13 Deals (Part 1)

** One cannot make a good deal with a bad person… by Warren Buffet**

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Elder Conrad sat in his home deep in thought after reading the letter that was sent to him. Well, he only appeared to be deep in thought to keep up appearances because his servants were in the room as well, dusting and cleaning up.

His home was far off but still somewhat in the middle of town. It was a cluster of houses that had been walled off from the general public. All his servants lived in the same compound but in different smaller huts. The 'main' house was anything but humble as it towered over the surrounding huts and it looked like a giant cottage duplex. There was enough natural and well-groomed vegetation to make the place breathtaking. There were multiple rooms that served different purposes in there as well.

He was currently in his study. He looked up from the letter and signalled the servants to leave the room and then, … burst out in laughter. The servants who had just exited looked back towards that room they had just left warily and scurried out of the place. Conrad preferred to keep up a charade in front of others, and that is why he sent them out so that he could laugh like the maniac he felt like on the inside after reading the contents of the letter.

He thought back to the incidents at the banquet and the measly gold they were given. "What could ten petty gold bars do for him when he owned more than he needed in this lifetime." He thought with a smirk. Conrad had been feeling down for days. This stemmed from the happenings at the just ended banquet as well as others. However, this letter just alleviated his mood … for the better.

The gold bars had been left on a table in the centre of the room, as he didn't bother safekeeping them in his vault as he did with his other valuables, because they were too insignificant to occupy valuable space. He was also never worried about theft in his house and none of the servants dared to take anything anyway, unless they did not want their hands. The punishment he meted out was swift. He cut off the hand of the thief if found with no room for explanations or considerations. This had put enough fear in their hearts, and none dared to steal.

The infamous letter read:

Dear Sir,

Interested in collaboration, queen for gold, contact.

Signed by seal

The contents did not say much but Conrad understood the intent perfectly. It was not addressed to anyone and apart from the seal that he recognised as from the royals of Fireland, there was no identifying information. Conrad knew that this was a sensitive matter, so he wasn't about to bother with any formalities.

He walked up to the hearth and threw the letter into it. As he watched it burn, he started formulating his plan for making the demand of the letter a reality. He, of course, needed his payment for this, he smiled knowingly as he sat back down and constructed his reply. It appeared that Fireland had chosen the right person for their 'request' judging from Conrad's reaction.

"Joei," he called out after he finished writing down the reply.

His butler appeared soundlessly behind him. Joei was a smallish-looking man with many scars on his face. It made him quite scary looking. Behind the small body, lay powerful muscles that were well-hidden behind his clothes. He was the true definition of 'appearances can be deceptive.' Conrad did not have any guards at all as Joei served as both his butler and guard. Joei's appearance could even make babies cry because of how scary it looked, coupled with the fact that no one had ever seen him smile. His face was forever etched with a generous frown.

"Make sure this is delivered swiftly and covertly," Conrad handed the letter to Joei after he gave the instructions. Joei bowed slightly and disappeared as soundlessly as he appeared.

After he left, Conrad stretched out his legs and grabbed his unfinished drink as thoughts of his daughter Dominica, danced through his mind. She was his world, and he was secretly glad that the initial man that was to be paired off to her by the committee had faulted himself and had been killed off. As an elder, he could not have stopped the pairing, but he was glad that the oracle had intervened.

He was also glad that his one and only daughter had left on a trip to see the lands and would not return for a few days yet. She was such a worry heart that he preferred to execute his deals without her knowledge. He had raised her to handle all household affairs and documents after her mother had passed in childbirth.

Conrad had come from a lineage of Elders and had been groomed into the position from childhood. He had expected his wife to bore him a son that would have also followed his footsteps, but rather, he had gotten a maiden and his wife had perished as well. In the initial days after the demise of his wife, he had left the young girl to be cared for by her wet nurse only and therefore the duo had never been that close in her early days.

Dominica was still his daughter and he loved her dearly especially when Joei made him aware of what he might gain from the marriage of his daughter. He had doted on her since then. But one should always be aware that when the bonding phase with a child is missed in infancy, it can never be re-obtained! Conrad's only living relative now was his daughter and he preferred it that way as he would not have to answer for his actions or inactions to any relative at all.

He was again lost in thoughts as he stared at the dying embers in the fireplace. He imagined how rich he was to become if this deal went through.

*** **** ****

Back in the king's palace, after Alan ushered Lendon out of the surreal inner palace, she stood out in the garden and gazed up at the night sky. The stars danced up and twinkled in a carefree way up high. As usual, there was a slight evening chill. She shivered slightly, as she mulled over her thoughts on what she had heard earlier that day from king Indicy. She felt a little relieved that at last, she was not to be killed off.

However, no matter the reason, she felt that the king shouldn't have given her that information. "Did he trust her?" It sounded even ridiculous to her. How could the KING trust a servant he had never had much correspondence with when he did not even trust his advisors and elders on the same matter? What had she done differently to earn his trust?

She seemed to have had multiple coincidences with him since she had come in, to the palace. Even their first meeting had been bizarre. She had been barely ten years then, but Lendon had thought long and hard over the years and was very positive that, the first day she came to the palace, was the first time she had met the king of the land, but what had she said, "It's nice to finally meet you?" she must have been crazy then and … now as well.

Lendon thought back to the last question Indicy had asked her before she had left the palace a few moments earlier.

"How did you circumvent the maze?" Indicy had asked,

Lendon had weighed her answer carefully but could not find the right answer for him. She felt that this was not a difficult question at all, but if she mentioned Elcaro, she would have been considered either crazy, insane or even worst, a witch. Neither of which she needed now. She thought to herself, who would believe that her 'dream friend' assisted her. She sometimes doubted herself so it wouldn't be a surprise if anyone else thought that way. But she did not know how to explain the maze journey without mentioning Elcaro, and that was why she had kept quiet.

Lendon had not realised the length of time that had passed when she was asked that question.

Indicy interrupted her thoughts and said, "It's okay, you can tell me when you are ready to,"

She smiled gratefully as she did not need to use words for the king to understand. She was caught off guard by his response to her smile though; he had looked at her with open admiration so much that it was flustering. This even earned a comment from Dude. He said,

"You're making the girl uncomfortable Indicy,"

Indicy reacted by toning down his expression a bit but was still visible for all to see.

Coming back to reality, Lendon shook out the thoughts and looked at the garden in the night light. It was a full moon that day so there was adequate light all around.

"I may go down in the scribes as the 'witch' who got close to the king! I mean how else would people describe me. When I do not understand my actions myself. People associate the unknown with sorcery and witchcraft!" she gasped as she mulled over these thoughts.

Not knowing that she was not alone, whispered to herself, "Why is the highest authority in the land behaving that way with me", she had goosebumps on her arms when she thought back to that moment when he had openly gazed at her as if she was the most precious jewel that ever existed. It is unknown if the physical reaction was from the reminiscence or the chill of the night.

As if now remembering the palace, she had just exited, Lendon looked all around in that direction, trying, and hoping to see the structure she had just come out of but there was nothing visible at all just as she had thought when she had entered that palace initially.

It was because of her experience in the palace that was inclined to believe the king's strange words earlier. She knew that if someone had told her about the palace, she would not have believed it one bit but now…It was indeed a miracle, or "should I call it a fantasy?", She said and giggled like a little girl. Lendon felt so giddy as such thoughts run through her head. She turned and with a slight skip in her steps, she left the garden to retire for the night.

After she left, a shadow could be seen moving from behind one pillar and moving in another direction.

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