Act VIII: The Mother Goddess and the Queen (Part 11)
eleven
The funeral ended, but the gathering was far from over. The cardinals gathered around Camilla's statue, plotting many things. Yakov overheard them talking about Venetians, Saracens, the emperor's youngest son, the succession to the Holy Land, leprosy and blindness, miracles and authority, bread and wine—Yubi was utterly dejected and couldn't hear a word of it. Yakov thought he had to get him out of this terrible place.
"When you get to the ground, the monk who shaved your head will give you a new robe," the old man reminded him before he left. "Don't forget the rules of the monastery."
Carrying torches, the two walked back to the church through the deep, damp tunnel. Yubi remained silent, letting Yakov drag him along. "You already thought your mother was dead," Yakov couldn't help but say, "Isn't it better now that there's hope for her resurrection?"
Yubi's shoes dragged on the ground. He remained silent for a long time before speaking softly. "But does she want to live?" he said. "Even if she's my mother, does my desire for her to live mean she has to live?"
Yakov couldn't answer the question. He fell silent and just kept walking with his head down.
“I have something to ask you,” Yubi suddenly said. “It’s about Naya.”
Yakov thought for a moment before remembering that it was the name of the Greek female slave they had bought—he hadn't expected to hear it at this moment. "What happened to her?" He pulled down Yubi's hood so he could see her expression.
“She came saying that her husband had gambled on horse racing and had sold her into slavery,” Yubi said. “She also has a child, younger than Nuk, who has just been weaned.”
"She said that if I set her free and let her go home, she would lose her livelihood and be unable to support her child; but if she stayed here to continue working, the child would lose his mother and have to live with his gambler father."
"She asked me what I thought about this. She also asked if I could buy her child as a slave so she could keep it with her..."
Yakov's mark throbbed with pain. "When did this happen?"
“She couldn’t find you for the few days after you returned from training, so she had to tell me.”
"What was your answer?"
“I don’t know how to answer.” Yubi’s eyes suddenly filled with tears. “Do you think Mother thinks the same way?”
Yakov felt a sense of absurdity. How could a slave, as lowly as an ant, and a monster, as divine as a god, share the same thoughts? But his throat tightened. He could only kneel down and pull Yubi into his arms so he couldn't see his tears. "Don't think about it," he said. "No matter how hard you try, you can't know what other people are thinking, and you don't need to."
"So what should I be thinking about?"
“You only need to think about your own affairs and your own interests. Understand?” Yakov’s words were squeezed out through clenched teeth. “You think of everyone, trying to be a perfect saint, but everyone only thinks of themselves. Who thinks of you? How can they know what you really want?”
"...What should we do about Naya's situation?" Yubi broke free from his embrace, her face completely dry—Yakov had lost count of how many times he had forced back his tears.
“She is your slave. If you like her and think she is still useful, keep her; if you think she is a bad deal, sell her to someone else; if you want others to think you are noble, set her free. The same goes for her children.” Yakov stared at his reddened eyes. “You don’t need to consider their situation or feelings. You are the master, and no one can disobey you.”
“And what about Mother?” Yubi asked in the firelight, the flames flickering in his moist eyes. “If I wanted her to live, would she live?”
“If you want her to live, she will live.” Yakov gripped his shoulders tightly. “No one, whether it’s your sister, brother, or herself, can stop you from doing this for any reason, as long as it’s what you want to do.”
Yubi pursed his lips and nodded very slightly. "I think I finally understand what you were saying earlier." He reached out and hugged Yakov's newly cut, prickly head. "I need something that doesn't belong to anyone else, something that belongs only to me."
Yakov closed his eyes in anguish. He anticipated the mark's punishment—but his heart beat steadily, without a trace of pain. He thought, perhaps this is the truth.
They rode away from the cathedral. The streets were bustling, and the sunlight was blinding, as if the world was welcoming them with its most ardent side the moment they arrived.
"Have you made up your mind?" Yakov already resembled a second-in-command of the Crusaders. He wore a well-designed, lightweight armored suit, with a bright red cross emblazoned on his robe. His short, pale blond hair gleamed with sharp bristles. "What do you intend to do with that female slave?"
“I plan to give her some money and send her away.” Yubi rode on his horse, the four gold chains behind his hat swaying back and forth. “I feel sad whenever I see her; she can’t stay here. As for how she lives afterward, or whether her husband will take the money to gamble again, that’s none of my business.”
“That’s a good idea,” Yakov said, following behind the horse. He suddenly noticed that his master had grown quite a bit taller than when he first met him, and his hair had reached his shoulders.
“But I don’t know how much money to give her.” Yubi turned to look at him, her black hair slipping off her shoulder. “This is your business.”
“You should learn these things too.” Yakov frowned. “From now on, I’ll be busy with the Knights.”
“I still need to teach you Greek,” Yubi smiled, revealing two shallow dimples at the corners of her mouth. “No matter how busy you are, you should come back.”
As the sun set, the two walked along Constantinople's most bustling main street. They passed through familiar squares and triumphal arches, returning to their former Venetian concession under the long, purple shadows of the aqueduct. The sea breeze of the Golden Horn lingered, and the Easter bells rang incessantly, making pedestrians feel languid and comfortable, as if even the most sinful souls could lay down their burdens and find redemption here.
As they approached their house, Yubi saw a blind beggar hunched over, standing guard there.
“He’s so pitiful, should I give him some money?” he asked.
“Go ahead,” Yakov nodded. “Don’t give him too much.”
Yubi, with his horse in the stirrups, urged it to gallop away, then pulled a Denier silver coin from his waist and tossed it toward the beggar. Just as he was about to turn and enter the gate, the beggar suddenly knelt down, bowing repeatedly before him, not even bothering to pick up the coin. "It's behind you; you can't feel it from the front," Yubi reminded the poor blind man—whose eyes were covered with a strip of cloth, presumably to hide his terrible wounds.
“Sir…are you a member of the Kanakakis family?” The beggar spoke fluent Latin. He lay prostrate on the ground, only his tattered back visible. “I have something to ask…I beg you…please hear me out, don’t send me away.”
"Who are you looking for?" Yubi asked doubtfully. "I am indeed an adult from the Kanakakis family."
“I am looking for a young adult from Transylvania. His name is Yubi… Yubi de Noctennias. He has an older sister named Ambicea who has married into this family…”
Yubi turned around and met Yakov's wary gaze. "What do you want with him?" Yakov leaned closer and asked in a deep voice, "Who are you?"
The beggar's ears twitched, but he remained prostrate on the ground.
"I beg you, sir... I beg you to save me, save my eyes..."
"Please tell him that Schumeer is in trouble..."
Tbc.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
