The morning after the group’s arrival in Meego, they are in good spirits. The royal brothers are surprised to be alive and look forward to the day. Will, who finally feels like a valuable member of the group after receiving Aero’s praise on the road, teases Stephan about sleeping in David’s room despite plenty of accommodations. Rain comes to his defense, praising his commitment to his duty. Roasa prepares breakfast with a smile on her face, the pampering of the bathhouse is evident.
“Maybe Matthew will join us soon.” Roasa says.
“Doubtful, we didn’t finish moving his barrels in until late.” Will responds.
“Then why are you up so early.”
“When we got them all in, he opened one. I went to bed.”
Everyone shares a small laugh together.
“What’s everyone laughing about?” says Matthew
Everyone turns to see him enter the room. He is wearing traditional Meegan desert dress.
The room erupts in laughter.
“They sent it over after I moved my last barrel. We should all dress like this, it’s a sign of good will.”
“Look at Matt being a diplomat.” Aero says in laughter.
A short time later, the entire group is wearing teal.
“Teal is a nice color, it looks good on us Rain, but did you see Aero? Damn!” Roasa says.
“I thought you said you would not have another man.” Rain responds.
“I will not, but you have to admit he’s a pretty man. That’s all I’m saying.”
“All the capital men look the same.”
“Rain, really?”
“The women are talking about us again.” Matthew says as he takes a sip of wine.
Embarrassed, they laugh.
A knock at the door, brings the group back to reality.
A group of officials have come for Prince David. He and Aero join the officials to be taken to their meeting with Azka. As they step out into the corridor, Aero notices sunlight peaking through the roof above them.
“Excuse me, I thought that while the Meego Light is gone, that Meego had six months of darkness. Is that sunlight?”
One of the officials looks at Aero “Yes, we just have normal days and nights for this time.”
With that comment, the officials bring them into tunnels beneath the old city. The brothers step out of a stairwell and are introduced to the modern city. It’s a subterranean metropolis. The city under the city is in a massive cave system that has been carved by craftsmen over the centuries. Every inch of the main cave has been carved into ornate Meegan design. Stores line the cave walls, official city buildings stand in the center around a square for meetings.
David and Aero are led to one of the official buildings in the center. Inside they are taken to Dabir, who is waiting on them.
“Welcome to the real Meego. Our city beneath our past. We have dwelled in this cave for generations. I will have my daughter give you a tour in the coming days. I have a full day of duties that I can’t put off. That’s why I have assigned Azka to meet with you today.”
“I understand Dabir, and we look forward to meeting with Azka. What ever you need, we are at your service.” David responds.
“And Meego is at yours.” Azka says as she enters the room. “Thank you father, we will leave you to your duties.”
Azka along with her handmaiden, Rania take the guys out into the city. Aero is surprised that they do not have any guards with them.
Azka takes them to a restaurant for lunch. As they eat, her and David make small talk. Aero and Rania listen in quiet. Once they finish eating she leads them to the city square. They sit at one of the park benches and talk some more.
After an hour or so, Aero looks over to Rania who nods at him to suggest they leave. As Azka and David continue to talk, Aero and Rania excuse themselves quietly. The others do not notice.
“I’ve been waiting on you to look at me so I could give you the signal for a while.” Rania says.
“I’m sorry my lady, I was trying to do my duty and attend to the Prince.”
“My lady? What kind of talk is this?”
“It’s something people in the Capital say to women as a sign of respect.”
“Really?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. It was a slip of the tongue because I didn’t know what to say.”
“That I believe. You should know that in Meego, you cannot claim ownership of a woman in any way. No Meego woman, will ever be another man’s lady. But, here we could turn that statement around and I could call you my gentleman.”
“I meant no offense; it just came out. I will not say it again.”
“I know… my gentleman.” Rania says with a mischievous smile on her face. “So, what would you like to do without those two?”
“I am open for anything. Why don’t you decide?”
“How about I show you the true Meego. It’s wonders, and it’s sadness. I want you to see the real life our people experience daily.”
“Lead the way.”
Rania takes Aero on a tour of the city that a visitor wouldn’t normally see.
The underground lake that provides the drinking water and fish to eat. It’s the main reason life is sustainable in such harsh conditions. No non-Meegan has ever visited it.
She takes Aero to the gold caves below the city. Caves for miles filled solid with gold, the place where Meego gets its wealth for trading. So much gold that they could buy the entire kingdom and have gold left over.
She leads Aero through the caves where the poor and orphans are housed. Meegan society is based on the principle that everyone contributes to the greater good of the community. Without this principle, the city would have died centuries ago.
When someone is disabled or becomes too old to work, they are moved to this cave system where their rations are based upon donations from others rations. For these people to survive, the working class must sacrifice their hard-earned rations to ensure their survival.
Aero is impressed with the Meegan sense of community. It’s a value forgotten in his home.
Finally, Rania takes him to the old city. In the streets they stand, the desert heat grips them. The suns beam down on them, but it is tolerable. The old city still stands as a monument to it’s former glory.
“This is where we belong. Every heart in Meego cries out to live on these streets. Because of a thousand-year-old curse, we never will.”
Aero hears the sadness in her voice, and his heart breaks. Meego is nothing like he thought it would be.
“I’m so sorry Rania, I didn’t know.” Aero stumbles through his words, not knowing what to say again.
“This is the second spring I can remember; I just want to make sure to make this one special.”
“I hope that I can help in some way.”
“Maybe you can, we will see.”
They sit on an old bench on a nameless street for some time. Aero doesn’t speak so that Rania can take in her lost city for one of the few times in her life. He is thankful she shares this moment with him.
“It is beautiful… isn’t it?” Rania asks.
“It is, but not just the old city… the new… and the people…”
“We have everything we need. More gold than we could ever use, but we still can’t have the one thing we want.”
“Since you’ve showed me the gold caves, I’ve been wondering. If you have so much gold that it no longer has value, what does Meego consider to be valuable?”
“We use gold to get items from the rest of the kingdom that we can’t make here. But over the centuries Meego has found something far more valuable than gold.”
“Which is?” Aero asks
Rania looks Aero in his honey gold eyes and grins. “Women.”
Aero is astonished by her statement, but it makes sense to him. Maybe it’s his time with Roasa and Rain, who have been extremely valuable to him on his journey, or even his newfound friend in Rania but Aero is seeing more and more value in women. Something that his life in the capital had suppressed. The very role of the Queen has been reduced from an equal ruler to someone who keeps the King’s bed warm.
“And women use that as an advantage I’m sure.”
“You wouldn’t be here right now if I didn’t.”
Aero is again caught off guard by her words. Her confidence is intoxicating. Aero is lost in this moment. He just smiles and takes it in. They sit on the bench in quiet for a few more minutes before Rania again breaks the silence.
“Tell me about your life, Aero. What’s it like to be a knight?”
Aero cautiously tells his story. Though he wants to tell her everything, he knows he can’t. Not yet anyway. He tells his adventures of being a squire and being knighted. He tells her his favorite story of killing the Halo bear, and his journey on the road. Everything up until arriving in her city. He had to catch himself several times, it would be so easy to tell her he is a prince, or of his friendship with Crimson. Her deep brown eyes with hints of emerald draw him in so much that it scares him a little.
When he is finished, he realizes that he may have said too much. He isn’t sure if David has let them know about the knights trying to assassinate them.
“So Meego has offered you sanctuary from these knights? What are you going to do when it’s time to return?”
“I don’t know. Hopefully, David will figure that out while we are here.”
“Perhaps, but you can worry about that another day. Sit with me and let’s watch the sunset’s, I’ve never seen them before.”
Aero and Rania sit on the ancient stone bench in the old city of Meego for a couple more hours. In that time, they grow more comfortable with each other. They open up and laugh together, and as the second sun sets to give way to the darkness of night, Rania cries.
“I’ve waited all my life to see that.” She says. “Thank you for being here with me.”
“There’s nowhere else in the world that I would rather be…” He cuts himself short, he nearly called her his lady again.
After night has fully come, the old city comes alive. Everyone pours into the streets to celebrate the night. Something the Meegan’s will do every night they can.
Aero and Rania walk the streets for hours taking in the party.
Eventually, they run into Matthew and Roasa, who decided to join in the party.
The four of them party into the night together until Rania decides she has to go home.
She walks them to their quarters. Aero tried to walk her to hers, but she refused. Matthew and Roasa enter immediately to give Aero and Rania a moment of privacy.
“I suppose this is where you would kiss the girl…” Rania says “But, in Meego, it’s up to the woman, and a woman’s first kiss is her bond to marry. So, you… Ser handsome knight are out of luck tonight.”
“Can I at least see you tomorrow?”
“It’s a little forward for a man to ask a Meegan woman for a date, but I will call on you when I have time to see you again. Goodnight.”
Rania simply turns and walks away. Aero watches until she is out of sight.
He enters the quarters to find David and Stephan already in bed, Matthew dipping into his wine, and Roasa telling Rain all about Rania and Aero. Will is not around.
Matthew looks to the women. “Like I said yesterday, Aero’s in love!”
Relics of the Old Age 