December 3rd, 1000
Mila perched on the edge of her seat. She took a too-deep breath and wished all eyes weren’t turned to her. At table was the ‘council of Mila’ as the folk were calling it. Three women and four men. Each were set over a district of Ponia, an area where the local labi looked up to them.
“Well- I think it’s all in order, is it not?”
Mila asked. Lovage, a brown haired young woman who sat closest to the young queen, shook her head so that her hair bobbles wavered.
“I think there is still more to discuss. We haven’t even touched on laws.”
Mila sighed and leaned back into the chair. Her eyes felt bleary and dry. She gave them one quick rub. The group of eight had been talking and arguing for over a week. Ever since she woke there had been discussion after discussion. It seemed to be never-ending. The girl tried to remember if it took her mother this long to decide simple things or not…
“We’ve talked too long! The labi in my district are about through with it all. They want to get to re-building their homes. Back to normal, if they can,”
Zake said. His blond hair drooped over his forehead, face contorted in anger. He sat two down from Mila on the men’s side of the table. The person he sat next to, of the name Will, gasped.
“I thought we were to arrange our own laws and enforcements?”
Soph asked. She was the eldest of them all and a labi by birth. Her long white hair was tied back out of her face in a practical manner. Mila glanced from her to Zake.
Why does everyone have to be older than I? Older and almost all married atop the first.
The youngest sunk lower in the chair. Perhaps if she slid down without rushing she could escape the boredom and doubts that gripped her every moment of the day.
“We can’t do that, it would be asking for each of us to form our own kingdoms,”
Wriss said. She had red hair and wore an over-sized dress. Mila stared at the boar that hung on the wall ahead of her. It seemed to glower at them all, begging the meeting to quit the room. Her head was in a swirl, stomach gurgled.
“What about the knights? Could they now enforce the laws? Or we could have the labi set up patrols or some such?”
Plip asked. His eyes were wide and he blinked more often than most. Mila tried not to count how many times a minute he did so. Her stomach churned.
“Yes, what of the knights? They’re all dead!”
Zake said. He hid clenched fists under the table but not before all saw them. Mila’s eyes turned from object to person to painting. Never did they rest for more than a moment.
“The labi can sort themselves out,”
Soph said. Mila shook her head.
“No, the government left them during the war, we cannot then leave them after as well. Someone must be in charge of enforcing the laws. I suggest each of you decide what is fit for your area. Some districts are more receptive to outside forces than others.”
Zake nodded.
“Jai? Do you have anything to add?”
Mila asked. She stared at him. He sat half hidden behind a basket of fresh-made bread.
The man shook his head, lips pressed together. His golden eyes stared ahead at a point in the wall above Soph’s head. Mila sighed. This young man she had yet to figure out. He said little, a used-to-be nobleman who had lost land and riches. His pale skin and soft hands were proof he had done little during the war to help. Why folk looked up to him in the south she could in no way figure.
“What about the laws? Are we going to abolish all the past ones and make new? Keep them all? Pick and choose?”
Wriss asked. She had a dangerous edge to her tone. One that spelled trouble for them all. Mila breathed through her nose. Hadn’t mother always said that calmed the urge to vomit?
“I propose we keep just the common laws. Those for murder, stealing, and so forth,”
Will said.
“All agree to that?’
Mila asked. Each man or woman nodded. Perhaps this wouldn’t take so long. The sooner this lot left the sooner Ponia could return to normal- and she could return to bed.
“Wonderful. Anything else that needs to be addressed? Otherwise we’ll return to our homes.”
All looked at the others. Wriss waved her hand. Mila clenched the fabric of her skirt.
“I want to know if we all get the equal amount of land in our districts?”
Those around her winced. Lovage most of all. Zake moaned and fiddled with his lone earing.
“Does it matter that much? The point is for each of us to oversee the re-building before turning all power back over to the queen, Mila.”
Wriss frowned. Her eyes shot sparks and her fingers gripped the table’s edge.
“Then it isn’t equal?”
Mila’s heart galloped like a horse. This was not needed. Wriss on a rampage would not bode well for Ponia. Many followed the young woman and looked up to her as the ultimate authority. Lovage slammed her hand onto to the table.
“Enough!”
She turned to the young girl beside her. Mila gulped and tried to keep from appearing pale.
“We’re all just fine with our area of land. It’s just the areas where we’re looked up to right? If that’s true than Wriss, even if she did give you leave to control more land, nobody’d obey you so it don’t matter a tick.”
Wriss grumbled something nobody heard least of all Mila. The queen stared down into her lap. Inspiration would be nice, if it could be found. Of late it was as elusive as the fabled unicorn. Who was to say it existed at all? Mila looked back up at those around her. Stomach roiling the girl struggled to make sense of what to say or do.
This is insane. There is no way I can get all these people to work together even if it’s just for a few short months! We are all too different. Soph is labi-born. Wriss and Jai and Will noble. Plip a knight, Lovage a merchant. Then there is Zake, who knows where he was born… much less what he thinks or where his loyalty is sworn.
“Fine then. I’m starved and should ‘ave been heading back to my own little labis to help them out three days ago. Can we be done? I don’t have time for any useless nattering.”
Zake said. Soph, Jai, Lovage, Wriss, and Will murmured agreement. Mila’s heart calmed yet her stomach did not. It was over. All those under her would be leaving New Kintin. Perhaps now she would get some things done. She’d be able to get a group of soldiers to search for her family-
“Are we certain the labi will accept such a young and inexperienced queen?”
Plip asked. He gestured to the girl in question without a thought. Mila’s lips fell apart. She stared at the man beside her. Doubt wriggled into her thoughts. She was young, seventeen and until the last year had been sheltered as if she was ten. These people had no alliance with her. Words of loyalty came cheap to many lips these days.
“Plip, she is the last known child of royal blood. Of course they will accept it,”
Soph said. Zake snorted and shook his head so hard his teeth clacked.
“No, they won’t. Only reason my area ain’t in an uproar and revolting is ‘cause of me.”
Mila blushed. Revolts. The word struck fear in all but the bravest… or most foolish. It bespoke of senseless mobs and killing. Of people made stupider than they were. Her mind turned for a split second on the fighting she had seen. Of blood and pain. Mila shook her head.
“Think you that I should name a replacement?”
Mila asked. Her chest ached and her eyes were watering. She bit her cheek until the taste of blood filled her mouth. The tears fled. She watched with sinking liver as each person refused to make eye contact. The meeting had to end soon. Another ten minutes and she was liable to throw-up all over the table before the entire council.
I’m an extra, a girl born lucky and nothing else. I have no merits or goodness in their eyes. I suppose it is luck that I still live. Perhaps it would be better if I become some herb-woman and leave all this behind me and say nothing of it. Only- I know nothing of herbs and my family is still missing. Oh, I should never have eaten that spicy stew of Jia’s.
“Now the young queens tend to do best. They ain’t spoiled by their parents yet. I say the labi will try ‘er. I think she’ll ‘ave to prove she understands a labi’s life though,”
Soph said smiling at Mila. A ray of sun amid a typhoon.
“Yes, but how?”
Zake asked. All turned their thoughts inward. It was a problem. One could not rise up and say ‘trust me! I’m different somehow than the last monarch you had’! Mila thought of nothing but her roiling organs. Wriss grinned then waved her hands.
“I just had an idea. What if she lives as a labi for a year? Working as one too.”
Mila shuddered. Wriss’ smiles didn’t bode well for her own well-being. Were they to arrange for her to work in the mines so as to kill her in the most slow and painful way?
“That’s just the thing!”
Lovage said. She patted Mila’s hand.
“Don’t worry, it isn’t as hard as you might think it is. You might even grow to enjoy it. Is that all? I’m beginning to get hungry as well.”
The council nodded. Most stood. Mila sat. A labi. Ever had her mother threatened that she would become one if she disobeyed! She had seen many by now and knew that they worked harder than any yet got paid less for their labors. They bathed little, having no time or money to spend on bathing with fragrant soaps. Mila bit back a giggle and clutched her stomach a second. Not bathing was the least of her troubles. While in the scouting company of Tink there had been no soap as well. She had survived a year of that. She would survive this. Mila thought of Jia, the girl who cared for her. Perhaps she would know of someone… put a good word in…
“We all return to our own places. We’ll keep you informed by pigeon, alright?”
Mila nodded. She mustered a shaking smile.
I’ll never make it through the year.
“I won’t be able to see you again so goodbye until we meet again,”
Will said. Mila smiled at him. Yes, leave. She needed to use the privy. Relieve herself of the blasted stew. Mila pinched her upper lip.
“Yes, I’ll look forward to your reports.”
He bowed then took leave of the other ladies then nodded to the men. Jai followed not bothering with asking to be excused or even a muttered good riddance. Zake and Plip bowed as one.
“I will see you again before I leave as I need to gather supplies,”
Zake said. Mila nodded. He lived in the district farthest away and supplies had been cut off from that area during the war. Mila glanced up to see that Plip had already fled. Zake following him. Just the women remained. They leaned back and stretched.
“Me and Wriss best get to it as well. If we may, your highness?”
Soph asked. Mila nodded to the door and inclined her head. More to hide her paling cheeks than anything else. She felt weak.
Was her vision going blurry? Mila stared at Lovage.
“I suppose I should move on as well. I reckon you have plenty to do without me breathing down your neck,”
Lovage chuckled. Her hand fluttering to push her hair bobbles back where they belonged.
“Girl, was you nervous about Wriss or something? You’re hand feels like ice.”
Mila shook her head. Her mind screamed get out before I get sick on you. Her stomach was getting even worse.
“Perfect. Just wanting some quiet. Haven’t been by myself for over a week,”
she tried to giggle but it came out garbled.
“Sure thing, my queen. You be careful. It won’t be the thing to have you killing yourself.”
Lovage rose. She brushed her skirt until it resumed the usual straightness then stepped to the door. She closed the door soft behind her. Mila moaned and held her stomach in both hands.
“Never again will I serve or eat stew! Ungh.”
She lay her head on the cool wood of the table and closed eyes.
Soph asked. She was the eldest of them all and a labi by birth. Her long white hair was tied back out of her face in a practical manner. Mila glanced from her to Zake.
Why does everyone have to be older than I? Older and almost all married atop the first.
The youngest sunk lower in the chair. Perhaps if she slid down without rushing she could escape the boredom and doubts that gripped her every moment of the day.
“We can’t do that, it would be asking for each of us to form our own kingdoms,”
Wriss said. She had red hair and wore an over-sized dress. Mila stared at the boar that hung on the wall ahead of her. It seemed to glower at them all, begging the meeting to quit the room. Her head was in a swirl, stomach gurgled.
“What about the knights? Could they now enforce the laws? Or we could have the labi set up patrols or some such?”
Plip asked. His eyes were wide and he blinked more often than most. Mila tried not to count how many times a minute he did so. Her stomach churned.
“Yes, what of the knights? They’re all dead!”
Zake said. He hid clenched fists under the table but not before all saw them. Mila’s eyes turned from object to person to painting. Never did they rest for more than a moment.
“The labi can sort themselves out,”
Soph said. Mila shook her head.
“No, the government left them during the war, we cannot then leave them after as well. Someone must be in charge of enforcing the laws. I suggest each of you decide what is fit for your area. Some districts are more receptive to outside forces than others.”
Zake nodded.
“Jai? Do you have anything to add?”
Mila asked. She stared at him. He sat half hidden behind a basket of fresh-made bread.
The man shook his head, lips pressed together. His golden eyes stared ahead at a point in the wall above Soph’s head. Mila sighed. This young man she had yet to figure out. He said little, a used-to-be nobleman who had lost land and riches. His pale skin and soft hands were proof he had done little during the war to help. Why folk looked up to him in the south she could in no way figure.
“What about the laws? Are we going to abolish all the past ones and make new? Keep them all? Pick and choose?”
Wriss asked. She had a dangerous edge to her tone. One that spelled trouble for them all. Mila breathed through her nose. Hadn’t mother always said that calmed the urge to vomit?
“I propose we keep just the common laws. Those for murder, stealing, and so forth,”
Will said.
“All agree to that?’
Mila asked. Each man or woman nodded. Perhaps this wouldn’t take so long. The sooner this lot left the sooner Ponia could return to normal- and she could return to bed.
“Wonderful. Anything else that needs to be addressed? Otherwise we’ll return to our homes.”
All looked at the others. Wriss waved her hand. Mila clenched the fabric of her skirt.
“I want to know if we all get the equal amount of land in our districts?”
Those around her winced. Lovage most of all. Zake moaned and fiddled with his lone earing.
“Does it matter that much? The point is for each of us to oversee the re-building before turning all power back over to the queen, Mila.”
Wriss frowned. Her eyes shot sparks and her fingers gripped the table’s edge.
“Then it isn’t equal?”
Mila’s heart galloped like a horse. This was not needed. Wriss on a rampage would not bode well for Ponia. Many followed the young woman and looked up to her as the ultimate authority. Lovage slammed her hand onto to the table.
“Enough!”
She turned to the young girl beside her. Mila gulped and tried to keep from appearing pale.
“We’re all just fine with our area of land. It’s just the areas where we’re looked up to right? If that’s true than Wriss, even if she did give you leave to control more land, nobody’d obey you so it don’t matter a tick.”
Wriss grumbled something nobody heard least of all Mila. The queen stared down into her lap. Inspiration would be nice, if it could be found. Of late it was as elusive as the fabled unicorn. Who was to say it existed at all? Mila looked back up at those around her. Stomach roiling the girl struggled to make sense of what to say or do.
This is insane. There is no way I can get all these people to work together even if it’s just for a few short months! We are all too different. Soph is labi-born. Wriss and Jai and Will noble. Plip a knight, Lovage a merchant. Then there is Zake, who knows where he was born… much less what he thinks or where his loyalty is sworn.
“Fine then. I’m starved and should ‘ave been heading back to my own little labis to help them out three days ago. Can we be done? I don’t have time for any useless nattering.”
Zake said. Soph, Jai, Lovage, Wriss, and Will murmured agreement. Mila’s heart calmed yet her stomach did not. It was over. All those under her would be leaving New Kintin. Perhaps now she would get some things done. She’d be able to get a group of soldiers to search for her family-
“Are we certain the labi will accept such a young and inexperienced queen?”
Plip asked. He gestured to the girl in question without a thought. Mila’s lips fell apart. She stared at the man beside her. Doubt wriggled into her thoughts. She was young, seventeen and until the last year had been sheltered as if she was ten. These people had no alliance with her. Words of loyalty came cheap to many lips these days.
“Plip, she is the last known child of royal blood. Of course they will accept it,”
Soph said. Zake snorted and shook his head so hard his teeth clacked.
“No, they won’t. Only reason my area ain’t in an uproar and revolting is ‘cause of me.”
Mila blushed. Revolts. The word struck fear in all but the bravest… or most foolish. It bespoke of senseless mobs and killing. Of people made stupider than they were. Her mind turned for a split second on the fighting she had seen. Of blood and pain. Mila shook her head.
“Think you that I should name a replacement?”
Mila asked. Her chest ached and her eyes were watering. She bit her cheek until the taste of blood filled her mouth. The tears fled. She watched with sinking liver as each person refused to make eye contact. The meeting had to end soon. Another ten minutes and she was liable to throw-up all over the table before the entire council.
I’m an extra, a girl born lucky and nothing else. I have no merits or goodness in their eyes. I suppose it is luck that I still live. Perhaps it would be better if I become some herb-woman and leave all this behind me and say nothing of it. Only- I know nothing of herbs and my family is still missing. Oh, I should never have eaten that spicy stew of Jia’s.
“Now the young queens tend to do best. They ain’t spoiled by their parents yet. I say the labi will try ‘er. I think she’ll ‘ave to prove she understands a labi’s life though,”
Soph said smiling at Mila. A ray of sun amid a typhoon.
“Yes, but how?”
Zake asked. All turned their thoughts inward. It was a problem. One could not rise up and say ‘trust me! I’m different somehow than the last monarch you had’! Mila thought of nothing but her roiling organs. Wriss grinned then waved her hands.
“I just had an idea. What if she lives as a labi for a year? Working as one too.”
Mila shuddered. Wriss’ smiles didn’t bode well for her own well-being. Were they to arrange for her to work in the mines so as to kill her in the most slow and painful way?
“That’s just the thing!”
Lovage said. She patted Mila’s hand.
“Don’t worry, it isn’t as hard as you might think it is. You might even grow to enjoy it. Is that all? I’m beginning to get hungry as well.”
The council nodded. Most stood. Mila sat. A labi. Ever had her mother threatened that she would become one if she disobeyed! She had seen many by now and knew that they worked harder than any yet got paid less for their labors. They bathed little, having no time or money to spend on bathing with fragrant soaps. Mila bit back a giggle and clutched her stomach a second. Not bathing was the least of her troubles. While in the scouting company of Tink there had been no soap as well. She had survived a year of that. She would survive this. Mila thought of Jia, the girl who cared for her. Perhaps she would know of someone… put a good word in…
“We all return to our own places. We’ll keep you informed by pigeon, alright?”
Mila nodded. She mustered a shaking smile.
I’ll never make it through the year.
“I won’t be able to see you again so goodbye until we meet again,”
Will said. Mila smiled at him. Yes, leave. She needed to use the privy. Relieve herself of the blasted stew. Mila pinched her upper lip.
“Yes, I’ll look forward to your reports.”
He bowed then took leave of the other ladies then nodded to the men. Jai followed not bothering with asking to be excused or even a muttered good riddance. Zake and Plip bowed as one.
“I will see you again before I leave as I need to gather supplies,”
Zake said. Mila nodded. He lived in the district farthest away and supplies had been cut off from that area during the war. Mila glanced up to see that Plip had already fled. Zake following him. Just the women remained. They leaned back and stretched.
“Me and Wriss best get to it as well. If we may, your highness?”
Soph asked. Mila nodded to the door and inclined her head. More to hide her paling cheeks than anything else. She felt weak.
“I suppose I should move on as well. I reckon you have plenty to do without me breathing down your neck,”
Lovage chuckled. Her hand fluttering to push her hair bobbles back where they belonged.
“Girl, was you nervous about Wriss or something? You’re hand feels like ice.”
Mila shook her head. Her mind screamed get out before I get sick on you. Her stomach was getting even worse.
“Perfect. Just wanting some quiet. Haven’t been by myself for over a week,”
she tried to giggle but it came out garbled.
“Sure thing, my queen. You be careful. It won’t be the thing to have you killing yourself.”
Lovage rose. She brushed her skirt until it resumed the usual straightness then stepped to the door. She closed the door soft behind her. Mila moaned and held her stomach in both hands.
“Never again will I serve or eat stew! Ungh.”
She lay her head on the cool wood of the table and closed eyes.
No comments:
Post a Comment