My expression was one of shock at hearing the unexpectedly familiar name. I could feel my eyes growing wide as I stared at the young king. I looked beside him and spotted a regal blue sword. Its grip was blue with a golden pommel, along with a golden cross-guard, having azure symbols in the middle. The blade gleamed in the same aqua color through the middle with silver metal surrounding it. The tip seemed razor sharp, being able to cut through anything that came through its way. It appeared to be long for the boy, making me wonder how he could wield such a blade in combat.

    "Jaxon Pierce!" A loud voice broke me away from my thoughts, attracting my attention. I turned up, gazing my eyes at the young king who was the one who interrupted my thoughts. "Do you have any idea what situation you are in?"

"Umm... no?" I replied in slight confusion.  "I don't understand any of it, to be honest."

The king rose a brow and craned his neck to the guards, his glance fell on them. "Did no one tell him about the laws of our kingdom?"

    The guards looked down in shame and guilt.

    I heard a sigh of exasperation coming from the young king. He turned, his eyes gazing to me in a stern expression and began to speak, "Listen well for I will not repeat myself. Is that clear?"

    I gave a nod. "Yes,"

"Good." He proceeds on, his gaze becoming serious. "This kingdom is constructed under 8 laws, which must be followed precisely under no circumstances. If any of these laws were to be broken, which only a few have done, you either receive imprisonment or, if it's crucial and one's act is incredibly dangerous for the people, death."

    I felt saliva forming in my throat from that last word, causing me to gulp. I doubt I have done anything dreadful as to deserve death, but by simply thinking of my life going away was enough to give me goosebumps.

    "Now, I will give a brief description of each one. The first law is one must have full respect to any individual. No matter what their social standing is. Second law, no giving away national secrets. These secrets are meant to be kept to oneself, even if you are tortured. Any secrets given away will be considered a capital offense. Third law, no killing of innocent lives, nor any attempt of murder unless stated otherwise. If a murder has been committed for wrongdoing, they will remain in prison for life or they will be killed. Fourth law, everyone above eighteen years of age must have a requirement of training at the city guard for at least one year. Citizens have 5 years to do this. Then, the fifth law, which is every single citizen must pay taxes. If not paid in time, the tax rate will rise and if the taxes are evaded 3 times, you will have to face a fine or become an indentured servant until the debt is paid. The sixth law consists of not making fake currency, this can disrupt the economy and cause hard times for the kingdom. Seventh law, every single individual has a chance to a fair trial, no matter what they have done. Everyone has the right to be heard and to defend themselves, but if there is conclusive evidence of the crime they are accused of, then the punishment will be imprisonment or death."

    I caught my breath in knowing that I have the right to defend myself and it gave me a bit of hope.

    "Lastly, the eighth law, in every city they have their own laws as well and they must be obeyed as they are given. Breaking their laws is quite crucial as any of these laws that were stated." He paused, closed his eyes and exhaled as if he was holding his breath this whole time. After a few seconds of silence, he opened his eyes. Those green orbs, glaring upon me once again. "Now that I have explained the eight laws to you, it is time to let the trial officially begin. I shall decide your life or death, objections?"

    I hang my head low and closed my eyes. "No,"

    "It's good to hear your understanding," I watched as he waved to a guard. It was the same guard who had captured me from the start. "Let's start by what this guard has to say."

    The guard bowed. "Thank you, your highness."  He straightened himself. "I, Alvar Helbert, was on my daily patrol outside of the castle as usual. There was not much going on, but complete peaceful bliss. That is until, in the corner of my eye, I spotted this man, standing in front of the gate."

    "Hmm," The king hummed. "So he was just simply standing there? Nothing else?"

    "Yes, your highness."

    His brows furrowed down into a frown. "I don't see why there will be a need to imprison someone who wasn't doing any harm. Did he cause a murder? Disrespected one of our people?"

    "Uh, no... b-but your highness," The guard, Alvar, began to stumble between his words, but then I noticed him pointing at me. "L-look at him! His clothing is out of place and has no resemblance to any of us!"

    The young king roamed his eyes to me and then back to the guard. "I don't see any problem with that. Sure, he's out of this world, but there's no harm done in the type of clothing he is wearing."

    I couldn't believe my ears. Was the king, of all people, actually defending me? An unknown stranger who he has no knowledge of?

    "Your highness!"  The guard spoke up, "We know nothing about this boy. All we got from him was that he doesn't know where he is, nor how he got here. I'm certain he might be concealing some other information and may be plotting something evil."

    With the corner of my eye, I gazed at the people. Whispers formed from the crowd as they began to shift their glances from one another.

    "What if he is, or what if he's not." The voice of the king was loud enough to block out the whispers. For such a young king, it was utter amazement to have a loud tone of voice. "Unless he has broken any of the laws, there is absolutely no need for him to have undergone imprisonment. He is as innocent as any of us."

    "We can not dismiss such an issue, your highness!  He might be a great danger to us all. We have no idea where he came from nor what exactly he is doing here. He may be faking his innocence to cover his violent nature. How are we so certain he will not rebel against us in the future? I say we must dispose of him as soon as possible!"

    The whispers behind me transformed into loud arguments.

    "He may be mingling with us just to get on our good side and before we know it, he's going to unleash his true self!" the shout made a larger commotion in the crowd. Many began to voice out their own options at that matter.

    "Why are we wasting our time deciding on what to do with him? He may be planning a way to murder us all!" roared a comment, making the people ablaze.

    I glanced around the room, seeing all the adults chit-chattering like children. What crazy ideas they were making up! But I can see their eyes the fear they had thanks to the assumption of Alvar. He has made me appear as the enemy. My eyes then fell upon the king. He was sitting there, calm and quietly listening to the ranting.

    My orbs glanced down to the ground. My heart beating against my chest. I didn't know what will happen to me at this point. It was terrifying, but...

    I looked back up at the king. His green gaze meeting with my blue ones. At that moment, in catching his gaze, I felt hope rising within me again.

    He looked away, setting his sight onto the crowd. "Silence!"

    That single word caused them to all go silent.

    The young king turned to Alvar, glaring. "I understand what you are trying to say, however, it is all pointless." He stood up from the throne, eyeing every person in the room. "This man here is nothing more but innocent. I have looked into his eyes and I see no evil within this man. All these assumptions are absurd. Are you all so afraid of a single man?" He chuckled. "How hilarious. You are all a disgrace to watch, especially you."

    The king glanced at the guard, while Alvar hung his head low and kneeled down on one of his knees. "E-excuse for my bad action, your highness..."
   
    "Hmm," The king dismissed him and his gaze went back to me.  "None of the laws are applicable to you, nor is there enough evidence to prove you guilty of anything."

    Deep inside I can feel myself sighing in relief.

    "The only odd thing about you is your clothing. They are..." He paused as in thought, eyeing me up and down. "... unusual around these areas. Never seen before. And your appearance... does not match any one of us. You are quite different, and people tend to fear the unknown and look only at the bad, while ignoring the good."

    I had no idea if to take that as a compliment or not.
   
    He pursed his lips as in thought and sat back on his throne. "Have the guards treated you well?"

    I could see by the corner of my eye the guards tensing up in hearing the king's question. They weren't the nicest, but there was one thing that I disliked the most...

    "... A serum." I spoke, "They forced me to take a serum. It was minty and spicy at the same time..."

    At this point, I was sure the guards were shaking in their boots.

    Arthur stared at me for a bit, trying to see if I was telling the truth. "I apologize for the incompetence of the guards. I will see to it that they are punished for harming  an innocent citizen of the kingdom and all the other inmates." He states.

    "Oh no, it's okay. I believe they had the protection of you and the kingdom in mind. There is nothing wrong with that. I would have done the same if I was in their position."

    "So be it," Arthur spoke, "Looks like the trial has come to an end. I declare, Jaxon Pierce, innocent and from now he is free from his imprisonment!"

    There was no objection from the people behind. All agreeing with the King.

    "The all mighty King has made his decision! The trial is now over! Long live the King, Arthur Pendragon!" the servant declared.

    "Long live the King!" Everyone else repeated.

    I could feel the shackles being taken off my hands by a guard. I felt relief in feeling my hands being freed from the cruel metal bands. I slightly smiled, I was free at last...

Author's Note: Once more, I would like to thank Creaking_Shadow for her cooperation in this story and for making it what it is currently. Without her help, this story would be much worse.