Chapter 8
Sheiji gasped, “That’s not…”
“No,” grinned Sui-Tsai. “Not her.” He laughed as if it were a hilarious joke.
Now a young girl stepped forward. The woman pushed her gently forward and then followed slowly.
The girl took a few steps forward and stopped. The woman pushed her forward again. She seemed to summon all her courage and walked forward to the front of the room.
She had dark skin, Sheiji noticed, darker than his, and thick, black hair that fell in a braid nearly to the floor. She had large black eyes that darted from one place to another. She was very small and thin, nine or ten years old, but she looked younger. Hevanan, most likely, thought Sheiji, they were small people.
She stopped several yards in front of Sheiji and began to bow in the Hevanan style, by placing both heels together and bowing low with both palms up. Then she caught herself and fell on her knees with her face pressed hard to the floor. Her servants followed.
“You may rise,” said Sheiji.
The girl, startled at Sheiji’s voice, lifted her head. There was a look of bewilderment on her face and Sheiji could tell she did not speak Tekelonnese.
Sheiji opened his mouth to translate his sentence into Hevanan, for the Hevanan language had been part of his studies, but he caught a slight shake of the head from Fa-Ying and caught the meaning. He could not give away the secret of his training.
“Does anyone speak Hevanan fluently?” Sheiji asked awkwardly.
“Your Majesty,” a young Hevanan woman spoke up, bowing before Sheiji and speaking to him in Tekelonnese. “I speak your language, Majesty.”
“Will you tell…the princess, here, that she may rise?” asked Sheiji.
The woman mumbled something and the little princess stood.
Sheiji glanced at Fa-Ying for advice. “Ask her to be seated,” Fa-Ying whispered.
“Please won’t you sit, Princess,” he said, patting a pillow in front of him. The woman translated and the princess timidly sat on the edge of the pillow.
“My name is Sheiji-Yueng,” he said to her. “You probably already knew that.”
The woman translated and the girl replied, “Ma vaas l’a Mirala Tluse. Yija ko Ubango Tluse, ko Ksha ko Sylvania ko Hevana.”
“My name is Mirala Tluse,” the woman translated, “the daughter of Ubango Tluse, king of Sylvania of Hevana.”
“I am pleased to meet you Mirala Tluse,” said Sheiji.
The woman translated.
“Dyamam, m’a—,”
“Good, good,” interrupted Sui-Tsai. “I think that is enough with acquaintances. You are dismissed,” he said to the princess.
The young woman translated and the Princess looked relieved. Then she and the two women backed toward the door and left with their entire procession.
“A good fit, I’m sure. She will learn Tekelonnese soon enough,” said Sui-Tsai. “You are dismissed, Vua. Though I would have a word with you privately.”
“His Majesty shall not speak with you privately,” said Fa-Ying. “He—.”
“It’s quite all right, Fa-Ying. I shall speak with Sui-Tsai. I will meet you right outside in several minutes.”
“Vua, I think—,” began Fa-Ying.
Sheiji nodded curtly and sent them off with a wave of his hand.
When Fa-Ying and Inon had left, Sui-Tsai began, “There are several matters of state which I wish to discuss with you. We shall only address this one, today. There is a country east of Imatsuro that is quite dangerous to us. They seem to be raising an army, and some spies tell me they plan to use the army to wage war against Imatsuro.”
Sheiji listened quietly and solemnly as Sui-Tsai continued, “It would be relatively easy to squash that uprising now. We could even gain more land for our empire. If we do it immediately, that is. The ease all depends on how soon we begin. All we need is your consent and I will begin raising your army and dispatch troops. I have a brilliant plan, too. Will you just place your seal here?” Sui-Tsai held out a piece of paper.
It was written in Thánh. Probably so that Sheiji couldn’t read it. But he could. He scanned it quickly, pretending that he was pretending to know what it said. But he understood it perfectly. It read:
I, Sheiji-Yueng do hereby command His Regency,
Prince Sui-Tsai to declare war on the nation of
Nakuchi and on its emperor, Vishou Loromi.
I command him to add to my Kingdom of Imatsuro
all the captured land of Nakuchi and its territories.
I command His Regency to first raid the capital city of
Quin-li; killing all men and boys age fourteen and over,
taking as slaves all women and children he shall find there.
All loot from the city will be given over to His Regency,
Sui-Tsai. His Regency will return with all those with
Royal blood that are in the city. They will be dealt with accordingly…
Sheiji’s eyes drifted to the end of the document, where it said:
I, Sheiji-Yueng am solely responsible for these actions.
I have commanded these things to be done in My Name
and sealed this paper with my own seal.
His Regency has advised against these actions, but I insist upon them.
He is not responsible for any breaking of treaties and/or contracts.
Sheiji could read no more. This was treachery! He could barely control his temper, but he must, otherwise Sui-Tsai find out he understood Thánh.
“You read it all, Vua?” Sui-Tsai asked with a patronizing tone.
“Yes. It said just what you told me, of course,” Sheiji lied. “About them raising an army and such.”
“Yes, it does,” replied Sui-Tsai smiling broadly.” Now, if you’ll just place your seal on it, I shall begin at once.”
Sheiji thought fast, “But of course I must think on this matter, Regency. It is not wise to declare war on a nation without giving it careful thought.”
“Oh, Vua, you have no need to fear. I have already given it all the thought one can possibly give to a matter. I have saved you the trouble,” replied Sui-Tsai cleverly.
“All the same,” replied Sheiji. “I would still like to think about it.”
Sui-Tsai though for a moment, “All right. I give you until this evening to think about my proposal. Tonight you shall give your consent.”
“Yes, Brother,” replied Sheiji. “I shall go now.”
“Goodbye, Vua,” Sui-Tsai smiled wickedly. “Until tonight, Brother.”