Honored (Book 2 of the In Search of Honor series)

It was a fairly short distance from the Konjack’s old house to up the hill where the castle used to be in the center of the city. I found myself weaving the chair back and forward across the path while traveling behind Dan enjoying the freedom of controlling where I went.

As we neared the pile of rubble, I started noticing a number of people milling around the area in front of the rubble.

Dan slowed down to walk next to my meandering path, “The Honored have gathered.”

“The Honored?” I echoed his words, not sure what he meant by them.

“Yes. They have been waiting for you to wake up. The Wall commanded they wait.”

A person at the edge of the crowd noticed me. “The Most Honored appointed by the Wall has arrived to guide us!” The man yelled toward the crowd.

In mass they turned to look toward me.

“She’s late,” A woman’s nastily voice rang out from the back of the crowd.

“Well, she couldn’t bother to show up yesterday, why would she be on time? She obviously only cares for the Dishonored scum and the Undesirables.” A man’s mild voice dripped sap into the crowd.

“Are you here to take our lives?” The man who first spotted me asked as I steered my chair toward them. I wasn’t sure how to answer. I wasn’t really sure what I was even doing.

Dan moved ahead of me, “She is here to help steer the formation of your new government. You will listen to her when she speaks.”

They were quiet, as if unsure what to say. A quiet woman’s voice called out into the silence, “Why do we need to listen to this Exile?”

We reached the edge of the crowd and Dan stopped. I rolled forward next to him.

He waved at the crowd, “Do you see that rubble behind you?”

Some people turned to look at it. “Below that rubble lies your King and a number of your Honored. She engineered that. I made sure every person in there died first. We agreed to work with you. Do you want us to go back on the agreement? I have no issue with killing anyone who gets in her way.”

I grabbed his metal arm, tugging on it to stop him. “I am not here to kill anyone. I am here to help reform the government of the City.”

“We should simply go by who is closest related to the last King and we can choose a couple devoted Honored to join the Most Honored ranks.” The shrill woman in the back called out.

I shook my head, “There is a better way of governing and picking leaders. I saw it working well in the village outside the wall.”

“You would throw out our city’s ancient traditions for some outsider method?” A man in the front wiped his hand over his thinning hair. “Our government controls the masses well. It keeps us fed.”

“I would see all archaic traditions destroyed. Tradition is what led to the people of the city getting fed up. Instead of the Honored of the city dictating decisions, it should be a group of people voted for by the people.”

“And how would this group of people agree to make decisions? A King is needed for the final say.” The man with the thinning hair interrupted while tugging at the sleeve of his red tunic.

“The representatives discuss and vote on things. You could have a person voted for by the whole city who can help arbitrate discussion and nothing else.” The classes in the Wall were slowly coming back to me. They felt distant and hazy, but they were there. And I was here where I really didn’t want to be. I was tired of this city. But I had destroyed their central government, so I should at least help them create something that wouldn’t spark more fighting any time soon. “And it shouldn’t be us deciding these things. Each section of the city should vote on a representative to these discussions. The Normals, the Undesirables, and the Dishonored should all have a say as well as the Honored and the Most Honored.”

“The Dishonored are criminals! You would give scum like that a say in government?” The shrill woman in the back screeched, and a mummering of agreement swept through the crowd.

“No, many are -” No one could hear me. They were too absorbed with their own conversations.

“LET HER FINISH!” Dan’s voice thundered across the crowd silencing them. I hadn’t known he could be that loud. For a moment his eyebrows lowered on his normally emotionless face, almost looking annoyed or angry, but then that moment passed, and he was again in perfect neutral.

The crowd of Honored was staring at me, waiting for me, “Many of the Dishonored are simply born in that prison. Most people you consider criminals are executed and their families are Dishonored, and then eventually they are killed by the guards. Living to 40 is a long life as a Dishonored.”

“Once a criminal, always a criminal!” The man with the red tunic shouted. And a couple people behind him yelled, “Yeah! Blood of criminals are criminals.”

“So, you would condemn a person to drudgery because they are desperate to feed their siblings and they steal some bread? Did you know that some people choose a life of being tortured because they are starving in this city, and at least the Dishonored get fed? You eat your fancy feasts and gorge yourselves on food while half the city starves under your feet! This is why the people were willing to fight in the first place!”

A man closer to my own age in a gray tunic pushed forward from the crowd to the front, “You say everyone deserves a voice.” His deep voice was calm compared to the yelling of the crowd. “You say that people should be free to leave the city. Do those choosing to leave also deserve a voice in running the city?”

A murmur ran through the crowd. I could see many people nodding. I would say they did, because we hadn’t even offered people exile yet, but I could tell these talks would get nowhere if I didn’t budge on some points. “You make a good point. Those who already know they want to leave the city should not get a vote in running the city.”

He gave a little bow, a smile flickering across his face. “Then first we should collect a registry of people who wish to leave the city without announcing the vote. We will allow the guards to take today and half of tomorrow to collect who intends to leave. At noon, we announce the vote and then we hold a trial.”

“A trial!” I shouted, “How could you want to hold a trial right now when we haven’t even set up a new judicial system?” Who would they even be trying? What was the point of this?

“Yes, a trial to mark the last vestiges of the King’s reign. The Wall told us they have the King’s woman. She is charged with being a traitor to the new government. She should face the people’s judgment under the old laws to mark the end of the previous reign and the beginning of the people’s reign.” He was smiling straight at me, as if daring me to find some way to stop this trial.

Did he know Casia was my sister? Why was he picking a trial under the old laws to announce voting for representatives?

“People love a good execution,” A woman just behind the people in the front nodded in agreement.

“Yes, I agree. We must be prepared to do the execution right away if that is what the people chose. We haven’t had a proper execution since Miss Exile here ran away from hers.” The man with thinning hair was smiling.

All of their faces were stretched into grinning smiles, except for the young man who suggested it. He looked triumphant, as if he’d proven some point.

“So, there you have it, Miss Exile. You get your people’s vote if we get our trial. Everything will be as you desire, a decision of the people’s will.” His words echoed Casia’s. She had told me to let the people decide her fate. I had to let this trial take place.

I took a deep breath, and then yelled to the crowd, “Then it is decided! Today will be collection of intent to leave the city. Tomorrow will be the announcement of the vote and the trial of the King’s Woman. The day after will be the vote. On the third day, the newly chosen representatives and I will meet back here to write how the City will run from now on.”

I started to turn my chair to leave, but a voice called out and I turned back, “What about those who choose Exile?”

I had no idea. When do you force people to leave the place they call home? Any number of days would be too few, and yet they were probably ready to leave. I should just pick a round number. A number that gave them a chance to see the new city forming. “In ten days. Give them ten days to say their goodbyes, and then they head into the Wall.”

No one said anything, and they seemed to have gone back to talking amongst themselves.I turned my chair to head back toward the city. Footsteps came running up behind me, and the young man in the gray tunic, and I stopped my chair. Up close I could see he had smooth black hair, and I was reminded a bit of Henry.

He smiled and held out his hand, “I’m Richard Hongew, Henry’s brother.” His smile twisted bitterly.

I reached out and clasped his hand, wondering what his motives were. Did he want revenge or his brother’s death? Did he want to further his brother’s cause?

“I will make sure this dream of yours that my brother died for and left his wife and kids alone for happens.” He gripped my hand hard and leaned in as shook it, and whispered, “But you will suffer for it, Elizabeth Devenar, Dishonored Scum.” The bitter chill of his words stuck like the north wind in winter as he dropped my hand and stepped back.

“I will see you tomorrow,” And I could see that triumphant look in his face again.

I felt a strange certainty that I had just made a very bad decision, and that decision would cost my sister her life. I shook it off. No, this would be up to the people. They wouldn’t choose to execute an innocent person. They had fought to stop my execution. I had to trust in them.