Naeemah | Pre-search
Naeemah's hearing was set for a crisp, cool day at a gather. Petty cases of theft and other small issues were delt with swiftly, everyone wanted to get to the exciting case. It was not every day someone was exiled.
"Naeemah!" Lord Taresch bellowed. Naeemah snapped her head up, determined not to look scared. She pushed the thought of exile out of her mind and met the Lord's gaze. "You are accused of killing Termin, son of Yteri and Termeln. The punishment for this, you know, is exile."
"I know," Naeemah replied in a quiet but firm voice. The watching crowd seemed to be holding its breath and Naeemah wondered why. They were not facing exile for something they didn't do.
"The evidence, Naeemah, suggests that you are guilty of this accusation," Taresch continued. "Unless you can prove otherwise, you will be sentenced to exile."
"If you are determined to make it my fault, then do. I was only doing my job of trying to save the boy. Exile the water that drowned him, if you'd like the real killer," Naeemah spat back. "I did what I could."
"You wher! You let him drown!" Yteri wailed from the crowd. "Exile her! Exile her! I want her dead! Go on!"
The crowd began to murmur at this and Taresch bellowed for silence. Once it was silent again, he gave the crowd a deadly glare and returned to Naeemah. "The evidence would suggest that you could have done more, Naeemah."
Naeemah gave a harsh laugh. "Oh I am sorry, my lord! I suppose you are the Master Dolphineer and you do not consider taking off my own oxygen mask to save the boy's life doing as much as I could."
"Don't you dare speak to my brother that way!" Yteri screeched and started towards Naeemah. Her husband caught her by the waist and held her back. Taresch waited patiently until his sister's screams subsided.
"You didn't save him, and you did take a long time in getting to him, therfore, you caused his death, which is murder," Taresch explained as if to a dimglow.
"Well Termin caused my dolphin's death, not on purpose, of course, so is he guilty of murder?" Naeemah scoffed. "Should I take his remains with me into exile?"
There were some gasps from the crowd and once again Taresch demanded silence. When he spoke again, his voice was quivering with anger. "Killing a dolphin and killing a human are not the same thing, journeywoman. I am disgusted at your lack of remorse over your crime. You are exiled!"
Almost immediatly, Naeemah's hands were bound and she was being carted away by two burly drudges. She let herself be carried, still in shock at her sentence. In her entire lifetime she had never witnessed anyone being exiled. How could it possibly be happening to her?
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