The next morning they all had woken up, eaten their preferred breakfasts, and were soon after all sitting at their chosen sites with the exception of Maelyn. She was sitting at the entrance to the site waiting on the observers they were required to have to finally show up so they could get started on the dig. When they finally started to show up close to lunchtime, she asked the first one to approach, "Are you the Prime Minister's son? Cause we've been waiting to get started on this project since sunlight this morning!"
"I am sorry ma'am but I am not." The person approaching informed her, "I am just a lowly assistant that has been assigned as an observer. "
"Well where is this guy?!" Maelyn barked, "We want to go ahead and get started!"
"I am sorry ma'am but that is not my decision." he said in apology, "Mister Harmon is the prime Minister's son and he is that last one of us down by the gate. I am sorry but he tends to walk slow."
"Well this Mister Harmon is gonna have to learn to walk faster!" Maelyn angrily replied, "And you're gonna get you a reward for being the first one to show up today. You get to work with the team that will most likely be the firs one to discover something! So you go right over there to that team right past the wheelbarrow there. "
As he walked up to the team they started to work as soon as he got five feet away. The other teams started working in the same way as their observer neared. And she continued to assign each new observer to different teams until all of the other teams had an observer and had been able to start working. Then when Mister Harmon Alwuzar finally ambled his way up to Maelyn he was incensed and ordered her and the team yelling out, "Stop this work right now! That preposterous airplane, all these tents, and even those devices you are rolling over that area with you are to be removed RIGHT NOW!"
Maelyn however made a circular gesture with her hand to let her teams know to continue working. A few of the observers started urging the teams they were observing to stop working but continued to observe as they continued to work. Most of the observers instead just shrugged in the direction of the Prime Minister's son and let their teams continue to work uninterrupted. In return, Maelyn told him, "Look here little Anton's son! If you wanted to check everything out and made sure it all met your approval before we started working then you should have been the FIRST one here this morning instead of the LAST. Also, we were kind enough to wait until you got here today to start our work. However, from here on out you will have to wake your butt up a bit earlier and learn how to move them legs a bit faster! Cause my crews ALWAYS start at sunrise EVERY DAY and if their observer isn't here when it's time to start then that observer is gonna be the one getting in trouble by you. NOT my crew! Are we clear?!"
"This entire area is considered a historical site and what I say goes!" Harmon objected, "And I didn't approve those things they're rolling around and I REFUSE to allow those tents and THAT AIRPLANE to remain ON THIS SITE!"
"If you insist." Maelyn replied with a grin. She then hollered to her crew, "Pack it up!" then she spotted the messenger from yesterday down near the edge of the city nearby and yelled in a louder voice, "MIKAEL! MESSENGER!"
Standing facing her poised looking haughty, Harmon smirked as he told her, "Yes. We will need a messenger here to report back to the Prime Minister that you have already violated this historical site and I had to correct your erroneous ways!"
As Mikael walked up and before Harmon could dictate his own message, Maelyn told him, "Mikael, thank you for coming so quickly. You need to show little Anton's son Harmon here how to at least do that power walking thing you do because I doubt he'd be able to run even ten feet before passing out. Now, before he gives you his own version that will undoubtedly make him appear like the prodigal son that stopped us from continuing to defile this site by daring to breath without his permission, please go and tell Prime Minister Anton that his son has cancelled the agreement me and him set up last night and that he has ordered us to remove ourselves from the sight and so I must regrettably bid my farewells."
"WHAT?! WAIT!" Harmon ordered Mikael as he turned to hear him, "I want you to tell him that the agreement set forth by Congress was for the archeologists and their essential equipment ONLY and that is why I have ordered the removal of the airplane and the tents they had placed on this site in our absence! And tell him that I have NOT ordered them to remove themselves from this project!"
"Oh but you have!" Maelyn informed him with a grin, "First off, You ordered the removal of the airplane. That is how we got here and so where it goes we go. Second offense was you ordering the removal of the tents. Yes we are sleeping in a couple of them, but the rest are needed to SAFELY clean, inspect, and keep preserved any and all artifacts removed from the site for closer examination and documentation. Third, the EQUIPMENT that you have ordered off the site is what is ESSENTIAL to scanning and documenting what we are trying to uncover and, WITHOUT IT, we would be in danger of damaging it by not knowing it was underneath the next layer of rock. SO, if you want to continue to throw your authority around and show off your position without being FULLY AWARE of each situation, then I will GLADLY let you explain to your father how YOUR EGO cost him a project he has been begging ME to do for the past TEN YEARS! Because my lineage makes me the ONLY archeologist your government will allow to even TOUCH that palace. So me and my crew are going to pack everything up and let you go try to explain your actions to your father Prime Minister Anton! Now GOODBYE!"
After a second of shock as he processed what she had said and realized that she had already cleared everything with is father that he was trying to use against them, Harmon begged Maelyn as she walked away towards their tents, "Wait! Please wait! I didn't know you had already cleared everything with Prime Minister Anton! Please wait!"
She continued to walk towards the tents until one of the other observers turned to her and apologized, "I'm sorry ma'am. I tried to tell my father that you had met with grandpa but he didn't think it was going to be important and disregarded my warning and it lead to this. I'm sorry."
Stopping she turned to him and replied, "Thank you for your apology Abjul. I am sorry that your father has more pride than he has sense but maybe after today he will learn to open his eyes and his ears to what is really going on instead of relying on his ego to narrate events to him."
"I don't know about all of that ma'am, but thank you. I have enjoyed working with you for this brief time father allowed."
Finally catching enough of his breath to admonish Abjul, Harmon barked, "Abjul! It is not your place to talk to your superiors! You are being paid to observe NOT to TALK!"
Still irritated at Harmon and even more frustrated at him admonishing one of the observers for being nice, Maelyn turned to him and rebuked him saying, "YOU are the one that needs to learn how to do more OBSERVING and less TALKING! Cause every word that comes out of that bag of hot air you've got on those shoulders is so full of that stinking EGO that if you closed that mouth more you'd probably do us ALL a favor and float away! Now if you want us to make YOU happy we're gonna pack up and leave RIGHT THIS MINUTE! But if you want to make your father PRIME MINISTER Anton happy, you will learn to CLOSE YOUR MOUTH and open YOUR EYES! So you take a minute to put that inflated ego in it's place and then you can come find me and let me know if you're gonna listen to YOUR superiors or if you're gonna let that bag of hot air to keep getting in the way and end up getting popped by your father when he assigns you to observing us washing dishes after supper every night instead of us doing actual archeology!" She then nodded to Abjul who was trying his best not to grin or laugh at his father getting put in check and continued walking at an even faster pace.
Getting to the tents she then started to take them down one by one and continued to ignore Harmon's pleading. She would even thank each of the other observers as they accompanied their teams as they brought their tools back to the tents. Finally, as she was finishing folding up the tent she had started with, Mikael came running back up to them from having run to deliver the messages from Maelyn and Harmon to the Prime Minister. Turning to him, she gave him a second to catch his breath and asked, "So what's the news Mikael?"
Having caught his breath, Mikael stood up straight in a formal position and replied, "Prime Minister Anton Alwuzar has heard both messages sent to him and his reply to Miss Maelyn Khadim is: I am sorry Miss Khadim for my son's unruly behaviour! Please continue with your project in due haste and I assure you that I will correct this issue to enable you to work UNHINDERED by any extraneous matters.
His reply to Secondary Minister Harmon Alwuzar is as follows: Harmon you dimwit! This lady holds the key to us finally being able to end the stagnation Altinyn has endured due to being unable to anoint the next King! Therefore you will ALLOW these people to DO THIER WORK and not interfere with their duties until they are ready to open the palace! And then you will only make them pause until I can be there PERSONALLY! I also expect you to be at the palace ON TIME every morning! MAELYN KHADIM will determine the work schedule for this project NOT YOU!
Those are the formal messages dictated by Prime Minister Anton. He also wished me to let you know Miss Khadim, that due to the delay and miscommunication caused by Second Minister Harmon he is treating all of you to a dinner tonight that will be served by the Tamm Bakery. He would like to treat you all to it fresh out the oven at the bakery itself, but has said that he will have it delivered to these tents if you would prefer."
"Thank you Mikael." Maelyn told him, "Let him know that today we will make sure to be at the bakery thirty minutes after sunset today. And tell him I said thank you for correcting the problem and making sure everyone was on the same page as we were on."
Incensed at being chastised by his father in public, Harmon replied, "Tahia! Let my father know that I understand and will obediently comply with his orders as wished!" He then turned to his son and, trying to reassert his superiority, ordered, "Abjul! For being so impertinent and talking so familiarly with a superior you are to observe Miss Khadim and will be the one to empty those wheelbarrows they are filing with dirt and rocks up to the top of the mountain instead of doing like those other teams were doing and carrying it up there themselves! And you are also to inspect each rock for ANYTHING that came off with those rocks that belongs on whatever they are uncovering!"