by Robin Hobb
August frowned suddenly and amended her introduction. ‘Fitz. The bastard.’
Kettricken looked shocked at this soubriquet, but Rurisk’s fair face darkened somewhat. Ever so slightly, he turned toward me, putting his shoulder to August. Even so, it was a gesture that needed no explaining in any language. ‘Yes,’ he said, switching to Chyurda and looking me full in the eye. ‘Your father spoke of you to me, the last time I saw him. I was grieved to hear of his death. He did much to prepare the way for the forging of this bond between our folk.’
‘You knew my father?’ I asked stupidly.
He smiled down at me. ‘Of course. He and I were treating together, regarding the use of Bluerock Pass, at Moonseye, north-east of here, when he first learned of you. When our time of talking of passes and trade as envoys were done, we sat down to meat together, and spoke, as men, of what he must next do. I confess, I still do not understand why he felt he must not rule as king. The customs of one folk are not those of another. Still, with this wedding, we shall be closer to making one folk of our peoples. Do you think that would please him?’
Rurisk was giving me his sole attention, and his use of Chyurda effectively excluded August from the conversation. Kettricken appeared fascinated. August’s face past Rurisk’s shoulder grew very still. Then, with a grim smile of purest hatred for me, he turned aside and rejoined the group around Regal, who was speaking with King Eyod. For whatever reason, I had the complete attention of Rurisk and Kettricken.
‘I did not know my father well, but I think he would be pleased to see …’ I began, but at that moment, Princess Kettricken smiled brilliantly at me.
‘Of course, how could I have been so stupid? You are the one they call Fitz. Do not you usually travel with Lady Thyme, King Shrewd’s poisoner? And are you not training as her apprentice? Regal has spoken of you.’
‘How kind of him,’ I said inanely, and I have no idea what next was said to me, nor what I replied. I could only be thankful I did not reel where I stood. And inside me, for the first time, I acknowledged that what I felt for Regal went beyond distaste. Rurisk frowned a brother’s rebuke at Kettricken, and then turned to deal with a servant urgently asking his instructions about something. Around me people conversed genially amid summer colours and scents, but I felt as if my guts had turned to ice.
I came back to myself when Kettricken plucked at my sleeve. ‘They are this way,’ she informed me. ‘Or are you too weary to enjoy them now? If you wish to retire, it will offend no one. I understand that many of you were too weary even to walk into the city.’
‘But many of us were not, and would truly have enjoyed the chance to walk leisurely through Jhaampe. I have been told of the Blue Fountains, and look forward to seeing them.’ I only faltered slightly as I said this, and hoped it had some bearing on what she had been saying to me. At least it had nothing to do with poison.
‘I will be sure you are guided to them, perhaps this evening. But for now, come this way.’ And with no more ado or formality than that, she led me away from the gathering. August watched after us as we walked away, and I saw Regal turn and say something in an aside to Rowd. King Eyod had withdrawn from the crowd, and was looking benignly down on all from an elevated platform. I wondered why Rowd had not remained with the horses and other servants, but then Kettricken was drawing a painted screen aside from a door-opening and we were leaving the main room of the palace.
We were outside, in fact, walking on a stone pathway under an archway of trees. They were willows, and their living branches had been interlaced and woven overhead to form a green screen from the noon sun. ‘And they shed rain from the path, too. At least, most of it,’ Kettricken added as she noted my interest. ‘This path leads to the shade gardens. They are my favourites. But perhaps you would wish to see the herbery first?’
‘I shall enjoy seeing any and all of the gardens, my lady,’ I replied, and this at least was true. Out here, away from the crowd, I would have more chance to sort my thoughts and ponder what to do from my untenable position. It was occurring to me, belatedly, that Prince Rurisk had shown none of the signs of injury or illness that Regal had reported. I needed to withdraw from the situation and re-evaluate it. There was more, much more, going on than I had been prepared for.
But with an effort I pulled my thoughts away from my own dilemma and focused on what the Princess was telling me. She spoke her words clearly, and I found her conversation much easier to follow away from the background chatter of the great hall. She seemed to know much about the gardens, and gave me to understand that it was not a hobby but knowledge that was expected of her as a princess.
As we walked and talked, I constantly had to remind myself that she was a princess, and betrothed to Verity. I had never encountered a woman like her before. She wore a quiet dignity, quite unlike the awareness of station that I usually encountered in those better born than I. But she did not hesitate to smile, or become enthused, or stoop to dig in the soil around a plant to show me a particular type of root she was describing. She rubbed the root free of dirt, then sliced a bit with her belt knife from the heart of the tuber, to allow me to taste its tang. She showed me certain pungent herbs for seasoning meat, and insisted I taste a leaf of each of three varieties, for though the plants were very similar, the flavours were very different. In a way, she was like Patience, without her eccentricity. In another way, she was like Molly, but without the callousness that Molly had been forced to develop to survive. Like Molly, she spoke directly and frankly to me, as if we were equals. I found myself thinking that Verity might find this woman more to his liking than he expected.
And yet, another part of me worried what Verity would think of his bride. He was not a womanizer, but his taste in women was obvious to anyone who had been much around him. And those whom he smiled upon were usually small and round and dark, often with curly hair and girlish laughter and tiny soft hands. What would he think of this tall, pale woman, who dressed as simply as a servant and declared she took much pleasure in tending her own gardens? As our talk turned, I found she could speak as familiarly about falconry and horse-breeding as any stableman. And when I asked her what she did for pleasure, she told me of her small forge and tools for working metal, and lifted her hair to show me the earrings she had made for herself. The finely-hammered silver petals of a flower clasped a tiny gem like a drop of dew. I had once told Molly that Verity deserved a competent and active wife, but now I wondered if she would much beguile him. He would respect her, I knew. But was respect enough between a king and his queen?
I resolved not to borrow trouble, but to keep my word to Verity instead. I asked her if Regal had told her much of her husband, and she became suddenly quiet. I sensed her drawing on her strength as she replied that she knew he was a King-in-Waiting with many problems facing his realm. Regal had warned her that Verity was much older than she was, a plain and simple man, who might not take much interest in her. Regal had promised to be ever by her, helping her to adapt, and doing his best to see that the court was not a lonely place for her. So she was prepared …
‘How old are you?’ I asked impulsively.
‘Eighteen,’ she replied, and then smiled to see the surprise on my face. ‘Because I am tall, your people seem to think I am much older than that,’ she confided to me.
‘Well, you are younger than Verity, then. But not so much more than between many wives and husbands. He will be thirty-three this spring.’
‘I had thought him much older than that,’ she said wonderingly. ‘Regal explained they share but a father.’
‘It is true that Chivalry and Verity were both sons of King Shrewd’s first queen, but there is not that great a span between them. And Verity, when he is not burdened with the problems of state, is not so dour and severe as you might imagine him. He is a man who knows how to laugh.’
She cast me a sideways glance, as if to see if I were trying to put a better face on Verity than he deserved.
‘It is true, princess. I hav
e seen him laugh like a child at the puppet shows at Springfest. And when all join in for luck at the fruitpress to make autumn wine, he does not hold back. But his greatest pleasure has always been the hunt. He has a wolfhound, Leon, which he holds dearer than some men hold their sons.’
‘But,’ Kettricken ventured to interrupt. ‘Surely this is as he was, once. For Regal speaks of him as a man older than his years, bent down by the cares of his people.’
‘Bent down as a tree burdened by snow, that springs erect again with the coming of spring. His last words to me before I left, princess, were to desire me to speak well of him to you.’
She cast her eyes down quickly, as if to hide from me the sudden lift of her heart. ‘I see a different man, when you speak of him.’ She paused, and then closed her mouth firmly, forbidding herself the request I heard anyway.
‘I have always seen him as a kind man. As kind as one lifted to such a responsibility can be. He takes his duties very seriously, and will not spare himself from what his folk need of him. This it is that has made him unable to come here, to you. He engages in a battle with the Red Ship Raiders, one he couldn’t fight from here. He gives up the interests of a man to fulfil his duty as a prince. Not through a coldness of spirit, or a lack of life in himself.’
She gave me a sideways glance, fighting the smile from her face as if what I told her were sweetest flattery such as a princess must not believe.
‘He is taller than I am, but only by a bit. His hair is very dark, as is his beard, when he lets it grow. His eyes are blacker still, yet when he is enthused, they shine. It is true there is a scattering of grey in his hair now that you would not have found a year ago. True, also, that his work has kept him from the sun and the wind, so his shoulders no longer tear the seams of his shirts. But my uncle is still very much a man, and I believe that when the danger of the Red Ships has been driven from our shores, he will ride and shout and hunt with his hound once more.’
‘You give me heart,’ she muttered, and then straightened herself as if she had admitted some weakness. Looking at me gravely, she asked, ‘Why does Regal not speak of his brother so? I thought I went to an old man, shaking of hand, too burdened by his duties to see a wife as anything other than another duty.’
‘Perhaps he …’ I began, and could think of no courtier’s way to say that Regal was frequently deceptive if it gained him his goal. For the life of me, I had no idea what goal might be served by making Kettricken so dread Verity.
‘Perhaps he has … been … unflattering about other things as well,’ Kettricken suddenly supposed aloud. Something seemed to alarm her. She took a breath, and became suddenly franker. ‘There was an evening, in my chamber, when we had dined, and Regal had, perhaps, drunk a bit too well. He told tales of you then, saying you had once been a sullen, spoiled child, too ambitious for your birth, but that since the King had made you his poisoner, you seemed content with your lot. He said it seemed to suit you, for even as a boy, you had enjoyed eavesdropping and skulking about and other secretive pursuits. Now, I do not tell you this to make a mischief, but only to let you know what I first believed of you. The next day Regal begged me to believe it had been the fancies of the wine rather than the facts he had shared with me. But one thing he had said that night was too icy a fear for me entirely to lay aside. He said that if the King did send you or Lady Thyme, it would be to poison my brother, so that I might be the sole heir to the Mountain Kingdom.’
‘You are speaking too quickly,’ I chided her gently, and hoped my smile did not look as dizzy and sickly as I suddenly felt. ‘I did not understand all you said.’ Desperately I strove to think of what to say. Even as accomplished a liar as I found such a direct confrontation uncomfortable.
‘I am sorry. But you speak our language so well, almost like a native. Almost as if you were recalling it, rather than learning it new. I will go more slowly. Some weeks, no, it was over a month ago, Regal came to my chambers. He had asked if he might dine alone with me, that we might get to know one another better, and …’
‘Kettricken!’ It was Rurisk, calling down the path as he came seeking us. ‘Regal is asking that you would come and meet the lords and ladies who have come so far to see your marriage.’
Jonqui was at his shoulder, hurrying after him, and as the second and unmistakable wave of dizziness hit me, I thought she looked too knowing. And, I asked myself, what step would Chade have taken if someone had sent a poisoner to Shrewd’s court, to eliminate Verity? All too obvious.
‘Perhaps,’ Jonqui suddenly suggested, ‘FitzChivalry would like to be shown the Blue Fountains now. Litress has said she would gladly take him.’
‘Maybe later this afternoon,’ I managed to say. ‘I find myself suddenly wearied. I think I shall seek my chamber.’
None of them looked surprised. ‘Shall I have some wine sent to you?’ Jonqui asked graciously. ‘Or perhaps some soup? The others will be summoned to a meal soon. But, if you are tired, it is no trouble to bring food to you.’
Years of training came to the fore. I kept my posture straight, despite the sudden fire in my belly. ‘That would be most kind of you,’ I managed to say. The brief bow I forced myself to make was sophisticated torture. ‘I am sure I will rejoin you soon.’
And I excused myself, and I did not run, nor curl in a ball and whimper as I wished to. I walked, with obvious enjoyment of the plantings, back through the garden to the door of the great hall. And the three of them watched me go, and spoke softly together of what we all knew.
I had but one trick left to me, and small hope it would be effective. Back in my room, I dug out the seapurge the Fool had given me. How long, I wondered, had it been since I had eaten the honey cakes? For that was the venue I would have chosen. Fatalistically, I decided I would trust the ewer of water in my room. A tiny part of me said that was foolish, but as wave after wave of giddiness washed over me, I felt incapable of any further thought. With shaking hands I crumbled the seapurge into water. The dried herb absorbed the water and became a green sticky wad, which I managed to choke down. I knew it would empty my stomach and bowels. The only question was, would it be swift enough, or was the Chyurda poison too widespread in me?
I spent a miserable evening that I will not dwell on. No one came to my room with soup or wine. In my moments of lucidity, I decided they would not come until they were sure their poison had had its effect. Morning, I decided. They would send a servant to waken me, and he would discover my death. I had until morning.
It was past midnight when I was able to stand. I left my room as silently as my shaking legs would carry me and went out into the garden. I found a cistern of water there, and drank until I thought I would burst. I ventured further into the garden, walking slowly and carefully, for I ached as if I had been beaten and my head pounded painfully with each step I took. But eventually I stumbled into an area of fruit trees gracefully trained along a wall, and as I had hoped, they were heavy with the harvest. I helped myself, filling my jerkin with a supply. These I would conceal in my room, to give me food I could safely consume. Sometime tomorrow, I would make an excuse to go down and check on Sooty. My saddlebags still held some dried meat and hard bread. I hoped it would be enough to get me through this visit.
And as I made my way back to my room, I wondered what else they would try when they found the poison hadn’t worked.
TWENTY-ONE
Princes
Of the Chyurdan herb Carryme, their saying is, ‘A leaf to sleep, two to dull pain, three for a merciful grave.’
Towards dawn, I finally dozed, only to be awakened by Prince Rurisk flinging aside the screen that served as door to my chamber. He burst into the room, flourishing a sloshing decanter. The looseness of the garment that fluttered about him declared it a nightrobe. I rolled quickly from the bed and managed to stand, with the bedstead between us. I was cornered, sick and weaponless, save for my belt knife.
‘You live still!’ he exclaimed in amazement, then advanced on me with his fl
ask. ‘Quick, drink this.’
‘I would sooner not,’ I told him, retreating as he advanced.
Seeing my wariness, he paused. ‘You have taken poison,’ he told me carefully. ‘It is fully a miracle of Chranzuli that you still live. This is a purge, that will flush it from your body. Take it, and you may still live.’
‘There is nothing left in my body to purge,’ I told him bluntly, and then caught at a table as I began to shake. ‘I knew I had been poisoned when I left you last night.’
‘And you said nothing to me?’ He was incredulous. He turned back to the door, where Kettricken now peeked in timidly. Her hair was in tousled braids, and her eyes red with weeping. ‘It is averted, small thanks to you,’ her brother told her severely. ‘Go and make him a salty broth from some of last night’s meat. And bring a sweet pastry as well. Enough for both of us. And tea. Go on now, you foolish girl!’
Kettricken scampered off like a child. Rurisk gestured at the bed. ‘Come. Trust me enough to sit down. Before you upset the table with your shaking. I am speaking plainly to you. You and I, FitzChivalry, we have no time for this distrust. There is much we must speak of, you and I.’
I sat down, not out of trust so much as for fear I would otherwise collapse. Without formality, Rurisk sat down on the end of the bed. ‘My sister,’ he said gravely, ‘is impetuous. Poor Verity will find her more child than woman, I fear, and much of that is my fault; I have spoiled her so. But, although that explains her fondness for me, it does not excuse her poisoning of a guest. Especially not on the eve of her wedding to his uncle.’
‘I think I would have felt much the same about it at any time,’ I said, and Rurisk threw back his head and laughed.
‘There is much of your father in you. So would he have said, I am sure. But I must explain. She came to me days ago, to tell me that you were coming to make an end of me. I told her then that it was not her concern, and I would take care of it. But, as I have said, she is impulsive. Yesterday she saw an opportunity and took it. With no regard as to how the death of a guest might affect a carefully-negotiated wedding. She thought only to do away with you before vows bound her to the Six Duchies and made such an act unthinkable. I should have suspected it when she took you so quickly to the gardens.’