Lavender & Fire

13. Quite the Female

"Again?" Kahal groaned as Othen sat a tablet on his desk.

"Unfortunately, yes." Othen said as he plopped down in the chair opposite Kahal's desk in his office. "You know how she gets when she's in her creative streak. And she's saying the opening night of this production will be viewed by more people than any production before it."

"Halan knows I have to approve any edits made to make sure she doesn't leak anything unapproved. I do not have time for her to keep making additions and edits to this production. Tell her this will be that last time. Anything else will be denied."

"Understood." Othen nodded. "In other news, I managed to find the instrument Lady Biechta was trying to describe."

"Oh?" Kahal said as he glanced through the edited pages on the tablet.

"Yes. The way Toth and her parents have deprived her of any sort of life brings an anger to me I never knew I was capable of. Honestly I believe it was even worse than we originally thought."

Kahal looked up. "What happened?"

"You know how she is afraid to speak any sort of opinion or original thought of her own."

Kahal nodded as he leaned back in his chair. "Of course, it is painstakingly dull." He rubbed his temples.

"No, it is sad. There is a Qarthan in there with a mind of her own, after all. She's been conditioned to be that way. It's concerning."

"Yes, we will speak of this to the king and queen at the next meeting. We should look into Toth and how he is ruling his people. But tactfully."

"Good idea."

"So what happened?"

"We went through the music wing and I pulled out various instruments from the different types over the course of an hour or so. But when I started playing the piano she cried. And not just a few gentle tears, the full body shaking sobbing type of cry. A Qarthan woman crying over something so simple?! It reminded me of Ashima and her human emotions!"

"That is highly unusual."

"And sad."

"I wonder what else we can introduce her to while she is here. Broaden her horizons, so to speak."

"I was thinking the same thing."

"You will continue introducing her to all things art related, of course."

He nodded.

"I'll ask Kietnan and Ashima to take her on more excursions outside of the grand hall. They love exploring all of those caves and cliffs and anything interesting outside, really. Joreth would likely only be able to introduce her to what she already knows, economics and all that." He chuckled. "But his wife... perhaps she can get Biechta a small part in the play?"

"I believe that may be pushing her too far. She seems terrified anytime she's simply speaking with us, I can't imagine she would enjoy being on a stage in front of thousands of Qarthan eyes."

"Then perhaps something behind the scenes? She could shadow someone on the wardrobe team, perhaps? We'll run it by Halan, she'll have ideas."

"All good ideas, but perhaps we should start by discussing this with Lady Biechta."

"Yes, I was getting a bit ahead of myself." He pulled a small tablet from his drawer, turning it on and scrolling through his calendar, grimacing. "I don't even know when I'll see her again. Being General on top of all my typical duties has proven time consuming. I don't know how mother expects me to get to know potential partners as well."