Onto Debbie.
Only Carol didn’t bother yelling at the already cowed and silent women. Instead she… smiled.
“Fine then.” Her face looked suddenly triumphant as she glared at the woman in front of her, as she watched the tears flowing down the light tan cheeks.
“Fine then. We can’t touch this beasts family for his crimes as is proper? Perhaps, but you didn’t give them protection from right of closure, did you?”
Tor had no clue what that meant, but apparently everyone else did. Even Box and Debbie. Both of them gasped and so, oddly, did the Baron. Petra looked down and the King’s jaw clenched hard. Rolph took a deep breath and stared at Tor, probably understanding that he didn’t get it.
“She means to force Debbie to kill him.” His giant friend said, dressed all in black. They all were. Even Debbie. Not Box. He was in a light tan prisoners shift with no trousers, naked legs showed below the knees, pale and covered with dark strands of hair.
Oh.
Tor had heard of that. It was an old costume, meant to force a person’s family to pay for things like this, if they couldn’t properly be gone to war with. It was a noble thing though. Debbie wasn’t one. Before he could point that out, the King tried, getting Carol to simply laugh at him.
“What then? She isn’t a noble? Why, you’ve promoted her to that state yourself, didn’t you? When you made her untouchable for her family’s crimes. Or are you simply denying me justice? Is that your plan? Rob Ginger of any proper retribution?” The smile didn’t waiver, it wasn’t a real smile though, so Tor didn’t expect it too. Carol had just thought that she’d won.
So it seemed, did almost everyone else. Two things happened then, almost at the same time. First, without giving her a chance to even dry her tears, Carol moved and grabbed Debbie, pushing her towards her own brother.
“Kill him, or I’ll throw this entire fucking kingdom into war, you evil bitch.”
Debbie flinched and kept her hands at her side.
At the same time, the King… looked away.
“It… is within the traditional rights of the wronged family.”
Tor got it then. Carol was going to fan the flames of a rebellion over this, if she didn’t get her way. The King couldn’t openly be seen to refuse her justice and the laws and traditions said that this could be called for. His hands were tied.
“No.” Tor heard the voice, and for half a second wondered if it was his own, as raw and distant as it sounded. It was what he was about to say, wasn’t it?
It was the Baron.
“Justice is not served by harming innocence. Not ever. I’ll do it myself.”
It was a noble idea, one that seemed fair to everyone. Even Box just nodded, looking at the man.
“Use a knife and you can make me suffer more.” He said softly. No one really heard it but Tor for some reason. Probably because Carol started screaming about then.
It was an epic thing, one that went on for hours. She insulted everyone in the room for something or another, including the Royal Guards, who didn’t seem to care, the King who she seemed to be threatening with total war and her own family, each in turn. In the end, worn down, the King ordered Debbie to just do it.
“It saddens me that it comes to this. I’d save you from it if it were within my power. Perhaps we could call for the father or…”
That got screaming again. Carol slapped Debbie in the face. Or tried too. She seemed shocked when her hand didn’t make contact.
“Why does this commoner have a shield? That’s forbidden to anyone not of the noble class! That’s proof of criminal wrong doing right there. Seize her!”
Debbie didn’t move, and neither did anyone else. No one wanted to say anything, because it would start another ranting tirade. Finally, it was, of all people, Maria who spoke.
“She’s a friend of Lord Baker’s mother. If he gives a person a shield as a gift, it’s allowed them under law, regardless of station. I understand your anger in this, but harming this woman’s heart won’t bring Ginger back. It won’t even make you feel better. Just let father do it. Or… or I’ll do it in her stead. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? I’m sure it would harm me nearly as much as her.” The words were blunt, but smooth, soft in nature. Wheedling.
“No.” Debbie spoke, tears still streaming down her face. “He’s my brother. I’ll do it. I won’t make anyone else…” The sobbing stopped the words, the shaking giving lie to the bravery of them.
Slowly the Baron walked to her, looking half crushed as his eyes sought hers. In his hand he had a long thin piece of silver, half an inch thick and eight inches long. Tor didn’t have to sense it to know what it was. The man slowly put it in Debbie’s right hand.
“It's got a three foot sweep on it. I'm sorry to make you do this. I…” It was clear he was about to volunteer to do it himself again, or to ask for an executioner to come in, something, the man had tears in his eyes and shook slightly.
He was a good man that way, but Carol started screaming. Or at least talking loudly.
“Don't. If you let her off of this, I swear I'll have you killed. I don't care if I have to swing myself. He killed by baby. They have to pay!” Her tone got more and more tense, angrier, almost incoherent.
It wasn’t a threat of war though. She was into personal retribution, trickery. Threats. Tor started shaking himself. He had to do it, didn’t he? Even if it meant going to war. Debbie was his friend. There was only two ways to end this now and one of them was to make his friend kill her own brother.
That wasn’t a real option, not to him. Besides, this was his fault too, wasn’t it? If he’d only checked more closely, done something more, earlier, Ginger and the other girls might be alive. Voices in his head chanted at him, all with different advice. He blocked them out.
“Do it.” Box growled. “A cutters a kinder fate than most. Just hit the sigil and-” he never finished the statement. His head just slid to the floor.
Debbie jumped back, dropping the cutter in her hand, even though she'd never activated it at all. Tor looked down at the device in his own hand, the white stone with its eight glowing sigils on it, his thumb still on it. He hadn't even realized that he'd moved.
Oops.
He slowly put the device away in the little pouch at his side, and looked at the Baron.
“Does that resolve this to your satisfaction? Dead is dead. Darren Smalls will never harm another girl. I consider both you and Debbie as family. I’d prefer to avoid war over this.” His eyes were dead, he knew, as he stared at the man, but instead of anger, the Baron bowed to him.
“Thank you. I… lost my courage in my anger and nearly compounded the problem, thank you for saving my honor.” He swallowed, but no one asked what he meant. That was clear. To everyone except Carol, who had to be held back by Collette and Petra. She screamed at him in truth then, it started with a sound of pure rage, animal anger that seemed to strip away the thin coat of humanity the woman had left. Then she threatened his death a dozen times. As everyone looked on, she went a step further and promised it.
That was going to be an issue he knew.
Still, it was better that way. Even if she hired the Guild to take him out later. Or sent her Barony’s forces after him.
It would have been worse by far to turn the innocent Debbie into a murder as punishment for being related to a bad man. Tor was already a killer, so the stain on his soul would hardly show now, not from this. Box…
Tor misted up and didn't bother to hide the fact that he was. This whole situation was awful. The headless body still bled, a red seeping now, the blood had splattered all of them, at least the ones standing close. People just stood though, not knowing what to do next. Tor knew.
Now it was time to mourn. Even for someone evil and crazy, there would be sadness. Most of it was for all the girls he’d killed though. Tor was shaking slightly, sore and stiff still. It was all too much, wasn’t it?