“How did you get so dirty, young man!”

Denak could hear Meni’s voice throughout the large house. In spite of his dark mood, Denak smiled knowing that the boy was getting yelled at because of his earlier prank. Denak walked toward the kitchen where he knew Meni and the boy were and where he hoped he could get a late morning snack. The small loutou egg he grabbed on his way out the door when he woke up was not enough to keep his stomach from growling now even though it was a couple of hours before lunch.

“I’m sorry Meni. I wasn’t watching where I was going and I tripped over something into a mud puddle.”

Again Denak smiled and then chuckled knowing exactly what the boy had tripped on.

“Well, you should watch where you are going!”

“Yes, Meni.”

“You will have to eat outside today. I can’t have the mistress seeing you like this. She won’t let you come back in the house ever again.”

Denak walked into the kitchen to see the boy standing in the doorway leading outside and Meni standing in front of the boy with her back to Denak. The boy glanced at Denak out of the corner of his eye when Denak walked in, but quickly glanced away when he saw it was Denak. But, Meni hadn’t heard Denak and continued her lecture.

“You know how the mistress is with dirt and mud. I spend all day trying to keep this place clean without a speck of dust.”

As Meni spoke she waved her hands around and gestured as if she was cleaning. Denak began to gesture wildly with his hands and copy Meni’s movements. His motion made the boy raise his head and while he looked in Meni’s direction, Denak could tell that the boy could see him. Denak began to exaggerate Meni’s gestures even more wildly and began moving his mouth mocking her.

“Did you bring the revuihji fruit I asked your mother for?”

“Yes, Meni” the boy reached into his shirt and pulled out several revuihji fruit. One of them looked smashed and another was a little muddy, but the others seemed to have survived his fall into the mud puddle. Meni took the revuihji fruit and placed them on the table beside her.

“If Etana were here he would beat you and then send you home. You are lucky young man that he is not back from Shailem. It’s bad enough that Master Denak acts like a child only three winters old. I don’t have the time to take care of another child. Even if you are younger than he is, you know better. Your parents would be disappointed!”

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“Yes, Meni.”

Denak was enjoying the fact that the boy was being scolded, it made for a great end to an already fabulous prank. But, when Meni compared him to a child, Denak’s dark mood returned quickly and he stopped mocking her. His face darkened for the second time today.

“Meni!”

The old woman stiffened when she heard Denak’s voice. She leaned closer to the boy.

“Now look what you made me do! Get out of here!” Denak heard Meni whisper loudly to the boy. The boy turned to run as Meni turned to face Denak.

“No! Stay here!” Denak commanded the boy and then looked at Meni. “Wait until my mother hears what you said.”

Meni did not look at Denak as she faced him.

“I’m sorry Master Denak, I didn’t…”

“Didn’t know I was standing here?! Of course you didn’t!”

“I’m sorry,…I…I…was just taking care of a problem with this boy.”

“Yes, I know all about his problem. I saw the clumsy urchin fall in a mud puddle this morning. It serves him right for not watching where he was going. I’m surprised my mother even lets someone so stupid work here. In fact, I don’t think he should work here anymore.”

“Oh…Master Denak, please don’t…” Meni looked up at Denak and her normally dark skin seemed to pale.

“Don’t what? Are you saying that I can’t tell someone to leave my own house?”

“His family needs…”

“I don’t care about him or his family!” Denak yelled cutting off Meni. Denak was enjoying this. He wasn’t really that upset about what Meni had said. He could care less about what she thought of him. She was just a servant. But, it was fun to watch her beg. He could see in her eyes that she was afraid for the boy.

“Please, Master Denak, please don’t…”

“You should have thought of that before you spoke. I might act like a child, but I’m not, and this is my house. Just because I haven’t turned sixteen yet, doesn’t mean that I can’t tell you or this boy to leave immediately.”

Denak wasn’t certain that was true. He had never commanded a servant or anyone to leave the house. Even though tomorrow Denak would turn sixteen and become the owner of all of his mother’s holdings, he wasn’t yet sixteen. He doubted his mother would overrule him sending the boy away, but he wasn’t so sure with Meni. Meni had worked for his family since he could remember and his mother liked Meni a lot. Denak looked at the boy standing behind Meni.

“Boy, I don’t want to see you around here again! I want you to leave and make sure you take all the mud you brought with you. I wouldn’t want my mother to be concerned with any mud in her house.”

Meni reached for the revuihji fruit the boy had brought and began to hand them back to the boy.

“No, those stay. He gave them to you, he doesn’t get to take them back.”

“Yes, Master Denak.” Meni sighed and lay the revuihji fruit back on the table.

“Now get out of here, boy!” Denak commanded. The boy quickly turned and began to run.

Denak walked over to the table where the revuihji fruit were, picked up the nicest looking one, grabbed a knife off another table, and walked out of the kitchen grinning to himself.