Judge n Jury

Royal Rangers, the elite of elite troops for the Gelian Kingdom. Famous far and wide or more specifically infamous. Unlike most military units they answered only to the king. Could supersede any military or local authority. Judge, Jury, and most of all executioner answering only to the king. Each hand-selected ranger was trained to be the fiercest of fighters, studied magic with the greatest of mages, and was gifted with one of the national treasure Hex Cutters. Enchanted great swords of terrifying power said to be unmatched in any land.

But few people knew the greatest of the Royal Rangers powers. It wasn't their training or equipment. No, their greatest power was their badge of office. Or to the more enlightened the enchantment each badge carried. Guilty Conscience. Anyone who looked upon the badge, even a glance would be wracked by a guilty conscience while in the ranger's presence. Every misdeed no matter how great or small would bubble to the surface. Such a powerful enchant had a flaw though. Anyone truly innocent felt nothing, and anyone truly heartless felt nothing.

Since the first did not exist anyone a ranger met who showed no signs of distress fell in the latter. It was the fact that Larian showed so little concern when in the ranger's presence that made him even more suspicious of him. Sadly, Dean and his predecessors never imagined one could be so blindly arrogant and self-important that they truly thought themselves perfect. Or he might not have worried about Larian so much. So, when Dean took the bucket from the tiny peasant girl who looked ready to collapse under her fear he didn't pay her any mind.

For Jane, her heart was pounding the moment she looked up at the Royal Ranger. She didn't know what the ranger the others had mentioned looked like but she knew what that badge on his chest was. Every time she'd blackmailed someone, stolen something, even little lies she'd told bubbled up to rattle around in her mind. Seeing the huge man start to walk away with her bucket she panicked. "Wait! No, my lord, please. I must carry it or… I'll be scolded." She told the truth as she was too afraid to make up any lie. Luckily the truth lined up with her wanting to get away from the dangerous man as soon as possible.

Dean just gave a hearty laugh. "No worries little one. Let me help you out. I'm heading to the laundry room anyways." Not knowing what else to do Jane fell in step behind him, letting her hair drop down to cover as much of her scars as possible out of habit and nerves.

'Don't say anything… don't say anything…' She repeated her mantra in her mind over and over while trying to limit her fidgeting. When they entered the laundry room, Six turned around expecting to scold the younger orphan for being late, despite her making it back in record time. Six was nineteen and pretty by the standards of the staff who were mostly poor orphans. She was five foot six with dishwater hair that was currently pulled up into a bun. Her figure was slender but not in the way most women wanted. A lifetime of too few meals had left her growth stunted, her skin less than perfect, and her figure wanting. But, like most of those born into the lower caste did what she needed to survive. In her case, she'd worked hard when younger until she was able to secure a position as head of the cleaning staff.

Furthermore, she had managed to catch the eye of one of the older professors. He was old, overweight, with children older than her and a wife who was his mirror. She cared nothing for him but hoped that soon all her hard work would pay off. The fact that the ugly scarred child had managed to somehow catch the attention of one of the students, one backed by the new young handsome professor annoyed her greatly. On top of that, the dumb girl settled for table scraps yet spent countless hours in the boy's bedroom. Still, table scraps were more than Six had yet to receive for all her efforts…

Instead of just the scarred girl Jane, she spotted a handsome man carrying her bucket of water. When her eyes slid from his chiseled face down to the badge on his chest her heart almost stopped. Suddenly, she recalled all the times she'd lied, stolen, cheated, or blackmailed. Of the fellow cleaners, she'd sabotaged in her climb. Of how she enjoyed ruling over the young powerless staff, enjoying the false feeling of superiority. Of the marriages, she'd ruined both by cheating and lying about cheating. Even how she purposely sent the scrawny Jane to lug the heavy bucket of water to the laundry day after day as punishment for possibly getting ahead.

"JANE!" Rushing over she took the bucket from the Royal Ranger doing her best to give him a pretty smile despite her nerves. "How dare you make someone as important as a Royal Ranger do the work of a nobody. I am SO sorry. Please, I will have her punished right away." Six bobbed as she recalled more and more misdeeds.

"Excellent. Punishment is definitely required." Dean gave her such a dashing smile it would have stolen any maiden's heart, had it not been from a Royal Ranger.

"Yes! I'll see to it immediately!" Six exclaimed while Jane gritted her teeth but dared only glare at the older woman.

Turning to Jane he gave her the same smile. "So then…"

"Jane." She found herself stammering out.

"Jane. What do you think is appropriate punishment?" Her heart sank and ice flooded her veins.

"Whatever you think is appropriate, Royal Ranger." She gave the answer she'd always heard was best. If one begged or bargained with a ranger it would only result in greater troubles.

Dean scratched his chiseled chin. "How about fifty lashes. Sound fair?"

Jane swallowed her anger and mentally cursed the ranger but said "Yes my lord."

Dean looked to Six who gave him a more natural smile. "That sounds very fair my lord. Perhaps too fair. An example should be made. Have the lashes done in the courtyard? Strip the ugly girl and lash her for all to see. Maybe the embarrassment will help the lesson stick." Dean smiled at her idea, the constant bubbling of dark deeds tended to bring one's true nature to the surface.

"Ugly? I've seen better for sure but you're not too bad. But if that is what you think will help you learn your lesson very well. Stripped in the courtyard and given fifty public lashes for making such a tiny girl carry this bucket." He glanced around at all the older and larger workers, even several adult men who were doing far easier work as his words finally sunk to the previously smiling Six.

"Lord? Are you saying I should be punished? But… But I've done nothing!" Panic filled her voice.

"Really? So, you can look me in the eye and tell me you sent her to fetch water just because? That she was the best choice and for that reason you sent her?" Dean's icy blue eyes bore into her and Six started stumbling over her words before shutting her mouth.

Head bowed she said, "I can not my lord."

"Good, then punishment settled. I'd better not hear of any backlash coming to Jane here because of it." His tone darkened. "It wouldn't bold well for you."

The entire laundry room was deathly silent as Dean turned around to leave, stopping to motion to the shocked Jane. "Jane, Show me where the teacher's dorms are. I'll be using a room here for a while."

Leaving out of the laundry room Dean whistles pleasantly in a manner not too different from how Larian tended to act. Jane glanced back to Six who didn't even look at her before rushing out to follow the Royal Ranger.

She was leading him towards the dorm as her mind raced. Was this some sort of ploy to trick her? Did he know she was friends with D. If he thought his little act would make her betray her D the handsome ranger was wrong! She told herself.

"You don't have to look so terrified, girl. If that woman gives you any trouble you let me know." Dean smiled again.

"Why?" The question popped out of her mouth before she knew it.

Dean grinned. "Well, I went to this academy. Got a scholarship of sorts so had to work in the evenings with the cleaning staff. The old bastard in charge always made me lug the water to the laundry, he had a grudge against me for being a student even though I was common-born. Back then I wasn't much bigger than you, always small for my size." Dean laughed at her disbelieving look while taking in his hulking form. "So, when I saw such a tiny thing like you lugging that bucket along I figured what was going on. So, are you a student here too?"

"No my lord!" Jane squeaked out, shocked he'd think she was a student.

"So what did you do to rile up that one?" Dean couldn't help but interrogate someone even if just making small talk.

Jane thought of countless things she would normally have said, but trying to lie to a Royal Ranger was madness so she told the truth, or most of it. "I made friends with one of the students. He has been feeding me and even giving me lessons on how to read n write."

"Ahh, a boy then. Careful, nobles will normally treat a pretty thing like you kindly just to get what they want. Don't let them take advantage of you… What's this boy's name?" Dean recalled the times' fellow students of noble background had treated him kindly, each time they'd stabbed him in the back.

Jane felt her face flush and felt guilty. "No! He is a commoner like me. I.. he doesn't see me like that I'm sure." Dean heard the disappointment in her voice and managed to resist the urge to chuckle as he figured it would hurt the girl's feelings. 'Puppy love. Still... Maybe I should find out who this boy is.'

Jane finished showing Dean where the teacher's dorms were although, had she been paying attention she'd have noticed he needed little guidance. He once again reminded her that should Six give her any more trouble to let him know before letting her scurry away.

**********

"You know. I bet we could lure him into a trap. D, think you can work up a ward that can disable him long enough for you to eat him?" Larian was pacing around D's room while D sat beside Jane at a small table trying to show her what Rachel had taught him the day before.

"No. He has something on him. Even the wards we use for class were getting…" He paused trying to think of the right word. "...Feedback?" He wasn't even in them either."

Larian sighed and muttered "Damn Hex Cutters." While Jane fidgeted but D was used to it, he didn't even ask if she needed to go to the bathroom anymore. Although today Jane was fidgeting for more than just having D sitting close enough their legs were touching.

"I don't think you should mess with Royal Ranger Dean… He doesn't seem that bad." Jane finally spoke up.

"Doesn't seem that bad? Really? There isn't a Royal Ranger alive without a trail of dead bodies a mile long behind them." Larian shook his head at the foolish talk of the naïve girl.

"You've killed people. Even D has killed people, right? Doesn't make him a bad person." She left out that she wasn't so sure about the mad mage.

Larian was just about to tear into the girl for her mad comments when the door opened and an out of breath Pena entered. "We have trouble!"

**********

Royal Ranger Dean opened the window to the little room he was now occupying to let in the large bird feverishly tapping on his window. Once open the bird landed on his shoulder before holding out a leg with a scroll wrapped around it. Seeing the royal seal he rapidly broke it and unrolled the scroll. "But I'm so close! I'll not let that Larian getaway." Dean's hard eyes lit up as a plan formed.