Being newlyweds, and needing very much to be let alone, Fionn and Akorsa had been given the run of an unoccupied house in the village. As of yet things were still running pleasantly, but none would have ever thought any differently. Fionn and Akorsa were still so close to one another that there was little, if no room at all, for quarreling and pointless argumentation, as a husband and wife are inevitably doomed to experience at some point in their new lives.
One of the first things that had been done after the village had settled down into a calmer way of life was go and visit the graves of Fionn�s mother and his younger brother, Kayode. Akorsa had taken the time to pick some wildflowers to lie upon the graves in remembrance of the two loved ones.
�She knew in her heart that we would be married some day,� Fionn said softly. �She said just as much to my father not so shortly before she passed away. She would have loved to have you as her daughter-in-law, Akorsa. I know she would have cried at the wedding ceremony; I can see it in my mind well enough.�
�I wish she could have been there, Kayode as well. I know how he disliked weddings and the like, but little boys are like that. Keihl feels the very same now, in fact. I cannot help but wish that all these things were different, as they were when we were small,� she said. �With the exception of us both; I like how we are just fine at this moment.�
�Well, I am certainly glad to hear that,� said Fionn with a small smile, as he arranged the beautiful wildflowers into the most perfect arrangement he could manage, on the graves of his mother and little brother. He stood with a bit of a sigh, wiping some dirt from his hands onto his trousers. �We shall need to leave for the Walled Cities soon; I do hope you are aware.�
�Aye, I know it. The men are getting restless, as is the Captain-General. They want to remove the other Proctors from office; they seek justice and retribution. They want them thrown in prison or executed for their conspiracy. I cannot say that I truly blame them for that,� she said.
�What do you intend to do, then?� he asked, taking a hold of her hand as they began to walk back towards the village.
�What do you mean?� she asked.
�You shall be the only Proctor left on the council. The final decisions of change shall be up to you then. What do you intend on doing?� he asked, referring to everything that would take place once the other Proctors were sentenced, as everyone knew they would be.
�I will see that the right people are appointed to their positions, then you and I shall come back here,� she told him. �I figure that perhaps we can round up a few people from the village who would be willing to represent us, and then all would be well.�
�You intend on giving up your position?� he asked, not entirely surprised, but not having expected her to have come to a decision quite so soon. He was aware of how much she loved being in her home village, but he knew she was the right person to fill in the position as the next Head Proctor. She was intelligent, kind, considerate, and negotiable when it came to dilemmas between other people.
�I do not want to continue on with all of this, Fionn. Perhaps it is selfish of me to send others to do that which I do not wish?� she pondered aloud. She did hate the idea of sending other Arimythians to take her place in the Proctorage, but she wanted no more than to spend the rest of her days in the place of her birth, living happily with her husband, and raising sheep, and perhaps someday later, children of her own.
�Selfish, I do not think it is, my dear,� replied Fionn, pulling her down to sit with him upon a soft patch of grass the lay next to the path on which they were walking. �I know that our people would understand if you did not wish to continue on this path, but we all know that there is none better suited for the position than you. When and if you ever needed me, I would be there as well, perhaps adding another to your new council of sorts, if you were to wish it.�
�That might just be a wonderful job for you to take on!� she said. Fionn would, as much as she hated to admit it, make a good politician. He could be very diplomatic at times, was honest, and was willing to listen, which made him the sort of person Akorsa would want to put up as a new Proctor. �I just have so many things I need to begin thinking about right now. I just need to wait for everything to be settled before I can make any other decisions concerning these things.�
Fionn nodded and patted her knee gently with his right hand. She smiled at him and he leaned forward to press a gentle kiss to her lips, which she returned with a giggle. She still became giddy around Fionn, which was something she could still not yet figure out for the life of her. But she was irrevocably happy, and contented to feel like a silly little girl, so long as she had her Fionn.
He, on the other hand, was not entirely certain as to why she giggled every time he kissed her like he just had. Either there was something funny about the way he did it, or she was still as happy as she had been just after their wedding ceremony. He figured it to be the latter of the two, as the first did not befit his wife�s typical manner of behavior. Feeling curious, he dared to ask.
�Is there something peculiar about the way I kiss?� he asked tentatively. �For every time I do kiss you, I receive a giggle in return.�
�Of course not; that is not why I laugh so, if that is what you are wondering,� she assured him. �It just makes me happy and flighty deep down inside sometimes and I cannot help but let out a giggle, so think it nothing that you have done wrong.�
Fionn let out a sigh of relief at hearing that his assumptions had been quite correct. �Then let us return to our home now, Akorsa. I would think that your contemplations of change would serve you best when discussed with a man who knows what is needed.�
�You are right, indeed. I should talk with the Captain-General first, and then, if need be, I shall see what my father has to say about all of this,� she agreed with a nod. She rose up from her spot on the grass, followed by Fionn. The two walked hand in hand back to the village with the hope of developing some sort of feasible idea concerning the future of the world.
- - - -
Captain-General Verican had agreed kindly to meet the young shepherdess and her husband outside of great village barn. They sat there, outside the barn on benches, for many hours discussing the possibilities to come with the future reform in government. Akorsa, having only a few ideas of her own, had decided that listening to the Captain-General would be a prudent measure, as he knew what the city-folk needed more than she did.
�There would need to be a new form of representation, then,� said Akorsa. �There can be no more of having these five representatives for each of the cities and then one from Arimythia. Eleven is too many to have in a room debating together. If anything is accomplished, the numbers need to be even between these territories, and quite smaller.�
�Then have two representatives from each of them; two for Uljaya, two for Ilyana, and two for Arimythia,� suggested Verican. �A council might be able to operate smoothly with six members.�
�I would say yes, but if the two representatives are divided on an issue, than how will anything be resolved. I feel that we have no choice but to allow three representatives to each group of people,� she said.
�Three would work well enough, having only nine in total. But tell me, Akorsa, what will happen when new villages are set up outside the Walled Cities? Will they have representation within this council? This will be an issue later on that we should take the time to reflect on in advance,� said Verican, bringing up an important point that Akorsa had not yet considered in detail.
�I suppose that they too will have three representatives, as they would deserve. I would not wish to exclude them as my people were excluded because they are yet being established,� she said. �The only problem with his would be that if enough of these new villages start springing up, how will we know when they are large enough to be considered a village?�
�I thought you said that all people would deserve representation?� queried Verican, slightly puzzled. �Would you deny a younger region these rights?�
�I did say they deserved representation, but there becomes a point when a lone family living on the plains cannot be considered an actual village, and cannot feasibly be represented. Should they not be considered part of the people from whence they came, at least until they grow to a certain number?� she asked.
�Perhaps, were people to settle their own villages,� began Fionn, �then they might need to reach a certain population, say, maybe a number of forty people or more, before they are considered as separate from the entity from which they came. After all, we in Arimythia barely number over one hundred. We could not make the number higher than that, I do not think.�
�I believe your husband has a very valid point, my lady,� said the Captain-General with a nod in Fionn�s direction. �They must raise their numbers to forty, a good number, before they are to be considered their own people. Very well, indeed, I must say. And, at the rate it takes to successfully start up a village, with such numbers, we might have many years before such problems arise with these new villages. I would say that we would not need to worry about the number of representatives in the council being raised too high; for those who follow after us will need to become adjusted to that.�
�Then that matter is settled, at least,� sighed Fionn. �I do not know how much more of this political nonsense I can bear!�
�Now you fully comprehend why I really hold no desire to remain a Proctor,� she said with a mock smugness to her voice.
�Oh, shush, Akorsa. After all, one cannot comprehend such things until they have begun to experience them, can they?� countered Fionn.
�Now children, children, now we must not bicker amongst ourselves,� said Verican, grinning in false sort of reproach. �We cannot hope to reform when we cannot get along ourselves, can we?�
Akorsa threw a clump of grass at the Captain-General�s head with a smirk. The grass hit him, and the man brushed the green shards out of his hair with annoyance at the young shepherdess�s immaturity. Akorsa stuck her tongue out in response to his glare.
�I can hardly believe sometimes that you will be in charge of the future government,� commented the older man, before Akorsa could protest. �But you are needed, regardless of what you think. The next Proctors will be simple folk, not capable of doing as you are able. You will need to teach them how to do their jobs well, as they are meant to be done. Then, and only then, will you be able to leave your position, if you so choose.�
�I know it, I truly I do,� she said, raising her hands in defense. �I just fear I am not well suited enough to do the task which everyone asks of me. However, I do know that I am needed, much as you have said, and that is the only reason why the idea is still lingering in my mind.�
Much later, having run out of topics for discussion, the three decided it would be best if they were to go their separate ways. They intended to depart the following morn, and rest would be required for the march back to the Walled Cities. The Captain-General spent the a portion of the night walking around the village, enthralled just as much as he was by it in moonlight as he had found himself to be in daylight. His wounded shoulder eventually began to bother him, and so he set back to the house in which he had been staying for a bit of sleep. As for Akorsa and Fionn, they retired for the night in their own little house on the side of the village, awaiting the drastic changes that would come with the rising sun.
