“Excuse me my lord,” the servant said again. Orion continued to stare vacantly out the window. He could not remove his eyes from them; the bodies of soldiers…men…brothers which were strewn on the battlefield. Their blood flowed freely onto the green grass. This was all wrong, there was not supposed to be so much bloodshed.
“My lord,” the servant repeated, more forcefully this time.
“Yes,” replied Orion, but he could not compel himself to turn away from the window.
“The traitor desires to speak with you --.” The servant continued speaking; however Lord Orion did not hear the remaining part of his message. All he could possibly think of was the words, “the traitor”. “Oh, my dear Melantha,” he thought, “what have you done?” “Why, why, did you do this?” But Orion knew perfectly well why Melantha had committed such an act, and the answer to such a question made his knees buckle. Quickly he stretched out his hand to help support himself on the stone pillar. The servant stopped.
“Are you alright, my lord?”
“Tell the, the tra-,” Orion wanted desperately to be able to say “The Traitor” dispassionately, yet could not bring himself to do so. He began again, “Tell Melantha I will consent to speak with her in my due time.” And even after servant was dismissed the name Melantha stung Orion’s lips; he wanted to hate her, to scorn her, to demand a reason for her betrayal, but once again he could not bear to. He would not even begin to call her the traitor, nonetheless hate her. Orion’s green eyes meticulously scrutinized the battlefield. “Judges were not supposed to be emotionally attached,” he whispered gravely, “Nevertheless, we were, so very attached.” Upon whispering to himself he shut his eyes. It was finally time to come to terms with his anguished conscious. It was time for him to start at the beginning.
Ever since Melantha was young she had been beautiful. She had pale skin long raven black hair which glistened in the sunlight’s rays. It was, her eyes, however that were her best feature. They were a piercing violet color which even in darkness one could see. And yet, her beauty never really impressed Orion. As Chief Judge Orion had seen other, more exquisite women. No, her attractiveness never held any importance in Orion’s mind as did Melantha’s personality. Melantha owned the proper traits a woman should have; she was kind, gentle, and cordial like the others. But on the other hand she was clever, witty, intelligent, and extremely vindictive. Orion recalled meeting her for the first time. He had been only ten years old, a mere judge in training, still unprepared for life which would befall him. The day they met she was fighting with other boys from the neighborhood and from the looks of it Melantha apparently winning. Donovan, the former chief judge and Orion’s teacher accompanied him.
“What is happening here?” Donovan demanded as he pulled the grappling children off each other.
“They called mama mad,” answered the girl. Her unkempt hair hung down at her sides, blood dripped from her nose down her face and onto her unclean dress. Yet, boldly she stood facing the Chief Judge unashamed of both her appearance and actions.
“What’s your name?” Donovan asked.
“Melantha Rhiannon.” Donovan nodded. He knew this child; she was the daughter of Lander and his wife Kira. And the boys were right, Kira indeed was mad. The poor woman after the birth of her daughter contracted a disease of the mind; she would scream out profanities, attack nurses, and often became subject to freighting hallucinations. Her severe psychosis forced her husband to isolate her from the rest of his family. “Orion,” Donovan called, and from behind him a boy appeared. “This girl assaulted these boys, judge her and the boys accordingly. I will monitor and uphold your decision fully.” Quickly the quiet red-haired boy made a transition from observer to judge. He examined the three boys’ faces; they were bruised and bleeding. Tears rolled down one boy’s face. Also, he perceived the boy’s ages, they were at least two but no more than three years older than the girl. Attention turned then towards Melantha, other than her bloody nose she seemed alright, and she seemed to have already admitted she was guilty of the act. Therefore, Orion judged she must be punished for attacking the boys, despite them insulting her mother. The boys were allowed the freedom to speak how they wanted; the girl however, could not be permitted to pulverize anyone who teased her.
“I judge that the girl, Melantha Rhiannon should be punished for the beating of the three boys.”
“Well done Orion, and why do you judge this?”
“While I do not agree with the boys' cruelty, our laws state that people have a right to the freedom of speech, they do not state that one may attack those whose words displease them. If such were the case our government would become complete anarchy.”
“Excellent reasoning, Orion, you took your own opinions out of your judgment.” “Now give Melantha her punishment.”
“Melantha, because your crime is not severe your punishment is to write apologies to the boy’s as well as to tend wounds attentively until they are healed.” Orion smiled in complacency and waited for her to bow signaling his superiority along with Melantha’s acceptance of her punishment. The girls eyes clouded, she had been prepared for anything except for the deprivation of her pride.
“I will do no such thing.”
The smile faded from Orion’s lips. “Excuse me?” he said.
“You understood me. How dare you degrade me any more than they have? You disgust me, you believe yourself to be better than this, to be unattached from the situation. Yet, oh high and mighty Judge, you fail to realize that you are just like them, you agree with them. It is alright for them to humiliate me and I cannot retaliate. I just solved the problem,” Melantha glanced over to where the boys stood and then back into Orion’s green eyes, “You only create new ones. Therefore, I will repeat my statement so your slow, unthinking mind may comprehend it: I will not obey such an absurd punishment.” Color raised in Orion’s face. No one ever had dared to speak to him in such a tone. Donovan, who had at one point thought this, would be an excellent learning experience for his pupil intervened. “Melantha, if you refuse this punishment a harsher one will be assigned to you,” Donovan stated.
“So be it then, as long as it does not come from him.” Orion could contain his fury no longer. She had insulted him in every possible way.
“How dare you talk to me in such an impudent manner” Orion said outraged. “I am your Judge!”
Melantha looked at him and scoffed, “You are no such thing; you are a boy.”
From that moment on Orion was smitten.
#####
A period of two years elapsed before Melantha after various other incidents was sent to boarding school to help her overcome her “certain behavioral defects.” During this period of Melantha’s absence Orion too, progressed. He advanced in his studies with Donovan immeasurably; he associated himself with prominent members of society to help encourage acceptance into upper class circles. Orion when he turned sixteen entered a school to further his advancement. It was here that he would learn from the intellects, the artists, and even be taught by the King himself. Yet, these people did not play one of the most influential roles in Orion’s life. No- even now he could not recall a single aspect taught by the eminent men. Their verbose lessons held no effect on him. Instead he began to learn through a different catalyst- the people he associated himself with. Until this moment in his life Orion had never understood the true meaning of friendship. By the age of three years he possessed specific behavioral qualities which were considered highly desirable in a Judge. Thus, the King demanded that Orion be taken from his mother to begin his training despite his young age. He, with such a decree would never be allowed to speak to his mother again to prevent a bias. Isolation and dedication to learning policies of governing consumed Orion’s life. Friendship never entered his mind until the moment he sat down in his philosophies of modern warfare class.
Students squirmed in their seats eagerly anticipating the lecture. From the front of the crowded lecture hall, the professor began to start the class. Orion however, was not there, instead Orion was late.
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