A/N: Sorry for the delay. I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I only own the plot. Nothing else.
Chapter 8
A Specific Kind of Servant
Gareth the Elder of Naxen sat at a table with frosty dignitaries. None of them were obliged to be polite, but most were. It seemed most everyone in the room knew of Scanra's plan, which made it even harder for Gareth to do his work. The moment he arrived in the Scanran court, the man knew he wasn't for the job. He was under more surveillance than anybody imagined and could barely go anywhere without somebody following him. He couldn't communicate anything to Tortall without it being read. Therefor, the man was useless. The duke hoped that the king and his advisors would know that something was wrong when they received no communications from him. It was virtually useless to extract him. Gareth knew it was his fault and nobody else's. He wanted to be known as dead in the palace, which could have been easily preventable. The man was sitting in his quarters thinking all this when there was a knock on the door. A knock that would help him a great deal.
Sitting around the table were the king's closest advisors and friends. Aly's arrival had caused him to think many things and none of which were particularly pleasant. He hadn't thought the plan through well enough. Jon knew that now. Many of his consultants had told him not to send Gareth, but the king had, in his usual condescending way, assumed everything would work out for the best. Now, he was feeling like he should do something to correct the events that surely would happen.
"I think help should be sent," Alanna put in mildly.
"Yes," her husband agreed. "If we haven't heard from him by now, there is a great possibility of a problem."
"What kind of help?" Thayet asked. "We don't know the problem, so we don't know what person would best assist."
Aly had been listening lazily. She knew this wasn't exactly her job and wondered if she should even be in the room. First of all, she was a spymistress for another realm. That should automatically exempt her from the conversation. Everybody seemed to have forgotten when they invited her in. She was, after all, still part of the family. Aly cared about her family and that was, in part, why she decided to contribute to the conversation.
"It seems to me that communication is your problem. Duke Gareth probably is under tight surveillance and can't get any letters out."
"So, how can we bypass that?" Gary asked.
"By sending a servant," Aly said, trying to be unobtrusive. She did not want to give them all the answers.
"But that would only ensure a message one way. We can't send the servant back and forth all the time. Scanra would definitely suspect something was going on," Alanna said with a frown on her face. Once again, she had only seen one solution. The knight was good, but she didn't have ways to see many different scenarios like her husband and daughter.
"Who says that the servant has to run back and forth?" Aly asked, still waiting for someone to suggest what she was thinking. She watched her father, who appeared to be working it out in his head. Suddenly, he looked up.
"Would we be sending a specific kind of servant?" he asked, eyebrows raised.
"You might," Aly said with a small smile on her face.
"Jon," George said, looking at the king. "We could send a Bazhir."
For a moment, the Voice looked puzzled. Then, comprehension dawned on him. "Yes," he agreed. "We could send a Bazhir."
The door opened to a young Bazhir man and a palace servant. The servant spoke in polite terms to the duke. "Your king has sent a man to assist you. We gave him rooms in the servant's quarters. Not a far walk from the kitchens." With that, he gave a bow and left.
Gareth wasn't exactly sure why Jonathan had seen fit to send him a servant when there were plenty to be found in this palace. There must be some other motive. "Welcome," he said to the man standing in front of him.
The man, Hakim ibn Farar, as he introduced himself, could hardly be more then twenty-five. He had a sturdy body and appeared to be accustomed to hard work. Helpful, Gareth thought, but rather pointless.
"If I may be blunt," the nobleman said, "what are you doing here? I don't understand why the king would send you."
A smile appeared on the face of the young man across from the duke. "I am useful in all sorts of ways, sir," he replied. "I can help you with whatever sort of problem you have."
"I'm afraid nobody can help with my problem," the older man said, thinking of communication.
"I think you underestimate me," Hakim continued. "Any problem. Especially ones like . . . transmission, for example."
Gareth frowned, "How?"
"It is clear who I am and I know you are aware of whom the Voice is," the Bazhir continued.
The duke's expression matched the ones that so many others had in the last few days. "Of course," he whispered. "Of course."
I really hope you liked it. Tell me what you think.
