Rael (paraphrased): Did you escape prison?
"No... my lord," Beldin said, hesitating as if unsure whether he should still address the answers to Tarl or if he should answer Rael directly. "I was released, and paid the wages that were owed to me. My pay as sergeant in the garrison."
He spoke the last sentence hastily, as if he suddenly realized that his words might imply that he was paid to take the blame for someone else's crime.
{Rael's question establishes that the punishment is inconsistent with the crime, and therefore casts doubt on the validity of the accusations. It prompts more questions, but it does not prove innocence.}
Tessa (paraphrased): Did you do it?/Have you ever touched a woman without her consent?
For several heartbeats, Beldin did not speak, but his jaw was taut with concentration, and perspiration flowed freely from every pore.
Two, his lips formed, but no sound came out.
"Tou-" he stammered, then his features relaxed, but his expression was grim.
"Aye, my lord," he said firmly, but his voice was flat. "I have."
"Precisely what part of your body made contact with what part of her body?" Tarl asked.
"I... I don't know."
"You don't know?" the warden's ugly laugh made a reappearance. "Either your education was inexcusably deficient or you are willfully misconstruing the question. Shall I send for chalk and a slate so you can draw us a picture?"
"That will not be necessary, my lord," Beldin said, shoulders slumped.
{Tessa asked two questions, but Beldin is only obligated to answer the last one asked, and he would almost certainly have touched someone at some point without their consent, even if it was only brushing his hand against someone in a narrow corridor.}
Sarel (paraphrased): Were you coerced?
Again, Beldin paused before answering.
"I was promised clemency if I cooperated with the court, my lord," he replied at last. "It's not unusual."
"No," Tarl sighed, "it isn't. Too often, it allows the guilty to go free while the innocent suffer. The proud innocent who will claim ownership of a crime before they accept help from an advocate. Were you offered the benefit of an advocate, Beldin? It was your right, and the arl should have insisted, given the severity of the charge."
"N- no, my lord," Beldin said.
"The failure of the court to offer the accused a partisan advocate is a direct breach of protocol under paragraph three of the Fereldan penal code," Tarl said. "The right is waived when the accused applies to the court in person or through a delegate, as you did today, but in cases where the accused is brought to trial pursuant to a complaint by another party, denial of that right invalidates the verdict, necessitating a complete retrial."
Tarl's weary features took on an expression of triumph.
"As the accuser is in Amaranthine and is unable to relate the particulars of the complaint, I will require that you state them now for the court," he said. "I will require you to deliver a full written confession, as I know you are literate, and I will require you to attest before the Maker that you are absolutely guilty of every charge levied against you to the last detail. And I will insist that you are granted a partisan advocate who must also concur on every point of your confession. Perjury by either you or your advocate is punishable by the death of both. I would ask for volunteers, but I expect that they would lay siege to the bench for the privilege, so I name you."
He pointed to Tempest, who had so recently threatened to expose the inconsistency of Beldin's testimony.
"I will forward the outcome of this trial to the court clerks of Amaranthine and Denerim," he said, "And I will have broadsheets posted at every crossroad between Gwaren and West Hill."
He paused, a smile playing at the edges of his mouth.
"Or," he said, "you can just stop flogging yourself and admit that the trial was a farce. As the duly appointed blackhaller of Ruswold Valley, I speak with the authority of the king's seneschal. Like your friend, I can do nothing to erase the brand, but I can and will issue an order that it must be ignored, and I will forward corroborating documents to Denerim as soon as the current crisis is resolved."
He rose and stood before a still kneeling Beldin.
"I ask you now: What will it be?" he asked. "Will you condemn your friend to death or will you stop sulking and admit that you were wronged?"
He turned back toward the bench, but apparently changed his mind and half-turned toward Beldin.
"And do get up," he said. "My knees hurt just looking at you."
In the end, it took both Pel and Sal to help Beldin to his feet. Marc stepped forward, parchment and quill in hand.
""As the verdict of the prior trial is overturned, any new proceedings must begin with the cause of action," he said. "State the full legal name of your alleged victim."
"Lady Sophie, my lord," Beldin said. "I don't know her surname."
"Arl Howe's mistress?" Tarl asked. "Knowing that, I'd be more likely to believe that your roles in the matter were reversed."
He began to form a question, but Etienne was already on his feet again, his eyes flashing in anger and impatience.
Etienne (paraphrased): Did anyone ask if you had non-consensual sexual contact with the exact woman?
Beldin looked from Etienne to Tarl, but neither seemed willing to retract the question.
"No, my lord," he said at last. "It was deemed unnecessary, as my state of undress upon discovery left little room for doubt."
"Are you serious?" Tarl retorted. "That's absurd. It is entirely possible to be naked in a room with someone you don't intend to violate. And Lady Sophie. Was she naked as well?"
"No, my lord," Beldin said miserably.
"Very well," Tarl said. "Let us assume for a moment that you were not merely showing her a new tattoo or some equally benign thing. Did you, in actual fact, have non-consensual sexual contact with her? Do bear in mind that your advocate will have to confirm the veracity of your response."
Beldin's shoulders rose as his lungs filled with air... and he froze.
"I can't," he said, deflating. "When it was just me, that was one thing, but I can't. It was a mistake. She... wanted me to bed her, and I would have, but the Arl walked in before it got that far, and she accused me to save her position. He tossed me in a cell for a week, and she came to me with the proposition that if I pled guilty, she'd see that I got a light sentence. The Arl went along with it, but he insisted on the brand, to hide his infidelity."
Tarl Dale snorted.
"How deluded could he possibly be?" he scoffed. "I barely make the trip to Denerim once a year and even I know that he's a lecher. I hate to say it, Beldin, but you were misled. Even Arl Howe could never hope to keep that secret. And I've seen those cells. There isn't even room to sit down, let alone sleep. After a week of standing in my own filth, I'd confess to anything, too, even if the only reward on offer was a shorter walk to the noose. Your sentence was an act of malice, and I strike it from the record with a clear conscience. I regret that I can do nothing to undo the harm that has already been done to you, but I will supply you with a declaration of your innocence, and see that the matter will never be held against you in any court throughout the realm. It isn't justice. I cannot order the Arl of Amaranthine confined to his own dungeon or subject him to the nightmare you endured there. But I can offer you closure, and I can restore you the right to say your name with pride."
He drew his shoulders back.
"That is the will of this court," he said firmly. "As the duly appointed representative of King Cailan's justice, I declare Beldin Adley innocent of all charges. Court dismissed."
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