29 A push to act

Beth poked the drainage with a stick. She gagged from the smell that emanated from the sewage. She had been assigned cleaning duty again, and this time, there was no Fifty-eight to accompany her work. The girl, she was told, was bedridden with fever. Hence she had no luck lazying around today. It was a bummer. Scrunching her nose in disgust, she peered down the drain. She wondered what the gods ate so much that they had to clean the sewage every single day.

Covering her mouth with her palm, she started scraping the drain with her tool. The sun was hovering right on top of her, beating down on her head with an intensity that topped yesterday's heat. She rested occasionally but took up the tool again when she spotted a god or two passing the bridge. In her time in the lower town, she had learned that slaves who were spotted slacking off received severe punishment. She had received more than her share of it and didn't fancy getting more.

One and her colleagues had appeared quite busy when she went to the minor gods' office in the morning. And for some reason, the cold woman had refused to see her. She knew that something was going on in the place, seeing how the other minor gods were running around being jittery. All she could think about was the incident with the tree. It was worrying how though she had overheard One that day claiming that she knew who the culprit was, the woman hadn't taken any action yet. Either One had bluffed that day, or she was waiting for the right moment.

As she kept scraping the drainage, she spotted two minor gods crossing the bridge. They were talking to each other animatedly. Knowing that this was her chance, Beth made herself sparse and stood to the side, hiding behind a wall. Since the gods thought that they were all alone, their voices increased. It was loud enough for Beth to hear from where she stood. She sharpened her ears and held her breath, listening to their conversation.

"One is quite sure that it is that slave." the first minor god said to the other, "She ordered everyone to stay low for now, just in case the girl gets an idea of our plan."

Beth licked her lips nervously. It seems that the other gods too knew who the culprit was now. That must have been why they were all acting so nervous since the morning, she thought to herself. Time was running out.

"Hmm. We cannot afford her running to the upper town in desperation and telling on us." The other god replied, nodding her head in agreement. "All of us would lose our heads if any of the kings hear about us cutting down the tree."

Ahh! So that was why they haven't taken any action yet. They didn't want to alert her. Now that she knew of their intentions, she had to do something. Even if it was Fifty-eight and not her that they were suspecting, she couldn't sit around and do nothing. She owed the girl, though it was unintentional.

"But I do not understand why One is going through all this trouble and ordering us to look for witnesses." The first god said, shaking his head. "We could just finish the girl off without anyone noticing."

She put a hand over her heart, trying to calm it down from the nervous wreck it was at that moment. A death threat was looming over her head or Fifty-eight's. She tried focusing on the details, pushing her fear to the back of her mind. As far as she knew, One was trying to keep the issue as quiet as possible. Why would she need to find any witnesses? Beth wondered, leaning closer to the wall to hear better.

"Probably because she wants to clear out all evidence, just like the last time." The second god replied with a sigh.

Beth knew that they were talking about the boy who had tried planting a tree before her. She had heard Fifty-eight's version of the story, and it seemed like he got punished severely though she never knew to what extent. Probably, thrown to hell, she thought. But the next sentence made her heart drop.

The first god shook his head. "But last time was different. The king ordered the slave's execution." He said with a grave tone.

"That damned slave." The second god cursed. "Where did she get the seeds of the Winged Golden Pear?" She asked, confused.

"I don't know. I searched in the greenhouse. I didn't find any." The first god replied with a shrug.

Beth's brows scrunched in confusion. how could that be? She remembered seeing the bottle with the name 'Winged Golden Pear' plastered across it. She had only taken a few seeds from the container and had kept the bottle back in its place. Did someone take it after she had left? Whatever the case, she was glad that they couldn't find it. This way, the evidence piled against her was lesser. If she could manage to reach a higher authority before the gods acted, she could probably get out of the accusations with ease. She had to act soon if she were to come out of this alive.

"Let's hope that One wraps it up quick. I'm nervous as it is, with the festival coming up....."

The gods' sounds trailed off as they passed by her without once noticing her presence behind the wall. Beth came out from her hiding place and stared at the receding figures of the minor gods. The threat was closer than she had anticipated. There was no time to waste. She quickly turned around, her eyes searching the place for the spot the tree once stood.

"I need to find evidence for their crime before they decide to act." She murmured as she walked towards the spot.

There was nothing except packed mud at the spot. It was on the same elevation as the rest of the ground. Hence on the first look, one wouldn't find anything suspicious about the place. But Beth knew that she would find something if she looked hard enough. Taking out the small rake from her tool kit, she began to claw the ground.

Knowing that she could be caught in the act if someone passed by, she hurried, putting all her energy into the job. Finally, the metal hit something hard. She threw the rake aside and removed the mud from the spot using her small hands. The corners of her lips rose in a wide smile.

"Just as I thought." She murmured, staring at the white stump that poked out from the ground.