by Dane Bagley
“Show them in,” said Mr. Cards who was seated in his office with Daxton.
Two men entered wearing hoods with their heads bowed. Neither Daxton nor Mr. Cards got up from their seats. The two men stopped behind the desk standing and waited upon further orders. Cards assistant shut the door leaving the four men alone. The men removed their hoods showing their shaved heads and dragon tattoos.
“Well…” said Mr. Cards.
“Sir,” said the one on Cards left. “They’ve defected to Agedon.”
“Of this you are certain?”
“Yes…Sir.”
“And Agedon accepts them…as citizens? Or as a bargaining chip of sorts?”
“As citizens…Sir.”
“And you’re certain that they are responsible for…the deaths?
“Sir…there can be no question as to their motives, now. And…there are witnesses.”
“Reliable, these witnesses?”
“Yes…Sir.”
“Very well.” Mr. Cards reached for a leathern bag that was bulging with metallic currency. He dropped it on the table offhandedly. “Thank you, we’ll be in touch,” he said, not looking at them. The man on the left took the bag as both put on their hoods and left without another word.
“Satisfied?”
Daxton paused for a moment. “I don’t trust them. Why do we fund them?”
“They fulfill a purpose, as you know. Their actions can be ascertained—they are predictable.”
“I don’t like them.”
“There is no need to like them; you have no reason to like them. Nobody likes them. They’ve never lied to me nor shown ulterior motives. They are what they are, nothing more and nothing less.”
“Well…”
“Now, your friend and our new General, Aiden…some question his loyalty on this account. Not everyone thinks that he did all within his power to catch these two before they got to Agedon.”
“Of course he didn’t. If Aiden wanted to catch Terrence he’d have had him in no time. Terrence is good, but he’s no match for Aiden.”
“So, I hear. But, it looks suspicious. If I hear of him being questioned, then you and perhaps I will be questioned, too.”
“You will not be questioned. No one would question your loyalty. As to me…”
“You are with me. We cannot be questioned, and so we will not be.”
“When you told me to ask Aiden to lead his troop in search for him, neither he nor I ever thought you intended for him to find Terrance.”
“Quite so. But did he do enough? Wandering the walls with his men for half a day. Why would anyone leave to just hang around the outer wall of Cardsten?”
“It was as we understood that you wanted it.”
“Yes.”
“If he’d led his troops toward Agedon, it would have been a provocation. We do not want a provocation, we want to keep them at bay with our military powers, not battle them directly.”
“Yes, but our motives cannot be questioned.”
“It was not his technique; I do not believe. If we had sent another General and he had done the same, then it would be left unquestioned. It is because of his association with Terrence that it is questioned, nothing more,” said Daxton.
“Perhaps…”
“And it was for this purpose that we sent Aiden, in the first place. It was an opportunity to prove his loyalty to Cardsten.”
“Yes, and that is just it. His loyalty was not proven, and now, at least by some, it is questioned.”
“Could it be otherwise, no matter his skill and value to the city? He is a new arrival. There will always be those questions, by some.”
“Yes, but I would have liked it to go better.”
“So would I.”
“You know that you will never see Terrence again, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“He and Tira can never return.”
“I know.”
“This must weigh heavily upon you.”
“Yes, it does.”
“Let Aiden know.”
“Know what?”
“That Terrence is in Agedon…and that his loyalty is questioned in some circles. He will have to be even more…perfect.”
“Daxton, it’s good to sees ye my friend, it is!”
“How’ve you been, Jashion?”
“Great. Ye got word on Terrence?”
“Yeah, where’s Aiden?”
“He’ll be along, soon.”
“Daxton,” said Aiden entering the back of the tent.
Daxton turned and stood.
“They said that you needed to see me.”
“Yes, Cards sent me.”
“Well?”
“Terrence and Tira are in Agedon, they’ve defected.” Aiden nodded. “Some talk is going around that you let them escape, that your loyalties are not entirely with Cardsten.”
Aiden nodded again and sat down next to Jashion. Daxton sat again across the table from his friends.
“And?”
“That’s it, that’s the message. You’ve got to be more careful.”
“Cards sent you, risking improprieties, just to state the obvious?
“No big deal. We’re friends; I can come and go as I please without arousing suspicions. There’s no impropriety in me being here.”
“You can’t just come, ask for me, deliver a message and take off then. You’ll have to stay for lunch. Mirinda’s coming.”
“Now you’re talking. What’re you going to do then?”
“Lead my men. What are you going to do? Grow your business?”
“Exactly. Are the men giving you any trouble?”
“Of course not,” said Jashion. “They love their general, they do. They’d do anything for Aiden, they would.”
“Daxton,” said Aiden after some pause. “The people are always on the lookout for someone else, someone better than they have. Whatever you have is never as good as it could be. They know what they have and they’re looking for something that they don’t have. What’s on the inside is never good enough—they want something on the outside. The funny thing is that when someone or something from the outside comes along that is better than they have, they embrace it quickly and with enthusiasm. It is, after all, what they have been looking for. It’s a gift; it’s providence. Then, once placed on the inside they feel suspicious—vulnerable. They feel as though it should not be on the inside because it is from the outside, it is foreign—alien. How can you ever trust anything that is not a part of you, that is outside of you? Now, what you had before is—was—preferable and superior. What you have now is dangerous. But it’s on the inside and they put it there. They can’t just say, ‘never mind,’ that would show all of their vulnerabilities and insecurities. So, they must watch and look for the mistake, for the moment so they can bring out all of the rage and extricate it—me, with full internal and superficial justification. This is the place that we are in, and have been since receiving our positions and commissions. It has always been a matter of time, and that time was short with Terrence’s quick and messy departure,” said Aiden.
“I’m under Cards, still, and will be for some time. Cards is as inside as it gets. Maybe, at some future time I will face this scrutiny. But you…you are under no one militarily. You, as always, face the world face forward and with your chest bare. You are, and have always been, your own protection. So, should I let Cards know that you want out?”
“Out? What are you talking about?”
“Haven’t had enough fun yet? Seen what you came here to see?
“What about you? Have you seen enough, yet?”
“I’m not here to see Cardsten. I’m here; I’m a part of this place, it is a part of me. I’m home, I’m marrying Tasha and taking my place amongst the elite here. I’m not here to see, I’m here to become.”
“Very well,” said Aiden. “But you misunderstand me. I am not here to see the place, either. As if you can look in from the outside and have any knowledge—any understanding. I never g
o anywhere to just see it; I am here to become, too. I only see, truly see, if I become. There is much that I am seeing, but it is only because I am becoming.
“Terrence did not want to see this place any longer because he would not become a part of it. What you reject, you do not want to see.”
“What of Tengeer? You and Jashion came and saw for such a short while and when you had seen enough you left. You never became of Tengeer.”
“On the contrary, my friend. I came to Tengeer precisely to become of Tengeer. I did not possess the knowledge of Tengeer sufficiently in order to heal Jashion. I came and became one with the healing arts of Tengeer. This has served me well, and always will. Tengeer has been with me ever since that time. You, and your cousins have been with me upon leaving. I will always be a part of Tengeer, as I am a part of my home land. This will never leave me. Becoming of Cardsten is not so simple. Cardsten dwarfs my past homes in sophistication, in intricacy, in power, in knowledge, and in many other ways. One does not simply go to and become a part of Cardsten and then move on to bigger and better things. Perhaps it will take a lifetime to fully become of Cardsten.”
“Now that’s music to my ear,” said Mirinda entering the tent dressed to the nines for a lunch date with the general. “Daxton, what a pleasure. How is Tasha?”
“Wonderful!” he said rising and smiling.
They all shifted seats so that Mirinda sat by Aiden and Jashion and Daxton sat across.
“We haven’t had a good night on the town since the day you arrived,” said Mirinda. “It’s been eventful since you’ve all been here, to be sure. We need to go out and relax and enjoy some time together. Daxton, are you and Tasha available tomorrow night?”
“Yes, I believe so. I think that sounds grand.”
“Jashion, don’t you drop your eyes and pretend that you’re not here. You can come, too.”
“Nay, but I’d be in the way with ye couples, I would.”
“Nonsense. But you could bring someone, if you’d prefer.”
“Nay. I’ve no one to bring.”
“Is that so, lieutenant? I’ve heard enough whispers about you to know that you’d have the pick of the city.”
Jashion reddened and dropped his eyes while shaking his head. Mirinda’s eyes did not move from him.
“Jashion,” he looked up slowly and Mirinda waited for eye contact. “Myrtle’s available.”
Then he really reddened. “Nay.”
“What do you mean, ‘nay.’ She is available, and she’d enjoy it too. She’s tried to be nice to you since that first night. You’ve hardly had a word to say to her. You’re always stiff around her, but then when she’s away I see your eyes—I’ve seen you stare. Why don’t you ask her to come? I know she would.”
“Nay, but I’ll relax at home. Ye all go out and enjoy the night. I’ll stay home.”
“Jashion, we want you with us. And we want Myrtle there too. There is more to Myrtle than you know. I know that she hurt you that night, but she didn’t mean to. Don’t you want to give her another chance?”
“Nay.”
“Don’t you like her?”
“Aye, I like her fine. But I don’t want to go out with her.”
“But, Jashion, don’t you think that Myrtle is pretty?”
“Aye, Myrtle is very pretty.”
“Well…”
“Well, what?”
“She’s pretty, you’ve said so yourself. She likes you. Are you just shy?”
“Nay, me isn’t too shy, me isn’t. I just don’t want to go out with Myrtle.”
“‘I just don’t want to,’ isn’t a reason. It doesn’t mean anything. She’s pretty, she’s attractive to you, and she’s attracted to you. ‘I just don’t want to,’ isn’t fair—it isn’t right. If a girl is pretty and she likes you, you don’t just ignore her.”
“Aye, she’s pretty but I don’t see what that has to do with anything. What if she was homely? Then it wouldn’t matter if I ignored her or not?”
“Well…”
“Well, what?”
“Well, it’s not the same, now is it?”
“Her feelings matter more if she’s pretty, than if she isn’t?”
“No, it’s not about her feelings. I suppose a homely girl has feelings just like a beautiful one. But it’s still not the same. A homely girl and a pretty girl aren’t the same. The pretty girl possesses a power, an attribute, a value that the homely girl does not. They aren’t the same. Beauty is real, it matters. Beauty leaves an impact; it makes the world a better place. A girl who is possessed of it, possesses something meaningful and of great value.”
“Aye, it matters, it does. Everyone appreciates a beautiful woman, they do. And ye are very beautiful, Mirinda, ye is. And Myrtle, she is too. But, as I’ve been told, it’s really the beauty inside that matters, now isn’t it?”
“Of course that matters, Jashion. No one questions that, do they? But, the word ‘beauty,’ is metaphorical when we speak of inner beauty. There are clearly many attributes that a person may possess and most of them have little to do with appearance. Each is important, is real, and is of great worth. But, beauty, true beauty isn’t an inward possession, but instead, is a physical attribute—it is outward. Beauty requires vision to perceive. Other qualities may bring out wonderful, perhaps even similar feelings, but if it isn’t outward and visually perceived, then they are merely metaphorically beautiful. Maybe we just don’t have the right words to describe them. But they are not actually beauty.
Jashion, beauty matters. It is its own quality; it is what so many other qualities are compared to because of its exquisiteness—its power. If Myrtle is pretty—a great possessor of beauty—then she contains a great deal of worth just for that attribute alone. You can’t just ignore that and pretend that it is somehow inconsequential when the whole world responds to it and knows that it is vastly important. Because it is so clear, so easy to perceive, so incontrovertible, some people want to devalue it by calling it superficial. So, don’t pretend that the obvious somehow doesn’t exist—really exist. You can’t compare so many things metaphorically to something that isn’t real.”
“Aye, its true what ye says, Mirinda. Still, isn’t beauty in the eye of the beholder?”
“Is it? Really?”
“So, I’ve heard, hasn’t ye?
“Jashion, is that your experience; you who has seen so much of this world? Do some think Aiden is extraordinarily handsome and beautiful, and others not? Have you met a man, or a woman for that matter, that would look at Tasha, Myrtle, and I and not think us beautiful?”
“Nay.”
“Beauty is not in the eyes of the beholder. Beauty is as real as any attribute could be. You confuse degrees of beauty. Not everyone is equally possessed of beauty. Some are more beautiful than others. What differs from person to person is where they draw the line. Some girls may be considered beautiful by some and not so by others. She possesses beauty, to be sure, but she may not possess much—or she may have distracting features that take too much away. To one man she possesses enough, and the distractions are not such that they take too much away; he says that she is beautiful. To another, her beauty is not sufficient, or her distractions are too distracting from her beauty. To him she is not beautiful. Those who are in the middle may be variously assessed by everyone. This is no counter to the reality of beauty. This simply explains that not everyone judges the sufficiency of beauty the same. Do you think that you and Tasha would judge the sufficiency of an amount of money the same? I suspect that a sum of money that would seem very large and sufficient to you would be judged as small and insufficient by Tasha. The amount is easily ascertainable by everyone, and there is no disagreement, but the quality of that quantity could be variously perceived by everyone differently. The same amount of money would have different meanings for different people just as the same degree of beauty would be judged qualitatively differently by everyone. Still, a great beauty is seen as a great beauty by all just as a great fort
une is seen as a great fortune by all.”
“You’re making an effective, yet awkward comparison between those two, Mirinda,” said Aiden. “Comparing a qualitative value to a quantitative value is difficult.”
“Fair. But, it gets the point across. Degree and amount aren’t exactly the same, but qualities that are judged by degrees are ultimately considered in a similar vein to quantities that are judged by amounts. Are they really so different, at least in regards to making judgments?”
Aiden smiled. Mirinda wasn’t finished.
“Jashion, have I convinced you? A girl, possessed with the gift of great beauty should not be ignored.”
“Aye, she certainly will not be. But isn’t that just it? Beauty is a gift, it is. Does a pretty girl deserve to be treated better because of a gift which she does possess?”
“Jashion,” said Aiden. “Every attribute, every quality that a person possesses is part gift and part earned. Those with high intelligence have both been given it and have worked for it. It can’t be entirely earned nor entirely given. Physical skills, great personality, political power, financial acumen, and even beauty require both parts. Would you begrudge anyone what they are gifted with? Would you begrudge anyone for that which they earned? It is without question that Mirinda, and her friends, Myrtle and Tasha, have been gifted with great beauty. Still, I suspect that to be as beautiful as they are, they spend much effort each day on their physical appearance.”
“You have no idea,” said Mirinda. “Myrtle has earned her beauty to be sure. She works so hard, lately just to impress you. She knows that she hurt you. She wants you to look at her as you first did. Not just sneaking looks from her, but look at her and let her see you do it. What do you say, Jashion?”
“Alright, I’ll ask her out. It can’t hurt, can it?”
“Good man, Jashion,” said Daxton. “That’ll make Tasha’s day!”
Chapter 21