All was silent. Every pair of eyes were fixated on Crow Man, except his own. King Duncan watched the slight movements of Crow Man for a minute or two before nodding at Arald, who cleared his throat. "We are hear today to undergo to trial of William Brown, one accused of many sins."
Baron Arald then softly sighed. "Please read the charges, Lucas."
Lucas nodded, opening the scroll that Exavier had written up. "The prisoner, William Brown, citizen of Araluen has been accused of treason, which includes kidnapping and murder."
"And there is clear proof of this?" Arald asked, even though he knew that Crow Man was guilty.
"Yes my lord," Lucas nodded, reading though the scroll of parchment. "Reports all across Araluen have all been connected together to form a total of twenty missing children. And only thirteen have returned here along with the Ranger Halt. Another case was a few years back, the lady Penelope Brown, wife to William Brown, was found dead, her three children, Humphrey, Zoey, and Mia Brown all convinced that their father had done it."
Humphrey stiffened, Milo placing a hand on his shoulder.
Baron Arald nodded and looked at the King. "Your Majesty? The facts have been clearly stated."
King Duncan looked at Crow Man, examining his face. "Well, William?" he asked. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Crow Man looked up to meet Duncan's eyes, and the King could've swore that he saw a flicker of regret and sadness, but it was replaced with a stoic expression seconds later. "Yes," he said, licking his lips. "I did not do it."
King Duncan inclined his head at the prisoner. "Go on."
Crow Man took a breath and slightly nodded. He raised his hand, pointing back straight at Humphrey. "Humphrey, my son, was only twelve when he accused me! And my two daughters were only eight and nine. They were only children! They knew nothing of the world at the time except their own imagination!"
The rage in Humphrey's eyes was strong. His face was as red as a tomato as he clenched his fists. "How dare he," he murmured angrily, Gilan and Milo looking at him cautiously.
Duncan looked at the three children, eyes landing on Humphrey. "Would you like to speak, Mr. Humphrey?"
Humphrey looked at the King. "Yes, your Majesty," he muttered, stepping forward despite Gilan and Milo's protest. "This man," he pointed at Crow Man, "has done me wrong. He may be my father, but I don't accept him as my father." He took a breath. "My accusation from four years ago still stands. William Brown has killed my mother, Penelope Brown." With that, Humphrey stepped back, sparing the court from his anger.
King Duncan said nothing for a few moments, and Lucas spoke. "Your Majesty, even if Mr. Brown didn't kill his wife, he is still being charged for the kidnapping of twenty. There is only two punishments."
Duncan was a merciful man, and he did indeed feel sorry for the man in front of him. He sighed before he said the final words of the trial. "William," he firmly started. "I hereby, as lord of this realm of Araluen, declare you to be banished from all my lands and holdings. You are forbidden, under pain of death, to set foot in this kingdom ever again."
Baron Arald nodded as he finished the King's statement. You have twenty-four hours to leave the lands of Araluen. The court is closed."
A/N:
Short chapter but no matter, this story only has ONE more chapter left before the Epilogue. Hurray!
Was the trial okay?
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The Amethyst Order - Ranger's Apprentice Fanfiction
Random~COMPLETED~ You know how Gilan and Halt met. You know that Halt trained him. But do you know the what happened during the apprenticeship? Gilan fulfills his dream and becomes a Ranger's apprentice. But things don't go as smoothly as they should. Gi...
