Reunion 20

Chapter 19 part 2

Sir Ioan rolled his eyes, gave soft, drawn out whistle, and said sarcastically, "Okay…you may step down, Lord Tor."

As best as he could, Tor jumped down from the witness chair, and hurried to his seat. Even he could see that his testimony wasn't doing their team any favors and cursed himself for being so honest. But I can't help it! They made me swear by Mithras!!! What was I supposed to do???

Sir Ioan cleared his throat and called, "I summon Lord Artur Bearclaw of the Sarmatian Bear Tribe and second supporter to Attila to the stand."

Lord Connor, who was overseeing the entire court, watched the second witness with dispassionate eyes. This was normally a job he loved to do. He enjoyed listening to both sides of the story and judging the outcome so his people could receive justice or receive punishment. Unfortunately, this wasn't one of those cases. All I want to do with them is to hang the dirty, evil beggars and be done with them, but the laws were the laws….

Duke Duncan once again walked gravely up to the chained Bear clansman and intoned seriously, "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, by the Blood and Honor of Mithras, Son of Sarmatia?"

Artur winced but replied, "I, Artur Bearclaw of the Bear Tribe, swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, by the Blood and Honor of Mithras, may I be killed for dishonoring this sacred pact."

I can't believe this! How will I get out of this mess Attila's gotten us all into? It's because he couldn't suppress his raging bloodlust that we're here in the first place! But, I do have to wonder though…if he only chocked that Briton Btch, how'd her neck get cut?

"Lord Artur, tell the court in your own words what you and your fellow Sarmatians found when you arrived here on our island."

Artur opened his mouth to answer, when he caught sight of Agrimpasa. She was grinning smugly-like she had something to be prideful about. Just because Tor didn't sell her out, didn't mean he wouldn't-to save his own skin of course! After all, if Attila and Tor are killed, I'M the next in line for the Bear Crown! If I must, I can work with Miskoc as well as Habren and her idiotic liberal ways…

He grinned evilly and replied, "We found the island to be exotic and like nothing we had ever seen before. Our lands are green, but Briton makes them looks pale in comparison. We also found the people to be more open about their lives than we had ever dreamed to be with foreigners. They let us into their homes and fed us as though we were the Kings of Briton herself. But, we were intimidated. The people, they had seen all our weapons and are warhorses, and instead of running in feat like most people near our homelands, they smiled at us in greeting; most even called out Knights of the Round Table. Now, in after thought, I can understand. These Knights of the Round Table are really our Sarmatian brothers. Anyways, as we traveled here, we found out that the Roman our sons were sent to serve had become King of Briton, and we were angry."

He took a deep breath and continued, "We had been told by a local village girl, probably nine or ten summers old, that the Knights that served Arthur for fifteen years lived in Camelot and that they had gained Lordship over various lands across the lower southern half of the island. We couldn't believe it. For two to three years, we have believed that this…King of Briton…had forced our beloved sons to stay and fight for him, and we grew angry for our sons' slight of honor in their place. But, when we arrived and received the graciousness of the King, we found that our sons weren't as dead or forced as we thought. We found out that our beloved Princes had chosen to stay and married Briton women! It seemed like a horrible dream in which we could not wake up from! And then, they tried to make us leave as if we were perfect strangers! Us! It's simply not done! Bors was a childhood rival, maybe, but we still knew each other well growing up! It was like…he didn't even know me anymore!"

Sir Ioan interrupted Artur because his rant was droning on and on and all the spectators were half asleep with boredom, "Yes! Thank you, so, do you too, believe in Attila's theology?"

Artur snapped out because he was still in the redness of his ranting rage, "Yes! Attila will be the one to bring our people back to greatness! He even found two Sarmatians in Greece who stayed near their old post because they had bastard children to with the Grecian whores too!"

Sir Ioan was disturbed to see a malicious gleam enter Artur's eyes as he ended, "The screams of the young girls as they burned inside their tiny wood hut of a home, was music to my ears. Attila dragged Owain and Yvain back to Sarmatia kicking and screaming!"

Then he shrugged and finished as if in a after thought of baleful pride, "The twins were married the very night we arrived home and are now fathers of five-three boys and two girls."

He leaned in and added just because he wanted to, "Attila's brought the Horse tribe out of extinction, you know? It was once twelve homes and now it is bursting with families of thirty or more!"

Sir Ioan grimaced and said as he turned to Sir Owen, "Thank you, your witness."

Sir Owen looked down at the notes he had taken of the dialogue between the two men and shook his head and said, "No further questions your Honor."

Lord Conner nodded and said to the witness, "Thank you Lord Artur, you may sit down now."

Artur shrugged and shuffled back to his seat. As he sat down, Agrimpasa smiled sweetly at him, but underneath her sugary sweetness, he could see the coolness of a heart long frozen to the wonders of the world.

For that he mourned her. He knew the world as a whole was harsh, but at least him mother had loved him, and not sold him to become some person's sex slave.

Lord Connor eyed the prosecuting solicitor and said, "Your witness Sir Ioan."

He cleared his throat and replied, "Yes Your Honor. I summon to the stand, Princess Habren duLac of the Lion Tribe of Sarmatia, High Princess of the Eleven Sarmatian Tribes, heir of High King Babai and High Queen Ama of the Lion Tribe, younger sister to Marque Lancelot Shieldguard Lyon of the House of Lyon, Knight Commander, King's Protectorate, and First Knight of the Round Table."

Lancelot bit back a cry of surprise. His little sister was being called up to the stand?! How was this possible? She didn't have anything to do with this…right?

Attila near roared with anger. He grabbed his solicitor roughly by his billowing sleeve and yanked him down to growl something into his ear. Sir Owen gulped and nodded.

He smartly straightened out his uniform and announced, "Your Honor, I object! This woman has a vengeful agenda with my client, and I'd like to know the relevance of her testimony to this horrendous crime that my client has been accused of!"

Lord Connor nodded and said gravely as he stared down Sir Ioan's eyes, "So would I Defense Solicitor. Would you care to explain Sir Ioan?"

Sir Ioan stood tall and proclaimed, "I am merely using Lord Lancelot's sibling as a character witness, Your Honor! The Lion Tribe is well known for its liberal theologies. If I can show that the Sarmatians are on their way to more liberal ways of thinking, I can easily prove to this wondrous court that Attila is nothing more than a murderous killer, and needs to be paid in full for his crimes."

Lord Connor looked thoughtful for a moment and nodded silently giving the solicitor his freedom in this instance.

Duke Duncan swore her in just a gravely as he had the previous two-only a few words were different, "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, by the Blood and Honor of Mithras, Daughter and High Princess of Sarmatia?"

Habren answered back with all the dignity of a woman in her position and rank could offer, "I, Habren Lionstone, High Princess of the Lion Tribe of Sarmatia, swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth by the Blood and Honor of Mithras, may I be killed for dishonoring this sacred pact."

Sir Ioan nodded and asked, "Isn't it true, my Lady, which you believed that some of the Knights still lived even when their term of service to Rome ended when all others had given up hope?"

"Yes."

Sir Ioan stopped right in front of her and asked seriously, "Why? All of your people had given up. Why didn't the flames of hope still burn in your heart?"

I can't answer this! This is a much too personal topic to discuss in open forums like this!! But…I did swear…damn it! I have now choice…I MUST tell them why…Melean will be angry and very much embarrassed!!!

She cleared her throat, tilted her head down so she wouldn't have to see anyone and replied softly, "I never gave up hope because my brother made me a promise. It might have been immature of me, but I held on to that memory of him promising to return after I had given him my charm necklace. I…"

She took a deep breath and added even more quietly, "And I also never gave up hope because only Lancelot could annul my marriage with Melean since it was determined by my mother and father. As High Prince and Heir Apparent, he could have vetoed and annulled the marriage in an instant."

Unfortunately, the courtroom was stone-cold silent. Every person within the large structure heard her words perfectly. The Sarmatians turned towards the husband of the Lion Princess and saw that he was red with anger, hurt, and mortification.

Habren winced as a burst of heated air seemed to hit her face and lift her hair as her fellow Sarmatians began to whisper excitedly to one another about her confession and about how it would explain how she hadn't bore Melean an heir in their five years of marriage.

As she lifted her head to see Melean's reaction, or predicted reaction, her gaze caught her brother's. Lancelot's large brown-black eyes swam with murkily with sadness and sorrow. She blinked. It wasn't possible! Could he really care for me still…even after all this time???

Lancelot had to bite his lip as he tried to stop a swelling burst of tears from exploding from his eyes. He had known that his sister had only hoped for his return so he could annul her marriage, but to hear her say it belittlingly-like it was all his fault she was married to him in the first place-hurt. And that surprised him the most.

Okay Lance, once this entire mess is over, Habren and I need to have a LONG talk.

Sir Ioan looked at her apologetically and asked more gently, "So strong was your belief in the fact that Lancelot was alive, you asked to come here to find him, correct?"

Habren took a deep calming breath and answered with a slight wince as Melean stormed out of the courtroom, "Yes."

"Princess Habren, isn't it also true that your tribe is the most liberal of all the Sarmatian Tribes?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"I beg your pardon?" admonished Habren with wide eyes.

Sir Ioan smiled slightly and said again, "I apologize, allow me to rephrase…how did your tribe come to the conclusion that keeping your people pure was wrong?"

Habren took a deep breath and retold the story her father had told her and her siblings many times-even Lancelot knew it-, "It was of the time of our grandfathers, and my grandfather adamantly opposed the purity ideals that were spreading fast within the Horse, Bear, Snake, and Hawk clans. You must understand my grandfather was the first son of the current High King. As such he was given a grand education as did all the Lion Tribe's first born sons. He new the lore of our people and knew that none of us, as Sarmatians, I mean, could claim to be of pure blood as we had the blood of dozens of ethnic races. That's how he figured out how it was possible for us, as Sarmatians, to have various colors of hair, eyes, and body builds."

"Ah excuse me, but could you explain your last statement?" interrupted Sir Ioan.

Habren thought for a moment and replied, "You see, he theorized that certain ethnic groups were known for special and or unique physical features. Like Egyptians had straight black hair, slanted brown eyes, and brown skin, the Romans had tall foreheads, strong jaws, and proud noses, and the Britons had slight, lithe bodies, and brown black hair or brown and amber eyes-and rarely any other coloring there to. But, as Sarmatians, we have claim to a wide array of physical features…that's how my brother can have black, curly hair and brown-black eyes, I can have light brown hair, and brown-black eyes, and Gawain can have long blond hair and sparkling hazel green eyes. We are all different!"

Sir Ioan nodded and asked, "So, how did this influence his theology on blood purity?"

Habren snorted and answered, "Grandfather thought it was rubbish and warned them all that too much interbreeding would destroy the royal lines, and he swore to never marry into his own family line if he could not help it. Instead, he married a Cheetan Princess and had my father. As my father grew, the theology of my grandfather flourished within the Lion, Wolf, Eagle, Coyote, and Cheetah clans. It was hesitantly accepted in the Panther and Leopard clans, and out right rejected in the others. As the years went by, our culture grew with our enlightened thoughts and we traded more with those outside out boundaries. It is now to the point were our clans kin can marry whomever they choose as long as the partner can prove to the royal family that they are not weak and are able to protect not only themselves but also any children that they will have in the future."

She shrugged and ended as she stared darkly down at the Princess of the Wolf Tribe, "But, even in the most enlightened of Tribes, there are some who do not share their siblings' feelings and thoughts on outsiders. Isn't that right Agrimpasa?"

Sir Ioan raised and eyebrow and thought as Gawain and Galahad's sister's eyes jumped around the room in a sudden burst of anxious nerves Praise be to Jesu! There's my next witness!!!

Sir Ioan nodded and said, "No further questions."

He turned to Owen and said, "Your witness."

Sir Owen stood up smartly and asked abruptly since he truly didn't want to do this, "Isn't it true that you now have a vendetta against my client, Princess Habren?"

Habren took a deep breath and answered resolutely, "Yes."