Macha's Journey

When Magni"s booming voice resounded throughout the room, everyone stayed their conversations to see what would happen. The tantalizing dispute between the Valois and the Rosenkrantz family caught everyone"s attention. They all identified the man as Thor"s worthless excuse for a son. They did not understand why he would dare to anger someone so above him.

Before Magni"s outburst, Thor had been listening to his wives gossip about how pathetic some of the other women looked today. He understood that to a n.o.ble, looks were important, but some people could not help how ugly they appeared. To him, pose and grace were traits you inherited. This fact was something he wished his wives understood. Not everyone could look as good as they did.

When her heard Magni"s offensive voice, Thor abruptly turned around and found his son pointing a finger towards the Valois"s loge. He immediately became hot with fury. Magni had always been a troublesome child that created more problems than he was worth. In a hushed voice, Thor bristled, "Shut up you idiot!"

Magni did not listen and pressed against the railing. "You there! Yeah, you. I"m not through with you. Just you wait, you little b.i.t.c.h. I"m gonna finish what I started." He wanted to continue but Ullr seized him in a chokehold which made the blood in his head pound. Gasping he hollered out, "Let me go!"

Tyr stood up. The Rosenkrantz family was rapidly becoming his least favorite family in all of Ma.r.s.eille. "Pardon me? Are you speaking to me?" No one else sat in the box except for himself and Macha. There was no way this vagabond would ever have met her, so he only a.s.sumed Magni addressed him.

"No," Magni gasped. He began to feel faint and tried to struggle out of Ullr"s grip. "That..," he trailed off.

Ullr could not believe his irresponsible youngest brother talked to Macha. He did not even realize they had met. The threat of his brother single-handedly messing up his task to seduce Macha enraged him. Throughout Magni"s entire life Ullr always had to clean up the messes his brother made. For the first hundred years he did not mind, but by now his brother should have stepped up to represent the family in a better light.

Ullr"s arms never let go of his brother and he spoke as gracefully as possible through his struggles, "Macha, I apologize. This is quite awkward. Please accept the apology of the whole Rosenkrantz family. Lord Tyr, we meant no slander."

He cursed his younger brother for being so embarra.s.sing. Of all the days, places, and families, it had to be now, before all the n.o.bility and the Valois family. Magni really knew how to make things difficult.

The rest of the Rosenkrantz family got up and bowed to apologize. The last thing Thor wanted was to upset the head of the Valois family. It took him many years to cultivate good relations with Hrod and did not want to lose such a powerful ally.

Tyr thought Magni was addressing him at first, but when Ullr apologized to Macha, he realized Magni had not even been looking at him. He glanced over at Macha and found her hiding behind him.

Wanting to move out of the spotlight, he shielded Macha and stated, "I understand and we accept your apology. Please see that Magni is punished accordingly. As her tutor, you need to make sure your family acts accordingly as well. If not, I worry about what you are teaching her."

Ullr read between the lines. His brother stopped struggling, so he put him in a seat. "We will be certain to ensure Magni realizes the severity of his words." He bowed, and the family took their seats. Their slaves carried Magni"s unconscious body out of the courtroom.

Tyr sat down and turned to Macha. In a low whisper, he asked, "How do you know him?" He did not recall introducing that sc.u.m to her. They belonged to different social circles and despite both of them being n.o.bles, Magni preferred to indulge excessively in life. He frequented bars, wh.o.r.ehouses, and gambling havens.

Not once did she imagine Magni had been a n.o.ble or that she would ever meet him again. She wiggled her feet and looked down at them. "I beat him up at a bar while I was looking for Luna. He touched my chest and made me angry."

Tyr"s mouth twitched, and he shot an angry look at Magni, who was being carried away. He moved to stand, but Macha pulled him back down. He said nothing for a while, swallowing his anger. Now was not the time to give in to his fury.

After a few moments pa.s.sed, he glanced back at Macha. It was impossible for him to hide his anger, when he asked, "Do you want me to punish him further?" All she needed to do was say the word and he would ensure Magni would not bother her again. Tyr doubted Thor would risk making him an enemy over his useless youngest son.

"No. I doubt we will see him very often. When I beat him up, I broke his finger and punched him down there..." To emphasize her point she put her hand on Tyr"s lap and gave a mischievous smile. Hitting Magni in the crotch really was funny when she thought back on it.

A deep gong sounded and everyone rose from their seats.

Freyr entered and so did the other council members. Freyr stood in front of a throne and the other members went to the sides where they would sit.

After the council members took their places, Jarnvid entered. Some people on the ground floor hissed upon seeing him. He looked tired and unkept. His clothes appeared wrinkled and the confidence he once exuded had disappeared.

Freyr took a seat and everyone else sat down as well. Since everyone was supposed to have already listened to the case in the previous days, today was only for casting the votes and sentencing.

While the opening speeches were being made, it occurred to Macha that the trial was unfair. Tyr had not gone to any of the hearings in the previous days. She realized he received a packet with all the information, but that differed from actually going to the trial. Now she looked around and wondered how many people really read the packets they received.

The decision consisted of votes from the lords, the people, and the King. The King const.i.tuted forty percent of the vote, the lords another forty percent, and the people were the remaining twenty percent. Each n.o.ble family could cast one vote. Twenty random people represented the people"s votes. The King had picked them from the audience on the first trial day. Those people attended each of the trials to ensure they gave a fair vote.

Jarnvid"s face grew grimmer as the votes were cast. He already understood Freyr"s forty percent would find him guilty. His movements had been discreet, and he knew the investigation only started because the King caught him with Macha.

With each vote that was cast, his mood became more and more perverse. As the lords cast their votes, few refused to go against what the Valois, Rosenkrantz, and Lichnowsky families voted. Tyr and Lord Lichnowsky condemned him and Thor refused to go against those two families at the same time. Jarnvid"s family offered Thor money to vote not guilty, but it did not seem to work.

The courthouse as a whole seemed to stand together to execute Jarnvid. The only people who found him not guilty were a few of the people"s votes and his own family. Jarnvid"s lips trembled as the final vote was given.

Once all the votes were cast, Freyr stood. Today he wore his crown and a cream-colored suit. The windows let streaks of bright sunlight fall down on him, giving him an ethereal look. His brown locks of hair shone in the sun and his figure commanded the attention of the courtroom.

His voice echoed throughout the room, "Lords, Ladies, and the people of Ma.r.s.eille. I thank you all for judging the trial of Lord Jarnvid Gervais."

Freyr turned to address Jarnvid, "Lord Jarnvid Gervais, you have been given the opportunity to prove your innocence with the full capabilities that Ma.r.s.eille had to offer. You have been found guilty of tax evasion and fraud, lying under oath, bribery, and intentionally funding, profiting, and spreading drugs throughout Ma.r.s.eille. I hereby sentence you to execution by beheading."

At the mention of execution, the people cheered, eager to see a good beheading. Freyr paused and raised his hand to calm the crowd. "The execution will take place tomorrow at noon. Do you have any words to say?"

Jarnvid"s face contorted with rage. Everyone stared at him with looks of disgust in their eyes as if they never broke the law. No one had the right to judge him when they themselves were no better. Seeing the disapproving gazes broke his countenance.

He directed his anger at everyone, "All of you sit there as if you"re free from guilt. You Freyr, you abused your power to seek vengeance on me! For what? She doesn"t even love you!"

Jarnvid"s blonde hair was a mess from shaking his head. "All of you Lords, you sit there and watch this. Just wait! You"re ALL guilty of sins! I..." before he could continue, Sierra walked up and shoved a cloth in his mouth to stifle his words. She wrestled with him and forced Jarnvid"s head onto a pedestal.

A husky female stepped forward and raised a seal into the air. When she pressed it down on Jarnvid"s forehead, a red light flared from the seal and his m.u.f.fled cries resounded through the courtroom. A group of mages chanted a spell, repeating the word asham. The red light faded, and the woman removed the seal. On Jarnvid"s head, a black mark radiated from where the seal had been placed.

After that, Sierra wrestled with Jarnvid, pushing him out of the courtroom.

The speech made many of the n.o.bles uncomfortable and only the hollers from the ground floor could be heard. Executions were rare, and the people grew excited. Execution days were a big event that caused many people to gather. This made food vendors happy because where people gathered, there would be a need for food. Many of the audience members quickly left to prepare for the next day.

The speech left Macha feeling uneasy. She wondered if Freyr planned the whole investigation because of her. Looking around, she saw many eyes watching her. The n.o.bles all seemed to judge her and a few whispered amongst their family. His comment now weighed heavily on her mind. Although Jarnvid was guilty of doing the crime, she somehow felt responsible for his execution. A hand pressed on her back and she looked up at Tyr.

Tyr did not appreciate Jarnvid mentioning his a.s.sault in front of everyone. Many unexpected things happened today, and the drama made him tired. The outcome of the trial was good, but everything else about the day had been annoying. When he looked at Macha, she seemed upset. "Let"s go," he said dryly.