing those words, Jeraddin could feel his blood run cold. He turned to his subordinate and saw that his face had turned gray.
"Your Majesty" the dog-soldier said. "We are innocent, we swear!"
"Innocent, eh?" Argath snickered. "We shall see about that. Bring in the witness."
The Witness turned out to be a water-rat, dressed in the uniform of a Vinolian soldier. He bowed to Argath and then took his place in the witness-stand.
"Witness, state your name and rank for the court."
"Salsky, private first class in the Vinolian army, Your Majesty", said the water rat, saluting the Queen.
"You are part of the same squadron as the accused?" Argath asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Although I wish I wasn't, it would have spared me much anguish."
"Tell the court what you told Us."
Salsky cleared his throat.
"As you wish, Your Majesty. The Day, or should I say, evening before yesterday, the accused and I were off duty and, seeing that it was also payment day, we decided to go out and have a bit of fun. We went to one of the local water-holes and sampled their wares. As we drank, we raised our tankards to everything we could think of: Our homes, our families and so-on. Finally, I decided to propose a toast to the Queen. To my surprise, however, my proposal was not met with any sort of enthusiasm. In fact, it was roundly refused.
"Your Majesty" the Lieutenant interrupted, standing up. "Such an act hardly constitutes treason."
"Lieutenant!" Argath said frostily, "you will speak when We give you leave to do so. "Anyway" she added, after the Lieutenant had set himself down with a humbled look on his face. "You are technically correct. It is not an act of treason, yet. It is, however, cause for suspicion. After all, what right-thinking Vinolian would refuse the opportunity to pay homage, no matter how humble, to his or her Monarch? Anyway, that's not all they did. Proceed witness, tell the court what happened next."
"The Accused began to make all sorts of mocking remarks about Your Majesty."
"Give the court an example of these remarks, if you please."
"Among other things, the accused referred to Your Majesty as 'Queen Crook-Tail' and 'that old, power-hungry dyke."
Well, Jeraddin thought. At least one of those things is not true. By dragon-standards, the Queen was not old.
He looked at the accused and winced inwardly, the look on their faces made it clear that the water-rat was speaking the truth.
"I told them to stop" Salsky continued his testimony. "I warned them to be careful and that it would be best not to voice such opinion in public."
"How did the accused respond?"
"They only laughed and said that it did not matter, since the only other people in the tavern besides us were Guancans and besides, no soldier would ever tell on his comrades."
Of course, Jeraddin thought, the unspoken agreement that, if a soldier was to say something disparaging about one of his superior officers to his comrades, they would keep it to themselves. It was not just the rank and file that made use of this soldier's code, but officers as well. Why, Jeraddin himself remembered using it in his youth, alongside his fellow cadets. Knowing that there was a safe place to vent your frustration over your superiors without fear of repercussion had made life in the army easier.
"Apparently, not all soldiers feel the same" he remarked, giving Salsky a look that was laden with contempt.
"Witness, how do you respond to this?" Argath asked.
"Only that if the Lieutenant or even the General had been the target of their mockery, I would have kept silent, but with Your Majesty it is different. I may have been born in Frigonia, but I have always been a deep admirer of Vinoli's culture, even when our countries were enemies. A nation's ruler is not just a person, but the embodiment of said nation. In other words, the accused were not only disparaging their Queen, but Vinoli itself. Knowing this, I had to follow my conviction and denounce my brothers-in-arms, no matter how much it pained me to do so."
"Your loyalty does you credit, witness" Argath said, giving Salsky her friendliest smile. "Rest assured that it shall not go unrewarded. As for you three" she growled, turning her attention back to the poor wretches in front of her. "We see no reason to prolong this trial. Do you have anything to say before We pass judgement.
The Realization that this was to be their last day in life, that some careless words and a supposed comrade's treachery, dawned on the soldiers. It passed through their brains, like an electric jolt and caused their tongues to loosen. The Cat was the first to speak:
"Your Majesty, have mercy" he pleaded. "We have never uttered such words before and we never will."
"Quite right" Argath agreed. She leaned forward, baring her teeth. "You won't."
Since he had been rebuked by the Queen, the Lieutenant had remained silent, watching the trial while wringing his paws. Now, he turned to his superior officer:
"Sir" he whispered. "Isn't there something you can do? Surely, the Queen will listen to her General?"
"You are seriously overestimating my influence over the Queen" Jeraddin whispered back, "but I'll try my best. Pray that it is good enough."
With that, he stood up and asked to have the word.
"Before sentence is passed I should like to ask the accused a question. " he said, once permission had been granted to him. He then asked the three soldiers if the squadron they belonged to were among those who would be heading back to Vinoli soon, or would remain in Guanaca awhile longer.
"The Latter, Sir" replied the dog.
"Just as I thought. One more question: Do any of you have families waiting for you?"
All three answered in the affirmative. Jeraddin turned to Argath:
"Your Majesty" he said. These men have served their country well; they have left their loved ones behind to travel to a faraway country, facing many dangers, all for the sake of their Queen. Then, after spending many months in said country, they find out that through a twist of fate, they will remain there even longer, separated from their homes? Is it any wonder than that they were feeling disappointed and that said disappointment, coupled with looking too deep in the bottle caused them to utter words that otherwise would never have passed over their lips? Words that should never have reached Your Majesty's ears? Well, they did and the damage can not be undone. Nevertheless, I implore Your Majesty to look into your heart (for even you must have one) and show clemency. These three will kiss Your Majesty's shoe and leave here, repentant of their errors and grateful for the mercy that has been shown to them."
Here, Jeraddin finished his speech; his well of eloquence having run quite dry. He could sense beads of sweat forming on his brow, but he did not wipe them away, not wishing to reveal any sign of nervousness, as he waited for the Queen's response.
"Your plea on behalf of your men has touched us, General" she said and for a moment, the expression on her face softened, much to the relief of almost everyone present. Than, it regained its former harshness. "However, you must see things from our perspective; if it comes out that someone can insult Us, even covertly, and get away with a slap on the wrist, Our authority would be seriously undermined. In the long run, it might lead to open rebellion against Us. still, We are not made of stone and so, We are willing to make a compromise."
She turned to the guard.
"See if there are any dice to be found in the palace and if so, bring them to Us."
The Guard moved not from his place, but merely reached into his pocket and produced a pair of six-sided dice, which he presented to the Queen.
"Here is what's going to happen now" she said, holding out the dice under the noses of the soldiers. "You will each roll the dice and whoever gets the highest number, will be spared. Not only that, but he will be transferred to another squadron, one of those that will leave earlier. Well, which one of you wishes to try his luck first?"
The Three stared transfixed at the dice, none of them moving. Argath began to grow impatient, this trial had already gone on longer than she had intended.
"Of course" she said, "you can always refuse and die together. That would be following your soldier's code to his logical conclusion, would it not?"
Jeraddin, who had returned his seat, cast a glance at the Lieutenant. The Ursine was staring down at the floor, cradling his head in his paws.
"Come, Lieutenant" Jeraddin whispered. "There is no point in us remaining here."
With that, the lynx took his subordinate by the elbow and gently escorted him out of the court-room. No-one paid attention to them leaving, behind them the sound of dice rolling on the floor could be heard, followed by a cry of anguish.
