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The Shadow of His Thoughts page6
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The Shadow of his Thoughts
by J. Michael Straczynski
page
6
"Take them carefully, one at a time, from
places
where there are so many that they will not be
missed.
By the time we meet in the middle, you will have
enough
to restore your family's fortune for the next five
generations."
She met his gaze, and he
saw suspicion there. "What
will it cost me?" she
asked.
He placed his hands on her
shoulders. "A little of your
honor. It is a terrible
price but the sting passes with time.
I would do it for you, but
I have so little honor left that it would hardly buy you a small cottage
in the outer
provinces.
"Now,
enough talk," he said. "Start plucking."
The sky was starting to lighten as Londo
hurried
back to his tent. He glanced back briefly to see
the lone Imperial guard he has assigned to the task riding off on
droneback, Shiri clinging to his back. If she looked back
at him, he could not tell.
He was out of
breath, but smiling broadly.
These were the
moments he enjoyed most.
It took him only a
few moments to rouse his entourage. He raised such a clatter and an
alarm that the guards and functionaries and plenipotentiaries and escorts
and chaperones and dromesman piled into the clearing half
dressed. He hid his amusement at the sight, especially
when Delasi appeared in their midst, her dress hanging in ways never
intended by her disigner, her body, or the
Great Maker.
"We have been tricked," he said, his voice
carrying
through the clearing. "And it is on your behalf,
Delasi,
that we have endured this charade."
"Majesty, I---"
"You
have not been invited to speak," he snapped,
and she averted her
eyes. Londo turned his attention
to the rest of them. "The
young girl Shiri, of House Dei,
is no more a prophetess than I
am. She came to see me
last night, in tears---tears, I tell
you---over her decpetion. She believed she was acting in a good
cause, but the
weight of her pretense and the terrible secret
behind it
were simply too much for the poor creature to
bear."
The crowd was silent, waiting for the
rest. Londo
let the moment grow, enjoying himself beneath
his
carefully outraged exterior.
"The secret . . . is that it is Delasi who is the true prophetess," he
said, noting with satisfaction the look of stunned disbelief on her
face. "Shiri only repeated
what she was told to say by
Delasi, who did not want
the title of prophetess supreme because
of the great
burden involved. A life of solitude and
responsibility,
without marriage or love. Shiri was
willing to sacrifice
all this for the sake of our people, and
allow Delasi to
work through her. But here, on the night
before her enshrinement, knowing the responsibility and the
importance of the ceremony, she found she could
no longer
carry through with the deception."
"Though
Shiri believed she was acting in the best
interests of all
involved, a lie is still a lie. So by Imperial Decree, she
is
|
banned from any contact with the royal court. Her family
is
declared free of any penalties because they were
innocent in
this, but no one in the palace will attempt to contact her for any
reason. To be shunned from our presence is surely the worst
punishment that can be devise
to fit the crime."
The crowd nodded. Good, Londo thought. Now no one
will try to contact her, which would yeild information that might
contradict what I've just said.
Now for the
fun part.
He sarted into his tent.
"Lady Delasi," he shot back. "Attend."
She
followed him inside. He sat and regarded her
silently for
a moment. She had regained some of her composure, and was studying
him just as he was studying her.
"You may
speak," he said.
Delasi straightened.
"Majesty, I am not a prophetess."
"This is
true."
"Then you knowingly lied."
He shrugged. "It is impossible to lie
otherwise."
"And you expect me to go along
with this?"
"I do."
"Why?"
"Sit, and I
will tell you," Londo said. He stretched
out on the
high seat as she took her place opposite him.
"Let us speak
plainly, Delasi. You and I, we are political creatures. We
come from the same amoral gene pool.
You attached yourself to
Shiri because you hoped to
use her to your own advantage, to
exert influence over
the nobles and others who would come to
Tuwain seeking guidance."
"Majesty, I would
never---"
"Yes, you would. With you as
Shiri's guardian, they
would have to go through you in order to
speak with her. You could choose who was and was not allowed to
see
her, indulge favors, accept bribes, use your access to her,
and to them, to improve the condition of House Miro.
"But now you have a unique opportunity,
Delasi. You
and I both know that sooner or later, Shiri
would back
out of the deal once she began to truly understand
how you were using her. She has an annoying nobility of spirit that
almost guarantees conflict over issues of morality. That problem has
now been eliminated, the pebble removed
from your shoe.
Try as you might, Shiri would never have altered her prophecies to suit
your needs. As prophetess yourself, you can say anything you
want."
From her expression, Londo knew she
was intrigued,
but still cautious. "There is still a
problem, Majesty. As I said before, I am not a prophetess. I
cannot see the
future."
Londo
smiled. "Neither can I. What difference does it
make? Our job is to tell people what they want to hear.
We are much alike in that way. No one really wants to
hear the truth, good lady . . . they don't really want to
know how
they will die, that they have sadness and pain
in their future,
that their name will decline with their power and their appearance; that
in the end, all is swallowed by death and silence. |
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Glass Tattoo
The Shadow of His Thoughts page6
This is G o o g l e's cache of http://www.glasstattoo.net/TSofHTpage6.htm.
G o o g l e's cache is
the snapshot that we took of the page as we crawled the web.
The
page may have changed since that time. Click here for the current page without
highlighting.
Google is not affiliated with
the authors of this page nor responsible for its
content. | |
The Shadow of his Thoughts
by J. Michael Straczynski
page
6
"Take them carefully, one at a time, from
places
where there are so many that they will not be
missed.
By the time we meet in the middle, you will have
enough
to restore your family's fortune for the next five
generations."
She met his gaze, and he
saw suspicion there. "What
will it cost me?" she
asked.
He placed his hands on her
shoulders. "A little of your
honor. It is a terrible
price but the sting passes with time.
I would do it for you, but
I have so little honor left that it would hardly buy you a small cottage
in the outer
provinces.
"Now,
enough talk," he said. "Start plucking."
The sky was starting to lighten as Londo
hurried
back to his tent. He glanced back briefly to see
the lone Imperial guard he has assigned to the task riding off on
droneback, Shiri clinging to his back. If she looked back
at him, he could not tell.
He was out of
breath, but smiling broadly.
These were the
moments he enjoyed most.
It took him only a
few moments to rouse his entourage. He raised such a clatter and an
alarm that the guards and functionaries and plenipotentiaries and escorts
and chaperones and dromesman piled into the clearing half
dressed. He hid his amusement at the sight, especially
when Delasi appeared in their midst, her dress hanging in ways never
intended by her disigner, her body, or the
Great Maker.
"We have been tricked," he said, his voice
carrying
through the clearing. "And it is on your behalf,
Delasi,
that we have endured this charade."
"Majesty, I---"
"You
have not been invited to speak," he snapped,
and she averted her
eyes. Londo turned his attention
to the rest of them. "The
young girl Shiri, of House Dei,
is no more a prophetess than I
am. She came to see me
last night, in tears---tears, I tell
you---over her decpetion. She believed she was acting in a good
cause, but the
weight of her pretense and the terrible secret
behind it
were simply too much for the poor creature to
bear."
The crowd was silent, waiting for the
rest. Londo
let the moment grow, enjoying himself beneath
his
carefully outraged exterior.
"The secret . . . is that it is Delasi who is the true prophetess," he
said, noting with satisfaction the look of stunned disbelief on her
face. "Shiri only repeated
what she was told to say by
Delasi, who did not want
the title of prophetess supreme because
of the great
burden involved. A life of solitude and
responsibility,
without marriage or love. Shiri was
willing to sacrifice
all this for the sake of our people, and
allow Delasi to
work through her. But here, on the night
before her enshrinement, knowing the responsibility and the
importance of the ceremony, she found she could
no longer
carry through with the deception."
"Though
Shiri believed she was acting in the best
interests of all
involved, a lie is still a lie. So by Imperial Decree, she
is
|
banned from any contact with the royal court. Her family
is
declared free of any penalties because they were
innocent in
this, but no one in the palace will attempt to contact her for any
reason. To be shunned from our presence is surely the worst
punishment that can be devise
to fit the crime."
The crowd nodded. Good, Londo thought. Now no one
will try to contact her, which would yeild information that might
contradict what I've just said.
Now for the
fun part.
He sarted into his tent.
"Lady Delasi," he shot back. "Attend."
She
followed him inside. He sat and regarded her
silently for
a moment. She had regained some of her composure, and was studying
him just as he was studying her.
"You may
speak," he said.
Delasi straightened.
"Majesty, I am not a prophetess."
"This is
true."
"Then you knowingly lied."
He shrugged. "It is impossible to lie
otherwise."
"And you expect me to go along
with this?"
"I do."
"Why?"
"Sit, and I
will tell you," Londo said. He stretched
out on the
high seat as she took her place opposite him.
"Let us speak
plainly, Delasi. You and I, we are political creatures. We
come from the same amoral gene pool.
You attached yourself to
Shiri because you hoped to
use her to your own advantage, to
exert influence over
the nobles and others who would come to
Tuwain seeking guidance."
"Majesty, I would
never---"
"Yes, you would. With you as
Shiri's guardian, they
would have to go through you in order to
speak with her. You could choose who was and was not allowed to
see
her, indulge favors, accept bribes, use your access to her,
and to them, to improve the condition of House Miro.
"But now you have a unique opportunity,
Delasi. You
and I both know that sooner or later, Shiri
would back
out of the deal once she began to truly understand
how you were using her. She has an annoying nobility of spirit that
almost guarantees conflict over issues of morality. That problem has
now been eliminated, the pebble removed
from your shoe.
Try as you might, Shiri would never have altered her prophecies to suit
your needs. As prophetess yourself, you can say anything you
want."
From her expression, Londo knew she
was intrigued,
but still cautious. "There is still a
problem, Majesty. As I said before, I am not a prophetess. I
cannot see the
future."
Londo
smiled. "Neither can I. What difference does it
make? Our job is to tell people what they want to hear.
We are much alike in that way. No one really wants to
hear the truth, good lady . . . they don't really want to
know how
they will die, that they have sadness and pain
in their future,
that their name will decline with their power and their appearance; that
in the end, all is swallowed by death and silence. |
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Glass Tattoo
|