“Anyone asking formal permission from The Tialttyrin for land rights or drastic improvements,” permission almost always granted, “I will speak with you last, I think, so I can truly listen to your needs.” He did not glance to Tahlen to see if that was acceptable. “Now, other than the prisoner, who present has an issue that needs the immediate judgment of The Tialttyrin?”
Two people immediately pushed forward. The groan from the others in the crowd signaled a problem. Zelli understood the nature of the problem when both petitioners began to speak at the same time, spilling jumbled details about a dissolved hand-fasting, a shared boundary line, and a walnut tree.
The couple—former couple—were familiar to Zelli from his grandmother’s notations about past judgments. Knowing that did not untie the knot in his stomach, but it did allow him to sit back slightly as he let them both talk.
Two neighbors at the northern edge of the village who had once gone so far as to get hand-fasted, only to sever that tie a few years later. It had not ended well, for reasons no one had ever made clear to Grandmother. The neighbors fought over everything and brought their disputes to nearly every session of judgments.
As they carried on, Zelli twisted to look at Tahlen. Tahlen immediately bent down over him as if Zelli had a request and the two bickering neighbors sputtered to a stop. Zelli gave a slight shake of his head in answer to Tahlen, then turned back to face the room and take advantage of the silence.
“I’m familiar with you and your history,” he said, and several people in the crowd had small coughing fits that might have been laughter. Zelli briefly bit his lip. Grandmother said the best way to deal with these two was to listen until they got tired, and to interfere as little as possible. He shouldn’t have embarrassed them.
Then again, he supposed they were embarrassing themselves. “This is about a walnut tree?” he asked. Hardly worth the time of The Tialttyrin with everything else going on in the country. “It grows on the line between your properties and each of you feel the other is taking too many nuts for themselves?”
Maybe he should have gotten a biscuit with his tea. This was going to be just as long of a day as Tahlen had said it would be.
The two began to talk again, over each other, although each was saying nearly the same words. He didn’t understand how they had ever ended up married or how they had let it come to this. But it wasn’t his business to understand, though he wanted to.
He finally frowned as he sometimes did when traders tried to pass off poor quality glass as Balithyian crystal, and once again, both of them abruptly stopped talking.
“If it will help, Tahlen and I can go cut down the tree in question right now.” Zelli paused. “Though Tahlen would probably end up doing most of the work.”
Some coughing overtook the audience again, along with a few titters. Tahlen reacted not at all. Zelli sighed, since this would not be the solution to the issue and also since he would have liked to watch Tahlen swing an axe and sweat like a farmer laying out hay to dry in the summer sun.
The thought was beneath The Tialttyrin. However, Zelli was not really The Tialttyrin, and it was in his own mind, so he let it momentarily distract him.
“Anyway,” he had to clear another waver from his voice, “we can’t chop down everything on your properties you might fight over. You’d end up with nothing, I suspect. Because this cannot only be about a tree—that would be asinine.”
Someone gasped.
“Zelli,” Tahlen murmured.
Zelli nodded to show he’d heard Tahlen but kept going, his frown in place. “There are other solutions. I could tell you to simply divide up the nuts by wherever they fall, but I am sure you would find a reason to object to that. To be honest, I can’t understand begrudging someone else a handful of walnuts in times of plenty, but you two apparently can, so that is what must be addressed.”
Mayor Sar shifted slightly. Zelli glanced to her. She considered him with interest but not a hint of what she thought of his words.
Zelli turned to the former couple, who stood side by side, looking equally startled.
“Icouldask why you are wasting my time and the time of all these others when the country is how it is and harvest is approaching. Icouldwonder if I should ban you,” ask Grandmother to ban them, “from any future judgments on any matter related to your properties.” A ripple seemed to go through the room. Zelli studied several faces and saw more than a few with growing smiles. He waited, but Tahlen had no other warnings to offer. The prisoner looked intrigued.
Zelli inclined his head. “I’d rather not. Everyone should be able to seek justice. So then, I could suggest for each of you, separately, to tell me why you ever hand-fasted with each other and why you changed your minds. I don’t know that it’s relevant, and it’s certainly not my business, but I don’t understand these things, and I would like to know how affection turned into years of squabbling.” He quickly raised a hand to end the complaints from both of them. “I amnotasking for that. Both of you only desire to talk about the tree, so I will talk about the tree.”
His mouth was already dry. He hoped that was not wine in the pitcher. He didn’t want to end up slipping beneath the table.
“If you don’t want to wait for each walnut to fall, the tree should be shaken to dislodge them. Someone from the village with no stake in this should do the shaking. Whoever is mayor at the time would do, unless they are physically unable to do so or have a connection to one or both of you. In which case, they can choose a proxy. Or,” Zelli made a noise when both of them tried to argue again, “you let the ripe walnuts the fall to the ground each season, and whatever the squirrels leave you should be collected by another disinterested party and counted out to ensure the number given to each of you is the same.” Absolutely ridiculous. These were adults. He leaned forward. “If you still fight over that, then when the next judgments are held, I will rule that neither of you get the nuts from the tree and they are to be gathered up and distributed elsewhere. Maybe the children of this area should have them. And then Iwilladvise that you can no longer bring petitions to Grandmother—The Tialttyrin—no matter what their nature. The Tialttyrin has more responsibilities than just the two of you.”
He looked over the room again. “All that seems to place a burden on others for so simple a problem, but at least it does not leave the walnuts to rot. Hmm. I suppose the one doing the shaking or counting should be paid for their services as well, so the walnuts would have to be divided into thirds, not halves.”
The prisoner made a snorting sound of amusement and slapped a hand over her mouth. But she wasn’t the only one stifling laughter.
Zelli turned to peek at Tahlen, who glanced to him, the faintest glimmer in his eyes.
It disappeared in an instant when one member of the former couple stepped forward.
“I don’t see why we should lose a third share!” she started, then squeaked to an abrupt stop when Tahlen moved. Only a step, but more than enough to indicate he would stand between her and Zelli.
Zelli clenched his hands so he wouldn’t reach out to grab Tahlen and pull him back, then cleared his throat to speak soothingly.
“All of that is, of course, only a possibility. I’m sure you two can work something out. And,” he dropped his voice although everyone was still listening, “if either of you did want to talk to me later, I will be here tonight. But you’ll have to be civil or Tahlen will get upset.”
