Chapter 11: Trial

The king sat on his throne, waiting. He was leaning forward and clasped his right hand over his eyes. The disappointment and anger he felt had nearly overwhelmed him. He also felt a pang of guilt over Benn and Darius. Phineas had been right about Toro when he first brought it to Guran's attention. But the king had dismissed him at the time, thoroughly believing that Phineas was overreacting and that Toro was a trustworthy man.

All he could think was that if he had listened to Phineas and acted then, this whole terrible situation could have been avoided. Now he was forced to try one of his former brothers in arms for treason and murder.

Guran heard the doors to the throne room open. He heard footsteps approach his throne. He didn't even raise his head. He knew from the sound that Toro was being led toward him by two other Hylian Knights.

He didn't want to raise his head and face this grim situation. His guilt at his own inaction threatened to overtake him.

Finally, after a long silence and no motion from anyone in the room, Guran lifted his head. He saw his knights standing before him and the traitorous Toro in chains. The king took a deep breath and then he began to speak.

"Toro Beldar" he said, his voice shaking.

"You stand accused of the crimes of murder and treason. You have betrayed your kingdom, your fellow knights and your king. How do you plead to these charges?"

Toro stood stock still as he allowed the king to finish speaking. He knew he had no way out of this situation so he chose to make this as quick as possible.

"I plead guilty to all charges placed against me" Toro said in a cold voice.

The king sighed and lowered his head as Toro finished speaking. He raised his head again a few moments later.

"Toro, you have disgraced the honor that King Ridlef placed upon you and the honor of your fellow knights and your current king. But because I am not the one who gave you the honor of your title and the man who did is dead, I will leave the decision of your fate up to your fellow knights."

King Guran looked around the room at the four knights that remained.

"His fate is in your hands now. I ask that each of you make your choice. Whatever you choose will not be held against you. But in this case the majority rules. And if there is a stalemate, then your Captain's decision will be the deciding vote. Speak when your decision is made."

After a short pause, Sir Orlin was the first to speak.

"I say give him death. I feel it is only fair for what he has done."

After a much longer pause, Sir Jon spoke up.

"I agree with Orlin, sire. Death for the betrayer."

The king sat quietly on his throne as he waited for the remaining two, Colin and Captain Phineas, to speak. It took a long while. Guran knew Phineas was reserving his decision for last so watched Colin pace the floor and mull his decision. Finally, Colin stopped pacing and spoke.

"After much thought, I feel death is too extreme. He was a knight once and I feel in light of his service to the kingdom I think banishment is the best option for everyone."

The king turned to the Captain when Colin had finished.

"It falls to you, Captain" he said softly.

Phineas turned to look at his king.

"I will not make my decision until I hear from our king. I feel as though we need to hear what he thinks the traitor's fate ought to be."

As soon as Phineas had finished speaking, Guran motioned for him to approach his throne. Phineas did as he was told and approached the king. Guran stood from his throne and met Phineas beside it. He put a hand to the Captain's shoulder and turned them both around so that their backs were to the rest of the men in the room.

"What are you doing?" Guran whispered "I've left the decision in your hands because it is what is right. I don't deserve to weigh in on this."

"King Guran you were his Captain once too. You have as much say as anyone else in this room" Phineas whispered in reply.

"No, Phineas, I don't. I didn't listen to you when you came to me about Toro. I should have acted then. What happened today was my fault. Since you were the one who was smart enough to recognize the traitor, you should have the final decision."

Phineas would have none of it.

"Sire that is nonsense. What Toro did is his fault and his alone. When you dismissed my claims you showed faith in your knights like any good Captain should. Besides, I never foresaw that he would go this far to achieve whatever he was after. I will not make my decision until I hear your input."

Guran decided that he could not sway Phineas to speak his mind until he gave his own opinion.

"Very well, Captain" Guran said.

The two of them turned around to face the rest of the knights once more.

"I have decided to give my own opinion on this matter. But be aware that the Captain's decision will still be the final one."

The king took a deep breath as he began.

"What Toro did was heinous and terrible. The murder of two fellow knights is something that cannot go unpunished. However I, too, feel that death is too extreme. Perhaps you would call me soft and perhaps you would be right but I feel that banishment is the much better option."

The king took another deep breath when he finished.

"But let it be known that my opinion holds no bearing for this and I will leave the final decision up to Captain Phineas."

The room fell silent as the men stood there, eyes fixated on the Captain. As he stood next to the king, he closed his eyes for a moment. He breathed deeply as he spoke his decision. He would leave it to one word and everyone in the room was hanging on it. He opened his eyes and spoke.

"Banishment."

After another short silence, the king spoke for the final time that day.

"The decision is made. Toro Beldar, as a result of your crimes against Hyrule, you are hereby stripped of your title as a knight of Hyrule. And as your former comrades have decreed, you are banished from this castle and its kingdom. May you walk forever with shame and bear the guilt and ghosts of the men you have slain."

With the king's decree finished, Toro was led back out of the throne room by Orlin and Colin. The king dismissed the other two of his knights. As soon as they left the room, Guran slumped back into his throne and resumed holding his forehead as he had before.