The Steward – Part 6

Beatrice

The young girl stood motionless outside the door. There were tears in her eyes. She had heard everything and was utterly shocked. She had so many questions! Where was Jed? Why had Solomon turned against them all? What could she do?

The old king waited for a moment at the open door and then with outstretched arms hugged his youngest daughter.

“My darling Beatrice. I thought you were in your room. It’s getting late and you are only 15.”

“I was in my room daddy”, she whispered, “but I heard someone going by along the corridor. I guessed who it was and where she was going. So I crept outside and came to your study. I’m sorry for eavesdropping but I just had to know what is going on.”

His arm around Beatrice’s shoulder, the king led the girl back into the room.

Urielle had stood up and she greeted the young visitor.

“Hi Bea. I wasn’t expecting to see you again this evening.” And then to the king. “Look, I’ll leave you two alone. I think we were finished anyway”

The king nodded and Urielle padded out of the room, closing the door behind her. The king sat down in his chair and Beatrice flung herself onto his lap, wrapping her arms around her father’s neck.

The girl was weeping now. “Where is Jed? I want my brother!”

“He is quite safe my darling. There is no need to be upset. Jedediah is still in the kingdom. He could return to us here, but he wants to stay where he is – for Solomon’s sake. His mission is not finished until Solomon returns too. So he waits - in hope.”

The king had always regarded Beatrice as his little girl, his baby. But now she was almost an adult, and despite her obvious distress he felt she was ready. She had heard only bits and pieces of the story so far. Now he would tell her everything, right from the beginning.

You can listen to the article by playing this video. It is also available on my YouTube channel.

As he related the long and sorry saga, the king touched on the conversations he had with Solomon before the revolt.

“I do not believe it is possible to force people to be happy. However Solomon disagreed. He was convinced he knew better than anyone else what could satisfy the people. He wanted to set up his own regime so that he could put his ideas into practice.

“But surely happiness comes from within, not from outside? How can anyone be compelled to love their own child, or to laugh at a joke, or to delight in the view from a mountain top? All any king, any leader, can do is to create a world in which such things are possible and leave it to the individual to find their own happiness. That is true choice, true freedom.

“Solomon’s decision to oust me made me wonder if people might prefer to be coerced, so as not to have to think for themselves. But could that be true? If the people really grasped the alternative, would they not choose a different life if it was offered to them?

“That is why I sent Jedediah to the kingdom, to show them that alternative. But Solomon did not want that and found a way to stop Jedediah.

Beatrice had stopped crying and was listening carefully to everything her father was saying. But she was still puzzled about something.

“So how did Jed escape?”

The king went on.

“Some of Jedediah’s companions betrayed him, others fled when he was arrested. But one remained faithful and she helped him escape from prison after the trial. Her name is Magda. Jedediah and Magda now live together in a remote area. I hope we can all meet Magda one day.”

By now it was almost dark and the only light in the room came from the lamps placed here and there in the king’s study. Father and daughter sat in silence for a while. Then the king spoke softly.

“Look Beatrice, the moon is coming up. Why don’t we go outside and continue our chat there?”

Hand in hand, the king and his daughter walked out into the garden through the open French windows. As soon as they were outside Beatrice’s troubled mind was soothed. Maybe it was the fragrant air that calmed her soul, or was it the intoxicating sound of the cicadas singing in the undergrowth?

The bright moonlight illuminated the garden and the two found a cane seat where they could sit. Beatrice nestled into her father’s bosom and they carried on talking for the rest of the night. Eventually, as the sky in the east began to brighten, the king stood up.

“I’d like to stretch my legs so I am going for a walk down by the river. Would you like to come dear?”

“No thank you father. I’ll stay here for a while.” Despite her lack of sleep, Beatrice did not feel tired at all.

The king was proud of his daughter. Beatrice was still very young, but she was turning into a woman, a wise young woman at that. Maybe everything would turn out alright after all, as Urielle had said.

As he strode towards the river the old king remembered a tune he had heard once. He smiled to himself as he listened to it again in his head.

---

Beatrice thought about everything she had heard, in particular the king’s final words before he left her.

“As things stand, waking people up to the truth now might free them, but not Solomon. He would remain a prisoner of his own anger and resentment. That is not how I want this to end, and nor does Jedediah.

“But if even the smallest, the least significant, inhabitant of the kingdom were willing to see, that could be enough to send a ripple of change across the land - all the way to Solomon himself. Isn’t there anyone there who might help?”

Beatrice wondered if she should do something. But what? If she tried to sneak off to the kingdom, the whole court – especially her family - would have a fit! She would hardly make it to the port before they caught up with her. But she couldn’t just leave her brother there!

And she felt sorry for the people too, despite their unwillingness to stand up to Solomon. She did not know Solomon well at all. All she did know was that Jedediah and her father wanted him back, and that was enough for her.

She made her decision. If she could not go herself to the kingdom, she would find someone there to be her representative, her steward so to speak. It would have to be someone who was willing to recognise reality, someone who could then show others how to do the same, and over time spread the ‘alternative gospel’ throughout the kingdom as Jed had tried to do.

But how would Beatrice find that person? How could that person find her? She closed her eyes and emptied her mind for several minutes. Then she stood up and walked the short distance to Archer’s Field. This was where family members and courtiers practised their bowmanship. She and Urielle had spent many an afternoon in Archer’s Field shooting at targets.

There Beatrice found a longbow propped against a hedge. She picked up the bow and held it in her left hand, testing the string by pulling it back with her right. Having made sure everything was working as it should, Beatrice placed an arrow in the bow. She then aimed it high and, when it was pointing in the right direction, she released the arrow. Beatrice watched it soar into the sky. It continued travelling until it was out of her sight.

Beatrice imagined the arrow flying all the way across the sea until it reached the kingdom. Maybe it would be found by someone who understood where the arrow came from, and maybe also that person would agree to help.

Lots of ‘maybes’. But what else could Beatrice do? She stood there, longbow at her side, gazing westward as the sun rose behind her.

---

In a far-off wood an arrow fell out of the sky and embedded itself in a fallen tree lying on the forest floor. The only signs of life around were the birds and a few other creatures. They were curious about the arrow, as they were about anything to do with humans.

But the arrow wasn’t there for them. It was waiting to be found by Beatrice’s steward, whoever he or she might be.

The end… for now.