When most men speak of justice a courtroom appears in their heads. Rightly so. It is the place where the innocent are exonerated and the guilty punished. It is the place which embodies the spirit of law, of order, and of justice. Without such a place there is no law, and crimes would go unpunished. But there would be no justice. I would be tried today, for defending a girl from rape.

"You fool, do you truly mean to follow through with this farce? Why do so much for this girl if you do not desire her?" Silvana hissed.

"I will not watch as she is raped!" I shouted.

"Then take her! Surely there is a space beneath your bed you can leave for her. What is the harm in having a second woman? This trial will not go in your favor!"

"Would you marry a man you do not love, Silvana?"

"No, of course not. But-"

"Would you taunt him with false feelings? Fill his head with empty promises, and play with his emotions? Would you be unfaithful to the one you truly love? I will not. I can save Alice, there is no need for lies. A trial is enough." I said.

"Fool." She said, fleeing from me as if I were the plague. I saw her motion to Galahad.

"Workmen,women, and children! Hear me! I am Galahad, squire of the blue sword, and I stand today to accuse lord Leon and the young criminal Alice of theft and assault!" He shouted. It warmed my heart to see the villagers take my side. They responded with feverish anger that I would never do such a thing. They called him a liar, a cheat, a fraud.

"Be silent! He speaks the truth!" Silvana called. The villagers fell into a stunned hush.

"One day before this one I purchased the workman's daughter Alice. For twice the price at ten silvers! On my knightly honor did I promise to treat her well, and take her with me as my mistress!" To my horror, I heard cheers.

"But she refused me! The selfish girl refused my generosity!" The boos and the jeering I expected never came. Instead, I saw the villagers yell at Alice. They threw names and stones at her. Calling her whore, harlot, and unfilial child. I saw little Eric, tossing a stone with a blank grin on his face. It was madness! Utter madness!

I had to cover her to stop the stones. But several bruises had appeared on her skin, and she was crying. "Then, lord Leon came. He accused me of rape, not knowing of the purchase. It was understandable, but then lady Silvana came and confirmed that the girl was mine! And still lord Leon refused me!" I saw the accusing glares now, the questioning looks.

"I feared that I had stolen his love without knowing, but after asking he admitted that she was not his. By his own admission with my lady Silvana herself as witness, I condemn him for the strikes he made against me in attempt to steal away the workwoman Alice, who belongs to me!"

Silvana spoke up. "Thank you, master Galahad, for your testimony. Lord Leon, you are accused of attempted theft and assault. What is your defense?" I did not know whether I should laugh or cry. To even speak in defense of myself seemed ridiculous, but I did so anyways.

"My friends!" I said raising my voice. "I do not understand why this defence is necessary, but I shall give it anyways. Galahad would tell you that you are slaves, animals to be bought and sold at their master's leisure. I say he is wrong!" The villagers gasped.

"We are all our own men and women, are we not? Who is it for any other to tell you otherwise? Who is it that decides you are not free? Is it the nobility, or yourselves? I say the choice is yours! Bring to me a man, be he a peasant, a craftsman, or a king, and I will say the same! Alice is her own woman and I defend her as such. I would defend your freedom too, for I believe that within all of you lies the power to make the right choice." The shock on Galahad's face was among the most satisfying things I had seen in my life.

"You stand today on a tribunal in a trial called to condemn me, and curse Alice to a fate she did not deserve. I ask nothing other the fair judgement from within your hearts. For whatever justice that survives within this world, I beg of you, do your duty." I looked directly in Silvana's eyes.

Today I would laugh at my speaking from the past. Appealing to the honor, justice, and freedom of peasants who had known none themselves. Not something I should have done. It was stupidity.

"Mad words from a desperate man." Galahad scoffed.

"I would have lord Leon fined two gold falcons for the assault on master Galahad, and two silvers for the attempted theft of his property. Workwoman Alice, belongs to him and shall obey his orders. Are any of the present unsatisfactory?" She asked.

Galahad said nothing. I turned to the peasants. None would meet my gaze. They turned away, one after another. I felt tears form in my eyes. "Why is it that you will not raise your heads?"

They did not answer. "I have toiled in your soil and harvested your crops. I have filled your tables with fish and bread. I have fed you, Ambrose, when you were but a step from death. I have saved you, Eric, when you should have drowned. I have saved you all from the starvation that would have claimed you."

I rolled up my sleeves, showing my broken bones. "Look at me, look at me, you cowards! Do you now flinch at the bruises and cuts I suffered in your fields? Do you ignore my broken bones, all of which I ignored to help you time and time again. Have you forgotten the cold, lonely nights when I have frozen in the mud so that the next day you may eat?" Tears dripped down me cheek.

"And what have I asked for it all, other than a roof to sleep under that you could not give? Answer me. Answer me!" I shouted. No response came. They were silent. Faces of stone in a twisted tribunal. A Stone Tribunal.

I took out my knife. "Very well then. Since you will not help me do this, then I will do this myself."