The three Queens are seated together in a carriage with Gayatri RajiDewi and Lady Sumita. Zalir is seated up front with the horse master

  “Divide and conquer ladies”. Dusshela states an old tactic

  “Dusshela faces Lady Meiling. She’s from a banking house.” Gitarji stresses

  “So she’s rich. she must be beautiful or Zhenjin won’t agree” TaraBai says.

  “He’s practical her money will entice him.”Dusshela hopes.

  “Let’s get all of them to the capital first and interview them one by one and then bring them together at the ball and see which one manages to attract his attention”Gitarji puts forward

  ”This wont work. a girl who hopes to marry Zhenjin must please his Kheshig. She’s got to please Huaizong, Mahintha and TanPo too.” TaraBai realizes. “Is it like having 5 husbands?”

  “Oh dear no thats a joint venture. Only a fool would think it was a romantic or even erotic. It’s like a bank merger”.

  “But you had children with these men?”

  “Well the first was so old but very rich and it was pre arranged. I never met him. But in marrying him I inherited his kingdom. The next went off to war. He died but I was pregnant I inherited his Kingdom. The third was the love of my life we had ten children but he died mysteriously but I had to marry his brother it was their custom and he died too of the same mysterious diseases. But with the brother I had five more children. because he had to out do his brother in the grave. Or ant least he tried. And finally he youngest and most brilliant I had but one son. But all of them were burned by jealous cousins. And inheriting meant managing several estates. And plenty money make plenty people jealous.”

  “Plenty sex?” Tara Bai asks

  “17 children” Dusshela holding up her fingers.

  “Oh my” Gitarji exclaims

  “They only burn rich widows. The poor ones just get sold into slavery. They have to make a show of burning a rich widows. There must be reason some religious reason. My greatest revenge against those who burned my children is that to this day they desire my wealth but they can’t have it. The Austronesians can find us an island. Zalir will find me an island were we rich widows can store our money. Okay I’ll interview Meiling.” Dusshela agrees.

  “I’ll interview Lian Hua and Yanli”. Gitarji takes her assignment

  “ill interview Xiaowen and Suyin”. TaraBai says

  “that means JingFei is my interviewee….my victim.” Dusshela says.

  When the three Queens arrive at Beihei, Zhenjin and his Kheshig (Huaizong Mahintha, and Mahintha) are already there standing by their horses, waiting for the three Queens.

  The three Queens and the three noble ladies (Gayatri, Raji Dewi, Sumita) alight from the carriage. Tan Po and Huaizong are immediately there, standing by the carriage like excellent foot men ready to assist the Queens and their entourage. Again Raji Dewi throws herself at Huaizong. He catches her and he makes sure to land her gently on her dainty little feet. Impish smiles are exchanged.

  ”Seems like you always travel with three Queens.” Khazan says to Zalir “a lot of attention for a non-royal”

  ”Pardon, my Khazan?” Zalir responds a bit alarmed at what Zhenjin seems to be implying

  “Zalir come look at this” calls Gitarji signaling for him to come help her. Both Zhenjin and Zalir are distracted.

  “Your lady calls. Go to her we will talk later” Zhenjin admonishes

  “Zalir come quickly!” calls Dusshela . “You must capture the koi for me and release them in our pond!” She’s brought a net but she’s a Queen not a fisherman. Zalir grabs Dusshela before she falls into the pond and quick like lightning the fisherman-Austronesian kicks in and he scoops the fish out with the net and places the fish in a basin in one fluid movement. Astoundingly quick.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “I can’t get over these colors”, Dusshela gushes

  Dusshela asks him about the care of her Koi fish and Gayatri Taji Dewi make him carry baskets of flowers for them. The four princes look on jealously as Zalir gets all the attention. They look on helplessly as the three Queens ignore them standing by their horses in their incredible silks.

  Lunch is served. In the middle of the meal as they talked politics and art and theatre, Dusshela places food before Zalir telling him to “taste it! its delicious.” It’s was such a motherly gesture. Jealousy and envy is a new experience for our 4 handsome princes who were always full of confidence.

  Finally, Huaizong gets out his harp. Raji Dewi and Sumita immediately join him. He asks the two ladies to sing for him. And they make a great trio. Dusshela and Gayatri are asleep on divans in the make shift cabana Zhenjin installed for them to enjoy the afternoon. Zalir is not the center of attention. Now Huaizong is. And Huaizong is talented, virile and extremely handsome. And he is a royal.

  “Why did King Hayam banish you? Was it about the brotherhood?” Zhenjin asks Zalir as they both are listening to Huaizong and the two ladies sing. “Zalir . I don’t want to be involved in the war of those Datus. Nor do I expect you to export your fight here. Every where you go this fight follows you.”

  “I apologize Khazan. I intend to return to Makassar . I simply wanted to secure my Queen, her mother and her sister”

  “You were his prime minister. Why did Hayam banish you?” Zhenjin asks

  “we had political differences” Zalir squirms.

  “You are Austronesian. You solved his rice problem. You’re not his political adviser. What political differences could you have had? You were his beloved minister. Why did Hayam banish you?” Zhenjin is bearing down on him.

  Zalir is looking at the floor.

  “You were banished because Hayam knew that you were in love with his daughter”. Zhenjin drives home his suspicions.

  Zalir is still looking at the floor

  “Admit it we are all men here”. Tan Po says.

  Silence

  “King Hayam banished you because he knew you were in love with his daughter. You and I we are the same”. Zhenjin confesses painfully. “Can’t have what we want.”

  “You? You can have any woman you want….” Zalir incredulously

  “Maybe I just failed to collect on time. And some things are only offered once” hypothesized Zhenjin. “who wrote the Sumpah’t Panata?”

  “I am the principal author”.

  “You did not write it alone. Who wrote it with you? Stop evading the question!” Zhenjin asks sternly.

  “l wrote it”. It was Gayatri. A little old lady with a loud voice “ I wrote it”.

  Zhenjin turned around. the three men had not seen her as she is small and standing behind Zhenjin. She had heard quite a lot of the conversation. The three princes redirected their focus from the tall sinewy frame of Zalir to the short white withered slightly bent Gayatri.

  “You wrote it? But….”

  ”I know how to read and write. I’m old, I’m a woman, but I know when we are not being fair. The Sumpah is executory. That’s Zalir’s half in all this. The Panata is my work”, Gayatri states flatly undoing the proud posturing of the men around her, causing all of them to “ shrink“ somehow. To be smaller and humbler.

  “You were right he is covering up for them”. Tan Po whispers.

  “Because of you Zalir got banished”. Zhenjin accuses her. “And because of you these wars continue”

  “Yup, those things happened. But not because of me. I am not Helen of Troy. Because of something I wrote. didnt mean for any of this to happen. And I will write whatever it is I want to write and if it doesn’t sit well with you, that’s your problem.”

  “Your a royal and your asking for equality…..”, Zhenjin points to the philosophical contradiction

  “Only among brothers. you are free to decline. And only among the spice traders. They are innocent Khazan. And we are as you see us. We brought no spies, no soldiers just Soma and Bhayu. Yes Durjana follows Zalir. He is a jealous stupid man. But if he were smarter it is I whom he wants. And I am an easy target. I go to market alone. I go to the public square to watch the evening. Nobody bothers me. Some of us pass quickly and quietly through life. Others like Zalir are not so lucky. Those men are envious of him and they give him no rest. But they have no real reason to be angry with him. He did not threaten them. I did.

  Other than the authorship do you find anything wrong with the framework of equality?”

  “Well I’m envious of him too”, says Mahintha under his breath “I want to be the favorite of three Queens”.

  “No, no.. You are absolutely right there should be equality among brothers” Crown Prince Khazan Zhenjin capitulates.

  “I'm glad you agree. Now, my Khazan, I believe it’s tea time.” Gayatri suggests

  Later before the carriage arrived to port the Queens back to Hóugōng, Zhenjin is again able to corner Zalir.

  ”You're in love with her, is she in love with you?” Zhenjin asks.

  “Any which way that question is answered has horrible consequences for me. I’d rather she didn’t. And I will never ask her”, Zalir replies.

  ”But you know your feelings are returned. And now it has come to this: a mad crazy war. So you wanna go back to Makassar to Luwu to fight…till you die. That way you can love her and never receive love back as the consequences are horrible”

  ”Yes”

  ”Well I forbid it”.

  “Khazan?”

  ”You stay here with your Queen. Just because I can’t have my way doesn’t mean you can’t too. Also I don’t want to be the only stupid idiot in the palace. Now we are two and I feel that I am smarter than you”. Zhenjin says it like it’s revenge.

  “Khazan?” Zalir is confused.

  “Equality? You want equality, You and Gitarji are now equals. And I forbid you to leave the Khannate”. Then Khazan Zhenjin turns to Tan Po “ I did a good thing today”.

  Zhenjin can be kind even when he is envious.