Changing the Prophecy Chapter 26

 

Chapter 26 Muffins for Hyacinth

The Four and their traveling companions would have returned to Big House City in unbounded celebration and triumph had Crumpet and Buttercup not lost their lives to the struggle. The death of the two enchanters weighed heavily on everyone’s heart. Doshmisi felt bone-weary as she rode Dagobaz, who insisted on taking the lead, always out in front of the tigers. She could not hold him back nor did she have the desire to do so. The air had continued to clear steadily and it felt good to breathe easily again.

In the evening, when they reached Big House City, they discovered the residents of the city lining the road leading to the main entrance. Doshmisi pulled herself together so she could wave and smile to the people, who cheered, clapped, and danced alongside the returning royals and their entourage. No one had yet reported the fate of Crumpet and Buttercup. Their daughter Daisy would need to hear the news first and the dreadful task of informing her would fall to her Uncle Cardamom.

The High Chief’s cooks had prepared a feast to celebrate the return of the heroes from the coast. But before participating in any celebrations, the Four felt they needed to decide what to do with Compost, who remained a prisoner. Elena had ensured that the high chief’s guards had removed Compost from the dungeon and installed him in a comfortable room (securely guarded) before she and the others departed for the North Coast. Behind closed doors, in the royal council chambers, the Four, Hyacinth, and Cardamom met to consider their options for dealing with Sissrath’s former right-hand man. Cardamom suggested that Hyacinth assemble a decision-making committee to come up with a plan and Hyacinth readily agreed since he didn’t like making important decisions on his own. A discussion ensued regarding who belonged on the committee. In the end, they settled on Hyacinth, Cardamom, Reggie, Honeydew, and the Four.

When they emerged from the council chambers, and Elena learned that they intended to exclude her from the committee, she unleashed her Latin temper. “Exactly what kind of justicia will you accomplish with no one to represent Compost?” she demanded. “False justicia! You are pretending at making a fair decision. I am the only one here who does not hold a grudge against him. I don’t see how you can give him a fair hearing without representation. He should have a lawyer, but since there is none, then give me a place at the committee to speak on his behalf.”

The others weighed her words, hesitant to respond, until Denzel spoke up. “She’s right,” he said. He had seen the devastation of the burning of the Passage Circle the year before and he knew that Compost had a hand in its execution. The images of the gutted buildings, burned flesh, and grieving faces would never leave him and he realized the truth in Elena’s words. Those images would always color his perception of Compost. “I hold it against him that he led Sissrath’s troops when they burned the Passage Circle. I’m not an objective judge.”

“He must take responsibility for his role in burning the Passage Circle,” Reggie pointed out.

“Don’t you think that anything you say about Compost should be said to his face, not behind his back?” Elena suggested. “He knows what he did. I expect he has some thoughts of his own on punishment for his crimes.”

The others reluctantly agreed. They disliked the idea of having Compost present as they discussed his fate.

Doshmisi wished they could make their decision in the morning, after she had eaten dinner and had a good night’s sleep. On the other hand, she wondered if she would rest easy until Compost’s fate had been decided. Reggie went to fetch Compost as the rest of them took their seats around the High Chief’s large oval council table.

Before long Reggie returned with Compost following behind him flanked by guards. The High Chief dismissed the guards at the doorway. This discussion would remain private. Elena motioned to an empty chair next to her at the council table. Compost would sit as an equal member with the others.

Doshmisi noticed the dramatic change that Compost had undergone since his capture. He had vastly improved his personal grooming and he looked like a normal person. He wore his hair extremely short and it was clean. His face seemed clear and he had noticeably lost some weight so his stomach no longer jiggled so much. He smelled pleasantly of musk and vanilla. The old repugnant Compost had virtually vanished. Doshmisi would not have recognized him if she had not known who he was.

Compost sat beside Elena, who smiled at him encouragingly and patted his arm.

“I assume you have heard what transpired at the North Coast,” Cardamom began.

Compost nodded his head to indicate that he knew. Still he did not speak.

“And now that Sissrath is gone and the alien creatures gone with him, we must decide what to do about you,” Cardamom continued.

“I have told him that Elena convinced us that he should participate in this discussion,” Reggie informed the others.

“And I am grateful to you for it,” Compost said quietly.

“You have committed crimes against the people of Faracadar,” Cardamom reminded Compost. “What have you to say for yourself?”

Compost looked around thoughtfully at everyone who sat at the council table. “My actions were not unprovoked, but I do not wish to hide behind that as an excuse,” Compost said.

“Expand yourself,” Hyacinth demanded.

“He means to explain yourself,” Honeydew quickly clarified.

“My people, the People of the Mountain Downs, have long been treated as second class citizens. We are unwelcome wherever we go, despite the fact that we have produced some of the most skilled enchanters and our clever people have contributed a great deal to the advancement of Faracadar. We realize that we sometimes fall short when it comes to social graces; but that does not qualify as a justifiable reason to deny us a place at the table. Do you not think it a natural consequence that my people would resent such shabby treatment, would chafe at the lack of representation of the People of the Mountain Downs among the leadership of the land?”

“We have never laid siege to any of your circles as you did to Big House City,” Cardamom reminded him sternly.

“Have you not? What of the fact that you deny us access to participation in your market, your colleges, your festivities, because of your suspicions about us, your preconceived notions?” Compost asked.

“He’s talking about prejudice,” Elena said firmly. “You have made assumptions about him and his people. That’s called prejudice where I come from.”

“We have based our opinions of the People of the Mountain Downs on our past experience of dealing with you,” Honeydew said.

“Dealing with us?” Compost echoed. “Communication between people and dealing with people are two very different beasts.”

“Bad habits. Destructive patterns,” Elena said softly.

“How do we break that pattern of mistrust?” Maia asked. “It doesn’t serve any of us well.”

“We need to get to know one another better,” Compost said.

“You need to share your stories with each other,” Reggie suggested.

Despite her exhaustion, and the aching sadness she felt at the loss of Crumpet and Buttercup, Doshmisi saw in a flash with perfect clarity that the only way to heal Faracadar was to forgive Compost and his people. She didn’t need her grandmother or the whales or the trees or the herbal to help her figure this out. She knew what all of them would say and the right course to chart. She could hear them speaking in her head, internalized, a part of her forever. She said, “Remember last year when the whales told us that violence would only lead to more violence and that we had to find a nonviolent way to defeat Sissrath? To break the cycle of violence?”

“Of course,” Maia murmured, while Denzel and Sonjay nodded their heads in agreement.

“Well it continues. It didn’t stop there. The only way to build trust and make the land a peaceful place for everyone is to forgive one another and make a new start,” Doshmisi explained. “We have to let go of grudges and we have to give people the benefit of the doubt. We have to release our anger about past crimes for the sake of the future.”

Compost cleared his throat. “Forgiveness usually follows an apology,” he said in a husky voice. “So I wish to tell you that I am sincerely sorry for my wrongdoing.”

Doshmisi set an example by accepting his apology. “I forgive you for burning the Passage Circle, for harming our friends there and destroying their homes and their fields. I believe in my heart that you have changed and I wish to give you a chance to be a better person.”

Compost bowed his head for a moment and stared at his hands folded in his lap and then he lifted his head and held a hand out to Doshmisi, who was shocked to see tears sparkling in Compost’s eyes. “And I forgive your uncles for exiling my father from Big House City in the old time, for refusing my people a seat at the high council, for treating me like a fool instead of the intelligent person I am, and I forgive you for making fun of me and thinking you are better than I am.” Doshmisi, Denzel, and Maia had never known that their uncles had done such a thing to Compost’s father so Compost’s words came as a shock to them. Sonjay knew of it because he had read about the history of Faracadar. Even so, he had not given that part of the history much thought and he had never considered the impact of such a deed on Compost. He had viewed all of it as ancient history, but it obviously remained very much alive for some people.

As Doshmisi solemnly took Compost’s hand and shook it, she said, “I apologize on behalf of those who have wronged you and your people and denied you a seat at the table. I did make fun of you and I am sorry for it.”

“If I may, I want to suggest a way to begin to fix this,” Reggie offered. “You won’t like it Hyacinth, but I think that you and Compost should rule together for a time, as a team.”

Compost cleared his throat and appeared almost shy as he said, “I no longer use the name Compost. I have returned to using my given name, Comice. Please make the adjustment.” A wave of astonishment crossed the faces of those present, and Sonjay’s jaw actually dropped open. Elena chatted brightly, “I know how to make an exceptional dessert with Comice pears. Sweet and light. I will make it for you one time if I can find the ingredients.”

“I will enjoy eating it,” Comice, who was once Compost, said politely. “Every bite.”

Sonjay closed his mouth with a snap as he tried to accept everything he had witnessed in the council chambers so far.

“How will we rule together?” Hyacinth demanded. “How is that possible?”

“Well, to begin with, you will have to include some of Compost’s, sorry, I mean Comice’s, people on the high council. And then you must establish a system for discussing things and coming to a decision that you and Comice can both agree on. Perhaps you will need a mediator,” Cardamom said.

“I’m supposed to share being the high chief with him after everything he’s done?” Hyacinth asked incredulously.

“Try to forgive him, Daddy,” Honeydew said.

“That’s the only way. You can see he has changed,” Doshmisi elaborated.

“How do I know he really changed?” Hyacinth asked suspiciously.

“Well, he did tell us about Sissrath’s fear of cockroaches and it did come in handy at the North Coast,” Denzel reminded Hyacinth.

“It certainly did,” Sonjay agreed. “Crumpet used cockroaches to throw Sissrath off balance and it made all the difference when I tried to restrain him with the Staff of Shakabaz.” Cardamom winced at the mention of his dead brother.

“That’s true,” Hyacinth conceded, though cautiously. “But I’m not totalitarianly contrived. I mean convinced. I’m not totalitarianly convinced.”

“I don’t blame you Hyacinth,” Doshmisi replied.

“Comice needs to make restitution for his past actions,” Reggie said. “So what should he do to show you that he has changed and that you can trust him?”

“Restitution. Absolutely,” Comice agreed gravely.

Hyacinth leaned his head to one side and thought about that. “OK, well, yes. I want resuscitation. I like the way that sounds.”

“Restitution,” Elena corrected.

“Resuscitation is when you are revived from being unconscious, Daddy,” Honeydew explained, as patiently as ever. “Like if you stopped breathing and someone gives you mouth-to-mouth.”

“Ewww. No, that’s not what I want from Comp, er, Comice,” Hyacinth said, wiping his lips.

“We know, Daddy,” Honeydew replied and then she continued to explain patiently to her linguistically impaired father. “Restitution is when someone does something appropriate to make up for past injuries or wrongful actions.”

“Exactly,” Reggie confirmed. “Restitution is a key component of restorative justice, which means restoring justice through apology and forgiveness demonstrated by actions. The person who committed the crime demonstrates his remorse to the victim of the crime by doing something to make amends, to make it up to the victim.”

“I understand,” Hyacinth said. “I like this very much.”

Maia addressed the question to Comice. “So, what do you think you should do to make restitution to the people of the Passage Circle?”

Comice thought about the pain he caused in the years during which he served Sissrath. Despite the wrongs perpetrated on his own people, he wished that his people had risen above all of it and shown themselves to be better. He wished that his people had not succumbed to anger and had not sunk to the level of those who persecuted them. It dawned on Comice that he wanted to become the real leader that the People of the Mountain Downs needed and deserved, the leader that his people had hoped for these many long years. He wanted to succeed where Sissrath had failed. Sissrath had been selfish, destructive, and hurtful. Sissrath had never actually cared about the People of the Mountain Downs. Comice resolved not to fail his people, he would seize this chance to serve them well. To get to that opportunity, he first had to walk through this trial. “I will go to the Passage Circle and meet with each family who lost a loved one in the attack. I will apologize to them in person. And I will dedicate two days every month to working in the Passage Circle to build, repair, or make something needed in the community.”

“That sounds good,” Reggie approved. “What does everyone else think?” The others agreed to Comice’s proposal, although Hyacinth still appeared doubtful.

Elena noted Hyacinth’s hesitation so she asked Comice, “Don’t you think you should also do something for the High Chief, to make restitution for all the trouble you have caused him?”

“That seems fair,” Comice replied. “What should I do for you Hyacinth to demonstrate that I am prepared to collaborate with you?”

Hyacinth’s brow crinkled in thought. Sonjay worried for a minute that the high chief might hurt himself by thinking so hard and wondered if Hyacinth was up to this task. Hyacinth pondered and then he announced, “I have come to a derision.”

“Oh Daddy,” Honeydew burst out. “Derision means you are ridiculous and have become a laughingstock. You mean a decision. You have come to a decision.”

“Yes, a decision,” Hyacinth said. “About the restitution.”

“Restitution, good,” Cardamom echoed, encouraging Hyacinth to continue.

“I want Comice to bake me muffins,” Hyacinth informed them.

“You want him to bake you muffins?” Doshmisi asked in amazement, wondering if she had heard Hyacinth correctly.

“As an act of goodwill,” Hyacinth stated with satisfaction.

“That’s all?” Denzel questioned him. “Just to bake you muffins?”

“They must be deliberate muffins!” Hyacinth continued.

“Deliberate?” Honeydew questioned. “You mean he must make them on purpose?”

Hyacinth threw her a puzzled look. “No,” he said. “Well, yes, that too. But they must be, I know the right word; they must be delectable. That’s what they must be. Delectable. That’s what I mean. Delicious. They must melt in my mouth. He must bake magnificent muffins.”

“I’ll try,” Comice said sincerely although somewhat uncertainly. “But I don’t know how to cook.”

“I can help you with that,” Elena offered enthusiastically.

“Not really,” Maia said gently, as she laid a comforting hand on Elena’s arm, “because you will be leaving tomorrow to go back home.”

“Tomorrow?” Elena responded, taken aback. “Already?” She put her arms around Comice and hugged him as tears welled up in her eyes. Comice patted her back with such affection that the others had no remaining question in their minds that he had truly changed.

“I can show you how to make at least one batch of muffins tonight, before I have to go,” Elena suggested with a sniffle.

“That would be lovely,” Comice replied.

Cardamom cleared his throat. “I have a proposition then,” he said. “We will release Comice from his imprisonment and allow him to begin to work with Hyacinth to rule Faracadar. He will make his visit to the Passage Circle to apologize and upon his return, each and every week, he will bake a batch of muffins for Hyacinth. He will bake muffins every week until Hyacinth says he can stop. At first, they might not be the most delectable muffins, but practice makes perfect. We will form a taste council. I will serve on it. Hyacinth and everyone on the taste council will taste the muffins each week, until Hyacinth releases Comice from this task. What do you think?”

“I love it!” Hyacinth shouted. “What an extrapolaneously magripescent idea.”

“See what I’m saying,” Comice muttered under his breath to Elena, but he smiled indulgently at his language-mangling co-ruler. “I’m going to need an interpreter to discuss important decisions with this man.”

“Not a problem,” Honeydew assured Comice. “I can do that.”

“I release Comice from imprisonment and he will go directly to the kitchen with Elena to work on his first batch of muffins,” Hyacinth announced with his boyish enthusiasm. “Blueberry would be good,” he added as he rubbed his hands together.

“Blueberry, blueberry,” Bayard repeated enthusiastically from his perch on Sonjay’s shoulder. He had remained quiet throughout the proceedings, but when presented with the thought of berries he could not keep his beak shut.

“You may no longer command him,” Doshmisi informed Hyacinth firmly. “He is your partner and co-ruler. You do not command one another.”

“I volunteer to go to the kitchen to bake blueberry muffins with my friend Elena,” Comice offered. “It would give me the greatest pleasure.” A smile spread across Comice’s face and Doshmisi noticed for the first time that he had an adorable little dimple on his left cheek.

When Elena and Comice appeared in the kitchen soon after the council dissolved and informed Guhblorin that Comice was required to make restitution to Hyacinth by baking muffins, Guhblorin fell over laughing. He could not help himself, and in true geebaching fashion he suggested that they bake “mouse muffins” for Hyacinth as the first batch. Elena had to pull on his ears to make him behave.