“And your parents are?” Prince Zigmārs asked.
“Vitālijs and Beāte Eglītis,” Miķelis replied. “I also have six brothers and two brothers-in-law who serve in the army still. The youngest of my brothers, Valentīns, vouched for me when I came.”
Prince Zigmārs looked more impressed at the quantity of relations Miķelis cited than he had at Miķelis’ attestation of morning prayers. He nodded.
“And also, my lord,” Miķelis replied. “This morning, when I heard Genādijs’ oaths, I did not take the candle back with me, I snuffed it in the tent, it should still be in tent six hundred twenty four.”
“Ainārs,” Prince Zigmārs said. “Please check this.”
“Yes, my lord,” the attendant said quietly, departing quickly.
“Shall I continue as you wait, my lord?” Miķelis asked.
“Yes,” Prince Zigmārs replied.
“Just as I had reached the tent door, I heard the sound of scissors being opened and closed,” Miķelis continued. “I suspected at once harm to garments or hair, and so slipped in quietly, jumping Genādijs, with whom I struggled for control of the scissors for some time before Genādijs struck me with a blow.”
He indicated the side of his head on which the blow had been landed.
“I was momentarily stunned and loosened my grip on his arm,” Miķelis went on. “He took advantage of this and thrust his arm toward Kristiāns’ cot. I grabbed his arm close to the elbow, but I couldn’t stop him from lifting his arm and plunging it down, which caused Kristiāns to shout in pain.”
Seeing motion, Miķelis looked up and saw the attendant jogging back. The others turned to watch him jog the final metres.
“There is a candle in tent six hundred twenty four, my lord,” the attendant reported. “Also, the grass is depressed in a shape consistent with someone being seated as he is now.”
“Thank you, Ainārs,” Prince Zigmārs said. “Now continue.”
“Since I have spent a good deal of time with Kristiāns, as he has been graciously kind in showing me around and as seemed himself quite glad of my companionship as a welcome escape from Genādijs’ negativity, I was not pleased to hear the pain in his shout,” Miķelis continued. “As a result, I set myself upon Genādijs with undue violence, forcing him to the ground in an unnatural position, and striking him with several heavy blows before another pained utterance of Kristiāns caused me to stop and to realise that I had let my passions get the better of me. I turned my attention to alleviating Kristiāns’ pain, at which point the guards arrived.”
“You regret what you have done?” Prince Zigmārs asked.
“Yes, my lord,” Miķelis replied. “I do not believe that Genādijs was right to be trying to do ill upon myself or Kristiāns, but even in his stabbing Kristiāns, I don’t believe that my violence was justified, for the Scriptures urge us not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good. In that moment, I believe I was overcome with evil, wanting to harm Genādijs in return for his having harmed Kristiāns.”
Pronunciations:
Zigmārs: zihgmahrs
Vitālijs: vihtahlees
Beāte: behahteh
Ainārs: aynahrs
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