 peace begins with a smile.
- mother teresa
“Uhh, sir,” Chen offered slightly cautiously, “I could always go and see the King and you could rest.”
Tsi stared down at his tie, which he had been trying to put on for the past ten minutes, and vaguely registered that he had been trying to put it on the wrong way around. Figuring out how the tie was meant to go on was too much effort, so he ditched it altogether, leant back against his desk and pinched the bridge of his nose. The years on Shaman had not been kind to the patron deity of China. He had lost weight, notably from the face, which was distinctly more lined and drawn than it had been before. His shoulders sagged when they didn’t have sit rigid around official visitors, and seventy-odd years filling in the role of Acting Chairman had beaten out the spring in his step. Tsi had been appointed Acting Chairman when Gwythr had left Earth in the 1940s, allegedly to check on the state of the off-planet original fairies, but in reality he had been planning world domination from the so-called sanctuary-planet of Shaman. Since Tsi had discovered what Gwythr was up to, with the help of the council he had successfully taken Gwythr away for trial and helped Shaman towards a more peaceful era. Even then, he had still been under the limbo title of ‘Acting Chairman’ until the Star Chamber had made its verdict, and the sentences had been passed two days ago. Tsi had officially been instated to the full position of Chairman that same day. Two days into the job. It felt like a hundred years.
Tsi stood up again, straightened his shirt and glanced down at himself. Formal-casual would have to do. He doubted Arthur would mind.
“Thank you, Chen,” he replied quietly. “But I need you to work on those letter drafts.”
Chen, who was more wilful than professional, knew his place enough to say nothing but unintentionally pulled a face which expressed his feeling. Tsi understood and appreciated his concern, but this was something he needed to do himself. Even if it weren’t important for the Chairman of the council to personally be the one communicating with the King of Shaman, Tsi had made a promise. Contrary to popular opinion, promises were made to be kept.
He sent Chen away to work on the letter drafts and checked the time. Fifteen minutes until the appointment he had scheduled with Arthur upon returning to Shaman two days ago, which was just long enough to try and wake up. He’d had the foresight to bring an eight-pack of Coca-Cola back from Earth the last time he’d been; he pulled one out of the fridge, cracked it open and downed half of in one go. Sugar and caffeine. Just what he needed.
Ten minutes to go. Turning up ten minutes early to an appointment wasn’t unreasonable, so Tsi put the can down on his desk, closed his eyes and imagined he was at the castle. The ground shifted beneath his feet, the wind slapped him in the face, and when he opened his eyes he was staring up at the looming monument. The two guards stationed at the entrance blinked at him, and one of them ran off to inform the King of his arrival when he told them who he was. Tsi chatted at the entrance with the second guard until the first returned to lead him through the winding corridors up to the King’s office. The guard announced him before leaving him to smile, exchange the usual pleasantries and take the seat he was offered.
“Thank you for seeing me at such short notice. I won’t take up much of your time,” he leant back in the chair, hoping that the cola’s caffeine would kick in shortly. “The Star Chamber came to a verdict on all the outstanding cases two days ago, and I thought you’d want to know immediately. Gwythr was found guilty of the majority of charges against him, has been given a lifelong ban from Shaman and a two millennia prison sentence off-planet followed by a five century probation period. His divinity will be returned to him after the two and a half thousand years if he’s considered by the Star Chamber to have reformed. Lorraine has also received a lifelong ban from Shaman. You won’t see either of them again here.” He shrugged loosely. “So that’s that, I suppose, unless you have any questions or additional requests. Gwythr was also stripped of his titles: Zed has been appointed the permanent High Judge of the Star Chamber, and I have accepted the position of Chairman.”
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