by Naomi Lane
“I think you handled it brilliantly anyway.” Aylin smiled.
Jenna smiled back. “Thank you.”
They continued to ride for a little while, talking about magic and Jenna’s trip to Akkara, the major Khazaran port city, when she was little.
She eventually made her way back to the stables, while Aylin rode out to rejoin the other group. Jenna was beginning to feel tired again and hoped Tobin would be able to help her with Bree. Instead, she heard voices inside the stables as she walked inside.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I was here working all morning.” Tobin was talking to Master Durand and Lord Fyrian. He seemed somewhat frantic. Jenna prayed he wouldn’t be hurt because of her lie.
“It’s true. I see some vague resemblance, but you are not the boy caught out in the main stables,” said Lord Fyrian. “Strange that he would know you and get your accent right. How long have you worked here?”
“My parents came when I was just a child, but I have only worked the last six months at the stables,” Tobin replied.
Jenna had been careful during this time not to interrupt the conversation. She was grateful Tobin was in no trouble and proceeded to get Bree’s saddle off while she listened. With luck, she would be able to leave the stables without being noticed.
“You are well-acquainted with the palace staff then?” asked Lord Fyrian.
“Well, yes. I do live here,” said Tobin.
Lord Fyrian sighed. “It could have been another servant.”
“Miss Mallory was out riding this morning. I could ask her if she saw anyone,” said Master Durand. “I saw her return from a ride just now.”
“Jenna Mallory? The one we just heard almost killed a palace healer today?”
“Yes. That is her. I am assured that the incident with the healer was just an accident, however.”
“Very well. We can ask her,” said Lord Fyrian, with a sigh.
Jenna started to panic. She ducked inside Bree’s stall not wanting to be seen by the Lord lest he recognize her. Then she heard running footsteps and another voice, one Jenna knew belonged to the man who had found her with the stallion in the stables that morning.
“I just heard that one of the bricklayers saw someone matching the description of the boy over in the West Wing of the palace earlier today,” said the man, slightly out of breath.
“We’d better question him then,” replied Lord Fyrian. “Master Durand, please let me know if you learn anything.”
“Of course, My Lord,” replied Durand as the other two men turned to leave. Jenna breathed a huge sigh of relief and went back to giving Bree a brief rub down.
“Miss Mallory?” Jenna looked over to see Master Durand at the entrance to Bree’s stall. Apparently he still wanted to question her. She gulped.
“Yes, sir.” She smiled, trying desperately to pretend nothing was amiss. She thought of her sister, Ana. Ana could always charm her way out of trouble.
“A boy was caught impersonating Tobin this morning over in the West Wing training yard. Did you see anyone strange this morning either here about the stables or in your ride in the park?”
“No, nothing at all. I saw no one except you and maybe Tobin.”
“You are sure?” Durand’s eyebrow rose.
Jenna forced herself to keep smiling. “Yes. It was a very ordinary ride on Bree today,” she replied.
“Very well then. Let me finish with Bree. You may run along now.”
“Thank you very much, sir.” She did a slight curtsy and then walked out. She started to walk faster once out of the stables and did not breathe again until she reached the East Wing.
She had a small meal that afternoon and went straight to her bed in the dormitory afterward. Although she felt exhausted, it was hard for her to fall asleep. The horrible events of the day kept popping into her head, as did her strange dream about the white-haired man, Lord Harcourt. Finally, she thought of the stallion and then of how wonderful it felt to jump the fences that morning. She eventually fell asleep and did not wake until the next day.
Chapter 7
Jenna knelt in the central courtyard along with the rest of the Ladies and most of the palace staff. It was her first Sevday at court, and she found her first week there had given her much to pray about. The prayer sessions were purposefully nonspecific about which gods were prayed to. Sevalians were all free to worship in their own way, and people from different provinces had different traditions. Her own family was not particularly religious, so she prayed to any god that would listen. She asked forgiveness for sneaking out to see her brother and nearly being disgraced. She asked for strength to deal with her growing magical abilities. Most of all, though, she thought of her family and prayed she would not fail them.
Luckily, her past three days at court were not as exciting as the first two and a half. Jenna’s life had finally calmed down and settled into a routine. She tried her best to follow her brother’s advice and stay out of trouble, though it was hard to shake her reputation as a dangerous foreigner with strange magic.
Her relations with the other Ladies showed no improvement. She filled most of her spare time by reading and made frequent use of the palace library. Books seemed to be the only outlet for her to finish the education her father had started. The classes in needlework and drawing would not suffice. In fact, she found them rather dull. At least learning music was enjoyable, and dance classes were helping her balance better in her shoes, but she still wondered if she would be sent away for magical training in the desert. The Queen was planning on talking to her the following day.
DONG! DONG! DONG! The gong sounded to indicate the end of prayers. The earth mage from the guild who was leading the prayer session indicated for everyone to rise, and Jenna and the other Ladies began to file out of the yard.
She looked over her shoulder and caught her brother’s eye as he was leaving. He gestured to her with his right hand, first holding up one finger and then rubbing his hand through his hair and grabbing his earlobe. It was part of a signaling system they had developed as children when they didn’t want their parents to know their plans. It had worked well for some time until their father figured out their system. Still, Jenna remembered it well enough to know he wanted to meet her at the stables in one hour. She held up a fist and winked to let him know she understood. He then touched his left shoulder, indicating they would ride. Jenna began to smile, but noticed Aurelia was looking at her oddly. She broke off eye contact with Peter and rejoined the group of Ladies as they walked toward the East Wing.
Aurelia paused to let Jenna come up to walk beside her. “I saw your brother walking next to mine,” she said. “They seem to be getting along quite well.”
Jenna shrugged. “Peter has never had trouble making friends. Your brother was the tall one with blue eyes?”
“Yes. Have you been introduced?”
Jenna blushed slightly, remembering the time she saw him when she had sneaked out. Fortunately, she had a cover story. “No, but he looks a lot like his father.”
“Oh yes. You met Papa at the feast.”
Jenna nodded.
“Tell me, Jenna. Papa mentioned that your eldest brother died.”
Jenna sighed. She wondered if the whole court would soon know about Alex. “Yes. It was a tragic accident.”
“So this means that Peter is your father’s sole heir and will inherit the trading company?”
“Yes. He is my father’s sole male heir, but Peter will not control the entire company. My father shares ownership with his siblings, my aunt and uncle. My uncle has a son who will inherit his share of the company, and my father may also decide to include company shares in my or my sister’s dowries.”
Aurelia’s eyebrows lifted. “Really? Two thousand gold doubloons are not enough?”
Jenna pursed her lips and looked down at her feet.
Aurelia chuckled. “Jenna, you are new to court, but you will soon learn. Some of the other Ladies do not have access to th
e same wealth we do. They get jealous; some may lash out. But just to be clear, I can handle the competition.”
Jenna looked up again at Aurelia after that statement, but Aurelia just smiled and walked away to go talk to some of the older Ladies. Jenna was left to shake her head in silence.
It was looking to be a scorcher that day, and all of the other Ladies thought Jenna mad when she left to go riding after lunch. Jenna did not appreciate the heat either, but knew it was important to talk to Peter. Once at the stables, she said hello to Master Durand and then began to saddle Bree. Soon she was riding out and saw Peter astride Rune, coming toward her.
“Hot day for a ride,” she said as he came near.
“Perhaps, but I thought we might ride through the hunting grounds. It’s cooler in the woods.”
Jenna was pleasantly surprised by this. “You don’t think we’ll get lost?”
“Sebastian showed me around. If we stay to the trails we’ll be fine. Come on.” Peter took off at a canter, and Jenna followed. They rode past the East Wing of the castle and down the eastern road, which they had previously taken to enter the palace grounds. Instead of riding all of the way to the gate, however, they veered off on a dirt trail through a wooded area. Peter slowed Rune to a walk so he could better talk to his sister. “Well, Jenna,” he began. “Despite your best efforts to leave the palace I see you are still here.”
“Peter!” Jenna did not appreciate his tone of voice. “I am trying.”
“Trying? How hard were you trying when you got caught mooning over Sebastian’s horse?”
Jenna winced. “How did you know about the horse?”
Peter shrugged. “Word gets around. V, especially, has his sources among the palace staff.”
Jenna sighed. “You’re becoming just like Papa, I see, with his network of powerful allies.”
“I am only doing what I was sent here to do, and may I remind you what you are here to do is impress the Queen and make friends with her Ladies.”
Jenna scowled. She turned Bree around and headed back in the direction of the palace.
“Jenna, wait. Where are you going?” Peter rode after her.
“I didn’t come out here to be lectured to. I know what’s expected. I don’t need your reminders.”
“All right, all right.” Peter sighed. “I’m sorry. Please don’t leave.”
Jenna stopped Bree and turned her around. They continued their ride through the woods, this time without talking for several minutes.
Eventually Peter spoke up. “Listen, Jenna, the truth is I wanted to talk privately with you because I’ve been worried sick. I mean, are you really feeling okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“First off, I saw you cruelly beaten in front of me.”
“Oh that. It’s fine. You know how it is; I heal fast. Besides it was worth it. I got to jump those fences, and it felt great to stick it to Nigen.”
“Well… none of us really like Nigen either, but you are driving Lord Fyrian crazy. He practically thinks he is seeing ghosts. He even sent word to all of the castle servants that the boy who rode that day would not be punished if he came forward, saying instead he would be sent to the army training camp on the lakeshore.”
“Really?” Jenna’s eyes lit up at this news. “Maybe I should come forward then.”
Peter shook his head. “That is ridiculous. If they knew you were a girl, they would never train you to fight.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she glared at her brother. “Boys have all the fun.”
They came upon a small grassy clearing with a large tree stump in the center where a great oak had once been. They paused there to give the horses a break and enjoy the scene. Jenna sighed. “You may not need to worry about me much more anyway, Peter. Now that my magic has been discovered, the Crown may order me to the desert to train among the Rahtani.”
“What?” Peter went wide-eyed. “What do you mean by ‘discovered’? I mean, I know there was an accident with a healer. What did you say?”
“I told them I had magic from my mother’s side of the family and that I heal quickly and communicate with horses. I couldn’t lie to them after they discovered I had magic.”
“But what is this nonsense about training in the desert? Father will not allow that.”
“The Queen talked to me. She said the Tower mages were researching my magic and may recommend I go there to train my abilities.”
“Train your ability to self-heal and talk to horses?”
“Yes. Why do you look so concerned?”
“They don’t know about the weapons?”
Jenna had practically forgotten about those. “Oh no, not at all.”
Peter let out a long breath.
“Is there something you aren’t telling me?” she asked, her arms on her hips.
Peter dragged his hand through is hair. “No. I was just surprised. Jenna, listen. Tell the Queen that the Rahtani don’t train mages as they do in Sevalia. It just isn’t necessary. Do you really think your abilities need training?”
“Um, well.” Jenna thought about it for a second. “It always seemed instinctual before, but during the testing I felt the magic power flow through my body, and I saw firsthand how that may be dangerous. Now I don’t know.”
Peter sighed. “I’m no expert, but if they want you to train your magic in that fashion, you’re most likely better off here with the palace training staff.”
Jenna thought about training under Delia with the other Ladies, not a pleasant idea. But she still didn’t understand Peter or her family’s repulsion to her traveling to the desert to train. “I don’t know, Peter. Why would Papa disapprove of me visiting Mama’s people? Why did you ask about the weapons?”
Peter put his hand through his hair again. “Look. You just mentioned the desert, and I thought you might have blurted out that you had the weapons.”
“Maybe I should tell the Queen about them. They do seem to have a magical way of appearing in people’s luggage without being packed.”
“No, Jenna. You shouldn’t. It’s illegal for Sevalian women to have them. It would cause another scandal.”
“Humph.” Jenna, reins in one hand, crossed her arms over her chest.
Peter sighed. “Okay. I’ll make you a deal. You stay here at the palace and stay quiet about the weapons, and I will…”
“What?”
“I will share with you some of what I learn about hand-to-hand combat. Hell, even girls could use some knowledge of self-defense.”
Jenna’s whole face lit up. “Really, Peter?”
He just let out a long sigh. Jenna moved Bree in close so she could kiss him on the cheek. “Where? When?” she asked. “May we start now?”
Peter surveyed the meadow. “This seems like an appropriate secluded place.” While the horses grazed, Peter showed his sister some tricks about how to get away from an attacker that had grabbed her from behind. Jenna learned about weak spots in the human body she could take advantage of: instep, nose and solar plexus to start. Because Jenna was in a dress she was more limited in her movement than she wanted to be.
After their workout, as they were preparing to leave, Jenna asked if they could meet before prayers the next time. It would be easier for her to get away from the other Ladies in more appropriate attire. Peter agreed. They planned to meet every Sevday an hour after dawn at the meadow. Jenna sent Bree an image of riding in the woods, and she was highly approving.
They rode through the hunting grounds on their way out such that they emerged from the woods on the west side of the palace. “May we go to the West Wing stables?” Jenna asked.
“Why? So you can moon over Sebastian’s horse some more?”
She bit her lip. “Maybe,” she replied.
“No, Jenna. I don’t want anyone to notice you there. You could still be recognized.”
“Okay,” she replied, disheartened.
“Look, we can ride past there.”
Jenna smiled, and they turn
ed their horses toward the palace. As they rode, she got a sense of unease coming from the stables. Some of the horses were definitely upset. She began to ride over despite Peter’s warning.
“Jenna, what are you doing?” asked Peter, who began to chase after her.
“Something’s wrong,” she replied.
“What?”
“I don’t know.” Jenna hopped off of Bree from her sidesaddle and tied her up outside. Once in the stables she saw a group of three men around one of the stalls. One was wearing a healer’s robe. She got the sense that the horse inside was extremely afraid and in pain, and so she dashed over. She heard Peter behind her and then some of the men talking as she approached. “…shame really. Let’s just get this over with. Wait, hold on. Miss? Who are you? What are you doing here?”
Jenna, out of breath, stopped as the men glared down at her. She thought one of them was the handler she had seen with the stallion when she had first seen him. The one who addressed her was an older man, and the healer completed the group. “I sensed something wrong,” she replied and looked at the horse for the first time. She was horrified to discover the mare she had ridden when she jumped the fences standing there with an awful pain in her left front leg.
Peter then caught up. “I apologize for my sister, Master Barrett.” Peter addressed the older man. “She just really likes horses.”
“This must be the famous Miss Jenna Mallory then,” said Barrett. “Durand says you have a way with the beasts. Unfortunately, this one has gone lame. Healer Logan says there is nothing he can do. She must be put down.”
“No!” Jenna replied. She moved in to get closer to the mare. Peter put a hand on her arm to restrain her.
“Jenna, I think we should go. You don’t want to see this.”
“She’s afraid.” Jenna sensed fear from the mare and images of death in her mind. “She knows what you’re planning. She doesn’t want to die.”
Barrett sighed. “This isn’t pleasant for us either. The healer can make it painless. Would you rather her live in this condition?”
“No,” Jenna felt a tear in her eye. Her heart was breaking into a thousand pieces as she saw the mare’s distress. “Maybe I can help with my magic.”