✔ᵉⁿᵍˡⁱˢʰ for the Ocean [Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom]✔

05

It's hard to say what Norvina should make of all this.

No one is above the law, not even a king, otherwise there would be no need for laws or tribunals. An independent system that serves to bring together different opinions, views and experiences to make a final decision and hopefully reach a fair and just verdict.

"What's wrong with you?" Norvina raised her head briefly at Atlanna's words and then looked down at the city again, lost in thought, "You're so quiet. I don't know that about you."

"If only I knew," Norvina replied absently as the debris of the battle was cleared from the streets below, "For years I've tried to make Orm understand what it means to be a ruler. Has it done any good? No, and even Vulko failed miserably. Overconfidence and arrogance. Eventually I gave up, because it would have been a fruitless endeavor. You can't teach someone who's not willing to listen. You can't help someone who doesn't want help. And Orm was always such a candidate.

"He listened to others far less than he listened to you, Norvina," Atlanna said with a smile, but Norvina gave her a sober look, because it had to be a joke, "Yes, and others perhaps more. But it wasn't up to you to prevent what happened. You did what you could. You were there for him and you told him what you thought. In the end, neither you nor anyone else is responsible for him and his actions. Nor will you ever be. As king, he must not have been too bad, or Atlantis would have been in a much worse state when I returned.

A small smile appeared on Norvina's face, for despite Orm's 'recent' actions, this was true. It was completely irrelevant what one thought of Orm personally or how he had behaved in the past, because Atlantis was not doing badly under his rule.