The Blood-stained Belt (32 page)

One evening,
during a drunken carousal, Aebrel accused Jainar of sleeping with
one of the royal concubines. This was too much for Jainar who,
whatever his faults, wasn't a womaniser. In fact, he had been
married for twenty years and held strictly to the old virtues of
faithfulness and monogamy. In the presence of the whole court,
Jainar turned on Aebrel in fury, saying, 'Remember who I am, my
lord! You forget that I have been loyal to your father's house ever
since Izebol anointed him even although he treated me worse than a
peasant. Now you treat me like a dog, insulting me in public and
accusing me of sleeping with one of your whores. Pha! I wouldn't
even touch one of your women with the tip of a spear for fear of
infection.’

Aebrel
blustered, ‘You forget yourself! Who’s king here, eh? Me, that’s
who! I’m king in Upper Keirine!’

Jainar was in a
red-eyed rage. He spat out, ‘King! You can’t even govern yourself!
You’re ruled by your whores and by wine!’

‘Remember your
position, Jainar! I could –‘

‘You could
what? Look at you, my lord –‘ Jainar ground out the word 'lord' in
contempt and then cried, enraged, ‘King of Upper Keirine! King of
the Wine Cups, more likely! Pha! You’re so drunk that you can’t
even stand on your own two feet.’

Aebrel shook
his head muzzily and growled, ‘Shut up, Jainar. I’m the king. I
command it.’

Jainar pointed
at Aebrel and said with knife-sharp scorn, ‘You can be thankful
that I haven't handed you and your kingdom over to Sharma -- which
is what Izebol promised him, as you might remember.'

‘Promised? You
speak treachery!?’

‘Treachery? I'm
only speaking the truth. You know where the proof is. It’s dead in
a ditch with the messenger that you had killed.’

Aebrel was so
drunk that he replied, 'Oh, yes, Jainar, why don't you try to hand
the kingdom over to Sharma! You think that you can destroy me, huh?
You think you’ll be safe then? Huh! Forget about it.’

Jainar said in
quiet fury, ‘I could destroy you as easily as this.’ He snapped his
fingers.

‘Huh? Destroy
me? It won't be so easy, my good general – no, it won't be so
easy.’ Blearily, Aebrel waved a wine cup at Jainar. ‘But if you do,
then when I’m gone, Sharma will destroy you. I’m all that stands
between Sharma and the throne. If Aebrel goes then Jainar goes.
Simple, eh? Sink or swim together, huh, Jainar – sink or swim
together, that’s what it’s about – huh.' Aebrel burped and subsided
into his chair like a sack of sodden fodder.

Jainar banged a
fist on the table and roared, 'By Zabrazal, whatever you might
think about him, at least Sharma acts like a king who is worthy of
the name.'

Even although
he was deep in his cups, Aebrel could see that he'd pushed Jainar
too far. Lolling in his chair, Aebrel muttered and waved a hand in
what could have been an apology or could have been a dismissal.
Jainar stalked out of the chamber in a rage and didn’t wait for the
crisis to develop. Next day, he sent a message to Sharma, saying
that he wanted to meet him as soon as possible. Sharma replied in
the affirmative but set a condition for the meeting: he demanded
that Mecolo should accompany Jainar. I guess that he did that
because he saw an opportunity to right the wrong that Vaxili had
done to him while humiliating Aebrel at the same time. In addition,
perhaps by demanding Mecolo, Sharma was testing the extent of
Jainar's power.

Jainar
delivered Mecolo and Sharma met with him privately at a site on the
border, half a day's march from Orihedrin. Not even we, Sharma’s
commanders, knew exactly what was discussed. Sharma would only tell
us that he made it plain to Jainar that Aebrel should not be
harmed, whatever happened.

Later, I asked
Sharma, 'If this works out, what's going to happen to Aebrel, when
he's no longer king?'

Sharma gazed at
me steadily and replied, ‘If he falls into our hands he will be
treated with honour and respect as the son of Vaxili deserves.'

'Honour and
respect! You mean that you'll heap coals of fire on his head, not
so? He'll be like a dog at your feet, won't he? What a pity that
Vaxili won't be there to see it.'

'Have a care,
Jina!'

I saw that I
had struck Sharma too close to home so I retreated a little by
saying, 'By Zabrazal, Sharma, don't you see that you won't be
secure as long as Aebrel is alive?'

Sharma flushed
and retorted, 'We will deal with the situation when it arises.' On
the surface, Sharma looked calm and controlled. However, I knew him
well enough to see that he was edgy with excitement and
anticipation. He sensed that the time when he would become king of
united Keirine was near at hand. However, to be fair to Sharma, he
wasn't just excited at the thought that he would soon be king. He
was also excited because the unity of Keirine was an obsession with
him, as it was with me. It went back a long way, at least as far
back as the time when, as boys, we sat on the hills and looked
towards the coast while reflecting on the weakness and
vulnerability of Keirine.

I said, ‘Aebrel
will be a focus for rebellion as long as he lives.’ It was pushing
the boundaries of our relationship, but if I didn't say this to
Sharma, who would?

Sharma snorted
disdainfully. ‘Aebrel is a spent force. Just about no one supports
him now, and even his few supporters will abandon him when he's no
longer king.’

‘Don't
underestimate how much support he has. Some people support him just
because he’s the son of Vaxili and others support him because
they’d rather have him on the throne than you.’

Sharma clucked
his tongue impatiently and asked sceptically, ‘Aebrel rather than
me? Really? And why is that?’

‘Because they
can manipulate Aebrel but they won’t be able to manipulate
you.’

Sharma poked a
finger at my chest and barked, ‘For a soldier, you seem to know a
lot about the politics of Upper Keirine.’

‘That’s because
these things are so obvious that even a plain soldier like me can
see them.’

Sharma stood
back and looked at me. He rubbed his nose and said slowly, more in
amusement than in irritation, 'Ah! So plain soldier Jina is
advising the king on the politics of the throne, is he?'

'Perhaps that’s
because plain soldier Jina can see what the king can't.'

Sharma grunted
and tried to conceal a grin. I made an expansive bow, kneeled, and
said, ‘My lord, I am your humble servant.’ That stopped him. I was
his boyhood friend and closest confidant, and he didn’t know how to
handle me when I was on my knees before him. Sharma stood there
stroking his chin, looking at me appraisingly. Then he put out his
hand and raised me to a standing position. He muttered, ‘Damnation,
Jina, you embarrass me.’

I said,
‘Sharma, your cause is my cause. I advise you as I would advise
myself.’

'Jina! Will you
shame me as well as embarrass me?'

'I could never
do that. Your shame would be my shame.'

‘Be careful,
Jina. You will be a courtier yet.’

‘A courtier! I
don’t think so! I would die of suffocation.’

Sharma grinned
broadly and embraced me, saying, 'Jina, Jina! If Zabrazal exists
and if he ever gave me a gift, then surely he gave you to me as a
pillar to my house.'

We stood there
beaming at each other, our disagreement forgotten. I made a
half-mocking bow and said, 'The general is always at the service of
the king-to-be.'

Sharma's face
was sombre when he replied, 'Not all kings are so fortunate.' He
put up a finger and said, 'Ah! Talking of serving the king-to-be,
there’s something that you can do for me right now.' I looked at
Sharma enquiringly. He dropped his eyes and looked embarrassed
while he muttered, 'Uh – quarters need to be arranged for Mecolo
and the child.'

The child?
Didn't he know the name of his own son? I put the thought aside and
asked, 'Should we arrange a room for them in your compound?'

Sharma looked
even more embarrassed when he said, 'No, not in my compound. Roda
isn't – you know – she’s not fully prepared for this. Nor is
Mecolo. Perhaps – uh – you can arrange quarters somewhere else,
close by, you know, but not in the compound, not yet, anyway.'

'You mean that
you didn't tell Roda that Mecolo was on her way?' It was so
farcical that I wanted to laugh out loud. Fortunately, I managed to
keep a straight face.

Sharma couldn’t
look me in the face when he replied, 'I thought that it would be
better if she got used to the idea gradually, but – damn it, Jina,
are you going to help me or not?'

'No problem!
I'll get on to it right away. By the way, is Mecolo to be
accommodated as your wife, or – ah – in some other capacity?'

'As my wife, of
course! Why do you think it might be otherwise?'

I paused and
thought carefully before I replied. Was my memory at fault when I
remembered that when Sharma decided to marry Roda, he was happy to
acknowledge that his marriage to Mecolo had been annulled? Whatever
the case, this was another thought that I put aside quickly. I took
my leave and went to arrange suitable quarters for Mecolo.

I found Mecolo
and the boy sitting in a small room near the council chamber. They
were surrounded by a jumble of baggage and Mecolo looked tired and
tense. When I entered, she greeted me with relief, crying, 'Jina!
It's so good to see you!'

Seeing Mecolo
again brought back so many memories that I struggled to keep my
voice steady. I said, 'My lady, Sharma has asked me to arrange
quarters for you and your son.'

'Sharma!' Her
voice was sharp. 'Where is Sharma? We've been here almost five
hours and we haven't seen him yet.’ She swept her arm around
angrily. ‘We’re being treated like just so many more pieces of
baggage. I demand to –'

'My lady, have
patience! Sharma has been busy with matters of state. He sends his
compliments and he will see you soon.'

Mecolo looked
as if she was going to give vent to another outburst of
frustration, as well she might. However, she bit back the words and
shrugged as if she no longer knew what to believe. She sighed, then
looked at me appraisingly and said, 'You're looking well,
Jina.'

'So are you, my
lady.' I said the words out of courtesy but not with conviction.
The truth was that, apart from looking travel-weary, Mecolo looked
older than her years. Her face had tightened and her shoulders were
more stooped than they should have been for a woman of her age and
station. Well, perhaps that was to be expected -- the last few
years hadn't been easy for her. She had been the centre of a tug of
war between Vaxili and Sharma, she had been forced into a
humiliating marriage – if it was a marriage – and then, after
surviving her father's erratic reign, she had lived as an appendage
of her dissolute brother. What was more, her close association with
Sharma must have been a daily irritation to Aebrel and he must have
let her know it.

I changed the
subject, saying, 'You have a fine son, my lady.' It was true. The
boy was sturdy and had an open, trusting countenance. However, I
wasn’t being entirely truthful. To my eyes, as the boy sat there
looking at me earnestly, there was more of his mother in him than
there was of Sharma. But when he smiled, he looked a lot like
Sharma.

Mecolo stroked
her son's hair and said, 'Every day, I thank Zabrazal for him.
Since he was born, he has been my only consolation.'

'What is his
name, my lady?'

'His name is
Bedaxili.'

'Bedaxili'
meant 'Beloved of Vaxili'. I wondered how Sharma would feel about
the name. I said cautiously, 'It is a striking name.'

Mecolo's mouth
tightened and she replied without enthusiasm, 'It is the name that
my father gave him.'

The air was
heavy with suppressed issues and unspoken words. I roused myself to
activity and said, 'My lady, you need to rest. Let's move your
belongings to your quarters.'

Mecolo floated
the scarf from her neck and arranged it around her head. As she did
so, she said, 'So, Jina, I hear that you have become an important
man in Lower Keirine.'

'I am deputy
commander of the army, my lady.'

'Deputy
commander? And only a few years ago, you were--' Mecolo stopped
suddenly, as if she had caught herself on the point of committing
an indiscretion. Then she gathered herself and said, 'I am honoured
to be assisted by the deputy commander.'

I acknowledged
her with a slight bow and then began to supervise the move to her
quarters.

After the men
had deposited the baggage and left the rooms, I introduced Mecolo
to the women who would be attending to her and asked if I could be
of further assistance. Mecolo looked around suspiciously and asked,
'Do these rooms adjoin Sharma's quarters?'

‘Not exactly,
my lady.’

‘No?’

'They're close
but they don't actually adjoin them, my lady.'

'No? Where
exactly are Sharma's quarters?'

I pointed out
of the window: 'Over there, across the courtyard.'

Mecolo's face
darkened as she pushed the drape aside and peered out. She asked
sharply, 'Is that where Roda lives? Those quarters with the maroon
canopies?'

'My lady?'

'Oh, come now,
Jina! I know all about this creature named Roda!' Mecolo grimaced
sourly. 'Do you think that I lived in a total vacuum in Koraina?
Don't you think that there were plenty of people who would delight
in giving me news like that?' She turned away, looked out of the
window again, wiped her eyes, and said, 'Well, Jina? I asked you a
question: Is that where Roda lives?'

'Yes, my lady.
That's where Roda lives.'

'Nearest in
place, nearest in heart, as the saying goes – not so?' Mecolo
turned towards me. Her eyes were moist and she was biting her lower
lip. She asked, 'Is Roda beautiful?'