A/N – Don't have much to say for this chapter... Oh, just out of curiosity... Who could go for a Part 3 to this story? Or would that be too much?
Changing Faces
Part 2 – Choices They Make
Chapter 36 – The Trial; Acceptance
The march from the royal fortress to the courtroom was surprisingly quiet. Thousands of Pandova-jins lined the dusty streets to watch the guilty party amble by; in hushed tones, they identified both and the crimes and good each had committed.
A brown-haired warrior glanced at Gohan, "I think this is the first time a man has ever been respected like you here. We warriors respect your fighting prowess, others speak your name in disdain for the trouble you've caused for the crown princess, but we are all grateful that you defeated the dragon."
She stepped back behind him.
Gohan held his head high, keeping his self respect. Videl would want him to do so. The bindings on his hands and feet had a device that seemed to dampen his power level, yet he wondered if it would withstand the surge of a Super Saiyan.
Probably not a good idea. Besides, the ensuing battle wouldn't be the right thing to do. But I can't just let myself be killed and not doing anything about it.
After arriving at the courtroom, the queen entered from the side, flanked by three daughters.
Queen Matiko looked regal in her royal attire. She wore a long blue gown made of fine silk material that shimmered in the firelight. It was sleeveless and strapless, and clung to her curves with a fitted bodice. Blue silk slippers adorned her feet, and her long salt and pepper hair was swept into an up-do, secured with gold clasps. Around her neck hung her Pandovan gem, and a choker with a sun shaped pendant.
Gohan was led to a raised platform, where he faced the Queen's chair. Behind him, Videl stepped onto the floor and stopped next to him.
"Step forward, Princess Videl," Matiko began.
Videl did so, and a warrior approached her with a Pandovan necklace. As it neared her throat, the green gem glowed slightly. Gasps arose behind her, in the audience.
"The gem does not lie, Princess Videl. You have bonded, which is against our laws. For this crime, you must pay the price."
A nod to the warrior; she bowed her head and fastened the necklace around Videl's neck. The glow persisted and bathed her neck and face in an ethereal light. Apologetic eyes glanced into hers as the warrior backed into the shadows.
"Provide your peers with your reasoning, and your choice of redemption," Matiko commanded.
Videl turned and faced the audience. She looked from side to side, catching each eye.
"My fellow Pandovans, the fact that I now wear this glowing necklace does not make me any less of a woman, a warrior, or a Pandovan. Instead, it binds me to the hardened traditions of our laws. I have come to hold a piece of my heart for Gohan; I love him. I ask you not for acceptance; I ask for your blessing. I choose redemption by death."
The chamber fell to an eerie silence as the audience was stunned that the top Pandovan warrior would not choose redemption by battle. (a/n – ah, some explanations...) The difference between the two punishments meant that the guilty party accepted guilt versus refutation of remorse.
Redemption by battle gave the warrior a chance to die with honor in battle, despite the fact that they had been a criminal. For Videl to choose death illustrated her denial of her guilt in Pandovan law.
Queen Matiko broke the silence as Videl turned to her mother, "Very well," Matiko said ruefully, "Princess Videl, I hereby condemn you to redemption by death. I very much regret sending my own child to such demise, but you are a woman now, you must make your decisions, and I must make mine."
Gohan's heart fell at Videl's sentence, and he determined it was time to make his own decision.
But Matiko had other plans, "Following the warrior tradition has been a long and hard road for Princess Videl, and as practice has been for a condemned warrior who has proven herself in battle time and again, you are granted a final wish."
Videl turned to face Gohan as if she had sensed his intentions, "My final wish is to be given passage to Earth with Gohan."
Matiko's eyes bored through Videl's head. The silent glare lasted a handful of seconds before she finished the trial. Her expression softened as she realized it would be the only way that Videl could live, even if it was in dishonor.
"You final wish shall be granted. Simply because of your notable service to Pandova as a warrior, I revoke your death sentence provided you never return to Pandova."
"Accepted," Videl said quietly as she bowed her head.
