There was no reply, and Maiandra, being always too curious for her own good, immediately opened the door. She looked around and found the stone corridor the same as always. She took a step into the candlelight and looked to the left and right. Maiandra let out a sigh and went back to her dressing table, closing the door behind her. There was another knock at her door. Maiandra froze. This is silly, she thought. She got up and answered the door. Finding nothing, as before, Maiandra turned to go back into her room when her attention was caught by torn piece of parchment on the stone floor. Cautiously she lifted it and returned to the confinement of the four walls making up her room. Maiandra sat on the end of her queen-sized four-post bed to examine the parchment.
On one side was what seemed to be the floor plan of her home. She found her room on it with ease. Written in the centre of her room were some symbols she recognised as ancient Tyrian, and more symbols under the map, but she was unable to translate it alone. On the other side was the symbol meaning freedom.
Maiandra pulled a black hooded cloak over her plain cotton dress to disguise her noble origin. Where she was going it would not be wise to let that fact be known. After quietening Muffy, the guard dog, she made her way silently through the shadow filled gardens of her father’s land. As she passed through the gap in the hedge, movement caught her eye. A large hand was placed over her mouth to muffle the exasperated sounds from Maiandra. Suddenly Maiandra’s self-defence training took over. After a few moments, she had her captor’s arm twisted up behind his back and his face in a muddy puddle. "Who are you? And why did you attack me?" Maiandra demanded to know.
"Maiandra! I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was you! You really shouldn’t be sneaking out at this hour," was the stifled reply from below.
"Laofin!" startled, "I forgot you were on patrol duty. Don’t say a word to Daddy about my sneaking out tonight, okay? Or else I’ll be confined here until I’m fifty!"
"That doesn’t seem to have stopped you so far!" said Laofin, sarcastically, once Maiandra had released her grip.
Laofin had been employed by Maiandra’s father to guard the fort at night, after Laofin had been robbed by Tyrian raiders and lost everything. He understandably demanded to know what business she had sneaking off in the middle of the night, so Maiandra explained about the knocks on the door and showed him the piece of parchment. "I wish I had paid more attention when we were taught ancient Tyrian, or I could tell you what sort of trouble you’ve got yourself into!" Laofin said after he had examined the parchment for a number of minutes.
"I must be off, if I’m to catch Carsha before she goes to sleep!" Maiandra hurriedly ended as she walked off into the distance.
The moon shone down brightly on Maiandra as she warily moved through the dark streets of the Lyran capital. She reached Carsha’s home easily and knocked at the bolted iron door. A light came on in the window above Maiandra, and soon the door was unbolted. Maiandra found herself facing a small, wrinkled old woman, which reached no further than Maiandra’s shoulder. Strands of grey hair found their way out from underneath the muslin bed hat. "Yes, dearie," croaked the old woman. "Carsha! I’m sorry if I woke you, but it’s extremely important that I speak to you. It may be a matter of life or death!" gasped Maiandra, out of breath.
"Well, get on with it, dear child! We obviously haven’t got all night!" replied Carsha, impatiently. Maiandra had to explain everything for the second time and she handed the parchment to Carsha. "Would you be able to translate it for me? My ancient Tyrian classes weren’t much help!" admitted Maiandra. "Certainly! I’ll get to work on it straight away!"
True to her word, Carsha hobbled to a large bookcase in the corner of her workroom. "Pass me a candle, Maiandra, there’s a good girl!" Carsha handed large leather-bound books to Maiandra and then went to her writing desk. Maiandra opened the cover of the first book and saw that it was filled with page upon page of symbols that she couldn’t even begin to understand the meaning of.
Carsha’s voice interrupted Maiandra’s awe-struck silence, "I can easily make out the first couple of symbols. They say, ‘We are worried’. That’s as far as I’ve got. Concerning the symbols in the top-right hand room, they spell out your name."
"What does it say after ‘We are worried’? Am I supposed to be worried?" asked Maiandra. "Indeed, child. You should be worried! The symbols that follow mean, ‘and we are dangerous. We are fed up with the way we are being treated. We have spoken with the rest of the working class and they agree. The reason we are telling you is that you are the only one who can help us break free of our tethers. We need you to sneak into your father’s study and get hold of our contract papers. If anyone else hears of this and interrupts our plans, you and your parents will be the first to disappear.’ There are the initials ‘FS’ printed at the bottom of the parchment. Have you any idea who they belong to?"
"I can’t think of anyone at present, but does this mean the servants are going to start a rebellion against my father and every other noble from here to Marlrite. If I tell father, he, my mother and I will die. If I don’t say anything, the working class will take over and we’ll probably be killed anyway. What am I to do?" Maiandra spoke aloud about her troubled thoughts, "I must be going now or my father will kill me before I have the chance to decide. Bye!" Maiandra swiftly grabbed the parchment and the translation sheet and made her way back into the alleys of Lyra.
Back in her room, Maiandra, again, began worrying about her dilemma. Should she tell her father and risk her family’s safety or just let it go ahead and probably die anyway? She pondered this well into the early hours of the morning and was found by Lady Briana, her mother, still fully dressed at the end of her bed. Briana lifted Maiandra to the top of the bed and removed the girl’s cloak. The piece of parchment detached itself from the cloak and floated to the floor in front of Lady Briana, Making Maiandra’s decision for her. She lifted the parchment and examined it. Her knowledge of ancient Tyrian was as basic as Maiandra’s, so it was placed in the pocket of her lilac dress.
Lady Briana met her husband coming out of his study and decided to show him the parchment. As he ran his eyes over the map and writing, his face turned grave. "Where did Maiandra get this? If what it says, is true, then we are to have a rebellion on our hands," said Lord Verlas, his expression unchanging. "Oh dear! I didn’t think it would come to this!"
