If You Can Keep It
A Short Fantasy Novel
Make sure you’ve read Chapters I and II, Chapters III and IV, Chapters V and VI, Chapters VII and VIII, Chapters IX and X, Chapters XI and XII, Chapters XIII and XIV, Chapters XV, XVI, Chapters XVII, and XVIII.
Chapter XIX
Catus held his head high as he walked into the courtroom. The crowd outside and the crowd inside jeered at him, but he ignored them. It sounded as though Tellius hadn’t been successful in seeding the mob with friends. Catus felt glad about that. He didn’t like this business of seeding crowds with partisans loyal to one’s side. It seemed unbecoming for a republic premised on just rule and civilized conduct. Until recently, Catus hadn’t even been aware that he had a side. As far as he was concerned, if he had one, it only had one person on it.
But the loyalty and admiration shown to him by Tellius’s friends, and by the strangers who had protected him from proscription, softened him. He felt grateful to them. They seemed alright. Catus confessed to himself that he had been surprised by the affection some of those fellows – especially the rougher ones – had displayed towards the institutions of the republic. They knew more about Uirian tradition and republican virtue than he had expected.
But the crowd around him now certainly dispelled all hope that this was anything more than a fortunate few, a remnant of character and patriotism in a sea of ugliness and ingratitude. Surely, there could not be more than one man in ten in all of Uiria who wasn’t ready to see him executed. Surely, if given a vote, a majority of the people would gladly vote away all their liberties and institutions if Regus promised them fine entertainment and more grain.
Several of the guards standing outside the courtroom had looked awkwardly at him as he walked in. As though they weren’t sure whether they were there to make sure he didn’t try to escape, or whether they were there to protect him from the crowd. They made as if to fall in around him.
“Don’t insult me,” said Catus. “I don’t need an escort.” When one of the guards looked unsure about this, glancing both at the crowd and at Catus, he added, “I am not afraid of them. And I’ll not stage an escape at this late hour. I have already come willingly from my domus. If I am to protest my charges, and I intend to do so, I will do so in the light.”