Child of Freedom
Chapter 15- The Challenge
I stood in front of Erik and did a little pirouette. "Well," I said. "What do you think?" I was wearing a pair of trousers and an old shirt of Henri's. I had put the clothes on so I would be more comfortable when I played the game against The Chieftain.
"You look fine," Erik said, leaning up against the door frame of the room I had been changing in. he smiled when I did a little goofy dance and threw my arms around him. I kissed him on the lips.
"Mmm," I said. "You taste like fruit."
"I do?" Erik asked, putting his arms around my waist. "Let's see what you taste like." He kissed me full on the mouth.
"Yup," he said. "It's just as I suspected. You taste like peppermint."
"Yuck!" I exclaimed, sticking my tongue out for a moment. "I hate peppermint."
"Well, I love peppermint," Erik said, nuzzling my cheek. He kissed me on the mouth again.
"Erik, stop," I giggled. Then I became serious. "We have to be ready for the game," I said. "As much as I would like to keep on kissing you, we have to make sure that we haven't forgotten anything."
"But we have forgotten something," Erik said.
"What?" I asked.
"We have forgotten that you need another kiss," He said, and planted one on my mouth.
"Alright, you two, that's enough," M. Didier was behind Erik. We both turned around and blushed crimson. "Relax," M. Didier said. "You'll get to be all cuddly once we've gotten this thing over and done with." He turned and left the hall. I heard his boots thud on the stairs.
"We're alone again," Erik said mischievously.
"And we should use the time to prepare," I replied, disentangling myself from his grasp. He looked disappointed, but he gave me one last kiss on the cheek before going to the room that Henri had let him use. Several minutes later, I was all packed. I was prepared to stay with The Chieftain, should I lose.
Erik's suggestion of playing Rock, Paper, Scissors had startled me. I hadn't realized that they had the game in the nineteenth century. I wondered if maybe someone had made it up. I doubted that The Chieftain would know what it was, but it was an interesting suggestion. However, the game was one of chance, and didn't usually involve losing your freedom.
It was for that reason that I had decided on a game of wits. Me against him. No games, no tricks. Just my brain against his. And he wouldn't be allowed to do anything that the people had been taught was from God or anything. I figured that it would be fairly easy to beat him because I was born in the twenty-first century, so I would know more things than him. Even if he was ten or twenty years older than me, I would still be a match for him.
I met Erik, Henri and M. Didier by the front door. I simple horse and cart waited for us outside. We had decided ahead of time that we would dress very simply. I wanted him to underestimate us. That way, he would give easy question. We decided that the game would be a game of wits. It would be played by each person asking the other a riddle. Whoever couldn't answer the other's riddle first was the loser.
We all left the mansion and climbed onto the wagon. Henri sat in the driver's seat, while Erik sat shotgun. M. Didier and myself sat in the back of the wagon, on top of the fresh hay. The trousers I wore were a bit itchy, but they were more comfortable than most of the dresses that I wore.
"How exactly do you know where to find them?" I asked Henri from where I sat.
"Have you forgotten that I sent spies there before?" Henri asked with a slight amount of humor in his voice.
"No," I replied. "But what if they've moved?"
"I seriously doubt that they would be able to move so many people without someone noticing," Henri said pleasantly as he directed the horses onto a dirt road that led away from the city.
There was very little traffic along this road, and only a few trees. If we passed someone, they wouldn't even look at us. They would just keep on going. Henri nearly ran over one person because the man wasn't watching where he was going.
It took a long time for us to arrive, but after about an hour, I spotted some dark lumps. As we neared, I could see that the lumps were dwellings. People walked back and forth from the dwellings. These people wore green cloaks. They were too far off, though, for me to distinguish more than that about them.
People were lined up in front of more buildings. These were made of a material that was a slightly lighter shade in color than the black dwellings. I figured it must have been sweltering in those buildings when the sun was up. I didn't blame the people for being outside.
I could see children running about and playing. It gave me comfort to know that the people hadn't been completely deprived of fun.
As Henri turned the wagon onto the side road that led towards the dwellings, people started to point at us and talk. Many left the lines they were in and dashed for some dwellings. Some of them grabbed their children first before locking their doors behind them.
"Well, they seem friendly," I commented sarcastically as we entered the little village. Everyone had disappeared into their houses. There wasn't a person in sight.
In the distance, I could see a large building that was shaped a little bit like a pyramid. It reminded me a little bit of a television show that I had watched when I was still living in the twenty-first century.
I pointed to the building. "I think that should be our destination," I said. "After all, this guy claims he's a priest. When looking for a priest, you go to a church. A church is often the largest building in the town."
Henri nodded. "Are you prepared?" He asked me. I nodded.
"I've memorized tons of riddles," I said. "Most of them from books. I often would ask my mother riddles when I was smaller."
"Good," he said, looking at the large building in the distance. "I hope that you are prepared with a lot of them, because this man is said to be a master of riddles."
"You might have told me that before we arrived," I said, crossing my arms over my chest and looking at him pointedly.
"I figured you already had enough on your mind," he replied. "I didn't want to add to the stress."
"But it would have at least let me know what I was up against," I replied.
"We have to get going," Erik said suddenly.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because I have a feeling that we're not exactly welcome here," he replied. "I think it would be best if we took the wagon to that building." He nodded towards the large structure in the distance.
We all agreed that that was the best course of action. So we all piled onto the wagon again and set off for the pyramid-type building.
We reached it soon enough and were glad of it. The whole time that we had been heading for the building, I had had the feeling that someone was watching us. As soon as we reached the building, though, the feeling went away.
We entered through the large, brass, double doors. "So this is what he's done with their money," I mused aloud.
"Yes," Henri replied sadly. "As they get poorer, he gets richer." He shook his head.
I stood in the hall with the others and marveled at the architecture. The pillars were at least several hundred meters tall and the roof was so high, I had so lean my head back to be able to see the top.
"Lovely, isn't it?" Asked a voice. I lowered my head.
Standing in front of us, was a man. He was wearing a multicolored robe and had graying hair. His head was almost completely hidden underneath an elaborate headdress. He inclined his head slightly. For a moment, I thought that he would fall down because of the heavy headdress. But he stayed upright.
I stepped forward. "We have come to speak with you about something," I said. "You are The Chieftain, are you not?" I asked
He nodded his head. "I am," he said.
"We know that you have been cheating the people out of their money for your own gain. We have come up with a solution to that."
he raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I know what you're talking about," he said. "I do only what God tells me to. If that means that he wants me to collect money from the people, then so be it."
"But you don't have to give any money, why should they?" I demanded.
"I give money to the temple," The Chieftain smiled. It was a plastic smile. I had come to hate that kind of smile.
"Don't BS me," I said. "I know what you're trying to do, and frankly, I'm tired of it."
His smile immediately disappeared. "And what do you plan on doing about it?" He asked.
"I'm here to challenge you to a battle of wits," I said. I was really nervous, but I knew that I was the only one who would be able to match his skill. I had gone to church when I was living in the twenty-first century, and I had studied for twelve years in school. I was positive that I could at least match him stride for stride.
"A battle of wits?" He mused aloud. "How interesting. What kind of battle of wits?" He asked.
"The riddle kind," I replied.
He rubbed his hands together like an eager child. "Really?" He asked, although I was sure that he didn't care to confirm. I knew that he was already thinking of riddles.
"Yes," I replied. "These are the stakes. If I win, you return all the money you've taken from the people and you will allow yourself to be put on trial for your crimes." He frowned and looked thoughtfully up at a column.
"And if I win?" He asked.
"If you win, then I will allow myself to become your prisoner, and none of us standing here will ever bother you about this issue again." I crossed my arms over my chest. "Do we have a deal?"
He licked his lips thoughtfully and tapped his finger on his chin. "We have a deal," he said, and we shook hands.
A/N: I hope you liked that. Next chapter will be the game, and I'm sure that that's going to be exciting. Review, please, and tell me what you think.
