by Pam Uphoff
Lily huffed out her breath and rolled her shoulders. "I hate digging through archives. Especially tracing Royals for the last seven generations."
"Seven generations?"
"The Council wants to be thorough. And it's your fault, Xen. Well, yours and Fossi's. Good grief, apparently Leano had a Travelers' Pledging with his mother. Which is not a registered, legal marriage anywhere except in the minds of Travelers. But that local custom clause in the articles . . . They got a legal annulment, but that's almost an admission that Fossi isn't illegitimate. So local customs . . . and Rebo's sixteen bastards, and that . . . pseudo marriage ceremony with Lady Eden. Not to mention any possible future children engendered during that last orgy. Argh!"
Xen tried to repress a smile. Or maybe a smirk.
Lily glared. "So I'm having to add the Spear Prince descendants and all the bastards to the total pool of possible heirs. And including descent through female lines, thank you, Xen. So I'm back with Haro and his older half brother Heso, and every child they ever admitted was theirs, in or out of marriage, and noting the customs of their mothers. Bloody hell. I knew the Royals had a reputation for getting around, but this is ridiculous. King Leano's cluster has eight, without counting Rebo's possible children. Add Rufi's, of which you are apparently the only boy, not counting your children, because, well . . . who knows? Two that you know of."
Xen tried to look innocent. "Only one them is a boy, and definitely illegitimate."
"So in any case, I need something on paper about your local customs. I need a family tree for you. And Janic says you've got signature authority over some family company? I need information. Something I can take to the Council's emergency panel. Please don't make me tell them your dad is the God of War."
Xen snickered. "You know if they pick me it'll just be temporary. If Staven doesn't recover sufficiently to satisfy the Council, they'll find one of the younger kids acceptable and shift Garit up to Spear."
"At least Leano and Rufi don't have any more siblings, thank you, King Rebo, but his father, King Haro had three wives, with his last daughter born posthumously and younger than Leano and Rufi . . . She's the mother of Marshall Byson Trehem, so he and all his kids are in the pot. There's the younger sister of the Marshall too, she died last year. But she was the Council President's wife, and Lord Fidel is also the son of a son of a son of General Heso so there's a double connection for his two sons. And so it goes, back all the way to the Founders. I came up with two hundred and forty-nine living descendants."
She snorted. "So now, Gods help me, I'm calculating percent royal blood, assuming a fifty percent drop in each generation." She tapped her fingernails on the table. "In two colors of ink, for the straight male line, versus the female descent."
"It would be a whole lot simpler if they'd just name Mirk the heir and have done with it. How many actual straight male line heirs are there?" Xen asked.
"Probably legitimately born? eighteen. Twenty adding Lady Eden's twins. But if we ignore them, and look only at the men under forty-two—Prince Rolo's age and younger—we're, thank the Traveler, down to only eight men. And either one or three babies, depending on Rebo and Eden'd marriage or lack thereof. The short list, so to speak. And the lawyers will have fun fighting over Lady Eden's twins."
Xen nodded. "I suspect that will be the biggest legal battle. What order do all these people come in?"
"Heh. Start the fight right off. Because if Rebo and Lady Eden's marriage is legally sound, her twins top the list. I don't even know their names."
"Irwun and Alin." Xen hesitated. "I don't know which one was born first. I'll ask, the next time I'm in Ash."
"Thanks. I think. But without them, or after them, Mirk and his baby boy, Kel. Then Garit. They've got five sisters, who have four sons between them. Brant, Jek, Wilco and Monte. In that order." Lily glowered at him. "That's all of Leano's male descendants—to date. Then we jump to Rufi, who has some large number of daughters, granddaughters, and great granddaughters and a single Great Grandson, some fellow by the name of Xen Wolfson."
Xen snickered. "Three daughters, six granddaughters, three great granddaughters. So far."
"Yes. Every single person on the list can procreate and make my job harder." Lily shook her head. "Should have sicced Easterly's memory on these records. That's all of Old King Rebo's male descendants. So we jump up to his father's other descendants. King Haro's eldest son was Spear Kersh. Two sons, two grandsons, eight great granddaughters. The grandsons are still alive."
Xen got up and grabbed paper and pen.
"Haro's third son, Benni Negue had three sons, four grandsons, six great granddaughters. A possible dead end. Haro's fourth son has two sons, Flandry and Franki, aged fifty-four and thirty-one. Neither married."
"I think I see why you're going back so many generations."
"Yes. Well Haro had two daughters. One is the mother of Marshall Byson Trehem, who has two sons."
"Right. Baylor and his older brother."
"The other daughter married the only male descendant of Haro's Spear. Heso the Iron Man."
"Ah, Lord Fidel Iron, the Council President, and he's got two sons. Right?"
"Right, Farit and Thomu."
"Hang on. Now, for Heirs Tertiary. I mean, Rolo's only forty-two himself, you need someone at least not more than a few years older."
"Preferably substantially younger. Even Mirk, at thirty-eight, is really too old to succeed his brother. And personally, I'd drop three others for the same reason."
"Oh, I don't know. Garit's only twenty-two. Those fortyish types would be good mature, responsible . . . "
Lily shook a finger at him. "Stop trying to save Garit from a fate worse than death. He's nearly certain to wind up as either Spear or Crown Heir."
"It seems to me that you all ought to wait and see how far Staven recovers. As the confirmed Spear Heir, you may just need to add a Crown Heir, like, say, Mirk who is already known by the whole of the administration and council, and you're done."
"Xen, a boy with a year's more experience than you cannot lead the entire military of the Kingdom. He's what, three or four months younger than you are, and you are an untested baby, as far as the army is concerned."
"Granted, but Rufi's going strong, and Fossi's so high up the command structure that it's unlikely he'll be killed in battle." Xen received a glare. "All right, Staven needed more experience at the field level, before being promoted. So, what about the younger Irons?"
"Farit is twenty-four and Thomu nineteen. He's just now finished his two year rotation."
"And then there's all the little kids with varying degrees of claim . . . the other claimants don't seem to have contributed to that mess." Xen raised eyebrows at Lily.
"Lots of daughters, no living sons from the lot of them."
"That's going to make them a bit unappetizing, isn't it? They're just a detour down a dead end." Xen wrinkled his nose. "So realistically it's Mirk, Garit, Staven, Franki, Farit and Thomu? Young enough to be Rolo's heir, and five of them good marriage prospects . . . and Mirk already has one son, for the next spear. Otherwise we'll have to jump down to the little kids?"
"You know, Rufi is totally chuffed about having you in the lineup. Says that his daughter, granddaughters and a certain great-grandson are clearly legitimately born to Ash Witches."
Xen shook his head. "Nope. Me turning out to be male is quite clearly irregular. Ha! Saved!"
"Ha. Good try. But even though I'm faint with hunger, I'm not letting you off the hook. Why don't you take me to dinner at this Tavern of yours, and tell me all about yourself over dinner?"
Chapter Fourteen
Winter 1393, day 9
Crossroads, Section 1, Foothills Province
They were chatting with Flare in the kitchen when the front door crashed open.
"Harry! Where are you?"
Xen's head jerked around at the voice. "Oh crap! I'm not here!" He stepped through the open door down to the wine cellar. Peeked through the
crack between the hinges.
Lily raised her eyebrows, but stepped behind the work table. This both concealed her uniform pants and put her within reach of a veritable armory of knives and choppers.
Flare was elbow deep in bread dough. When the kitchen door slammed open, she just looked around in mild surprise.
"Where's Harry?" Her glinting deep brown eyes searched the room as if they expected to find him hiding.
Xen heard the back door open. Harry must have stuck his head in.
"Mercy! You're back."
"Harry! No more lies. Where is Grace?"
"What?"
"Art says, and we all know that it's true, that Grace would run to you, in an emergency, and all she'd need would be to step out onto a road and call." She was craning her neck to look beyond him. "So has she called? I don't think I trust you any longer, the way you sent me off to accuse Art, and then the reception I got in Ash! I thought she might have gone to the witches, but they didn't know a thing. Not even that hideous man. Took him completely by surprise, when I said his son had kidnapped Grace." She stomped out of Xen's narrow view. The back door slammed.
Xen shielded as hard as he could. Pulled his hair, thinner, longer, straighter . . . all those old color spells, blonde . . . and ouch, ouch, my nose . . . leg bones wider and shorter . . . Damn, the uniform . . .
She stomped back inside, Harry at her heels. Xen tracked them by ear, and when the door to the dining room closed behind them, he bolted for the barn, stripping as he went.
"Nick, are any of my clothes still here?"
"Eww! You're doing a disguise again. Sure, I kept them in case you either wanted them or I grew enough to wear them." He glanced up at the loft.
Xen leapt up the ladder.
"Bottom drawer," Nick yelled after him.
Xen grabbed the shirt on top, the darker of the pants, and was back in the kitchen in minutes.
Lily had an apron on and her hands down in the dish water. Knowing her, with a weapon in each hand.
Flare was shaping her dough into loaves. "She's searching the whole place. She searched Harry's room! Then she came back and looked in the wine cellar, and the store rooms and basement! I think she's looking in every single room upstairs."
Footsteps clomped down the stairs. Xen slipped across the room and reached for a tray.
"That's what I've been telling you, Mercy. Now calm down and answer some questions perhaps we can figure out what has happened." Harry sounded a bit worried.
Mercy stuck her head back in the kitchen and glared. Xen set the tray down, and reached for plates.
"Flare, when you've cleaned up, a pot of tea, please?"
"Yes, sir."
Xen tried to look abashed, and hoped he'd changed his hair enough.
"Come and sit down, Mercy."
Mercy led the way out. "You are such a pushover, Harry. 'Please'? She works for you, you don't ask and you don't wait. Now I fail to see how . . . "
Xen grabbed a tea pot and started filling it. A wave of his hand heated the water, and he looked around.
"Above the copper pans. Two large spoonfuls." Flare nodded toward the cupboard as she wiped her hands down then scrubbed them and got the tray ready. Fresh bread, butter and cheese, a little bowl of grapes.
Flare opened the oven door. Nodded in satisfaction and put the bread dough in the barely warm oven.
Xen looked down at himself. He was dressed in moderately nice clothes. "Do I look like a waiter?" he asked.
"Close enough."
He hefted the tray and toted it out. Lily grabbed the door, no doubt she'd be listening.
" . . . mean to say she's been kidnapped! I thought she'd just run away? Eloped with that boy?"
Xen deposited the teapot and cups, and the various little munchies. Poured the first cups. Stood humbly until the woman waved him away. He tripped back to the kitchen, and slipped around the corner to stand beside Lily, listening.
Lily propped the door open a few inches. Flare crowded up beside them.
"Well, as I said, I'm not actually sure." Mercy sounded defensive. "And at her age, what's the difference?"
"Well, she's not a baby to be watched over every moment. How old do you think she is, more or less? Was she seeing anyone else? Any men courting her?"
"No, no, nothing like that. I thought she'd come to you if she ran away."
"Eh? Well, I suppose I'm as much a father figure to her as anyone. But, well, this sounds more like an elopement. At least I hope so. I shudder to think some pervert . . . "
"No, she's alive, I'd know if she died."
"Mercy . . . who is her father? I know you were the Sun we all orbited, but I never knew which of the others . . . or is that why you hate Wolfgang? That miserab . . ."
"Certainly not!" She sat up straight, eyes blazing. "That man never so much as touched me. Pax . . . he was so pure, so intelligent. I couldn't resist. Not that I would actually seduce him. Not that that would work, you know they blocked your tubes. No random breeding allowed for their god slaves, and some of you never worked out how to undo that. And we women had additional problems, although I was spared Gisele's structural defects. We all worked on the hormone problems, hoping we could get pregnant. When I thought I had it worked out I, umm, teleported just a tiny bit of sperm from the other side of Pax's block. He never noticed a thing."
Xen stiffened beside her, and Flare leaned on him. He dropped an arm over her shoulders and squeezed.
There was a brief silence. "And then Grace turned out to be such a drab little thing. Ah, well."
That had Flare steaming, and Xen's arm tightened.
"There's no 'ah, well' about it Mercy. We need to be sure she's safe. I suppose if she's run off with some man, that's her choice, and we'll have to accept it."
"We? No, Harry. When I thought you were who she would run to, there was a we with a problem. I apologize for my suspicions. You always were a gentleman. I should have remembered that."
"Thank you, Mercy. Can you stay for dinner?"
"No. I'm afraid not."
A scraping of chairs, and the faint swish of the front door. Xen removed his arm and walked out.
"You say Art was there? And you checked . . . ?" Harry was standing in the doorway.
"Humph. Of course. Not that I trust him any more than I trust any man." Her lips pressed together in displeasure. "He said she was too plain to be of any interest, either artistically or sexually. I suppose she might have followed him without being noticed. And been taken along with him when he moved the museum. I'll check there again. And perhaps sneak into Ash. However little I enjoy subterfuge. Farewell, Harry dear."
"If there's anything I can do . . . "
Xen eased closer to the door. If she headed for the gates . . .
Harry stepped back inside.
"Harry, sir? Shall I clear the table?"
Harry nodded. "There's a bunch of colonists on their way. They'll get here late, and leave early, headed for Ring World."
"Yes, sir." Xen felt the travel spell, but didn't have time to read it. Damn. I ought to have been ready for that.
Harry cocked his head at the door. "She's traveled. Who knows where."
Xen looked back at Lily. "I'm going to stick around, in case she comes back."
"Huh. I thought all those tall tales about the gods were exaggerated." Lily eyed Harry. "Mercy is as rude as the stories, but you certainly seem to stay put."
Harry grinned. "Eight different worlds come to me, now. No doubt I'll get itchy feet soon enough."
Lily hesitated, sharp gaze on the god, then shrugged. "I've got to get back to HQ. Xen, I'll tell Janic you're involved with a veritable goddess."
"Thanks, Lily. Appreciate that."
It was an interesting group that was headed for Ring World. They were joining a group already there, members of the newly formed religious cult that claimed to worship the God of Love. The Church of Love was spreading out of Cadent in Verona and most municipalities considered it a real n
uisance and banned public orgies. Eternal mentioned the first group had a poor grasp of hygiene and public health measures.
The group stopped their wagons along the road, dealt with their own horses and walked in for dinner. Xen served them rapidly and easily, spilling nothing.
"You're a natural." Flare told him, handing him another tray.
"I am a man of many talents. Including ignoring the rude comments of the diners."
He popped out again, and curious, she stepped out after him and looked for something under the bar.
"Yep, boy, you got real potential to be the God of Love on the Solstice, we're celebrating it tomorrow, on account of being persecuted down in Havwee. You should come with us, the ladies are really looking your way."
"Your apple pie, sir. Enjoy."
As he walked away, a woman reached out and pinched him.
Flare walked back into the kitchen, biting her lip. He joined her a moment later.
"Don't you dare laugh. Thank the Old Gods they're leaving early tomorrow, to get ready for their orgy. How's the blueberry cobbler holding out? I need three of them and one more apple pie."
Ladybug walked in the back door, a basket on each arm. "I got the eggs and the coconut. Brock's has everything."
Flare loaded the tray and sent him off.
He heard Ladybug's high voice behind him. "What are you laughing about?"
Xen paused to listen. "Really, it hadn't occurred to me that the guys could get harassed. Not that Xen doesn't have a very attractive butt, but pinching . . ."
He took the desserts to the tables, Ladybug's giggles fading out behind him.
The colonists stayed up late, rose early and went through danish, bacon and eggs like a flock of locusts, and left abruptly, singing some song about love everlasting.
"Bet Romeau will be glad to see the last of them." Xen cleared the tables and washed the dishes. "Dad says people praying gives him a hideous headache, and if they have much power he hears even their casual cursing in his name."