Chapter 13: Disappointment

"This is where the temple used to be," Thesia pointed. "Now the rich families live there; they built their palaces on the ruins. Over there, that used to be the royal palace; now the Eldermen rule from it."

Thesia pointed out important buildings to Macro, Alana, and Anais, as the caravelle entered the wide harbour of Helas, the rich capital of Hanilei. On Macro's orders the seven ships cast anchor in the outer harbour, more than twenty ship's lengths from the quays. A boat was then sent, carrying a letter to the Council of Eldermen, asking for permission to land, and stating the purpose of the visit.

The boat crew returned and could tell Macro nothing more than that the letter was received. Macro and his wives retired to their cabin for lunch, as it was not in keeping with their dignity to show impatience. It was not too long, however, before a large rowing boat left the quay and approached them in haste. Macro was summoned on deck, and he watched as the Elderman Brugar stood in the stern of the boat as it came nearer.

Macro greeted the man politely as he climbed up the Jacob's ladder.

"I greet you, Elderman Brugar!"

"In the name of the Hani People, I welcome you to Helas, Prince Macro. We were in great anxiety when we heard of the revolt against your father and very relieved to hear of the outcome."

"Worthy Elderman, may I present my wives to you, the Princess Thesia and the Princess Alana."

Brugar's eyes opened wide when he realised who the Princess Thesia was. He bowed to the women.

"I greet you both in the name of my people. Welcome home again, Princess Thesia."

Thesia and Alana nodded gracefully. Brugar turned to Macro again.

"How many of our citizens did you bring home, Prince Macro?"

"All of them, by our reckoning. One hundred eighty in total, but that includes thirty-seven who will return to Tanitsar with us. Most of those have married, and they brought their spouses along to meet their relatives. Others want to stay in Tanitsar with their grown children."

Brugar nodded.

"They will all be welcomed, whether they will stay or return to Tanitsar. Of course, we were advised of your plans, but we did not know the exact day and time. Could we postpone the landing until the afternoon? This will give us the time for preparations."

"Certainly," Macro answered with a smile. "What can we expect?"

Brugar smiled back. "A big feast. The Prince Macro and his wives will be guests of honour. It has become known that you were the driving force behind the end of slavery in Tanitsar. You are very popular in Hanilei."

Macro shook his head. "My father, King Odar, has been working on this issue for a quarter century. I just happened to be able to help when the time was finally right."

Brugar just smiled. "Nevertheless, your presence will satisfy our people immensely."

"Elderman Brugar, can I see my family before all the public receptions?" Thesia interjected.

A look of embarrassment replaced the smile on Brugar's face. "Princess Thesia, not everything went as I thought it would. My dreams of resurrecting the Temple are not shared by my peers, I am afraid. There is a strong sentiment in the Council that we need neither a Temple nor priests. This sentiment spilled out into the streets, and your family did not have an easy time, I regret to say. Being responsible for the situation, I offered them shelter in my home, after your father's house and shop were burnt down by an ill-advised mob."

Thesia's eyes filled with tears. "But why? Why the resentment against my mother, after so many years?"

"Some people stand to lose a lot if the priesthood were to be revived," Brugar said with a bitter undertone. "Think of who built their fancy houses on the ruins of the temple."

Macro understood immediately. "Was that why the mob was not stopped?" he asked pointedly.

Brugar shrugged. "I have my suspicions, but I cannot prove anything. My brethren are not as interested in this, and I am only one of five."

Macro turned to Anais. "Column Leader, prepare the Guards for duty tonight. Swords, shields, and halberds. See to it that they are presentable. You are to form a protective formation around my wives during this evening's feast."

"Yes, my Prince!" Anais answered eagerly.

Brugar looked shocked and Macro shrugged. "Seeing that violent mobs run unchecked through Helas, I have to take measures to protect my wives."

Brugar blushed with embarrassment, but then he sighed. "I shall clear it with the Council. It is a big loss of face, but one we earned. Does the Princess Thesia wish to meet her family before the reception and the feast? I could have them brought to your ship?"

"That would be wonderful," Thesia smiled gratefully. Next she sobered, however. "What will happen to them now?"

Brugar shrugged helplessly. "They can stay at my house for as long as they want, but I am an old man. I can't shelter them forever."

Macro put his arm around Thesia and his mouth to her ear. "Don't worry, love! Your mother and your father will be appreciated in Tanitsar if they chose to come with us."

Macro looked at Brugar. "All this puts a different perspective on things. We had better cut our visit short under the circumstances. However, we need to get together tomorrow, to negotiate important trade issues. Our mines are now operated by the Crown after the former owners were found guilty of High Treason and disenfranchised. This means that your metal-working guilds must negotiate new deals with the Crown."

"Two of the mine owners, Ebonas and Lithris, have fled to Hanilei. They claim that they still own the mines."

Macro shook his head. "The mines always belonged to the crown. They were leased to people like Ebonas and Lithris, and the lease expired when they betrayed us. I must warn you, Elderman Brugar. I shall demand that the traitors be handed over to me. Sheltering enemies of my father will not make our negotiations easy."

"They have friends among the guilds, Prince," Brugar answered thoughtfully.

Macro laughed harshly. "For decades, you blamed Tanitsar for adhering to slavery. Yet, you shelter the most brutal of the slave holders?"

"Again, Prince, this is not my preference. The council is split over this. Both men have wealthy friends."

Macro's jaw set when hearing this. "Your council must understand that friendly relations with Tanitsar and friendship with its enemies cannot go hand in hand. The Council must choose. Until you reach a decision, there can be no trade. We will not let our enemies profit from our wealth."

"And our citizens? The freed slaves?"

"Of course they will be landed as promised. In return, I ask you to have my wife's family brought to my ship while we start the disembarkation. I regret this very much, but I will not attend any celebrations in Helas while my father's enemies enjoy your hospitality."

Brugar sighed and bowed. "I regret this development too. I shall convey your words to the Council. Perhaps they will reconsider. The jetty over there is probably best suited for landing our people."

Brugar held out his hand, and Macro shook it before the old man climbed back down into the pinnace. Macro watched the boat thoughtfully as it returned to the shore. Alana stepped close to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Now I understand why Uncle Botho always scorned the Hani. He used to say that they did not care a whit about slavery as long as we kept shipping ore to them. He was right, you know."

Thesia joined them. "I had been looking forward to coming home to Helas," she said dejectedly. "Now I just want to leave."

Alana hugged her. "This isn't your wrongdoing, Thesia. In Tanitsar, everything used to be about noble ancestors. Here, everything is about gold and silver. Either way is wrong, and whilst we have departed from our wrong path, the Hani are still set on theirs."

"I shall give them a little direction!" Macro laughed grimly. He turned to the Master Nauticus. "Please, Master, have the passengers brought on deck."

Within minutes, the Hani crowded the deck, and Macro relayed to them what had transpired. Their reaction was mixed. Most of them were content to be returned home. A few, however, were vocal in their dismay. One of them, a young woman, was completely distraught.

"How can they shelter Ebonas? Don't they know what he did to us?"

"They always knew, and they never cared," a middle aged man answered in a bitter tone. "The sons and daughters of guild members were always ransomed. Only the simple people remained slaves. Whether we worked for them in Hanilei in their shops or on Tanitsar in the mines to produce ore for them, was one and the same to the guilds. Prince, I have changed my mind. May I return to Tanitsar with you?"

"Me, too," the young woman said impulsively. "I cannot breathe the same air as those slavers."

Meanwhile, the news was passed on to the other ships, and Macro could hear shouts of anger from their decks. He assured everybody that only the ones who wanted to stay in Hanilei would be shipped to the jetty. For the rest he would ask Brugar to arrange for their relatives to visit them on board the ships. Macro was secretly pleased. This snub by their own people would jolt the Council even more, he hoped.

Brugar kept his word. Whilst the first boats with the freed Hani made their way to the long jetty that enclosed the harbour, Brugar's pinnace crept out from the harbour. Thesia gasped, for she could see her mother in the bows of the boat. It took an eternity in Thesia's eyes for the boat to reach the Royal Caravelle, but finally the bowman hooked onto the ship's chains.

On Anais' orders four marine soldiers rushed down into the boat to help the passengers up. After just a few moments, two women stood on the deck looking confused. Not for long, however, for Thesia rushed to meet them. Macro and Alana held back giving Thesia some time first.

For minutes, Thesia held on tightly to the small, silver-haired woman. The silvery blonde girl, Thesia's sister, looked at them with a decidedly surly face. Macro edged closer when mother and daughter finally disengaged. Thesia looked around.

"Where is father? Is he all right?"

As if she had waited for a chance to vent her anger, Thesia's sister launched into a tirade.

"He renounced us, all of us! The sorry little ass turned his back on us! He can't live with us he says, after people learned who Mother is. Couldn't you keep a lid on it, Thesia? Did you have to show off in front of an Elderman? Now Father left us, my fiancé broke our engagement, and there is no place in Hanilei where we can live. Well done, little sister! At least, you came out of this looking good!"

Thesia stepped back in shock, but Macro stood ready to hug her from behind. His contact gave Thesia assurance. Ignoring her still-steaming sister she turned back to her mother, Eloa.

"Mother, this is my husband, Prince Macro of Tanitsar."

Eloa quickly stepped forward, taking his hand into her small hands.

"From Thesia's letters we learned how you saved her and protected her. From the bottom of my heart I thank you for your noble actions. Now we learn that my child is your wife and a royal princess. It is almost too much! How can we ever find peace in our humble existence again?"

Macro studied her. Her voice was cultivated and strong, and her eyes full of expression. Were it not for her greying blonde hair she would have looked like Thesia's older sister, yet she had to be well over forty summer cycles old.

"Worthy Priestess, if you will allow me to assist you, you will never again live in a humble existence. Leave this island of penny pinchers with Thesia and me! Tanitsar has changed. No longer is it a realm of suppression and slavery. My father and I want to make Tanitsar an island of knowledge and a beacon of civilisation. With your help we can wake the dormant past and learn from it for our betterment."

The idea had come to him spontaneously, but it was clear that Thesia would not want to leave her mother back in Hanilei. Brugar's dream of rebuilding the Helas Temple was dead, and Lutar had renounced his wife. Better bring Eloa and her daughter to Tanitsar where they could teach the new generations.

"But I am a priestess no more! I married Lutar and I bore him two daughters. Old Brugar is crazy. He thinks that I can rebuild the Temple, but nobody wants that."

"Not a temple, Eloa! An academy, where the young ones are taught the wisdom of today and of the yesteryears. An academy, where we will educate our future poets, healers, and magisters of the law. For fifty years, the madness of kings and the fury of the mobs have destroyed all that was good in our islands. Let us at least rebuild a small part of it!"

"How can I do this? I have been a housewife for twenty years."

Alana stepped forward. "I am Alana, your daughter's sister-wife, and she let me partake of some of what she learned from you. Judging you by the extent of your daughter's knowledge, you will be revered as a teacher."

Eloa looked at the tall young woman. She did not acknowledge the praise, though.

"How long ago did it happen, my poor girl? Seven, eight years?"

Alana blushed crimson and her scars stood out more than usual. Eloa's delicate hand reached out touching the tortured skin.

"Was there nobody to tend to your burns? Is all the healing knowledge lost on Tanitsar?" Suddenly, she had tears in her eyes as she turned to Macro. "Will you allow young people from other nations to come and learn too?"

Macro nodded solemnly and the woman looked up into the sky before she made her commitment.

"Something must be done before our world slides back into ignorance. I accept your offer, Prince Macro."

Macro heaved a sigh of relief. Regardless of the fallout of today's disagreements, he would carry home a prize. He turned to Thesia's older sister, Pilar. She was every bit as beautiful as Thesia, even more delicate with the silvery blonde hair she had inherited from her mother. She was still sullen, though.

"I greet you, Pilar. Thesia has told us many things about you."

His friendly greeting was not well appreciated. Her green eyes flashed with anger.

"She should have kept her mouth shut! I was engaged to Lelis, the son of the headman of the silversmiths' guild. I would have been set up nicely, but no, my sister has to show off her reading skills in front of an Elderman! Poof, my fiancé was gone!"

"Do not worry. A young woman of your beauty will not stay without suitors for long. Besides, you learned the secrets of the Old Language from your mother too. You could assist her."

"Pshaw! Nosing through musty parchment scrolls! What a prospect!"

She just turned away from Macro. He could see that her mother was embarrassed yet unable to control the girl. She had a bad bee in her bonnet after being courted by a sprig of Hanilei's moneyed nobility. Thesia was crestfallen. She rushed into his arms.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

It was Alana who confronted Pilar. "You may want to learn better manners," she said calmly. "With a disposition like that you will indeed have problems keeping fiancés."

"Who asked you, Scarface?"

Everybody held their breath and expected Alana to tear out Pilar's throat. To their utter surprise Alana just smiled.

"Yes, you are right. I am the Scarface. Do you think that I have never heard that name before, stupid girl? Oh, but I am grateful for those burns. Without them I would have been married off to some pretentious nobleman years ago. The scars kept me unmarried until I met the right man, and they gave me the humility and the understanding to appreciate my good fortune. See, stupid girl: I may bear scars in my face but I still married the best man in the realm! They also gave me the understanding to appreciate the friendship and companionship of a truly beautiful woman, your sister.