Role Playing

Sophia nervously awaits an audience with Yesh about her future, while Zeatt has a conversation with Eleazar about Aurei.

43.

Role Playing

 

Sophia paced back and forth in the narrow space between the office desk and the window, fretfully chain-smoking one Dart’loxinchu cigarette after another as she nervously waited.    Khord sat at the desk, half-heartedly playing a game of solitaire on the computer as he watched her walk back and forth, only pausing periodically to tap ash out into an absolutely overflowing ashtray on the other side of computer.  

Opening the desk drawer, Khord found an aspirin bottle, popping three tablets out and swallowing them without water.   Usually breathing the thick passive smoke from her Dart’loxinchu no longer bothered him (after years of getting used to it), but today the air was particularly heavy with a full morning of the girl’s nervous anticipation.

“Sophie, for Heaven’s sake, sit down or you’ll have a hole paced through that carpet.”

She stopped with a frown and pulled heartily on her cigarette, then blew a long plume of smoke impishly into his face.  Instead of responding in his typical annoyance, he just shook his head with a slight smile.

 

“You really want to go to your first official meeting with Yesh reeking of Dart’loxinchu?”

“He knows that I smoke it, Khord.   It won’t surprise him.   Since I’ve been anxiously waiting all morning for some sort of message or something to tell me what I’m supposed to do, what does he expect me to do; just sit calmly?”

“Are you certain the e-mail said this morning?”

“Yes… it is weird; …there are computers in Heaven?”

Khord laughed at the thought, “You’ll have to ask him about that.”

Sophia sighed deeply at the thought of just casually chatting with God, “This is crazy, Khord, absolutely crazy.   Of all people, he picked me.”

“Yeah, that surprised me greatly too.”  

She frowned and sent another exhale of Dart’loxinchu smoke over him in reply.

“I’m just jesting, Sophie.   Really, it doesn’t surprise me; you are the most ‘real’ of all the Watchers.   You’re not a boot-licker.   You’ll speak your mind, and he knows that.”

“I don’t know if I will with him!”

“He’s got you really scared!”

“Well of course I’m scared!   I can’t screw this job up!”

“You’ll do fine.”

“I don’t know.   I’m not sure if he’ll call the office or I’ll just suddenly appear in his presence, or does he come here?”

“Well, what did Kinzer do when she met with him?”

“I don’t know; no one was around and she wouldn’t tell anyone.   I asked Drake once, but he wouldn’t say anything.   So I’m completely in the dark here.”

 

“Not for long.”  His voice said and in the blink of an eye, she was sitting on a beautiful green hillside, looking down at the sun glimmering on a deep blue lake, while a large herd of sheep grazed nearby.  

She glanced to her right and was very surprised to find an equally shocked Khord sitting next to her.   They were both dressed like shepherds.  

“Welcome.”  Yesh said to them and they turned to find him seated on Sophia’s left, holding a shepherd’s staff as he smiled down at the flock.

“You know, I have always found sheep very fascinating to watch.”   He told them, “Of course I find many things fascinating to watch, but sheep are interesting because of the instincts that I gave them as a species.   The flock or herd instinct, some call it.  They follow one who looks after them and if their shepherd is good, they will trust him and know his voice.”

“Did you know that sheep of several herds, when mixed together in a pen, will respond to their shepherd’s voice?”

“I didn’t know that.”  Sophia said, feeling very unsure of herself for some reason at that moment.

 

“So a shepherd has to be known by his flock and when he leads them properly, they will.   It is a very good analogy of trust.   I used it in the Prime World often.   ‘I am the Good Shepherd’ I told my friends.   When I established this world, I chose to come as a Shepherd when I came into the world in person.”

“So you’re still ‘The Good Shepherd.”  Khord said, and it caused Yesh to smile.

“Yes, and you both are two of my sheep, but also are now two whom I have selected to be shepherds as well.”

“Me?”   Khord asked, confused, “I thought it was just Sophie.”

“Well, she confides in you, so I thought I’d include you in on the meetings.”

“I’m deeply honored, Lord.”

“You must realize that by including you, I am also going to require duties from you.”

“I understand, Lord.”

“Good.”   He turned to Sophia, “Sophia, you are uncharacteristically quiet.   There is no need to be scared, I am going to train you how to do your job and this will take some time, so relax; today I’m simply going to give you a history lesson.”

“History lesson, Lord?”  She asked.

“Oh yes, it is absolutely essential that you know the reason why things have been set up this way.   All Watchers receive this lesson.   I know Lelia Kinzer wrote a popular book - with my blessing- about the time of the Great Gathering, and I don’t intend to go over most of that, as I’m sure you already know that.   What I do plan to tell you is why I have established Watchers and of what your roles will consist.   So let’s begin.”

Yesh leaned forward and with a deep breath, began teaching them.

 

***

 

While the divine lesson was just beginning, in Westmark, Aurei Bugley had fallen into a deep, exhausted sleep.   At the recommendation of Zeatt, Eleazar had left her alone to sleep.   “She needs restorative sleep.”   The Drow Matron had told him, escorting him out of the room, “When she’s with you, she is greatly stirred up.”

“I’m sorry, Reverend Mother; I certainly don’t want to make anything worse.   I fear for her.”

 

 

“Child, don’t worry; she’s just overwhelmed.   We forget how young she really is because she usually acts so much older.   But she is, in Elven years, just a young woman and she has tried courageously to fit all these new roles.”

 

“I’m afraid I have complicated her life, Matron.”

“Eleazar, you have indeed complicated her life, but it is a good complication.   She is deeply in love with you.   You know, both of us are from the Underdark and we know what that world was like.   But Aurei feels as humans and surface Elves feel and she doesn’t realize how amazing it is to us.”

“Matron, surely even in your Drow family, there was some sort of love.”

“Of a sort, yes.   Believe it or not, I do actually miss my family, for we had a definite bond.   Of course Ar’Rilla was the least of the noble houses, but it was quite a bit better than most noble houses.”

“I knew only my mother - that was the only bond I had before I met Aurei.   I had companions, and perhaps in truth they were friends, but I never realized that.   I didn’t love anyone until I met Aurei.”

Zeatt laughed, “Yes, you were rather cold to everyone.   I tried for several years for you to join the Drow church in Aeropolis and you scorned that.”

“I was a fool, Reverend Mother.”

Zeatt grabbed him by the arm, “Child, I must insist on something; you cannot keep calling me Reverend Mother or Matron Mother.   Call me by my name.   We’re going to be family in a week’s time.”   As soon as she said it, Zeatt realized she’d let something slip.   The Half-Drow heard it and looked at her puzzled.

“Did Aurei talk to you?”

“Oh dear, Queen Eioldth is going to be annoyed at me.   No, Aurei didn’t say anything to me.   It was the Queen who told me about you and Aurei’s secret plans to wed next week.”

“The Queen?   How could she know?”

Zeatt took him over to a pair of chairs in the sitting room just outside the bed chamber and had him sit down.  She told the half-Drow about Eioldth’s accidental observation of their private conversation.

“Great.” Eleazar sighed, “That won’t make her very happy.”

“Don’t tell her, child!   For you don’t know of some other secrets that I will share with you, as long as you swear not to tell Aurei.”

“Matron… sorry, Zeatt, I don’t know if I can keep it from her.   When we sleep and share dreams, we also seem to share telepathy.”

“Well, do your best.”

“I’ll try.   Now tell me… Aunt Zeatt… what about these secrets?”

The Matron smiled broadly at his use of the familiar title and she leaned in just in case Aurei wasn’t asleep and told him some secrets.