by E. P. Clark
We turned onto Black Earth Street, so called because all the black earth princesses had their palaces there. The one at the corner was the Vostochnokrasnova palace. I tried not to look at it, or to notice that it was closed up. Ever since certain events nine summers ago, the Vostochnokrasnovy had preferred to visit Krasnograd only in winter.
We passed it as if it were just another building and came to a particularly ornate and imposing palace halfway down the street, with gilded wooden fretwork all around the eaves and windows and two guards at the door. They stiffened as we approached, and stared at us with unconcealed dismay when I informed them that I was here to call upon Princess Velikokrasnova.
“The princess…Valeriya Dariyevna…she may not be accepting visitors…” said one of them, while they both looked back and forth between me, Sasha, and Tima as if we were a trio of snakes who’d suddenly slithered up to them and asked admittance to their bedchamber.
“Please be so kind as to inform the princess that I am here on a matter of urgent Imperial business,” I said, with what I hoped was a disarming smile.
And it must have had some effect, for the guards, after looking back and forth between themselves a few times in doubt and uncertainty, said they would send word, if we would be so kind as to wait out on the street until we received permission to enter.
Accordingly, we stood out on the street, me (I hoped) benignly, Sasha stolidly, and Tima impatiently, while the guards summoned a serving girl and charged her with our message, and then while we waited for her to return, which she did, eventually, with the reply that Princess Velikokrasnova was indisposed and would not be receiving visitors for the foreseeable future.
“I am very sorry to hear that,” I said. Something cold hit my cheek, and I slapped at it. It was a single raindrop, blown down unexpectedly from the still-clear sky. “In that case, I will speak with Ivan Marinovich.”
This caused a great deal more consternation. I smiled, still as benignly as possible, and said in response to their suggestions that no, I could not call back again in a few days, and no, I could not simply leave a message, as I was on urgent Imperial business that could not be denied or delayed. After a few rounds of this the serving girl agreed, with great reluctance, to go relay my request.
She returned much more promptly this time, with the message that Ivan Marinovich was also indisposed and that his mother did not approve of him having uninvited female callers besides.
“In that case,” I said smoothly, “I would speak with Nikita Marislavovich.”
This time even Sasha jumped a little, and the Velikokrasnova servants turned positively green with horror. I smiled even more benignly than before, and said that the Tsarina was awaiting word of my return with eager interest, and was no doubt growing ever more impatient at my absence. The two guards both clutched at their spears, and the serving girl looked as if she wished she could faint away and escape this situation. Two more raindrops hit my cheek, along with a cold gust of wind, and when I looked up I saw that a black cloud was just edging into view.
“The weather is turning, I see,” I said, my smile growing a little sharper. “I fear we are in danger of getting wet.”
“Perhaps you should return to the kremlin, then, Valeriya Dariyevna, before the weather breaks,” said the bolder of the two guards hopefully.
“I fear I cannot return until I have spoken with someone from this household,” I said. “The Tsarina would be most displeased to hear of my failure.”
There was a slight commotion on the other side of the door, and I could hear a man’s voice saying, “What in the name of all the gods is going on here? I hear we have guests waiting outside the door. Why have we not let them in?”
A serving girl attempted to reply, but her voice was too muffled for me to make out the words, and before she could finish, the door was opened abruptly from the inside, and a tall slender man with long bound hair and clever sad eyes peered out.
“Hello, Nika,” I said. “Will you not invite us in?”
***
The serving girl on the far side of the door screamed a little, while the one outside with us whimpered, and the two guards swore. To his credit, Nikita did none of those things, perhaps because he had lost the power of speech. He stared at me for several long moments, shock, joy, and horror chasing each other across his face, before saying tightly, “Why are you disturbing us?”
“Ur”—I had to clear my throat unexpectedly—“urgent Imperial business. Will you not invite us in?”
“Val…”—he looked at the servants, and then up and down the street, before lowering his voice and saying, “you know I can’t do that, Valya!”
It was funny. There was a time when I’d wanted to save him, and then there was a time when I’d wanted to hurt him so much, to cause him some tiny fraction of the pain he’d caused me, but now that he was standing here before me, all that was gone as if it had been blown away by the same wind that was whipping my hair around my face, and I would have given a great deal to be able, not only not to cause him any pain, but to take away the pain I saw etched across his brow and around his eyes, and allow him to have a peaceful life far away from both of the women who had brought him so much sorrow. Because, I suddenly saw, while he had of course been wrong to go back to Princess Velikokrasnova, he had perhaps been right to leave me. I had for years cursed that miserable lack of vision that had caused him not to see the bright future I had seen for us, and wondered how he could have possibly have been so blind, and how I could have ever loved someone so fundamentally lacking in sight, something I possessed in such abundance, and, and, and…but now I couldn’t help but wonder whether his sight had been clearer than mine all along. Perhaps I had seen nothing but my dreams and fancies, while he had seen the truth.
“Nika,” I said gently, “I’ve left you in peace for nine years. I would that I could leave you in peace for another nine, or even ninety-nine, but I really am here on urgent business on the Tsarina’s behalf. I wouldn’t ask you if it weren’t more important than…well, many other things.”
“You know I can’t,” he repeated, looking even more glad and more stricken. “Valya, I can’t.”
“Then deliver the Tsarina’s request to Ivan Marinovich,” I said.
“So…” he seemed taken aback, “you really are here on urgent Imperial business?”
“Nothing else would bring me to this door,” I said, and then regretted it when he flinched at my words. But maybe they needed to be said anyway. “Tell him…and the princess…tell them both that the Tsarina commands his presence this evening, by the sixth hour. He may bring whatever escort he deems fit, if he wishes, but my two guards and I will return for him then, and bring him before the Tsarina ourselves, so even if he chooses to come alone, he will not lack for guard or for honor.”
“Valya…” Nika looked at the guards and serving girls around us, and lowered his voice uncomfortably. “What are you playing at?”
“Whatever the Tsarina commands,” I said.
“Valya, listen.” He took a step towards me. “Just…please, go back to the steppe. Take…take your people and go back to the steppe. Don’t get mixed up in this.”
“What exactly am I getting mixed up in?” I asked, also taking a step closer and leaning in towards him so that he could still hear me when the others couldn’t.
“Just…” He took a step back. “Go back to the steppe. This is Krasna business. You don’t belong here, and you’ll only make things worse if you stay.”
A dozen rejoinders, most of them angry, rose up inside of me. “By the sixth hour,” I said instead.
The sound of furious footsteps came suddenly from the hall, and before we could do more than brace ourselves, Princess Velikokrasnova burst out through the door. “You!” she cried, pointing at me. There were bright red spots on both her cheeks.
Another cold raindrop hit my own cheek, and then half a dozen more. “By the sixth hour,” I said for the third time. “The Empress awaits. I and my gu
ards will call back for Ivan Marinovich then.” I bowed to Nikita and the princess, turned, and left.
***
By the time we had reached the next street, the rain had started in earnest, so I led Sasha and Tima at a brisk scurry to the nearest tavern, where we ducked inside and, after pushing our way through all the other people who had also come in to get out of the rain and securing the last free table, ordered a round of beer.
“Do you reckon they’ll let him out, Valeriya Dariyevna?” asked Sasha once the serving girl had brought our beer and left.
I looked around. Most of the other people were pressing around the counter, laughing and talking about the storm and the fresh weather it would bring with high good spirits. No one seemed to be paying any attention to us.
“Maybe,” I said. “It didn’t seem like they were going to let us in without a fight, and the idea came to me while we were standing there, so it seemed worth a try.”
“So what do we do now, Valeriya Dariyevna?” he asked.
“We wait here until the storm blows over, and then at the sixth hour we go back and see if they’ll let him out.”
“And if they won’t?”
“I’ll think of something,” I said. “But let’s hope it won’t come to that, because whatever I think of is bound to make people unhappy.”
Sasha nodded and returned to his beer, while Tima stared at me wide-eyed. In order to distract him, I asked him about himself, and we spent the rest of the time until the storm blew over talking about his large and colorful family, which filled at least half the afternoon.
When we stepped back out onto the street—considerably heavier in beer and lighter in coin—a cool sun was coming out from behind the rapidly disappearing clouds. “It’s only the third hour,” I said. “Let’s go back to the kremlin. I’ll meet you by the barracks shortly after the fifth hour, and then we’ll return to the Velikokrasnova palace and see what happens there. And let’s try to sober up before then, shall we?”
Sasha and Tima agreed to try, and we made our way—weaving only slightly—back to the kremlin, where they peeled off into the barracks and I went—now walking much straighter—back to the children’s quarters, where I found Mirochka and the boys bouncing with impatience to go outside.
“Can we spar, mama? Can we spar, mama? Right now, mama?” Mirochka demanded as soon as I appeared at the door. “We’re all ready to go!”
“What about Kiryusha?” I asked.
“Oh, he can come some other time! So can we spar now?”
“Sure,” I said. “If the tutors say you can, that is.”
“Oh, we finished our lessons ages ago, mama. So can we go?”
“For a little while,” I said. “I’ll have to leave and go out again later. But then we can go walking in the park this evening with the Tsarina.”
“I want to go riding!”
“Perhaps you can go riding, if you agree to ride slowly,” I said.
“Oh, very well.” She wrinkled up her nose. “Why do you smell like beer, mama?”
“Because I’ve been drinking it,” I told her.
“Why?”
“Because I had to wait out the storm in a tavern.”
“Why?”
“Because I was out in the town when it started to rain,” I told her.
“Why?”
“Because there were things I had to do today.”
“Like the palace? Did you storm the palace?”
“Sort of,” I said.
“Well, did you win?”
“Sort of,” I said again. “Let’s go. If we don’t go spar now we won’t have time, because I have to go back soon.”
There was a scramble for sparring clothes, and then all four children, plus their guards, were following me down to the square by the barracks, where we did indeed spar, or at least play at sparring, amongst the puddles until Sasha and Tima came out, at which point I said I had to go, but that I would be back soon and we could all go out together after supper.
“Why are you taking guards, mama?” Mirochka demanded, looking less than pleased at this arrangement.
“So I won’t be alone,” I said. “Now go! You’ll need to wash off before supper.”
“You’re going to miss supper if you go now, mama!”
“I’m sure they’ll save some for me,” I told her.
“I want you to have supper with us, mama!”
“Perhaps tomorrow,” I said. “But right now I have to go.”
Mirochka started to pout. I opened my mouth to say something sharp to her about it, but before I could get the words out, she suddenly closed her eyes and grabbed my hand. “Don’t be so sad, mama,” she whispered. “And don’t be afraid of the palace.”
I bent down towards her. “Did you see something?” I asked softly.
She nodded.
“What did you see?”
“The palace makes you sad, mama,” she whispered. “Why does it make you sad?”
“It just does.”
“And afraid,” she said. “But you don’t have to be scared of it.”
“What did you see?” I asked again.
She shook her head. “I don’t know, mama. I don’t. But there’s nothing to be scared of there. The dragon isn’t looking at you.”
“There’s a dragon there?” I asked.
She nodded. “But it doesn’t see you properly. It’s looking at you but not seeing you.”
“Well, that’s good to know,” I said.
“But you have to hurry, mama! It’s going to open its eyes soon!”
“I will,” I promised. “I’ll hurry right back and then we’ll all have fun together this evening, are we agreed? Now go and wash up with your brothers, and I’ll be back before you’re done with supper.”
“Here, mama.” She took something out of her pocket and slipped it into my hand. It was a small smooth stone.
“Will it protect me from the dragon?” I asked.
She nodded seriously. “I found it when we were traveling here, and I had a dream that night that it would protect you from a dragon. I had been really scared before that, because I knew that something might be waiting for us here, but then I found this stone and I knew everything would be all right.”
“Then I’ll keep it with me always,” I said. “Now go!”
She and the tsarinoviches left, escorted by the guards.
“Are you ready?” I asked Sasha and Tima, trying to ignore the lump in my throat. It was just a stone. But one that Mirochka had given me in order to protect me. I wondered if the dream she’d had about the dragon had been a true dream. She had always been such a fanciful child…but maybe what I had taken to be fancies were actually visions. I rubbed the stone. It was pleasantly smooth, and sliding my fingers over it did make me feel calmer.
“Whenever you are, Valeriya Dariyevna,” said Sasha, and we set off back to the Velikokrasnova palace.
Chapter Nineteen
When we arrived there shortly before the sixth hour the same two guards were there waiting for us, looking apprehensive. “Please send word that I have returned, and await Ivan Marinovich at his convenience,” I said.
They exchanged glances and then, having apparently gained strength from whatever they saw in each other’s eyes, nodded and called in through the little window in the door that I had returned. The same serving girl we had seen before called back a reply that I could barely make out, but that seemed to say that Ivan Marinovich would be right down. I resisted the urge to look significantly at Sasha and see if he had heard the same thing I had. Would it really be that easy?
“Ivan Marinovich and his escort will be down directly, Valeriya Dariyevna,” said one of the guards.
I stopped myself from asking what they were playing at. Maybe it really would be that easy. After all, Princess Velikokrasnova was, among other things, shrewd. She was unlikely to risk an open breach with the Tsarina if she could help it. And she could easily have decided to change tactics and, through her apparent
compliance, play some other deep game. Or…there was considerable bustle in the hall on the other side of the door, more than I would have expected for just Ivan Marinovich. And then the door was flung open and two guards came out, followed by Princess Velikokrasnova, Nika, Ivan, and two more guards.
“Valeriya Dariyevna,” said Princess Velikokrasnova. Her nostrils flared as she spoke.
I bowed.
“I told you we were indisposed and not receiving visitors today, but since you chose to ignore that, I have decided to humor you. Is it really true that the Empress wishes to see my son?”
“It is,” I said. “She awaits the pleasure eagerly.”
Princess Velikokrasnova’s nostrils flared again, probably because she had been hoping to catch me out in a lie. “And he can have any escort I name?”
“Of course,” I said. “The Tsarina would not want him to be unsafe, or not to be escorted as befits his station.”
“In that case, I name these four guards here—and myself and my husband.”
I bowed again. “It will be an honor.”
She gave me a sour look and turned to the guard standing beside her. “Is the kibitka being brought round?” she asked.
“Here it is, Marina Yekaterinovna.” And indeed, a small kibitka, just big enough for three to ride inside and four to ride outside and stand guard was coming up to us.
Princess Velikokrasnova turned back to me. “I fear there is room only for my own party, Valeriya Dariyevna. We will await you at the kremlin.”
“Of course,” I said, and stepped back so that the kibitka could pull up to them and they could all get in. Nika gave me a brief but miserable look as he went by me, and Ivan hurried past with flushed cheeks and downcast eyes. I waited until they were all in the kibitka and it had started down the street, before turning back to Sasha and Tima.