Chapter Forty Three – Gathering
"Please try and relax. This is not a criminal hearing and you are not an accused. All we wish to establish are the facts. That is all. You need only answer our questions truthfully."
"I understand."
"What is your name?"
So it began. A day of questions. A day that had no end. It might not have been an investigation into a crime, and he might not have been accused of anything. But at times it felt like it. He had no doubt in his mind that here, facing him were a lot of people who would rather he had not come to Gondoa, would rather he had not met Sheeta, had not brought her home, had not made such an obvious homecoming at Thoma's inn on the border, and who had not had that incident with Surun on the evening he arrived in Bruaendell. People here clearly wished he never existed. Soil and Sky. Suul ue skur. Soil. It was obvious that here, in the Gondoan Government he had enemies. People who despised him simply for his potential. Not even for who he was, but for what he might do, might be, merely for an idea he represented.
The Sky was here too, of course. Many Councillors responded positively to him and spoke out in his defence, and yet others were neutral. But many of those present seemed to have made up their minds beforehand, one way or the other, and that bothered him. If they came into this room carrying the baggage of their preconceptions, wasn't this just a waste of time? This days questioning for the first time exposed him to the depth of feeling that split this people in two. Shuna and Sheeta had mentioned it, had warned him. But nothing prepared him for the bitterness and the sheer implacable hatred that dwelt in some hearts.
The Gathering was not what he had expected. He had counted on a dozen, perhaps two dozen people, old men who might meet him in some modest building, a hall, a place like a library or the small worker's meeting chamber they had in the Ravine. No, the Gondoan Parlement was a building designed to impress. To intimidate. He hadn't seen any other buildings like it, even the big communal hall in Bruaendell was a cozy mundane place by comparison. The Parlement building was of the usual yellow stone, and eight sided. To one side was a range of annex buildings for administration but the debating chamber was a big octagonal structure, the outside had high lancet windows and between these, on the angles separating adjoining faces were buttresses, the upper points of which were extended upwards into slender spires adorned with gargoyles, animals, green men and other fantastic carvings. Gothic in style and enormous in proportion. The steeply pitched roof was made up of eight triangles that met at the central dome, a small pepper pot type edifice in which hung the Decision Bell (it had another name, he learned later: some derogatorily referred to it as the Division Bell). This was rung when the debate was ended; a peal of lesser bells rang out as a warning and then there was a minute's silence followed by nine rings for agreement and thirteen for disagreement. The subject of the debate was always posted up on the main exterior door. And afterwards, its conclusions and explanatory notes. He had seen the paper nailed up this morning when he had arrived.
WE HERE GATHERED BELIEVE THE MAN KNOWN AS PAZU OF NUMENAOR
IS A TRUE DESCENDANT OF PRINCE PHOM OF LATORMOLO,
BEARING HIS BLOOD AND HAVING HIS ROYAL STATUS, RIGHTS AND PRIVILEDGES.
It was a lot to ask of a sixteen year old miner.
--I--
---o-o-oOo-o-o---
I I
Inside, the chamber was even more intimidating. Tiers of wooden bench seats ran around six of the sides leaving two opposite sides of the room empty. Four tiers of benches narrowing towards the windows, each side capable of seating fifty people. Three hundred seats. More than ten times the number of Councillors Pazu had expected, in an atmosphere ten times as intimidating. On one side of the chamber was the enormous double doorway, where the councillors filed in and out, as did witnesses. Opposite was the Chamberlain's throne, a raised wooden seat in something like a pulpit. To either side was a small seat with a desk where the two stenographer secretaries sat. In the centre of the floor on a raised dais sat the Bellringer, the name of the person who rang the Decision Bell. Ringing the bell, however, was the least of the duties they performed. In essence the Bellringer was a speaker, an arbitrator and an advisor. Arguably the most powerful person in the chamber, more powerful in some ways than the Chamberlain, if they could manoeuvre and massage the debate around to their line of thinking.
Above the Councillors benches was a wooden platform extending out from the walls half way up the lancet windows. This platform was supported by eight stone columns and was the public gallery, able to seat five hundred. For this hearing however, it remained empty.
Pazu stood between the Bellringer and the Chamberlain. He was provided with a seat but chose to stand. When he thought hard and talked he liked to walk about. He had done this even as a child, even when working at some difficult design problem on his flying machine he liked to wander around the room, or outside on the grass. So here, in this chamber he chose to stand.
The other thing that surprised him was that the Councillors were not as ancient as he expected. In their fifties and sixties and a few older, but not ancient dribbling old crones. No, these were people to be wary of. And, as he partly expected, the clear majority of them were women, perhaps two thirds. The Chamberlain was a woman, a large florid lady with spectacles and black hair worn in a gigantic bun. It was a huge improbable construction, like she had a big black bucket on her head. The Bellringer too was a lady. This person he was less fearful of, because he knew her. It was Councillor Kamaesa.
Pazu didn't know if Kamaesa was for sky or soil, but he knew she was a shrewd quick witted woman and he was happier having her near him. She was a familiar face in a room of strangers. He felt he would soon find out if she were friend or foe.
At first the questions were simple.
"Your age?"
"Where do you live?"
"Who are your parents?"
"Anyone alive in your family?"
"Do you recall any other family members when you were young?"
"What education did you have?"
"What work do you do?"
"Tell us about life in the Ravine."
"Before you met Princess Lucita, had you ever had any unusual experiences?"
He asked what sort of experiences and was met with the stony question "Any?" and he responded, "No."
"Tell us about your father."
That required a long answer, it took him twenty minutes to spew out to them all on that subject. And of course, as he knew it would, it ended with him telling them about his fathers flying, his sighting of Laputa and his dream to go back there. They asked about the photograph and made a resolution to send an official to the Ravine to collect it, and Pazu's father's journals. Pazu wasn't asked about this, it was decided without his permission. That annoyed him. And then,
"How did you meet Princess Lucita?"
"After you met, what happened then?"
"Tell us everything about the air pirate gang."
"Do you know who this Colonel Muska was?"
He and Sheeta had talked a lot about Muska. She had told him he was a Laputan Prince. This news caused less of a stir than he expected. Had they known of Muska? They must have. And if that were true then had they known what Muska intended to do? Pazu didn't let his mind wander too far down that line of thinking. The possible answers disturbed him greatly.
"After you were sent away from Tepis Fortress, how did you feel?"
"Why did you go back?"
"How did the Princess react to your rescuing her?"
Too much, too personal.
"Why do you ask me that?" he asked.
"Just answer the question."
"No. Ask me another question," Pazu was furious, how dare they pry?
"You will answer the Gatherings questions."
He drew a deep breath.
"I am happy to answer questions that are relevant to who I am. I am not going to answer questions that bear on personal matters, on my privacy. On Sheeta's privacy. Ask another question."
"You will answer this one!"
He went to the chair, sat and folded his arms and remained silent. The man speaking with him stood up.
"You will answer the question!"
"We are here to determine who I am, yes?"
"We are asking the questions!"
"No, we are here to determine who I am. If you wish to do that, you will answer my questions as well," Pazu was angry.
"Just answer the question!"
"Sheeta's feelings are none of your business, so shut your mouth you nosy old man!"
Pazu stood up and went to walk out of the chamber. Before he got to the door a voice called out. He knew this voice. Kamaesa.
"I move that we drop that line of questioning. The emotions of the Princess Lucita are not relevant to determining the identity of Mister Pazu."
There followed a brief discussion. Then:
"Mister Pazu, please return to your seat. You need not answer that question."
Pazu returned. When he got to his seat he remained standing. He stared at the man who had asked the insulting question. The old round faced bald man stared back. A man of the soil, no doubt, annoyed that his princess had been close to this upstart.
"How did you feel about serving on a pirate air vessel?"
"What do you think Princess Lucita's feelings were about this?"
He hesitated again, but chose to answer. He realized that other than finding being a pirate distasteful, he had no idea how she felt. Then he knew something else. These questions were not about fact gathering, these people were building up a picture of their relationship. Clearly that was important to them. He wondered why.
"What tasks were you given on the pirate air vessel?"
"Describe the voyage to Laputa."
"Describe Goliath."
"What course did you fly?"
"At dawn when you saw the storm, tell us what happened next."
That question led to Pazu's longest answer. He found himself describing the great cloud, the separation from the Tiger Moth and their flight to Laputa, the strange hallucinatory flight inside the dragon storm when he had seen his father again and all that occurred on Laputa right through to the end when they found the glider and left. He spoke for over two hours. Part way through Kamaesa signaled for a servant to bring him water. He nodded to her in thanks. Apart from his strong voice and the scratching of the stenographer's pens, the chamber remained silent throughout. This was what they wanted to hear.
When he finished they moved to adjourn for lunch, reconvening in two hours.
--I--
---o-o-oOo-o-o---
I I
Afterwards, they carried on:
"Describe Laputa."
"Describe the mechanical man."
"Describe the tree. The grave. The plants. The animals. Describe inside it."
It went on, and on. More than he had expected. He had to dig down deep inside and bring up details and memories, and the Gathering seemed especially interested in the firing of the Great Weapon as they called it, and the destruction of Goliath, about which he could tell them little since, by this time, he had been inside the inverted dome of Laputa.
As to their questions about the death of Muska he kept his answers truthful but short. There was little to say now. However the spell of destruction seemed to bring the chamber awake, they wanted to know about this in great detail. The word of power itself, its effects, a detailed description of the spell in action seemed important, even though he could give little detail due to being knocked unconscious by the blast. The why of the act especially. Why had they invoked it, was a repeated query. His response, that to not do so would have been to give control of the Great Weapon over to the hands of a man clearly insane, seemed unsatisfactory to some of the Councillors.
Again Pazu became cross with them and began to respond repetitively at which point Kamaesa again moved that they should press on.
Large oil lamps were lit in the chamber as the daylight began to fail and the story moved on to his arrival in Marinaer and his journey to Gondoa. Here Pazu made a definite decision to limit what he told them. He was free with his answers about his movements and the war, but he avoided expanding at all on innocent people such as Tanner, Morwen and Hamar who he refused point blank to name. He also avoided all detail about his relationship with Sheeta. As far as he was concerned this was none of their business and he told them this to their faces more than once. On two occasions he argued again with the rude Councillor who had stuck his nose into his private affairs before. With some difficulty Kamaesa moved the interview on.
they want to know about her and me. why? why is our relationship of interest? I'm missing something here.
Pazu simply omitted to tell them anything about Sheeta being shot, the healing spell he invoked and their week in the cave and the discovery of the library. It seemed to him important to keep the library hidden from them.
They were very interested, however, to hear about the use of the stone in front of Shuna and Keya, very interested indeed. Those two or three minutes, it turned out, quickly became the focus of their whole investigation after the destruction of Laputa. Pazu knew why, as far as he had told them this was the only spell invoked by him alone. His hand had been on the stone with Sheeta's in Laputa's throne room, but in Shuna's tumurh, he alone had touched it.
"Did Princess Lucita touch it?"
"Did she invoke the word of power?"
"Did Keya or Shuna touch it?"
"Describe the effects of the lirhum incantation in detail."
"How did the spell end?"
And then the big one. A thin woman with red hair and cream robe who, as far as he could recall, had remained silent until now asked it. And as far as he could tell, this question was the only thing she said all day.
"This was the first incantation you had uttered. So how did you know how to end it?"
He told them. There was murmuring around the room. He took them back to his surmise that the ancient white haired man he recalled from his youth might have taught him emisheh, although he had no recollection.
"Why didn't you mention this before?"
"You didn't ask me."
"Don't be impertinent. We asked you about anything strange in your childhood."
"And I told you – nothing. I only made a possible connection back to him years later. And that might not even be correct."
A weasel faced man with orange hair spoke:
"It is not your place to surmise anything. That is why we are here, to decide on such as this."
The recounting of the rest of the journey was not especially of interest to the Gathering. The discussion around the telle in Thoma's inn held little sway, and he was surprised at how disinterested they were in Surun and his attempted kidnapping of their princess a second time. He could only assume her predicament was of less interest than who he was. And that really annoyed him.
"Don't you want to know more about these men from Numenaor?"
"We are asking the questions."
"You're not asking the right ones. These Numenaorian agents kidnapped Sheeta the first time and through them she met me. I brought her back, being pursued by them all the way. They committed two crimes in Bruaendell. The whole of Sheeta's journey away and back was because of them. Isn't this significant as far as the stone is concerned?"
The Chamberlain answered him:
"Mister Pazu, we understand your concern. However we are gathered here to determine who you are, not who else might be interested in the stone."
"Their interest has a bearing on Sheeta, and she on me."
"Is that so? Is there anything you wish to tell us?"
"You should ask her about the night we met. Where her airship was when she fell from it and its position in relation to the Ravine."
"We will. And now we are asking you as well. Thank you for bringing this up. Tell us."
He did. He didn't have any worries about it. As far as he was concerned her peculiar fall from the airship was one of the main unexplained events of this whole strange story. How she had drifted fifty miles across the night to float down into the Boss' mine pit was, to him, more significant with regard to who he was than the spell he'd drawn from the stone in Shuna's tumurh. This wasn't about men deciding who he was, it was about the stone itself deciding. Which was where the importance of Muska and Surun came in.
But they would have none of it. To them the fall seemed curious but not important. Even a miscalculation by him or the Princess. To them Muska and Surun were nothing, the destruction of Laputa was.
The day ended. He was exhausted. And he was angry. Why didn't they see the stone's inner life force as significant? He had described it clearly enough when it had lain in his hand. On his way out of the chamber he looked at the thin woman with the red hair. She nodded to him, very slowly and slightly.
--I--
---o-o-oOo-o-o---
I I
"If they start asking questions about my feelings towards you, don't answer. And yours toward me, don't answer."
"Why?"
"Just give them the facts about our journey, about Laputa, about any spells. They seem to want to know lots about us, about our relationship. Personal things. I refused to answer."
Sheeta looked shocked.
"You did?"
"Hm. I was going to walk out at one point."
"You never!"
"Yes, they were sticking their nose into my business."
"That's their job!"
"Not with me it's not. And not with you either. Don't tell them anything about us, about… how close we are."
"Paetsu, you don't walk out on the Grand Gathering, or refuse to answer their questions."
"Why?"
They were in the inn again, the eight of them. Shuna had said he'd seen Keya in the street today. The man had ignored him. He was no doubt here to give evidence at the hearing and must be staying at another inn. Bhema and his brothers danced and took Teba to the dance area, showing him some of the wilder dance moves. Shuna, leaving his small son in Bhema's care, excused himself once more and went out into the night. Pazu and Sheeta again sat quietly alone in the corner. They sat on cushions but she cushioned him with her hand, her face, her soft presence. He realized how much he needed her, needed this.
"You just don't. They are the law makers. You don't have authority to refuse to answer."
"I did refuse Sheeta. And they retracted their question."
"They did?" she was stunned
"So you must too."
"Oh."
"And I protected Tanner, and Morwen, and Hamar. I never mentioned their names. I refused."
"You must have upset them."
"Some of them, yes," he grinned at her.
"That's not a good idea. You need to keep as many of them as friends as you can."
"I feel as though they have made up their minds before they even came here."
"You can't go around thinking like that. It makes a mockery of our Parlement."
"Maybe they are a mockery. A few of them seem to be seriously looking for the truth, but most aren't. They want to focus on the spell use of the stone by the way."
"I thought they might."
"The lirhum spell in Shuna's tumurh seems to be the key event, when I drew out a spell on my own. And ended it."
"Not the healing spell then?"
"I didn't mention it."
"You didn't? Why ever not?"
"I was worried about telling them too much. It seemed to lead into the week that followed, and I don't want them to know about the library. I have this idea they might send someone to destroy it."
"But the aminhir muonith amur spell is the most powerful one you drew. There is no way you could have done that and not be of royal blood."
"The lirhum is better for our purposes. We had two witnesses, one on our side – I think – and one against. The aminhir spell seems irrelevant by comparison. Also, I wasn't happy with them knowing you were shot, and could have died."
"Why not?"
He was quiet for a moment.
"I didn't want them knowing I had put you in danger. I didn't want them thinking I couldn't take care of you."
She squeezed his hand.
"They don't know you. I'll tell them."
"I'd rather you didn't."
"This is an opportunity for me to paint you in a positive light. I won't mention the library though."
"Be careful, they are very sharp people Sheeta, very fast witted. They can get you to admit things you don't mean to say. They say it's not a trial but it feels like one at times."
--I--
---o-o-oOo-o-o---
I I
The following day Pazu and the others were asked to wait in the annex in case they were needed. Pazu was a little concerned; Sheeta had risen with him but gone out early, gone on ahead saying she needed to prepare herself. He'd thought that meant mental preparation and had held her quickly, wished her luck. When she arrived later than them into the administration building he found out that she hadn't meant mental preparation at all. As she came in and walked past towards the debating chamber, escorted between two Parlement servants he gawped at her, a vision. She smiled at him and winked.
She wore formal court dress robes. She had decided several days before leaving the farm to wear these, she thought it might give her a small advantage. She was right. All the Councillors were dressed formally; yesterday Pazu had stood before them in workmen's clothes, he owned nothing else. Sheeta however, wore the green of Laputan royalty. No one else was entitled to wear this colour, the others present wore the usual earthy colours and ochres, creams and yellows.
She wore the loose silk pantaloons called puorthtemi which were gathered tightly at the hips and hung down the legs in long loose flowing folds, gathered again tightly at the ankles. Her shirt was a hakkaemi, again of deep green silk with baggy sleeves gathered at the wrist. The bust was loose and open with a deep vee neckline and below the bust the hakkaemi gathered tight in a bodice wound around with a silken scarf called ueshonai. These were usually of contrasting colour. Hers was red, the deep rich vibrant hue of blood. There was a band of bare skin, two inches between the belt of the puorthtemi and the hakkaemi bodice. Over the shirt she wore a heavy brocade haemshi or formal robe almost as stiff as a carpet which was open and had wide projecting shoulder wings making her seem (with its strong vertical lines) both taller and broader. The open haemshi with its tall standing collar and wide military sleeves was held six inches open at the waist by a golden chain. From the waist chain hung the golden filigree disc bearing the tree symbol of Laputa, her royal emblem. She had put her hair up in formal style, tightly bound around and upwards in a smooth conical shape, wound round with a red band the same colour as her ueshonai. All of the parts of the costume were sewn with ornate gold thread in intricate animal and plant designs. Her face was painted with court white make-up, her lips red and her eyes shadowed around with deep green, the line of the make-up curving up her temples, giving her eyes the slanted look of a cat. Her face thus became an impenetrable mask, mysterious, inscrutable. At her throat lay the stone, the old leather cord replaced with fine golden chain. It seemed to be alive this morning and issued a pale glow like ice, stark against her white skin and the brilliant red and green of her robes. Normally soft low sandals would be worn but she chose to go barefoot, a symbolic act of contact with the ground that would not be missed by those present.
No other person in Gondoa was permitted to dress like this. She was unique. Also, she realized, she had never before in her entire life dressed this way. A small comfortable thought trailed across her girlish mind, her lovers mind. It had so happened that when she entered the annex building, Pazu had turned his head first and stood to gape at her. Apart from the servant girl she had hired at the inn, who had helped her bathe and dress this morning, he was the first person ever to see her like this. That small cute thought stayed with her all through the day and it gave her strength.
Her appearance drew no apparent reaction from the Gathering but she knew the costume's meaning wasn't lost on them. Simply wearing this required her subordinates (which was everyone) to address her formally. The formalities concluded, the questions began.
"Lady, what is your name?"
"Lady, how old are you?"
"Lady, where do you live?"
"You are orphaned aren't you? Pray, Lady, tell us about your parents."
"And grandparents? My Lady, there was a grandmother also wasn't there?"
Once again it began simply, in an almost friendly way. They all knew the answers to these questions, but the official record required they be asked and answered. She told them about her childhood, of the spells her grandmother had spoken of, the poems, the songs, the history.
"Lady, tell us about the day the men came."
Now she could begin to reveal the stone to them. She wanted to. She would slant this so that the person who would prove who Pazu was, wasn't a man or woman and wasn't able to give testimony. He was the stone. Or perhaps it was a she, Sheeta hadn't decided which.
She told them of the kidnapping, of her journey south by skidplane to Restormel and from there by commercial airship to Numenaor.
"Have you something Her Highness my draw with?"
"You need to draw, Lady? A picture?"
"A map."
Two servants brought in a large blackboard on a wheeled frame and provided chalk. As she described her abduction she drew the same map she had for Pazu in the cave. She made her point that when she fell from the airship during the pirate attack she was at least fifty miles from Slag's Ravine but had drifted down right to where Pazu worked.
"Were you conscious, Lady?"
"No, Her Highness passed out during the fall."
"It could merely have been a fall then, Lady. The airship could have been off course."
"No. Her Highness is sure of it."
"My Lady, there is no proof."
She thought hard.
"Dola and her pirates would know, they followed Her Majesty down."
"With respect, my Lady, they are not witnesses to this hearing."
"They should be found and called then."
"Where are they, Lady?"
Sheeta thought. She had no idea.
"Her Highness does not know."
"We must move on."
"No. The log of the airship would give the position at the time of the pirate attack."
"Lady, we do not have it."
Sheeta walked slowly and elegantly to the lady Councillor who was questioning her, a small round middle aged woman from Tohro Province, her bench on the south side of the chamber. Each section of benches represented the settlements from one of the six provinces of Gondoa. This woman was a southerner. Sheeta reached the woman, she was taller than the older woman.
Sheeta smiled pleasantly at her.
"Her Highness requests that the log of the airship Menandaer be submitted to this enquiry as evidence of the location of Her Highness when she fell. The location of Slag Ravine is known. This will prove that the stone did not merely arrest Her Highness' fall but carried her more than fifty miles from the Menandaer to the location of Paetsu Fuhmonhir. It is Her Highness' assertion that the stone decided Paetsu Fuhmonhir is who he claims to be."
Muttering filled the room.
"My Lady, with respect, it is just a stone, magical yes, but not sentient."
"You are wrong. Her Highness knows it is alive."
She smiled sweetly at the short Councillor.
"See that this is done. The Gathering will not conclude its findings until this evidence is submitted."
"Yes my Lady."
She knew what they were doing. They were trying to reject all evidence that indicated that Paetsu was special. It was so unfair. Why were they so disinterested in the stone? It was as though they didn't want to even consider the stone as being alive. Like Paetsu had said, like they had decided in advance.
They led her through the Tepis events and were very interested in Muska. Sheeta suddenly wanted to know more about him. Where he had lived, how long he'd been away from Gondoa. All his life? But if they knew, the Gathering did not see fit to tell her. She asked but hiding behind their smokescreen of the point of the investigation, they declined to inform her.
As Pazu had warned, they began to slant the questions so that they became more subtle and more personal. One innocent seeming line of enquiry about when they were traveling led to her being asked what the sleeping arrangements had been. The question was so odd and so sudden that she almost missed it.
"Her Highness declines to answer."
"Lady, why not?"
"Because these are private matters."
"In that case, my Lady, the Gathering knows you have a close relationship with Mister Pazu, because if you had not, my Lady would not take issue with the question."
Sheeta walked to the gentleman asking the question. He held her gaze as she approached.
"You miss Her Highness' point. Whatever happened of this nature while Her Highness was traveling, such things are not your business. Nor is it seemly that this enquiry should infer anything from Her Highness silence."
"With respect my Lady, the Gathering makes all these issues it's business. It has to, we need to know the truth."
"What truth? Whether or not I'm still a maiden? Is that what you want to know?"
"Of course not…"
"You will address Her Highness correctly."
"Of course not, my Lady."
"What then?"
"Princess Lucita," the Chamberlain spoke, "please calm yourself. Of course we don't wish to know of such personal things. However it is important that we try to establish the character of this Mister Pazu. We know from the texts what sort of man Paztsu Phom was and there is a lot of information on his descendants, at least for some generations. Only then do things become undocumented. By comparing this Mister Pazu with what is know of Phom's bloodline we can be greatly assisted in our investigation. Do you not see?"
"Are you saying you do want to know if we lay together? Is that it?"
"Of course not, my Lady, but…"
"Well don't ask then!" she was livid.
How dare they? Paetsu had got cross with these insolent people, and now they were making her angry as well. What was wrong with them?
"Her Highness requests that this offensive question be struck from the record."
"We gain nothing by offending the witness. We should move on," Councillor Kamaesa spoke.
Sheeta's description of the destruction of Goliath was clear and lucid, if harrowing. She quite plainly painted Muska to be a deranged maniac who harboured only a desire to commit mass murder on an international scale. She felt that if any of these Councillors knew him, or knew of him, this description of the last hour of his life would help them to decide if he was a man worthy of support or not. One person didn't miss a thing. A thin red haired woman who had been silent all morning.
"My Lady, how did Paztsu Romuska know how to do all this?" she asked
"He had a book?"
"What sort of book, Lady?"
"A small black notebook. He kept referring to it as though it were instructions or a translation of things."
"You don't know where he got it, my Lady? Or what happened to it?"
"No. Her Highness thinks it was in his pocket when the dome collapsed."
"Thank you, Highness."
Someone had thanked her. For the first time today her responses had elicited thanks from someone. She turned to face the red haired lady.
"You are welcome, Councillor," she nodded her head and the lady nodded back.
"I move that we should make efforts to locate this book," the red haired Councillor spoke, "It may well be on Paztsu Romuska's body. I move that we approach the Marinaen Government and seek to recover his body as that of a Gondoan citizen."
"I agree," the Chamberlain replied, "Make a note of it."
She spoke to one of the secretaries.
"Now, Princess Lucita, please describe your journey from leaving the farm near Porthaven until you met with Shuna and Keya."
She did, omitting all names but including the fight with the men in suits and the stealing of the flying machine. When she got to the crash she pressed on. Some of the councilors leaned forwards to listen. This was a different story from yesterday, from the man.
"In the woods Her Highness was shot by one of the soldiers. She was hurt very badly. Her Highness told Paetsu to use the spell of healing, aminhir mu…"
"It is alright, Lady, we do not need to hear the incantation itself."
An elderly bald man had interrupted her. Sheeta felt insulted. Why interrupt? The incantation wouldn't have drawn out a spell, she wasn't focusing on doing so. She looked at the man who had spoken, at his eyes. She distrusted him.
"Her Highness does not recall much until several days later when she woke up. She had lost a lot of blood. Her Highness had been shot near the heart – or so she was told by Paetsu Fuhmonhir. Paetsu drew the spell from the stone on his own."
"My Lady, how do you know?"
"He must have. Her Highness was unconscious."
"You may have done it, Lady."
"No, Her Highness was too weak."
"You can't know that if you were asleep for several days, my Lady."
"You don't understand me. Her Highness gave Paetsu the stone and told him what the incantation was, then she passed out."
"If you were holding the stone when you said the incantation, my Lady it seems clear to me that you healed yourself."
Was he stupid or being deliberately obtuse?
"Well you weren't there. And you've never drawn a spell from a royal stone."
"Don't be impertinent."
"You forget your station! Be pleased to address me correctly. I am your queen in case you've forgotten. I have drawn spells from the stone. I know what it feels like. You have to have an intent in your mind, an 'I am going to do this' decision. When I was bleeding on the forest floor I merely gave Paetsu the stone and told him what to say. Then I passed out. He said the incantation, he drew out the spell."
"Your testimony is not conclusive, Lady."
"What is the matter with you? There was no-one else there. Why are you choosing not to believe me?"
"This hearing is an investigation. I am not going to enter into a conversation with you, my Lady."
Sheeta was furious.
"Her Highness is not satisfied with your answer. Chamberlain, I request that the Gathering responds to my question. It is as I say, the only person in that clearing able to draw a healing spell from the stone was Paetsu Fuhmonhir. Why the Gathering refuses to see this I do not understand unless there is an intent to hide something or avoid something."
"What are you suggesting, my Lady?"
"Her highness is suggesting that this enquiry is refusing to accept that my testimony contains a reasonable probability that Paetsu Fuhmonhir drew a healing spell from a royal stone. The Councillor to my right is refusing to accept that it is possible that is what happened. All Her Highness requires is that the Gathering accepts the possibility and treats it as such in their deliberations."
Councillor Kamaesa was impressed. Not only did Her Highness have a strong will and sharp mind, she was quick too.
"If I may speak, my Lady, Chamberlain. I believe that it is not in the Gathering's remit to discount the evidence presented to it. I believe the Gathering should accept all testimony and subsequently debate the likelihood of events once all testimony has been received. I think that is fair. Councillor Ptuomasa of Heyng, if you please I would like to accept my Lady's testimony on this point. We are not agreeing it is true, merely accepting it as a possibility."
But Kamaesa knew that once it was down in ink on the debating manuscript it would hold much more weight than now, while clever minds and voices twisted it's validity and lay it aside.
"Very well. Proceed," the Chamberlain closed the discussion on that matter.
Sheeta stood before the plump bald man. Now she had a name for him as well, and his town. She stared at him. He bowed his head obsequiously and dropped his gaze. She knew she had an enemy here though.
"Her Highness was ill for four days after which she awoke. During her time of illness while she had lost so much blood Paetsu Fuhmonhir had fed her a Moyo and Poki broth the ingredients for which he had picked in the forest."
"I am sorry, my Lady, I do not follow. That would be the medicinal treatment yes?"
"Correct."
"How would a Numenaorian have known to prepare such a treatment?"
"Her Highness cannot offer an explanation, she can only present the facts."
"Made up wild stories you mean."
The comment was low and faint but Sheeta picked it up. She whirled around and strode up to the round bald man.
"You have something to say, Councillor?"
"I did not speak, my Lady."
"You are a liar. I heard you. Repeat what you said."
The Councillor looked at the stone, the blue glow from it was a little stronger, and it was emitting pale tendrils of colour, like faint smoke. He had never seen it do that before. He looked up at the white face, the green painted eyes.
"My sincerest apologies, I withdraw any remark, my Lady."
Sheeta leaned close to him. The stone on its slender chain dangled in front of her. As it swung it left a trail of smoke behind it in the air. Several nearby Councillors saw this and muttering filled the chamber. Sheeta whispered,
"I have just about heard enough from your mouth Councillor. It is plain you are against Paetsu, and me. I think it would be in your interests to keep silent for the rest of this interview."
Her eyes blazed at him, blue fire in her eyes, blue smoke at her throat. The man nodded once, but did not drop his eyes.
"My Lady, if you please, we should continue," suggested the Chamberlain.
"However Her Highness wishes it to be noted that Paetsu Fuhmonhir prepared an advanced medicine, one that most of our doctors cannot efficiently make."
"Note that on the record," the Chamberlain spoke to her secretaries.
The interview after that was anticlimax. The other significant incident, the lirhum spell drawn inside Shuna's tumurh had nothing added to it by Sheeta's testimony. The Gathering was eager to hear this event recounted by Shuna and Keya.
By early afternoon, it was over. A tired and thoroughly annoyed queen of Gondoa swept from the chamber.
The Gathering called Shuna as the next witness.
--I--
---o-o-oOo-o-o---
I I
"I am so angry! It's just as you said! Some of them have already decided and are trying to exclude certain facts so that the final debate won't discuss them."
Sheeta stood outside in the cobbled courtyard behind the annex, her back rigid, fists clenched at her sides.
"Now you see. There is something going on here," said Pazu, "This Parlement is corrupt. They don't want to recognize me as royalty. I know it. Their plans must involve rejecting my claim so as to prevent the sky party causing trouble."
"My Paetsu. My lovely boy," she looked at him, he in his plain workman's clothes, contrasting with her finery, "I'm coming close to the point of ignoring the lot of them. We just go home, get married and forget the whole stinking corrupt business."
He looked at her. He glanced at the stone. It was burning blue, even out here in the daylight.
"Look at the stone. It's glowing. Why?"
"Me I think. Strong emotion."
"How does it do that?"
"I don't know. It is magic you know."
He smiled at her, she had this way with words sometimes.
"I thought it was becoming stronger because we were using it. I wonder if it's becoming stronger because of your emotions."
"Who knows? To be quite honest I'm past caring now. I just want to go home."
"Well," he took a pace back from her, "if I can be of any consolation, you do look stunning. Magnificent. Beautiful."
She managed to raise a small smile.
"Thank you. You say the nicest things."
"I try to, when I'm not saying the wrong, stupid things."
--I--
---o-o-oOo-o-o---
I I
The Gathering dealt quickly with Shuna and the following day with Keya, Thoma from the inn and the brief testimony of the four brothers who had witnessed the fire spell at the farm.
The trip to Penraeth ended in frustrating anti-climax. The Gathering's debate could not be concluded without the log book of the air-liner Menandaer. The whole investigation was adjourned for six weeks while an official was sent to Restormel to discuss this with the air transport company.
They went back home, spirits deflated, bitter and frustrated. On the ride home Sheeta became resigned, she had this feeling that the Gathering would not recognize Paetsu. She could feel their attitude had been sloppy, casual. He was potentially the titular head of their nation, had they been genuinely interested in debating his claim they would have left no stone unturned, would have eagerly investigated all the evidence instead of ignoring some of what she said. And if Paetsu remained just Pazu? What then? Did it matter?
Before they heard the Gathering's conclusion, however, a lot happened. Suethelhin came. Pazu found out something very strange in the ancient books he had been working at. And the dreams started. The dreams that would cause him many sleepless nights. The dreams that would make him afraid to even lie down and close his eyes. The dreams came.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 - 10 April 2007
For author notes about Chapter Forty Three, please see my forum (click on my pen name)