Chapter 083: The Consequences Of Premature Verdicts
"I'll
see you at the Weighing-In,
When
your life's sum-total's made;
And
you set your wealth in goodly deeds
Against
the sins you've laid."
Two
Fingers - Jethro Tull
Since Murlas turned out to be once again un-Trumpable, I only had one
short detour in mind before going back to Amber for the Family meeting: Shadow
Quendor. I still had to get back to Miss Fabre and inform her that I was still
alive and well, and I was also curious about the things Alexander had told me
last time we spoke. Not that I had much time, but I felt a quick look-see might
give me at least some idea of what was going on.
As I turned a corner into the street leading to the apartment, I glimpsed
something in the reflection of a shop window that would have made me stop in my
tracks if I had not received some training in these matters. I saw a dark figure
dart through the street and stop at the corner, glancing around it in my
direction. I had not been in the Shadow for more than five or ten minutes, and
already I was being followed! Damn. Well, I was confident I could shake him at
any time, and it might be more interesting to try and find out who this was and
why he was after me. When I had walked a little down the street, the figure
rounded the corner too and picked up his pace again. From other reflecting
windows I could make out that it was a man in a long dark coat, with very few
other distinguishing marks save from a red and black badge and a hand-held
telephone that he appeared to be talking into. It could be that there had been
some kind of stake-out near Miss Fabre's office, but why? Did this still have
something to do with our burglary of the university? Surely that had been some
time ago by now. What kind of trouble had Miss Fabre been getting into while I
had been away?
With all these questions running through my head, I finally reached Miss
Fabre's apartment building, but when I rang the bell the door was answered by an
unknown young man.
"Yes, how may I help you?" he asked.
"Well, I was looking for Miss Fabre."
"Can I take a message?" He didn't even bother to explain who he
was or why she wasn't at home. Still, I could be too suspicious here. Perhaps he
was just a friend minding her house while she was away.
"Just tell her Dorian came round to see her," I said. At least
she would know that I was okay. The young man nodded, yet suddenly his gaze
shifted to a spot just over my left shoulder. I quickly glanced back and spied
my tail in the dark coat again. For a moment there I was really sure that his
and the young man's eyes must have met. "Friend of yours?" I asked
lightly.
"Hmm? A colleague," he said innocently. Yeah, sure. Something
really fishy was going on around here. No time to dig deeper, though, for I was
expected back in Amber. I nodded goodbye to the young man and walked off,
deciding to find a secure alley from where I might Trump away without being seen
by his `colleague'.
Walking through the streets of Quendor, however, I began to notice
something that had escaped my attention so far, what with having the shivers and
being followed and all. There were a lot of billboards around and most of them
appeared to be sporting the same image: a youngish looking man with blonde hair
always smiling gracefully at the camera, but each one with a different slogan.
Some of these were quite direct and rallying, the simplest being: "Join the
Thaumacorps". I didn't know what this was all about, but it seemed clear to
me that this man, whose name appeared to be Lucius, was the one currently in
charge of Quendor, which was strange in itself, for Quendor had had something of
a democratic system as far as I knew. I also noticed the rune-like, black and
red symbol of a pentangle that seemed to be the official mark of this
Thaumacorps. It looked an awful lot like the badge that the man in the coat was
wearing.
There were a lot of questions waiting to be answered here, and I promised
myself that I would be back soon. First this business in Amber had to be taken
care of, though. It was not that hard to find a suitable quiet spot out of sight
of my pursuer and Trump through to Amber main hall. I guess he would have some
trouble explaining that one to his superiors.
It was already much later than I'd planned, and I just had time enough to
change into some more suitable attire before dinner was about to start. The
message I had got from Random had said that the various issues that needed
discussing would be addressed after dinner, and attendance was more or less
obligatory, so I was surprised to find that I was not the last to arrive. Murlas
came in just after me, and I managed to exchange a few words with him near the
door, explaning that I had indeed been Flora's prisoner and that him alerting
Caine about these matters had worked out for the best. I added that there would
have been little else that he could have done, considering where my prison had
been, but privately I wondered slightly how hard he had really tried to find out
what had happened to me. However, I wasn't going to come to odds with him over
such a trifling matter, and he still was my brother, whether he knew it or not,
which meant that I would cut him a little slack now and again, again whether he
was aware of it or not.
Diana was also late, as was Caine. They entered the room together, and
when I inquired with her a little later on it turned out that she had indeed
informed him about her wedding plans. She told me that he had not entirely been
taken by the idea, but he had said that it was my call as her father to consent
to it or not, which was close enough to a blessing for her.
We strolled around the room a little, for it seemed that people still had
much too much to talk about before they were ready to sit down and commit to a
static set of relatives for dinner conversations. As usual, most of our
relatives were present, but there were one or two notable exceptions. Caine was
there, as I said, as were Deirdre, Julian, Gerard, Bleys, Fiona, Benedict,
Llewella, and of course Random, but Corwin was strangely absent. Of the younger
generation there were Diana and me, Murlas, Boadice, Adrian, Alexander, Martin,
Melusine, and Charles, but Elayne was missing, as were both Rhiane and Yaslin.
The most notable absentee, however, was Rinaldo, and I wondered whether Random
might not simply have neglected to inform him of his father's return to keep him
from springing any kind of nasty surprises on us. Actually, I didn't know
Rinaldo well enough to say how he would react in the given situation, but
according to the rumour mills he had a bit of a reputation for taking drastic,
yet sometimes quite inspired action. Caution might be in order, I guess, but if
it had been my father's life on the line, I know I would have wanted to have my
say in the matter.
As I said, we spent quite some time in the pre-dinner phase of the
evening, for there was a lot to talk about. Many were, of course, curious to
hear my tale of woe at the hands of Flora, and I was happy to oblige them,
although I left out some bits, like the nature of the Reality we had been in and
the problems we had faced in the Nexus, figuring the latter to be affairs of
state better discussed or disclosed by Random and the former to be none of
anyone's business but my own. Questions about Brand and his apparent amnesia I
answered truthfully, though, giving a more detailed character description of
Fabian where necessary. Most of my relatives were not really interested in this
sort of thing, and I could sense that many had already made up their minds about
the long lost traitor. As had I, I guess. I couldn't help but wonder where this
meeting would lead to.
Strangely enough I wasn't entirely the centre of attention, for there
seemed to be other matters afoot, involving Adrian and Alexander, and perhaps
Bleys and Boadice too. It took some time for the gossip to circulate, but slowly
a picture began to emerge. People were rioting in the streets of Galoria, it was
said, positively livid with the news of King Monias's assassination. Apparently,
this had happened during his negotiations in Sherwyn, so logically they were
blaming it on Adrian, but word had it that our Royal cousin was not behind it at
all; in fact, he had been wounded in the attack himself.
No, there were whispers of another possible culprit, one that at first
sounded unlikely to my ears, namely Yaslin, Boadice's younger sister. She had
been making trouble here in Amber lately, something to do with a group who
wanted to turn the kingdom into a democracy; a laudable idea in any other
situation, I would say, but clearly nonsense in the case of Amber. I mean, the
presence of the Pattern alone made all the difference, didn't it? Anyway, Yaslin
had not exactly made a secret of her liberal ideas, and it had only been a
matter of time before she had had a major falling-out with Random. The last
straw had, apparently, been an attempt to free some of her rebellious friends
from the castle dungeons which had cost the lives of several of the castle
guards (my uncle Jaro fortunately not being among them, as I was quick to check)
and which had resulted in Random putting a price on her head. There was some
disagreement over how serious his intentions really were in this, but fact was
that Yaslin had not been sighted in Amber after these events. And now she was
rumoured to have set her sights on other kingdoms and other kings. If it was
true, she was playing a very dangerous game indeed.
One thing to confirm some of these rumours was Alexander at one point
ostentatiously walking over to his brother and handing him an official looking
scroll bearing the seal of Galoria, which would appear to be some kind of
ultimatum concerning the release of the assassin into the hands of the Galorian
authorities. It was said that in the wake of Monias's demise Alexander had been
quickly wedded to our cousin Myrthe, who as Felicia's daughter had been
officially acknowledged by Monias. So, in effect Alexander was the new King of
Galoria. A cynic would say he had done pretty well for himself, and naturally
there were a few rumours that he might have set this thing up with Adrian in
order to get rid of Monias. I didn't think so myself. Not that I doubted whether
Alex would be capable of such a thing, but I just couldn't see him conspiring
with Adrian when it came to such a sensitive affair.
When we finally sat down to eat, most important topics had already been
discussed quite extensively, so thankfully there was nothing but the lighter
kind of dinner conversation and a chance to enjoy another excellent meal until
we had reached the coffee and brandy stage and Random called the table to order.
He started explaining that he had called us together to get our individual
opinions on a couple of rather important issues, which would each be addressed
separately. He emphasized that we were not to regard this as a court or a
council in which each of us would get a vote, but as a sort of advisory board:
he would listen to what each of us had to say on the various matters, but the
final decision would be his and his alone. He was the King, after all.
The first point on the agenda was Brand. In case anyone still didn't know
the whys and hows of it, he began by telling how I had come across Fabian in
Flora's dungeons, about my suspicions, and about the final confirmation upon
arrival back in our Reality. His amnesia had not abated, though, and Random was
reluctant to let him be cured, nor had he let him walk the Pattern, which was
known to have been Corwin's remedy after returning from Shadow Earth. The matter
before us was that of Brand's death sentence, which had been proclaimed after
the Patternfall War with the accused in absentia. The question was whether in
the light of current circumstances we would still ratify that earlier verdict
and carry out the execution. Random added that Brand was rumoured to possess
some knowledge about the incursions and threats from outside our own Reality,
but there seemed little certainty in where he would stand once he came to his
senses. Since Random felt that the people who this decision most concerned were
the ones who had actually experienced the events of Patternfall, he divided us
into two groups, the first consisting of precisely these relatives. They would
first meet and speak their minds on the matter, and only if they wouldn't be
able to reach a clear consensus would we, mainly comprising of those of the
younger generations except for Martin, be asked to say our piece. A clear case
of Elder privileges, if ever there was.
While the first group went into seclusion for their meeting, we had some
time to talk among ourselves, an opportunity seized right away by Murlas, who
had apparently something to settle with cousin Boadice. He referred to some
recent event in Galoria and politely inquired whether she was alright. She
smirked and said that she was as fine as she was ever going to be (not quite
reassuring in her case). Murlas then surprised all of us, I think, by actually
apologizing to her for whatever it was that had happened. It had only been their
goal to help her escape, he said with a sideways glance at Adrian, and it was
really unfortunate how things had gone wrong. I took it this had something to do
with Boadice's recent trial in Galoria, a case shrouded in mists of confusion.
Perhaps I should get her to tell her side of it one of these days. Anyway, she
accepted gracefully, with the slightly exasperated remark that she had never had
as much trouble staying locked up as she had at that time, which in turn brought
forth a barbed observation from Murlas about incompetence both in general and in
specific, phrased in such a way that it might either refer to the Galorian
security or to Boa herself. He played the game rather well, I felt: first
waiting for the major players to leave before offering up an apology and then
taking the wind out of Boa's sails with such a cunning remark. His current
position as Head of House Ysarn must have really sharpened him.
We didn't have to wait very long for the first group to return, and of
course there had not been a majority vote either for or against. Random
hesitated slightly, but he decided it would be better if we knew where everyone
stood, so he reported that Caine, Julian, Deirdre, Bleys, and Martin had spoken
out in favour of carrying out the sentence. Gerard, Benedict, Llewella, and
Fiona had voted against, and so had Corwin, who unfortunately could not be
present, but who had sent a message via Adrian to make his position clear. It
should also go on record that Fiona had originally meant to abstain, but since
hers would have been the deciding vote she had been forced to make a decision.
Instead of immediately taking us off to hear our opinions, Random thought he
ought to give us a chance to talk individually to the people in the first group
and get them to explain their points of view. While I had already made up my
mind, I'm sure some of the others had not, so they would be glad at the
opportunity of getting some more information. As they would be a while, I
decided to have a chat with Fiona and see why she had been so reluctant to
become involved.
"I just find it too hard to judge Brand in any way," she
sighed. "I had the same problem when we were actually judging his case, and
I decided to abstain then. Ultimately, I think we're deluding ourselves if we
believe that killing Brand will take care of all our problems. It's such a
short-sighted solution. And who are we to say whether anyone should live or
die?"
"What about him possibly knowing more about the Enemy?" I
asked, trying to gauge how much she might know about such matters. After all,
she and Brand, and Bleys too, had been partners during or at least leading up to
Patternfall. She didn't let on to anything, though.
"It added weight to my final decision," she said. "Also,
my vote was the final, deciding one, and I didn't want it to be the one to seal
his fate."
I nodded. It made sense to me. Before mingling once more, I said to her:
"There's something not quite right in Quendor."
"Oh? I haven't been there for quite a while. I meant to, after you
had told me about Lothair, but things got in the way, and he seems to have been
sighted in various locations by now."
"Well, I wouldn't just barge into the place, if you catch my
drift."
"I've too many other things on my mind anyway," she said,
"but thanks for the warning."
Our attention was suddenly drawn by the characteristic rainbow shimmers
of a Trump contact in one of the corners. As we turned we saw Benedict extend a
hand to help Rinaldo come through. Benedict calmly turned and looked at Random.
"I believe our gathering was not quite complete for the second round,"
he said in his usual neutral tone of voice. Random frowned, and so did Rinaldo,
who clearly had not known about this meeting until Benedict had called him. A
few seconds slid by in total silence, before Random nodded once, curtly.
"We are now," he said. Yes, he was the King, but sometimes even
the King had to bow.
Rinaldo's arrival marked the start of the second round of our meeting. We
followed Random into the sitting room, and when we had all been seated he told
us that while the first group had merely cast their votes without much
explanations, he would allow us the chance to discuss the matter among
ourselves. I ventured the opinion that many might already have made up their
minds, so we might not have to spent too much time in discussion, but Diana,
Alexander, and Charles said that they were still undecided, and Boadice
indicated that while she had reached a decision of her own she would still like
to hear everyone else's reasoning. And Rinaldo really wanted to have this
discussion out in the open. It was his father's life we were talking about here.
To keep some kind of order Random would let us each in turn state our individual
cases, after which anyone who wanted to could react to them.
Initially most of us appeared to be against carrying out the original
sentence, Boadice because she felt the possible information he might have that
Random had mentioned would be too valuable to waste, Adrian because he felt that
if those directly involved would not sentence Brand he didn't have the right to
do so either, Melusine because she felt too close to Fabian not to give him
another chance, and myself because I felt that Brand had never had an actual
chance to account for his actions, not even during the original trial, and as
long as he would not be able to do so I could not be in favour of any verdict.
Actually, I shared Melusine's sentiments about Fabian, and her proposed solution
of taking him back to the Reality where we had found him had a ring to it, but
the stuff about the Prophecy and the Wolves was too important, and deep in my
heart I knew that hiding Brand somewhere else would only be postponing the
decision we were trying to make.
Unsurprisingly, Rinaldo also voted against the original verdict, although
he made it clear that he had had his doubts and that he had decided this way not
so much because of Brand being his father, but more because he would like to
give anyone a second chance at proving themselves, in much the same way as he
had been given one when he needed it. The only one immediately willing to ratify
the death sentence was Murlas. He found all this talk about this possible
valuable knowledge Brand might have too vague, and ultimately he figured that
the risk that Brand would eventually turn against Amber once more was simply too
great. I noticed how he dilligently was voting along the lines of his father
Caine there. I had seen the two of them talking between the two meetings, and I
realised that some of the Elders would expect their children to follow their
lead obediently. Well, I had already discussed this with Deirdre, so we had
known beforehand where we stood, and I was fairly sure she would not be too
upset over it. As for Caine, I didn't feel his claim on me extended to these
matters. I was my own man, after all, and I would continue to air my own
opinions come hell or high water.
After Boadice had asked Melusine about Fabian, and she had related how
different he was from Brand, Diana felt that this was reason enough to follow
Melusine's lead and vote against the standing verdict too. She cautioned us
against letting him run around loose, though, which got me a sharp look from
Murlas. Was he referring to her own presence in our midst in connection to that
attempt she had made on Caine's life? Could be. It would be just the thing for
Murlas to recall such things as a way to get into Caine's good graces. I decided
to ignore him, though, since for us, the people who had been directly involved,
it was all water under the bridge. Diana's caution was enough for Charles,
however, to choose in favour of the original verdict, saying that he hadn't
heard anything to indicate that Brand would not revert to his old ways once his
amnesia had been cured. And he felt certain that this would happen, sooner or
later.
Finally, all eyes turned to Alexander, whose was the only vote not cast.
He said he didn't feel comfortable deciding in this matter. There already was a
verdict, and he had heard no real arguments to reverse it, except maybe for
humanitarian reasons, whereupon Murlas sharply stated that there were indeed no
valid arguments. Alexander sighed, and finally he said he would vote in favour,
but that it was a hard decision to make. This brought the final tally in our
group to six against and three in favour. Random looked around the table one
last time and nodded, indicating that he had made up his mind and that he would
inform us once we had rejoined the others.
After he had reported on how we had voted, Random concluded that there
was no unanimous support for having Brand executed, but on the other hand there
was more than ample doubt about Amber's safety if he were to remain alive. He
found this security aspect to be quite important, so he ruled that Brand's
execution would not be carried out, but neither would he be released. A cautious
attempt might be made to assess the extent of his amnesia and to see whether it
could be cured, but Random would keep the right to ratify the original verdict
at any later date if he found it necessary. Only through a prolonged observation
of this person called Fabian and of the possible process of restoring his memory
would it be decided whether he was
to be granted a second chance or not.
Reactions to this were mixed, of course, although some of those who had
voted in favour of the execution, like Bleys, made no secret of the fact that
theirs had purely been a political decision, with no personal ill feelings
towards Brand. Well, I was simply happy enough that Brand would stay alive long
enough to prove himself. I agreed with Fiona's earlier observation: his death
would not have solved anything.
The next point on the agenda was Flora. Random explained that she had
secretly been plotting against Amber, although he understandably refrained from
going into detail. He disclosed the fact that Melusine was her daughter and
after some prompting got her to confirm the general accusation. Caine could do
even better, though, for he had some kind of magic crystal which contained a
sound recording of Flora in conversation with Lothair, trying to convince him to
attack Amber itself. Personally, I was relieved to hear the man say that he
didn't think the time was right for such a thing. Adrian confirmed that Caine's
recording was genuine, for he had been present at the time as well.
Random also mentioned my imprisonment, as if anyone didn't know about it
by now, and the fact that she had currently taken up residence in Sherwyn, in
accordance with some deal she had made with Adrian quite some time before all of
this had come to light. He was bound to give her sanctuary and he would not turn
her over to anyone, but he wouldn't exactly do his best to protect her either.
According to Random's most recent reports Flora was currently digging in in her
new mansion, which she had had rebuilt and which was staffed with her familiar
guards in black.
Strangely enough, no one seemed really interested in her motivations for
moving against Amber, most of them probably assuming that she simply wanted the
throne, as many of them had wanted it for themselves at one time or another.
Gerard, however, was concerned that she may have been under some alien influence
(this with a slight glance at Llewella), and asked me for my opinion, since I
had more or less been the last one to speak to her. I would have liked to
confirm his suspicions, but I couldn't. Not after all I had heard from Melusine.
Random offhandly mentioned that she was also the one responsible for Vialle's
forced miscarriages, a fact that would not carry weight with everyone, but that
would convince enough people that this was serious business.
Bleys spoke out against another trial and verdict in absentia, but he
granted that she ought not be allowed to get away with the things she had done.
Some drastic action had to be taken, but we should first get her here before
talking about punishment and that sort of stuff. Naturally, Melusine was not
looking very happy through all of this, but there seemed to be
"What are the actual consequences for her?" I asked. "I
mean, what would be the minimal penalty that she would have to face, given the
evidence against her?"
"The minimal penalty for high treason?" Murlas smirked.
Random frowned. "For high treason there's only one penalty: death.
If she has been proved completely guilty, that is." Well, there was some
leeway there, but not much.
"I think," Benedict began, "that Flora must account for
herself and for her actions. Only then can some kind of verdict be
reached."
"Oh?" Bleys cut in. "And who is going to fetch her?"
"She will expect someone to come for her," Benedict agreed.
Suddenly Adrian stood up from his seat and turned to Random. "I
believe I am rather tired," he said, "so if you will excuse me I'll
turn in for the night." Random smiled a bit wistfully, since Adrian was
clearly trying to keep himself from knowing anything that might compromise his
position.
"It might be a good idea for you to take a little rest," he
agreed, "but don't turn in just yet. There's one final matter to be
discussed which I'm sure you'll be very interested in. I'll have someone call
you when we're ready."
Once Adrian had left the room, I said: "Perhaps it's not a question
of fetching, perhaps it's more a matter of formally inviting her to answer for
her actions. And if she doesn't comply, well, there's already been one other
case tried in absentia."
"And experience would indicate that this might be preferable to a
sentence that can be carried out immediately," Murlas added with a wry
grin.
Random smirked a little too. "With the evidence we currently have it
would never come to such a verdict," he said. "But I like your
suggestion, Dorian. We'll send her an invitation, even though I don't expect her
to accept it. If she doesn't show up, we can still send someone to bring her
here so that we may look into her mental siuation and her reasons for what she
has done. Besides, I'll feel a lot safer once she's under lock and key. Does
anyone have any problems with this?" No one did, or if they did they
decided to remain silent. I guess this wasn't much of a decision, considering
the things Melusine had told me about Flora, but I guessed the real purpose of
this part of he meeting to make the official Amber policy towards her plain to
the entire Family. After all, Flora may now have been revealed as a traitor, but
she might not have been working entirely on her own, and I was not referring to
Melusine either. This meeting was also aimed at discouraging others from
steering the same course as she had.
We had to wait a little while before we could continue, for Random had to
send a servant to fetch Adrian, but he quickly returned, armed with a
three-double shot of pure whiskey. He seemed to be drinking more and more
heavily lately, just like his dad. It couldn't be good for him, I felt.
The third and final point of the evening had only been freshly added, for
it concerned the rumours about the murder of Monias. Random confirmed the fact
that this had taken place in Sherwyn and he also confirmed the rumour that
Yaslin had been identified as the assassin, adding that she may have been aiming
for Adrian as well. Of course, Boadice straight away wanted to know what this
identification was based on, and it turned out that while the assaillants had
all been masked Adrian had clearly recognized her voice. He realised that it
could have been a shape shifter posing as her, but he said that if it had been,
it had been a damned good one.
Bleys enquired what Yaslin's motive for these actions might have been,
and Random quickly sketched a profile of her as a natural born rebel, someone
who would always side against the people in power. He had had her under
surveillance from his intelligence service for quite some time now, and their
reports confirmed her involvement in at least several terrorist actions in Amber
and some of the Golden Circle Shadows. Boadice was keen to have a look at these
files, but Random would only allow her a copy, and he casually remarked that any
sudden deaths of witnesses would only count against Yaslin.
"This just won't do at all," Julian said. "Who is
responsible for the girl anyway?" That turned out not to be an easy
question. Like Boadice, Yaslin was not sure who her father was, save that it was
an Amberite. When Bleys had officially adopted Boadice, he had made a similar
offer to her sister, but unlike Boa Yaslin had refused. This meant that she
would only formally be an Amberite, that is a true and full member of the
Family, if Random publicly acknowledged her. Up until now he had never done so,
although she had silently been granted most of the rights and privileges that
came with the title. It had only been when she had overtly moved against Amber
that she had forced Random's hand and made him put a price on her head, thus
effectively banishing her.
"Well, that solves our problem then,"Julian said. "Just
don't acknowledge the brat as one of us. This is her own problem, not Amber's.
If we do acknowledge her, we're taking responsibility for her actions and
immediately get to share the blame for Monias's death."
"I still think the evidence is very weak," Boadice put in. I
guess she had a point, but the Adrian I knew would not invent something like
this.
"She's free to come and show she's innocent," Julian said with
a cold smile, "but her absence here rather speaks against her, doesn't
it?"
"She had already been banished for other reasons," Boadice
objected.
"I have not been able to reach her lately," Random said with a
shrug, "and I have not been informed of her current whereabouts."
"So, her not being her is hardly tantamount to a confession of
guilt, is it not?" Murlas said. "Anyway, I believe this problem
belongs to Sherwyn and Galoria, since they are directly involved in this
assassination. I do not believe Amber is."
"Which was Julian's point," I said. "As long as she's not
officially one of us, this is no concern of Amber's." It sounded harsh, I
know, and usually I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. Hell, I even
wanted Flora to live despite the things she had done, but perhaps the picture
Random's files had painted of the girl rather unnerved me. Someone who was
willing to kill for these kind of political convictions was a fanatic in my
book, and I did not take kindly to fanatics.
"Nevertheless," Boadice said wearily, "the fact remains
that she has the blood of Amber, and we are all familiar with the nasty uses
that can be put to. We can't simply wash our hands of her." She made a
heartfelt plea, but I could sense that most of us were more inclined to see
Julian's point of view. "Let me remind everyone that she is only in her
early twenties," Boa insisted, "and can't be held fully responsible
for her actions."
"She took that responsibility when she refused to accept Bleys's
offer of adoption," I said, and Murlas concurred.
"She made her own choices," he added. "If she should
decide to better herself, she can always return to Amber and face the
consequences of her actions."
"And as for her being too young," Bleys said, "Dalt was
only nineteen when I ran him through with my sword because he had raised an army
against Amber. To name but one other relative with these kind of destructive
tendencies. But I propose that Amber take no action in this matter and let
Sherwyn and Galoria resolve it between them." He appeared to be taking the
matter rather lightly, considering this concerned his would-be adopted daughter.
Maybe he had felt rather slighted by her refusal. Amberites could sometimes be
quite touchy about such matters.
"I would like to know precisely where Amber stands when it comes to
Yaslin," Adrian said. "I mean, is it now generally accepted that she
has made her own choices, making her rejection of Amber final and
official?"
"She hasn't left us much choice, has she?" Gerard muttered.
"If she has really done these things…," Boadice amended.
"No, I'm only talking about her offical status here," Adrian
said. "As far as I'm concerned, I really think she did do it. Now, I'm more
than prepared to give her a fair trial, and I rather expect Galoria to do the
same."
Once again all eyes turned to Alexander, who had remained rather silent
up till now. He shrugged slightly. "You know what our expectations
are," he said to his brother.
"I'm explicitly asking you for your assistance in this matter,"
Adrian said, with a hint of exasperation in his voice.
"We expect you to turn over the assassin to us with sufficient
evidence to convict them," Alex replied coldly.
"Within the span of two weeks…," Adrian said scornfully.
"That's a deadline that can never be met."
"By the way," Murlas said sweetly, "have you already found
the person who tried to kill me, not the last time I was in Galoria but the time
before that. The last time I was there with Benedict. That was much safer. Now,
if you want Adrian to give you some scapegoats for a big trial, I am sure that
that can be arranged. However, if you want the real murderer and a fair trial,
well…" He sighed dramatically.
"And we
all know how far the judicial system of Galoria can be trusted," Boadice
added spitefully. She was probably referring to her own experiences there, but I
still didn't know exactly what had happened to her.
Alexander face had turned to a blank, stiff mask during this exchange,
and after that last remark of Boa's he suddenly turned to Random and said that
he felt that under the circumstances he could no longer stay. Before anyone
could say anything else, he had whipped out his deck of Trumps and disappeared
in a shimmer of rainbow lights. Talk about touchy. And score one quick point for
both Boa and Murlas. Much as I liked to get on well with Alex, I could tell that
their words had had the ring of truth to them. Random had raised one eyebrow in
mild surprise, but he seemed to be used to Alexander displaying this kind of
unpredictable behaviour.
"I was only asking him for some more time," Adrian sighed. Poor
guy. This exchange had certainly not helped him in any way. Still, he could try
Murlas's idea of turning over a scapegoat.
Alright," Random said, "I have decided in this matter. No one
in this Family is to hamper Adrian in any way during his search for Yaslin, in
order to have her tried and handed over to Galoria. This, however, is not a
carte blanche to simply go out and kill her, and the current evidence against
her is ruled to be insufficient in the eyes of Amber. Pending further
developments, Amber will not get involved in this case."
Well, that was pretty clear. Adrian seemed to have his job cut out for
him, and I can't say I envied him. And as for non-involvement, I knew at least
one Amberite who wouldn't sit back idly while her sister was being dragged to
the executioner's block. No, it seemed that Sherwyn was due some more
interesting times.