Chapter 11

Nearly a week after the delegations departed, Melanie and Martan sat at breakfast when a servant announced the arrival of the first delegation.
"Escort them into the great hall!" Melanie ordered.
Such a bedraggled group met her eyes! Many bruises, a few black eyes, cuts and scrapes, and a few even had broken arms or legs. Melanie received them graciously.
The "head delegate," a potter by the name of Jord, bowed (carefully, on account of his bruised ribs) and announced, "We went to Puriva, as you sent us, Your Ladyship."
"At the first few markets, we were completely ignored. In the third one, we met with minimal success, but in the name of Aslan, we persevered, just as you instructed us. Many merchants, when they found we were from Nast, beat us away from the market, and spoiled all our goods. We did not think we could continue on, but we have returned, our wagons are empty, and, by the Lion, we are in one piece! Hail Aslan!"
Melanie clapped her hands enthusiastically, "Well done! I will see that my personal doctor attends to all of you."
The Purivian delegation bowed and left. Melanie turned to Martan, "You see? Perhaps this won't turn out so very terrible after all."

Two days later, the delegation to Venna returned with empty wagons and downcast faces. Their leader reported:
"We were teased and mocked at every market we saw. We were not harmed, but that was because no one even wanted to get near enough to touch us. We were ever mindful of your orders though, Milady, and we purposed to persevere until we could find someone willing to accept our food.
"We had been traveling for four days, and still no one would accept our offerings. We knew our food would begin to spoil if we could not give it away, so we prayed to Aslan to lead us to someone who would take our food."
Melanie listened with wide eyes, "What happened then?"
The man shrugged. "We were passing a farm where the farmer was out mucking his pigsty. He asked us who we were, and what we were doing, and when we told him of our dilemma, he offered to take al the food! At first we were grateful, but immediately on receiving the produce, he carelessly threw it to his pigs! We reproached him, but he shrugged and told us that was all it was good for, because it came from Nast! The indignity we suffer, Milady!"
Melanie smiled sympathetically, "Such indignities will not go unnoticed, my friend. Remember that Aslan had to suffer indignities for our sake, too. Tell me, how did you dispose of your other goods?"
"We traveled in the furthest villages from the marketplaces, where there were many infirm and elderly who could not go to market, or they could not afford the wares sold there. They accepted goods from our hands willingly enough!"
"Excellent; it is exactly why I wanted you all to go! Consider the size of the other provinces, the number of markets they have. Their wealth has made them forgetful of others, and if citizens of their own province do not come to the aid of the poor, who then shall look after them? It is we who must show them Aslan's love, not only to the poor people who receive us willingly, but to the farmers who think ill of us as well.
"Well done, good farmers! Please partake of a banquet I have prepared in your honor."
She gestured to the massive table, and the delegation accepted their Lady's unwarranted hospitality graciously.

That very evening, the delegation to Eveston returned with their empty wagons, unscathed and looking quite pleased with themselves.
"Hail, Lady Melanie!" the leader began, not knowing that two other delegations had arrived ahead of him, "I am pleased to report that we have carried out your orders with little or no opposition. Verily, when the people heard the goods were free, they were only too willing to forego spending money on useless trinkets and receive more practical things from us!"
Martan was surprised at this man's boldness. "How can this be? What did you say to the people that made them so receptive?"
"We merely told them that we offered goods and produce at no cost, and they welcomed us."
Melanie sensed a lie concealed in the half-truth, and sought to bring it out by asking, "And when they asked you where you came from, how did you reply?"
The pompous delegate's eyes immediately dropped, and he tried vainly to raise them. "I—ah, we . . . That question did not often come up, so—"
"How did you respond?" Melanie persisted.
The man was so ashamed, he could not answer her, so Melanie immediately deduced what it would have been, and said it herself. "I think the question came up more often than you will admit. You either avoided it, or perhaps you reassured your customers that you were not from Nast." She frowned upon the guilty crowd. "Why are you so ashamed of the one province in Telmar who knows Aslan? Is the Great Lion so capricious, that he would condone generosity and dishonesty in the same breath? You have given everything away, but you did so by deception. You did not obey my orders with honesty. You are dismissed, for I have nothing more to say to you."
They filed out of the room, completely cowed.

When the delegation to Sordell returned the next day, Melanie received them eagerly, hoping that their empty wagons and happy smiles had been earned honestly.
The appointed leader reported, "We gave our things freely in the market, just as you commanded, Milady. We are pleased to report that not all of Telmar has such a low opinion of Nast."
Melanie feared a reprise of the previous night, but kept her expectations and assumptions in check and merely prompted, "Indeed?"
"Yes, Your Ladyship; In the markets we went to, the Sordellians were kind to us, even when we told them we were Nastians. Look, see?" To Melanie's secret chagrin, he brought out a silk bag full of money, saying, "Even though our merchandise was free, many people insisted on donating these monies to paying Nast's debt, and also as a reward for our kindness!"
The delegation wondered at the consternation on Lady Melanie's face as she said, "And you did not refuse them? Oh dear! Aslan rewards those who do right, but not with fame and riches! In accepting this temporary reward, you may have foregone a more lasting reward from the Lion himself! Would it not be much better to wait, knowing that Whose world this is will give you a reward proportionate and eternal, than to accept paltry trinkets instead? I thank you for following my orders, but you may have done wrong in accepting the money. Give the bag to me, and I will inquire of Aslan the best course of action. You may go."

Melanie grew very concerned when three more days passed, but the last delegation, the one to Telami, did not return.
Martan feared the worst had befallen them, that they had been arrested, or even killed. Perhaps the Lord Protect even now circulated a ban on Nastian products venturing outside Nastian borders.
Finally, one week after the return of the Sordellian delegation, a page entered the great hall with the news that the Telamian delegation had just arrived.
They were starved, and bruises showed on their faces, but they had not gotten those from the markets in Telami! They carried out their Lady's orders fully and honestly. It was when they tried to return to Nast with their empty wagons that they received their wounds. The Telamian guards let the delegation leave that province, but the guards on the borders of every other province seemed loath to let the Nastians through. They were forced to travel under cover of night, and could not travel at all during the day, which is why they took longer than any other delegation. They were rewarded for their efforts by many kind and comforting words from Lady Melanie.
When the Telamian delegation had left the court, Melanie turned to Martan. "Well, Milord, how has our project fared in your eyes?"
Martan replied reluctantly, "Rather like I feared. It may take forever for Nast to be rid of her terrible reputation, if Aslan wills we should be rid of it at all!"
Melanie shrugged, "I think he does will it. I believe, Martan, that we shall see the tide of fortune change its course at Aslan's paw within our lifetime. If there is one thing I have learned from Aslan, it is that we must be content to wait for him in such matters."

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