Heir of Beasts

Ch. 2.2- Not Very Diplomatic

The Ambassador's office is decorated the same as the rest of his house: richly yet simply. A dark wooden desk dominates the room. Two large bookshelves take up the wall space, along with an armchair and side desk. Large windows let in the night sky, adding moonlight to the warm glow of the sconces.

            The Ambassador ignores us for a full minute, his eyes glued to a thick packet of papers in front of him. He dips a quill into an inkpot and makes hurried marks in the margins, frowning. I look to Tyro for instructions but he's already leaving the room, shutting the door behind him. I can only watch the ambassador and wait to be acknowledged.

            He's very young, this ambassador. I expected a man of fifty or sixty, with papery skin and a receding hairline. The man before me is eight and thirty at most. His hair is thick and black, and his skin, though deeply tanned, has barely any wrinkles.

Finally, he looks up. "You must be Somitu's son. Amshira."

            "Yes, Ambassador."

            "Well then, I suppose I should welcome you to Kama." He says tiredly, setting the pen in its inkwell to rest. "I hope your trip was pleasant, though I can't imagine it was."

            "Thank you, Ambassador." I reply, confused by his apathetic tone. I ignore the fact that he's yet to really look at me and drop into a low bow, as is expected of a guest greeting their host. "It is incredibly generous of you to take me in. Know you have my family's sincerest gratitude."

"Well, I didn't have much of a choice there, did I?" He responds gruffly. I lift my eyes from the floor in surprise.

"Excuse me?"

            "I forget your mother's exact wording, but it was something along the lines of "I don't know who else to ask. If I can't get him to a safe place, he'll most likely be killed. We might both be, before this letter even reaches you." He frowns. "Now, how could I, in any sort of good conscience, say no to that?"

            "I- I don't know." I respond, raising my eyes from the floor, but keeping my arms folded and head lightly bowed. "But others did say no, and I'm sure they found a way to justify it."

            "They must be smarter men than me, then."

            He must read my confusion, because he elaborates. "No dangerous refugee under their roof, no moral conflict. They've avoided the price of doing good, and the price of a guilty conscience. That takes some intelligence."

            "I wouldn't call it intelligence."

            "What would you call it, then, Somitu's son?"

            "Cowardice, at best."

            "At worst?"

            "Treason." I mutter.

            The ambassador smiles, though not exactly kindly. "Your mother said as much in her letters. "Honor has fallen to the wayside... All around me are cowards and thieves. The great families are no longer worth the ground they stand on." He pauses, staring off just to the left of me. "She was always so quick to condemn."

            "You disagree?" I ask, sounding more accusatory than I mean to. "You'd argue they've acted honorably?"

            "Not honorably." He says. "But certainly naturally."

            "There is nothing natural about what is happening in Shikkah." I reply, trying to keep my disgust from spilling out onto my face. "To abandon allies is not natural. To embrace cowardice, chaos, is not natural."