Garden of the Lion and the Dove

Chapter 3

Hakuno walked down the hallway with her half-full basket of weeds in hand. She was on her way to the compost ground at the back of the palace. Only in a palace would they put the compost field on the other end of the gardens and kitchen. "Why must they make everything look pretty and hide all the ugly things in the corners?"

Well, what did she know? Maybe there was an easy way to get there. Maybe she would be able to make the trip much faster if she was not worried about tripping due to her shackles. She thought back to what happened early this morning. Would she be in these shackles for very long? The baru obeyed the King. If those tablets were medical texts then he might have gotten the wrong opinion of her. Maybe she would be removed from the palace or worse. Would that even be worth it to get out of this place?

"What do you mean you want her!?"

Hakuno stopped in her tracks. That was Paubi's loud voice. She slowly rounded the corner while mentally praying the loudness of Paubi's voice would drown out the sound of her clinking chains.

"I mean exactly what I said Paubi. This is under the orders of our King. I will have her transferred to me."

Peeking around the corner, the first thing Hakuno saw was Paubi. The large woman wore a simple white shift like all of the other slaves. A spade tattoo could clearly be seen on her forearm. The one who she was speaking to was Ekur. The old man looked like a frail twig against the larger woman.

"I do not understand this roundabout way he is going about this whole thing!" grumbled Paubi. "If he wants to take her then do it already. That girl is not cut out for this sort of life. Her mind is too open, she thinks too much. What purpose was it to bring her here like this? The other slaves look upon her in distrust as well."

Hakuno almost dropped her basket. Of course, this made sense. She was an outsider in this sphere. She looked around for a place to slip away but the only way to get to the compost pile was through the talking Ekur and Paubi. Biting her lip, she dropped her head low and hoped her long hair would cover enough of her face that they would let her pass by thinking she was just another slave. There was nothing she could do with her feet though, only hope that they would not pay that much attention.

This plan was futile though. As soon as she stepped out into the open, Paubi's eyes locked on her. "Girl, get over here!" barked the woman.

Hakuno kept her head bowed as she approached. As soon as she was in touching range, Paubi ripped the basket out of her hands. "You are to go with Baru Ekur. He will be your direct Master from now on."

Hakuno looked at the old man in surprise and then back at Paubi. The woman had already begun walking away with the basket, leaving Hakuno alone with him.

"Come girl. I have work to do. Carry these for me."

Still confused about what had just happened, she held out her hands as Ekur dropped a couple tablets into them. From a quick look, they looked to be divinatory texts.

"Come on girl, I do not have all day. The temple needs me to do a liver reading for the farmers."

"Uh, yes." Hakuno walked as fast as she could after the old man.

She did not have time to ask the old man why he had taken her on. He never seemed to stop. After doing a liver reading, he had moved on to a different temple to check on the status there before returning back to the palace in order to make sure the texts were all in order in the library. At this point, the moon had already begun to rise in the sky.