Gods, he needed sleep.
"Tell me your tale, by your pleasure," King Shafiq said. "I am intrigued by all that I have heard so far."
"I rent out my skills as a bodyguard. Ratti is a cretin, but he pays well and mostly doesn't try to make me do anything except the job I'm hired for. I kept his stupid ass alive. He's always dealt exclusively in smuggled liquor. Takes it around to pleasure houses, reputable and dubious, and a few private homes. A lot of those places overlap with traffickers, I know that much, but he's never had anything to do with that, or so I thought. I made it clear when he hired me for regular work that I don't tolerateanythinginvolving children, and that if I caught him involved in such, I would not react kindly."
"You certainly kept your word," Shafiq said. "Captain?"
"We're still investigating, but my assessment is he speaks honestly. He's an accessory, by law, and the few incidents on his record were all dismissed as self-defense. At most, six months hard labor."
King Shafiq drummed his fingers on the table, then picked up the small cup of tea near his hand and sipped from it. Hadn't he recently taken a concubine? Or was that just wild city gossip? Surely it must be, because if Berkant was a royalconcubine, he wouldn't miss a single opportunity to lift anything to that man's lips.
Gods above, he was losing his mind. Since when did he think such ridiculous things about anyone, let alone theking.Maybe Ratti had gotten in more blows than Berkant had realized at the time.
Setting the cup down, King Shafiq said, "How about a trade, Master Berkant? We need all the information we can get if we are to put a stop to the child trafficking. Any knowledge you have would be of great use, since as you say, there is overlap between smugglers and traffickers. In exchange, you will be set free."
"Deal," Berkant replied immediately, because he wasn't entirely stupid. He refused to be pleased at the flicker of a smile on King Shafiq's mouth. "Thank you, Your Majesty. It's a most generous offer that I do not deserve."
King Shafiq waved the words aside. "You did not deserve to have your necklace stolen by one of my guards. Be assured he is suffering greatly for his appalling behavior. Captain, see he's moved to one of the long-term cells, well away from anyone who might take it amiss he is cooperating with us."
"Your Majesty."
Berkant rose at the clear dismissal, hating how bereft he felt to be leaving King Shafiq's presence. He would probably never be this close to him ever again, or see him at all, except maybe at a distance. He wished he could have savored the moment longer.
Bowing low, he then followed Captain Bahiyya out of the room and through the halls of the palace.
Back in the detainment area, Captain Bahiyya returned him to his cell and said, "We're having your new room prepared. I'll transfer you personally once it's ready. I'll send now for the jeweler. I apologize one of my own behaved in such an appallingand shameful way. He's been dismissed and will be in the city by the time the sun has risen."
"Thank you," Berkant replied, too tired to muster anything further. He went and lay down on his cot and closed his eyes, willing sleep to…
He jerked upright and stared, scowling at Captain Bahiyya, who didn't look terribly sorry to have woken him by banging loudly on the bars. "Come on, hate to wake you, but the jeweler is here, and your room is ready. I'd apologize for it taking so long, but I doubt you noticed."
Berkant laughed. "I'm not sure I would have noticed if your entire guard traipsed through here dancing naked. It was a long night and morning."
"Thankfully we'll probably never have to find out," Bahiyya said with a laugh of her own. "Come on."
Berkant tied his clothes and smoothed his hair and stepped from the cell as Bahiyya opened it. Closing it again, she said, "This way" and led Berkant out of the entire detainment area and down the hall to a small room that looked like it was probably used for meetings or something. There must be tens of such rooms in the palace, given it was the center of so much activity, local and international. How did they decide which rooms to use for which meetings?
An elderly woman sat waiting for them, all manner of strange tools laid out around her. "Good afternoon, good sir. You have the necklace I'm here to fix?"
"Yes, Mistress," Berkant replied, sitting on the opposite side of the small table. Taking out his necklace, he slid it across the table to her. "Thank you for fixing it for me."
Picking it up, her fingers long, deft, and elegant, the woman examined it closely. "A beautiful piece. Gollen silver, but local work. I would say only Wessa or Zimmia could do this."
"I'm afraid I've no idea. It was a gift from my late wife, and I never thought to ask where she had it made."
"No matter," the woman replied with a smile. "I'm just rambling in admiration. I'll get it fixed straight away." She set the necklace on the mat in front of her, which seemed to be made of velvet or something along those lines, and turned up a light in the corner, though Berkant would have said the room had plenty of light.
He watched, tense and anxious, as she removed the chain and set it into a small jar filled with a blue-ish substance. Was that necessary just to fix a couple of broken links? Next, the woman opened the locket, and it took every bit of control Berkant possessed not to lunge across the table and snatch the locks of hair away as she lifted them free with a delicate pair of tweezers.
She faltered as she stared at the small lock, and Berkant couldn't take the pain and understanding in her face. Hardly surprising a woman would immediately know what it was, but it hurt all the same to have his wounds laid bare.
Thankfully, she said nothing, only set them gently aside and covered them with a scrap of cloth. She then added the locket to the same jar as the chain.
"Forgive me, Mistress, but… it was only a couple of links that were broken, wasn't it?"
"I would never be so lazy and unprofessional as to do half measures, especially when summoned at His Majesty's personal request. Only a slovenly, lazy jeweler would fix a minor chain break but not take the time to see the whole necklace was cleaned and polished properly. Such a beautiful piece should betreatedbeautifully."
"I… thank you, I am honored." Also grateful he didn't have to pay for it; there were reasons he'd never gotten it professionally cleaned. He sat quietly, staring at the table,occasionally around the room, not really certain what else he could or should do. Talk? That seemed disruptive to her work, and what would he converse about anyway? Parvaneh had been the talkative one; Berkant had been happy to earn the money that kept them well and obey her every wish.
