I am Abish. I wash the clothing of the
Queen. I was there when they brought in the Nephite. He was tied and gagged.
They treated him like he was a captive, but he showed no signs of struggling.
He just walked in behind them as calmly as if he were one of us. I have seen
many Nephite captives before they are executed, but this man was different. He
was not afraid. He did not try to escape. And then he told the King he wanted
to be his servant.
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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