Worlds Apart (ThreeCon)

by Carmen Webster Buxton

  “Maybe. But I don’t give up easily.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  Rishi decided it wouldn’t hurt to ask. “I don’t suppose that you’d consent to kiss me?”

  Praxiteles shook his head.

  “I didn’t think so,” she said with her own less profound sigh. “It’s too bad, too, because I’d really like to be kissed about now.”

  Praxiteles’ eyes looked at her as warmly as they ever had. “You should never have fallen in love with an Elliniká, lady.”

  She laughed out loud at this. “I should never have drunk that damn wine. Once I did, it was all over.”

  Praxiteles stayed with her a little while longer, but soon he had to go help his father with their chores. He looked down at her face as if he were trying to memorize it. “Goodbye, lady.”

  Rishi took his arm. “No matter what happens, I’ll see you again.”

  Praxiteles looked solemn. “You’ll have to go back sooner or later.”

  That was obvious. The question was, would she go alone. “We’ll see.”

  Praxiteles called out a farewell to Tinibu and headed back to his family’s wagon.

  Rishi watched him. In some ways, she was glad he had come back there. She had never really understood how thoroughly Celadon was a part of him. So long as she got him back in the end, she was prepared to see this excursion as a good thing.

  Tinibu cleared his throat. She hadn’t realized he had drifted closer. “Do you think your plan will work, Mistress?”

  Rishi stood very straight. “It has that possibility.” She set her shoulders and started for the Zemikis part of the encampment.

  “Where are we going?” Tinibu asked as he fell in step behind her.

  “I have to talk to Melina.” And hopefully, she would provide reassurance, because otherwise, Rishi didn’t see how she could get through the afternoon.

  THE tribunal was held in the same place at every gathering. In the area beyond the meeting ground where the bonfires were lit every night, a shallow depression formed a sort of natural amphitheater. The twelve women clan leaders who were serving on the tribunal that year sat on a row of stools set up at the bottom of the hollow. In front of them, the remaining forty-five heads of clans sat on the ground in two rows. Anyone who was involved or interested in a dispute took a seat on the sloping ground behind the two rows of clan leaders.

  When Prax and his parents arrived, the hollow was already half full. Konstantin spread a blanket on the ground and Circe sat down first. He sat next to her, and Prax sat a little behind them. A few minutes later, Apollo and Nikos joined them and took seats on either side of Prax.

  “Where’s Iphigenia?” Nikos asked.

  “Gone to visit her cousins in the Zemikis,” his mother said. “Praxiteles didn’t want her to come.”

  “Why not?” Nikos asked. “She’s old enough now.”

  “I’d rather she wasn’t here,” Prax said. “It’s going to be bad enough as it is.”

  “You take everything to heart too much,” Apollo said. “She wouldn’t think less of you for anything she heard here.”

  “Maybe not,” Prax said. “But I didn’t want her to hear it, anyway.” He could feel a cold, hard knot forming in the pit of his stomach. He had lived with an inner shame for many years. Soon it would be very public.

  “You don’t have to stay,” Apollo said. “This is between Mother and Great-Aunt Melina. You don’t have to be here.”

  “The root of it is between me and the Mercouri,” Prax said. “It was my crime, and I will answer for it as many times as is necessary.”

  The tribunal appeared to be ready. The twelve heads of clans all sat up straight on their stools, and then one of them stood up. Ariadne Spiridopolus was the moderator for the year. It was her last year on the tribunal, and judging from her age, it was most likely the last time she would serve in her lifetime. Prax studied the twelve women. He didn’t know any of them personally. Neither the Zemikis nor the Mercouri were represented. Eugenie would be on the tribunal in two years, assuming she was still the head of the Mercouri. Melina Zemikis had just finished three years on the tribunal; she had been the moderator the year before.

  Ariadne called the name of the first disputants. A marriage had ended in divorce, and property was being split up between the former husband and wife. There were guidelines for most possessions. The wife always owned the wagon and most of the household goods, and the husband owned the team of alogos. In this case, the couple had been prosperous and had additional alogos. Both parties had to come forward to speak, addressing the tribunal personally on why they thought they were entitled to the property. There was a young woman in black trousers and a black tunic sitting slightly behind the tribunal, who was consulted anytime there was a question as to who was telling the truth. Prax and his father were far from unique among the Elliniká in their ability to recognize a lie.

  The tribunal split the extra alogos up, giving the wife the pregnant female, and the husband the two male beasts.

  The second case concerned a betrothal that had been broken off after gifts had been exchanged. There was some question whether a valuable piece of antique jewelry had been a personal gift or a betrothal gift. The tribunal ruled that it had to be returned to the giver.

  It went on for several more cases. There was a dispute between cousins over an inheritance. There was a more serious quarrel between the Spiridopolus and the Kazanti over whose herd was entitled to some orphaned bodi. Ariadne and the head of the Kazanti both excused themselves from the voting on that question, and the tribunal found for the Kazanti.

  It was late in the afternoon when the moderator consulted her list and called the names of Melina Zemikis and Circe Mercouri.

  Melina and Circe stood up to answer the summons. Prax put his head on his knees and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes. Rishi had said this would help them. He hoped it was so.

  “Melina Zemikis,” Ariadne said, “you have lodged a complaint against Circe Mercouri for refusing to consider a proposal for a marriage between your grandniece and her son. Is that correct?”

  “It is correct, lady,” Melina said.

  Ariadne turned to Prax’s mother. “Circe Mercouri, why did you refuse to consider a good-faith proposal?”

  “My son Praxiteles has been enjoined by the elders of the Mercouri from marrying anyone, lady,” Circe said.

  There was a murmur from the crowd. Prax knew that they were all most likely aware of the basic facts of his circumstances. They were merely surprised at this public exposure of such a shameful situation.

  “For what reason is your son forbidden to marry?” Ariadne asked.

  Prax squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath. Apollo put his arm around Prax’s shoulder and murmured reassuring words.

  “It was part of his punishment for the crime of incest,” their mother said. She spoke firmly, with no suggestion of shame in her voice.

  Prax let out his breath and opened his eyes. It was said. Apollo tightened his grip a moment and then let go of him. Prax made himself breathe normally.

  When he looked up, Ariadne was frowning. She turned to Melina. “Incest is, by definition, purely an internal clan matter, unless it involves a situation such as a father and a daughter. Since that is clearly not the case here, why have you brought this matter before the tribunal?”

  Melina’s face was serene but stern. “Because the Mercouri have gone beyond their bounds. In punishing this young man in this fashion, they have disrupted the order of our people. It is our way that a man marries and leaves his clan. The custom must continue, or our people would die out. By forbidding Praxiteles Mercouri to marry, the Mercouri elders have deprived the Zemikis, or any other clan, from the chance to benefit from his labor and his seed.”

  Ariadne still frowned. She turned to Eugenie, who still sat in the front row facing the
tribunal.

  “Eugenie the Mercouri,” Ariadne called, “will you speak to this charge?”

  Eugenie stood up. “Lady, this is, as you said, a matter that is internal to the affairs of my clan. This tribunal has no rights to interfere.”

  Ariadne seemed even less happy with this answer than she had been with Melina’s complaint.

  “We will consult,” she said. The twelve women of the tribunal stood up and formed a tight circle. There was a brief discussion and then a show of hands. It looked close. They all took their seats except for Ariadne. The moderator spoke to Eugenie.

  “The tribunal does not agree,” she said. “We will hear this dispute. Eugenie the Mercouri and Melina the Zemikis, come forward.”

  Melina was already standing. After Eugenie got to her feet, both women moved to stand directly in front of the tribunal. There was another murmur through the crowd, like the ripple of wind through prairie grass. Prax was aware of curious glances shot his way. His mother gave him an anxious look as she sat down next to his father.

  “Now,” Ariadne was saying. “Let us review the case. The Zemikis allege that the Mercouri have no right to punish a man by forbidding him to marry because it punishes the other clans as well. There is some logic to this argument. However, first let us explore the merits of the original case. Eugenie Mercouri, was there any question of this man’s guilt?”

  “No, lady,” Eugenie said. “He admitted his guilt.”

  “And he accepted punishment?”

  “Yes, lady.”

  Ariadne tilted her head as she studied Eugenie. “Why was he punished in this way? Incest is most often punished with a beating and perhaps the prison wagon for a day or two. The guilty parties are encouraged to marry other people as soon as possible.”

  “We did beat him, lady,” Eugenie said. “And we put him in the prison wagon. However, Zoë was dead, and it was felt that Praxiteles must pay for her death. Ordinarily, she would have married and brought a husband to the Mercouri. Since she could not, we determined that he must stay and serve his own clan.”

  “Did this young man cause her death?” Ariadne asked.

  “Indirectly, lady,” Eugenie said. “She had become pregnant, and she killed herself from despair.”

  Ariadne frowned again. “This seems very harsh. Had Praxiteles forced himself on her?”

  “I don’t know,” Eugenie said. “He had admitted to incest. We didn’t ask further.”

  “Praxiteles Mercouri,” Ariadne said in a commanding voice. “If you are present, come forward now.”

  Prax could feel all the blood leave his face. His mouth went dry all at once. He stood up. Everyone was staring directly at him. He walked slowly through the crowd feeling as if all those eyes were energy weapons aimed right at him. He stopped walking when he was a little way behind Eugenie.

  Ariadne considered him as if he were a creature she had never seen before. “Praxiteles Mercouri, did you commit the crime with which you were charged?”

  Prax stared at her face. He couldn’t let himself look anywhere else. “Yes, lady.”

  “Did you initiate intimate relations with Zoë Mercouri, or did she initiate them with you?”

  Prax swallowed hard. “She came to me, lady, but I didn’t push her away.”

  Ariadne glanced at the young woman behind her. The woman nodded to confirm that Prax was speaking the truth.

  “Other than being in the same clan, was she related to you?” Ariadne asked.

  Prax hesitated and then spoke in as firm a voice as he could manage. “Our mothers are first cousins.”

  There was a shocked murmur from the crowd. Prax took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  Ariadne turned her attention back to Eugenie. “What brought the crime to light?”

  “We found Zoë’s body hanging from a tree,” Eugenie said. “A female cousin said that Zoë had confided that she was with child. The elders assembled all the men, Mercouri and others, and asked for the father to step forward.”

  “And did he?”

  “Yes. He came forward. We asked him if he had committed incest with Zoë, and he admitted it.”

  “Did he accept punishment willingly?”

  “Yes, lady,” Eugenie said again. “We gave him the choice, as was his right. He chose to accept punishment and stay with our people.”

  “You said that you beat him,” Ariadne said. “How many strokes?”

  Eugenie looked a little confused. “I don’t remember, lady. We beat him until he lost his senses, but I don’t remember how many strokes it took.”

  There was a stir behind Prax, and he heard his father’s voice asking to speak.

  “Who are you?” Ariadne asked.

  “I am Konstantin Zemikis, lady. Praxiteles Mercouri is my son.”

  “This is a matter for the Mercouri,” Ariadne said. “What do you wish to say?”

  “I witnessed my son’s punishment, lady. It took thirty-two strokes for Praxiteles to lose consciousness.”

  Ariadne glanced at the young woman in black. She nodded again.

  “Thank you,” the moderator said. “You may sit.” She looked at Eugenie again.

  “After you had beaten him thirty-two times, you put him in the prison wagon. For how long?”

  “Three days, lady.”

  Ariadne raised her eyebrows at this. “Without food or water?”

  Eugenie nodded.

  “And then when you brought him out, you told him that he was forbidden to marry?”

  “We told his mother when we took him home, lady. He wasn’t conscious.”

  “How old was he when he committed this crime?”

  “Eleven, lady.”

  “In the history of your clan, has anyone ever been punished for incest in this manner?”

  Eugenie hesitated. “I don’t think so, lady. I’ve never heard of it.”

  Ariadne considered. “Well,” she said. “It’s clear the Mercouri were within their rights to punish Praxiteles Mercouri for the crime of incest. He was indeed guilty, by his own admission, and he received adequate—some would say more than adequate—punishment in the beating and deprivation. It seems, however, that Eugenie Mercouri has admitted that they also punished him for the death of Zoë Mercouri.” She looked sharply at Prax. “Praxiteles Mercouri, did you kill Zoë Mercouri?”

  Prax was so startled by the direct question he nearly stammered his answer. “No, lady.”

  “Did you know that she planned to take her own life?”

  “No, lady.’

  “Did you know she was with child?”

  “No, lady,” Prax said a third time. “She asked me to run away to the city with her, but she didn’t tell me about the child.”

  Ariadne looked interested at this piece of information. “What did you say when she asked you to run away with her?”

  “I told her I didn’t want to live in the city. She tried to persuade me, and we quarreled.”

  “And it was shortly after that that she took her life?”

  “Yes, lady.”

  Ariadne again glanced at the young woman behind her and was rewarded with another nod.

  “Eugenie Mercouri,” Ariadne said, “how did you determine that this man was responsible for the death of Zoë Mercouri?”

  Eugenie drew herself up. “He was the father of her child, lady. He was the reason she was in despair.”

  Ariadne frowned. “But Zoë was equally to blame for her situation. He didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was dead.”

  “She was dead,” Eugenie said, annoyance creeping into her tone. “We couldn’t punish her. We could only punish him.”

  “That doesn’t make her any less guilty,” Ariadne said.

  Eugenie set her mouth in a tight line. “This is still a Mercouri matter. Nothing has bee
n said that changes that.”

  Ariadne considered this. “Not entirely. There remains the question on whether a clan may forbid a man to marry as a punishment. The Zemikis are right in that such an action prevents a man of marriageable age from being of service to other clans. To my knowledge, no clan has ever tried to impose that punishment on anyone, man or woman. Does anyone here know otherwise?”

  Ariadne waited, but no one spoke.

  “In addition,” she went on, “this tribunal is empowered to enforce certain conduct on individual clans. There are rules that must be followed the same way for all clans. No punishment can be meted out without the choice of banishment first. That is a rule of the Elliniká, not of any one clan. It seems to me that you punished Praxiteles for Zoë’s death without ever charging him with that as his crime. When he accepted punishment for committing incest with Zoë, he had no way of knowing that you would also punish him for causing her death.”

  Prax drew in a breath. He had never considered the matter in that light before, but she was right.

  Eugenie bit her lip. She looked extremely put out.

  “Did you ever charge him with being responsible for her death?” Ariadne challenged.

  “No, lady,” Eugenie answered sharply.

  “Praxiteles Mercouri,” Ariadne said, “if the Mercouri had charged you with causing Zoë Mercouri’s death as well as committing incest, would you have accepted punishment?”

  Prax blinked at the suddenness of the question. Would he still have accepted punishment? The only alternative would have been to leave the Elliniká forever. But causing someone’s death was a terrible crime. They could have maimed him for it, perhaps even cut off his hand. “I don’t know, lady.”

  She nodded as if accepting his inability to answer. “Do either of you have anything you wish to add before we consider how we will rule?”

  Eugenie shook her head. Melina spoke again. “I would like to say, lady, that the question of what a clan can do for punishment should be addressed. If a clan can forbid a man or woman from marrying, it affects other clans as much as their own.”

  “We will consider that point,” Ariadne said.

  She stood up and the others joined her. They formed their circle again. There appeared to be a heated debate going on. It lasted for quite some time. Prax stayed where he was, glad his back was to the crowd so that he couldn’t see his family.