Bloodkin (Jaseth of Jaelshead)

by Ashford, Cathy

  “It’s alright. Charlie stayed with her. She put me to bed in her spare room.”

  “Oh,” she relaxed. “Oh! Did they…?”

  I looked around to see if anyone was listening, but all the others had already gone upstairs.

  “Nah, they just cuddled apparently.”

  “Oh well, that would have been nice. I didn’t get much sleep last night, I could do with a cuddle.”

  I looked at her, surprised. “But we can’t… We’re not allowed to do anything.” She gave me a little smile.

  “Oh Jaseth, I meant actually just a cuddle. I think I need to take a nap. Would you…” She hesitated for a second. “Would you stay with me?”

  I kissed her on the forehead. “Of course. Come on, let’s go up.”

  In her bedroom I pulled off my robe and, still wearing my long johns, crawled into the bed beside her. She lay facing away from me, and I slung one arm over her and pulled her close. Even though her hair tickled my nose it was warm and comfortable, pressed up against her.

  “Jaseth?” she asked sleepily.

  “Mm?”

  “I think I love you.”

  Oh hell. What do I say to that? Thank you? Oh hell no. Could I pretend I hadn’t heard her? Nope. Oh shit. Shit!

  “I think I love you too.”

  She sighed happily and snuggled back into me, pulling my arm around her tighter. Before long her breathing deepened and evened and I could tell she was asleep. I extricated my arm from her grasp and gently eased myself out of her bed. I grabbed my robe off the floor and tiptoed to the door, gently closing it quietly behind me.

  Emma had just entered their living room and I raised one finger to my lips and pointed towards Sallagh’s closed door. She eyed me pointedly and I belatedly realised I was still only in my underwear.

  “Shit, sorry, hang on,” I muttered quietly and pulled my robe over my head.

  “You weren’t…?”

  “No of course not! We were just cuddling.”

  “Good. I hope you’re looking after her, Jaseth.”

  Oh gawd, what had I gotten myself into? “Um, yeah. I’m trying.”

  “Well that’s good then.” She let me escape past her and I almost ran down the hallway to my room. Charlie was lying on the couch trying to read as I came in and sat down heavily in one of the armchairs.

  “Shit.”

  Charlie looked up at me. “What’s wrong, boyo?”

  “Um. Sallagh. She just… She just told me she thinks she loves me!”

  Charlie chuckled quietly. “And what did you say?”

  “I, um, said I think I love her too.”

  “And do you?”

  I groaned. “I don’t know! We haven’t even been together two months! We haven’t even, you know, been together. Not properly. Shit!”

  Charlie nodded at me, smiling. “Don’t worry about it JJ. Girls get to that point much faster than guys do. Just roll with it until you really mean it.”

  “So I said the right thing?”

  “Well what else could you have said? Thanks?” He laughed. Well, I was glad I hadn’t said that then. “Nope, unless you want a crazy, angry Sallagh on your hands, and you think you’ve got a future together, you said the right thing.”

  “But I don’t even know if I want a future with her! Everything’s so messed up, I just… I don’t know.”

  “Ah well, nobody can say what will happen in the future, so try not to worry about it.”

  Easier said than done, I thought, levering myself off the chair.

  “Yeah, well, I’m going to have a bath.”

  Charlie grinned and picked up his book. “Good, you probably stink!”

  The Academy had a two week Yuletide holiday from classes, and the next day most of the other Bloodkin took their Mentors and went home to see their families. Mantilly took Sarah on the ferry to Nallow, and Sallagh and Emma went up to Sallagh’s mansion on the hill. Donnick and Sammoch left early with their Mentors. If they rode through the tunnel they only had to stop for one night at an inn before reaching Rhyeholm. Dunkerle had decided to stay in the Hall for the holidays – the trip to and from Talesse would have taken about a week and we had already used a few days of the break. Jaelshead was also too far away for such a short holiday, so Telgeth and I stayed put. Lolitha hadn’t even considered going home. Apparently Lallisol in the middle of winter was “bloody miserable” and almost inaccessible at this time of year. She certainly had no love for her hometown or family, which she hardly ever talked about, so the population of the Hall was halved by the end of the day.

  The night before, Myn Eve had tried valiantly to create a festive atmosphere at dinner. She had decorated the table with boughs of pine and cedar, and we even had candles perched in her best silver candlesticks. We had sipped mulled wine and watched the sun go down on the shortest day of the year through the windows of the common room, pale orange fingers stretching weakly across the city.

  But as hard as Myn Eve had tried, this Yule was not a cheerful occasion. We had eaten the special Yuletide feast mostly in silence and then we had all gone to bed early, feeling emotionally and physically drained.

  The next few days were quiet and a bit strange. We four Bloodkin left spent most of our time in the common room, playing cards or reading books. The others had gone to raid Charlie’s bookshelf, as he had a pretty good selection of novels written in Human. I thought it odd that a Nea’thi man would read so much in Human, but when I asked him about it he just shrugged.

  “Novels in Nea’thi are nice, but they’re a bit long-winded and poetic and, well, boring. Human books have much more adventure. And sex.”

  New Year’s Eve loomed closer, and we could see the castle being readied for the arrival of the Queen. She and her Advisor and the rest of the important government ministers would already be travelling from Fortesta. They were to arrive on New Year’s Eve and would welcome in the new year in the new city with a big banquet at the castle. Telgeth spent a fair bit of time fantasising about the food that would be served at the banquet. With so many less of us to feed, the Hall kitchen was taking a break from serving us the usual hearty fare, and we lived on simple meals of soups and breads.

  The snow had closed in again not long after Yule, and by the time New Year’s Eve arrived, we were suffering from a touch of cabin fever, itching to get out and about.

  The day was strangely warm for the middle of winter, with an odd, hot breeze blowing in from the northwest. We decided to go watch the royal parade as the Queen arrived in the city. It seemed like everyone else in Lille had the same idea, because the edges of the main road were crammed with people, all waiting to get a glimpse of Queen Thaelique. Our little group had wandered out of the Quarter and past the Temple and managed to get a view of the road just before the bridge to the castle. Vendors carried trays of food through the crowd and Thomas stopped one, grabbing us each a couple of small meat pies, paying in coins from the Hall purse.

  Finally, around the corner came the royal procession. Weirdly enough, I felt an excitement grip at my stomach. Ever since I had noticed it at Samhain, every time I went to the Temple I looked at the portrait of the Queen, I couldn’t help it. And here I was, about to catch a glimpse of the real thing.

  Leading the parade were royal guards on big black horses, dressed in royal livery of blue and gold. Carriages followed, full of the government ministers. The crowd cheered and waved, somewhat politely, for we certainly weren’t all waiting there to see boring officials trundled past. Eventually, the procession neared its end and two serious-looking Nea’thi rode past, followed by an open carriage that contained a tiny, creased old man. The Advisor, I guessed, as everyone clapped and cheered as the ancient man smiled happily and waved gently at the crowd.

  But when we saw the white horse, stepping daintily behind the carriage, the crowd went properly mental. There, in royal blue riding robes, her silvery-blonde hair streaming out behind her in the breeze, was Queen Thaelique. She kept one firm hand on the rein
s as she waved to the crowd, a genuinely pleased smile lighting her noble face.

  “Oh man, she’s such a babe,” I heard Telgeth whisper. Even he was slightly awed by the ceremony of the occasion. “Babe” really wasn’t the right word at all. With her long, strong nose, wide jaw, and startling, clear blue eyes, she looked regal. Even though she hadn’t been born to the position, she looked like a Queen. I could see why the masses had voted for this captivating young woman. She looked strong, perched up there on her horse. She looked powerful.

  My heart thudded in my chest as she passed us, then seemed to stop altogether as she looked down and for a second caught my eye. She must have looked at hundreds, at thousands of people during her procession through the city, but for the tiny moment she looked at me, I felt as if I was the only person in the world.

  Then she was gone, her mount stepping across the bridge to the castle, followed by more solemn-faced Nea’thi. Security, I guessed. As the last of the parade finished crossing the bridge and rode underneath the archway in the castle walls, a flag was raised on a pole from the highest tower of the castle. It was of a gold crown on a background of royal blue, edged with more gold. As the breeze caught it and it fluttered open in the sun, the crowd clapped and cheered.

  The Queen had arrived.

  hen we arrived back at the Hall, Myn Eve had a surprise for us.

  “You lot have been invited to the banquet tonight.”

  “What? The royal banquet?” Telgeth was incredulous, his eyes wide.

  “The very same. I don’t know how Myr Roderick swung it, the man has friends in high places.” She sighed. “You’re expected at the castle at six, so you’d best go make yourselves presentable.”

  Telgeth let out a whoop of excitement and raced up the stairs. Lolitha, Dunkerle and I looked at each other and Lolitha shrugged. “Better go have a bath then,” and we followed Telgeth upstairs.

  When I had bathed and got into my good robe, I debated whether to wear my fancy court shoes. But even though the day had been warm, the streets were probably still slippery, and the walk home afterwards would be cold, so I decided against them and put my boots on instead. Since I had arrived at the Hall, my hair had grown down past my shoulders, and I wondered briefly if I had time for a cut. Probably not, I decided, and found Charlie in the bathroom, applying his kohl in the mirror.

  “Hey Charlie, do you have a hair-tie I could borrow? And, um, do you think maybe I could use some kohl?” Hell, I was dressing up for the Queen, I might as well go all out, and if it was good enough for Charlie, it was good enough for me. He raised an eyebrow at me in the mirror, but thankfully didn’t say anything. He retrieved two hair-ties from a small jar beside the sink and handed one to me. It was a thin band of black elastic and I followed Charlie’s motions as he tied back his hair.

  “Want a ribbon too?”

  “Uh, no thanks, that’s probably a bit much.” Charlie grinned and shrugged, pulling out his black velvet ribbon from the jar and tying it in a bow around the elastic holding his hair.

  “Now, kohl. Take this Jas and line around the inside of your lashes.” He handed me the kohl pencil. It was like a thick black crayon encased in wood and had been freshly sharpened. Slowly and carefully I drew it over the inner rims of my eyes, top and bottom.

  “Now hold this under your top lashes and blink down on it.” He held out what looked like a tiny wand, the bristles on one end shone with liquid kohl.

  “What’s this?”

  “Ha, you Human boys really don’t know much, do you? It’s mascarohl, it darkens your eyelashes. Although yours aren’t white like mine, it helps, ah, finish the look, if you will.”

  Opening my eyes wide in front of the mirror, I held the tiny brush under my top lashes and blinked, the movement of my lids dragging them through the brush and coating them with black.

  I stood back to admire my reflection. Hell, I looked pretty decent. I mean, I had never considered myself good-looking. If I thought about it, I guess I could say that Charlie was handsome, Sammoch and maybe Donnick too. Even Dunkerle could be considered attractive by women, in his overgrown, gangly, geeky way, with his almost white spiky hair and blue eyes, magnified by his spectacles. Telgeth had a face only a mother could love, but I really had never put much thought into my own appearance. Now, with my good robe on and my hair tied back, I thought I looked pretty good. My jaw looked strong, accentuated by the little bit of dark blonde facial hair I had allowed to grow over the holiday, and my eyes, rimmed with kohl, looked big and really blue.

  Charlie looked over at me in the mirror, and, noticing me checking myself out, turned around. “Heh, you scrub up alright, eh? Trying to impress someone?”

  I blushed, ruining the effect. My skin was pretty fair, and I hadn’t realised until now how truly obvious it was when I blushed.

  “Of course not! I’ve just never been to a royal banquet before.”

  “Sure…” Charlie sounded less than convinced as he turned back to the mirror. “Ha, would you look at us? We make quite a pair, don’t you think?”

  We kind of did, I thought, as I looked at us both in the mirror. Though Charlie was a good foot taller than me, but for his grey skin and red eyes, with our makeup on and our hair tied back we could almost have been brothers.

  When we were ready we met the others down in reception. Telgeth was shuffling his feet self-consciously, and one look at his face told me why. He had obviously had the same idea I did, because his eyes were rimmed with black and his normally orange eyelashes were darkened with mascarohl. I laughed at him and he crossed his arms defensively.

  “What? It’s a special occasion and all the Nea’thi guys— Oh ho, nice work Jas!” He had finally noticed that I had gotten into my Mentor’s kohl as well.

  “You guys are idiots, you look ridiculous,” Dunkerle grumbled, but I could totally see he wished he had thought of putting some on himself as well.

  “Now my dears, you had better get yourself down to the castle,” Myn Eve announced. “Have a lovely time, but remember that you are representing the Hall and the Academy, so don’t do anything stupid.” This last seemed to be aimed at Telgeth, who grinned cheekily.

  “’Course not! Thomas will keep me in line, won’t you, old boy?”

  Thomas sighed and raised his eyes to the heavens. “Try as I do, I am still only one man. It would take an army of Mentors to keep you in line ‘Geth.”

  Lolitha giggled. “Come on, you silly boys, we’ve got a banquet to get to.”

  We crossed the bridge to the castle in the midst of other clumps of guests, all dressed in their absolute finest. At the archway, a liveried official checked our names against a list of invitees he held in his hand. Satisfied we were supposed to be there, he waved us through.

  Inside the castle gates, a great courtyard spread almost the entire width of the island. An abundance of torches hung in brackets from the walls, illuminating the watchful faces of the guards who patrolled along the top. More torches set into the ground created an avenue from the gateway to the huge open doors of the castle itself. Its massive stone walls stretched up against the black, starlit sky. It really was an imposing entrance. Round towers squatted at each end of the main façade, and light shone from slits of windows that stretched up many floors. Behind the square blocks at the top of the front of the castle, numerous smaller turrets poked upwards.

  The castle had always been there, visible from my room at the Hall, but I had barely given it much thought since I had moved to Lille. Now, faced with the prospect of actually going inside, I rather wished I had.

  Another official met us at the castle door, checking our names against another list and indicating which way we were to proceed. The entrance hall was huge, the walls were hung with glorious tapestries and rows of great pillars supported the roof. Down the end of the hall, we walked to the door on the far right side that the official had indicated and were met by a little female page that ushered us through and to our assigned seats.

  Th
e banquet hall was wide, with the tables set up along the walls. On the far side, the Queen’s table was on a slightly raised dais. Our table was tucked in the corner, about as far away from the royal table as it was possible to be. Although candelabra glowed down the middle of each table and large, free-standing versions lined the walls, the ceiling was hung with huge glowbes, shining down their soft ambience.

  The other tables gradually filled as we sat and waited. More of the little pages had run around pouring glasses of wine and water, and conversation increased the noise level in the room to a steady hum.

  Suddenly, the big doors behind the royal table swung open and the now-hushed crowd rose to its feet. There was the Queen, on the arm of her Advisor, followed by an expensively-dressed couple – the Lord and Lady of Lille, I guessed. Everyone sat as the Queen took her seat in the middle of the royal table, and conversation resumed.

  I looked about the room as the first course was served – delicate slivers of spiced fish in a creamy sauce on a decorative bed of lettuce. I don’t know why, but I was surprised to see Hanniash at the next table along from the Queen’s dais. Silly, I told myself, of course she would be there, she is the High Priestess of Lille, after all. Among the numerous, faceless politicians and influential peoples of Lille I saw a striking blonde couple, the woman looked so much like Sallagh my heart skipped a beat, but I realised that they were probably her parents. Sallagh herself had apparently not received an invite. Man, she’ll kick herself when she realises she could have come if she’d stayed at the Hall, I thought to myself a little guiltily.

  The plates were cleared and a second course, then a third and fourth were served. I tried to concentrate on my food and what the others were saying, but my eyes kept creeping up to stare at the Queen. She was wearing a Nea’thi-style robe in royal blue, edged with expensive gold thread, with a high, upturned collar instead of a hood. Her hair had been pulled back into a complicated knot and on her head sat a delicate gold crown, set with sapphires that winked in the candlelight. I could see her talking to the Lord of Lille – well, being talked at really, but her eyes discreetly roamed the room. Suddenly, she looked directly at me, hidden in the corner as I was, and I ducked my head, embarrassed that she had seen me staring. I chanced a look back up at her, but her gaze had moved on, although I think I detected the faintest smile tugging at her lips. Shit.