A New Encounter (2)

Oga Mudiaga took a long detour to the offices of the Palace Guard, taking the time to orientate Emeravwe and Eunuch Akpome to the bureau.

It was a general orientation like they received during their training, but Emeravwe listened attentively as he explained to them the roles of the different offices.

He informed them that, in addition to conducting inspections of Maidens and Eunuchs as part of the Department of Court Inspections, the Bureau of Court Affairs also worked with the Department of Court Investigations. The police bureau in the city transferred cases connected to the royal court to the Department of Court Investigations, and for these cases that occurred outside the palace, the Bureau of Court Affairs served as the department’s first response.

The bureau’s job was to investigate what or who caused the unrest and for what purpose. It would then inform the Bureau of Investigations, which was part of the Department of Court Investigations, and hand the case over to them for further action.

“But if the department already has its own Bureau of Investigations, why do they leave these cases to the Bureau of Court affairs?” Emeravwe questioned.

“Huh!” Oga Mudiaga scoffed. “It’s beneath those officials in the Bureau of Investigations to handle the paltry cases the police bureau usually sends over. It’s just right for them to spurn them onto the Bureau of Court Affairs.”

Oga Mudiaga cursed as they finally exited the bureau, “The other offices of the Outer Palace aim their piss towards the Bureau of Court Affairs. Because though we’re not directly subordinate to it, we need the Bureau of Investigations’ permission to even kiss ass. And we mostly kiss the bureau’s, anyway. But I think we can bring a lot of change to Xxene in our position.” He shrugged, “If anyone can stop mulling over how to rise in rank long enough to give a damn.”

Now that they were outside, Emeravwe studied Oga Mudiaga a bit more closely.

He looked to be around the same age as Aslan, with coiled tufts of bright, apricot-colored hair that wound as tight as springs atop his head. A thin scar ran down his right cheek, contrasting his light brown skin. Yet, his dimpled smile and handsome square jaw were enough to draw one's attention away.

He was also tall, with broad shoulders and lean muscles that were apparent even through his loose Palace Guard uniform. The tunic flattered his broad chest and shoulders; the trousers were cut loose and baggy around his thighs, then tight from his knees to his ankles. A sword hung from the belt on his waist, and the long straps of his sandals wrapped around the impressive calves of his legs.

His light brown eyes shined with a mischievously playful glint, and the yellow, cabochon-cut cat’s eye apatite in his forehead scintillated merrily.

Emeravwe thought he was quite attractive. But he was an Ehwoéki, and she had never seen anyone with looser manners.

“Oga Mudiaga,” she began, cringing within at his swearing.

“No need to be so formal, Emeravwe,” he said, flashing the same crooked smile he offered in the office. “Call me Mudiaga.”

She did not miss the playful spark in his brown eyes as he said this. And Eunuch Akpome, a bashful, quiet Eunuch around her age, shifted uncomfortably.

According to court rules, Maidens should never grow so intimate with Eunuchs, officers, or officials that they addressed one another by their given names alone. But Mudiaga’s brashness incited Emeravwe. With a quick glance at Eunuch Akpome, she looked challengingly back at him. She had broken many more rules with Aslan!

“Mudiaga,” she began again, and his eyebrows soared with surprise before a curious grin settled on his lips. “Though Eunuch Otase addressed you distastefully in the office, perhaps it would help if you did not cut your words short or speak so… crudely.”

He snorted. “Well, sor-ry. I didn’t have the privilege of growing up in the Sun’s Court—I’m an ignorant peasant, you know. Though I’m not sure if it’s really a privilege, seeing how everyone goes around afraid to even pass silent gas. As for Eunuch Otase, I’ve seen his kind too often in this palace. Onorogu who think they’re too good to breathe the same air as someone from a lesser caste. But at the end of the day, we’re both still called Oga. He’s no better than me!”

Emeravwe stared at him. In truth, she thought she could come to like Mudiaga. He was, perhaps, not so different from her.

But it also seemed he stood against all she knew and was aiming for. Life in the palace with its rules, prohibitions, and hierarchy was all she knew and would be her future. Hopefully, she would be at the top someday, beside the king.

She mentally shook her head. Nowhere in this equation did a close relationship with someone like Mudiaga factor in as beneficial.

Emeravwe changed the subject. “Mudiaga,” his eyebrows rose again, the crooked smile returning, “what did you mean when you said we are in a position to bring change to Xxene? What kind of change?”

His eyes sparked with mischief. “That, you must find out yourself, fair Maiden. Just as I’m now enticed to find out just how fair you really are beneath all that uniform.”

Eunuch Akpome gasped in horror and Emeravwe gaped, mortified. Her face blazed with embarrassment as her brow darkened in a glare. The brazen flirt! she thought. And she had thought Aslan was bad.

“-ity! Uniformity!” Mudiaga quickly amended. He laughed at their reactions, waving a hand hastily in apology. “Be at peace—don’t go reporting me to the Bureau of Corrections! I find it a little hard to live under the palace’s censure, you see.”

Emeravwe discovered soon enough that Mudiaga found it hard to live beneath almost any type of censure.

He called everyone on their team except their three superiors by their given names, and flirted with all Maidens on the team, including their lead Aye. He seemed to flagrantly disregard palace propriety. Yet, amazingly, except for Eunuch Otase’s glare and generally scornful attitude, Emeravwe rarely saw him reprimanded for his behavior. Unlike Eunuch Otase, the others in the office seemed to get along fine with Mudiaga, despite his lack of manners and his status as an Ehwoéki.

Emeravwe at first found it difficult to interact with Mudiaga. The familiarity he showed initially stirred a competitiveness in her, but she balked at his crudeness. So she tried to distance herself from him.

In any case, he was not the type of person someone with her aims should mingle with. First, he was an Ehwoéki, and second, almost every third word that escaped his lips was distasteful. She felt an association with him would surely drag her down.