Ⅸ Delilah of the Nau Ⅸ  

A great spider with eight long legs rests on an uneven web at the center of the world. Each hooked tarsus reaches for the flies that swarm mindlessly into their demise. A maggot is taught to remain unwinged and sit in the dismal crevices unseen and unheard. The maggot grows up. The maggot grows wings but it does not fly. The spider will get eaten by the bird, but the flies who survived will remain silent. 

One day, a deer spoke to the fly. The deer says, “I am alone in the world. I have no trust in the flock that surrounds me. There are spiders who spin their webs and reach their arms into the eight lands, and I feel helpless knowing that there are great dangers in these woods. Tell me what to do.”

The fly says wisely, “I avoided the web of the beast by never spreading my wings, never making a sound, and never crawling in the light.”

The deer takes this wisdom and lies down beside a shady tree. He takes no leaves to satisfy his hunger, he rustles no branches, he nuzzles no fellow deer, he does not roll in the warmth of the sun on a summer day. In his detached and joyless life he feels safe from all harm. When the hunter comes, he remains still and quiet in the cool shadow of the woods. The hunter draws back his bow and pierces his flesh with an arrow. As he cries in agony, the fly crawls to lick the rotting blood from his wound.

“Why did you teach me to remain still? I could have fought off this hunter with my antlers.” The deer asks.

“Now that you are bleeding, my maggots will thrive. And there is no one to blame but yourself,” replies the fly, “for it was you who questioned the fly on spiders when you are a deer.”

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Delilah sat at their vanity an hour after Mordecai had given them the news about his most awful decision. They forced their tone into something that resembled sincerity, then immediately changed into a black robe reserved for mourning. They were slicking back their hair as usual and powdering their speckled face so it would appear smoother. There's something uncanny about gazing upon yourself when you've grown to look just like your gepatro, Delilah thought. Every smile begins to look like the curve of a sword. 

Maverick of the Nau arrived in Delilah’s presence and nervously updated them on the events of the day. “Demeter has accepted Mordecai's proposal. They are currently discussing what will be done with the hostages in the dungeon.”

Delilah’s face contorted in repressed, enraged discomfort. They let out a breathy laugh and turned sideways to look at Maverick from their chair. They had a terrible feeling about Delilah’s relationship with that tribe from the start, and this only confirmed it. “Maverick, be clear with me on something.”

“Of course Delilah. Anything you ask.”

Delilah cleared their throat and anxiously stood up. They began pacing the room and took out two black spheres from their pocket. They swirled them in their palm. “Demeter claims to be of the Nau. When she is crowned as Queen, will you be taking orders from her, or from me?”

Maverick eyed the grenades that Delilah held and chuckled worriedly. “From you, of course. The royal advisor has always been the leader of the Nau.”

Delilah nodded and pocketed their weapons. “A most correct response. In two hours, the Nau will meet in the conference room. Secretly.”

Delilah loved the hallway outside of the conference room. It was one of the oldest sections of the palace and had been here for generations. The faces of their ancestors were framed in a simple line going down the descending ramp towards the entrance. Delilah shared their eyes, their wisdom, and their resentment. They always stopped at the final painting to try and remember what she looked like. The paint on their gepatro's face had faded from the oil on Delilah’s fingertips. They just couldn't resist trying to reach through to the memory.

The meeting began when Delilah stood at the head of the long table and raised their hand up, then lowered it so the group would take their seats. They straightened out the papers in front of them and took a deep breath. “Swear your words to secrecy.” They demanded. 

The Nau spoke in one voice. “We swear to remain silent.” 

Delilah smiled and looked at their people. There was only one guard in the corner who hadn't spoken, because his lips had been sewn shut with thread. The punishment would last throughout the week. If he wasn't so frightened of retaliation, he would have given Delilah a dagger-like stare. 

“As the Nau, we know it is outside of our morals to criticize our dear King. However, I am here to remind everyone of the dangers related to trusting the Balanced Tribe.” Delilah lifted a piece of paper with an illustration of Oktero warriors killing one another ruthlessly on it. “You may have heard rumors that the Balanced Tribe once held a peace treaty with Sestero, but we the Nau know this to be a lie. It was a carefully constructed lie by the very murderers who took my gepatro from us all.” They traded the first illustration for a second paper, this time with a sword drawn on it that said, for peace. “Can anyone tell me what is wrong with this treaty?”

One of the elder Nau raised their hand, their face sullen with grief. “The sword was a gift unto us. Great Advisor Dolion carried it for years as a symbol of peace. But a treaty should never be for peace, that would imply justice rather than passivity.”

Delilah beamed at the acknowledgement. “What a beautiful response.” They complimented. They passed around the image and went on with their speech. “Twenty years ago, a great leader was taken from us, and I rose to become an advisor far before my time.” They had only been 19, not even old enough to wander past city gates alone by Anteno standards. “My gepatro traveled to Oktero with this sword, foolishly believing that those savages would respect what it represented. They were brutally murdered by this very same sword, at the violent hands of a member of the Balanced Tribe.”

There was a quiet rumble of voices after they announced the name of the tribe. It was the same one in the dungeons, what would those hostages do if they escaped? The terrified Nau all looked to Delilah for support. One raised their hand and they called on them to speak. 

“The King has been discussing releasing the hostages in order to appease his Queen. We should inform him of the history of the tribe and-”

“No.” Delilah interrupted. There was a hidden anxiety behind their voice at the notion. “The Nau do not create conflicts. Mordecai can not know the history of the Balanced Tribe. It may cause him to suspect things that are… untrue.” They smiled. “Rather than tell him the truth, we shall do all that is in our power to sway the situation in our favor. I am sure you are all very capable of that.”

The Nau agreed by nodding to one another. Delilah watched in satisfaction once they dismissed the meeting and the dead silence filled the room. The quiet scheming always filled their heart with joy. 

Delilah retreated to the side office, a small enclosed space that could be locked off in case of emergencies. They were hiding their papers carefully when another one of the Nau walked in nervously to dare ask a question. Delilah raised a brow suspiciously. “Can I help you?”

“Oh, it's nothing important really.” She said, “I was just wondering what you meant by the King believing something that was untrue. What is it that he might believe?” 

Delilah’s smile twitched nervously. “Do you really wish to be given that information?” They asked testingly. They were reaching into their pocket. 

“I believe it would be helpful, yes.” The Nau explained. “In case anyone considered telling the King about the dangers of the tribe.”

“Mordecai is a fool.” Delilah laughed anxiously. “If he knew the area where our gepatro spent many of her travels spying, he might get the ridiculous idea that he was born from the Balanced Tribe. He was given to us in that dreadful desert after all.”

“Given?” She questioned. “I thought he was found- abandoned.”

Delilah snapped the pin out of the smoke grenade they held and let it roll onto the ground. They grabbed the questioning Nau and threw them further into the room as they spun around and grabbed the door. They slammed it shut and made sure she was trapped inside. 

“Delilah!” The poor thing screamed as the room filled with toxic smoke. Delilah watched with delight as the threat withered away and collapsed in a heap on the floor. There was only one way to handle such delicate inconveniences; swiftly and silently. What a pity that curiosity had to kill so many cats. 

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