Soldier

Chapter 8

That was less cheerful, but I tried not to show it. I wanted to be strong and not afraid at whatever was thrown in my way. Nicholas noticed my shoulder and went forward to the bars. “You need to change that” I shrugged my shoulders. “I'm fine. It hurts a bit though” He reached for my hand and noticed how warm I was. “You're getting a fever. If this gets worse, then you don't need a trial” Nicholas said concerned. I drew back my hand, feeling uncomfortable by him touching me. “I'm fine” I managed to say, coming out in a tiny whisper. He raised my chin and made me look him in the eye. “Don't die” He said, not moving his gaze. I shook my head and stepped away from him. “I won't” I said and within a second he was gone, leaving me alone in the dark.

* * *

“Order!” The judge's voice was powerful. Two days later I stood before my doom, my trial. I smelled of stone and my hair was frizzy. Somehow I managed to keep myself occupied during the last two days. No one came to visit since Nicholas was there and it made me sad. I spent the hours by imagining stories, drawing on the walls and playing with the little food I got. At the end I slept away my pain that ached in my shoulder. The courtroom was full of people, gazing at me and my terrified look. On my way in I noticed Phee, placed by princess Isadora's side. I wanted to hug her, tell her everything was going to be fine. If only I wasn't chained. “Order, please!”

It was going to be interesting how the trails here is working. “The accused one's name?” The judge said, scribbling down on a paper. He wore a black mantle and a hat that reminded me of Charlie Chaplin. “Alice Perkinson” I said out loud, managed not to stutter. The courtroom fell silent for a minute. The judge looked at me behind his glasses.

“Alice Perkinson is accused for fraud and dressing up as a man. Is this correct?” “Yes”

“And have you ever committed any of these crimes?” “I've been pretending to be a man, yes, but...” “Is any of this true? Yes or no” I sighed. They weren't going to listen. It would be wrong of me to pretend otherwise. “Yes” I said. Simple answer. People started to talk while the judge wrote down my answers.

“According to your papers, you have been accused by doing magic in the town of Peripitur. Is this correct?” That I knew the answer for. “No, I was fiddling with my...” “Yes or no!”

What is wrong with these people? Don't they want to hear my explanation? This isn't your world, my mind spoke. You must follow their rules and habits. “Yes” I sighed once more, wishing that I had a chair to sit on. Sleeping on the floor for two nights in a row wasn't pleasant for your back. Or your hurt shoulder for that matter. The judge gathered his papers before he spoke any further.

“You have committed fraud, doing magic and as well pretended to be a man by the name of Yuric Keen. Correct?” “Yes”

Moments passed as the judge gathered the council to discuss my sentence. I don't know how long I stood there, waiting to hear the words. I wanted to speak with Phee, but I didn't dare to turn around. First of all I had two guards on each of my sides. I don't think they will appreciate if I even dropped to the floor. I passed the time to study them instead. My left one reminded me of Paul McCartney, but without the weird hair. Probably he can't even sing like him either. My right one didn't look similar to anyone I've met. But he was young, maybe five years older than me. He looked like the kind of bloke my grandmother would want me to meet. Or even marry for that part. The judge returned to his seat and cleared his throat. It's now or never.

“The council has agreed the accused one to be guilty of all charges. The accused one is sentenced to execution at the next sunrise”

The wooden hammer fell and it was over. After that everything happened in a blur for me. I had barely let the words sink in before I noticed Phee screaming at me, tears in her eyes, as she tried to reach for me. A guard held her back and I met Isadora's gaze. She looked sad and soon bent her head for me as in sorrow. This was the first time I noticed what kind of people actually had came for my trial. In the corner Tor stood, and as I thought he would be pleased to now I'm about to die, he looked rather sad as well. My eyes searched for Nicholas and soon found him at the door. He looked sad too and I wanted to comfort him. I wanted to tell him it was going to be fine, like I always do. Suddenly they dragged me away, down to the dungeons, to my cellar. I was going to die.