Gians of Giri

Venia's Choice

"I should've been there." Venia said. She mentally hit herself. "Why wasn't I?"

"Your job was to remain here." Zime told her. "There was nothing you could have done. And you wanted to visit the new Zikor cities, to be among the public."

"That just makes it worse!" Venia said. "If I had been there, I could have delayed them or had distracted someone or-"

"Or you could have been lost, like Daek." Zime put his hands on her shoulders. "He disappeared during the fighting. Have you heard from him?"

"No. And I have a few of the Zikor organizing search parties. If he is in Daeki, then he will be found." Zime put down his hands.

"See, we are doing what we can. Besides, I'm the only one banished. Never said anything about you or your brothers." Zime sat down at his desk, and got out some of the paperwork that needed attending to. "Why don't you go rest? We have a few busy deckros ahead of us."

"Father?" Zime looked up when Venia got his attention. Venia's arms were crossed and she obviously had something on her mind.

"Yes, Venia?"

"Why do the Girites hate us?" Zime looked confused.

"You know why. They think my way of thinking is wrong. That I'm not supposed to be the leader."

"That's not what I meant." Venia sat down in the chair that Zime always kept by his desk. She was across from him. "I meant that...that everyone who doesn't share your way of thinking believes that you are evil. That what we do is evil. And they are all different. Shad turned against us. Daek could be doing the same; we don't know. Ziko saw something in Phankes that made him turn. What is the reason that they hate us? The real reason, and not just because we have different opinions. It was something you did, wasn't it?"

Zime sat back in his chair. He crossed his fingers, then pulled them apart. He shrugged. "I don't know if it was something I did to be honest."

"You're serious." Venia looked at him. She stood up and put her hands on the desk. "You don't know? All this and you don't know?"

"No, I don't. Something happened. I started out by being the morality gian, and somehow I ended up, in their eyes, evil. I don't know how it happened."

"Right. Of course you don't." Venia said. She turned and walked to the door. Zime called her. She turned around to look at him.

"Please, Venia." Zime told her. She didn't respond. The blood gian just walked out, slamming the door.