Riven watched the old man make his way slowly to a witness stool set in front of the judges. His fingers shook as he smoothed a few errant hairs in his thick eyebrows."Asa Konte," the judged said patiently. "O-fa, thank you for sharing your knowledge with us today."
The old man nodded.
"Do you know this woman, the one called Riven?" the judge asked.
"Yes," the old man said. "She came to us at the beginning of this past wet season."
"Us?"
"Myself and Shava, my wife."
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The judge looked up at Mistress Konte, who still shifted uncomfortably on the bench at the front of the hall. The judge gestured to Riven.
"She came to you?"
"Well, I found her in our field," the old man offered sheepishly. "We had a calf wander in the night. At dawn I went looking for it. Instead I found her."
Murmurs of surprise and concern spilled again from the crowd.
"Spy!"
"More will come!"
"We must protect ourselves!"
The judge rested a hand on the heavy wooden sphere in front of her. The room grew quiet. "What did she want, Master Konte?"
The old man smoothed his eyebrows again and glanced at Riven. His look begged apology.
"She wanted to die, magistrate," he said softly.
The judge leaned forward.
"It was the start of the wet season," Asa continued. "She was soaked to the skin, nothing but fevered bones held together by mud and stubborn Noxian muscle."
"You knew she was Noxian?"
"She carried a weapon, a blade, the scabbard was inscribed with the marks of their father tongue. No Ionian would carry such a weapon."
The judge pursed her lips. "Master Konte, you took heavy losses during the invasion?"
"I did, magistrate," the old man said. He looked to his wife. "Two sons."
"What did you do with the woman?"
The old man took a deep breath.
"I took her home to Shava," he said.
The murmur of the hall rose again, questioning the man"s lenience on a foe that had been so merciless. The faces within the hall told their stories of loss. None in their community had been untouched by the conflict. The old man lifted his head, and turned to the crowd, challenging the hardness of their hearts.
"My sons… My boys… Their bones have long since been cleaned by the sky. Would those we lost wish us to bury ourselves in grief beside them?"
Riven watched as the old man and his wife shared a knowing look. Shava"s eyes were wet and full.
"We were not ready to let them go, but…" The old man"s voice quivered. "But it does us no good to mire ourselves in the past when there is life left to live."
Shava bit her bottom lip and sat up straighter, daring those who sat next to her to speak ill of their choice. Asa turned away from the crowd"s stares. He sat facing the magistrate, the stool creaking beneath him.
"There were so many deaths, I couldn"t bear to add another," he explained. "We cleaned her up and offered what we had in peace."
The judge nodded without emotion. Riven watched as the judge took in Riven"s shirt and pants, mentally unrolling the cuffs. She knew what the judge pictured as she had thought the same thing many times since the old woman had presented the clothes. They were meant for a young man, a head taller than her, maybe a man with Shava"s smile or Asa"s kind eyes.