Now, I don't mind being in the when's service. It pays well, I eat heartily, and she is very kind. But I am a Lamanite. This man is a Nephite. Our peoples are sworn enemies. It has been so for generations. So when he asked to be a servant to the King, we all thought he was crazy. And then when the King assigned him to watch his sheep, we thought he was dead.
We had been losing dozens of sheep to some bandits and the King, frustrated by this loss of wealth, had executed all those who were guarding the sheep any time the bandits came. So assigning the Nephite to the fields was as good as killing him on the spot.
His first day in the field, I had taken a basket of the queen'so ribes to the stream for washing. I was curious about this Nephite. Everyone was. I settled by the stream behind a bush where I could see but not be seen and I began my washing.
It was not long before the bandits came agsin, blowing their horns, screaming their war cries, and beating their clubs against their hands. It's no wonder the sheep fled. I was scared, too. I couldn't move for fear they would see me and attack me. I stayed hidden and I watched as the Nephite took charge. None of the men sent with him ran, as so many before them had. When the bandits drew back to find the scattered sheep, the Nephite sent his men to find the sheep first. They found them all and brought them together again. When the second charge came, he sent them to guard the sheep while he stepped away, toward the bandits. He took them on alone.
It was watching him protect the sheep that I realized he was sent by God. He must have been a messenger of the Lord, protected by Him, to fend off so many without even a scratch. It was not his strength but the Lord's who cut off the arms of his attackers.
I knew the time had finally come. I didn't have to keep my secret any longer. Ever since I was a child, I had believed in the Nephite God. My father, having had a vision, taught me the truth of God, His power, His wisdom. And yet, as a Lamanite, I could never speak of my knowledge. But my father said that one day a Nephite would come and lead our people to the light. And this was him. He had finally come.
By the time I had gathered my wits about me and the queen's linens into my basket, all the men had gone. I had spent the whole day in hiding, afraid that the surviving bandits might return or that some left for dead might only be injured and attack me in anger or pain.
I tried to return to the queen's rooms but the doors to the royal household were shut and the guards refused to give me entrance. I went home and tried to sleep, but I was too excited. The time had come.
Morning came and as soon as I woke I hurried to my lady's chambers. She was alone. She was crying. Never before would I have approached her in this state. Clearly none of my peers would either. But at that moment I felt a hand on my back, pushing me to comfort my queen.
I asked her why she cried and she told me of the events of the previous night, why the guards permitted no one. The King was struck down. Some believed him dead. He was not dead. I don't know why I said it, but I did. I don't know why she believed me, but she did. Together we sat while the day passed around us. I slept in the queen's rooms that night. No one questioned it.
The next day I was woken by the sound of arguing. Some of the King's servants had come to tell the Queen her husband needed to be prepared for burial. She refused to believe he was dead. She turned them away and I crept quietly to her side. I told her to ask the Nephite to help him. It was after hearing him speak that the King collapsed. Perhaps the Nephite could help.
She called for him and he came. I stood in a corner and listened as she asked for his help. His voice was so strange. He was a servant from a foreign land, speaking to a queen. He should have been meek and lowly. He should have cowered before her. But he spoke to her like an equal. He was kind and caring, but bold and straightforward. He told her the King would rise in the morning.
It was a lonely night. The Queen stayed by the King's side. I waited on her. I didn't sleep. I just waited.
The sun rose. The King rose.
He spoke of God. The spirit of the Lord filled the hall around us as he spoke. He spoke of the Lord who would come. He spoke of the great sacrifice. He spoke truth. And then he prayed. He prayed and he fell. The queen prayed and she fell. The Nephite prayed. He prayed with so much joy. He thanked God for the Lamanites. For us. The enemies of his people. And he fell for joy. Then, one by one, the spirit of God overtook everyone in the hall until I am the only one left.
The time has come for me to share the light. God has come to the Lamanites. It is time.
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