Shella yawned, and stood.
‘Your Royal Excellency,’ a courtier said, ‘if you would please come with me.’
Shella shared a glance with Daly, and they followed the courtier out of the chamber, and through more guarded passageways towards the rear of the palace.
The courtier paused at a door.
‘This is the lesser reception hall,’ he said, ‘where his Imperial Majesty receives smaller parties of guests.’
‘Are you saying I’m short?’ Shella said.
The courtier stammered.
‘Only joking.’
‘Ha, yes, of course your Excellency,’ the courtier frowned.
He opened the door and they entered.
‘May I present her Royal Excellency Princess Shellakanawara, Ambassador of Arakhanah City to the Imperial Court,’ he announced with a bow.
Shella stepped forward. The chamber was decorated in gold and deep reds, with a pair of raised thrones at one end. In one sat Guilliam, his thick lustrous robes piled about him, while next to him sat his queen, Mirren Blackhold, in an elegant dark green dress. Each had a crown upon their heads, and to either side were gathered officers, advisors and priests attending the court.
Guilliam frowned.
‘Princess Shella,’ he said.
‘Your Majesty,’ she bowed.
‘We are tired, we are busy, we are hungry,’ the Emperor said, ‘but yet we must find time to tend to wayward children.’
Shella said nothing, her cheeks reddening.
Guilliam nodded to a man on his right, and Chamberlain Prior bowed and took a pace forwards.
‘Your Royal Excellency,’ he said, gazing down at Shella, ‘this morning the Imperial Court received confirmation from your government in Arakhanah City that they have failed to meet the legal requirements as set out in the treaty that binds us together.’
Shella frowned. ‘Which requirements, Lord Chamberlain?’
‘Clause nine,’ Prior said. ‘The obligation upon Arakhanah City to provide volunteer mages for the institute here in the Holy Capital.’
‘I see.’
‘Your government claims that every Rakanese flow mage is essential,’ Prior said, ‘and that they cannot spare even one.’
The Emperor snorted.
‘We are tempted to cease all deliveries of aid to your wretched land,’ Guilliam said. ‘We saved your nation, fed the starving and clothed the poor when your society collapsed. We have asked for almost nothing in return, and what we have requested is thrown back in our face.’
‘I understand your frustration,’ Shella said. ‘I will speak to my government, and enquire what is causing the delay. May I ask your Majesty if there is a reason for the urgency? Could this request not rest until Arakhanah City has stabilised its sea defences, and cared for this season’s spawn pools?’
Guilliam’s eyes went wild. ‘Absolutely not!’ he cried. ‘The sheer impertinence.’
The chamber hushed into silence.
Shella bowed low. ‘Apologies, your Majesty.’
‘The institute,’ Prior said, ‘cannot begin its vital work of research and enlightenment until representatives of all the world’s mages have been gathered.’
‘And the institute has all but Rakanese mages?’ Shella asked.
‘That is none of your concern,’ Guilliam said. ‘Now go, and speak to your needy, grasping government, and demand that they meet their obligations to us.’
‘At once, your Majesty,’ Shella bowed, and began stepping backwards. A courtier opened the door, and she, Daly and Jayki left the hall.
‘We took a bit of a roasting there, boys,’ Shella chuckled. ‘Come on, we need to draft a letter.’
Daly wiped his forehead, his hand shaking.
‘You okay?’ she asked him.
‘No, your Highness,’ he said. ‘If the empire stops sending aid back home, thousands will starve.’
‘Well, let’s write a really good letter.’
‘I don’t know how you can take it so lightly, your Highness,’ he said.
‘She’s always been like that,’ said Jayki.
‘We need to play along,’ Shella said to her secretary. ‘The Emperor can shout and rage all he likes, it means nothing to me, but every day we can hold off from delivering our mages to him, is another day Arakhanah City can rebuild.’
Daly nodded.
The door to the hall opened again and a man in long black robes came out and joined them.
‘Lord Arnault,’ Shella said.
‘Good afternoon your Highness.’
Daly bowed low. ‘Lord Vicar, how may we assist you?’
He smiled. Shella glanced at his features. Everyone in the embassy gossiped that Arnault was the most handsome man in the city, and Shella didn’t disagree.
‘I was hoping for a quiet word with the princess,’ he said to Daly. He turned to her. ‘May I escort you to your carriage?’
She nodded, and they waited as Daly and Jayki walked off. When they were out of earshot, Shella and Arnault followed them.
‘So you took my advice?’ Arnault said.
‘Yeah,’ Shella said. ‘Daphne left at dawn.’
‘Good. You did the right thing.’
‘I know.’
‘Her being here,’ he said, ‘only complicated matters.’
‘I thought you had Yosin and the One True Path under control?’
‘They’re part of the body of the church,’ Arnault said. ‘Every revolution needs its zealots, and necessarily there are hot-headed elements. Miss Holdfast also has her supporters, particularly among the cavalry, and I had no desire to see the two sides shed blood in the streets.’
‘So you weren’t really bothered about Daphne’s safety?’
‘I don’t wish her any harm.’
‘Then no assassins are going after her?’
‘None sent by me.’
Shella frowned.
‘My dear princess,’ he said, pausing as they came to the outer doors, ‘as long as Miss Holdfast remains in exile, and doesn’t try to interfere with the work of the church, she has nothing to fear from me.’
She glanced over to see Daly and Jayki waiting by the carriage.
‘If they ask,’ Arnault said, ‘tell them I was urging you about the Rakanese mages. And, for the record, let me express the church’s extreme disappointment that your government has failed us on this matter. We need those mages, Shella. Make sure you get them.’
The Lord Vicar turned on his heels and strode back into the palace. Shella watched him leave, then turned for the carriage.
‘Another roasting,’ she muttered as she climbed in. Daly nodded.
‘It’s been a long day, your Highness,’ he said. ‘Let’s go home.’
Once back in the embassy, Daly had taken down her dictated letter to the government in Arakhanah City, informing them of the Emperor’s displeasure. The staff had then opened the windows of the large office to let in the evening air, and Shella worked her way through a great pile of correspondence and documents requiring her signature. Daly kept up a constant supply of coffee and she got through several cigarettes.
Lack of sleep, and the keenweed she had smoked that morning, were threatening to close her eyes as she stared at the papers spread out over her desk. She sensed Daly gazing at her, and picked up the remaining documents. The staff may not like her, but she would never give them any reason to say she didn’t work hard.
‘Almost done, your Highness,’ said Daly.
Shella frowned as she scanned an inventory of expenses. ‘And then we do it all again tomorrow.’
Daly sighed. ‘Unfortunately, your Highness, all those missed appointments will have to be re-scheduled. I’m afraid tomorrow might be rather busy. Would you like me to go over your revised itinerary?’
‘Not now, Daly,’ she said, signing her name across the bottom of the various pages in front of her.
She stood.
‘As you wish, your Highness,’ Daly bowed. ‘Wil
l you be retiring to your quarters for the evening?’
Shella nodded. ‘After today’s scolding from the Emperor, it’d probably be better if I avoided any social engagements for a bit.’
Daly nodded and swept up the papers and letters from the surface of the desk.
‘See you in the morning, Daly,’ she said, and made for the door.
Her private residence occupied the top two floors of the embassy, a five-storey stone building set back from the street. Guards and staff bowed their heads as she passed them on the stairs. On the third floor lay her dining-room, kitchen, and a private reception room, while she and Sami had their own separate apartments on the upper storey.
As Shella reached the entrance to their quarters she heard the sound of raucous laughter. She paused, her hand on the door handle.
She had been right about how her brother Sami would spend his day.
Shella forced a smile onto her face, opened the door and walked into the reception room, where a small group were sitting on long, comfortable couches. Sami was in the middle, holding court with a few of the younger embassy staff, all of whom looked sober.
‘She had gone completely insane by that point,’ Sami said, not noticing his sister. ‘Murdered every fucking mage we had, except for Shella of course.’
The faces of the staff around Sami were expressionless. Sami was fond of telling this story, and it was clear everyone present had heard it before.
‘She waited until the poor bastards were having breakfast,’ Sami went on, his face flushed, ‘then collapsed the fucking tent on top of them. Lines of soldiers surrounded them and shot the tent full of holes with their bows and spears. Some even crawled up onto the canvas and stabbed through it with their knives. It was fucking mad. She was fucking mad.’
He picked up a bottle of brandy and took a swig.
One of the staff stifled a yawn.
‘I thought she was going to kill me too,’ Sami went on. ‘My own fucking sister, but she needed Shella, so I got lucky. That was back in Silverstream, where…’
Shella coughed. ‘I think that’s enough.’
Everyone turned to her. Sami grinned.
‘You’re back!’ he said. ‘How’d it go at the palace?’
‘Not so good.’
The staff glanced at each other, and started to get up.
‘Hey,’ Sami cried. ‘Where are you all going? I haven’t finished my story.’
‘Party’s over,’ Shella said. ‘Let them get to their beds.’
Sami glowered as the staff bowed and left the room, leaving Shella and her brother alone.
‘When did you stop being fun?’ Sami said. ‘Actually, when were you ever fun?’
Shella sat, and lit a cigarette.
‘Don’t start, Sami,’ she said. ‘It’s been a shit day, and I can’t be fucked listening to your crap again.’
‘Miserable bitch,’ Sami leered. ‘Why don’t you cheer up for fucksake? We’ve got it made here, sis, and all you do is complain.’
‘Fuck you,’ Shella spat. ‘All you do is abuse your position, flaunting your royal status to get laid, and using your diplomatic immunity to get pissed all the time. You didn’t have to stand in front of the fucking Emperor getting humiliated, with the entire court watching and laughing. The Rakanese are a joke to them. Wayward children he called us.’
Sami’s face fell. ‘What did you say back?’
‘Nothing,’ she said. ‘Did the usual bowing and scraping.’
Sami puffed out his cheeks. ‘Thank fuck. Thought for a moment that you’d said something stupid and got yourself fired.’
Shella stubbed out her cigarette and stood. ‘You’re an asshole, Sami.’
Sami smirked, and took another swig of brandy.
She turned her back to him and left the room. She went up the rear steps to her own apartment, with her huge bedchamber, a spare room, bathroom and study among the suite of rooms. She lit a few wall lamps and drew a hot bath, the coal fires in the basement warming the water. She slipped off her clothes and got in. The hot water against her skin felt wonderful, and she slid down into the bath and closed her eyes.
She hated everything.
Her job, the city. Her idiot brother. Daly and all the smarmy staff. That dickhead Guilliam.
Daphne, for leaving her.
Herself.
She had no one to share her pain, no one to share her loneliness.
A noise came from her bedchamber and her eyes snapped open.
Was that Sami? What the fuck was he doing in her room?
She got up, the water dripping off her, and grabbed a thick towel.
‘Sami?’ she called, stepping out of the bath. ‘Is that you?’
She wrapped the towel round her, and opened the door to her bedchamber. In front of her a figure was crouched by the bed.
She raised a hand, feeling for her powers.
‘No need for that,’ the figure said. ‘I was only looking for your weed.’
‘Kalayne?’ Shella cried. ‘What the fuck? How did you get in? What are you doing here?’
The old Kellach man stood. In his hands was her weed pouch.
‘How did you know that was there?’ Shella said, her right hand still raised. ‘Have you been in my bedroom before?’
‘Not in person,’ he replied. ‘I’ve used my vision to see you now and again. You’re a very restless sleeper, despite the copious amounts of alcohol and weed you consume.’
Shella said nothing, her mouth hanging open. Kalayne opened the pouch and pulled out a stick. There was a little table with some chairs by one of the bay windows, and he went over and sat down. He opened a shutter a couple of inches, lit the smokestick and gazed out at the view.
Shella tightened the towel around her.
‘You’ve been watching me?’ she said.
‘Eh, what?’ Kalayne scowled. ‘No, not often. You’re not very interesting.’
She walked up to the table and sat. Kalayne offered her the weedstick, and she took it.
‘Why are you here?’
‘I’m moving in.’
‘The fuck you are. How did you get passed the guards?’
‘I can make people not notice me,’ he said. ‘I could make you forget I was ever here, if I wished.’
‘Sounds tempting,’ she said, ‘but I’d rather know you were skulking about, if it’s all the same. Anyway, you can’t move in.’
Kalayne stared at her as if she were stupid. ‘I already have. No one else will know I’m here, so you needn’t worry about me upsetting your servants. Just make sure you bring me plenty of booze, weed and food.’
‘What happened to your room at Daphne’s?’
‘Celine kicked me out.’
‘So you’ve nowhere else to go?’
‘I could go and live in the Kellach Brigdomin quarter, but I’d rather stay in more comfortable surroundings. And I need to be close to the palace, and the new mage institute, so I can find out what’s going on. The church are moving ahead with their plans.’
‘I couldn’t give a fuck about the stupid Holdings church.’
‘You should,’ he said. ‘Their plan will affect us all. They must be stopped.’
‘Are you seriously speaking treason to me?’ she smirked. ‘Are you not worried I’ll go running to the Lord Vicar and report you for sedition?’
Kalayne shrugged. ‘No. I don’t know why, but Daphne trusted you, and that lass doesn’t give out her trust lightly.’
‘I don’t like you.’
‘Good,’ he said. ‘I don’t like you either. We’re not friends, praise all that is holy.’
‘Fuck you.’
Kalayne tutted. ‘You’re an exceedingly ungrateful wretch.’
‘Ungrateful? What the fuck do I have to be thankful to you for?’
Kalayne half-choked, half-snorted. ‘Did Kylon appear from thin air to rescue you?’
Shella blinked.
‘I sent him, remember?’ Kalayne said. ‘I sent him to sav
e you. From all the hundreds of thousands of miserable toad people, I chose you to survive.’
The old man’s eyes were bulging from his head, and he was pointing the weedstick at her like a weapon.
‘Why?’ she said. ‘Why me?’
He calmed a little, and took a long draw.
‘I’ve seen you in my dreams,’ he said. ‘Over and over. The wall of mud, of course, but not just that. I have also seen you take part in events that have yet to occur. I don’t appear in these later visions myself, which presumably means that I’ll be dead by the time they take place. No matter, the message of these dreams is clear. You will be needed.’
‘Needed for what?’
Kalayne frowned. ‘I don’t know. Something about a knife.’
Shella watched him in silence for a moment. Daphne had trusted him, and as the old man had said, the Holdings mage didn’t trust many.
‘You can sleep in the spare room,’ she said.
‘Not in here with you?’ he leered.
She smiled, and raised her right hand.
‘Did you know, Kalayne?’ she said, ‘that with a flick of my finger I could fill your brain with blood, or make your heart stop? However, for you…’ she pointed at his crotch. ‘I could make your balls shrivel back up into your body, and do everyone a favour.’
Kalayne crossed his legs. ‘Spare room it is.’
Chapter 3
King
Broadwater, Kingdom of Sanang – 4th Day, Last Third Summer 506
‘We could have done this from the Great Hall, your Majesty,’ Hodang said, casting glances at the busy street.
In front of them, soldiers were parting the crowds of people on Broadwater’s main road. Farmers, traders and peasants bustled past the food stalls and open shop fronts. More than a few gawked at the royal party as they went by.
‘I like to be seen,’ Agang said. ‘I barely leave the citadel as it is. It’s good for people to see their king.’
‘I agree, your Majesty,’ said Pieper, the Holdings priest walking to his left.
Hodang shot him a narrow-eyed frown.
Agang smiled. The priest had a way of riling up his chief minister, although Agang didn’t mind his company. Despite his avowed mission to convert him to the Holdings faith, the priest was amenable to be around.
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