“We would have held the line,” Master Lucknow insisted.
“No,” Emily said. Archers were terrifying, but they couldn’t match musketmen. “The archers could not have stopped the charge.”
Master Lucknow changed his tack. “And what do you say to the charge you broke the Compact?”
“I am a magician, part of the magical community,” Emily said. “But I was also ennobled by King Randor of Zangaria, in a manner I could not refuse. It was his duty to reward me and mine to accept the reward.”
“After you meddled in his kingdom’s affairs,” Master Lucknow said. “And you have the nerve to call us ungrateful.”
Emily flushed, angrily. “I was invited to Zangaria by then-Princess Alassa, one of my closest friends. I could not have turned my back on her, when the coup began and she needed help. And by restoring her father to power, one could say I restored the status quo.”
“You broke the Compact,” Master Lucknow charged.
“She was - she is - my friend,” Emily countered. They’d had a rough start, but she would risk her life for Alassa... and she thought Alassa would do the same for her. Besides, they’d had years to complain about her ennoblement and hadn’t said anything. “Would you have urged me to abandon her?”
Master Lucknow said nothing. Emily wondered what was going through his mind. A magician, certainly one taking her first steps away from her family, was meant to support her friends. Leaving Alassa in the lurch - or even dragging her back to Whitehall - would have reflected badly on Emily. She was mature enough to realize there were times when the best thing you could do was turn and walk away, if someone made unreasonable demands, but it wasn’t easy. And here, it would have made her look bad.
Another chime echoed through the air. “It is time for the prosecutor to sum up his case,” Master Tor said. “And then the defendant may make her final reply.”
“I will not mince words,” Master Lucknow said. “Lady Emily has done great things. That cannot be denied. But she is also dangerous. She has upset the balance of power... no, she has smashed it beyond repair. The chaos sweeping over a dozen kingdoms, the disruption plaguing all of the magic schools... they all stem from her and her innovations. It is the desire of many a king and nobleman, of patriarch and matriarch, that she be rendered unable to do further harm.
“But, putting that aside, the White Council must seek to take control and direct the storm. It is incumbent upon us to handle the matter, to ensure that Lady Emily can do no more damage to our position. Yes, we have reason to be grateful. Yes, we have reason to pile rewards and titles on her until she is squashed flat. But we cannot let gratitude get in the way of doing the right thing. It is the will of many a councilor that Lady Emily be... removed. I ask you to put your emotions aside and consider the practicalities. What is the right thing to do? What will stem the tide of chaos?”
Killing me won’t stem the chaos, Emily thought, coldly. Sweat prickled down her back. Her hands were starting to shake. She clasped them tightly, refusing to show even the slightest hint of fear. It’ll be taken as a sign of weakness, not strength.
“If we do not act now” - his words hung in the air - “do we even have a council?”
“That is a matter of opinion,” a familiar voice said. A rustle ran through the chamber. “And these proceedings are illegal.”
Emily turned and smiled. “Alassa!”
Chapter Five
ALASSA GLOWED AS SHE STEPPED INTO the chamber, her white dress seeming to banish the shadows. She looked strikingly regal, her golden crown standing atop her blonde hair, which fell in waves down her back. Jade, Lady Barb and Void stood behind her, but they were practically lost in the glow. Emily heard gasps and felt her smile grow wider. It was easy for her to forget that Alassa was a monarch. The jurymen didn’t have the luxury of knowing her as a person.
“I apologize for my tardiness,” Alassa said, in a tone that would have landed her in hot water at Whitehall. “My invitation evidently went astray.”
Master Lucknow looked, just for a moment, shocked by Alassa’s appearance. “You are not a member of this court, Your Majesty,” he said. “Your name wasn’t drawn during the selection...”
“The court was legally obliged to inform me when it started considering proceedings against one of my aristocrats,” Alassa said. “I heard nothing. To my certain knowledge, the matter was never discussed with my ambassador, let alone me.”
Her eyes swept the room. “And, I might add, such a proceeding carried out without my input is of questionable legality. The majority of the ruling monarchs will agree with me on this point.”
“It was determined that we needed to act as quickly as possible,” Master Lucknow told her, curtly. “The committee believed it had to arrest Lady Emily before...”
“The committee’s very formation is also of questionable legality,” Alassa pointed out, mildly. Emily knew her well enough to know she was grinning inside. “The White Council did not - cannot - grant such authority without the consent of the councilors. It was never discussed with me or my representative. I do not believe it was discussed with anyone else.”
There was a hint of triumph in her eyes. “It is a long-standing legal principle that all interested parties have their say,” she added. “Emily is one of my aristocrats, as well as a close personal friend. I’d say I count as an interested party.”
Master Lucknow looked irked. “Your judgement is suspect, Your Majesty.”
“So is yours.” Alassa’s tone was artfully bland. “Arresting her without a proper warrant? Rushing her from a holding cell to a courtroom without presenting the charges, let alone giving her time to consider her response, recruit a defender or summon witnesses? My, my... if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were trying to get her convicted and executed before anyone could react.”
Her voice sharpened. “It is a good thing I do know better, isn’t it?”
Master Tor’s eyes narrowed. “The committee believed it needed to move fast...”
“So it has been said,” Alassa said. “And yet, moving without the agreement of the movers and shakers sets a very dangerous precedent. Are you sure the remainder of the council will support you when the matter is placed before them?”
She winked at Emily. “Let me be blunt. Emily has her enemies. I’m sure, reading between the lines, that you cherry-picked the councilors to ensure that her jury was packed with her enemies. But she also has her supporters, both magical and mundane. They would not have stood for a hasty arrest and execution. They certainly will not stand for a failed attempt to conclude matters before they had a say. Emily is not alone. And you know it.”
Emily felt a deep, unaccustomed warmth at Alassa’s words. She’d felt alone, as she’d stood before the court. She’d feared the worst as it became increasingly clear that the court didn’t care about her defense, let alone the legalities. And yet, Alassa and her friends had come to her aid. Void stood behind them, his face carefully blank. Emily was suddenly sure he’d summoned everyone, just to make sure the court remembered she had allies.
Master Lucknow took a step forward. “Do you believe she has enough supporters to protect her, if the matter is put before the full council?”
Alassa smiled. “I believe enough councilors will support her to make it impossible to convict her.”
She allowed her voice to harden. “The White Council was born out of compromise. One of those compromises was that its powers would be very strictly limited. The council has no right to issue a warrant, let alone carry out an arrest, without the agreement of the councilors and the governments they represent. The evidence should have been presented, in session, and debated before a vote was taken. The price for us surrendering a little authority to the council, as you may be aware, was that we would have a say in how the authority was used. But we weren’t even told, so how could we be outvoted? We weren’t consulted at all.
“It is not just her supporters who will vote in her favor. It is the monarc
hs and patriarchs and city fathers who will feel that they cannot allow such a precedent to stand. If you can arrest and threaten to execute a powerful noblewoman, without even a pretense at consultation, who can’t you threaten? Do you believe, for one moment, that anyone would allow you to create a precedent that could - that would - be used against them? Even her detractors would refuse to support you.”
“The emergency committee was pulled together to handle an unprecedented situation,” Master Lucknow said, coldly. “It will be dissolved the moment it is no longer necessary.”
“My father said the same, when he implemented laws to deal with social unrest.” Alassa rested her hands on her hips. “Those laws remained on the books, and enforced, until I took the throne. I do not believe the committee, once it has tasted power, will agree to dissolve calmly. Even if I did, it might be a long time before the emergency goes away. It might even become the new normal.”
She smiled, coldly. “Let me be blunt. I am a ruling monarch. It is my belief that this process is not only illegal, but wholly unjustified. I demand, as is my right, that you state the charges against her, that you list the evidence against her, that you let her speak in her own defense and, most importantly of all, that you put the decision to the full council.”
Master Lucknow took a moment to gather his thoughts. “Let me be equally blunt,” he said, icily. “The precise charges are immaterial. Emily is responsible for unleashing social unrest - including in your kingdom, Your Majesty - and introducing dangerous techniques that have upset the balance of power. It is the considered opinion of many powerful people, the ones who signed off on the emergency committee, that Emily needs to be rendered harmless as quickly as possible. The events in Alluvia alone...”
“I did not sign off on the committee,” Alassa reminded them. “I was not even consulted. And that alone is enough to render the committee, and whatever judgements it makes, highly illegal. One might even go so far as to call it judicial murder.”
“And yet, many of your peers disagree,” Master Lucknow said. “If you brought the matter before the full council, which way would they really vote?”
“They would not allow such a precedent to stand,” Alassa said. “And even her enemies would vote for her, against you.”
“This argument is going in circles,” Lady Barb said. She stepped forward, her armor glinting oddly under the light. Dark rings were clearly visible around her eyes. “Let me ask you a question. If you rendered Emily harmless, as you put it, would it solve the current problem? Or would it just make you look as though you were doing something without actually doing anything?”
Master Tor levelled his eyes at her. “I do not recall granting you permission to speak.”
Lady Barb gave him a sharp look. “You’re the legalistic one,” she said. “Are these proceedings remotely legal?”
“There are precedents for secret sessions,” Master Tor said.
“And also precedents against them,” Lady Barb added. “If you felt you could justify a trial, let alone conviction and punishment, you would do it in the cold light of day. You would not need to hide in the shadows, without oversight from the council. I am disappointed in you.”
She looked at Master Lucknow. “Answer the question,” she said. “Suppose you execute Emily. Right here, right now. Would that do anything, anything at all, to solve your problem?”
“It would keep her from creating further problems,” Master Lucknow said. “And that in itself would be a good thing.”
Except you’d make me a martyr, Emily thought. How is that a good thing?
Lady Barb snorted. “How long ago was it,” she asked, “that we were on the verge of total defeat?”
Emily had to smile. She’d asked the same question.
“You were there,” Lady Barb said. “We knew we were doomed. It was just a matter of time before the necromancers broke through the mountains and came for us. And then Emily saved us. Without her, we would all be dead. You want to convict her? Really? What next? If you stumbled and started to fall off a bridge, and someone caught you to save your life, would you demand punishment because they dislocated your arm in the process? Or would you accept the pain as the price of saving your life? How many other people will try to save your life in the future, if you make it clear you’ll punish them for doing it wrong?
“Could things have gone better? Of course they could. But they could also have gone worse. Emily saved us all. And I think you’ll discover that the vast majority of the population will be furious if you convict her.”
“The mundane population doesn’t matter,” Master Lucknow snapped.
“There are hundreds of sorcerers who’ll support her,” Jade said. “And some of them have seats on the council.”
Markus and Melissa, Emily thought. There’s no way they’d get enough votes to convict.
“They may think twice, when they realize what she’s unleashed,” Master Lucknow pointed out. “The guns alone...”
“The guns saved us during the war,” Lady Barb said. “You were there, were you not?”
She smiled, coldly. “Killing Emily will not put the demon back in the bottle,” she said, bluntly. “It will just make the situation worse. And I believe it is quite bad enough already.”
“We are attempting to gain control,” Master Lucknow said. “And...”
“What a splendid idea,” Lady Barb said, sarcastically. “Next time, perhaps you can try to cool a boiling potion by pissing in it.”
Master Lucknow showed a flash of anger at the crudity, but Lady Barb spoke over him. “Are you actually trying to make the situation explode? Because this is a pretty good way to do it.”
Emily wondered, suddenly, if Lady Barb was right. Master Lucknow had never struck her as stupid. Stupid magicians rarely lasted long enough to become combat sorcerers. He had to know he’d staked everything on one throw of the dice, on a desperate bid to have her tried, convicted and executed - or stripped of her powers - before her allies returned. And now... he was caught between pressing on anyway or a humiliating surrender. She would have felt sorry for him, if he hadn’t done it to himself. There were better ways to deal with the post-war chaos.
“There are times when we have the luxury of being able to consider each and every possible option before we act,” Master Lucknow said. “This is not one of them.”
“And why do you believe you needed to act now?” Alassa’s voice echoed in the air. “Why did you feel matters were so desperate you acted without authority? It is not always easy to gain forgiveness, if one did not ask for permission first. And this is very much the textbook example” - her eyes lingered on Master Tor, just for a second - “of a situation where one must get the legalities in order before acting. Where is your proof, I ask you, that the situation was so desperate you resorted to arresting her in broad daylight? What was she doing at the time?”
“Having lunch with my boyfriend,” Emily said. She nodded to Master Lucknow. “His apprentice.”
A ripple of amusement ran around the chamber. Master Lucknow looked ready to kill her on the spot. Emily tensed. No one became a combat sorcerer without having very good self-control, but Master Lucknow’s plan - whatever it had been originally - had spectacularly failed. He’d made himself look like a fool as well as a failure. He might have gotten away with it if he’d caught Emily doing something illegal, or something that could be made to look illegal, but eating lunch with her boyfriend? That wasn’t going to shake the world.
“She was having lunch with your apprentice,” Alassa repeated. “Did that pose any sort of threat? Anything at all?”
She grinned, openly enjoying Master Lucknow’s discomfiture. “Let me sum up, for the record. You put together a team to arrest her without a legal warrant. You did not approach me, in my role as monarch of Emily’s lands, and you did not approach her master. You fought a pitched battle in the middle of a town, posing a serious risk to everyone in the vicinity... a battle that was ended by Emily’s master, who
insisted you should hold a formal hearing. Instead of waiting, instead of giving her the time to consider the charges and respond, you rushed her into a courtroom and tried to convict her as quickly as possible.
“All this would be quite bad enough. But, between her supporters and councilors who won’t want to set any unfortunate precedents, there is no way she will be convicted. They won’t stand for it. All you have done, I’m afraid, is undermine the authority of the White Council at the worst possible time and possibly triggered the chaos you’re trying to avert. Worst of all, even a successful conviction would accomplish nothing.”
The avalanche has already started, Emily thought, wryly. It is too late for the pebbles to vote.
“You have broken a whole string of written and unwritten laws, for nothing,” Alassa concluded. “Have I missed anything?”
She folded her arms under her breasts. “I believe it is time to consider alternatives,” she said, after a moment. “And that these proceedings should be placed in recess.”
Master Tor frowned. “Lady Emily, will you accept Queen Alassa as your spokeswoman?”
Emily glanced at Alassa, who nodded. “Yes.”
“Then this session is hereby brought to an end,” Master Tor said. “Queen Alassa, we will be in touch.”
“We will talk in twenty minutes,” Alassa said. “I gave orders for a room to be prepared. I’ll see your spokesman there.”
Master Lucknow looked displeased, but he said nothing. The jurymen stood and filed out of the chamber, Gordian bringing up the rear. It was hard to be sure, but he looked thoroughly unhappy. Emily guessed he was going to have a hard time explaining himself to his patrons, when the news leaked out. Master Lucknow shot her a nasty look, then turned away. Emily silently prayed he wouldn’t take his defeat out on Jan. His apprentice deserved better. She wondered, idly, if she could do something about it. Perhaps she could write to Jan, as soon as she was out of the castle, and urge him to break the apprenticeship and run. She could recommend him to Melissa. Or Cat...
The Right Side of History (Schooled In Magic Book 22) Page 6