“There is no way that is possible!” Totaxxis interrupted.
“Silence! You’ve had your time.”
“May I interject?” Nilkis asked, quietly, rising to his feet.
“What is it, archivist?”
“I have spent time with this female, and I have seen first-hand, she in fact possesses a rare degree of skill in translating the most difficult of the ancient texts. I spoke with the Skrizzit when I first noticed the anomaly. He informed me that on some occasions a particular race reacts unusually to some of our more powerful pigments. And as this one has received a full body of runes employing precisely that, it is apparent that she has exceptional translation skills. Better even than mine, I must admit.”
All eyes were on Ella. Eyes of dislike, but also shock and even curiosity.
“It’s the oldest of the texts that really caught my attention,” she continued. “The current laws state one thing, but the original wording, the oldest of the rules upon which the new are based have been misunderstood.”
“How dare you question our laws?”
“I don’t question the laws, per se, but am rather pointing out that somewhere along the way there was a mistaken translation. And that has been compounded over the years. Women used to be allowed to be part of the order, and yes, sex was even allowed between men and women.”
Someone shouted out in distress, “Lies! It is not true. Since the first days, priests had to remain pure!”
A loud rumbling of assent rose from the crowd.
“Silence!” The judge turned his gaze back to Ella. “What you say is a provable fallacy, do you realize that?”
“But it’s not. At least, not entirely. Yes, priests were to adhere to their vows, but the originalist wording allowed for one exception.”
“What exception? There is no such thing.”
“But there is. Right here. This one sentence. And that corresponds with what the tapestry shows. Here, can you project this from the printed page?”
No sooner had she asked than the millennias-old text floated in the air for all to see.
“Thanks. Now, I’ve been told no one ever reads the oldest of texts. These hadn’t been checked out in over a hundred years from what Nilkis told me. But can you see this? This one line here?”
She fell silent, allowing the men time to read and attempt to translate the ancient language. Murmurs of confusion filled the chamber.
“I can help. This right here? It’s the symbol for Infala. Not now, but in the earliest days. It’s the entire reason you guys added the blocking runes in the first place. One misunderstanding led to thousands of years of blocking runes, all to prevent Infala bonding. Without a functional rune, no man would be put in that position. Which brings me to him.” She pointed to Draikis, her cheeks flushed with a burst of energy filling her body at the sight of him. “As your Skrizzit said, my kind reacts differently to your pigments. I can translate better for one. But something else happened when I received the runes for the first time.”
“Aha! She admits it! She admits she was without runes when she came to us!” Totaxxis gloated loudly. “She violated Dotharian law, and the penalty is death!”
“Now wait just a minute, buddy. I have my runes now.”
“Acquired through deceit.”
“I had no idea what any of that meant when this all went down, and you know it. But that’s beside the point, because even if that holds true, a superseding law, one of the highest order, overrides it.”
“Oh? And what could that possibly be?”
“Infala bonding.”
Faces paled, all turned to gaze upon Draikis. Ella smiled brightly, ignoring the agitated men surrounding her.
“Go on, babe. Show them.”
Hesitantly, Draikis lifted his tunic, careful not to disturb his healing back. The audience stared in shock at his faintly glowing Infala. The blocking rune was still in place, the black ink holding firm, but the rune beneath it was straining to be free. Elder Soparo rose and walked to examine the man’s chest up close.
“What sort of madness is this? This is impossible.”
“It’s not impossible. Just really, really unlikely,” Ella replied, walking from her place toward her lover, the guards and crowd too shocked to think to stop her. “The law is clear. Infala bonded mates are free upon union. Clean slate, I believe the law states. Any and all transgressions are forgiven.”
