by K. Lew
Chapter 5: An Unexpected Interruption
“What! You let her get arrested by her own cousin?” Sere was yelling clearly agitated. They were inside the infamous club “Liq Eti Girls” on the second floor. Below them different colors of lights flashed everywhere. Women in tighter tops and even shorter shorts and skirts danced to the loud pumping music blasting throughout the entire club. Sere was holding out a glass of pink, bubbling liquid. Sere spoke. “What am I going to do?” Kelan lost count of how many glasses Sere downed.
Kelan spoke. “Well, first you need to sit down and calm yourself.”
Sere was sitting down on a cushion sofa. “Calm? How the devils can I be calm when her own family arrests the Chemlady. How can I be calm when you let her slip right from your eyes? The Chemlady was next in line to rule. But now that the Chemlady is arrested, then the most likely candidate to be Chemlam would be Versia. I would rather die than let that vile man be in charge of this city.”
Sere paused to look down below. “I mean look down below, Kel. All these women dancing below with their scanty bodies can’t ease my worrying.” Kelan looked down. Below them, pretty women danced with their companions to the beat of the music, swinging their body back and forth with not a care in the world. Sere downed the glass in one gulp. He banged the empty glass to the table. “Kel, I’m going to restroom. Ring for the attendant. We have an hour before we have to get to the Light of Beacon.”
Kelan spoke. “Wait. Sere, you know you’re like a brother to me.”
Sere interrupted. “The last time you called me brother, you needed my help. So out with it.”
Kelan motioned for Sere to come closer. Kelan whispered. “What I am about to tell you doesn’t leave this room. I mean it.” Sere nodded. Kelan whispered. “The Chemlady is pregnant with a child.”
Sere gave him a look of shock.
Sere started to walk, yelling back at Kelan. “We have to go now.”
Kelan spoke. “What about the bill?”
Sere spoke. “Already taken care of. We have to go now.” As the doors automatically opened for them, a smiling attendant stood outside to greet them. She was a brunette with small, hazel eyes. She had a red circle of makeup on both of her cheeks. She spoke cheerfully. “Leaving so soon?”
Sere spoke. “Unfortunately and close my tab it’s under Placci.”
She spoke with concern. “Have a safe drive home. It’s a bit cold outside, so keep yourself warm and please come again.”
Before they left, Sere asked for her ID card and typed in his password and activated his account by pressing down his right palm on the ID card. Sere then typed in one hundred gallons. Her eyes widened.
She spoke with excitement. “Thank you so much, good sir.”
Sere winked at her. Sere spoke to Kelan. “I think she likes me, Kel.”
Kelan retorted. “I think you’re mistaken love for gratitude.”
After leaving the club, a full moon appeared the dark sky. The streets were bright with lights shining underneath the street pavements. In front of the club, was a carriage pulled by two horses. The carriage was vintage and had an antique look. There were two windows with dark tint that he could not even peer inside. The black wheels were large like wagon spooks. The wagon had two lanterns hanging in the front and two hanging in the back. The body of the wagon was polished in black. In front of the wagon, a driver was seated outside. He was reading a red book titled “History of Love and Other Secrets.” Sere opened the carriage door and moved inside the carriage. Sere spoke. “My damn driver has taken a liking to reading history books recently. Now I can’t hold a conversation without him speaking in old-fashion words that you wouldn’t even catch my grandmother speaking in.” Kelan stepped inside. The entire interior, even the seats were white. There was a square table in front of them. The table polished in black with silverware and plates. There were seats on either side of the carriage. Kelan choose to sit behind the driver, facing Sere. The seats were made black and white fur. He rubbed the seat. It was the softest fur he ever felt. Kelan felt like he was going to be sick. Kelan asked. “Am I sitting on dead animal skin?”
Sere spoke. “The very best. The hunters told me the fur came from a large grazing animal called a Yok. The hunters said it was first one they have seen in years. The fur is so soft, Kel.”
Kelan could tell the carriage was built to be extravagant and for comfort. Kelan shifted the unpleasant conversation to another topic. Kelan exclaimed. “What! You have your own heater in here.” Kelan pointed at the air vents located in front of them and behind them, blowing out warm air.
Sere spoke proudly. “Of course. It was quite expensive to install it in, but it was worth every gallon.”
The driver slid opened the front window and spoke with a deep, proper accent. “How dost my good master fare? ”
Sere spoke. “Shush now. Take us to the Beacon of Light as quickly as possible.”
The driver spoke. “Ay, my good master.” The driver slid the front window shut and a few seconds later the wagon began to move forward. Sere looked at Kelan, urging him. “Well come on then. Dig in while the food is hot.”
Sere took a white cloth napkin that folded in front of him. He shook it to unravel the cloth napkin and tied it around his neck. Sere picked up his utensils and began to eat what lay in front of him. Kelan looked down at his utensils. Two identical utensils lay in front of him and were strange and unfamiliar to him. They were polished sticks. Sere stopped eating and looked at Kelan, amused. Sere spoke. “They are called chopsticks. You’ve got to use both of them together with one hand. Watch me.” Sere skillfully grabbed the two chopsticks with his fingers. Kelan watched as the chopsticks rested on his middle finger as his index finger hooked over the other side of the chopsticks. His thumb was resting on the middle part of the chopsticks. Sere carefully picked the rice and ate.
Kelan spoke. “Wouldn’t it be much easier and more efficient to scoop the rice with a spoon.”
Sere replied. “Spoons would be easier. But chopsticks are in style and I love the simplicity of its appearance yet marvel at the complexity of using it.
Kelan tried replicate the technique Sere was using to hold the chopsticks. As soon he placed the two chopsticks between his index finger and ring finger, one of the chopsticks would slip from his hand every time he reached for the rice. After several failed tries and getting rice all over the place, he finally got the hang of it. The yellow-crowned rice had tiny bits of truffles that tasted tangy and spicy. He wolfed down the yellow-crowned rice until the rice was all gone.
Kelan now tried tackling the steak covered in a brown sauce. He picked up his first bite. The piece of meat broke apart easily in his mouth. It was delicious, a perfect balance between fat and meat. As Kelan finished, he looked at Sere. Sere was already done. His plate was already empty. Sere was looking out his tinted window.
The carriage stopped and the driver slid the front window open. The driver spoke. “We art hither, my good master. Bedazzled the night is tonight.”
Sere spoke. “Good. Come, Kel. We have business to attend to.”
Kelan asked. “What is this place?”
Sere spoke simply. “Where all the important decisions are made. Tonight we will be making one of most important decision that will shape this city going forward.”
Kelan stepped out. The gates were magnificently tall and painted in ivory white. Kelan looked up at the gate. The gates must be at least one hundred feet tall. A lady voice spoke. “Good evening. Please place your ID cards through the slot, then step forward.” Sere placed his ID card into the slot of the entrance. The lady voice spoke. “Thank you. Please step forward.” A moment later, the lady voice spoke. “Sere Placci. Title: Merchant of Intelligence. You have a meeting in ten minutes. Please wait.”
Now it was Kelan’s turn. He placed his ID card into the slot of the entrance. The lady voice spoke. “Thank you. Please wait.” A moment later, the lady voice spoke. “Kelan Royier. Title: Guest. Please bot
h of you step forward.” The entrance began to open. They both stepped through the gates and into a white courtyard. All of the buildings were white. Sere stepped forward while Kelan followed him. Sere kept walking until stopping at the largest building in the middle. It had ten pillars supporting the roof of the building. The roof was dome-shaped.
Sere walked to the door. The white door was tall with a black frame. Sere pulled the black handle. Sere entered with Kelan tagging along. They entered an enormous room. There was a large round table in the middle of the white marbled floor. The round table was polished black. There were eight seats around the black round table. Men and women occupied the eight seats. Kelan recognized Versia who was seated between an elderly man and young lady. Sere sat in the nearest seat opposite from Versia. Kelan took a seat next to Sere. The elderly man stood up. He had a long, white beard that went down to his knees. His face was wrinkled with age. While his appearance looked fragile when the old man spoke, his voice was strong and clear. “My friends before we begin this meeting, please bow your head for a moment of silence for our great Chemlam. May the Light guide him to his final resting place.” The old man bowed his head and everyone else followed suit.
A few moments later, the old man looked back up. “I have called this meeting because a matter of great importance has come to my attention. The Chemlady has been accused of the murder of our beloved Chemlam and has been arrested for this heinous crime. Versia has confirmed to me that the Chemlady was arrested and is now the prisoner of the Strongblood. Before you interrupt me---” The young lady sitting next to Versia rose to stand up to speak. The old man motioned for her to sit back down. She sat back down. The old man continued to speak. “We must forgo our tradition by speeding up the process and vote for a new Chemlam today. Our city is leaderless and with every passing day, we risk the chance of being divided from within and falling into ruin. We must not delay.” The old man sat back down.
The young lady stood up. Kelan saw she was pretty. She had short, curly hair. Her hair was dark red. She had few freckles on both sides of her cheek. She spoke. “Grandminister with all due respect to your wisdom and experience, we can not override a tradition that has been passed down from the beginning of the city’s founding. We are here to uphold the laws not break them.” Another middle age woman nodded her head in agreement. The young lady sat back down.
A middle-aged man stood up. He was clean-shaven with not a strand of hair on his entire head. He had three blue dots on the middle of his forehead. He wore black sunglasses that covered his eyes. He spoke. “Light creates Shadows. Shadows breed evil. Wherever there is Shadows, ruin and disarray are not too far behind. Whatever decision, we make, we must do it in haste. That is why I support the Grandminister’s decision.” He sat back down.
Versia stood up and spoke in loud manner. “My friends, all of your opinions are valuable, however the only way this city will become stronger is to find a suitable candidate for Chemlam as soon as possible. Reno, the commander of the lightkeepers tells me that random acts of violence have been increasing ever since our Chemlam has been murdered. We need to act now to bring back stability back into the city.”
Sere stood up, glaring at Versia as Versia sat down. Sere sarcastically clapped his hands very slowly. “I suppose you would be the leader to lead us out of this madness?” Versia rose up in anger, but Sere motioned for Versia to sit back down. Versia glanced at the Grandminister who spoke. “Let us hear what everyone has to say.”
Versia sat back down, glaring at Sere with hatred.
“You all should be ashamed of yourself. Have you forgotten the vows we sworn to the Chemlam? We swore an oath to protect our Chemlady from physical harm and slander. Our first priority is to free our Chemlady. The second is to investigate the murder of the Chemlam.”
Versia stood up and spoke. “What madness do you speak of, Sere. We already know who the murderer is and she is locked away with the Strongblood. I think years of the high life and good wine has made you soft and weak. You care nothing for the safety of the people in this city. I can see through the angry tirade and veil of facade you hide in. You want the Chemlady back so you can continue your life of luxury. You have never fought in wars, I have. I watched my comrades die in front of me. I had to kill someone’s husband, father, and son. You never experienced the scars of war.”
Sere spoke. “You go too far. This is a personal attack of my character.”
The Grandminister yelled. “Enough from the both of you. I will not have this meeting turning into a shouting match between the two of you. Sit down the both of you.” They both sat down. The Grandminister spoke. “The Strongblood wield a lot of power and influence in this city. Their knights in black protect this city, but their true loyalty is to the Strongblood. We must vote for a new Chemlam to counter the Lord Strongblood claim as the new Chemlam. At this moment we can only pray that the Lights Gods answer our prayers and favor our Chemlady. I will not allow anyone to provoke any unnecessary acts against the Strongblood. Which is why we will only watch the trial unfold. Listen carefully to what I say next, if anyone of you tries to free the Chemlady I will remove your titles and freeze your assets. I will see this act as a sign of treason and you will be branded an enemy of the city Leydeity. The lightkeepers will hunt you down and bring you back to justice. This whole ordeal dealing with the Chemlady is quite troubling. I want to believe with all my heart that our Chemlady did not commit this atrocious crime, but the desire of power can corrupt even the purest heart. Therefore I will be conducting an investigation of the accusation. Now without further ado, we will begin the nominations. Everyone please pull out your ID cards.”
Kelan watched as everyone pulled out his or her ID cards. Kelan followed suit. “Wait! Who let him in?” Versia yelled.
Sere spoke. “I invited him as my guest.” The Grandmaster rose to speak, but was interrupted by a loud beep. After the series of beeps stopped, a lady voice spoke. “We are under attack. I repeat we are under attack. I have activated two more walls for defense.” Soon everybody began conversing amongst each other in fear and worry. Sere yelled. “By who?”
The lady voice spoke. “The Troshi raiders. The Strongblood have left the city with their entire knights and the Chemlady. The first wall has been breached and they are now destroying the second wall. We must evacuate the city.”
Everyone began to chatter with each other. Kelan and Sere both looked at each other with uncertainty. As the people got up to leave, Kelan stood up. Kelan whispered. “No.” No one heard him. Kelan spoke louder. “We can’t leave. There are those who can’t run. We can’t leave the sick, the old, and the young behind. Even if we lose, we need to buy some time for the citizens to escape.” Some stayed, while a few including Versia walked towards the door.
Kelan yelled. “If you leave now, you are all cowards.”
The Grandminister spoke. “He is right. We must stand and fight or there won’t be a city for us to govern. I forbid any one of you to leave.” Versia who was the first at the door stopped and turned around to glare at Kelan with great hatred. The Grandminister turned to Kelan and spoke. “I want you to lead the defense of the city. It would be a great honor.” Me?
****
