Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or any of its characters

King Duncan sat upon his throne room in any mood but happy. To his right, leaning against the throne, was his massive broadsword with his leopard insignia as the pommel and he tapped it distractedly. Below him and down the aisle to the two massive double doors, two tables were set to the left and right. Sitting at the table to the right was Gilan, Pauline, Rodney, David, Arald and Will. And sitting at the table across the aisle were Matthew, and the guard that had gotten the best view of Feller when he had left the castle the night of the fire. Duncan sighed and looked away from the doors and to the pools of colored light on the marble floor cast in through the tinted windows. Several of the massive columns sitting in the room looked like straight rainbows and Duncan felt it was a bit to cheery for what was about to happen. Anthony looked up at King Duncan from his position a few steps down and to the side of the throne. The question in his eyes was obvious and Duncan sighed but nodded.

"Very well, the sooner we get started the sooner we finish," he said. Anthony nodded and tapped his ivory staff on the steps to silence the background of babble that had broken out. Instantly, the room fell quiet and all eyes swiveled to look at the wooden doors.

Almost painstakingly slow, they opened and in walked a small procession with Halt in the middle of four guards. His hands were bound behind him and as he walked by the tables, the watchers saw that the back man had a blade pressed against the Ranger's back. The party of five stopped a few meters short of the throne and moved off the aisle to the right. Duncan noticed that Pauline had hidden her face so she no longer had sight of Halt. Other than that, nobody showed any emotion, though the room was in dead silence. Anthony looked to Duncan again and the king nodded for him to go on.

"We are here today to determine the fate of Ranger Halt of Redmont Fief," Anthony said officially. Duncan felt the urge to roll his eyes; he had never really been one for official speeches and whatnot though he gave them quite a bit.

The king let his gaze wander over to where Halt stood as Anthony read off the regulations of what was to happen. The Ranger's face was impassive as always and he didn't seem too concerned that his life depended on what happened in this room. Duncan continued to study the Ranger and was slightly ashamed when Halt caught his stare and raised an eyebrow. Quickly, Duncan looked away and began to focus on what Anthony was talking about.

"Ranger Halt of Redmont Fief has been accused of the following charges. He is claimed to have kidnapped Lord Feller of Candell Fief and murdered him ruthlessly."

In the back of the room; Will leaned over to Gilan who was sitting beside him on the left. Gilan wasn't even bothering to hide his anger as he sat with his arms over his chest, scowling at everything.

"Wish they'd stop saying that," he muttered and Gilan swung his glare to look at Will. The Ranger looked a little confused.

"Now isn't the time to talk," David snapped from his seat on Will's right. Gilan went to say something but stopped. He didn't feel like getting in an argument here with his father. He was here to support Halt and fighting with David wasn't going to help anything.

"Now, if Lord Feller's representative would step up, we may begin," Anthony said.

Matthew stood from his seat at the table and walked up the aisle until he was about level with Halt. When formalities had been made and the oath of truth had been spoken, Matthew bowed and began to speak.

"Lord Feller had come here to discuss his fief's boundaries as we have recently unearthed some old maps and documents that entitle us to some of our neighbor's land. Upon arriving, he had a run in with Ranger Crowley of Castle Araluen. There is bad blood between the two and we left the Ranger's clearing on some harsh words."

"Wait," Duncan said and Matthew stopped mid-sentence. The king looked to where Halt stood and frowned. Since he had walked into the room, Halt had kept a mask on his face but as Matthew had mentioned an encounter with Crowley and Feller, Halt's brow had creased. It was small but with Halt that could be something large. "Halt," Duncan said and the guard standing in front of the Ranger moved. "This meeting that Crowley and Feller had, does this have anything to do with your actions?" The lines the king was now thinking on led him to believe that the small hint could mean a way out of death's path for Halt.

"I knew nothing of the encounter, Your Majesty," Halt answered truthfully. He had not heard of any meeting between the two before the fire. Duncan eyed the man for a few moments before accepting that Halt wasn't lying. Hiding his disappointment, Duncan looked back to Matthew and motioned for him to continue. Once the rattle of armor had died down from the guard moving back into place, Matthew cleared his throat.

"A couple days later, the night of the fire, Lord Feller was drifting off to sleep when he felt a presence in the room. Before he could alert anybody however, he was attacked and there was a brief skirmish in his room. Eventually he was overpowered and his life was threatened. With no other option, he followed a cloaked figure, Ranger Halt, out of the castle and to the cabin. When there, he was subject to beating and even watched as Halt dispatched his faithful guards that had followed him. The two Rangers-"

"Two?" Duncan asked. Matthew nodded and once again Duncan turned to Halt. The guard moved and Halt raised an eyebrow. "I was led to believe this was all your doing."

"It was, Your Majesty. Crowley was there, I admit that, and he did help toss that dolt-"at this point, a guard slapped Halt across the face for the offensive word. King Duncan was tempted to slap the knight himself but settled for glaring at the man. He motioned for Halt to continue. "He helped me because that's who he is. Feller was getting a bit rebellious and Crowley didn't want to stand around and watch me get smacked around. I convinced him to help me," Halt finished. Something in the back of the king's mind told him this was a lie but he couldn't come up with anything to show that. Instead he nodded and looked back to Matthew. Again, he waited for the clatter to die down.

"As I was saying, the two Rangers proceeded to throw him into the cabin and set it alight. He managed to escape. Naturally, he fought to abscond but was stabbed by none other than Ranger Halt," Matthew said. Duncan nodded, reluctantly accepting that the account matched the few details they had.

"And do you have any witnesses?" Anthony asked as Duncan started thinking of all the laws. Murdering somebody was a terrible crime, it was just wrong and not many people would stand for it if Halt got off lightly. Perhaps if a commoner or somebody he didn't know so well had committed the crime, he would've felt that it was a more serious matter at the moment. But it wasn't somebody he didn't know; it was Halt and at the moment he didn't see what the big deal was. Yes, murdering somebody was worthy of punishment; but death? He was thinking of ways to phrase his thoughts when Matthew answered.

"Yes. Daryl Anson, the guard that watched Feller walk across the drawbridge with Ranger Halt," Matthew answered.

"You may be seated," Anthony said. Matthew bowed once more before turning back towards his table. "Daryl Anson, please approach," he added once Matthew had been seated. The guard, clad in half armor but without a sword, stood and walked down the aisle. When he had finished his formalities and oaths, Anthony looked to King Duncan.

And so it goes on...Please review. I don't know if this is how a trial would go or not in medieval times. But (with Mychele O'Carrick of Clonmel) we have reasoned that everybody's stories would have to be heard because this is one big mess really. In book 3, they knew what had happened and all. So...yea