by JH Terry
XXIX: The Council Meeting
Tom hurried up the stairs to his rooms where, once he reached them, he saw Gerald, Kate and Peter were already waiting for him.
“Nice of you to have come,” said Gerald as he started to walk downstairs followed by Kate and Peter. Tom then followed behind them.
“Where’ve you been?” asked Peter of Tom.
“Trying to get killed again,” said Kate.
“No, I just found out some very useful information.”
“Like what?” asked Peter.
“Like they raise and eat dragons here.”
“You must be joking,” said Peter. “No wonder they keep on giving us the table scraps, no one else wants them.”
“Be quiet!” snapped Gerald. “You may not talk in coming to or being inside the council area unless directly spoken to.”
Just as Peter was going to mimic Gerald, Gerald turned around but Peter made sure nothing occurred. Gerald turned around and they walked into the council area, which had a long marble table shaped like a crescent where there sat ten people, including Akemi. She still had not put a bandage on her finger that was oozing blood before. Each was wearing a dark blue cloak, except for a young man with cropped dark brown hair at the end of the table, wearing a cornflower blue cloak, and an elderly man with long white hair in the centre of the table wearing a gold cloak. As Tom, Peter, and Kate sat down, Tom noticed that a seat next to the young man was unoccupied. On the back of the seat, the letter O was written in cornflower blue.
Looking at the young man Tom noticed that it was the same young man from the picture he had seen on the wall as he was walking around Lupo – it was Prince Onden. The young man wore a thin golden crown upon his head. Looking to the older man Tom saw a thicker crown upon his head. Tom could see that this was King Eron. However, Tom could see that Onden had tan skin and Eron had white skin. Tom looked to Onden again and could see that he and Eron looked alike. As he did this he could see that Akemi and them did not. However, looking to Onden Tom saw a look of familiarity about him from some other place, but could not place it. As Tom looked out of the window he felt as if someone was watching him. Looking next to King Eron he saw a white middle-aged man of perhaps 44 years old with blond hair and dark brown eyes looking at him strangely. The man felt no shame at looking at him. Looking to him Tom could only think of Uriah Heep from the book David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, and how Heep always said how ‘humble’ he was. However by the book’s end it was shown that Heep was not humble, but merely a crook out to destroy others so that he and his mother could live off of them respectably. Tom looked away from the man, but the man continued to look at him for a reason unknown to Tom.
As they sat and waited, King Eron’s face began to wear a deeper and deeper frown. Impatient, Akemi stood up and said, “Let’s not wait for her. We are wasting valuable time on her vanities!”
“Like you should be the one talking of vanities, Akemi,” said Prince Onden in a harsh tone.
“If you were not to be king, Onden, you wouldn’t be able to hold your head so high.”
“However, as I am to be, you better watch your tone to your future ruler you devilish creature!”
“Silence,” said King Eron, causing Akemi to sit down. “I never believed that in my old age my own grandchildren would be so ensued in such matters. Now we shall wait for Onde, since unlike others she does work at several undertakings despite her royal status.”
“At what - to finally be able to comb her hair by herself?” Akemi sarcastically proclaimed.
“No, but at least she is wiser than you could ever hope to be, Akemi,” said King Eron. “Perhaps that is because she received her wisdom from me, and you received your lack of respect from my sister, your grandmother, Marotna.” Akemi, with a scowl upon her face, looked away from King Eron. The man with blond hair smiled at what Eron had said and looked to Akemi. From Akemi he looked back to Tom. Peter and Kate looked at the man and at Tom. Peter was about to say something to Tom, but one look from Gerald made him do otherwise.
Suddenly, someone hurriedly entered the room in a cornflower blue cloak like that worn by Onden and wearing a thin gold crown upon her head. Looking to the person, Tom saw that it was the young woman from before, Ondess Kingesh. She had in her hands several papers. As she dragged across the floor she suddenly tripped on one of the tiles with all of the papers falling onto the ground. Akemi and the man with blond hair bursted out laughing. With one look King Eron silenced them both. Ondess, however, was not bothered and began to pick up her papers. Tom got up from his chair and helped her. Gerald was about to stop him, but a look from Eron made him stop.
“Thank you,” said Ondess to Tom before she realized it was him. Looking to Tom, Ondess was startled, but took her papers and said looking up into his eyes, “Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” said Tom to Ondess.
Ondess then sat on the chair next to Onden.
“Forgive me for my lateness, King Eron,” said Ondess.
“It is all right Onde, even kings have to wait for princesses,” said Eron looking to Akemi, who turned her head away. “Now, the case today is that of these children. Akemi, you may now argue your case.”
Ondess, seeing Tom and the others, was still startled, but focused upon the task at hand. Akemi stood up and went before the crescent table between it and the children. “Great advisors of Gordana,” said Akemi to all except Onden and Ondess. “As a child I use to come to you for even the most basic of questions and derived from them a vast amount of knowledge. I am pleased to know that throughout the years I have been blessed to become one of you.”
“Only because you are Marotna’s only grandchild,” whispered the man with blond hair with a sneer that could be heard by all.
However, Akemi continued, “I have been gone for over a year, but aged by eight, gaining wisdom along the way in order to bring to you one who has been prophesied in Dena’s Prophesies.” All of the advisors looked to each other and then the children as Akemi said this. “Who might this be?” Pointing to Tom, Akemi proclaimed, “This boy is the savior!” Suddenly, the man with blond hair began to laugh aloud and clap his hands. “What is so funny, Ebsen?” asked Akemi in anger.
Once finished his laughter, Ebsen said, “Would you have us believe that this boy is the one meant to save our whole world from the prevalence of evil? I am literally shaking myself to death over here,” said Ebsen as he began to literally shake and laughed. “I wonder how Unop or Norbis is going to take it, probably die of laughter. I can imagine it in the headlines now: Savior Defeats Evil With Laughter!” As Ebsen said this several other advisors, excluding Eron, Ondess, Onden, and Akemi laughed. “Only Akemi could be so stupid to believe in such a thing.”
“Only a fool like you Ebsen would not understand that even a child can be one of greatness,” said Akemi angered.
“Oh Akemi, it is just like you to go after someone younger,” said Ebsen with a smile as Ondess looked to Tom, who was looking to the ground. “You have been on Earth for too long and been taking all of their customs. If we look at your brain it would be the size of a pea by now. I feel that you have read too many fantasy novels and gone mad. As long as the council agrees with me we can vote on it quickly and have an early supper. Perhaps even find a good institution for Akemi to go to. What do you think, Princess Ondess?”
Ondess was not able to say anything when Akemi said enraged by Ebsen, “Ebsen, do not force me to show my determination or my blade will forever cut out your useless vocal chords!”
“Believe me, I would rather you place them in my ears so that they might never again be offended by the sound of your voice. Do you agree, Princess Ondess?”
Before Ondess could say anything, Akemi said, “Who cares what she thinks, this is between you and me.”
“Perhaps if you were not born to my best friend and first cousin, your father, he might still be alive rather than have killed himself over your hor
rible, ghastly face. Do you agree, Princess Ondess?” Suddenly Akemi screamed aloud, and with this Ebsen let out a horrible, evil laugh that filled the room.
“Ebsen,” said King Eron, “you may be my son, but your tone is too offensive, even for me.”
“Forgive me, father, but what proof does she have?” asked Ebsen.
“Proof!” laughed Akemi, who seemed completely crazed by everyone in the room with her hair mismanaged. “I have the most sound proof you shall ever find. Norbis, a black creature that works for Unop, has pervaded this boy’s dreams since his seventeenth birthday and tried to kill him along our passage here. If it had not been for me, I am sure Norbis would’ve killed him.”
“Too bad you were there then. To think I might actually be sleeping now instead of suffering through this freak show. Am I correct, Princess Ondess,” said Ebsen.
“Leave this revenge business alone,” said King Eron in an angered tone. “Akemi has a valid claim, but no valid proof. Herald, obtain Dena’s Prophesies from the study so that we may check them.”
“King Eron,” said Ondess.
“What is it, Onde?” asked King Eron.
“I have the pleasure of already holding a copy, one I use for my own history lectures.”
“Thank you, Onde,” said King Eron. “Herald, we do not need it. Someday, Onde’s efficiency shall be the end of your occupation.” Looking to Ebsen, Tom could see he was mimicking King Eron, but King Eron could not see.
Peter burst out laughing. Everyone looked to Peter, who said, “I was just coughing.”
King Eron looked to Ebsen who acted as if he had done nothing at all and was as shocked as the others.
Ondess gave to Eron the prophecies, but abruptly sat down when she saw the inappropriate look Ebsen had on his face for her, a look of want. Onden saw this and clenched his fists underneath the table. Akemi, also seeing Ebsen’s look, broke the pencil in her hand in half, angered by Ondess.
“It says here,” said King Eron as he read from the book, “that the chosen one must bear a scar upon his hand, that of a raven’s claw. Herald, is it there?”
The Herald took Tom’s hands and examined them. “No, your majesty, there is nothing.”
Akemi looked astonished, but King Eron continued, “Does he have a very small birthmark behind his ear?”
Searching, the Herald said, “No, there is no such mark.”
“Finally, is there a marking by the look of the English letter “A” on his shoulder?”
Searching, the herald said, “There is no “A,” your majesty, but there is something else.”
“What is it?” asked King Eron.
“A straight line. It looks like a sword,” remarked the Herald, surprised.
“It is impossible,” said Akemi as she pushed the Herald aside. However, as she checked the same places she saw that what the Herald said was true.
“Thank you, Herald, for doing this along with your other duties,” said King Eron as the herald left the council area and Akemi sat down in her chair astonished. Ebsen was smiled broadly at winning over Akemi. “My fellow counsellors, it is up to you to decide if Akemi’s case is valid or not….”
“Wait,” said Ondess as she stood up, “we cannot justify these markings.”
“Why not?” asked one elder. “Do you mean to say that the prophecies of Dena are a lie or in some way false in what they say?”
“No, not the prophecies of Dena, but these written down before us. These prophecies are only from the memories of those who had remembered the original prophecies burnt in the Great Fire of Lupo. There could be discrepancies in what is the truth and what they have remembered. Also, the translations of this version in English are from other translations that resulted from other translations in Binese.”
“So, what of it?” asked Ebsen.
“What of it? This means that in translating from other translations we may have incorrectly worded something because it doesn’t come from the original text. Such is the case in translations, and the risk of them all.”
“Do you mean we are to take months or years of searching to find the truth young lady?” asked another elder.
“If need be, yes, but just so long as we maintain what is truthful, which must be to see if he is truly the one or not. For if we do not, it would be as low of a crime as killing the truth, purity, and very soul of all those who live in Altium.”
“Ondess, I understand your claim, but we do not have enough time for that,” said King Eron. “For the time being, we must rest on what we have, which means that this boy does not have the markings of the chosen one.” As Ondess sat down Eron continued, “All of those who vote against this claim, sound out your thoughts now.” All of the counsellors, excluding Ondess, Eron, and Onden stomped their feet. “Akemi,” said King Eron, “you have changed your mind?”
“If the prophecy says it is not so, then it is not so,” replied Akemi coldly, causing Ebsen to give a slight smile.
“It is your decision,” said King Eron. “Those in favor.” However, no one stomped their feet. “Those who are undecided since they believe there is unsubstantial evidence given?” Onden and Ondess stomped their feet. “Based upon what I have before me, it seems that this boy is not the chosen one, and until such a time when this verdict is proven to be false, he will not be considered as the one. These three shall stay confined in their room until I decide what shall be done with them. This is my decision at the moment, thus causing the momentary finality of this discussion. Gerald,” asked Eron gesturing to the readied Gerald, “send these three to their rooms in house arrest conditions, and watch over them. They must not leave the palace, but will be cared for like any other guest. Now, I am famished for some Gordanese Dragon Soup. Let’s go to supper.” King Eron then stood up, followed by the others. At the words ‘dragon soup’ Peter had a look of feeling sick upon his face. King Eron went out first, followed by the other elders, then Ebsen, Akemi and Onden. However, as Akemi went out of the door, she ignored the existence of Tom, Peter and Kate, as if they were not even there. This puzzled the three as to Akemi’s faithfulness to them and who would help them in the world they were imprisoned in.
Ondess walked over to the three, “I am sorry about this, but you will be all right. The king, my grandfather, is a kind, as well as authoritative, man. You should be able to return home soon.”
“Are you certain?” asked Kate.
“Yes, we are that close,” said Ondess.
“How soon?” asked Peter recovered over his sick spell.
“It depends, but by tomorrow morning at the earliest.”
“Why didn’t you say you were a princess?” asked Tom.
“Why didn’t you say you were the chosen one?” asked Ondess. “I think you already know why, Tom.”
“Ondess,” said Prince Ebsen at the door of the council area, “would you do me the honor of letting me escort you to supper?”
“Of course, Uncle Ebsen,” replied Ondess as she walked towards Ebsen. Looking to Tom, Peter, and Kate, Ondess said, “Good night, and enjoy your evening.”
“Good night,” said Peter and Kate.
“Good night, Ondess,” said Tom as Ondess stood next to Ebsen.
“Just call me Ebsen, we are close enough for that,” said Ebsen as he escorted Ondess out of the council area and to the dining area for supper.
“All right, come along,” said Gerald to the children as he gestured to them to get up and follow him, “and no talking this time.”