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Posted on October 27, 2012 at 10:55:52 PM by a r t h u r
 “There would not have been a civil war,” Arthur countered levelly, “if there had not been two sides. As I have said, my duty is to protect my people, all of my people. I dare say those in Shaman who supported Gwythr in the war would have no need of me should he return, but their decisions should not affect the safety of those who would have cause to fear him.” The King smiled, Arthur did not. In conversations with Tsi, Arthur was usually willing, for the most part, to allow some of himself to drift into their discourse, but as the topic was perused with increasing fervour, the man retreated further behind his office, and behind his crown. Outwardly the shift was subtle, a slight adjustment in the eyes, in the expression and the line of the mouth. A slight, barely noticeable withdrawal of manner which to the practiced listener, would result in a discreet chilliness of manner. “You know more of history than I do, Tsi,” Arthur continued, nodding his head in a bow of acknowledgement of the fact, “when a warlord won support from some of the people of his nation, how many times did that make him right? Or just?” The king allowed the question to hang for a moment, his expression considering as he waited, wondering whether he had been understood. He hoped so. He liked Tsi, he really did. He listened carefully to the deity’s explanation of court procedure, and inwardly Arthur felt a twinge of guilt, and a growing sense of gratitude. He believed he could guess some of what Mallos was reluctant to share with Tsi, and with that knowledge came a realisation that, for the sake of his son, Arthur had failed to do everything in his power for the well-being of Shaman’s general populous. Arthur felt tired in that moment, as if the weight of the years of his last life and the one that he was still living, had just been lowered down onto his shoulders. He had often thought about the strange lines that a mortal King walked. He was both a man, and not a man. He had concerns greater than those who worked the land, or trading cloth and spices, but he also had much in common with them. The want to protect family, the need to pacify one’s own conscience, and the two world seemed to contradict one another with alarming frequency. Arthur returned Tsi’s stare. “The trouble with memories,” he said slowly, “is that those that relate to one thing are so often tied up with irrelevancies belonging to another matter entirely. A man may seeks to keep the irrelevancies to himself for his own reasons, and in so doing restrict his ability to share that which he would gladly give.” There was no doubt about it now, Arthur knew, Tsi would know that the King was hiding something very specific from him, something that involved Mallos. He needed to choose his next words with care. “Would you believe me Tsi, if I were to reassure you that what has passed unspoken between us here is unrelated to the trial in question? I can offer you that much, I will have a guard fetch a bible from my chapel if it would ease your mind, but for my own sake, I can give you little more.” It seemed as if the meeting had doomed Arthur to inevitable concentration and care. Each matter that they discussed appeared to require an intricate care. It had been long since Arthur had felt the need to flex the muscles of his mind to matters as difficult as the ones that now created an uneasiness between the King and his visitor. “The final decision is, of course, yours,” Arthur said, with another smile and another nod, slipping his voice into a tone of affability with apparent ease, although inwardly it took a significant amount of effort, “but I would rather work with someone I could picture myself forming a mutually beneficial working relationship with, and I highly doubt that Lorraine and I are compatible in that sense.” The denial was there, the refusal, standing firmly beneath the surface of the careful words, and his grey eyes re-enforced the message. The originals had been around long enough that Arthur was sure that Tsi would have been more than able to understand. “Gwythr,” Arthur began, “was eager to ensure the continuation, and the prestige, of his species. I believe, you could say that his motivation was fear, fear and pride, perhaps, in the simplest of terms. There is no knowing how far a man will go when the things that mean the most to him are threatened.” As if suddenly remembering its continued presence on the desk, Arthur reached for the jug of wine and re-filled his goblet. He took two long drinks from the cup, as if considering his answer. “I would say that they were all as sane as anyone, each eccentric in their own ways perhaps, but which of us can claim to be any different?”  |
Replies:
- peace begins with a smile. - By tsi October 29, 2012 at 03:26:21 AM
- chased your ghost accross the yard - By a r t h u r November 4, 2012 at 06:34:11 PM
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