A Tale Of Queens

The Ironmonger

As he led his donkey-driven cart to the store on the outskirts of town, Dimtu could sense Halleldi's frown long before he could actually see it.

On getting there, he saw that the normally busy store was empty, save for a few workers as the sun began to go down.

“Dimtu,” the Halleldi greeted. “Haven't seen you in a long time.” The frown on his face was proof that he had not been missed.

“Well, it's wonderful to see you again.”

Dimtu tried to smile at his former friend, remembering his wife's lecture about always being courteous.

The smile was not returned.

“It's quite surprising. I heard your business hasn't been doing too well lately.” His voice was irritatingly smug as he said this.

Dimtu bristled but refused to take the bait.

“I need twenty five blocks.”

The other man's brows rose at his statement.

“You want to buy twenty five blocks of iron ore.You.”

Dimtu rolled his eyes and dropped a bag of coins on his table.

“Seventy five pieces of gold coins.”

Halleldi squinted his eyes with suspicion.

“Are you a thief now?”

His question was so similar to his wife's the previous night that he could not help but burst into laughter.

This offended Halleldi even more and he sneered, “You better not be putting Ifenda in danger!”

****

Ifenda.

Dimtu's wife.

The point of their contention.

The end of their friendship.

Once upon a time, two best friends were inseparable. Their fathers were business partners before them; one sold iron ore and the other was a blacksmith. Their sons became as thick as thieves, though completely opposite. People struggled to understand their friendship because they had practically nothing in common.

As time soon came to tell, they both found that they did have one thing in common; their love for the same girl.

At first, they tried to be mature about it mostly with the intervention of their parents. But maturity – or the imitation of  it – for two hot blooded young men could only go so far. While they each pursued Ifenda separately, it was obvious that Dimtu was the one succeeding in winning her heart.

The animosity began.

To an outsider, Halleldi would have been the ideal choice for Ifenda between the two. He was very handsome, very tall, very charming.

He was a dream.

He just wasn't  hers.

It was a mystery to those around them what Ifenda saw in Dimtu. Even to Dimtu himself. Especially to Dimtu himself.

By the time their fathers died, their relationship had deteriorated so much that they separated the joint business and avoided each other as much as they could.

Dimtu married Ifenda and the rest was history.

Unfortunately for them, Dimtu was stuck with Halleldi as his supplier for the ore. Because his was the only store in Khelet that received consistent deliveries from Geleu.

****

When Dimtu finally recovered from his laughing fit, his voice was very stern and his glare was fierce.

“That is entirely none of your business. Are you selling or not?”

Halleldi would have been a fool to reject such an offer. Grudgingly, he told a worker to begin loading the cart as he counted the money to make sure it was complete.

When the worker was finished, Dimtu proceeded to take his leave.

“You know, I see her every now and then at the market,” the other man called out. “She always looks so sad!”

Dimtu knew about this.

He also knew that ‘every now and then’ was the understatement of the year. He was aware that almost every week, Halleldi would find his way to his wife's store to harass her about ‘choosing wrong’. She felt guilty about ruining his friendship with her husband and tried to be as courteous as possible without humouring him.

“I can treat her much more better than you ever could, Dimtu! And I hope you know that!” His voice was unbelievably bitter.

Dimtu had long stopped feeling responsible for his friend's anger. So he had no qualms turning to yell back just as loudly,

“Look who she's married to, Halleldi! I hope you remember that!”

Halleldi had no retort.

Dimtu whistled a song all the way back to the forge.