CHAPTER 5
THE HALL OF DELIBERATION
Sergeant Boar thumped on the heavy doors with his snout. They ponderously swung aside, revealing gorilla guards with long spears resting against the wall within easy reach. One of the gorillas was nursing an injured arm in a sling. Flossy recognised him as the one she had tricked into falling through the roof, and later, off the downpipe. She hung her head as she walked past, embarrassed.
Reginald paused before the gorilla with the sling. ‘Thank you for helping me down the stairs last night, sergeant. I’m sorry to have caused so much trouble.’ The gorilla nodded in acknowledgement but frowned when he noticed Flossy.
‘Sorry,’ she mouthed, pensively.
The Hall of Deliberation stretched before her. It was every bit as impressive, and daunting, as the Hall of Greeting. Rows of stone columns either side of a wide isle held up a high ceiling. The columns were ornately decorated with figures of animals at play. Unlit torches were set in iron rings attached to each face of each column. The vaulted ceiling was a patchwork of diamond-shaped panels, alternating between the colour of cream and earthy ochre.
The far end of the hall was crowded with animals of all species, many she didn’t recognise. All of them watched her and murmured to one another as she walked towards them, Harry on one side, Reginald on the other. Their expressions were a mixture of fear, anger and curiosity. These animals had never before seen a human. Flossy felt extremely conspicuous and a little nervous about what would be expected of her. She was glad to be with Reginald and Harry.
Finally, they reached the end of the great hall. The animals were thickest here and parted to allow them through, hooves and claws clattering noisily on the hard, tile floor. Reginald went first, then Harry. Flossy adjusted her damp, poorly fitting clothes and followed. Her cold feet were splattered with mud, but nobody seemed to wear shoes here. Her hair was a mess. She was glad she had thought of tying it back with her mother’s ribbon.
Sitting magnificently on a raised dais was a lion, the Mayor. It was the same lion who had confronted her last night before Larry whisked her away and led her to safety across the rooftops of the town.
He was much more impressive by light of day. He looked regal, more like a king than a mayor. He wore a crimson cape tied with a golden cord decorated with tassels. His mane was burnt-orange and neatly arranged. His eyes were proud and wise.
The Mayor was in conference with official looking animals and didn’t appear to have noticed their rather obvious arrival. Surely, nobody could fail to notice an animal as large as Reginald. Perhaps the Mayor had noticed, but had more important matters to deal with first.
Above the Mayor was a huge, round and brightly lit stained glass window depicting monkeys leaping between banana palms laden with bananas. Sunlight angled down through the window and decorated the dais with a beautiful rainbow of shifting colours.
The chattering animals filled the gap behind as the three friends waited side by side to be addressed by the Mayor. Flossy stood tall and hoped she looked presentable enough as human-kind’s first ambassador to Port Isabel in hundreds of years. She would hate to cause offence.
Harry had removed his sunglasses and held them in one paw. He used the other to scruff up the wet fur between his ears.
Over Harry’s shoulder, a horse was watching. She wondered if it was the horse named Stanley that Harry had mentioned; the one who had carried him off against his will in the mistaken belief he needed rescuing from pirates; that she, Flossy, was a pirate. Mud splatter was on his nose and an animal was hanging from his neck—probably the sloth named Sally.
When noticed, the dapple-grey horse pawed the floor with one hoof, shook his head and whinnied. Flossy smiled and nodded a greeting. He was probably of good sort of horse.
She thought of Larry Monkey and his big, pink ears. He had seemed so sad when he left the café. She wondered what had happened to his parents. She wondered what had happened to hers and whether she would ever see them again. Soon, she would be with Harry on the Serendipity. If anyone could find them, he could. He seemed like an extremely resourceful and capable animal and she really liked him. She reached out and squeezed his paw. He squeezed back without turning.
When the Mayor spoke everyone in the hall fell instantly silent.
‘Reginald, it’s good to see you again. You continue in fame as one of Port Isabel’s greatest citizens. Your service as schoolmaster and curator of the Museum of Ancient Antiquities has earned you the enduring respect and admiration of all the people.’
‘Thank you, Mr Mayor. It has been my pleasure to serve,’ Reginald graciously replied.
‘How we wish we were meeting under happier circumstances. We deeply regret the loss of your precious museum, our museum, and Port Isabel East Junior School. You have our commitment that both will be rebuilt as a matter of priority.’
The Mayor smiled beneficently at Reginald, who bowed his head in gratitude.
Flossy noticed the Mayor didn’t use the word I, but instead used we and us. This had the effect of reminding everyone he was speaking for Port Isabel as a whole, adding even more authority to his considerably foreboding presence.
‘Last night you urged restraint upon us and tried to make us see reason. But we didn’t listen. We had decided that the human was a pirate and that she was hiding with others in the museum. You rightly argued the presumption of innocence and the dispensation of justice by means of judge and jury but we ignored your sagacious advice and took matters into our own hands. We are ashamed and embarrassed by what happened and we beg your forgiveness.’
‘You have it, Mr Mayor, of course, and no hard feelings. These things happen sometimes,’ said Reginald.
The Mayor faced Flossy. ‘Flossy Human…’
‘Excuse me, sir, but I believe she is known as Flossy Fairweather,’ said Reginald, interrupting.
‘Is she not then from the House of Human?’ the Mayor asked, puzzled.
‘I am, Mr Mayor. But as there are no talking animals in Australia—that’s where I come from—we don’t need to use the name of our House to tell us apart. We are all humans, you see. We use family names instead. Mine’s Fairweather, sir.’
‘Ah, now I understand,’ said the Mayor, nodding. ‘Fairweather’s like a subspecies name, we have those here too. We find it a strange custom but will adjust accordingly.’
The Mayor paused, drew himself up and began again.
‘Flossy Fairweather Human, we owe you the sincerest of apologies. For too long we have lived in fearful ignorance of your kind. The prejudice displayed towards you last night is most shamefully regretted. Any ill treatment our forebears received at human hands is no excuse for last night’s mindless aggression. The way you stood before us, brooking no fear and demanding that we show ourselves, testifies that humans are a courageous species and worthy of great respect. We know of no one else who has stood so boldly before a roaring lion. We know of no one as small who as single-handedly bested a mountain gorilla in equal combat. You have done your House proud, Miss Fairweather Human. We mistook you for a pirate but instead of granting you a fair hearing as Mr Elephant urged, we tried to take your life. For all this we are deeply sorry and beg your forgiveness.’
Flossy fell to one knee, a quintessentially human symbol of gratitude she hoped would not be lost on anyone present.
‘Like Reginald, I hold no ill feeling, sir. And I am grateful for the opportunity to walk freely among your people. Also, I send greetings and the desire for friendship from the House of Human. It is my sincere hope that any animosities of the past be washed away by renewed friendship and the common desire to establish the rule of law in all countries.’
The Mayor sat back on his haunches. He looked surprised.
‘We feel greater shame upon hearing how freely you forgive our inhospitality. Please arise, Miss Fairweather Human. No animal who has distinguished herself so courageously need kneel before this office. It is rather I who should kneel.’
Flossy rose and looked around. Harry stood beside her and smiled, nodding. ‘Well done,’ he silently mouthed.
‘And next, we recognise the courageous acts of Harry Possum and Larry Monkey,’ said the Mayor, looking over the crowd. Finding the black boar, he asked: ‘Where is Larry Monkey, Sergeant?’
Sergeant Boar stepped forward. ‘But the monkey was not there,’ he whined. ‘So I didn’t bring him like you said.’
‘Well then?’ promoted the lion, eyebrows raised. Flossy could see he was not the kind of person to suffer fools lightly.
The black boar’s face grew red. ‘I won’t unfind him again, Mr Mayor!’ He turned and ran from the hall amongst a clatter of noisy trotters.
The mighty lion turned to Harry. ‘Harry Possum, we have heard of your bold attack on the pirates, your remarkable rescue of Miss Fairweather Human and your efforts to aid Reginald Elephant during the riot. You are…’
The Mayor stopped short and looked sharply towards the hall’s entrance doors. Everyone else turned too, ears pivoting as they were able.
Outside in the Square, someone was ringing the town’s alarm bell.
Again!