The Duty of Dia Twalia, By Master Yao Morris (From a romance novel in the Oracle of Khemsa Nu Series.) Dia Twalia crested the great hill and walked to the overlook. She looked down far below to the beautiful harbor and there was the sleek sailing yacht he had promised to lend her. The long ship was hardly ever used, its smooth hull gleamed, its sails neatly rolled. It was just fast enough to outrun the small naval ships. The yacht was her only hope. She had to get 22 people out of the city. It was impossible by land, and this ship was the only one available to her that was large enough and fast enough. The ship had already been released to her. Haikou had kept his promise. It was time for Dia to reciprocate. She had not verbally agreed to submit to him, but it was very clear what he expected. Even if she could afford to, no one would normally charter a ship this big to someone like her. She knew he was going to require more than just her body. He would insist on a public display. Twalia walked up to the tall stern guard at the gate. He was about to question her, for this was a place of important people and she was not one of them. Then he saw her Oracle pin and motioned her through. Such was the power of The Yellow Star Society and the Oracle, that any member of staff, regardless of rank, could go to places normally reserved for the elite, even to the Bastille. It was just past dusk when she entered the campus of the Grand Bastille. It lay nestled against a steep hill in back, and the beautiful harbor in front. Dia Twalia looked down the path into the grand balcony beside the conservatory. Red paper lanterns hang from the building and many palm torches flickered upon the brick rail. Beyond was a wide terrace with a high fountain amid most. Sweet music spilled out the French doors of the conservatory. Dia Twalia stepped gingerly down the wide polished wooden steps of the spiral stair onto the balcony. Sweet music of violins and lute and obo greeted her. And through the tall glass windows she could see the nobles and ladies mingling. And there was Haikou, standing right where she expected him to be, between a wealthy broker, and the Viceroy of the Mekong Region. He saw her walking past the window. He would expect her to come in, but Dia did not want to. The balcony was bad enough. Dia Twalia felt trapped in-between. There were two societies in New Peking, the rich and powerful, and the common class. Somehow she had ended up in-between, belonging to neither group. She was born to a common family. Then by great fortune she had obtained a position with the Oracle Congress, as an assistant to one of the high ranking staff members. She could no longer socialize with her friends from the common class. But the elite class considered her beneath them. So Dia Twalia had no husband, few friends, and no real life. There were many persons going to and fro on the balcony and terrace, but without exception they ignored her. She was too far beneath them to require acknowledgement. This was the story of her life. She felt like a façade, meaningless and hallow. Dia Twalia was a broken woman. She had been broken a long time. And just when she was beginning to heal, the world changed. For months there was the rumor that the war in Africa was over, and the great holy man was coming to Burma. Then four days ago they had called the entire staff into a super-secret meeting. The holy man had already arrived. The rebels had come down from the province and already surrounded the city. A bloody rebellion was just a few days away. Dia Twalia was sworn to secrecy. She had a tough choice, leave with the Oracle staff, or stay and get her family and close friends out before the streets ran red with blood. She had chosen to stay and save them. Of course once the rebellion started anyone connected with the Oracle would be killed. This made what she was about to do even harder. She had avoided Haikou’s advances for over a year. She wanted to spend her last days doing all the things her position at the Oracle Congress forbade her from doing. She had been too conservative, observing protocol but never living. It was so unfair giving Haikou his fantasy, but being denied any of her dreams. TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE ...go to my wall/ notes
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 04:54:55 +0000
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