1 The Overseer

Raaz didn't quite understand why she felt a strong compulsion to slap Vihr across the face as she stood there watching him sharpen his saw. Maybe it was the annoying noise that got on her nerves and made her close her palms into fists and dig her nails into her skin. Or maybe it was the sound of the saw getting sharpened. 

"What? What did I say?" Vihr involuntarily flinched when he saw the expression on Raaz's face. She said nothing in response, but continued to stare him down. 

Laaj chuckled. Raaz gave her a sideways glance, before focusing her glare on Vihr again. 

"I really don't see what's amusing? That's not a good look on someone when there's a saw nearby." Vihr looked up at Laaj.

"You're giving me ideas?" Raaz spoke up. The anger was already starting to ebb away, but it didn't hurt to play around a little longer, just to make a point.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Not a very tasteful joke." 

"And?" The girls chorused. 

"And…..what in heaven's name…..?" Vihr stood up, his gaze moving swiftly from Raaz's face to something behind her and fixing itself there. 

"If you think that old trick is going to work on us-" Laaj started. 

"Turn around, ladies." Vihr insisted.  Intrigued, the two girls shared a glance as they turned around to see what it was that had made Vihr's eyes widen like that. As their eyes fell on the scene before them, they stiffened. 

The supervisor Bidod and a couple of the Palace guards were setting up a makeshift wooden stage. Standing a few feet away from them with his eyes wandering and hands fidgeting, guards on either side of him, was the last person they expected to see there.

"What's..he doing here?" Raaz tried not to sound as repulsed as she felt. 

"Oh no." Laaj said in a small voice, realisation dawning on her. 

"Oh no...what?" Raaz inquired. 

"The overseer….they said the new man would be coming today. If this is…" 

Vihr guffawed. The whole idea seemed absurd to him. "Please? A Royal working here? Why would he want to do that? I mean,  if he likes ordering people around, he can do that plenty in the Palace." 

Raaz wanted to agree with Vihr. But as she watched the Prince standing there observing his surroundings, eyebrows furrowed and nodding his head, Laaj's suggestion seemed more and more possible.

"It could be a disciplining exercise? Royals love to punish their kids by forcing them to mingle with the commoners." Vihr speculated. Raaz shrugged. That could very well be the case.

"What, Prince Faiz? Punishment? I doubt it. I mean, if it were Prince Samee, maybe…" Laaj said.

Raaz scoffed. "Because this one is such an angel?" 

"Compared to some other Royals, he does have a better reputation. Much better, in fact. You can't deny that." 

"Maybe he just covers up better. And this time he couldn't." Vihr said. 

"Does it matter who's more scandalous than the other? What matters is we're going to be stuck working for him for some time, if he really is here as an overseer. And I can't speak for the two of you, but I'm not leaping in joy at the thought of that." Raaz said.

"That makes two of us." Vihr looked the Prince up and down.

"Three. However…" Laaj tilted her head to the side, "he's not awful to look at." 

Raaz scoffed. "Please. Dressed all neat and pretty like that, even Vihr can look good." 

"What's that supposed to mean? I always look good." Vihr straightened, pushing his shoulders back. 

"Everyone, gather around." Bidod yelled as he climbed onto the makeshift platform. Prince Faiz climbed on next, looking bothered. Raaz rolled her eyes. Too many commoners for the poor man to handle, probably.  People shared glances. Sighs were heard all around. Everyone had seen the Royal amongst them, hard to miss, and had probably guessed what the announcement was going to be. Needless to say, no one seemed all that happy about it. Some dragged their feet as they headed towards the platform, others stayed glued to their spots in a feeble attempt at silent protest. 

"This instant! Or you can go back home and never come back." Bidod issued a threat. Groans all around. Of course this was coming. Bidod knew how desperate most here were for work, and he made it a point to use that against them for every little thing. With a defeated sigh, Laaj was the first to head towards the platform. Vihr and Raaz followed suit.  

"You can't be serious." Mani said as he joined them. 

The three of them looked back at him towering over them and shrugged. Nothing more to say here. They'd have to learn to deal with this, regardless of whether they liked it or not. Mani laid a protective hand over Raaz and Laaj's shoulders, as it began to get crowded. Raaz rolled her eyes. She'd given up trying to get him to stop acting like their bodyguard.  

Once all the workers had gathered, Bidod spoke up again. " Quiet down everyone. Now then, I'm pleased to announce that, from this day forth, Prince Faiz of Manzarhaal will be overseeing the progress of work for the extension of the outskirts of Manzarhaal. You will answer to him at all times, and failure to do so will be viewed as contempt and dealt with accordingly. Is that clear to all?" His question was met with reluctant nods. " Very well. Now, if the Prince wishes to address the gathering, he may." 

Prince Faiz nodded to Bidod, then took the centre stage. He looked unwilling to speak even as he did. " Uh..good day..to all of you. I'm.." He gulped, ".....I'm very pleased to see that the work here is..is progressing well. And I.." He looked down, "..hope that this shall carry on in the future, with.." He drew a shaky breath, "..with me supervising you. I hope we can work together...as..as one." Concluding with that, he smiled politely as he stepped off the stage. There was no applause, obviously, and the Prince didn't seem like he was expecting any.  

"Alright, now everyone get back to work!" Bidod barked. The crowd scattered, refraining from talking amongst themselves until they were certain neither the Prince nor Bidod could hear them. The two were going to be the topic of discussion, after all.

"Quite the orator." Mani commented as he picked up his tools. 

Vihr scoffed as he admired his now sharpened saw. "Yeah, what was with that?" 

Raaz picked up her pickaxe and rested the wooden handle on her shoulder. She honestly didn't care what the Prince was like, as long as he didn't create any trouble for her or her friends. 

"Not used to the crowds, this one. I'm not surprised." Laaj commented.

"What does that mean?" Raaz asked. 

"Well, he's hardly shown his face outside of the Palace. If it weren't for his brief appearance during the Town Fair last year, I doubt anyone here would've even recognised him." Laaj said. 

"Yes, but exercising authority should hardly be an alien practice for him. Certainly he's had experience, with servants or whoever." Vihr said. 

"Regardless, I suggest you stay vigilant. This could very well be an act." Mani warned. 

"What could one hope to achieve by acting like a bumbling idiot?" Vihr raised an eyebrow. 

"Sympathy. They say where fear falls short, emotional manipulation does the job. Maybe he's trying to get us to let our guards down and accept him as one of us, so it's easier for him to trick and exploit us. Whatever be the case, you best be wary of him. It's bad enough that we've got that slimy Bidod lurking around here. Now we've got this Royal headache to worry about." 

"Relax Mani. You worry too much. We're not the only ones working here." Laaj smiled at her brother. 

" I'm aware. But you'll be careful anyways?" 

"Yes, I'll be careful anyways." 

"Good. And Raazan.." 

"Hmm?" Raaz raised an eyebrow.

"Try not to act too rashly. Whatever happens, remember he's a Royal, and if he ends up taking offense to anything you do…" He let her fill in the rest. 

"Fine. I'll try not to do anything majorly offensive. Happy?" 

"Hardly, but it'll have to do."  

As Laaj and Raaz headed towards the fields, Raaz couldn't help but smile as she thought of Mani and his overprotective nature. He'd always been like that, and no matter how much she tried to act like he annoyed her, she was glad he was always there for them.

When she'd arrived at the shelter, Laaj was the first person to befriend her. Her elder brother Mani was one of the oldest there, and people would often leave the two of them  alone as long as he was around. Vihr showed up a couple of months later, and was a clumsy mess. Raaz always thought it was a wonder that he was now able to use a saw without seriously hurting himself. 

Maybe Laaj trusted too easily and Vihr was hazardous just to be around. And maybe Mani was overly cautious to the point that Raaz's eyes would hurt from rolling them too often. But she was glad she had them. Life could get pretty lonely without someone to fall back on. Without friends. Without family.