An Interrogation

Writers: Emma, Vix
Date Posted: 28th October 2008

Characters: Royah, Benaran, Vibenia, Dahlbeni, Vidaben, Niaroy, Yatia
Description: Royah and Benaran question their children about the missing pages in the record books.
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 13, day 6 of Turn 4
Notes: Follows "Missing Pages"

"Do you want to take the lead on the questioning or should I?" Benaran asked
his younger brother as they waited for the children to join them.

"I think they might listen more if you do it." Royah knew that, he always
seemed to be sending the kids to their mother for discipline. They did
listen, just not as effectively.

Benaran nodded, accepting that role. "Have you looked around to see if any
more ledgers have been damaged?"

"I saw one that looked like there was the start of a rip in it, but nothing
that was definite."

"And in your estimation was this the work of the older children or the younger?"

"I hate to say it, but I could see Niaroy and Vibenia persauding my Yatia
that it would be a good thing to do." Niaroy was like his mother, but Yatia
had a lot of Royah's character already at her age. She could be persuaded
without a doubt.

"And Vibenia does like to manipulate her younger siblings." Benaran could
not help but feel some satisfaction in that – the girl would be a force to
be reckoned with when older. "So all of them are suspect." He fell silent
and looked toward the door as it opened, appraising each child as they appeared.

Vibenia, of course, the elder of his daughters, looking quite self-assured,
even smug.

Niaroy, her close companion, one of Royah's brats.

Dahlbeni, the younger daughter, too young to associate with the older two
and feeling superior to the final two to enter.

Yatia, Royah's daughter.

And Vidaben, his own youngest son, mouth smeared with something sticky and
stains upon his clothing.

Benaran frowned at them all. "Do you know why you're here?"

"Mama said you and Da wanted to talk to us Uncle Benaran." Niaroy sounded a
little curious as to why they were here.

"We wanted to talk to you about this." Benaran held the damaged ledger in
front of them, watching their reactions.

Of his own, the reactions were varied: Vibenia glanced toward her companion,
Niaroy. Vidaben's eyes widened as he uttered an "Oh." Dahlbeni elbowed her
younger brother into silence, her own eyes trained some place beyond her father.

"But Da," began Yatia, before Niaroy nudged her.

"At least some of you have seen this book before," Benaran stated, looking
from one child to the next and ending with Yatia. "Haven't you?"

That was it, thought Royah as he watched his daughter's reaction. She looked
like she was about to cry, and indeed sniffed back a tear. "Uncle Benaran, I..."

"Shut up!" Niaroy hissed.

Benaran glared at Niaroy. "I was talking to your sister."

Vibenia quickly stepped forward. "We already talked to Yatia about only
using the paper that she's given. We caught her writing in one of the books
in our classroom." She gave Niaroy a knowing look. "Didn't we?"

"Uh... Yes, yes we did Da," replied Niaroy with slight hesitation. "I think
she might have got confused about things."

The older girl gave a long-suffering sigh. "It's so difficult to look after
them while we're trying to do our own assignments."

"Indeed?" The look that Benaran gave his daughter was skeptical.

"No!" Vidaben stomped his foot indignantly. "They gave us the books and told
us we could write in them."

"Stop it!" hissed Dahlbeni, well aware of the retaliation that their older
sister would show if she were punished for this.

Royah looked at his brother before turning back to the children. It seemed
as though the culprits had been found at last. "Vibenia, Niaroy, did you
know what was in those books?"

Vibenia glared at her younger siblings before facing her uncle defiantly.
"Why would we give them those books for their scribbles?"

"Why indeed?" asked Benaran, looking from his daughter to her companion.
"I'd like to hear the answer to that question."

"You've been rather quiet Niaroy." Royah looked his son in the eyes. "Are
you going to tell us something?"

The nine turn old looked back at his father, he glanced over at Vibenia,
then back at his father.

"I'm waiting. You don't need to look at your cousin, look at me and tell me
what you know."

"Da... I, I 'found' them."

"What do you mean, 'found" them?" asked Benaran.

"Yeah, what's that mean?" Vidaben demanded indignantly.

"Well Vibenia and I found them," Niaroy said.

"The books," Vibenia told them impatiently. "They were laying on a table
outside one of the rooms in the Lady Tower. No one was near them and they
didn't seem important."

"And neither of you thought to read what was written on the bindings?"
questioned Royah.

Vibenia shrugged. "We started to read what was inside, but it was boring –
just some words and bunches of numbers."

"So you assumed that you could just take it and play with it then? Rather
than ask someone?" Royah looked at Vibenia as he spoke, then on to Niaroy.
"Neither of you thought to check?"

"They were going to write in _my_ book!" Vibenia protested.

"One of those trashy stories that you took from Ilassa's room?" Benaran's
question brought a properly cowed expression from his daughter. The man
shook his head before addressing all of the children. "Don't you have enough
paper and slates and anything else you need to write and draw in your
classroom?"

"Yes, but..." began Niaroy. "We, we didn't think it would do any harm."

"No harm?" Benaran opened the ledger to the spot where the missing pages had
once been attached. "Four, maybe more pages are missing from an account,
pages that I need for a report. And you didn't think it would do any harm."

"They were bother. . ." Vibenia started to reply, waving toward the young
children, but stopped. "We should have checked with someone or found
something else for them to write on."

"Yes, you should." Royah looked at the two older ones. "How do you think you
can make amends for this?"

Vibenia glanced up at her father and then away. "Say that we're sorry?"

"That goes without saying," Benaran replied. "But there needs to be more
than that."

"We could copy out the missing pages for you?" suggested Niaroy.

Benaran raised an eyebrow to that offer. "And where would you get the
information for those pages."

"They're in the drawer where we keep the extra pencils," Dahlbeni
volunteered, quickly adding at her older sister's glare, "I saw her put them
there."

"In that case, that should be a part of your punishment," the man answered.
He glanced toward Vibenia. "We'll also discuss this privately."

"As will we," said Royah with a glance to his son. "And don't think you will
get away with this."

"But they're the ones who did it!" Vibenia gestured toward the younger
children. "Their nurse should have been looking after them."

"She was not, and you were present," her father reminded her. "And that left
you responsible for them and for the Hold's property."

"I agree with your father Vibenia. You and Niaroy should have set an example
for your siblings."

The older girl opened her mouth to retort, but closed it again. She paused a
moment and then tried again, taking a different approach than what she had
originally intended. "What about them?" She pointed to the younger children
again. "Shouldn't they have some punishment?"

"And they will," Benaran agreed. "They can copy an apology for what they've
done."

"Which the two or you will also copy out." Royah watched his son as he
spoke, they'd have an interesting discussion later.

Benaran nodded his agreement. "And I'll speak to Ilassa as well. It seems
that she is not keeping as close a rein on all of you as she should."

"Do any of you have anything else to say?" asked Royah.

"Da," began Niaroy. "We're sorry."

Vibenia sighed. "Yes, we're sorry."

"Sorry," echoed Dahlbeni and Vidaben, with expressions much more sincere
than their elder sister's.

"That's a start," snorted Benaran. "Though hopefully you're sorry for what
you did and not simply because you were caught at it."

"And none of you will do this again." Royah looked at the children, hoping
for a reply.

"No Da, we won't," his two told him.

The other children merely shook their heads.

"Well," Benaran gave one final withering glance toward the children before
addressing his brother. "I suppose we're finished for now."

"For now, but I'll be talking to Niaroy and Yatia about this later."

"And I'll have much to say to mine – especially Vibenia." Benaran nodded
toward the door. "Go."

His children obediently headed from the room.

"You can go as well," Royah told his children, who followed their cousins
from the room.

"At least we know what happened," he said to his brother.

Benaran nodded, his eyes still on the door. "And we can hope that they have
enough sense not to do it again."

"Time will tell."

Last updated on the November 1st 2008

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