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They didn't mention until he arrived that they'd be knocking him out again, but Carnoc was glad for it--he didn't want to see them setting up his "waste disposal system," and he didn't really want to have any idea what it looked like either.

But he did get a surprise once he was paralyzed and awake again: Nesleh hadn't left after all, and was just able to fit into the cell next to him, so they could have a little privacy while they talked.

"I saw Melora," he said as soon as the wall had gone down. "She's healthy and she's doing well, but she misses you."

"I know. She called me, and I got to talk to her for a while. But she got a little mad when I mentioned Vical..."

Nesleh chuckled. "Mates are always jealous like that. But she'll lay the egg soon, then she won't mind so much if you spend time with another dragoness. Though things will be different this time since we'll all be living together now... I still don't see how Vallen and Dulna plan to keep everybody separated. It's not like they'll just stop scenting until it's time for the cycle, and I just don't see how it's going to be possible to keep us all from mating for a full fifty years. They have talked about shortening the cycle, or getting rid of it altogether, but that would just end in chaos."

"If they did abolish it, it may be better to switch to mating for life, like the humans do. It would simplify things."

"Until you get someone like Hilsuro, except instead of missing one cycle she never gets a mate at all. Though Scott did mention once that in some human cultures men are allowed--and sometimes expected to--take multiple wives... I'd hate to be the dragon with two mates to keep up with, but it could be done if it had to."

"We'll have to see what they decide, I guess. Anyway, how's Vical? Melora didn't answer me when I asked her."

"She misses you, like everyone else does. She's a very nice dragon; I was able to talk to her a lot while I flew her back to Nepal, and she seems quite attached to you. To tell the truth I'm astonished you managed not to mate with her."

"She told me she would have wanted to, but also that she understood the kind of situation I was in, with the egg to worry about, and that Melora is a very good friend of hers. Vical didn't want to get between me and her, so she made sure we were never tempted, but either way I wasn't about to mate in a cage surrounded by humans."

"Not even at night, in that private cave you had? You two were together for a long time; wasn't she ever scenting?"

"No, and she told me beforehand we'd have to be together a couple of years for that to start. But she made sure not to do or say anything overly sexual and we were hearing from Melora pretty often, so nothing ever happened."

"And good for both of you it didn't, I guess, considering the punishment. But at least you got along well."

"Well, she's a nice dragon. Probably saved my life, too; Simon was out to get me those first few days, and she... persuaded him to leave me alone. It didn't keep him away from me for long, as I told you in that one message, but it helped a lot."

"I remember you telling me about that, but it's more likely she saved Simon's life than yours. How's your temper been, by the way? You seem a lot more in control now."

He smiled. "Pretty good. Not much came up to test it aside from those days with Simon, but if it's less noticeable then that's probably a good sign."

"It definitely is, and I'm glad to hear it."

"Of course." He hesitated, then said, "can you talk to anyone here about Melora's pending egg-laying and how I have to be there for it? I don't know how long this trial's going to take, or how it'll come out, and... I can't miss it. Melora doesn't understand why I can't just up and leave prison, and she's already mad at me for being friends with Vical... I don't know how I'll face her, or even call myself a father, if I can't be there to see her lay our egg."

Nesleh sighed. "I... I guess I could try to talk to someone, but remember that going to prison is a punishment: the point is to make you miss things that are important to you, to help you better learn your lesson. If you really wanted I could try to convince Melora to come here to lay, but I just don't see her--or any dragoness, for that matter--willing to accept something like that. If you don't get released, and soon, you're going to have to come to terms with not being able to help her when she lays. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is."

He groaned and laid his head on the ground, looking away. "I just... It's my first egg. I want to be a good father, if it's a son, and how can I do that if I'm not even there to support my mate when she lays?"

"Pray to your ancestors to keep her safe and strong during her labor and delivery. That's what I did, even though I knew I would be there for my mates when it came time for them. She can manage without her mate if she has to, it just helps if you're there."

"And I want to be there."

The old dragon sighed and put a paw on Carnoc's shoulder, then realized his son couldn't feel it and nuzzled his neck instead. "It won't do you any good worrying and agonizing over it like this," he said. "If our ancestors want you to be there, then they'll see to it you're together when it happens. Otherwise, just accept it and be glad you two have an egg at all. Remember that some dragons haven't been so fortunate this cycle and be thankful you've managed to sire an egg on your first try."

"Yeah, I know," he said. "But I still don't want to miss it, or her."

"I'll see what I can do. And I'll tell you what: if you can't make it, and of course if she's comfortable with it, I'll be with her for you. I've helped two dragonesses bring eggs into the world, and if she'll have me I'll help her with yours, too."

He raised his head and nuzzled his father's shoulder. "Thank you, father. It really means... It helps. It helps a lot."

"I thought it would," he said, smiling. "I have to go, but I'll see you at the courthouse tomorrow, all right? And hopefully the judges will decide on something that will keep me from having to talk to someone about all that." He stood and stepped over to the door-wall, which started to rise as he approached. "See you tomorrow."

---

Carnoc looked up from the water trough as a human burst into the room; it was John, his thin hair out of place and a few sheets of paper sticking halfway out of his briefcase.

"I hope you have an idea of how to present yourself as a law-abiding dragon, because you're going to have to do it right now," he said in a rush, putting his briefcase on the table but not sitting down.

"Why? I thought I was supposed to go back into court later this morning so the trial could continue."

The lawyer shook his head. "The judges have rescheduled the next session for two mornings from now; they're on their way here right now to have a private talk to you. Not even I can be in here with you during the interview, just them."

"Does that happen a lot?"

"Oh, it's not unheard of, but it's not common, either. Of course, this isn't exactly a regular trial... Anyway, you have to be very careful how you answer all their questions. If you have to recount the murders, don't make it sound like you had planned them beforehand, and if you really have to go in-depth about them make it seem like the people you killed provoked you as much you can without changing any of the facts... Don't worry about admitting that you killed them, because everyone knows you did. But try not to use the word murder, and remember that you need to seem like a nice, peaceable dragon. Believe me, being able to impress them in this hearing could make a world of difference in the outcome of your trial."

Carnoc paused and swallowed; the human was talking so fast he had already forgotten half of what John had told him. "Okay, but..."

There was a knock on the door.

John picked up his briefcase and walked over to the door. "Remember what I said, and good luck!"

He opened the door and left. There was a short pause, then two armed guards walked inside, followed by the five judges. They weren't wearing those long black robes this time, and without it they seemed a lot less intimidating--though it also helped that he was looking down at where they sat across the table from him, instead of looking up at their podium while forced to keep his head near the ground.

"Good morning, Carnoc," one of them said, placing a small device at the center of the table. "As I'm sure Mr. Vaer has already told you, the five of us have come for a personal interview with you. This is a closed-door interview, of sorts, so I can assure you that none of what is said here will be used to further incriminate you..." She looked over at the two guards, who had moved to flank Carnoc. "You two can return to your posts outside."

One of them looked up at Carnoc, seeming confused. "Are you sure? What if--"

"I can assure you he knows better than to attack the judges who will determine the outcome of his trial," she said. "You can go outside; we'll be fine in here, and it's supposed to be a private interview anyway."

"Yes, your honor," one of the guards said. The two of them glanced uncertainly between Carnoc and the five judges, but left anyway, closing the door behind them.

"As I was saying, none of what is said here will be used to further incriminate you, since we've already seen and heard what evidence there is, so don't worry too much about how to answer our questions. The focus of this session is to get to know you better, so we can determine what we think caused you to do what you did--if you were provoked to kill, for example--and whether or not you will commit similar acts in the future regardless of how we sentence you, assuming we can."

He nodded. "All right."

"Then let's get started," the judge at the left end of the table said. "I guess the most important thing we need to know is... from your perspective, why did what happened happen?"

He paused for a moment, going over the two scenes in his mind, then he thought of John's words. He almost laughed; he had been so worried months ago about how his father and Vallen would take the news of his actions that he had already figured out how to explain everything so it wouldn't sound like it was his fault.

"Well, when it comes to Allison... First of all, I just couldn't stand her. She treated me like I was some kind of exotic pet, acted like I would enjoy showing myself off like she wanted me to, and even worse than that she was so nice about it. I told her to leave me alone and warned her about my temper, and when she wouldn't stop... I lost control, and I killed her."

"Yes, Vallen and Nesleh have told us about your anger management issues," said the judge in the center. "And if that's really how it went... When we reviewed the tapes of the first killing, judges Moore and Balewa agreed with me when I said you may not have planned to kill her--that it was a ?crime of passion,' as we call it in court. Going back, if you could have had full control over your actions, do you think you would have killed her?"

He thought about shuffling his wings, then blinked in a moment of confusion when he couldn't feel them; he had to glance back at the collar and the rest of his body to reassure himself before speaking again. "Under harness like that, the only way I could have killed her was by completely losing control. If I had been in more control of myself, I don't think I would have thought to break out with Vidac's bolt like that, but when I lost my temper I guess I was so desperate to lash out at her... But if I had been in control, I don't think I would have tried to kill her. It was more than I could stand when she scratched that spot on my face, which only my mate is supposed to touch, but I didn't realize in my anger that she couldn't have possibly known not to touch me there."

"I see. And how did your clan react when they heard what you had done? Were you punished at all?"

"My father ordered me not to fly, except to hunt, for three days."

"What about Jim? Explain his death to us."

Carnoc snorted. "Oh, all of our clan hated him, even though we had never really seen him. We didn't say it much because we didn't really want to insult Dave, but if I hadn't killed him one of the others probably would have. But again, I had just been fighting against those jets, so my blood was up, and when I found the man all of us hated so much standing right in front of me, I lost control again. ...but I think a lot of the clan expected me to, honestly," he shook his head.

"Though eyewitnesses said one of the other dragons attacked you just after you killed Jim. What happened there?"

"That was my father. He could tell my temper was flaring up, so he stepped in before it could get any worse."

"And how were you punished after this killing?"

"My father tried to keep me away from anything that could set me off again, and worked with me on techniques to help me keep control. And he..." Carnoc looked at the ground. "He beat me."

The second judge from the left noticed his hesitation. "Badly?"

"Hard enough to draw blood with his claws when he kicked me, and I had bruises for a few days afterwards."

"And was that a common punishment for dragons in your clan?"

He snorted. "Not for any dragon older than sixty or so."

There was silence for a moment, then one of the judges asked, "and how old are you?"

"A hundred and twenty-nine."

"Oh. So this was a very severe punishment, I assume."

"Well, punishment like that is rare except with the hatchlings and fledglings, and even then it's usually not so harsh. Normally with a dragon my age the options are flight restriction, temporary or permanent exile, or execution--well, that's only if you kill another dragon, barring self-defense and duels, of course, but still, very rare. But none of those were options at the time, considering the situation, so my father decided to beat me instead."

"All right." She looked at the rest of the judges. "Do we have any more questions for Carnoc, or do we know enough know to make a decision, one way or the other?"

"Well, I don't think this is a question he can answer," the judge on the right said, "but we still need to find out how he would have been dealt with by Disney World if he hadn't escaped."

"Quarantine; I called them earlier this morning, and that's actually what they had done before his escape. Now, anything else?"

"There's one last thing I want to know," said the one judge who hadn't spoken yet. "And you may not be able to answer this, but... Why is your clan's punishment for taking human life so trivial, or why was it the first time? In our society it means years of imprisonment and maybe even the death penalty, but for your kind it's just a few days of inconvenience. Why?"

Carnoc thought for a moment, then said, "it might be better to compare the punishment to how our clans punish a dragon who kills another dragon; if it's done without a very good reason--self-defense, during a duel, and so on--that dragon will be executed. You might relate our killing of a human to how you punish a human for killing an endangered or protected animal."

"And I believe the penalty for that is rarely more than a fine, along with the confiscation of any illegal weaponry that may have been involved," one of the other judges said. "A slap on the wrist at worst, really. But now that the two species live under the same law, those punishments will change... There's no reason to trouble with the past when it no longer applies."

The judge who had asked the question nodded. "All right, I'm satisfied."

"Good."

Carnoc spoke before the judges could stand. "I actually had something I needed to ask you about. I talked to my father and my mate to see if they would ask you, but I don't know if they've had time to yet..." he shook his head. "Anyway, my mate is going to lay our egg in a month or so, and it's something I just can't miss. It's the first egg for both of us, it's bad enough we've been separated so long already and... there are some other concerns, too, and I just have to know if there's anything that can be done to make sure I can be there for her."

"You will have to suffer the consequences of your actions, regardless of other occurrences in your life," the judge in the center said, but softened after a moment. "However, I think most of us here know what it's like to have a child come into the world. I'm not familiar with any sort of dragon tradition, but I'm sure your mate's..." the judge hesitated, looking confused, then continued, "your mate's egg-laying is just as important to the two of you as a human mother giving birth is to us. If it's possible, or if we must, we'll do our best to see if some sort of concession can be worked into your sentence--if we can even sentence you at all--to ensure the two of you can be together when it comes time. Again, we can't promise anything, but we'll do our best. All right?"

Carnoc lowered his head. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She stood up and returned the device she had placed on the table to her pocket, and the other judges stood with her. "We will come to a decision sometime today or tomorrow, and we'll see you in court again in a couple of days." She and the other judges filed out, and Carnoc didn't even have time to breathe a sigh of relief before his lawyer returned.

"How did it go?"

He recounted their questioning, then said, "so does it sound like it went well enough?"

"Oh, yes, you did quite well considering it's your first time in this sort of situation. So they didn't give any indication of which way they were leaning, in terms of a verdict?"

"No."

"So I guess we'll keep wondering for another few days," he said. "Well, best of luck, and I'll see you when court reconvenes."

John left the room as well, and Carnoc dipped his head to drink from the trough of water in front of him. As long as I can be with Melora when she lays our egg, he thought, I really don't care what they decide.