Ulan warns Annora, Belinda evesdrops
May. 13th, 2011 12:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
loloteheAsabi Leon had been killed.
Early one morning, on the way to her restaurant, Le Langue de Léon, a man had jumped out and shot her in the stomach. An ambulance was called right away, but the wound had been too much for Asabi to overcome. She had bled to death before help had arrived, in the street, a block away from the business that bore her name.
She and her daughter, Danielle, were returning from the fishmongers with the day's purchase of fresh tuna when it happened. The suspect, a Jeff Rutledge, stepped out from an alley, pulled the trigger, and then ran into the crowd. Three Shipping Authority soldiers, on-planet for shore-leave, caught him and held him until the local authorities arrived. Charges were pending. There were enough witnesses for a conviction.
“They're saying it was mistaken identity,” Ulan said.
Annora spread her hands across her desk and nodded to her visitor. “The others have been notified as well, I take it?”
Ulan's visiting form paced the tiny study. “If this sort of thing is going on, you may want to think about shutting down operations. The Shipping Authority is offering a safe place to stay in the meantime.”
“No,” Annora said. “I can't abandon them. These children need me.”
“I don't want you to be at risk,” Ulan said. “And I'm sure you don't want them to be at risk. As long as the conflict on Ursus-Major-47 continues, there will be people trying to count coup and bring in Arcadia.”
Annora nodded and looked through the window at the snow-covered fields beside the orphanage. “We're out far enough. If I don't go into town, there shouldn't be any problem. We'll be okay.”
“I can see about sending a Sable,” Ulan offered.
“No!” Annora almost spat the word. “No...please. I don't want one of them out here. We'll handle it. We'll be okay.” She thought it through further. “If you're worried about....”
“Belinda is fine where she is,” Ulan answered. “If you think you can handle this, I'll trust your judgment. However, at the first sign of trouble, get out. If you have to leave the children behind, do so. They're aren't at risk if you aren't there.”
“You're going to send one anyway.” Annora sighed. “You don't think we can take care of ourselves.”
Ulan sat down and her large, overstuffed chair rezzed in the middle of the study. “I'm not doing this for you. If I pull her out now, people will notice. You're in a remote location, so you're mostly out of the fray. I made a promise.”
“So did I,” Annora said.
“If someone mistakes you for Arcadia, I cannot guarantee your safety,” Ulan said. “If I send a Sable to your location, I can at least make sure that your promise is kept. This has become larger than you.”
“Thank you for your warning,” Annora said. She cut the connection.
This is what it's come to, Annora thought. It used to be that you always knew who was on your side: they looked like you. Now, that familiarity is a mark. Ordinary people will try to be extraordinary. Someone will make a simple mistake.
“Just come in, already,” Annora said to the door. “You've heard what you're going to hear. Let's get it out in the open.”
Belinda cautiously opened the door to Annora's study and tip-toed in.
“Don't try to be quiet,” Annora said. “I'm not an ears woman. Make as much noise as you please.”
“I'm sorry about your sister,” Belinda said.
“Which one?”
The question halted Belinda. Who is she more sorry for? The sister who died, the sister who caused it, or the sisters still at risk? “All of them.”
“You're right,” Annora said, and rested her face in her hands. “I'm sorry as well. We let that happen. We need to support each other better.”
Belinda sat in the spare chair and folded her hands in her lap. “My mother and Aunt Ulan never get along. They don't support each other.”
Trying to distract herself, Annora said, “Tell me about your mother.”
“She's very pretty!” Belinda smiled. A familial pride swelled up. “And Mother always has the best clothes and puts on very good parties and everyone says what a wonderful time they had.”
Annora nodded. “Life out here must be very rough for you.”
Belinda shook her head. “Oh, no. I like it. I get to do things out here and I know where things come from. I have...I get to...I don't know the word.”
“Purpose.”
“Yes!” Belinda brightened again. “I have a purpose. I have people that need me and I need them and we all need each other and so I'm not lonely.”
Annora studied her cousin's niece. Here was a child of privilege, who could have anything she had ever asked for, and the one thing that made her happy was being needed. The only reason this child was actually sitting in her study, and not just visiting, was she had been curious and asked questions. She did not complain about hard work and seemed to enjoy working with the younger children. The girl was fallow, trying to decide what she wanted to do with her life, and all of her experiences at the orphanage had handed her that on a silver platter.
She doesn't even have to struggle with purpose, Annora thought. Even that has been provided to her. We just gave it to her, and she'll gladly accept it. All of her questions are easily answered, as readily as she asks them. Her wonder is as false as her needs.
“You know who Acadia Leon is?” Annora finally asked.
Belinda nodded. “She's the one leading the revolution on Ursus Major-47. She's trying to do out there what you do here.”
“WHAT?” Annora stood suddenly, almost knocking back her own chair. “How can you even try to compare us?”
“I just mean...” Belinda looked at the ground now, as if the answer had been knocked to the floor. “Like how you...I mean....how we have to think for ourselves. You make us do that. We take care of the farm and we take care of each other. I mean....”
Annora sat down, carefully. “Go on.”
Belinda crossed her legs and played with the edge of her sweater. “At dinner, so many times, we talk about philosophy and politics, and even the first night I was here, you talked about the colonies. And it just seems like if the people on Ursus Major are unhappy, then they have a right to try to make themselves happy. So it's like they all want to run a farm and take care of each other and Acadia is a lot like you, because she's making sure that no one else comes in and tells everyone to be sad. She's trying to protect them, but she's not very good at it.”
Annora laughed until she cried.
Early one morning, on the way to her restaurant, Le Langue de Léon, a man had jumped out and shot her in the stomach. An ambulance was called right away, but the wound had been too much for Asabi to overcome. She had bled to death before help had arrived, in the street, a block away from the business that bore her name.
She and her daughter, Danielle, were returning from the fishmongers with the day's purchase of fresh tuna when it happened. The suspect, a Jeff Rutledge, stepped out from an alley, pulled the trigger, and then ran into the crowd. Three Shipping Authority soldiers, on-planet for shore-leave, caught him and held him until the local authorities arrived. Charges were pending. There were enough witnesses for a conviction.
“They're saying it was mistaken identity,” Ulan said.
Annora spread her hands across her desk and nodded to her visitor. “The others have been notified as well, I take it?”
Ulan's visiting form paced the tiny study. “If this sort of thing is going on, you may want to think about shutting down operations. The Shipping Authority is offering a safe place to stay in the meantime.”
“No,” Annora said. “I can't abandon them. These children need me.”
“I don't want you to be at risk,” Ulan said. “And I'm sure you don't want them to be at risk. As long as the conflict on Ursus-Major-47 continues, there will be people trying to count coup and bring in Arcadia.”
Annora nodded and looked through the window at the snow-covered fields beside the orphanage. “We're out far enough. If I don't go into town, there shouldn't be any problem. We'll be okay.”
“I can see about sending a Sable,” Ulan offered.
“No!” Annora almost spat the word. “No...please. I don't want one of them out here. We'll handle it. We'll be okay.” She thought it through further. “If you're worried about....”
“Belinda is fine where she is,” Ulan answered. “If you think you can handle this, I'll trust your judgment. However, at the first sign of trouble, get out. If you have to leave the children behind, do so. They're aren't at risk if you aren't there.”
“You're going to send one anyway.” Annora sighed. “You don't think we can take care of ourselves.”
Ulan sat down and her large, overstuffed chair rezzed in the middle of the study. “I'm not doing this for you. If I pull her out now, people will notice. You're in a remote location, so you're mostly out of the fray. I made a promise.”
“So did I,” Annora said.
“If someone mistakes you for Arcadia, I cannot guarantee your safety,” Ulan said. “If I send a Sable to your location, I can at least make sure that your promise is kept. This has become larger than you.”
“Thank you for your warning,” Annora said. She cut the connection.
This is what it's come to, Annora thought. It used to be that you always knew who was on your side: they looked like you. Now, that familiarity is a mark. Ordinary people will try to be extraordinary. Someone will make a simple mistake.
“Just come in, already,” Annora said to the door. “You've heard what you're going to hear. Let's get it out in the open.”
Belinda cautiously opened the door to Annora's study and tip-toed in.
“Don't try to be quiet,” Annora said. “I'm not an ears woman. Make as much noise as you please.”
“I'm sorry about your sister,” Belinda said.
“Which one?”
The question halted Belinda. Who is she more sorry for? The sister who died, the sister who caused it, or the sisters still at risk? “All of them.”
“You're right,” Annora said, and rested her face in her hands. “I'm sorry as well. We let that happen. We need to support each other better.”
Belinda sat in the spare chair and folded her hands in her lap. “My mother and Aunt Ulan never get along. They don't support each other.”
Trying to distract herself, Annora said, “Tell me about your mother.”
“She's very pretty!” Belinda smiled. A familial pride swelled up. “And Mother always has the best clothes and puts on very good parties and everyone says what a wonderful time they had.”
Annora nodded. “Life out here must be very rough for you.”
Belinda shook her head. “Oh, no. I like it. I get to do things out here and I know where things come from. I have...I get to...I don't know the word.”
“Purpose.”
“Yes!” Belinda brightened again. “I have a purpose. I have people that need me and I need them and we all need each other and so I'm not lonely.”
Annora studied her cousin's niece. Here was a child of privilege, who could have anything she had ever asked for, and the one thing that made her happy was being needed. The only reason this child was actually sitting in her study, and not just visiting, was she had been curious and asked questions. She did not complain about hard work and seemed to enjoy working with the younger children. The girl was fallow, trying to decide what she wanted to do with her life, and all of her experiences at the orphanage had handed her that on a silver platter.
She doesn't even have to struggle with purpose, Annora thought. Even that has been provided to her. We just gave it to her, and she'll gladly accept it. All of her questions are easily answered, as readily as she asks them. Her wonder is as false as her needs.
“You know who Acadia Leon is?” Annora finally asked.
Belinda nodded. “She's the one leading the revolution on Ursus Major-47. She's trying to do out there what you do here.”
“WHAT?” Annora stood suddenly, almost knocking back her own chair. “How can you even try to compare us?”
“I just mean...” Belinda looked at the ground now, as if the answer had been knocked to the floor. “Like how you...I mean....how we have to think for ourselves. You make us do that. We take care of the farm and we take care of each other. I mean....”
Annora sat down, carefully. “Go on.”
Belinda crossed her legs and played with the edge of her sweater. “At dinner, so many times, we talk about philosophy and politics, and even the first night I was here, you talked about the colonies. And it just seems like if the people on Ursus Major are unhappy, then they have a right to try to make themselves happy. So it's like they all want to run a farm and take care of each other and Acadia is a lot like you, because she's making sure that no one else comes in and tells everyone to be sad. She's trying to protect them, but she's not very good at it.”
Annora laughed until she cried.
