TWENTY-EIGHT - Rhoswen

Rhoswen learns a harsh truth about Silvan.

The old, dying man’s twisted smile had managed to rejuvenate Rhoswen’s energy and enthusiasm about spreading the word.  People needed to hear that good things were coming, whether they wanted to or not.  It may be more comfortable for them to live in their miserable lives where nothing worked out and everything went wrong, but things were going to change, and Rhoswen had the power to help bring that change.

She had been to a number of other tents since that man, and the responses had been mixed.  But as she went along, her enthusiasm grew and people seemed to catch on.  After only two or three more tents, people started to get excited.  A few people volunteered to help spread the news and as soon as Rhoswen had left them, they were on their way through the mass of tents as well, telling people one at a time that the entire world was about to change.

After a few more overwhelmingly positive responses, Rhoswen was feeling great.  She felt empowered.  And all around the Outskirts, people were discovering for the first time that their children had a future.

The next tent Rhoswen came to was one that she recognized�"it was an old friend, Antigone.  I haven’t spoken to Antigone since she lost her husband.  She struggled to remember how long it had been.  At least ten years.  Has it really been that long?  At least our reunion will be full of good news.  If anyone needs this right now, it’s Antigone.

She put on a big smile and entered the tent.  Antigone looked up and gasped.  “Hi, Antigone,” was all she could muster.

“Rhoswen?  Is it really you?  It’s been so long!”

“I know.  I’m sorry I never kept in touch with you, it’s just… things got hard.  And I didn’t want to add any extra stress or remind you of anything and�"”

“It’s okay,” Antigone said softly.  “I don’t blame you.  We all go through hard times and we all have our own way of dealing with it.  I’m just glad to see you.  How have you been?”

“I’ve been fine, overall.  But the reason I’m here now is because… things have gotten really great.  Not just for me.  For everyone.”

“Did you meet someone?”

“No.  Well, sortof.  I don’t know.  But that’s not what I’m here to tell you!”

“Just tell me already!” Antigone said with a laugh.  “I don’t think I can take anymore build-up!”

“The King has decided that he’s going to start taking in children from the Outskirts and raising them as his own in the castle!”

Antigone remained silent.

“Isn’t that great?” Rhoswen asked, her face falling.

“I’m just a little skeptical.  The King sure seems to be taking a lot of interest in us.  And out of nowhere.  He’s never even thought to take care of us before now.  He sits in his castle day after day and eats all our food and lets us wither and die.  What’s changed?”

“Someone talked him into it.”

“Who?  How do you know?”

“He told me.  He came to see me and told me firsthand that he convinced the King.  I don’t know how long it took, I don’t know how hard it was, but… he used to live out here!  In the Outskirts!  That’s how I know he’s telling the truth.  That’s how I know he definitely wants to help us.”

“Someone who used to live in the Outskirts has the power to convince the King to do anything?  No… something isn’t right here.”

“He’s on the King’s Guard now.  He got promoted.  Look, you don’t even know Silvan, but he�"”

“What?!” Antigone shouted.  “Silvan?!  You heard all of this from Silvan?”  She was fuming.  She had risen to her feet.  Phineas’s baby began to cry loudly in fear.

“Please, you’re scaring him,” Rhoswen said.  “What’s wrong with Silvan?”

“Silvan is a monster.  Whatever he says, don’t believe it.  Believe the opposite.  He’s a liar.  He’s a b*****d.  If he’s sold you on some great story about the world being a better place because of him, that means that it’s about to be good for him, but for everyone else it’s about to get a whole lot worse.”

“How do you know him?  What did he do that was so terrible?”

“Silvan is the reason Elian died.”

Rhoswen’s heart sank.  Her mouth dropped.  Silvan is responsible for your husband’s death?  “That’s impossible…” she started.

“Oh, it’s possible.  You remember a few days before he died, how there was a big rally in the Outskirts?  And then afterwards, a few men got together in this very tent to discuss actually doing something to make a difference.”

“I do.  I was there.”

“One of those men was Silvan.”

Rhoswen struggled to remember the faces of the other men in the tent that night, but it was dark, and she could barely remember Elian’s face, let alone the other strangers who had been in the room.  She had only been there to offer her services to any of the men who needed extra encouragement.

“I don’t remember,” she said.

“He was here.  The whole thing was his idea!  He brought everyone together and said the only option was to kill King Xanthus.”

“I remember the conversation, but I don’t remember anyone who was here.  Apart from your husband, I mean.”

“That’s because they’re all dead.  Every one of them�"except Silvan.  He managed to work his way to the top.  All because of his plan.  He betrayed them.  He said the plan was to kill the King but the real plan was something else entirely.  He went into the city and met with Xanthus personally and warned him that they were coming.  He told him everything�"the date, the time, the number of people who were coming.”

Rhoswen couldn’t believe it.  She was taking in the information but it wouldn’t process.  It was freezing in her head, refusing to take hold.

“But then Elian decided he didn’t want to go through with it.  The night before, he told Silvan that he wanted out.  But at that point, Silvan had already given Xanthus the exact number.  If Elian wasn’t there, Silvan’s information would have been wrong, and how could Silvan be trusted from then on?  It had to be exact.  So he sat in our home for three hours convincing my husband that killing the King was the right thing to do.  And after all that, Elian decided to go through with it!  Little did he know he was walking right into a trap.”

“I’m sorry.  I had no idea.”  Her mind was reeling.  If Silvan lied about that… he very well could have lied about the children, too.  What if he did make the whole thing up?  Am I that much of a fool?

“I�"maybe he didn’t have a choice,” Rhoswen said weakly.

“Didn’t have a choice?!  He had a choice every step of the way, and he chose to go through with it.  He chose to betray his friends.  If I were you I’d go back to every single person you’ve talked to today and tell them that you were mistaken.  You were wrong, the King isn’t taking in any babies.”

“I can’t,” she said, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

“Why not?  It isn’t true!”

“It has to be true!” she shouted.  “I’ve been waiting my entire life for something like this, if it isn’t true then it really is meaningless!  No, the Silvan you knew was a different man than the Silvan I know now.  He feels guilty for what he did to your husband, I’m sure of it.  That’s why he’s helping us now.  To make up for everything that he did.”

“If you believe that, you’re even dumber than the rest of the people who live out here.  Nothing he could ever do will make up for what he did.  Nothing.”

Rhoswen sat in silence.  “You’re right.  I am stupid.  For ever allowing myself to feel hope again.  After my mother died, I promised myself I would just try to help other people and never do anything for myself again.  I couldn’t be selfish anymore.. the world wasn’t made for that.  This is the first time since then that I’ve let my guard down, and I never should have done it!”

“You didn’t know,” Antigone said, reassuring.  “It isn’t your fault.  It’s a beautiful lie.  Any one of us might have fallen for the same thing.  Don’t feel bad.  I’m… I’m sorry I called you stupid.  You aren’t stupid.”

“I am.”

There was another long beat of silence.  Then Antigone spoke, terror in her voice.  “Rhoswen… how many people have you told?”

Her heart stopped.  Oh, no.  This is bad.

“Rhoswen.  How many?”

“I�"I don’t know!  I lost track at a certain point.  A few dozen?”

“You have to tell them you were wrong.”

“I can’t!  It’s too late!  Most of them already went off and started telling people on their own!  And some of those people probably started spreading the word, and those people… it’s out of my control!”

“You have no idea what you’ve done.  This is bad… this is very bad.  They’re going to go crazy.  When the King returns and he doesn’t honor the agreement you’ve promised them…”

“I’m so sorry.  I didn’t know.  Silvan… he seemed so honest!  How was I supposed to know?!  I’m sorry!”

“Don’t apologize to me.  Apologize to them!  They’re the ones who believed your story.  And when they find out you’ve lied to them, they aren’t going to be mad at the King, or at Silvan.  They’re going to be mad at you.  And then they’ll come for you.  It’s the only thing they’ll be able to do.”

“I didn’t lie to them!  I was just telling them what Silvan told me to tell them!  It wasn’t a lie!”

“It doesn’t matter.  That’s how they’ll see it.  If you can’t fix this immediately, you’re in bigger trouble than you could even imagine.”

“What am I supposed to do?  Tell me how to fix it!”

“I don’t know.  I honestly don’t.  If I knew, I would tell you, but if you start telling them it isn’t true, they’ll turn on you right away.  But if you wait and tell them later, it’ll be a whole lot worse.”

“I can’t.  I can’t tell them.  They’ll kill me!”

“They won’t kill you.  Not if you stop it fast enough.”

“It’s too late for that.  I have to try something else.”

Her brain was spinning, working harder and faster than it had ever worked before.  How could she get out of this?

That’s when it came to her�"the only possible solution.

“I’m going into the city.  I’m going to talk to Silvan.  And I’m going to make it real.”