PART TWENTY Cont'd:
Stand-in or speak out:
"I will need you to put in a word for me, just before the senate session begins tomorrow." Stated Dezen matter-of-factly, as he scratched the crown of his slightly tilted head with his index finger.
"Put in a word for you? What for and why?" Tufad the fourth magistrate was all ears. As he braced himself for whatever it was, his counterpart the sixth magistrate might have up his sleeve this time. He had found himself reluctantly entertained in the past by Dezen's nefarious and random demands. It was not too long ago. That he had him leave his own assigned seat as the fourth magistrate and sit on his sixth magistrate seat. Only moments after a session and as soon as the chamber was empty. He Tufad, was to keep his face towards the wall and not looking at the door. This was to avoid detection or the revelation that he was not the sixth magistrate, even though he was occupying the alloted seat. As seconds dragged into minutes, all that occured was a palace guard glancing into the room. He was merely walking by, doing his routine check. Shortly after he left, Dezen reappeared with not as much as an explanation. He simply cited his urgent need to have attended to a pending issue. And for the seat swapping, he could not talk about it at that time. And he never did talk about it any other time.
Now that Tufad recollected the incident, he wondered what all that activity must have been about. He had so easily forgotten the covert exercise. Considering that nothing more was heard or said about it.
"I will have an emergency. And will only probably make it towards the end of the session, if at all I make it." Was the sixth magistrate's edgy reply.
"You will have an emergency? How do you predict an emergency, before it becomes so?"
"Never mind about all that now." Dezen responded, dismissively brushing off Tufad's enquiry. He was starting to get impatient with his fourth counterpart. He never bargained for this much interrogation from him. It was completely out of character, uncalled for and time consuming. And the last element was definitely a commodity he did not have to spare.
"Can you put in the word or not?" He actually wished he did not sound so testy. It might just be working against him. Technically he was asking for a favor. But with Tufad, it had never taken this long for him to bite.
"Well I am not sure, how you expect me to explain your absence with an emergency. What would the emergency be if I may ask?"
"No you may not ask about the emergency. Can you, or can you not do it? Why is this dragging on for so long anyway?" His testiness was now full blown.
Tufad slowly shook his head as he began to speak. "I don't know that I can, or that the council would even accept my excuse on your behalf. These days have been very intense and busy. So much has happened and is still happening. They really want and need everyone on deck. Unless of course it was a real emergency."
"Have you lost your mind Tufad? 'Unless of course it was a real emergency'." Dezen mimicked angrily. "What has gotten into you? Listening to you, one would think you were the whole council and the whole council was you. Why all this fuss about rendering an excuse? Afterall, it is not like I would be missing much. Would I?"
"We have two deaths in the palace. One a definite murder, the other still being classified. Even though it heavily leans towards a fatal accident. A missing princess, a shaken up administration and so on. And you Dezen still feel like you would not be missing much."
"Absolutely not," retorted the sixth magistrate shaking his head assuredly. "What is done is done. I have no time to retrieve spilled water."
"How about the living child that must still be rescued, Have you no ounce of compassion? Or do you simply not care about anyone else but yourself and pursuits?"
"Oh Tufad my longtime friend," chuckled Dezen depreciatively. "You are starting to tire me with your lost slave girl turned princess pleas."
"That may be so," started Tufad coolly. "But she still has to be found, whether you like it or not." "Oh I like it alright. I do like for her to be found." Came the sixth magistrate's uncanny reply. "I like it, because I very much need it. More than you would ever know my friend." His sneer was squirmish.
Of friends, fears and follies:
".... I knew there was something about her that I did not like." Snickered the first woman, as she shook her head in disgust. "She comes over here from wherever she came from, talking down and mean to our girls. Making them feel bad about themselves. Who does she think she is anyway?"
"Let's not jump into conclusions now," started the second woman. Feeling herself already wary about where the conversation might be headed. But she continued with her point anyway. The sooner she stated it, the better. "Our friend never complained about her, nor did she indicate having any problems with her. Besides, after all these years. We know our counterpart to have a track record of being a good judge of character." Having succeeded in dispelling most of her discomfort with her own statement, the second woman readied herself for what might be another torrent of negativity or accusations. The council man she meant to see, a distant thought at the moment.
The first woman she thought, always had a point of contention or blame for anything or person different or new to her. Then should the thing or person in question be a source of threat, she would run them out of town with malicious slander. Looking around her for any possible excuse to walk away, she regretted having stopped to chat in the frst place. All three of them had stalls in the market place. With commodities ranging from flowers to hats. They had just finished with a meeting in the town hall, where they discussed space, expansion and other trader's concerns. It was there and then, that she caught up with her 'plant friend' as she fondly called her. She had been very scarce lately, so running into her at the hall was indeed a pleasure for the second woman. However, she did not fail to notice that her friend looked quite crest-fallen, sad and very much pre-occupied. So she risked detaining her for a 'tete-a-tete'. They definitely had a lot of catching up to do.
"How are things with you these days?" Asked the second woman, her sincere concern for her friend obvious. "The plants and flowers are doing well I hope?"
"Everything is good with the plants, thank you. Infact it has been that way, since that child was with me." At the mention of the word 'child', her eyes got misty and she lowered her head sadly. Shifting her weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other, she began to fidget with the bag in her hands. Seemingly at a loss for words.
"Have you seen her since then?" Asked her friend empathically.
"No I have not. Not after she came in the next day and my young relative was waiting for her. Had some very harsh words for her, that one. Good thing I was around, may have been worse."
"So, did he tell you what happened or what the problem had been?" The second woman wanted to know.
"Not really, he was just very angry. And all I could make of his rant was; she said, they said and he said. I told him it was not necessary. For light's sake, she barely uttered two words that were not relevant when she was with me. How then did she become embroiled in the eruption of gossip?" The market woman sighed deeply before continuing. "I really don't understand what precipitated all this and why. But I do know it sure caused a lot of harm and damage." She shook her head glumly at the unwanted recollection of the events of the past week. Ever since her young relative had brought her news of a possibility of an entrance for Reinah into a new learning place, darkness had unleashed a downpour.
What three of them had agreed would be a great idea and opportunity, had now become an instrument of war. The young man was bitter and enraged and the young girl was nowhere to be found. She felt somewhat guilty for that dissappearance and would take most of the blame. In the process of calming her overly excited relative, she let the girl slip away. How she wished she had gotten to speak to the her. Must have been a harrowing experience for the child.
"So do you think she will come back?" Inquired the second woman of her friend. She had met the girl in question, two or three times. And though the circumstances were brief, she came away liking the girl and her mannerism.
"I really doubt it at this point. And to think that I and the child were in the middle of a really creative piece which she spearheaded. I guess I will have to put it aside for now. What an awful mess." The market woman sighed deeply and then settled tired eyes on her friend.
"Not to worry so much now," encouraged her friend. "I am quite sure, that everything will eventually work itself out. Now if you would just give me a second, I need some more information from the council man. I see him walking away. Please wait right here for me. I'd like for us to walk out together." The market woman nodded her consent, as she immediately busied herself with the bag in her hands. Rearranging some flowers in it, that she had planned to showcase.
The second woman had no sooner walked away from the market woman, than she saw the first woman vigorously beckoning to her to come over to where she stood.
"Hey, quickly come over here." It appeared she may have been watching them speak, thought the second woman. Starkly evident, when the first woman stole a denigrating glance at the market woman. That one however, was gladly engrossed in what she was doing. Oblivious to any dissapproving glare.
"What is wrong with her? Walking around morosely as if in a daze." The first woman asked as soon as the second woman got closer. Nudging her head discreetly at the direction of the subject of her enquiry. "Does it have anything to do with that wayward girl?"
"What do you mean, what is wrong with her? She is understandably upset about the way things went. And also the girl has not been seen for some days now." Supplied the second woman, feeling slightly defensive.
"Very well then, if she has not been seen for some days. Saying 'good riddance' would be in order. Wouldn't it?"
"Are you really serious?" Blurted the second woman completely shocked. She did not think she could belly any longer, the disgust welling up inside of her. "Whatever did that poor child do to you? To also think you have a daughter around her age, howbeit older." She held up her hand to stop the first woman who was starting to say something. "No hold on, I am not yet finished. Most times, I do not understand you at all. What if someone else expressed your character towards your child? How do you think it would feel." The woman was now flushed with anger.
"What is there to understand?" Snapped the first woman furiously, now unable to wait for the scolding to either continue or end. "She comes here, causes all these troubles for her hostess and the rest of us. Then she has the nerve to take off with the young man."
"What?! What are you talking about?" The second woman was incredulous. "Have you gone mad?"
"Where did you think she was or is, if I may add? She looked for a good reason to play 'hookey' if you ask me." The first woman rolled her eyes before turning her stare to the first. Wordlessly daring her to wiggle out of this hole.
"You can't know that for sure." Argued the second woman, who was starting to feel a little confused.
"No I cannot know that for sure, because I am not on the run with her. But my daughter Manipa confirmed my suspicions. It turns out 'little miss know it all' told the other girls, she was going to live with the young man." The informant nodded her head emphatically.
"You seem to have a completely different version of what happened than the very people involved in this situation." Stated the second woman sarcastically, yet still slightly confused.
"I do, because I know the truth," countered the other woman. "I know what she told my daughter and her friends. Moreover, I knew there was something about her that I did not...."
".... She never had a problem indeed. That is what she believes. I don't believe she would recognize a problem if it walked into her shop and slapped her in the face."
The second woman could only stare at her speechless and in disbelief. Having been jostled back from her regretful trance. How she wished she had avoided this whole dialogue. How she wished she had kept at her plans of meeting with the council man. Now she felt sick to her stomach, somewhat violated and very unaccomplished as the day went. Dragging herself back to the reality of the cruel voice still speaking, she kicked herself for what she would hear next.
"But we are glad she is gone now. We do not want her corrupting our girls with her wild ways. I for one do not want her being a bad influence for Manipa." the first woman stated with the utmost conviction.
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