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. "By Paladine, the false
cleric speaks the truth. This is a WOMAN!"
"Michael is not a false cleric," Nikol began angrily.
"We will deal with him later," said the lord knight.
"You have yourself to explain first."
Biting her lip, her face stained crimson, Nikol looked
irresolute. Michael guessed at the struggle within her breast.
She had lived the Oath and the Measure, fought evil,
defended the innocent. She had come to think of herself as a
knight. Yet, by the Measure, she knew she was in the
wrong. Kneeling on one knee before the lord knight, she
presented her sword hilt-first, over her arm, as was correct
for a knight, when yielding to one superior in rank or to a
victor in a tournament.
"I have broken the law. Forgive me, my lord."
Nikol was pale and grave, but she held her head
proudly. She did not kneel from shame, but out of respect.
The lord knight's face remained stern and cold. Reaching
out, he took hold of the sword she offered him and tried to
remove it from her grasp. She let it go reluctantly. Not since
her brother's death had anyone other than herself handled
his blade.
"You did indeed break the Measure, Daughter, which
prohibits the hand of a woman from wielding the blade of a
true knight. We will take into consideration the fact that you
came to us of your own free will, to surrender yourself - "
"Surrender? No, I have not, my lord!" Nikol stated.
Rising to her feet, she shifted her gaze, which had been
fixed wistfully on the sword, to the lord knight's granite
face
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