by J. Naomi Ay
Several months after the guardsman took Senya to the Palace, he came to my door again. As it was, I was watching the vid where my Senya was shown holding an audience for thousands of teenage girls of superior blood. Poor Senya looked like he was cut from a stone. I imagined him miserable in all those fancy clothes with his strange feet trapped in tight leather shoes.
It was good to see him looking so clean and healthy. My heart raced with joy when I saw him, the pics of him in the news and the pinups they later made of him for the people to buy. I loved to chat about him with the people in the Old Mishnah. Everyone suddenly claimed him as a friend. Even the old grocer declared that always he had given Senya whatever he desired, Senya was never a thief.
When Lt. Taner arrived at my flat, he presented me with a purse filled with many, many gold coins.
“His Majesty thanks you for your service, Ma'am,” he said, smiling in an awkward way when I invited him in.
My flat was clean and tidy, and I had coffee hot in a pot, but he refused and headed down the hall.
“Is Senya happy?” I called after him. He turned for a moment and looked back at me.
“His Royal Highness is as could be expected,” he replied haughtily and then realizing how cold he must have sounded, he smiled apologetically. “It's kind of a tough adjustment, but we're working with him. Captain Loman's twelve year old son lives with us, and he and Senya have become great friends.”
I was happy Senya had a little friend. He never got along with any other children before.
I counted the coins after Lt. Taner left, and it was a sum beyond my wildest imagination. I did not know what to do with them, but I would not be hasty about it. I would think on it carefully and plan for my future. I placed the coins beneath my pillow and during the night while I slept, the coins gave me dreams and told me what to do.
In the morning, I took the bus into New Mishnah and opened an account at a bank. Then I found an attorney. Through the attorney, I contracted to purchase the building in which I lived as well as the buildings adjacent on either side. I arranged for improvements to be made so that the hallways were not dark and smelly and filled with vermin, and so that the water would always run hot and cold and with a strong force. The radiators, I replaced with a new heating system that was silent and energy efficient. I replaced all the windows with triple paned glass. The manager who lived on the bottom floor and who many times I had serviced, I fired and replaced with a leasing company.
Chapter 6
Moira
