Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By
R. Albert Marsh
1
Chapter One.
A long time ago, in a land a far distance from where you are now, in a time
long forgotten, lived a servant by the name of Kisu.
Kisu was the servant of the Lord High Chamberlain, and had been so since
birth. Growing up in the Emerald City, Kisu came in contact with a wide
variety of people, Lords, Ladies, courtiers, commoners, trades-people,
slaves, and fellow servants. But what set Kisu aside from the many was a
Dream.
Kisu had carried in his heart a dream from early childhood, and because of
the accident of his birth, it sadly would remain only that, just a dream.
And the gods forbid that a servant should have, let alone carry, a weapon.
For everyone knew, and were told in whispers, that a servant who held a
weapon was a renegade and a traitor to his Lord. A servant would throw
himself, or herself, on a bonfire first before picking one up.
A warrior’s weapons were a sacred trust. They were his stock in trade, and
woe unto the person who picked up a weapon without permission of its
owner or lawful liege lord.
Kisu’s work was varied about the stronghold, as it was menial. Born into
servitude, he knew no other life. It seemed that his days were full, from the
time he was woke two hours before dawn, summer and winter, to the time he
went wearily to his bed, sometimes in the early hours of the morning, day in,
2
day out, no time off except for the whims of the High Born above him. And
the gods alone knew, those days were few and far between!
Although his body breathed and worked, his mind and soul soared out into
the vast realms of his imagination. He saw himself a hero, lauded for his
prowess, sailing the vast uncharted expanses of the bottomless deep, and
paying court to fair maidens who’d swoon at his merest passing. He saw
himself in his imagination rescuing fair maidens and vanquishing mortal
enemies, plying his sword and spear in vicious hand-to-hand battle,
emerging victorious amid the cheers of his comrades.
Oh, yes, Kisu dreamed of freedom, a freedom that lay out of reach, so far
away, that he knew only madness or death could make it his.
But most of all, Kisu dreamed of being a soldier. When his duties permitted
it, he would take a roundabout route, just so he could walk as slowly as he
dared past the barracks, where the palace guards, visiting troops of the
various nobles and potentates, hired mercenary guards, spent their time.
He would surreptitiously watch the men of war as they trained, the swords
that would flash in their hands, the bows that would twang and thump, the
deadly dance of the swords and spears. As Kisu watched them out of the
corner of his eye, in his mind he was training right beside them, trading
lunge for lunge, parry for parry, block for block. It was like he was two
people, one the dutiful servant, and the other, the well trained soldier.
At night, in his innermost private musings, Kisu would lie on his bed, under
his blankets, and practice what he had seen that day on the training ground
in his imagination. He would grin to himself, as he replayed conversations
he’d heard, with himself speaking the words, and not the soldiers.
And yet, every night Kisu would practice the forbidden arts of war, doing
the stretches to limber up, practicing the punches, kicks, and unarmed drill
that he could see as clearly as if he was on the drill quad. A length of stick as
long as his arm would become his sword, a shorter one measuring from
elbow to fingertip, a shortsword dagger.
3
Night after night he would practice, yet he never seemed to flag in his duties.
For, he reasoned, a soldier would never tire or fail in his duties to his Lord or
Lady, so neither would he. The only times Kisu could not practice was when
a visiting Personage would arrive in the Emerald city, and sleeping space
was at a premium among the serving class.
Then he would have to share his living quarters, sometimes even kicked out
and made to sleep in the hallway because some pompous ass needed his
‘privacy’.
Soldiers are intelligent men, for if they were not, then they were not soldiers,
and they would be dead. Kisu knew this, and he accepted it stoically. He
knew some of the guards might guess of the reasons why he tried his best to
spend so much time around the fighting men, and would have been mortified
should they bring it out into the open. Yet, to his mind, he was everlastingly
grateful no-one said a word.
Sometimes, the guards would stop Kisu if he were walking too slowly, lost
in the rapture of hearing swords beating out a tattoo of musical sound.
Sometimes one would say, gruffly, “Move on there, no dawdling!” or
another would call out in banter, “Watch out Sergeant, anther poor recruit for
you to kill!” and laughter would float in the air. Even through the pain of
knowing his lowly station, Kisu would fill to the brim with happiness as he
felt accepted and connected to these rugged men.” Merciful Heaven”, he
would pray, “may my next life be as one of these men. May Happiness come
soon!”
It is a well known fact, that you should always be careful of what you ask of
the Gods, because one day they might just hear you, and fulfill your wish.
****************
On a crisp spring morning, as Kisu was on his way back from delivering a
package to the High Commanders’ office, on his way out of the building, he
was accosted by a young officer. “You there!” the officer called. “Come here
at once, and be quick about it!” Kisu looked around, found himself singled
out, the other servants heads were down, and had put speed into their walk.
4
Kisu trotted over, and bowing quickly and courteously, waited for this young
masters’ bidding.
The young man puffed out his chest, (a little too self importantly, and a tad
scrawny, one might add, but Kisu kept his face in check), and imperiously
swept his arm toward the Stronghold, and said, “Her Imperial Highness
wishes to travel to her Summer Palace shortly, and she needs some strong
backs to pack her train. Go quickly, man, and lend a hand”.
Kisu, bowed, and as respectfully as possible asked, “Will you speak for me,
kind Lord, and let my master, the Chamberlain, know that your Lordship has
given me orders? For he is angry whenever his servants go forth without his
knowledge upon the duties of another”.
The young man paused a moment, and then said kindly, “This I may do, for I
must speak with this worthy personage shortly. I will commend you to him,
for I find you uncommonly respectful and courteous, for a servant. Go now,
and do not dally!”
Kisu bobbed his head, and trotted as fast as his feet would take him toward
the August Presence.
When he arrived, the palace teemed with people of all stations. The Princess
had awoken in an irritable mood, and commands were issued and then
countermanded, sending tempers flaring and blood pressures to rising. The
princess seemingly could not decide which gowns to take, which ones to
wear upon the journey, what jewelry to pack, what shoes to wear, and who
was to be picked to go with her. So, of course the Ladies-in-waiting
conspired against each other, the servants plotted and schemed, the courtiers
almost came to feuding, for nobody wanted to be left behind, gods forbid,
and the guards faded into the walls and pretended they were indeed just a
part of the scenery.
Making his way along the royal apartments, Kisu side-stepped and danced
his way around a veritable whirlwind of humanity, rushing this way and that,
every face set and betraying the stress of the moment.
5
Then a screech rent the air.” My baby! My baby! Where is my darling
Pookie? He’s lost! Oh, quick find him somebody, he’s so terribly lonesome!
Help me find him, help me!”
Wondering who or what a ‘Pookie’ was, Kisu heard a snuffling at his ankles,
and looking down, saw a small bundle of brown fluff that seemed
inordinately attracted to his sandals.
As he got closer to the apartment down a very long hallway, the screeches
got louder. Now there was a tinge of panic as well, and striding through the
doorway, Kisu beheld the sight of the royal rump of the Princess sticking up
into the air, her head and shoulders stuck under a bed that could sleep ten
people, easily. Kisu was amazed. It was positively huge!
The more the princess panicked, the more her ladies and courtiers increased
their screaming at each other and wrung their hands continually, weeping
copious amounts of crocodile tears.
With the pandemonium giving him a headache, Kisu, for once in his life,
briefly forgot his station, and in a loud commanding tone, yelled “I have
found Pookie!”
Silence was instantaneous. The princess, who was fourteen, but looked much
younger, scooted out from under the bed and still on her knees, said, “You
have my Pookie?” She held out her hands, which were trembling. In a
desperate tone, she asked, “May I have him, please?” She looked a mess, her
face puffy and tear-streaked, her clothes a rumpled mess.
6
The arrogant ass, feeling slighted, drew a long needle-thin sword and
threatened to kill Kisu on the spot if he did not hand over the wayward
pooch immediately. The princess, now aware of this little drama, stormed to
her feet, her little fists held rigidly at her sides, advanced upon the bully.
Setting her face into what she called her ‘war face’, (which she had practiced
in secret, much to the amusement of her maids), she stormed across the
room and placed herself in front of the upstart rooster. He hastily pulled back
his sword, otherwise the girl would have been spitted on it, and he was
further forced to back up as the five foot bundle of feminine fury advanced
relentlessly down upon him.
Through gritted teeth, the young girl snarled, “Leave him alone, Trang-Su!
While I was dying with worry about my beloved Pookie, where were you,
hmmm? I saw you! Leaning against the wall, with that infuriating sneer on
your face, looking down on me all the time and gloating! Well, I think a time
for change has come upon us. Pack your things! Go home to that miserable
little backwater you call a home! You are no longer welcome here in the
Emerald Palace, or even in the Emerald City itself! You are banished!
Banished, banished, BANISHED, DO…YOU…HEAR…ME?
Her voice had risen to a roar that seemed out of place from one so tiny. Her
eyes, normally a soft liquid brown, were now like hard black agates.
Soldiers appeared from beyond the doorway, and just as quickly vanished.
Only wise men wanted no part of this fiasco. The one known as Trang-Su
dropped his sword in horror, which clattered loudly to the floor in the
deathly quiet room, and sank to his knees. He blubbered and wept, wringing
his hands and pleading for forgiveness. But the girl had no pity. Her heart
was a stone to this man. She folded her arms over her small breasts, and
tapped her foot rapidly.
“Well?” she demanded. “Are you still here?” “Guards!” she barked, “drag
this piece of offal out of my sight. Throw him out of the gates! If you ever
see him within the city again, kill him! Practice your archery on him or
something, I really don’t care what!”
The palace guards, with fierce grins of unholy anticipation on their faces,
leapt to obey, and as he was dragged weeping and screaming from the room,
they could hear muffled thumps as the soldiers vented years of hatred and
anger for his kind out on him.
7
The young girl, now in control of herself, looked up into Kisu’s eyes, said in
a normal tone of voice, “Everybody get out.”
The room emptied in a matter of moments. Kisu reached into his jacket and
extracted the sleeping bundle, and with a bow presented it to the princess.
The girl cooed and rubbed her face in the now waking puppy, and a smile lit
up her elfin face. “She’s so much prettier when she smiles” he thought, then
remembering himself, took a step back and sank to his knees and bowed low.
“Oh, do get up” the princess snapped, “for how can I properly thank the one
who restored my beloved Pookie to me? Speak up, ask what you will, and it
is yours, even your freedom, should you so wish it”.
Kisu was dumbfounded. All his life he had secretly played such a scene in
his mind, and now, here it was within his grasp, and his tongue froze in his
head. He found his head nodding, and he was out of breath. The princess,
seemingly to know his heart, nodded as well, and making up her mind, said
to him, “So be it. You are henceforth a free man, emancipated and bound to
no-one but myself. And in gratitude for your service to me this day, you are
hereby named my Companion and Advisor”.
She cocked her head to one side, began nibbling on a nail, and in a small
voice enquired, “Um, what is your name, by the way, seeing as how we’ve
only just met?”
“Kisu, your Highness”, he gushed, “and thank you! A thousand times, thank
you!”
“Well, Kisu, I have to get packed for my trip, and none of these pretty
peacocks seems to be able to help, so let’s get cracking, shall we?”