They came down in the hill in near darkness; the meeting was over. Luet led the way into the hut, chattering to Mother about the things that Akma had taught her.
"Thank you, Akma," said Mother.
Akma nodded. "Gladly, Mother," he said quietly.
But to his father he said nothing, and his father said nothing to him.
FIVE - MYSTERIES
Mon couldn't help but notice that Bego was distracted. The old scholar hardly heard Mon's answers to his questions, and when Bego asked him again the very question that he had just answered, Mon couldn't help but peevishly say, "What is it, teaching the younger son just isn't interesting anymore?"
Bego looked annoyed. "What do you mean? What's this petulance? I thought you outgrew that years ago."
"You just asked me the same question twice, Bego, O wise master. And since you didn't hear a word of my answer the first time, it can't be that you were dissatisfied with it and want me to try again."
"What you need to learn is respect." Bego launched himself from his stool, apparently forgetting that he was too old and fat to fly very effectively. He ended up skittering across the floor till he got to the window, and there he stood, panting. "Can't even get up onto the sill anymore," he said angrily.
"At least you can remember flying."
"Will you shut up about your stupid envy of sky people? For one day, for one hour, for one minute will you just stop it and give a thought to reality?"
Stung and hurt, Mon wanted to lash back with some sharp retort, some bit of devastating wit that would make Bego regret having spoken so cruelly. But there was no retort, because Bego was right.
"Maybe if I could bear my life as it is for one day, for one hour, for one minute, I could forget my wish to be something else," Mon finally answered.
Bego turned to him, his gaze softening. "What is this? Honesty, from Mon?"
"I never lie."
"I mean honesty about how you feel."
"Are you going to pretend that it was my feelings you were worried about?"
Bego laughed. "I don't worry much about anybody's feelings. But yours might matter." He looked at Mon as if he was listening. For what? Mon's heartbeat? For his secret thoughts? I have no secret thoughts, thought Mon. Or rather, they're not secret because I've withheld them-if they're unknown, it's because no one asked.
"Let me lay out a problem for you, Mon," said Bego.
"Back to work," said Mon.
"Afy work this time, not yours."
Mon didn't know whether he was being patronized or respected. So he listened.
"When the Zenifi came back several months ago-you remember?"
"I remember," said Mon. "They were settled in their new land only Ilihiak refused to be their king. He had them choose a governor. The people themselves. And then they showed their ingratitude by choosing Khideo instead of Ilihiak."
"So you have been paying attention."
"Was that all?" asked Mon.
"Not at all. You see, when the voice of the people went against Ilihiak, he came here."
"To ask for help? Did he really think Father would impose him as judge on the Zenifi? Ilihiak was the one who decided to let the people vote-let him live with what they voted for!"
"Exactly right, Mon," said Bego, "but of course Ilihiak would be the first to agree with you. He didn't come here in order to get power. He came because he was finally free of it."
"So he's an ordinary citizen," said Mon. "What was his business with the king?"
"He doesn't need to have business, you know," said Bego. "Your father took a liking to him. They became friends."
Mon felt a stab of jealousy. This stranger who had never even known Father's name till Monush found him six months ago was Father's friend, while Mon languished as a mere second son, lucky to see his father once a week on any basis more personal than the king's council.
"But he did have business," said Bego. "It seems that after Ilihiak's father was murdered-"
"A nation of regicides-and now they've elected a would-have-been regicide as their governor."
"Yes yes," said Bego impatiently. "Now it's time to listen. After Nuab was murdered and Ilihidis became king-"
"Dis-Ilihi? Not the heir?"
"The people chose the only one of Nuab's sons who hadn't run away when the Elemaki invaded. The only one with any courage."
Mon nodded. He hadn't heard about that. A second son inheriting on the basis of his merit.
"Don't have any fantasies about that" said Bego. "Your older brother is no coward. And it ill becomes you to wish for him to be deprived of his inheritance."
Mon leapt to his feet in fury. "How dare you accuse me of thinking any such thing!"
"What second son doesn't think it?"
"As well I might assume that you're jealous of bGo's great responsibilities, while you're only a librarian and a tutor for children!"
It was Bego's turn to be furious. "How dare you, a mere human, speak of my otherself as if you could compare your feeble brotherhood with the bonds between otherselves!"
They stood there, eye to eye. For the first time, Mon realized, eye to eye with Bego meant that Mon was looking down. His adult height was beginning to come. How had he not noticed till now? A tiny smile came to his lips.
"So, you smile," said Bego. "Why, because you succeeded in provoking me?"
Rather than confess the childish and selfish thought that had prompted his smile, Mon invented another reason, one which became true enough as soon as he thought of it. "Can a student not smile when he provokes his teacher into acting like a child?"
"And I was going to talk to you about genuine matters of state."
"Yes, you were," said Mon. "Only you chose to start by accusing me of wishing for my brother to lose his inheritance."
"For that I apologize."
"I wish you would apologize for calling me a ‘mere human,' " said Mon.
"For that I also apologize," said Bego stiffly. "Just because you are a mere human doesn't mean that you can't have meaningful affection and loyalty between siblings. It isn't your fault that you cannot begin to comprehend the bonds of shared selfhood between otherselves among the sky people."
"Ah, Bego, now I understand what Husu meant, when he said that you were the only man he knew who could insult someone worse with your apologies than with your slanders."
"Husu said that?" asked Bego mildly. "And here I thought he hadn't understood me."
"Tell me the business of state," said Mon. "Tell me what business brought Ilihiak to Father."
Bego grinned. "I thought you wouldn't be able to resist the story."
Mon waited. When Bego didn't go on, Mon roared with frustration and ran once around the desk, for all the world like a digger child circling a tree before climbing it. He knew he looked silly, but he couldn't stand the malicious little games that Bego played.
"Oh, sit down," said Bego. "What Ilihiak came for was to give your father twenty-four leaves of gold."
"Oh," said Mon, disappointed. "Just money."
"Not money at all," said Bego. "There was writing on them. Twenty-four leaves of ancient writing."
"Ancient? You mean, before the Zenifi?"
"Perhaps," said Bego with a faint smile. "Perhaps before the Na-fari."
"So there might have been a group of diggers or angels who knew how to work metal? Who knew how to write?"