by Robin Roseau
“Is this about Flame?” Ahlianna asked.
I rolled back. “Partly. But she’s not here, either, and she may not be coming. She may not see a way of making it work, and I could receive a letter any day telling me not to expect her.”
“Is that your agreement?”
“Yes. So it’s about Flame, yes. But it’s also about Shalendra, who I’ve also tried on for size, so to speak.”
“I suppose this is when I should tell you I went to lunch with her,” Ahlianna said.
“Stay out of my love life.”
She waved a finger at me. “I’ll meddle if I want to. It was a nice lunch, and I support a continued relationship.”
“All right then,” I said gently.
“I don’t know if Shalendra has fully thought this through,” I declared.
“Yes, well, that’s something I asked her, and I believe she has. Gretchena.”
“At least a year too late. If she’d written me in the first few months I was in Dennaholst, I’d have hurried to tell her to join me. But she didn’t, and I don’t particularly care if she had good reasons for that.”
“She may have felt she should do it in person.”
“I don’t care.”
“She may have felt she should do it here, or to talk to Mother first.”
“I don’t care. Did you talk to her about it?”
“No. Allium told her you had left. I didn’t ask for details. But I was beyond livid with her, so I stayed away from her.”
“Mother, do not put her on the list,” I said firmly.
“All right,” Mother said gently. “Are you going to be all right?”
“Yes. Please invite Shalendra to dinner. I know it’s short notice.”
“Don’t be offended if she doesn’t come.”
“I won’t. I have a commitment tomorrow, but I’m free the day after, so if she can’t come tonight, maybe she’ll come then.”
“I’ll offer both, with a preference.” She hugged me and kissed my head. “You’re getting rid of me so you can talk to your sister longer.”
“And because I’d like to see Shalendra.”
“I’ll do what I can.”
Mother slipped away. Ahlianna stayed. Once the door was closed, I smiled at Ahlianna. “I never did ask if you had a nice time in Charth.”
“We talked about it at your birthday last year.”
“You didn’t give me a single detail.”
“And I’m not going to do so now.”
“Did you wear red?”
“Sister.”
“Did you belong to Gionna for a while?”
I watched her think about it. Finally, she smiled and said, “Yes.”
“Did anyone wear red for you?”
“I was a little cocky.”
“Were you? Do tell.”
“It was a given I’d have a challenge with Gionna.”
“Which you were going to lose.”
“Yes, well, everyone else knew that.”
I laughed. “What happened?”
“We didn’t make any special wagers or anything like that. I offered a little trash talk. Gionna laughed, not realizing at first that I was serious. And then she told me how easy I was going to be, and it wasn’t trash talk. I didn’t believe her. I’m not often that wrong.”
I laughed. “And?”
“And… I wore red for three days.” I didn’t ask if she enjoyed it. I knew she did. “Later, I was far more subdued.”
“It only took one lesson?”
“Yes, although a talk afterwards with Allium, Gionna, Olivia, Bee, and Dee helped. They told me that Gionna didn’t necessarily inherit any particular skills being her mother’s daughter, and that I probably didn’t even know anyone I could beat. Well, anyone I was likely to consider for something like that.”
“Meaning you and I are both neophytes.”
“Right.”
“This is a long story just to tell me whether someone wore red for you.”
“Which, given that you already know the things I didn’t, is an odd question.”
“And one that seems to be taking a lot of words to answer.”
“Well.”
“Yes?”
“In that same conversation, it was suggested that we should find a way I could experience the reverse situation.”
“And?”
“And Gionna offered to be pacified for it.”
“Oh, my.”
“And then she didn’t wait. She had it ready and poured it down before anyone could stop her.”
“Wow,” I said.
“We waited for it to fully go into effect. And she beat me anyway.” I began laughing. “So that was three more days.”
“I really wish I’d been there.”
“Everyone was quite surprised. Apparently, that is so rare that they didn’t realize that winning a challenge would also counteract the pacification formula.”
“You poor thing,” I said.
“Right,” she agreed. “Because I hated it.” I grinned again. “So…”
“This story still hasn’t reached a conclusion?”
“No. I haven’t answered your question. Allium invited me to her study in the evening, four days later. Olivia and Gionna were there along with Rennda Gyrolite.”
“I like her,” I said.
“She stepped to me, and before I could respond, she offered a sweet kiss and then challenged me.”
“Oh, my.”
“And then drank a pacification potion.”
“Oh,” I said. “Oh. She’s very sweet.”
“She is,” Ahlianna said. “We took her back to Olivia’s. They had things ready. And then Bee and Dee helped me besides.”
“Making sure.”
“Making sure,” she confirmed. “I’m not sure I needed the help, but I had no confidence by then.”
“I bet it was nice.”
“Very nice,” she said. “That was also three days, but we stayed with Olivia. Then she helped me release her, but we cuddled afterwards.”
“I bet that was nice, too.”
“It was,” she agreed. “No one has ever done something like that for me before, and if she had, I would have suspected their motives. But she did it because she said she wanted to.”
“That’s really sweet,” I said. “Thank you for telling me.” We both rolled onto our backs, and then our hands found each other again.
“Are you all right?” she asked eventually.
“Yes, I’m fine. Or will be.”
“Are you sure this is how you want to handle it?”
“Yes. It’s not like I haven’t thought about it. I don’t think she really did anything wrong. Well, I think coming here was foolish.”
“Maybe she feels you’re worth the risk.”
“She hasn’t a clue what it would mean,” I replied. “The only way she could truly be happy with me is if we pacified her – twice – and did a permanent challenge.” Ahlianna chuckled. I giggled. “Can you imagine?”
“You could keep her on the side.”
“Yeah, no. How did you leave things with Rennda?”
“She told me she’ll happily give me any real challenges I want, but being pacified was a one-time offer. But it was very sweet, and I’m going to remember she did it.”
“I’m sure she had a nice time.”
“I think you might be right,” Ahlianna said. Without looking, I could tell she was smiling. “Want me to stay?”
“I’m fine. I’ll read a little longer and wonder if Shalendra is coming to dinner.”
Suitor
Dinner was casual. Shalendra did, indeed, accept Mother’s offer, and we smiled at each other before I stepped to her and offered our now-traditional greeting. Then I offered her my arm.
Mother had also arranged a companion for Ahlianna, one of her registered suitors, a pleasant-enough man named Almon Crayvre. Almon was my age, the younger son of some lord’s cousin; I didn’t really pay that much attention
. But he was reasonably charming, and Ahlianna didn’t seem that surprised to see him.
And so there were six of us for an easy dinner with the family. Mother managed the conversation, giving both our guests an opportunity to present themselves favorably.
I actually spent some time considering Ahlianna’s situation. It had not been a given that Mother would have been named Queen. She could simply have been Father’s consort. There would still have been a marriage, but Mother’s title was not automatic.
And that meant Almon’s title wouldn’t be at all automatic, if this were to go in that direction. It wasn’t an issue for me, because my spouse took on no particular title. There would be no new prince or princess. I would retain my title, but my children’s names would be so endowed only if Ahlianna produced no heirs.
I wondered how much Almon knew of all of this.
It was three quarters of the way through the meal that Almon said, “I don’t want to be out of place.”
“I think you need to say more than that before I could advise you,” Ahlianna replied.
“I want to ask a question, but if it’s inappropriate, could we pretend I didn’t ask.” He paused. “Maybe I should just shut up.”
“Well, that would be foolish,” Father said. “Do you know why?”
“No, Your Majesty.”
“One of my daughters should explain.” And then he, Mother, and Ahlianna looked pointedly at me.
“Right,” I said. “This is an intimate dinner. You aren’t going to cause some sort of incident by asking a question, not like you would if you asked in a larger setting.”
“I wouldn’t,” he replied.
“Father has never discouraged Ahlianna and me from learning, from asking questions. He only counsels us to consider the audience, and to consider whether we already know the answer. He encourages us to think. Have you thought about this?”
“I have, Your Highness. And I don’t have a clue of the answer.”
“Then you should ask. How else will you learn?”
“Maybe I should ask Ahlianna in private.”
“So you’re going to have just been given advice by the king of the country as well as his younger daughter, but you’re going to ignore it?” I asked.
“When you put it that way.” But he dropped his gaze for a moment. Then he looked up. “Is this a serious courtship?”
“Do you mean yours with Ahlianna, or Shalendra with me?”
“The latter.”
I turned to the woman seated beside me. “Well, Shalendra, I can answer for myself, but I can’t answer for you. Are you going to put him off?”
“I don’t need to put him off. I’m absolutely serious. Are you?”
“Yes, but I’m not in a hurry.”
“As we’ve discussed.”
“As we’ve discussed,” I confirmed. Then I lifted her hand and kissed. “I had an upsetting meeting earlier, and I really wanted Shalendra here afterwards. That should also tell everyone something.” She smiled broadly and squeezed my hand. “I’ll tell you about it later.” She nodded.
I turned to Almon. “My turn. How do you feel about my answer?”
“I don’t know if I have an opinion.”
“Then I’ll ask another way. If you heard I was becoming serious with a woman suitor, would you be offended?”
“No. I suppose some would be scandalized.”
“Have people talked about us?”
“I’ve heard a few things. I don’t really pay attention to gossip.”
“Said someone who doesn’t want to tell me how bad the gossip is.”
“No,” he replied. “People gossip. And how they gossip isn’t always a fair indication of how they really feel. One person can sour a conversation, and other people may offer agreement when they don’t really agree. And they’re more likely to agree negatively than positively. But everyone loves you, Darfelsa. I’ve heard a few people asking whether Queen Ralifta knows what she’s doing, but that’s the closest to criticism I’ve heard. But I don't really pay that much attention to it.”
“All right. And do they know you’re one of my sister’s suitors?”
“Yes, but until tonight, I wouldn’t have thought I was very high on the list.”
“All of you are equal,” Ahlianna said. “Like Darfelsa, I am not in a hurry to marry. I am still consolidating my position, as is Darfelsa. Mother didn’t ask my opinion before inviting you, but if she had, I would have simply told her to pick someone she thought might be available on such short notice. Thank you for coming, Almon. And thank you for being a good man.”
“Could I say something else?”
Father sighed, but didn’t comment. Ahlianna simply said, “Of course.”
He gestured across the table. “Clearly, this is untraditional. And I imagine the concept of a princess consolidating her position is also untraditional.”
“That is probably accurate,” I said.
“The reason I didn’t think I was very high on the list was because I couldn’t see myself as our king. No one would see me as our king. I am reasonably intelligent, but I am not at all commanding. Which means you intend to rule, and you’re considering choices of people who would support you, and perhaps people the other lords wouldn’t rally around in some sort of quiet coup.”
No one said a word, but he had our attention.
“I would support you, Ahlianna. I think I’d be a poor… I don’t know what word to use. A bad queen, I guess. I don’t know how I can help you, other than the most obvious way. But I’d support you as best I could, publicly and privately.”
“And that, Almon,” Mother said, “is why you are the one I invited tonight.”
“Oh,” he said. Then he repeated it. “Oh. I think I’m honored. I mean it, by the way.”
“I know you do,” Mother replied.
“Is it my turn?” Shalendra asked.
“If you like.”
She made her own gesture across the table to Ahlianna and Almon. “If this were to proceed, what happens?”
“Ah,” Ahlianna replied. “Almon would not be declared king. He would be known as the Queen’s Consort.”
“But you are Queen,” Shalendra said to mother.
“Yes, and that gives me authority I don’t use. If I had been King’s Consort, I would have had social standing and authority, but no political standing.”
“And so Almon would have social standing.”
“And authority,” Mother added.
“Which I don’t know how to use,” Almon inserted.
“You would rely on me,” Mother said.
“And, to far lesser extent, me,” I added. “I will have duties directly to Ahlianna.”
“I wouldn’t compare myself to the queen,” Shalendra said. “But it is likely I understand those particular duties far better than Almon does.”
“And so we would rely on you,” Mother replied. “But it may be that you wouldn’t always be here.”
“I would have taken you with me to Gandeet,” I pointed out.
“We’re getting ahead of ourselves.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “But you need to decide if the life you’re looking at is one you want, as does Almon. There are advantages, but aside from how you feel about me, there are also decided prices to pay.”
It was her turn to lift our clasped hands and kiss my fingers. “I’m staying, if you’ll have me.”
I smiled at her.
There was a pause, and then Father said, “I think it’s time.”
“For what, Leander?”
“To send a message.”
I’d been gazing at Shalendra, but at that, I turned to my father. He was watching Almon. “Ahlianna, this requires your agreement, so if you’re not ready for this, pretend I said nothing.”
“Understood, Father.”
“Ralifta, I think it’s time to trim Ahlianna’s list. Get rid of anyone who wouldn’t say the things Almon said tonight.”
Ahlianna’s relief was palp
able. She turned to Mother, who was watching her. Mother said simply, “I’ll see to it.”
“Almon stays,” Ahlianna said. “And I think there might be one or two others, but you may judge better than me.”
“One,” Mother said. “I’ve been sitting on a few others. I may add one or two. I may not. We’ll see.”
Ahlianna nodded.
“Almon,” Father said. “You’re not ready for this, but as this is the first intimate meal we’ve shared, that is no surprise. Ahlianna has said she’s taking her time, and I will not rush her. If the situation has not resolved itself somewhat in five years, I may grow more pointed. How will you respond if she chooses another direction?”
“I will be saddened, but I will support her, and the Princess Darfelsa. My support doesn’t mean much, but it should count for something.”
“And that is also why you’re here tonight,” said Mother.
* * * *
Mother led us to the ballroom. I didn’t expect dancing, but there was a quartet waiting, and they began playing just as we arrived.
Father invited Mother to dance. Ahlianna invited Almon. I turned to Shalendra and smiled, then lifted my arms.
She was a joy to hold.
We danced for an hour, rotating through partners. I danced with everyone present, and enjoyed each dance. When I had danced with Almon, I thanked him.
“You’re welcome, Darfelsa.”
“I don’t mean for the dance.”
“I think I understood that, too.”
I kissed his cheek and returned to Shalendra.
Mother and Father took their leave, walking together, the rest of us watching them. I took one more dance with everyone and then turned to Shalendra. “Would you like a tour?”
“You gave me one already.”
“I didn’t show you everywhere.”
“Oh. Yes, I think I’d like a tour.”
“Good night, Almon. I’ll see you at breakfast, Sister.” I took Shalendra’s hand and led her from the ballroom.
It would be a mistake to call it a tour. The tour consisted of the path from the ballroom to my bedroom. I led her in, closed the door, and turned to her, stepping to her. “If I were you, and I was suitor to a prince, this is the point I’d be offended.”
“I’m not offended.”
“Good.” We came together for a long, thorough kiss. That transitioned into a hug. “Would you like to stay the night?”