“For what? For being amazing?” Liv managed a smile and gave her a hug. “Don’t ever be sorry for that.”
That calmed Aislin down quickly. The spilled water quit steaming. Liv blinked and said, “It’s going away now. That’s good.”
A door opened, and Opus emerged. He glanced briefly at the remains of the barrel, and then his gaze turned to the girls. He walked over to them.
“I believe the macht will want to speak with you, young miss,” he said to Aislin. He bowed slightly and gestured at the palace. “If you would come with me?”
Aislin and Liv climbed down off the wall and followed Opus as he headed for the palace. “How did he know?” Aislin whispered to her friend.
“He always knows,” Liv whispered back. “I don’t know how, but he always does.”
They entered the palace, and Aislin began to feel a mounting dread. What would Rome say? Would he be really mad? More than ever she wished she were somewhere else.
She realized Liv was talking and tried to make herself listen.
“…and this one time I was playing in one of the bedrooms hardly anyone ever uses, and I broke this little glass figurine that was on this table. I shoved the pieces under the bed. I thought no one would ever know, but the next day Opus showed up, and he had the pieces, and he knew I did it. I still don’t know how he knew. It’s like he has magic or something.”
She barely paused before heading into her next story. Aislin tried to listen, but she couldn’t. She was getting more and more nervous with every step. Her knees were shaking and all she could think about was running. She probably would have run for it, but she didn’t know this part of the palace very well, and she wasn’t sure she could find the way out. Being lost and wandering the halls would only make everything worse.
Opus led them to a pair of large, fancy doors that were carved with some kind of mythical creatures with gems for eyes and golden teeth. There were two men guarding the doors. They were wearing brightly polished breastplates chased in gold, helmets that matched, and black uniforms with Rome’s wolf head symbol stitched on their cloaks.
When Aislin saw that, her heart sank even further.
One of the guards opened the doors, and Opus motioned the girls to follow him through. Aislin froze and stared wildly about for an escape. She probably would have run then, if Liv hadn’t taken hold of her hand.
“It’s okay. It’s only the throne room. Come on.” She pulled Aislin after her through the doors, which closed behind them with a hollow boom.
The room was huge. Tall windows in the far wall let light in, reflecting off polished marble floors and lighting up the huge tapestries that hung on the walls. Copper-clad columns rose to a ceiling far overhead that was covered with an elaborate mural.
At the far end of the room was the dais with the throne on it. Wulf Rome sat on the throne. Beside him stood Quyloc, the chancellor seal hanging around his neck. Beside him stood Brecken. A half dozen guards stood at attention along the sides of the room. At the foot of the dais to one side sat a scribe, a portable writing desk balanced on his knees. Several men in rich clothing stood before the throne, one of them gesturing as he talked.
The men concluded their business and walked away as Opus and the girls approached. Somehow Aislin made it to the edge of the dais without tripping or panicking and running away. She’d never seen the macht look so…so much like a king before. He was wearing the crown, a simple band of gold that somehow looked very impressive on him. He wore a black leather tunic and black pants tucked into black boots that were shined to a high gloss. And when he looked at her there was no sign of his usual devilish grin.
“Approach,” Quyloc said to Opus, who bowed and stepped up onto the dais. In a low voice that Aislin couldn’t hear, he spoke to the two men. Then he bowed again and left the room. Quyloc bent over the throne, and he and Rome conferred for a moment in low voices, then Quyloc turned to Aislin.
“Opus tells us you had a mishap recently. Some damage was done, though no one was hurt. What do you have to say for yourself?”
Aislin’s mouth went dry, so dry she couldn’t swallow or speak. She lowered her eyes and stared at her feet. She felt terribly small and stupid. Why, oh why did she have to show off? What was she thinking?
On a table nearby stood a number of bottles, several glasses and a pitcher, a servant in livery waiting beside it. The bottles and pitcher began to vibrate. There were clinking sounds as the bottles rattled against each other.
Rome looked at the table and exchanged a glance with Quyloc. “Hey, easy now, Aislin,” he said. He stood up, started toward her, then turned back, took off his crown and put it on the throne. He came down off the dais and squatted down before her. “It’s okay. No one’s going to yell at you. We only want to talk.”
Aislin squeezed her eyes shut and tried futilely to stop herself from trembling.
Rome reached out, put his fingers under her chin, and gently lifted it. She opened her eyes.
“It’s normal to do what you did. Who doesn’t want to show off a little for their friends now and then?” He glanced over his shoulder at Quyloc, who had moved closer. “Except for Quyloc, of course.” In a loud whisper he said, “He’s not normal. Don’t tell anyone. If I hadn’t been there to see it, I’d think he was never a kid at all.”
Aislin’s fear subsided slightly. The bottles stopped rattling.
“I didn’t mean to,” she said in a small voice.
Rome grinned. “I know that. In fact, I bet I know what happened.” He gave Liv a look of mock sternness. “Someone egged you on. ‘Do it again! Do it again!’” He looked back at Aislin. “Am I right?”
“Daddy!” Liv said.
“Are you telling me that’s not what happened?”
Liv winced. “Well…”
Rome turned back to Aislin. “We just want to make sure no one gets hurt. That’s all. I’m sure that’s what you want too.”
Aislin nodded vigorously.
“So how about this? Keep the fireworks down at the sea where there aren’t so many people around. Can you do that?”
Aislin nodded again.
“Maybe we’ll all come down and watch one day. How about that?”
Aislin took a small step back and shook her head.
“Okay, bad idea. Maybe only Quyloc and me. In a few days.” Rome stood up, his knees popping loudly.
“You’re getting too fat, Daddy,” Liv said.
“It’s all muscle. Let me show you.” He snatched Liv up and swung her around while she squealed with delight.
When he set her back down, she smoothed her hair and said, “Really, Daddy. I’m much too old for that.” But her eyes were sparkling.
“We will come down. It is important that we know what you are capable of,” Quyloc said. “For the time that is coming.”
He sounded so somber and serious that even Liv’s smile faded.
╬ ╬ ╬
“All in all, that went pretty well, don’t you think?” Liv said after they left.
Aislin gave her a sidelong look. She still felt like running.
“I thought we were going to get into lots of trouble, but in the end it was nothing.” Liv tossed her hair casually.
“It was terrible.”
Liv laughed and put an arm around her. “I can see you don’t have much experience getting into trouble. Not if you think that was terrible. You should have seen how my mother acted when I accidentally kicked over one of the paint pots when the workers were repainting the dining hall. She was so mad!” She chuckled. “There was paint everywhere. One of the men fell down in it. I couldn’t stop laughing.”
“You think this is fun? Getting into trouble?”
“Maybe not fun. Or at least not all the time. But it’s better than being bored.”
It occurred to Aislin that she and Liv were nothing alike. She wondered why Liv liked being her friend. There were plenty of other children around. Why didn’t she play with them?
“Did A
nelda say when your dress would be ready?” Liv asked. “Or do you still not want to talk about dresses?”
“Dress?” Aislin asked, having trouble making the switch to a new topic.
“Dress. Women wear them, remember?” Liv said with a smile. “I can’t wait to see it.”
“She didn’t say.”
“Better not bug her too often,” Liv said. “When she was making mine, I went by every day to ask her about it. Finally, she yelled at me and threw an empty spool at my head. Almost got me too.” Liv grinned at the memory. “I love that old lady.”
“You…like her?”
“I do. She doesn’t care about anything or what anybody thinks.”
“But she was mean to you.”
Liv shrugged. “Better than pretending to be nice to me because I’m the princess.” Liv pivoted to a new topic. “How are you going to do your hair?”
Aislin looked at her in alarm. “I have to do something to my hair too?”
“Of course, silly. What did you think, that you could go like that?”
Aislin’s hand rose to touch her hair. Her heart fell at the thought that she’d have to endure some new torture now.
Liv must have seen how she felt from her expression, because she quickly said, “Don’t worry, with hair like yours, I’m sure whatever you do will look incredible.” She touched Aislin’s hair. “I’d kill to have hair like yours. I don’t know how you do it.”
“I don’t do anything.” The truth was, Aislin had never given the slightest thought to her hair before. At least not until now.
“Now you’re being mean,” Liv said.
“I am? Why?”
But Liv was already off on another topic, happily prattling away while Aislin tried to keep up with her. They came around a corner, and Liv came to a stop suddenly, putting out her hand to stop Aislin too. She pulled her back around the corner and then peeked around it.
“Ugh, let’s go a different way,” Liv said, making a face.
“Why?”
“I hate those girls.” She pointed at three girls who were standing in a cluster outside an open door. Aislin didn’t know them. They looked to be a couple years older than Liv and Aislin. “They’re so mean. That one in the middle, the tall one with the black hair? That’s Tessa. She acts like she’s my friend, but I know what she says about me when I’m not there. One of the servants told me. She says I’m low born, little better than a farm girl.”
“Is that bad?” Aislin asked. There was so much she didn’t understand. “What’s wrong with being a farm girl?”
“I said it wrong. There’s nothing wrong with being a farm girl. But it’s the way she says it. She acts like she’s so much better than everyone else. I wish she wasn’t coming to my party. I wish none of them were. But Mother said I had to invite them because their parents are rich and important. I think that’s dumb. Daddy is the macht. Who could be more important than that? But Mother said it’s part of being a princess. You have to do things you don’t want to sometimes.”
Aislin had never even considered the things Liv was talking about. Once again she found herself glad that she wasn’t a princess. She didn’t want to be anything at all. Dresses and hair?
“You want to know why Tessa is going to my party? The real reason? She likes Brecken. She wants to impress him.” Liv made a disgusted sound.
Right then Aislin decided she didn’t like Tessa either.
“The worst part?” Liv continued. “She doesn’t like Brecken. She only likes that he will be macht someday. She wants to be queen and push everyone around.” She pulled Aislin back the way they had come. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before they see us.”
Chapter Twenty-two
When Aislin reached Anelda’s apartments she hurried through the outer room with its spooky dummies, pushed through the curtain and into the brightly-lit sewing room. Anelda was sitting at the low table by the window, bent over, sewing. Aislin stopped partway across the room, unsure what to do. Long moments passed, and the old woman never acknowledged her. Maybe she hadn’t heard her come in.
“Hello?” Aislin said hesitantly. When Anelda didn’t respond she tried again, louder. “Hello?”
“Settle down,” Anelda snapped. “I’ll get to you. Can’t you see I’m busy?”
Aislin shifted restlessly from one foot to the other and looked around the room. It was unbelievably cluttered. She didn’t know how Anelda found anything. Every table was stacked with things. The shelves were stuffed. There was a cabinet that was so full the doors wouldn’t close. What would it be like to spend every day in here? She thought she would go crazy.
At last Anelda stood up. Aislin realized that she’d been working on her dress the whole time. At least she thought it was hers. It was the same fabric anyway.
“Don’t stand there gawking, child. Hop up there, and let’s see how this fits you,” Anelda said in her raspy voice.
Aislin got up on the little pedestal.
“Put your arms up over your head.” Anelda slid the dress down over her head and plucked it into place. Aislin shifted around, trying to get a good look at the dress to see how it looked on her.
“Quit squirming, child,” Anelda said, pinching her on the arm.
“But I want to see how it looks.”
“You will. When I say it’s time.” Anelda walked around her, examining the dress critically. “Hmm,” she said. On her wrist was a little cushion with a bunch of pins stuck in it. She took some pins from the cushion and pinned the dress in a couple of places. Again, Aislin shifted, trying to see what she was doing.
“Hold still, child. Otherwise, this could happen.” She jabbed Aislin with a pin.
Aislin jumped. “Ow! Why did you do that?”
“To show you what would happen if you don’t hold still.”
“Couldn’t you just tell me?” Aislin said, rubbing the spot.
“I could, but you wouldn’t have listened. Young people never do. You have to get their attention first and this—” She held up the pin. “—is a good way to get it.”
“You’re not very nice.”
“But then it’s not my job to be nice, is it? It’s my job to make dresses.”
“Being nice isn’t a job.”
“And that’s where you and I disagree. Being nice is the hardest of jobs and one I gave up a long time ago. It takes too much effort.”
Aislin didn’t know how to respond to that, so she didn’t try. Carefully, trying not to move, she looked down at the dress. It was a really pretty color, that was for sure. But she wasn’t sure how she felt about it other than that. The sleeves were short and kind of puffy, with lace at the ends. There were buttons down the front, but when she pulled at one she realized they weren’t real buttons.
“You’re moving again.”
“These aren’t real buttons. They don’t come open.”
“No, they don’t.”
“Then why are they there?”
“Same reason the lace is. Decoration.”
Aislin frowned. “I still don’t understand.”
“Think of yourself as a flower, child. And this boy you like, he’s a bee. What bee wants an old, dusty flower with no color?”
Aislin pondered this. It still didn’t make any sense to her, but she resolved to not say anything more about it.
Anelda stood back and studied her with a critical air. She nodded. “It looks like I did it again.” She looked at Aislin. “You’re going to have so many bees swarming around you.”
Aislin didn’t like the sound of that. There was only one boy she wanted to notice her, and yet, at the same time, she didn’t want him to notice her either. Why did she feel this way? She had a sudden urge to ask Anelda about it. She was so old. She must know the answers to a great many things.
Then, to her horror, Anelda got a big smile on her face and said, “I know that look. You want this boy to notice you, but you also are afraid that he will.”
“What? No. How did you know?�
�
Anelda came closer. “I’ll let you in on a secret. I was a little girl once too.” She tapped her temple. “I still remember.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Oh, then how is it?”
“I’m only going to the party because Liv wants me to.”
Anelda nodded, grinning wickedly. “Sure. That’s all it is.”
“Are we done yet? Can I go now?”
Anelda was still laughing when Aislin fled the room.
Chapter Twenty-three
Rome and Quyloc were sitting at the table in the map room. The windows were open, and a breeze riffled the maps littering the table. With them was a man with bushy red hair and a giant red beard. He was dressed in buckskin stained from years on the road. On the table before him was a broad-brimmed leather hat, covered in dust.
“I came straight here,” the man said. “I knew you’d want this information as quickly as possible.”
“You told his chief about my offer, Roland?” Rome asked.
Roland—the man known as Firehair to the Sertithians—nodded. “I did.”
“I gave you permission to increase the offer,” Quyloc said.
“I know. I didn’t bother,” Roland said.
Quyloc frowned. “Why not?”
Roland scratched his beard, and a shadow crossed his face. “They’ve got problems up there on the steppes. Big problems. The terl isn’t going to let his tlacti leave now. Not a chance.”
Rome leaned forward. “What kind of problems?”
“An old friend of yours has resurfaced. A certain Guardian known as Kasai.”
“Kasai has invaded the steppes?” Quyloc said. He and Rome exchanged a look. A suddenly active Kasai wasn’t a good sign.
“I don’t know that I’d call it an invasion. Not yet anyway. More like exploratory probes, it seems like.”
“This isn’t good,” Rome said. “Kasai’s been quiet for years. Why is he moving now? What’s on the steppes that he wants?”
Roland shrugged. “I have no idea. I’ll tell you one thing, though. I have a hunch he feels threatened by the boy, Karliss. It looks to me like Kasai is targeting him.”
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