====== 16 - Among The Commoners ======


Very few people notice the doings of the tiny mouse. Naturally evasive of loud noises, sudden movements, and well lit rooms, the mouse is rarely seen or heard (except for its droppings) and so its doings are counted of little consequence, if they are counted at all. However, because of the very nature and behavior of the mouse, it can be a ubiquitous thing, breeding prodigiously, moving through (or rather beneath) otherwise closed doors, making its nest in any quiet corner, fending for itself upon the refuse of others, capable of doing stealthy acts that larger and more "powerful" creatures would never dare attempt. Although rather diminutive in every way, there is much to be learned concerning many subjects from the humble mouse.

Any commoner in the world of the Convocation could find a special kinship with a mouse. You won't find commoners walking on the same streets as Ladies and Matrons, preferring to frequent areas around working docks and the unkempt edges of the lands of their "betters". In this way, they are not as readily noticed and therefore not considered a threat to those who "matter". For instance, Ladies take no notice of commoners because such people have nothing to do with beauty contests, besides watching them as a diversion. Also, as long as the commoners are providing the required labor and products to feed the requirements of the Convocation, the Matrons are content to basically leave them alone, even tolerating common political aspirations enough to have their Matriarch occasionally preside over an elected Assembly of the Commons that governs much of the lives of these lowly folk. The commoners feed, govern, and manage themselves, as far as Convocation women are concerned, and inasmuch as their presence causes no inconvenience, they are appeased and more often ignored, which suits a common woman or man just fine.

"Here," Mullicynda blurts in haste to Daavor, handing him a blanket. "Hold this."

Now, as one of my somewhat loyal readers, you may be asking yourself how Mulls and Daavor have suddenly appeared in the story together. I am sure they were supposed to be brought together by some strange twists of fate, which is what happened as you may recall, but the actual event that led to their now partnership was quite uneventful. I cannot really get into it this second because this is the time in the birthing process when things move rather quickly.

While Daavor is holding the receiving blanket, Mulls the midwife apprentice is gently and slowly stretching the perineum with the help of the baby's crowning head. The mother is taking orders today from the automated systems of her body, a spectator of sorts as her abdominal muscles do their work of pushing a new life into the world. The flabbergasted father stands by with nothing to do and feeling rather wretched about the things that the laboring woman has just shouted about him, but knowing that he would get a worse tongue-lashing if he fled, he chooses to remain. Daavor's job seemed to include holding things for Mullicynda and helping the father feel some companionship in utter worthlessness at these moments.

"Almost there..." Mulls has learned that her purpose in all of this is to basically be reassuring and to do it often. Being a midwife is the perfect job for a play-by-play commentator with a very smooth voice, mostly watching the miracle unfold before them and reassuring everyone that everything proceeds as it always has in the past. They can do little things to ease the path, if they have a mind to, but it ends up being the mother coming to terms with her commanding body and simply getting the job done. "Just a little more..."

Daavor is the most passive spectator in all of this, not even really knowing this couple who is having a child. He has certainly never seen so much pain and anguish etched in the face of anyone quite like this. Fortunately for everyone, this is the mother's third time at this and her body is relatively accustomed to the procedure. The urge to push washes over the woman once again and she tenses up in obedience, willing ever muscle in her control and every ounce of strength to the command. Never in all his young life has Daavor ever seen anyone put forth this much effort to anything and it immediately demands fear and respect. This would definitely not be the time to have a discussion about the balance of the workload in a household, for the poor man would be slaving away every day of his life just to make up for this solitary act of a woman. He also notices that the father is leaning against him, ready either to faint or to be sick, which acts would still pale in comparison.

Mulls cocks her head, more at something she has only seen a few times as an apprentice. "Okay. One more push should do it." Though she is concentrating on the crowned head, she is waiting for the mother to gather her strength before her body electrifies her to make another effort. I suppose any modern "labor and delivery" room, thoughtless sometimes of nature and sterile as they are, much like a Convocation Lady's birthing experience, would be forcing the issue, trying to get the mother to quicken things up so some golf game can be resumed, but Mullicynda is not that type. These things will happen when they happen.

Suddenly, the head is through the birth canal and the midwife is busy about clearing mouth and nostrils so the tiny new life can manage a breath. "The head is here!" is called in exultation and a growing expectation to the mother that the trauma of childbirth is about to end and she can take a very deserved rest. "Daavor, the blanket!" One last shock for the mother and just as suddenly as the head came forth, the rest of the body moves out and into the blanketed hands of the midwife. All has gone quite well in Mulls' estimation as she hands off the child to the pale and wide-eyed father for cleaning and she is left to handle the last details of the afterbirth. In a moment or two, the father gratefully hands the baby off to its waiting mother, who suckles away heartily at the breast and the deed is basically done.

Daavor is silent in the face of the bringing forth of life. I suppose it still doesn't matter that this is a natural thing and happens all around us on a very regular basis, not just among people but even among the lowly mice. It is still quite humbling to see. Humbler still is a comparison with the mouse. Common women and Convocation Ladies have only one child, perhaps two or three, to struggle through, where the little mouse mother births over and over again, blindly answering the urges of her swollen body to push out children time and again until they are all gone, anywhere from one to twenty! Well, Daavor doesn't know any of this, just as a Lady or Matron doesn't know many of the ways of a commoner. The mouse does her birthing in a hidden nest and, for all practical purposes, a common woman has her children far from the notice or caring of the Convocation.

"Thank you," Mulls whispers as she puts a hand on the young Daavor's arm as they walk slowly down a dusty lane while the last rays of the sun color the sky red and orange. From any standpoint and perspective, this is an exceedingly nice evening. Now that the concentration of birthing is over for a time, we can finally explore just how Mulls and Daavor actually got together and began this ritual of attending to common maternity duties.

I have not been shy in the past concerning coincidences and how it is my belief that God uses such convenient devices to move along his purposes. It is easy to pass such things off because, as little people that have a lot in common with mice, we often are unaware of the machinations of God. For instance, somewhere in her schoolgirl past, Mullicynda had acquired a certain text from the rare book section of the forgotten library that has been mentioned before. In her spare time between the study of the proper use of cosmetics and examination of tawdry poetry, the leather bound book revealed itself as a history of sorts, telling of times and people that were before the Convocation was. As I have said before, it gives insight into a character called the Mariner and is simply titled The Mariner's Log. Over time, this journal has become Mulls' most precious possession and decadent secret, held in reserve for her most private and cherished moments. It was upon one of these extremely private moments that a typically ignored, mouse-like consort-slave found himself as he was adding oil to the lamps in the private quarters of a dame in the household of the Second Countess of Midwifery.

At some point in antiquity, The Mariner's Log had been illuminated by a quite compelling artist and it was to a colorful illustration on the page that Mulls was studying that Daavor's eye was drawn. Of course, the text itself meant nothing to the common man, who couldn't read to save his life, but the depiction of armies in battle, a thing he had never seen in his lifetime, captivated him as nothing before had and his assigned work was forgotten. So while the quiet yet beautiful dame was enthralled in reading the words, the lowly mouse of a consort secretly looked over her shoulder at the pictures.

Anyone can tell you that the close proximity of another person can always be detected, even if they are not in your vision. My oldest daughter, as a very young girl, used this fact in very disturbing ways and very early on a number of mornings. I would be startled awake by her large eyes staring at me quietly, like some expectant vulture patiently waiting for my demise. The first times that this happened, I nearly died of fright and chastised her for scaring me awake, but over several occurrences, I grew accustomed to the way my little girl got my attention of a morning. The fact that someone can actually stare you awake is actually a common phenomenon, as it was in this scene of Mullicynda's and Daavor's budding relationship.

Although Mulls was totally engaged in her reading, which was one of her defining characteristics, it didn't take long for the sensation of someone looking over her shoulder to extract her from her pleasant preoccupation. The girl jerked about to see who the invader was, the young man flinched at the realization of what he had done, and the book snapped shut. She stared at him in guilt in being caught doing forbidden things and he stared at her in expectation of what she would choose to do to him. Of course, both were quite safe, for Daavor had no clue that this young woman was a very gentle and kindly sort, and for Mulls, it was the realization that she was seeing this interesting yet compelling fellow yet again and she found herself pleasantly surprised at yet another hair-raising on the back of the neck. It was an electric moment as the girl's eyes sparkled at him and she smiled broadly instead of jumping with a start and screaming for help.

They could have just moved on as they had so many times before, without comment, but it was the mouse Daavor who found it irresistible to say "Are there any more pictures in that book, ma'am?" Being a kindly-disposed woman, Mulls looked around her quarters to see if any other unexpected visitors had invaded her privacy, reopened the book, and motioned the young man to sit beside her. Very simply, that is how the companionship of Mullicynda and Daavor finally began.

As God continued to quietly weave their lives together through these seeming coincidences, between their various duties, there were more meetings between the generous Mulls and the inquisitive Daavor, more pictures from The Mariner's Log, and even more secrets quietly shared, including the young dame's propensity for practicing her growing midwifery skills secretly for the benefit of common mothers. As they left this latest of their bonding exercises, talking softly to each other, it was Mulls that reached out a hand and took his, as she had seen the commoners do on the streets by the old library.

Daavor was electrified with fear and exhilaration, shaken to the very core. I mean, he was a bit of a Casanova in his heart, but it had never really led anywhere before.  I would record what conversation they had at that moment, but nothing verbal passed between them. The young man looked about to see who might notice the forbidden proximity of a Convocation dame with an unconventional consort, but no one of any consequence seemed to notice and they both were deceivingly dressed as any common couple would be. After many more steps with hands continuing to be held, Daavor finally began to relax and simply enjoyed her touch, whatever it meant to the woman beside him.

"Thank you for being with me." Mullicynda breathed it into the man's ear and started all the mixed feelings stirring all over again.

So, like two mice, unnoticed by the greater beings that planned and plotted and primped not far away, this woman and man held onto each other and their God was very pleased.