THE DAY OF THE TRIAL dawned as bright and balmy as every other day on the coast. Well before the sun was fully up the members of Court started to arrive. It might look like any other day, but they all knew it would not be.

Joxer went up into the galleries early, to watch the people coming in and look for signs of trouble. Of course, Xena and Suleiman would be doing that themselves, but as Xena said it never hurt to have another pair of eyes. Even though his really didn't work that well from this far away, but still.

He was surprised, though, to find the galleries already full of people. They gathered in between the support columns, pulling the draperies aside, peering down onto the floor. A lot of them were noblewomen, traditionally banned from the official business of Court. Although Nebula had lifted the ban, most of them still felt it beneath their dignity to bother with mundane affairs such as politics and stayed away--but apparently the prospect of a good scandal could bring them out in droves. And there were a lot of other people here, not in the florid noble dress but in practical wraps and tunics and pants--the palace staff. There, those were some of the gardeners, and on the other side of the pillar two of Nebula's chambermaids. He recognized Mwambe, the head of the kitchens, who he'd been trying to pry the recipe for that hot red sauce out of without success, and Keesha, who was in charge of maintaining Xena and Gab's apartments. He'd never seen servants up here before--but it made sense, didn't it? In the palace they were employees, but almost anywhere else they'd be slaves. Who had a greater interest in seeing if Nebula really did intend to enforce her laws on the subject?

Joxer finally found a free section of curtain, pulled it aside and looked at the Royal Hall below. If he'd wanted to watch everyone coming in, he was too late; the nobles themselves had also all arrived early, the bickering over seating more sharp and pointed than usual. Joxer counted badges. The Goat House, the Fox, the Kite, they were all out in force. The Jackal? He'd never seen a member of the Jackal House at court but had heard how both the men and women alike shaved their heads oddly on the sides, leaving only a strip of hair running back from the crown. Those had to be Jackals, then. And there were Houses he didn't even recognize, maybe had never even heard of. The lesser Houses had all turned out, and they were crowding the greater Houses out of their seats. No wonder the squabbling was so loud today.

This continued for a good long while. Joxer saw a motion out of the corner of his eye and turned; a hand came out from behind one curtain, threw some small objects--grains of rice?--over the balcony, and withdrew. This was followed by giggling, muffled as it was by the heavy draperies. Somebody's kids. Joxer suppressed a snort of laughter himself and looked down to see if anyone noticed they had rice on their heads.

They didn't. Their attention was now at the front of the room where the large carved wooden doors behind the dais, with their pair of fully-carved roaring lions, were opening. The Court fell silent. Suleiman and Xena came through the doors, walking in measured step, each holding a spear. Suleiman took one side of the throne, and Xena the other. They waited for a moment, then hit the butts of the spears upon the dais, three times. The sound echoed off the carved chambers set under the floor and around the room, like the tolling of a deep bell.

Then Nebula entered. She was wearing the full regalia, saffron and gold, and a long cape worked with gold-thread embroidery depicting the power and the history of the House of the Lion. At her side under the cape the gold hilt of a sword was visible, a sacred object normally kept locked away from view unless the monarch needed it to pass a judgment. Nebula looked every inch a queen, and it almost took Joxer's breath away to see her march with slow stately dignity into the room. And then behind her Gabrielle followed, and his breath stopped entirely.

She was wearing no crown, no gold, no ornaments or fine colors. She had on only leather and linen, bronze bracers on her forearms, everything muted and dull, the color of earth and smoky sky. Her feet were bare in the Sumerian style, but her light skin showed the dirt where theirs did not, and her hair was shaggy and tousled. Among the tall Sumerians she appeared even smaller than usual, almost unnoticed as she knelt in front of the Queen to place a footstool under Nebula's feet. Then she moved to the side, tucked her legs underneath her, and remained still. Whereas Xena was serving as the royal bodyguard, Gabrielle was merely an attendant, a job usually left to some low-ranking servant. She had no official blessing, no royal prerogative, no noble finery, no Guard authority. She was so beautiful.

Joxer had to turn his head away for a moment, dust in his eyes or something making them tear, and he blinked it away fiercely before turning back to the scene. Suleiman had left the dais to patrol the hall in case of trouble, and two more of the Guard were proceeding up the center aisle with Hassim between them. Hassim walked with an arrogant assurance as if the guards were there as his lackeys and not his captors. Three days in jail hadn't done him any harm, Joxer saw. Obviously they hadn't been like the first three days on the ship. Or the second, or the third--

Focus. The Guards and Hassim came to a halt before the throne. Nebula held her hand up in the ritual gesture for silence, although no one in the room was as much as breathing.

"We are here to pass censure on Hassim of the House of the Lion for disobeying Our will and flouting Our law. Is there any here that would object?"

There was a rustling from toward the back of the room, and a member of the Goat House stood. "There are none among us who would disobey the rule of our most honored Queen."

Ooh. Joxer marveled. Very nice. The man had just effectively made anyone who now spoke against Hassim's sentencing a traitor to the throne. He wondered if Nebula had instructed him what to say, or if he'd come up with it on his own. If so, he bore watching--could be very useful to Nebula in the future. He told himself firmly several times not to forget to tell this to Nebula afterwards.

Nebula nodded slightly and waited. When there was no other protest, she looked down at Hassim standing before her. "Hassim of the House of the Lion, do you have that to say or show which will prove your innocence in this matter?"

"No, my Queen." He said the words as if repeating a formula, his tone bored.

"Very well, then." Nebula seemed slightly surprised that Hassim was not giving her a hard time, but Joxer suspected she wasn't anything like displeased about it. She stood, the embroidered cape flowing around her like liquid gold. Gabrielle stood as well, took the cape off Nebula's shoulders and moved to stand to her side and a little back, holding the sacred cloth carefully free of the ground until the ritual called for it to be replaced once more.

"Hassim of the House of the Lion," Nebula said. "You have disobeyed Our will and flouted Our law. For this We have the right and the duty to punish you according to the severity of your crime. It is Our judgment that you be sent to Our estate on the far side of the Blue Mountains, to serve in the fields there for seven years and seven days."

A collective gasp ran around the room. The fieldwork on most large estates was handled almost entirely by slave labor. Nebula had come up with a perfect punishment--for making slaves of people, Hassim would be forced to take on the same kind of work he himself had condemned them to. It was genius. Joxer watched, fascinated. He couldn't see Hassim's face from here, but his stance had changed in an instant. And the crowd was too shocked--or delighted--to react. And those kids were messing with the curtain over there again, the rice glinting as they took aim...Nuts. Focus, Joxer told himself ferociously. Focus. He wondered why he never could seem to do that.

"At the end of this time you may return to Us, and We will decide if your punishment has been sufficient. In the meantime, since you have no heirs, your property will be held by the Crown until your return, and the ownership of your lands and estates shall pass into the hands of the current tenants of same."

Where the first pronouncement had produced a gasp, the second created utter silence. Nebula had just given Hassim's estates to his slaves--and as only citizens could own land, the slaves were therefore freed. Another stroke of genius. The first step in her ambition to free the slaves on land as well as at sea, a second public shaming for Hassim, a weakening of the power of the Lion House, and many new citizens grateful and absolutely loyal to the Queen who had granted them their status. It was so perfect. Joxer felt like laughing, or jumping up and down, or getting some of that rice from those kids and tossing it all over the place, or maybe he could rice didn't glint.

Joxer sprang to attention. He looked back at the place he'd seen the curtain part, and it was pulled back. The glint again. A weapon, an arrow, a knife, and it flashed forward, heading straight for the throne, and Nebula , and Gabby. "Gabrielle!" he howled. "Look out!"

A dozen faces looked up, but only one body moved. Gabrielle, reacting instinctively to the sound of his voice, stepped in front of Nebula and at the same time whipped the cape up and around with an audible snap. It caught something mid-air and slammed it to the floor, the sound of metal on marble breaking the silence.

Joxer's heart clawed at his chest, struggling to get free. He couldn't see if Gabrielle had been hit or not, he couldn't see if Nebula was all right, he wanted to look and find out but he had to get that guy who'd thrown the object, and he had to get him now. He pushed his way through the folds of the draperies, fighting past shrieking noblewomen and astonished stonemasons, and into the back hall. He looked up and he looked down, and saw Khalil looking straight back at him. The prince looked shocked. Joxer thought he himself was probably wearing that same pole-axed expression. Then Khalil roared "You!" and charged straight at him. He tackled Joxer and shoved him to the ground.

Joxer's head met the marble flooring with a loud and painful thump, and more out of instinct than ability to move he clawed at Khalil's head and shoulders, trying to hold him off. "You," Khalil panted, "you, you...outlander, you..." He was fumbling at his waist, and Joxer remembered the lion-headed dagger. No, he did not want Khalil to bring that into play. Desperately he heaved Khalil off and to the side, rolled on top of him and tried to pin him down. Khalil grew annoyed by this and punched Joxer in the temple.

Head now ringing from two areas, Joxer collapsed momentarily as Khalil shoved him off and struggled to his feet. Joxer rose as well, gasping. There was one of those low doorways on the wall behind Khalil, those ones Gab said led to the secret passageways--if Khalil got in there, he'd never be able to catch him, maybe nobody would. He charged desperately, grabbed Khalil and they wrestled for a moment, and Joxer was now between Khalil and the door.

There was livid, open hatred on Khalil's face. "I have had enough of you, softskin," he growled, and he charged.

But Joxer charged first. He didn't have enough time to think out what he was going to do and he didn't let himself think it out because then he wouldn't do it. All he would allow himself to think was that Khalil had tried to kill Gab, and maybe he'd try again, and Joxer was not going to allow Gabrielle to die and leave him again. Was not. He hit Khalil low but instead of bearing him to the floor charged straight ahead, into the curtains. The heavy draperies closed around both of them for a moment, suffocating darkness, and then Khalil and Joxer as well came to a stop up against the railing. "Wait!" Khalil cried, in sudden fear, but Joxer couldn't wait or else he wouldn't have the nerve to act.

And he pushed farther forward, and the two of them tumbled backward over the edge.

Khalil clawed desperately at the curtain, sliding down it like an exploring kitten, and the curtain came over with them. They slid to its end and for a moment Khalil clung to the curtain, and Joxer clung to Khalil, and then the curtain tore from its moorings and they fell. They fell, and they landed once, twice, again, clattering, bumping, stools and Court members underneath them, and they hit the floor and came to a halt.

Joxer lay on top of Khalil, blood trickling into his eyes and stinging something awful, and his ears were still ringing so badly the footsteps running up to him were soft and muffled as if they were a league away. He tried to push himself up off Khalil, who--was he dead?! No, he was breathing, staring, stunned as well--push himself up and get up, but he couldn't seem to do it. Then someone was kneeling by him, pulling his arm over her shoulders, standing. Gabrielle. "Gabrielle," he muttered. "Gabrielle, 'r you al'right?"

"Joxer, take it easy. What--" She stared down at the prince. "Khalil?"

Khalil tried to push himself up, sputtering. "Assassin," he snarled. "Murderer--" and there were three spear points leveled at his chest. One of the spears belonged to Nebula. She must have snatched it from one of the Guard, not for Nebula to run and hide until all was safely over. One of the spears belonged to Suleiman, and the Guard's face was grim. "Where's your dagger, Khalil?"

"What dagger? What are you talking about? Let me up, damn you!"

Xena stepped forward. "This dagger," she said coldly and held it out. The lion-headed dagger, the one Joxer had feared. And rightly so, as it had turned out. "The one you threw at Nebula?"

"I never!" Khalil gasped in indignation. "I... it was him, the outlander, I caught him upstairs in the hall, and..."

"We had a little fight," Joxer admitted. He was starting to feel the familiar aftereffects of any fight he wound up in, which consisted of a lot of bruises and a really badly bent self-image.

"Take him away," Nebula snapped. Suleiman and another Guard hauled Khalil to his feet and dragged him off, not gently, the astounded crowd parting for them without complaint. Xena watched them go, her face hard. Nebula turned to Joxer. "You okay there, kiddo?"

"Yeah, fine."

"You've got a nasty bump..." She reached for his face, and Gabrielle pulled him away. "It's okay. It's under control," she said.

"He needs a physician. Take him to my chambers and I'll send for..."

"He'll be fine," Gabrielle snapped, "we'll take him to our chambers and Xena will take care of him. It's all taken care of."

"I think..."

"Everybody stop shouting," Joxer mumbled. "Oh, my head."

Xena looked up at the gallery rail and the faces peering over it, and sighed. "Well, if he landed on his head, it's nothing important. Nebula, I'll take him back and make sure he's all right, then I'm going to come stay with you for the rest of the day. We want to make sure there's no larger conspiracy, in case they might try again." She put herself carefully between Nebula and Gabrielle, who were hackling at each other like angry dogs, and put Joxer's other arm around her own shoulders. "Joxer, you're the only person I know who can fall over a chest-high rail."

"I did it on purpose," Joxer said, annoyed.

"And the only person I know who'd be stupid enough to fall over a chest-high rail two stories to a marble floor on purpose, and lucky enough to live to tell about it. Come on, we're going home." She and Gabrielle helped him to the door. He was forgetting something, he couldn't quite think of what. Something to do with Nebula...ah. "Nebula," he called over his shoulder.

"What?"

"That Goat guy," he said and wondered why she made such an odd face when he did. "He was pretty good. You oughta give him a position or something." He shifted his arm on Xena's shoulders so as not to bother Eve, and stumbled along out into the hall half-between, half-dangling from her and Gab. Yeah, the Goat guy had been pretty good. It had been a kind of interesting day at Court, all things considered.