Very early during the next morning Joran began to make the crystal ship he'd seen in his dream a week before Erastide. He concentrated on his work almost as hard as he had with the wren. He was nearly finished, just doing the final polishing and carving, when he heard the bell at the door announce arrival of customers. Joran heard that his master show the crystal wren to someone and praised the quality of his work.
Torgan was explaining about Rivans to someone and mentioning their purpose of guarding the Orb. Joran smiled to himself, outsiders always heard the word guarding while between Rivans only the word was serving. Outsiders just wouldn't understand the serving part at all…
Joran gave a glance to see who had entered, when he had heard their steps. It was the Keeper! Joran laid his eyes quickly back to his work, not wishing to fail under his eyes of all people, particularly not now that he was almost done with it! Joran wrapped the ship carefully and placed it on the shelf.
He heard king Belgarion ask to see the crystal wren again. Joran's heart turned a somersault out of excitement, but he forced himself to stay calm as he entered the room. The king was staring at the Crystal Wren. Staring. That was always a good sign, Torgan had said when teaching Joran about making business.
"Does it please Your Majesty?" Joran asked politely.
The king was pleased with him and his work, all right. In addition, he asked almost immediately that they drop all the 'Majesties' as he put it. Joran was more than happy to provide that wish to the Keeper, bound to obey anyway, whatever the Keeper would tell him to do. As Belgarion had openly told him how unused and totally surprised he was to all that king-business, Joran responded by telling him what the people were speaking of him.
"Actually I was raised in Sendaria by my Aunt Pol, Belgarath's daughter" Belgarion told him.
Now that was something. Joran didn't even have to ask, all he had to do was tell the king what people were wondering about. To keep up the conversation, he asked about Polgara, if she was as beautiful as they said she was — the legendary heartbreaker had quite a reputation in Riva.
"I've always thought so" Belgarion told him.
Joran mentioned something about Polgara being able to turn into a dragon – the dragon-lady who had left all men without her favor while bossing them around like cattle.
Belgarion took this 'turn into' more literally, though, as if there was no other way to think of it and told Joran she preferred the form of a snowy white owl and how birds always went wild at the sight of her.
Birds reminded Joran of a legend that said a bird had rescued Prince Geran. Maybe Polgara knew more of it, maybe it even was Polgara herself who actually did it. Suddenly Joran needed very badly to meet Lady Polgara, and perhaps… perhaps Belgarion would come too, so he could show those pieces to someone…
"I'd give anything to be able to meet her," Joran told Belgarion without thinking. He glanced around. He had nothing else worthy to give than… the Crystal Wren. Joran considered it. He could sell it for a lot – but it being there, with many of the nobles and royalty seeing it — this would be excellent advertisement in itself. It would bring him contacts, orders, money — just by being there. He didn't consider long. Besides, he had said: "Give anything." And this was the Keeper. Joran would never lie to him. Never.
"Do you think she'd like this little thing?" Joran asked Belgarion doing his best to sound offhanded.
"Like it? She'd love it!" Belgarion exclaimed.
Joran tried to offer it.
Belgarion rejected saying he had no money with him.
This didn't stop Joran. He had said give and to give he intended. "Take it as a gift from me" Joran said.
Belgarion tried to counter it as 'too valuable' – definitely approved piece.
Joran told his king it was only glass, and that glass was only melted sand, and that sand was the cheapest thing in the world.
The king did finally agree. Joran went to wrap it, explaining how it was not good for glass to go out into cold from a warm room.
The wren seemed to look at him disapprovingly. Joran felt a bang of guilt hitting him hard. Joran sighed. "I haven't been exactly honest with you" he confessed. He explained all about the advertisement he was to gain. He stopped in mid-sentence, eyeing Torell by the harp. He'd really need his own business to court her – Torgan wasn't willing to let an apprentice to court his daughter, after all…
"And you can't get married until you've based your own business?" the king said, interrupting Joran's day dreams.
He reads the Heart of the Clearer like an open book, and the Clearer shall make the Hearts of the people visible to the Keeper… father's voice spoke in the back of Joran's head.
"Your Majesty will be a very wise king" Joran said formally, silently accepting his task as the Clearer.
Belgarion muttered something about his first blunders he had to go trough first.
"My condolences, Your Majesty" Torgan said, bowing. "I hope you find it comforting to know that I find you a good king now".
"Thank you, Torgan" Belgarion said, obviously feeling a bit confused.
"Most people were congratulating him yesterday" Lelldorin noted, frowning in puzzlement.
"That's because yesterday was Belgarion's birthday", the Drasnian laughed, "and in case you never noticed, Lelldorin, every king has lost his father. If he hadn't, he'd be the crown prince, not the king – because the king would be the father".
"If you say so, Prince Kheldar" Lellrodin said earnestly.
Belgarion shook his head sadly. "I don't even remember my parents" he said. "They died before I was a day old".
"Murdered" Lelldorin added grimly. "Are we going to war against the murderers, Belgarion?"
"No. I dealt with that fellow already" Belgarion told him. "And Belgarath was right – I didn't like it – but it was something I had to do".
"Of course, Belgarion" Lelldorin said. "It's always that way".
"It is?" Belgarion asked, "No offence, dear friend, but why do you Arends keep doing revenge to the point of civil war, if it's always met with such regret and guilt?"
"It's a duty, Belgarion" Lelldorin shrugged, "Duty needs not be pleasant".
Belgarion shook his head. "Don't you think it'd be simpler and easier to just forgive and go on with life?"
"You did it", Lelldorin accused.
"I admit that killing is sometimes necessary", Belgarion replied. "I don't approve that regrettable act to be made into a general principle".
They left after chatting a bit more. Joran hoped he would get a chance to see Belgarion alone so he could show him those glass pieces, but this didn't seem like the right moment. Not with those two non-Rivans present, anyway.