Back in the royal courtyard, Daniel was already surrendered to the fact that he was doomed. If this was anything like his own world, he was as good as guilty and should expect to be punished and maybe pay with his own life for the killing of the wingman. And Nemo would quite possibly suffer the same fate.
But he was running ahead of himself. Lord Autumn had apparently not finished with the interrogation.
‘My dear Visitor. I understand that this must not be what you expected to happen when you chose to visit our world, but I am sure you comprehend the seriousness of this matter and what it means for the rest of our people from here on. This will set in motion and bring about a change, which we have all rather hoped would never come. And if we are to minimize the damage this will cause as much as we can, we must respond to this incident as firmly and justly as possible, so that this precedent may be two-folded and we can thus bring some balance to life in our kingdom once again. So, before we retreat to decide on our next course of action, I ask you, do you have anything to say in your defense?’
Daniel could not believe it had already come to this. Nemo was standing quiet beside him, while Eleanor looked on, unable to do anything or help in any way. Diane continued to appear calm and collected as she sat there, letting everything unfold. The Sky-Queen had already put on a triumphant face, as if she was certain that the two boys would be found guilty. As for the rest of the Lords, they just sat there with no expression betraying their emotions, cold and passive, not unlike their own ice statues standing tall behind them. Daniel imagined he couldn’t find a tougher crowd to convince if he had looked for it, but he had to try. He had to tell them his side of the story, and let the dice fall where they may.
‘My Lords and Ladies,’ he began. ‘From the first moment I opened my eyes into this beautiful world, I have loved every minute of it. Every day has been and continues to be a living dream; one that I hope I will never have to wake up from. I have met many people and made many new friends, every single one of them a wonderful being. I have seen many places and learned many new things, and I look forward to seeing and learning a lot more. This whole world is a little piece of heaven, that I have fallen passionately in love with. But now I find myself standing here before you, accused of doing something unspeakable, and that is just not true. I would never do anything, or allow anyone to threaten your home and way of life. I guess, I’m kinda hoping that one day I will be able to call this place my home too.’
Daniel paused for a short moment to better sort out his thoughts and decide on how he was to continue his little speech. He now appeared to have their full attention and felt a bit more optimistic about his predicament.
‘Was I angry at how the three wingmen treated my new friend? Yes. Did I wish them to pay for their misbehavior? Absolutely. But did Nemo or I do anything about it? No, we did not. The Great Lord is our witness; that very day we decided to put this whole thing behind us and never speak of it again. Until today.
‘I do not know what happened, or who shot the young wingman and why. And I wish I knew how my arrow ended up piercing his heart. All I know is that the bow and quiver have never left my sight, except for the day of the incident. When Nemo was violently taken up in the air, he was carrying them for me. They could have easily taken one of the arrows from the quiver, though I cannot say why or even if they did do that.’
His eyes met with the White Lord's again and were locked into a silent exchange between the two of them. Winter understood the insinuation all too well; the boy was smarter than he had counted on. Yet, he seemed unperturbed, knowing the truth would be quite hard to get to.
‘I can offer you no proof, no witnesses that would testify of our innocence, nothing other than my word. I may be an outsider, but my word is just as good and I can only hope that it will be enough.’
He stopped there and turned to Nemo, who gave him an approving look. The courtyard remained quiet, save for the rustling of leaves on the nearest trees, as a soft breeze began blowing from the sea.
Lord Autumn turned now to Nemo.
‘Nemo, what do you have to say in your defense? It seems that you are at the root of everything that's happened, yet you remain silent. Do you stand by the Visitor and his statement, or do you still claim to be the one responsible as you first did?’
Nemo lifted his eyes, fearful at the prospect of them actually believing what he first spoke without thinking. He was having a hard time dealing with how things had turned out. A different adventure he had imagined he would live once his turn came for his pilgrimage. He had hoped to take a long journey, visiting all of Endërland and its people, then hopefully find a nice girl and build a home with her somewhere away from the sea, where his sisters could no longer trouble him and where he would be respected and wanted. He had waited a long time for this, but now, it all seemed like it was about to end in the worst of ways.
He looked up, first at his mother sending him love from across the courtyard, then at the Lords in front of him. With a sorrowful and trembling voice, he began to speak words that sounded too mature for his young age.
‘Twice I almost died at the claws of the three wingmen, my lords, and twice Daniel saved my life, without thinking, or caring at all what might happen to him. I was a stranger to him, yet he cared for me as if I was his own brother. I don’t know about you, but when I see him, I see an honorable man, not a murderer. Still, if this Council so decides he is, I will gladly take his place and receive all punishment upon myself, so that he may go free.’
He paused for a moment and now looked Autumn straight in the eye.
‘Still, I stand by what Daniel said; neither of us had anything to do with Ghordi's death.’
Nemo felt the proud look of his mother upon him, while next to him, Daniel just wanted to squeeze the little guy within his arms. The courtyard turned silent once again, as everyone waited for Lord Autumn to speak.
‘Very well then, I think we have heard all there is to be heard for now. The Visitor and the young prince will wait at the palace to be called again, while we discuss our next step.’
He waited until Hëna escorted the two boys away from the courtyard, and then got up from the Silver Throne and walked in the middle of the courtyard, where he could face everyone. With his hands tied behind his back and a grave and thoughtful look on his face, which now made him appear older than before, he resumed speaking.
‘My dear friends! We now face the difficult task of deciding how to respond to this most unfortunate incident. We have few facts: the young wingman was shot down by an arrow that belongs to the Visitor, who appears to have had a motive for this act. Yet, both he and the young prince vehemently deny any wrongdoing and ask that we trust in their word and believe in their innocence. I must admit that I’m at a loss here. The weapon is the only real proof that we have to go by, yet that in itself is not enough to tell us who used it. I have personally spent some time with these boys, and I have nothing but praise for both of them. The Visitor may indeed be an outsider, yet he talks and behaves just like one of us. Am I not right, my dear Lady of the Land? Tell us more about him please. You've spent more time with him than any of us.’
Diane arose from her throne and bowed her head slightly. Winter kept his eyes glued on her.
‘I have had the honor of being his host ever since he came to Endër, my lords, and it has indeed been a privilege. I've gotten to know him a little, and if my opinion is of any value, I would say that he is innocent; they both are. I don't believe either of these boys is capable of such a vile act, whether they were born in this world or in the other one.’
‘Perhaps being too close to him has clouded your judgment, dear sister.’ It was the Sky-Queen who now stood up and spoke with a harsh metallic voice. ‘Perhaps you fail to see the implications of what you're saying. The weapon that killed my wingman belonged to the Visitor; I don't need any more proof than that. But if you'd like us to believe that it wasn’t him, then what you're really saying, is that something far more sinister than simple r
evenge is going on here and we are all being played. Can you explain that to us dear sister? Is there anything you would like to share with us that we should know?’
The tone of her voice was less sweet than her words, and she had no idea just how close to the truth those words rang. Diane thought this would be the perfect moment for her to lay open her own suspicions and theory about who should really be on trial before them today, but that time had not yet come. With a humble demeanor she replied.
‘It may be that my judgment is clouded, dear sister, just as you say. Yet whether that is the case or not, I must speak what I feel and know to be right, and may the Great Lord be my judge. I have nothing else to say on the matter.’
She bowed down again and sat back on her throne. The Sky-Queen followed her with a cold look, unable to show any positive or negative emotion. She did not sit down herself; she had been sitting by long enough, watching and listening to everything unfold in front of her, and now it was her turn to be heard. She moved closer to the Eternal Clock, dragging her long elegant silver dress, that matched perfectly with the grey contour of her beautiful wings, which she unfolded for a split second and closed again, as she usually did when claiming the attention of her subjects.
‘A young wingman is dead and his family is devastated; their life will never again be the same. My people have already heard about this and they are demanding from their queen that the ones responsible be held accountable. There is no doubt in my mind that this outsider has brought his evil ways into our midst; no one born and raised in Endërland would even think of hurting his fellow man. You have all the proof you need; I don't know what else you want. He must be punished, and if the Sea-Prince was his accomplice, he should suffer the same fate.’
‘No,’ Eleanor cried from her seashell throne, ‘my son is innocent. He has suffered mocking and hate all his young life, yet he has never returned so much as an insult to anyone, let alone go as far as killing someone for mere revenge.’
‘Maybe he finally grew tired and decided to do something about it. Or maybe his new friend was trying to show him how to finally become a man.’
Daniel found both her words and tone of voice very cruel. If it weren’t for the surroundings, he would have thought he was back in his home world, dealing with “real humans”.
‘No,’ Eleanor repeated. ‘I know my own son; he would never do something like that. If anyone is to be blamed for this, it’s those wingmen of yours, who have been mistreating Nemo for a long time. You say nothing of the fact that he almost died because they tied him up on that tree. If it had not been for Daniel, my son would not be here today and in his place we would be judging three young wingmen.’
‘It’s easy to make up stories that you cannot prove,’ the Sky-Queen retorted, her look and tone not very kind. ‘All I know is that one of those wingman is dead, and you provided the murder weapon.’
‘Then I'll take that responsibility upon me, for choosing to give the Visitor the same kind of gift as was previously given to me by my lord Winter himself.’
Diane felt like smiling. Eleanor’s words masterfully shifted the focus from Nemo and Daniel, to the White Lord.
‘No,’ it was now Lord Autumn's turn to speak up, rushing to calm things down, before the situation got even more intense. The rest of the Lords looked on with clear concern.
‘No fault lies with you, dear Lady of the Seas, for your choice of gift to the Visitor. We will not shift the blame to anyone, but rather try to make sure that the one responsible is held accountable. To do this we must decide if the evidence we have and everything we’ve heard here today is enough to determine the Visitor's guilt or innocence.’
‘Brother, if I may.’ For the first time that morning Winter decided to speak. ‘It seems to me that we are rushing to reach a decision about this today, and I just don't think we need to. Why not take some more time and make some effort into investigating this matter more thoroughly? Hopefully we will find some new evidence and maybe even witnesses that might help us see things clearer and make a more informed decision.’
She would have been happy to hear this under different circumstances, but knowing what she did, Diane dreaded the reason behind this advice. She knew the White Lord was after Daniel, and this sounded dangerously like he was moving his chess pieces into place.
‘That sounds like a wise thing to do, brother,’ Autumn replied. ‘However, there is one question I must ask; what would you suggest we do with the Visitor and the young prince in the mean time? If we cannot agree today that they are responsible for this act, then we have no other choice but to let them free to go.’
‘Not necessarily so,’ Winter argued, standing up. ‘We can detain them until such time as we are ready to review this case again with new proof and make a final decision. After all, what's to stop the Visitor from going back to his world and never return here to face his judgment?’
It was now clear to Diane what he was trying to do. Next, Winter would offer to keep the boys somewhere safe, where he could do with them whatever he wanted. She was not about to allow this; she did not abandon her family and leave behind her entire world, so that she could lose Daniel now, like she did Damien.
‘My lords, if I may speak once again.’ She stood up and did not wait for their permission. ‘I can guarantee that the Visitor will do no such thing; he could not, even if he wanted to. He is bound to this world and belongs here as much as he belongs in his own. But that is not all; it seems to me we are all forgetting everything the Visitors stand for in our world. They have always brought life and added to the magic and splendor of our kingdom. Everyone that has ever visited us has been a blessing from the Great Lord himself; and I believe the same for Daniel. In my heart, I know he is an honorable young man, and if anyone doubts him, then I pray they will trust me. I will vouch for him; he will not escape.’
Silence ruled the courtyard for a short moment, as everyone seemed to ponder what Diane had just said. Winter was the first one to speak again.
‘My dear Lady of the Land,’ he spoke with apparent compassion and understanding in his eyes. ‘You have always had our trust, and your wise counsel and kind heart has won you the love and respect of the whole kingdom and its people. However, I must apologize for feeling obligated to reveal here, what you seem to want to conceal from this respected Council, and that is the fact that the young Visitor is your son, your own flesh and blood. So, you will forgive us, if our trust is a little hard to come by in this instance; after all, a son can never do wrong in his mother’s eyes.’
Diane bit her lip and lowered her head; she had not counted on Winter revealing this to anyone. Suddenly everyone’s eyes were on her, and she felt like she was the one on trial.
‘Is this true, my lady?’ Autumn asked, sounding taken aback. She looked back up and straight into his eyes.
‘It is, my lord.’
‘But why would you keep this from us?’
‘I do beg your forgiveness, my lord, but I have my reasons for this, none of which have anything to do with why we are gathered here today. And I need you to believe me; the Visitor may be my flesh and blood, but he is a stranger to me, just like he is to all of you. He was but a toddler when I left him and I am just getting to know the man he has become. What I said earlier about him, I did not say as his mother, but as an honest and dutiful member of this Council.’
‘So you would like us to believe, that you would not lie in order to protect your long lost son?’ The Sky-Queen’s words cut deep and sharp.
‘I would like you to believe that I would not lie, dear sister. I understand your grief and the need to blame the Visitor for what’s happened, but I hold to my previous statement about him, and I speak here only as the queen of my people.’
‘This Council would never accuse you of lying, my lady,’ Winter continued to address her cunningly. ‘We are simply concerned that your emotions might be getting in the way and preventing you from seeing clearly in this case. You and I both know that
people are very different where Visitors come from; after all, we come from that very same place. This evil we are here today judging, could not have been born in Endërland, yet for the sake of truth and fairness, we are willing to consider all other possibilities. However, the boy needs to stay here, until we know for certain if he is guilty or innocent.’
He turned now to Autumn and continued with a more authoritative tone of voice.
‘I say we use the bracelet on the boy; that will ensure that he remains here for as long as we need him. Until we are ready to assemble this Council again, I would be more than happy to keep the boys under surveillance.’
‘That’s going a bit too far brother, don’t you think?’ This time it was Spring who broke her silence.
‘Is it, dear sister? The way I see it, with what we know so far, these two boys are more guilty than innocent. And if I were to let them free to run around, who’s to say they wouldn’t hurt someone else? How would we feel if that happened?’
‘Don’t look now, brother,’ Spring replied, ‘but you’re reasoning like an outsider.’
Winter’s eyes lit up with a strange light underneath his bushy eyebrows, making it look as if lightning might strike at any moment. But he controlled his anger and kept himself composed. His frustration however was clear on his face.
‘Our sister is right,’ Autumn intervened. ‘It is not our custom to keep prisoners.’
‘That’s because we’ve never had to deal with something like this before.’
‘And we’re not about to start now,’ Autumn insisted, raising his tone a bit. ‘Until we have proof that these boys are guilty, they will be treated as innocent. The day we lose trust in one-another, will be the end of our way of life. Then, whoever brought this evil upon us, will have won.’
‘Then what do you suggest we do, brother?’ Winter asked, seating back down.
Autumn headed back towards his throne, picked up the Silver Scepter, and turned around to face them again, without sitting down. This meant he was going to make an announcement.
‘The people need an answer today about who is responsible for the crime committed, and we have to decide. We have to rely on the information we already have, in order to make our decision regarding the Visitor and the Sea-Prince. And as we continue the search for the truth, if new evidence is found in the future, we will amend today’s decision accordingly. But we will not pause the decision making process here and expose these two boys to unfair treatment or risk, until we feel we have better knowledge of the facts. Agreed?’
The queens remained quiet while the rest of the Lords voiced their agreement.
‘Very well then, it is now time for us to vote. Whatever we decide here today it will be undisputable, unless this same Council changes its decision. Brother, guilty or innocent? What say you?’
Winter surrendered to the fact that this was how it was going to be, and without moving from his throne, he spoke coldly.
‘Guilty.’
‘Recorded,’ Autumn replied and turned to face Spring. ‘Sister?’
With a soft smile on her kind face, and her eyes constantly on Diane, she answered.
‘Innocent.’
‘Recorded,’ Autumn repeated, turning now to Summer. ‘Sister?’
Summer had been silent throughout the whole deal and looked like she would prefer to keep it that way. Unfortunately, she knew she had to speak this time, though she felt none too pleased about it.
‘Guilty,’ she said quickly, trying to avoid any eye contact with the queens.
‘Recorded,’ Autumn repeated for the third time and then sat down on his high throne. He rested the Silver Scepter on his knees, sighing.
‘Alas, our job does not seem to be easy on this day. I was hoping we would be of the same mind, but it is understandable.
‘I’m afraid we have a problem, my friends, for in my mind the Visitor and the Sea-Prince are innocent and that means we are still unable to make a decision about them today.’
Winter got up once again and hurriedly spoke.
‘Then let us do as I suggested, brother; let us postpone the decision until we have investigated properly and have enough information. We can keep the boys somewhere safe, where no harm will come to them and they cannot be a danger to anyone either.’
‘That’s not what our law says, brother,’ Spring argued. ‘You know very well what’s to happen, should we ever fail to agree on a decision.’
Winter turned now towards her with an astonished look on his face.
‘Surely you are not being serious, dear sister.’
‘This is hardly the time and place for jokes, brother. We are all subject to the laws laid down by the Great Lord, and must obey them, just as we enforce them.’
‘Spring is right, brother; if we cannot decide on this matter, then it’s the Great Lord himself who’s going to have to take up this case. I actually feel a bit relieved; this matter is too important and I know he will make the right decision. I will agree on this though, we can use the bracelet on the Visitor, to ensure he remains in this world, until this is no longer necessary.’
A barely invisible smile appeared on Diane’s face, as she finally felt the relief of things taking the right direction. She saw the frustration of Winter reaching a new high and repressed her joy to hide it from his keen eyes.
‘Forgive me for insisting, brother,’ Winter continued to try, ‘but when was the last time we ever heard from the Great Lord? When was the last time we saw him, or he spoke to us, gave us a sign that he is still here taking care of us and governing us? How long has it been, huh? Can anyone even remember? I know I can’t.’
‘You may have a point there, brother; I wish I could remember the last time I saw or heard from the Great Lord. However, that does not change the fact that we have our laws and rules to follow, and that is just what we’re going to do. We are going to let the Great Lord decide the Visitor’s fate.’
‘And how are we going to do that, tell me, brother. How are we going to find the Great Lord, when we don’t even know if he is still around?’
‘It’s simple, really; we’re going to send the Visitor and the Sea-Prince to search for him.’
Winter had by now lost all patience and composure. He was walking fast around the courtyard and speaking with a harsh tone and quick words.
‘This is crazy, insanity; I still say we investigate and decide for ourselves. The Great Lord will never be found and we will be the joke of the whole kingdom.’
Autumn arose from the Silver Throne, with the scepter in hand and a dark shadow over his face. As he spoke, the wind grew stronger and faster, blowing countless leaves from the trees around them. Thick clouds appeared in the sky from nowhere and the whole place grew darker.
‘Compose yourself, brother; you forget your place. Laws were not given to us so we can choose when to follow and when to ignore them. I, for one, intend to make sure His instructions are followed to the letter, as long as it is my responsibility to do so. When you get your turn, you can choose to defy him as you please and suffer the consequences.’
Winter gazed at the Silver Scepter in Autumn’s hand and withdrew with a deep bow and seemingly regretful smile.
‘My apologies, brother; I spoke rashly. Of course I will support the decision of the Silver Throne. I have never forgotten that I am merely a servant, appointed by the Great Lord himself. Please, forgive my passion.’
He sat back on his throne and remained quiet, at least on the outside. The wind died down, the clouds dispersed just as they had appeared and light returned to the courtyard. A thousand new golden leaves were now added to the riches of the earth around them.
Autumn continued to address the Council.
‘Please understand, the doubts of my brother are not his alone; they are common amongst all folk. The name of the Great Lord has long turned into legend and people have stopped believing that he exists. Even those who do believe, think that he has forsaken us and will never come back. I would like to
challenge that belief; it seems to me that we are at a point where we need our Creator once again, so I am making this a two-purpose mission. I am sending people to look for him and when they find him, to bring back his word to us, along with his judgment on this case. I want to see the faith of our people in the Great Lord renewed once again.
‘Please, bring the boys back before us.’
Hëna, who had been staying at a distance this whole time, left immediately towards the palace, and returned shortly with Daniel and Nemo. They stood nervous before the four Lords and waited.
Autumn addressed them directly.
‘My dear Visitor and Sea-Prince. This Council has been unable to come to a unanimous decision on whether you are guilty or innocent of the crime committed, so we have no other choice but to delegate your case to the Great Lord himself. Only, this has never happened before and we have no idea on how or where to find the Great Lord. So, it will be your duty to find him and then submit to his judgment once you do. You will not be alone, or without help and guidance. We will choose people to go with you and lead you, first to Tálas, to consult the oracle on how to find the Great Lord. From there, you will go wherever he will direct you, and inform us regularly of your progress.
‘However, there is one thing you need to keep in mind, Daniel, if you ever want to go back to your world again. You will have only a limited time to find the Great Lord, I cannot say how long. This is because you will be given a bracelet that will prevent you from going back to your world once you put it on, and you will not be able to take it off until this is all done. As I understand it, being in this world all the time, will cause your real body to weaken and possibly die, but as with all things concerning the Visitors and their world, we know very little. So you see, it is in your best interest to find the Great Lord as soon as possible.’
The thought of dying caught Daniel unprepared. It had crossed his mind that he might have to be punished with death for the murder of the wingman, but somehow he thought that even if it came to that point, he might still have a chance to escape it, once evening came. But they were talking about real death; his body back in his world giving up and dying, just like his mother’s had years ago. He thought of his father never seeing him again; he thought of Sam and Freddie having to deal with his lifeless body and the aftermath. He thought of everything he would never get to do again, places he’d never go, people he’d never meet, and he felt scared. He was not ready to die.
A Quest for Five