章 10: Chapter 10
At home, things were tense. The chief had to discuss with Rocan about the debt Uluki had gathered before dying.
“You know, it’s been a week since the burial. Don’t you think it’s a little early for tax collection?”
“Money needs to keep moving.” Argued the merchant.
“How do you suppose we solve this issue?” insisted the merchant.
“I avoided discussing this first with your daughter, as she is surely heartbroken.”
“Soon, she will be in financial ruin, don’t act merciful.”
“The fact that he was unable to respect his bonds, binds his assets to be evaluated if the amount cannot be raised.”
“Not even death is an excuse in your eyes? Let’s hope atleast Gods are more understanding.”
The Chief was sick and tired of dealing with these types of men: vultures he called them, Waiting around for calamity to rear its ugly head, hoping for their profits to increase.
He could see the smile in Rocan’s eyes and it made him want to punch his face repeatedly, alas it was the least advisable thing to do.
“What do you suggest?”
“I’ll tell you: your daughter isn’t the prettiest but I wouldn’t mind knowing her a little better.”
“That’s none of my business.” Said the Chief with a sharp tone.
“If we were to be married, I’m sure she’d be happy she avoided financial ruin and this will make for a prosperous union.”
The Chief thought he threw up a little in his mouth at the suggestion of marrying off his freshly widowed daughter to this troglodyte. The Chief wasn’t a fan of “love” in the exagerated manner it was presented in poems and songs. He prefered the quiter, unsung version of mutual respect and colaboration. He did however loathed the manner in which Rocan pressured him and treated marriage as a bargaining chip.
Who was this piece of **** of a guy? What did he want from him? A week ago he ate and drank at the funeral and now he comes back with the bill? The chief felt thrice insulted by Rocan’s visit. He also felt disgusted by another trait he perceived as coveting what another man has. The Chief thought maybe Rocan was one of those perverts who was excited by a widow’s tears and another man’s misery. He shudded at the thought of allowing THAT into the family.
After he left there was time to think and wonder: what was worse? If Rocan was a deviant who enjoyed the suffering of others or a mere businessman who thought his daughter was still good enough to lay with.
Neither option was to his liking, he decided to hurry up and convince her to sell everything and return home. This wasn’t a man he wanted to have running his business or household.
Zazuza was feeling depressed: now that Uluki was gone, both of her boys were away and she felt lonely inside the house.
Rocan had arrived at this moment to even take that away from her.
“Good day, Zazuza. I am saddened to see you so engulfed in melancholy. I wish to discuss certain issues regarding financial matters with you.”
“Good day, Rocan. I can’t feel myself capble for such conversation topics at this time.”
“I’m afraid it can’t wait.” He said while standing in the doorway.
“Why don’t we take a seat?’ he suggested.
Zazuza looked surprised at his behavior, but complied to see what this was all about.
“Your husband owed me a large amount of money before passing away, from what I understand you were able to sell part of the produce after his death. How much did you manage to raise after selling everything?”
“50 silver pieces.”
“Are you aware that your husband owes me 200 gold coins for the whole lot?”
“The whole lot of what, exactly?”
“For what he planned to buy this year: a plot of land and two horses as well as some basic equipment. What happened to them?”
“Sold them to fund the funeral.”
“I see, how unfortunate. So as far as I understand you can’t pay me back as soon as it was expected.”
“No, I guess I cannot. What can we do?”
“I have a proposition for you: instead of kicking you out of your own house, wouldn’t you rather marry me instead? I plan to do business in this area for the next five years. From what I understand your offspring are away with their relatives, If we have one of our own, they can inherit our joint income while the boys inherit the house, I believe you’ll see this offer as more than generous and realise how advantageous this union will be for both parties.”
“Why me?” Zazuza asked in a serious tone.
She knew he wasn’t in awe of her beauty nor impressed with her vast intelect. Those days of believing anyone was impressed were long gone.
“It’s because of your father’s name, of course.”
“He has a good reputation in this area, plenty of land and is in need of someone to take over the business. Who better than a businessman to take over this role?”
“I apreciate the honesty.” Said Zazuza.
“Well, we both know that any other answer would be a lie.”
How needlessly insulting, thought Zazuza. Still, this was one of those moments where you smile pretty and leave a good impression.
“Thank you for telling me this news so early, so that I have time to make the right decission.” She placed her hand on his.
“I apreciate your consideration and empathetic response to the tragedy which has struck this household.” She continued.
“Thank you for your kind suggestion, I will consider it as an option, and recognise the generosity behind the thought. Thank you.” She gave his hand a squeeze and locked eyes with him.
Zazuza’s most striking feature was her light grey eyes, with dark bushy eyelashes surounding them.
They gave off an inviting gaze, Zazuza knew how to depersonalize: to see herself as a character rather than a person. She could remove herself from the tragedy or ridiculousness of a situiation and act as if she was a character in a play cast into a role.
Hey eyes sparkled, full of life and with a glint in her stare she managed to move Rocan closer to her. Hey gift of gab and pretty eyes mostly got her everything she wanted before: she was hoping it would happen again. She leaned in for a kiss and held his hand while climbing towards his lap.
He grabbed her by her waist and wanted to liftup her dress while they were lustfully kissing.
At that moment the door shut open. The Chief was at the door and the two of them were left hurrying towards opposite ends of the room,
“What. The. ****. “ Said the Chieftan, full of insignation. He had hurried and worried all the way here about his daughter’s fate in the hands of this evil businessman… and here she was: literally in the hands of this businessman and enjoying it.
He began to yell at both of them:
“Curse you both! If you were both so eager to know each other, you deserve each other, you lecherous devils!”
He shut the door behind him loudly and went in his way back to the fort. The two of them blinked and looked at each other for a long minute before bursting into laughter. They chuckled and couldn’t stop laughing their asses off.
“I say we postpone this indecent proposition.” Said Rocan.
“I agree.” Said Zazuza. “This isn’t the right time.”
“Let’s meet again two weeks from now, I have to return to the area and we can discuss more then and reach a conclusion,”
After Rocan left, Zazuza had to think of what she will explain to her father if he pressed it further. She knew no good things would come out of his mouth when they will meet next time.
When the Chief saw his dauhghter he was furious: “What were you thinking? Have you no shame or sense of self control? What motivated you to accept his proposal?”
“I thought it’s better than nothing.”
“You could just return home. So greed is what moved you.”
“I didn’t want Iancu and Stefan to have nothing to inherit.”
“Spare me your words of motherly concern. If you cared, you wouldn’t have accepted to sit in that mongrel’s lap. What do you think I felt when I closed that door behind? I never knew the type of person you really are. I regret so much right now, it feltl ike a slap in the face and a punch in the gut to see you controlled by greed and lust instead of patience and virtue,”
“He’s not a bad looking man, I’m not blind. Maybe that’s part of what motivated you. Either way, you must make a decision. You already know what I think you should do: there’s no need for you to lower yourself to become his pawn. If you fancy him though, and you are sure that you can have a fresh start I won’t stop it.” Concluded the Chieftan.
“I want what’s best for all of us.”
“Think about yourself instead: you might make better decissions.”
“I will marry him. If we ally : there is more to gain than if we lost the farm.”
“Depends on your ally: I don’t think he has your best inteest at heart, just his own.”
“But if we have a child together, they will we rich and influencial.”
“You’re selling me nonsense, are you listening to yourself? What guarantee do you have that he is going tot be a responsible parent? Do you think all men are like Uluki? You’re dead wrong!”
Zazuza looked down, she knew he was right and that she had no further argument to make. She sighed and sinked into the chair.
Uzman was playing with his nephew by throwing him up in the air and catching him. He had learned some new words by now and could communicate through basic sentences with his family members.
Stefan was a serious child, who rarely smiled. He would keep an eternal frown on his face unless something uterly hilarious happened. He would belly achingly laugh when such a scenario would happen.
He gave Uzman a hug being being put down on the floor. He rushed out of the tent and started to chase a random chicken.
“Stefan, it’s time for your archery lesson.”said a short lean man with his hair up in a ponytail.
Stefan quickly arrived in front of the targets and took the bow ready to strike. He had understood rather quickly that where the wind blows was an influence as well as how arrows have a tendency to lower their trajectory on their way to the target.
Stefan was quick on his feet and always chasing, climbing or running off somewhere. He had to amuse himself somehow since there weren’t any children on the campside. He missed having Iancu around, even if he acted a little bossy and parroted what their mother said most of the time… atleast there wasn’t this overwhelming silence.
The silence reminded him that he was away, that his mother wasn’t there and that his brother couldn’t tease or encourage him. He felt lonely for sometime, lonely enough that he ended up wanting to talk to someone.
He went to seek his grandmother: she was sitting in front of a garden. He grabbed her hand and hugged her knees:
“What is it, bunny?” she grabbed his cheeks and kissed him on his forehead.
“I miss mom.” He said in a soft, regretful tone.
“Don’t worry, you’re here with us now. Shush and come help your grandmother care for the plants in the garden.”
As she was tending to a tree,Stefan was watching her make cuttings of a tree. He rested his cheek on the giant pot and watched her hands as they were holding the branch, ready to cut in preparation for summer.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m cutting off the dead ends so it can bloom again more beautiful when summer arrives.” She smiled and poked his nose while exagerating her enthusiasm.
He smiled back and said that he didn’t like picking flowers, he liked to leave them as they are.
“You know, there are flowers which bloom more if you pick them when they first blosom. You aren’t hurting the plant, as long as it gets to bear fruits or extend its reach you can enjoy the beauty of its flowers guilt free.’
“Okay.” Stefan liked listeneing to his grandmother’s calm tone even if he didn’t always understand what she was on about. The intention behind her words made up for it.
They became attached to each other: this was a gentle friendship they develeoped rather quickly.
She knew that he had to return to the Hydraegean community, but the more days passed: her thoughts began to change by thinking various excuses to not keep her promise.
She had grown accustomed to having her nephew around and loved watching him play and roam around the campside.
Iancu was busy walking next to Zico towards his school through the town. At one point they stopped in front of a large building with a dormitory in the back and a large interior garden in the middle.
Zico was aproached by a man who asked him in a serious tone: “Is he a new student? Are you here for enrolment?”
“Yes, we are.” Answered Zico.
“Follow me, I assume he has all the supplies ready.”
“We do, if there any paperwork needed?”
“There always is, after the enrolment process there is some basic information which needs to be recorded.”
“Iancu, go sit by the fountain until I show up again.” Zico told him.
Iancu listened, he sat on the edge and looked arund the yard. It was somewhat barren: only a few bushes could be seen as decoration for such a large space. There was something more beautiful than the foliage in the yard: a fountain with colorful birds sculpted into it. Depending on the sunshine, the colors changed, sparkling as the water was falling over it.
Another point of greater interest for Iancu were the students themselves. They began to make their presence noticed with their squeeling and running as they chased each other around the fountain.
Iancu was torn: should he listen to his uncle or join the game because it looked like a ton of fun?
He got up and started chasing the one boy who proved to be quite difficult to catch. A lanky boy with long legs and heavy steps. The moment it felt like someone got close, he’d instantly bounce off and get away from the crowd. In the end, a curly haired, stocky boy got tired of this game and made the lanky one trip and fall flat on his face.
One of the parents showed up to check on what happened:
“Are you alright, boy?”
The lanky kid got up and dusted off his skined knees and bruised elbow.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You all sit down patienly, that’s why you fell, Can’t you all wait for 5 minutes until your teacher arrives?”
One by one every child had no choice but to sit down by the fountain.
“My name is Iancu. What’s yours?”
“I’m Rivan. You’re not from here, are you?”
“No, I am Hydraegean.” Iancu answered proudly.
“Never heard of it.” Rivan ended the chit chat.
Soon a lean man with a large , protruding blue eyes and a cheerful disposition arrived in front of the crowd of children.
“Good morning, children.” He said in Reecian.
The whole lot followed suit and answered back “Good morning, teacher.” Iancu was miming whatever he was supposed to say.
The teacher leaned towards him and explaining to the class that Iancu doesn’t speak Reecian and that it will take a while for him to adapt to the class.
Iancu was embarassed that he was the center of attention without knowing what was said about him.
“Let’s begin with the alphabet. Everyone take out your paper and pens and let’s begin.”
Iancu imediately imitated what everyone else was doing around him. He felt dumb and incompetent because all he could pick up was an occassional word or two. The teacher wrote down the first letter “Ae”. Iancu imediately burst out with the answer. He got a scolding for being impatient.
“Wait until I ask, next time.” Iancu lowered his head, in a bow.
After teaching them the first 10 letters the teacher started asking questions to make sure they all understood and remembered what was being taught.
After a break, the teacher who was giving off a serious and stern vibe began showing his more playful side.
Before going inside the building, he told them to wipe off their hooves and waited for them in a room where there was a large whiteboard. Mr. Gosling started to count and explain addition and substraction.
“Listen here!” when one of the students got too rowdy he would first repeatedly poke his cheek and say “You have thick rind!” If that failed, he would bring that boy in front of the class, ask them to lean their head forward and slap them across the back of the neck. If they flinched he would yell “Off side!” and slap them again. Mr Gosling had such a charm to his method that none of his students took it personally when it was their turn to be called out for misbehavior.
Iancu quickly took a liking to his teacher and math was such a beautiful subject since it was easier to understand. He enjoyed watching Mr. Gosling explain and envolve his students in his lessons. When it was Iancu’s turn to solve an exercise, he had made a mistake.
Rivan joked with Iancu, who was quick to giggle at his shenanigans.
When Mr. Gosling noticed their amusement, he called Rivan to the front of the class to stand up next to Iancu. Two loud slaps could be heard echoing across the room and after a moment of silence , a sharp cry stood out.
“Which one?!” Mr. Gosling leaned to see who had the guts to be a crybaby in his class.
Rivan hadn’t flinched and was left unmoved by his teacher’s correction. He turned to his right and saw Iancu tearing, red faced as if struck by tragedy itself.
“You hairy mimosis!” the teacher exclaimed. “Off side for you!” and slapped him again.
“I’m going to separate you two before Iancu drowns us all in his tears!”
Mr. Gosling pat Iancu on the back and told him to sit down quietly in his seat.
Iancu didn’t cry because of the pain, he cried because he felt embarassed and ashamed he let down his teacher. Mr. Gosling’s exagerated reactions were taken very seriously by a child who couldn’t read through the act. He was more of an actor than a teacher in his method.
After math the final class took place: it was botany. An interesting subject, Iancu was amazed when he saw the teacher’s impressive pressed leaves and flowers collection. You could tell this was his favorite subject out of all of them. He became a lot more relaxed and joked less. He would take himself more seriously when he showed them a vast variety of plants which were in season.
“There are different types of plants: annual, bienial and perennial. Perenials flower every year, and while the stems die in winter, the roots don’t and the plant regenerates the following year. Can anyone point me a perrenial plant?”
Rivan raised his hand and pointed at Iancu, embarassing him a second time.
“No, he isn’t a plant.”
“But you called him the name of one.”
“Mimosis? Oh right… Then I guess you nailed it.” Said Mr. Gosling.
Meanwhile, Zico and Robera were talking by the fountain, waiting for Iancu’s first day to end. At one point he comes out and runs off when he sees them.
“Hey, how was your first day?” asked Zico.
“It was alright. I had fun.” Answered Iancu.
“Ask him if anything interesting happened.” interfered Robera.
After a pause, Iancu asked Zico what a mimosis was.
“It’s a type of plant which shies away when you touch it. Why?”
“Research.” Answered Iancu promptly.
“We’ll see each other at the end of this week. You can handle living here till then. You’re a big boy, I’m sure you’ll do just fine. I don’t want to receive any letters from the school, got it?” Said Zico before leaving with Robera towards the tavern.
As Iancu was looking at them as they left and this marked the start of the school year.
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