A Daughter's Duty

Chapter 2

It was a lot to take in in one hour.

I met my long-lost aunt, was led into a ruined part of my town, introduced to a secret organization, and told that I was a part of it now.

I had been controlling myself since I received the telegram, and now that things finally blew out of proportion, I wanted to scream, "What on Earth is going on?"

But I couldn't. There were so many people there, watching me, waiting for me so say something intelligent. But I just stood gaping at them, my mouth open, the way I did everytime someone asked me to speak in public. After a long uncomfortable silence, my aunt nudged me to speak.

"Err, how do you do?" I said.

The entire room burst into badly-stifled laughter.

"What-what did I do?"

They kept laughing. The ladies cackled silently and the men wiped tears out of their eyes. Even my aunt Delilah was giggling, all of them doing a horrible job of hiding it.

And then it struck me – every time a guest came to our house, my Gran greeted him or her in a way different from a 'Hello' or 'Glad to see you!'

"Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are." I quoted.

The entire room fell silent. The ladies stopped cackling and the men stopped wiping their tears. Delilah stopped her giggles.

"What? Go ahead, laugh." I demanded. "Pretty warm welcome, I must say, eh?"

No one said a word for a while. Then a woman stood up. She wore a blue blouse and cream trousers with black boots and had her hair up in a bun.

"Please forgive us, Ms. R." she said. "We thought you wouldn't know anything about this organization. But it seems we were mistaken."

"Honestly, I've never heard of it."

"No?" she said, raising her eyebrows. "Then how is it possible that you know our pledge?"

"I'm not sure." I lied. "I-I might have heard it once or twice, I suppose."

"Hmm." She said, clearly not convinced. "Do you know why you're here, my dear?"

"No, I don't, ma'am."

She sighed. "Ms. E, didn't you explain it to her?"

"I'm sorry, Ms. M," said my aunt. "But I was sure there were spies down at the café."

"Spies?" asked one man who was older than the rest, sitting at the head of the table. "Are you sure you weren't followed?"

"Yes, Mr. I, sir," said Delilah.

"Good, good." Said Mr. I, and turned his steely gray eyes towards me. "Sit down, my child." I did. "It must be hard for you, coming here so suddenly. Yes, you're parents wished for you to take your own time. Your grandmother too."

"Gran?" I asked. "You know her, sir?"

There was a faraway look in his eyes. "Yes, my dear. I know Estelle Edwards very well. We've been friends since the 1930s. She used to be a part of us too, you know. Mrs. E, in her time. But she retired. Then came your parents. Your father became the Mr. R, and your mother took up the name Mrs. E, since there was already an R."

"Already an R?" I asked, confused.

He smiled at me. "The initials of our members make up the name of our organization. Very few of us here, the ones with the highest ranks, know the names of others. Say, do you know what Ministerio Iustitia means?"

"Ministry of Justice," I replied immediately. There were some disturbance in the crowd. "What's wrong?"

Mr. I's brows furrowed, and then he spoke, but something about his voice changed. "My dear, do you study in a college?"

"Yes, sir." I replied. "Imperial College, sir. I'm in my Lower Sixth."

"Ah," he said. "Do you have friends there?"

"Why, yes, sir. Sofia and Andrea. They are my only friends there."

"Tell me," he said, "What is your major?"

"Electronic Engineering."

"And your minor?"

"Literature Studies."

He stopped talking and smiled at me again. Then I realized everyone there was staring at me. Some were whispering among themselves, but most were scratching their heads in confusion.

"You know Latin," he said. "That's an ability people in these times almost never have. Where did you learn Latin?"

It took me a few seconds to realize that I had been answering his questions in Latin. The switch came so naturally that I didn't even have to think about it. "I've always known Latin, sir." I replied. I wondered whether being bilingual that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"You must be a part of this organization," said another woman.

"And you are, ma'am?"

"I am Mrs. I."

"Oh," I said. And I refrained from asking whether there was any connection between her and Mr. I. Why, there were six I's in the name Ministerio Iustitia. So, six of them had the name 'I'. "But, what is this organization about?"

"Like you said, Ms. R, it's a ministry of justice." Said Mrs. I. "Nowadays, there are so many people in this world who would do anything for an ounce of justice, so to speak. Corruption is spreading like wildfire among the different nations of the world. So we, and people like us in different nations, are fighting against this. We have spies all over, looking out for injustice, and our enemies. We mean to destroy them. We have allies in many countries – like Somalia, Libya, Russia, and these are just a few. Corruption is widely believed to be the main cause of poverty in rural areas. Our objective is to remove injustice in this world for the upcoming 21st century."

I nodded in understanding. Then something struck me. "So, are you working on the case of my parents' death too?"

I realized how small and helpless my voice sounded as I talked about their death. Maybe I cared about them more than I let on.

"Yes, my dear." Said my aunt gravely. "My sister and my brother-in-law were also victims of the cruel injustice in this world." She suddenly slammed her fist on the table, making me jump. "How stupid of me! I could have followed them and kept them safe! I could have caught the culprit and gotten him arrested! And I –" her voice cracked. "I could have saved my sister."

Mr. A put a hand on her arm and patted. "It's alright, Ms. E. There is no point in dwelling over the past. It is our duty now to take care of the person who did this, and take care of their daughter." He turned his eyes to me. "You see, Ms. R? The death of your parents caused pain to many. And it also shows the amount of evil in the world. Two honorable people killed because they wanted to do good to the world. Two loving parents killed who cared about their daughter and the approaching generation. Two brave souls killed because the enemy was too afraid to bow down to us."

The most surprising part was that Delilah was not the only person to have lost her self control. Tears rolled down my face before I could stop them.

"There, there, my child." Said Mr. I. "Ms. E, I think it is better to let the girl decide to join us on her own, considering the – err, t-the circumstances. Take her back to her university." He turned to me. "Go on, my dear. We will hear your decision tomorrow – and we hope you decide well."