The Blood-stained Belt (13 page)

Sharma of
Osicedi, soldier of Keirine,

On a lance he
bears Drunuk high.

Jina of Osicedi
…

I put a finger
on her lips and said, ‘No more, Dana.’

She removed my
finger, kissed it, and asked, ‘Why not? Don’t you like to be
praised?’

She looked at
me so comically that I had to laugh. I said, ‘Oh, for sure, I like
praise. Who doesn’t? But I don’t like to tempt fate.’

‘Tempt fate?
What on earth do you mean?’

‘I mean just
what I say.’

‘How are you
tempting fate?’

‘Zabrazal is a
jealous god.’

Dana said
teasingly, ‘You sound like a priest.’

‘I don’t know
how to say it any other way.’

‘Jina, Jina, do
you really think that Zabrazal will be jealous of your
achievements?’ Dana took my face in her hands, saw the look in my
eyes, and said, ‘Oh, you really do, don’t you?’ She stretched
upwards, kissed me, and asked, ‘Can I say that I’m proud of
you?’

‘I guess you
can.’

Still stretched
up against me, Dana said, ‘This is just between the two of us. Is
that making too much fuss about it? Will Zabrazal be jealous if I
say it just to you?’

‘Zabrazal sees
and knows everything.’

'Even the
thoughts and words of lovers? What an inquisitive being he is. Then
I guess he deserves what he sees and hears.' Dana laughed, took my
hand, and asked, ‘Shall we walk for a while?’

We strolled
hand in hand. Then Dana said, ‘I don’t know about Zabrazal being
jealous but I do know someone who you have to watch out for.’

‘Who’s
that?’

Dana gave me a
swift sidelong look and said simply, ‘Vaxili.’

‘Tell me
more.’

Dana pursed her
lips and narrowed her eyes. ‘Maybe I’m wrong, but – I don’t really
know for sure –‘

‘Come on, Dana,
tell me what you know.’

Dana stopped
walking, looked me in the eye, and said, ‘Vaxili is angry with
Mecolo.’

‘I’m not
surprised. Mecolo made a mistake. She should have honoured her
father first.’

Dana gave a
short laugh, saying, ‘There wasn’t much to celebrate, was
there?’

‘Nevertheless
--.’ I shrugged.

Dana pulled a
wry face and said softly, ‘Yes! Nevertheless, Vaxili is her father,
and he is the king. Mecolo should have been more prudent.' She said
in a low voice, 'Sharma should be careful – and maybe so should
you.’

I took her hand
and kissed it. ‘Thank you. I’ll be careful.’

Dana said,
‘Mecolo still wants to meet Sharma.’

‘Oh, really? It
sounds like she'd do better to lie low for a while.’

Dana wrinkled
her nose sceptically, saying, ‘Tell that to Mecolo!’

‘Damn it, Dana,
tell Mecolo to cool it! Tell her to put her head down and to keep
it there for a few months.’

Dana gave a
short laugh. ‘You don’t know Mecolo like I know her.’

‘Meaning
--?’

‘She’s
stubborn. She’s just about the most stubborn person that I’ve ever
met.’

By Zabrazal, I
didn’t like this business involving Sharma and Mecolo. In fact, the
more I thought about it the more risky and foolhardy it appeared to
be. When I said that to Dana, she replied truculently, ‘I can’t
tell Mecolo that. She won’t take “no” for an answer.’

I felt that I
was being tossed this way and that like a leaf in a blustery wind.
Also, like a fallen leaf, I didn’t have any place to which I could
anchor myself. After a few minutes of this mental buffeting, I
said, ‘All right, let’s look at it this way -- it’s for Mecolo and
Sharma to decide. It's their business, not ours.’

Dana replied in
a relieved tone, ‘Of course! What else?’

Reluctantly, I
agreed to keep my promise by arranging a meeting between Mecolo and
Sharma.

In the
meanwhile, the army had to be rebuilt and it had to happen quickly.
Jainar took control of the task. Speaking at a parade that was held
about one week after the battle of Gandonda, he admitted with
unusual frankness that the high command was responsible for the
defeat. He also admitted that the army had been completely
unprepared for the superiority that the Dornites enjoyed in
experience, weapons and equipment. Jainar's speech didn't bring
back our dead and captured comrades and it didn't turn defeat into
victory but at least it boosted morale by giving the troops the
impression that the same mistakes wouldn't be repeated.

The fact that
Vaxili didn't attend the parade didn’t improve his reputation in
the eyes of the men. The general opinion was that Vaxili had sent
Jainar to do his work for him because he lacked the courage to face
the army himself.

Nervously and
apprehensively, everyone waited for the Dornites to press home the
advantage that they gained after the battle. However, they didn’t
do so. It seemed that the death of Drunuk really had given Keirine
a breathing space. Jainar and his commanders used the time well,
buying new armour and equipment and enrolling and training new
recruits. In the face of the fresh-faced ignorance of these
newcomers, Sharma and I felt like veterans. We had survived basic
training, we had lived through our first battle and, most
importantly, we had come away with honour and fame. In spite of my
inclination to lie low in the face of Zabrazal’s censorious
scrutiny, I allowed myself a hint of a swagger when we passed a
squad of new recruits. God, they looked young and green to someone
like me, who had been through the storm and had emerged as a hero.
I even tried my swagger on my brother, Abozi, who was one of the
newcomers. However, he just laughed at me, imitated my mannerisms
satirically, and said that one corn cake didn't make a meal. He
also said, in his characteristically sardonic manner, 'My dear
brother Jina, you're only as good as your next performance. You'd
better start thinking about how you're going to live up to your
giant-killing reputation. After all, you don’t want to disappoint
your admirers.' Abozi was young -- in fact, he was under-age for a
recruit -- but he had a sober head on his shoulders. It was good to
know that he was around and in fact, although I wouldn’t have
admitted it, it was even good to be brought down to earth by him
from time to time.

About three
days after my conversation with Dana, the meeting between Sharma
and Mecolo took place. They decided to meet at the stables because
Dana and Mecolo often went there. They had become enthusiastic
riders during the last few months, ever since Vaxili acquired
horses from Kitilat. As women, they caused a stir not only by
riding but also by doing so in men’s leather breeches that fitted
tightly at the waist, flared out over the hips – the modestly moral
flare, as Dana called it – and then tightened from the knees down
to the ankles.

Dana met Sharma
and me behind the stables and took us inside where Mecolo was
tending to her horse. After making a show of introducing me to
Mecolo, Dana casually introduced Sharma to her. Sharma took
Mecolo’s hand, bowed over it, and said, ‘My lady Mecolo, I have
heard a lot about you.’

‘All of it
good, I hope?’

‘All of it
excellent, my lady. But no one has ever done justice to your
beauty. Perhaps no one could ever find the right words.’

I cringed
inwardly. I never could abide flattery. However, Sharma had no
compunction in laying it on like plaster on a brick wall when a
woman was involved and when he judged that he would profit by it.
To me, it was so blatant that it embarrassed me just to see or hear
it. However, instead of being repulsed by Sharma's flattery, most
women rose to the bait like fish to a garish lure. In spite of her
position, Mecolo wasn’t any different. Looking at him from under
lowered eye-lashes, she said, ‘They say that beauty is only skin
deep.’

Still holding
her hand, Sharma gave another little bow and said, ‘Perhaps it is
with ordinary mortals. But in your case, my lady, I can see that it
goes much deeper than that, like a lamp glass reflecting its
flame.’

Mecolo’s eyes
flickered with pleasure and amusement. She released her hand, stood
back, and said lightly, ‘You’re the same Sharma as carried the head
of Drunuk on a lance, not so?’

Sharma’s eyes
gleamed with pleasure but he replied straight-faced, ‘I had no idea
that you knew about it, my lady.’

‘Oh, it just
happened to come to my attention. But, you know, I’ve had something
on my mind ever since the army arrived back in town. Do you mind if
I ask you a question?’

Sharma took her
hand, raised it to his lips and kissed it, looked her in the eye,
and said, ‘I am helpless before your beauty, my lady. Ask whatever
you will.’ By God, he could lay it on thick when he wanted to!
Didn’t he realise that he sounded like a simpering fop? Apparently
not! Or maybe he didn’t care when a woman was concerned.

Mecolo liked
having it laid on her. That was plain to see – in fact, she liked
it a lot. She asked, ‘Tell me, how did you overcome such a famous
Dornite warrior?’

With a straight
face, Sharma replied, ‘In spite of his accomplishments, it seems
that Drunuk was inclined to lose his head rather easily.’

‘That’s true.
One would expect more of a Dornite general. But perhaps you
shouldn’t have been lurking about outside his tent.’

‘Lurking, my
lady? It seems that you’ve been misinformed.’

‘Oh, really?
You weren’t lurking?’

‘My lady, I can
assure you that there were Dornite soldiers all around us. In the
middle of a Dornite camp, there’s no time for lurking.’

Mecolo laughed.
‘I’m glad to hear it. I would hate to think that you were the type
to lurk.’

Dana plucked at
my sleeve and whispered, ‘We’ve done what we came here to do.’

Outside, I
said, ‘I’ll never get used to the way that Sharma makes up to
women. Never!’

Dana laughed
admiringly and replied, ‘He’s a smooth operator, isn’t he? In fact,
he’s charming.’

‘Charming? You
think so?’

‘Of course! He
likes women, he shows it, and he pays attention to them. That's all
part of his charm.’ Dana looked at me, laughed, and took my hand,
saying, ‘Oh, Jina, don’t be jealous!’

‘Jealous? Me?
Ha!’

‘Well, by the
look on your face, either you’re jealous or you’ve got a stomach
ache.’

Jealous? Me? I
grabbed Dana by the waist and lifted her onto the railing of the
horse pen. As I released my hold, she began to topple forward. I
grabbed her again while she laughed uncertainly and steadied
herself, gripping the top rail and tucking her feet under the lower
rail. I took hold of her ankles and asked, ‘Do you still think I’m
jealous?’

‘Jina! Careful!
I’ll fall off!’

I tightened my
grip and asked, ‘Jealous, am I?’

Dana wriggled,
trying to get a firmer seat. She replied, half in amusement and
half in alarm, ‘No, maybe not jealous.’ She reached for my
shoulders but I leaned back, still holding her ankles.

‘What,
then?’

‘Jina, if you
make me fall, I’ll -' She grabbed hold of the railing again.

‘What,
then?’

‘I would say
that you’re concerned.’ She said the words with a mixture of
amusement and desperation.

‘Concerned, am
I? Concerned about what?’

‘You’re
concerned about me.’

I grasped her
under her arms and pulled her forward. Holding her against me, I
lowered her to the ground. I said, ‘Yes, that’s right. Don’t forget
it.’

Dana pulled my
head forward, kissed me, and murmured, ‘You know what? You’re
charming in your own way.’

That evening, I
asked Sharma how he had enjoyed meeting Mecolo. He merely replied,
‘I’ll be seeing Mecolo again tomorrow.’ His voice was half-smug and
half-defiant.

It was the
answer that I expected but hoped not to hear. I replied, ‘I
wouldn’t advise it.’

'You wouldn't,
eh? Why not?’

‘Damn it,
Sharma, don’t pretend to be naïve! She’s Vaxili’s daughter!’

‘She’s also
beautiful and intelligent.’

‘And she has a
slender neck, deep dark eyes, a graceful walk, dimples on her toes,
a little round belly button, and–‘

Sharma growled,
‘Are you mocking me, Jina?’

I stood my
ground. ‘No. Any man would find Mecolo attractive.'

'You too, Jina?
You also find her attractive?'

'Yes. Of course
I do. But that’s not the point.’

‘What is the
point?’

‘Sharma, are
you stupid, or obstinate, or what?’

‘None of
those!’

‘Well, then,
you’d better listen to me and listen well, before you get into this
thing so deep that the water’s way above your head. Mecolo is
Vaxili’s daughter and he’s not going to be pleased if you start
something with her.’

‘You mean that
he thinks that I’m not good enough for her?’

I sighed
inwardly. God, Sharma could be pig-headed and blinder than the
blind when he set his sights on a woman. I replied, ‘Sharma, let’s
stop beating about the bush. To put it plainly, in the eyes of the
king, I’m not good enough for Mecolo, you’re not good enough for
Mecolo, and just about every man in the whole damn army, not to
mention every man in the rest of Keirine, isn't good enough for
Mecolo. Don’t take it personally. It’s just the way it is.'

Sharma’s eyes
narrowed. He put his chin forward and said, ‘Mecolo seems to think
I’m good enough.’

‘Oh,
congratulations, Sharma! You’ve charmed the king’s daughter and you
think that means that you’ll charm the king as well.’

‘You’re just
jealous!’

One accusation
in a day was enough, twice was too much. I felt like beating
something with sheer frustration. Sharma, the brick wall, the
ground under my feet – just about anything would do. I got a hold
of myself and said, ‘Look, Sharma, I happen to know that Vaxili
might not be pleased with us.’