 peace begins with a smile.
- mother teresa
Tsi was not a diplomat or a politician. He never had been. He had always felt more useful in positions where he could actually physically do something – with his hands or his magic – to assist in whatever matter required help. Only in the 1950s – approximately 60 years ago – had he been made Acting Chairman and, while that may be a lifetime to some, for an original fairy it was but a drop in the ocean. Tsi had neither the natural talent nor the practice to play the game at Arthur’s level. In all honesty – and more frequently recently – he often wondered if he had it in him to play the game at all. He wasn’t brave like Allianah, strong like Rhaegar, or clever like Xephyr; he couldn’t see out of the box like Zed, he wasn’t a social manipulator like Lorraine or Mallos and he didn’t have Aura’s talent with magic. The only thing Tsi had going for him was a sense of likeability. What good was that, in the real world?
Even so, he didn’t much appreciate the history lesson. Arthur was just trying to do right by his own people, he knew that – but Tsi was only trying to his job in the best way he knew how. There was no reason to get condescending.
“And how many times in history,” Tsi responded quietly, “has it ever been right or just to act under the assumption of guilt before a man has had a fair trial? Look at the situation from where the jury is sitting,” he held up his hands. “On the one hand you have Gwythr: not so much as a blip on his record, popular with the people and the council, fair, balanced, with everything to lose and nothing to gain. On the other hand you have Aura, who has a criminal record, a history of mental instability, a motivation for revenge, nothing to lose, everything to gain, and an understanding of magic far deeper than anyone else. Who’s to say she didn’t discover a powerful new type of hypnosis and magically convince everyone she was right? Can you honestly guarantee to me that you’re not under a spell right now?” He raised his eyebrows. “You wouldn’t know. And even if you were under a spell and you did know it, your mouth would be someone else’s to control, and you could just lie to me.”
He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. When he continued, it was in a slightly different tone. “It doesn’t feel right to me because whatever Aura did, or said, she never lost sight of her ideals. Everyone always knew where she stood. Gwythr was… more of a politician. I couldn’t honestly say if the opinions he expressed were truly his own. And,” he added, “Mallos is a diplomat. Diplomats don’t just jump into wars without thinking or without good reason. But whatever I feel doesn’t matter, because I still cannot do anything until everyone has received a fair trial.”
The final words were weary but firm and had a note of finality, as if Tsi was not prepared to argue about it any longer. As the conversation moved on and Arthur’s answers became ever more enigmatic, the Acting Chairman couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of frustration. Why was this so difficult? All he was trying to do was help, and so far everyone – Arthur, Mallos, Gwythr – had treated him with neutral, mysterious and completely unhelpful comments. In spite of what the king said about irrelevancies, Tsi couldn’t help but feel that there was something all too relevant which nobody wanted him to know. Arthur had a right to his privacy as much as any other man, and Tsi would never intrude on his mind but, in that moment, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t tempted.
He considered being untruthful – presenting Arthur with a carefully constructed political response designed to safeguard good relations – but, justly, he was beginning to feel somewhat rebellious. “Quite honestly, no, I don’t believe you,” he replied flatly. “If there is nothing further you can give me on that matter then we would do better to move on.”
They did move on, to the subject of the contingency plan, and even with his limited diplomacy skills Tsi didn’t miss the hardness in Arthur’s voice and face which did not quite match his words. It only increased the suspicion that something had gone down between Mallos and Lorraine which Arthur knew about, and quite probably on Shaman, too. “No, of course the final decision is yours,” Tsi inclined his head. “I have no authority here. And you would know all about Lorraine’s personality and potential compatibility from all your previous experience with her?” There was a slight pause, but Tsi didn’t really expect an honest answer, if an answer at all. He shrugged. “Personality clashes are a natural problem with any member of the council – you may have noticed that the original fairies are not, as a whole, the easiest group of people to get along with,” he gave a small smile. “Unfortunately, if everybody only worked with the few who are likeable, then everybody would have to wait a lifetime just for one appointment. I should also point out to you that the likeable originals are not usually the most helpful or talented ones. Nevertheless, if you have an idea for somebody whose personality is more compatible, I would be delighted to hear it.”
The explanation for Gwythr’s motivation, once the initial shock had faded, surprised Tsi insofar as it didn’t surprise him at all. The issue over the continuation of the originals’ existence had risen ever since their first death, and had never quite faded. The threat of extinction was an ever-present fear in the back of all of the originals’ minds, and in some way, he supposed that it was probably only a matter of time before one of them did something about it. It all slotted very neatly not just into what he knew of Gwythr, but also what he knew of Aura.
Tsi leant forward, not bothering to hide his obvious interest. “Do the words ‘master race’ mean anything to you?” He enquired. Arthur returned to his previous unhelpful mysteriousness on the subject of the other originals’ sanity, but this time it didn’t bother Tsi so much. The statement would help the trial in Aura and Mallos’ favour, in any case. “I understand if you cannot,” he added after a moment, “but I also wonder if you can comment on the relationship between Aura and her children.”
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