Inside the Estate, Sidra, Glacia, Late Afternoon

[glacial_witch]

There were a lot of things Karla had wanted to do as soon as they entered the estate. Look around again and see how much had changed from her memories. Find old servants and friends and see if they were as glad to see her as she was them. Drag her friends by the hand and show off the home she'd grown up in. Make an inventory of every hideous

Comments

Re: In the Antechamber...

[heromaniac]

...

...

"Maybe?!" Momoko was desperate, here, okay? "I don't know, but realizing it and being forced to see proof it was him... maybe after a few weeks in prison she'll see that he needs to take his own punishment and not hers!"

Re: In the Antechamber...

[not_a_parakeet]

"She won't." It was Warren who spoke up now, frowning at Momoko from where he was sitting across the room. "You think it's as simple as locking her away, hoping she'll see reason? She stood back and turned a blind eye on what Hobart was doing for years, Momoko. Proof isn't going to make any difference. She saw proof. Everyone did."

He shook his head.

"Karla has no choice but to make this call. We all want to see Hobart face the justice he deserves instead of Ludmilla, but if she's going to rule the Territory the way she just promised all of Glacia she would, then Kaeleeran law needs to be followed."

Re: In the Antechamber...

[heromaniac]

"How do we know what she knew?" Momoko turned on Warren, almost relieved. She knew Karla was facing a difficult decision, and not just because she was sitting here drinking instead of moving on. Warren... Warren was her friend, but she could yell and be mad at him. he wasn't the one making the hard decision.

"Ludmilla's taking the honour route! That's not justice, that's... that's not!"

Re: In the Antechamber...

[not_a_parakeet]

"You think we don't know that?" Warren's voice was calm. Almost cold. If he'd been Blood, the room might have even dropped a few degrees. "Do you really think we wouldn't let her walk in a heartbeat, if we had the choice? Ludmilla knows, because we showed her. She was there to see the evidence, right along with everyone else, Momoko. And she still chose to take the fall... not only for Hobart, but for everyone who carried out those crimes in her name. For the brainwashed landens. For Yllestad. She made a choice to die so that Hobart's pack of murderers could go free, and she owned that when Karla pointed it out."

His feathers were bristling, but his voice was still low and calm and even.

"She's letting the man who murdered Karla's family off the hook. Do you think this is an easy call for her to make, Momoko?"

Re: In the Antechamber...

[heromaniac]

"I never said it was an easy call for Karla to make," Momoko bristled right back. "And I don't think Ludmilla should walk. I think she can be used to get the real people who are to blame for all of this and that her execution is an injustice! To her and to Glacia as well as to Karla."

Re: In the Antechamber...

[not_a_parakeet]

"And if you can get her to talk between now and her execution, that would be amazing," Warren replied. "But the sentence has already been handed down, Glacia knows the law. It doesn't bend just because we don't like it. It's law. It's been that way for millions of years."

Literally millions, here.

"Breaking it on Karla's first day isn't going to keep her the love and adoration of the people who have placed their trust in her."

Re: In the Antechamber...

[heromaniac]

"If you were thinking half as clearly as you think you are, Warren," Momoko's voice went even stiller and calmer than his had. "You'd know what you just said was impossible. I can't even ask to speak to Ludmilla; if I even made the request, it would be breaking with my Queen's orders. I wouldn't do that to the Queen and especially not to my friend."

"I have experience in both criminal justice and law and believe me, I know the difference." She took a breath, trying to hold back the incredible desire to punch him, then turned to face Karla. "I think you're making a wrong decision, Karla, listening to law rather than justice. I think that there are possibilities that could be explored and that even if I am wrong, taking the time to look for them would be a better decision. One both you and Glacia could better live with. In this, I can't offer my powers - just my advice and experience; the decision is yours to make and I respect that. I always will. Just like I will always be your friend. Even if I don't agree with you."

Re: In the Antechamber...

[glacial_witch]

"Momoko, each day I wait will be counted in the people losing faith in me," Karla responded quietly, just barely loud enough to be heard over Warren's low growl. A hand found its way into his feathers, trying to soothe them as they stood on end, mantled. "You are looking at Ludmilla and seeing her death as too high a cost for her actions. I agree. But I have to take a broader view."

She shook her head and closed her eyes. "It's been a hard, slow journey getting my people to accept me. If I waver now, if I go back on the promises I made them, then I will lose them again. And all of this will be for nothing." She repeated some of the arguments she'd had with Dinah. "They don't know that Ludmilla's innocent. They know she's the Queen and that she's been laughing while they've been crying and that she's claimed responsibility for the whole thing. Do you honestly think they'll understand if I go out and say that I can't kill her? That it's not right, not justice? Do you think that it will make a difference to the mother from Taiga, or the families of the landens who were bespelled?"

She spread her hands, willing Momoko to see. "We've argued before, about the difference between a hero and a Queen. You've been the hero, Momoko, but today I have to be the Queen."