by Sharon Green
I sighed on the inside while conceding her point with a nod, but not because the possibility worried me. As long as all their applicants were accounted for, those people shouldn't care who did the head-counting. Warla always worried about getting in trouble over something, and right now I had no strength to argue with her. It was easier to simply let the point go, and take myself down to meet my visitor.
I'd gotten dressed once I'd returned to my apartment from the bath house, so all I had to do was smooth my skirts down against possible wrinkles before heading for the door. Warla followed behind me, but at the bottom of the stairs she slipped past to lead me toward the library. Inside was a pleasant-looking woman in her mid-thirties, who got to her feet with a smile when Warla stepped aside to let me walk in.
"Dama Domon, I apologize for intruding so close to dinner time," she said, stepping forward to offer a gloved hand. "I'm Eltrina Razas, and I'll be your liaison to the testing authority. I'm here so late because some of your lodgers were sent rather late, and we wanted to be certain they got here."
I took her hand somewhat gingerly, never having shaken hands before. It had always been something that only men did, but this Eltrina Razas acted as if it were perfectly natural. She wore an emerald green suit and cream blouse, with a matching cream-and-green hat on her carefully styled brown hair. There was a line of tiny embroidery all along the hem of her skirt where it brushed her shoes as well as along the cuffs of her jacket, an indication that her outfit was rather expensive. But her manner was open and friendly, so I tried to return her smile.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dama Razas," I said, ending the handshake as soon as was decently possible. "If you'd like to find out about the people who were sent, you'll have to ask Warla here. She met them as they arrived, and assigned them to rooms."
"Because you yourself are one of the applicants, which means you had to be too worn out to see to it personally," she added with a pleasant nod. "Yes, I quite understand, and in fact expected something of the sort. I'll just take a moment to speak to Warla, and then you and I will have a brief chat. And it's Lady Eltrina, not Dama Razas."
She said that last as if it meant less than nothing, then bustled Warla to one side in order to speak to her. I stood where I'd been left and watched them, not quite knowing how to behave. The woman was a member of the nobility, and dealing with the nobility was something else I'd never done. On a day with so many firsts, it would have been nice if I hadn't felt half asleep.
I went and sat in a chair to wait, and watched while Warla nervously counted things off on her fingers. When she reached eight she stopped and looked frightened, but Lady Eltrina soothed her with a quick smile and a few words. Then Warla curtsied and left, closing the door behind her, and Lady Eltrina came over to me.
"No, dear, don't get up again," she said quickly with another of those smiles as she took the chair opposite mine. "We'll certainly be friends long before this is over, so you'll call me Eltrina and I'll call you Tamrissa. I'm delighted to say your Warla is wonderfully efficient. She knew the names of every applicant and in what order they arrived, and even listed you first."
"Yes, Warla is an excellent companion," I agreed, leaning back in the chair because I really needed to. "I've never relied on her quite this much before, but I don't expect to be disappointed. I wonder if I might - ask something."
"Of course, child, that's one of the reasons I'm here," she replied warmly, beginning to take off her gloves. "What do you need to know?"
"I'd like to have one of the applicants - transferred to another residence," I forced myself to say. The woman now sat in the chair my husband had always used, and I was too tired to push away all the unsettling feelings brought back by old memories. "The man was extremely rude to me, and actually admitted that he didn't want to be here for the tests. He's hateful, and I'd like to have him out of my house."
"Oh, dear," Eltrina said, and now she looked disturbed rather than encouraging. "I'm devastated to hear you have one of that sort, but I'm afraid there's nowhere else to put him. All the other residences are full, and we aren't arranging for any others since all the applicants for this year are accounted for. He hasn't gone beyond rudeness, I hope. I mean, he hasn't tried to really insult you?"
She'd begun to look anxious and seriously concerned, asking without words if he'd tried to … do what men always seemed to. I couldn't keep from blushing at the thought, especially after the way he'd stared at me, but happily the situation wasn't that bad.
"No, he made no effort to go beyond simple rudeness," I admitted, more than a little disappointed. "If that changes I'll have to insist he be sent elsewhere, but I suppose I can live with the situation for now. Is there anything else I need to know about?"
"One or two things," she answered, that warm smile flashing again. "And you're so reasonable, I can't tell you what a pleasure it is to deal with you. Some of the others who volunteered their houses… Well, I'm sure you know how stubborn some people can get. In one case we actually had to withdraw all the applicants, and cancel the agreement making the house a residence. That's one of the reasons we're so short of space, but I know we won't have to do the same thing here."
She was obviously trying to reassure me, but the thought of losing the protection of residence classification for my house made me want to shiver. Right now that could be the only thing keeping my father from taking it away, so I couldn't lose the protection. If the arrogant Vallant Ro grew even more rude, I'd simply have to avoid him rather than complain.
"Now let's discuss one of those things you need to know, Eltrina continued, her good mood completely restored. "It's come to our attention that you've used the lodging fees we paid to buy food for the applicants. There's nothing wrong with doing that to start yourself off, but those fees are meant for other things. I'll be setting a figure they'll have to pay weekly in order to eat at your table, and the Silver will go directly into your food budget. If one or more of them are unable to pay, I'm afraid you'll have to refuse them a place at the table."
"Do I really have to be that … hardhearted?" I asked, at the last moment deciding against saying "uncharitable." The woman was on my side right now, and I didn't care to do anything that might change that. "They'll be living here, after all, and watching people starve while you eat is very-"
"Difficult, I know," she agreed when I paused to find a substitute for the word heartless. "A sweet, kind girl like you would find it very difficult, and that's why you won't be given the choice. Your staff will have strict orders before I leave here, and since their wages will be paid out of the lodging fees along with the rest of the house's maintenance, I expect they'll obey completely. In other words, for the remainder of the time that this house is a residence, you'll no longer really be in charge of it."
Hearing that was something of a shock, but not an overwhelming one. I'd never been allowed to have anything to do with running the house while Gimmis was alive, and I'd only recently begun to get the hang of how it was done. Not having to bother now was actually more of a relief, but then an uncomfortable thought occurred to me.
"Am I mistaken, or does that mean I can be barred from the table as easily as anyone else?" I asked, now feeling disturbed. "It sounded as if the lodging fees would be disbursed by someone else, and if so I don't know where I'd get the necessary silver. I don't have any money of my own, you see, so-"
"No, no, that won't be a problem," she soothed, quickly leaning forward in her chair. "You're correct in believing that you'll be subject to the same rules as the others, but you haven't yet been given the silver for living expenses that all applicants are given. I have yours and Pagin Holter's, who also comes from Gan Garee. He's one of your seven guests, and if you haven't met him yet you soon will. And don't forget about the bonuses in gold that will be offered during your future competitions. If you earn the bonus, you'll be able to keep it and spend it - but only on yourself. Sharing with other applicants is strictly against the rules."
Yes, it
would be, I realized with a sigh. The bonuses in gold were there to tempt people like Vallant Ro into doing their best, or simply to keep themselves eating if temptation didn't enter into it. It was an idea easier to get along with than the pass-or-die of the first test, so I couldn't quite bring myself to criticize it.
"I'm glad to see you're wearing your identification," she went on, gesturing to the chain and card I'd put back around my neck. "No one not wearing the same will be served or fed, and I'll make that clear to the other applicants as well. And the last thing we need to discuss right now is clothing, yours and everyone else's."
"There's something wrong with my clothing?" I asked, glancing down at the peach silk blouse and green silk skirt embroidered with peach that I wore. "This outfit isn't as good as your suit, I know, but-"
"No, child, you have it backwards," she said with a very pleased laugh. "Your skirt and blouse are lovely examples of just-less-than top quality effort, but that's the entire point. Your outfit is still quite expensive, and not all of our applicants can afford to wear the same. That's why we have a dress code for the sessions, and I'll explain in more detail in a few minutes, when the others are also able to hear it. Right now I'll give you your silver, and then we'll go to the dining room to meet your fellow applicants. Warla was given instructions to call them all down."
And Warla certainly must have obeyed, I realized as I took the small pouch she removed from the silk handbag which matched her suit. Even Warla wasn't completely mine any longer, but I swallowed the urge to protest as I rose to put the pouch of silver in a safe place. There was no turning back now, not from the testing and certainly not from my plan to escape my parents. Nothing could be worse than what they had in mind for me, so going forward was nothing but a step in the right direction. It would not turn out to be just as bad … it couldn't…!
* * *
Vallant Ro walked into the dining room slowly, still beyond moving quickly despite the nap he'd had. Nothing short of a full night's sleep would help, he knew, but first he had to get something to eat. His insides were rumbling like a thunderstorm in the distance, and sight of the table set for eight was enough to make his mouth water. If the food wasn't brought quickly, he just might attack whoever did bring it eventually.
The thought of attacking anyone or anything right now made him chuckle to himself as he looked around. The room's walls were papered in a boring floral pattern, but at least the dark rose drapes matched one of the colors in the paper and the seats of the chairs. The hardwood floor was polished to a spotless gleam, and the sideboard was a perfect match to the table and chairs. The chandelier was a bit much though, especially with most of its candles lit. That much crystal could easily blind the unwary, but once again it was a matter of cost taking precedence over taste.
"Good evening, Dom Ro," the girl Warla said, turning away from the two people already at the table. "Your place is here, between Dom Drowd and Dama Lant."
The empty chair she gestured to stood in the third and farthest place on the lefthand side of the table, just beyond a woman with dark red hair and next to a quiet-looking man who sat at the foot of the table. At least Vallant assumed that that was the foot. The head of it would be reserved for the woman who owned the house, and that brought to mind the girl who had lied in the bath house. Next to her, this redheaded woman who had been seated beside him looked brittle and slight in her prettiness. But if she didn't lie, she would turn out to be the more attractive of the two. Warla bustled off to do something else, so Vallant went to his chair and sat.
"It feels marvelous to get off one's feet, does it not?" the man to Vallant's left commented with a sigh. "I arrived here so late, I barely had time to use the bath house before being summoned to the meal. I'm Eskin Drowd, Earth magic."
"Vallant Ro, Water magic," Vallant replied with a nod. "I've been here long enough to have gotten in a short nap, but it wasn't much help. As soon as I've eaten as much as I can hold, I'm headin' for bed."
"I intend to do likewise," Drowd agreed in his pedantic way, and then he looked beyond Vallant. "And you, my dear? Would you care to introduce yourself to us?"
"You must be joking," the woman said with a small laugh, more ridicule than amusement. "You heard the girl tell you part of my name, so you have to know who I am. Everyone has always known my name and what I can do."
"My dear young woman, you really must be adult about this," Drowd said to her gently but with inflexible firmness. "This empire happens to be extremely large, and not even the Seated Highs are known to everyone in it. To expect a mere applicant to be known beyond the boundaries of her own area is folly, and there is folly enough for each of us in this life without our deliberately adding to it. Others hearing your remark might well have laughed, but Ro and I are gentlemen. For that reason I repeat: would you care to introduce yourself?"
"Ah, I understand now," the girl said, finally settling into a smug expression. Her complexion had darkened with embarrassment while Drowd spoke, but that had abruptly changed. "You people must come from such tiny hamlets that you're all but closed off to the world, and you're trying to cover your lacks by pretending everyone knows as little as you do. You should have said that to begin with, and I would have understood. I'm Beldara Lant, Fire magic."
"And where do you come from, Beldara Lant?" Vallant couldn't keep from asking. If there was anything more annoying than someone who always found a reason why they were right… "I'm from Port Entril myself, and I captain a trade ship up and down the coast. From what I've seen, Port Entril is kind of big to be called a hamlet."
"As is Regisard, my own place of birth," Drowd said, smiling when Vallant raised his brows. "Yes, it's also sometimes called University, as no less than five institutions of higher learning may be found there. As you may have surmised, my family has a tradition of teaching in those institutions. Should I find my current undertaking of sufficient interest to hold my attention, I may well be the first to break that tradition."
"May well be?" Beldara immediately snapped, back to being red-faced with embarrassment. "Now, that's less of a surprise than it might be. Anyone who doesn't know that being a Seated High is the only worthwhile thing to be in this life…! No wonder you haven't heard of me. You aren't bright enough to have found out about the really important things."
"Let me speculate a moment," Drowd said with a faint smile as he sat back in his chair, studying the angry woman. "Either one or both of your parents have told you that all your life, about how no endeavor but being a High is worthy of your attention. They're undoubtedly the same ones who constantly praised your use of the power, and assured you that you're known both far and wide. Am I mistaken?"
"Now you're suggesting there's something wrong with my parents telling me the truth?" Beldara snapped again, obviously trying to hide confusion. "They also said people here in Gan Garee would lie to me, so they were right there, too. Now you can save your breath, Eskin Drowd, because I'm not listening to lies any longer."
And with that she turned away to look at the other people who had been entering the dining room, throwing up an invisible wall that would allow nothing of "lies" to penetrate. Drowd sighed and made no further effort to reach the girl with simple common sense, but Vallant found himself disturbed. His own parents had always been supportive, but the only things they'd made their children believe in was the value of their own individual worth and the unacceptability of dishonorable behavior. That people could twist their children to satisfy their own desires was upsetting, and Vallant was more than happy not to pursue the subject.
Especially since almost everyone else had now come in and taken places around the table at Warla's direction. A man sat silently to Beldara's right, dressed for all the world like a farmer and looking extremely uncomfortable and out of place. Directly across from Vallant was the fop Clarion Mardimil dressed in another of those ridiculous outfits, this time in blinding green. But the man nodded to him in a stiff but civil manner, so Vallant nodded back.
And then he forgot about Mardimil to look at the woman seated to the man's left. She had golden-blond hair and light eyes, and was as beautiful as the girl Vallant had seen in the bath house, just in a different way. This one seemed to be laughing silently at the world, her flawless skin glowing with the amusement. Even Mardimil was finding it hard not to stare at her, but the girl didn't seem to mind or notice. She simply smiled and nodded to the farmer on Vallant's side of the table, who darkened slightly but managed to smile back.
The last of their number was another man, seated to the beautiful woman's left, next to the empty chair at the head of the table. He was slight and dark and looked almost as uncomfortable as the farmer, which wasn't hard to understand. His collarless shirt must have been matched by knee breeches and hose, the usual dress of grooms and stablemen. Vallant had never come into direct contact with one of them, not when he preferred a deck under his feet to a saddle under his rump, but he'd certainly seen enough of them.
But none of that was causing any of the food to be brought out. Vallant stirred in his chair, more than willing to go looking for sustenance on his own if they weren't served soon, but then two other women walked in. One looked to be in her mid-thirties with the bearing of someone who considered herself really important, and that despite the smile she showed so obviously. The other was the girl he'd seen in the bath house, and Vallant was startled to realize that he hadn't remembered just how beautiful she really was. Delicate and fragile, soft and helpless…
And not looking happy at all. That observation filled Vallant with guilt, since he was probably the source of her unhappiness. The older woman was undoubtedly the owner of the house, and the girl now expected to be exposed as a liar. She stood lost in thought while the older woman called the stableman over to her, probably expecting Vallant to say something that would embarrass her even more, just as he'd planned to. Had planned to, but no longer did. It would be enough if he and the girl were the only ones to know what had passed between them.