by Paul Heisel
They seated him at the head of a grand wood table covered with bright white linen. The interior guards departed to take up stations outside the door. On the table were hand-painted dishes, and no bowls for wine here, goblets of gold with intricate etching stood next to where the three place settings were. Feln thought about inviting Emato to dine, but stopped himself. Emato was a servant, and not that he should be treated poorly, he shouldn’t have privileges other servants didn’t have.
Caleth and Suun arrived together. They had found a suitable uniform for Caleth, like his but not as fancy, and Suun was wearing a dark blue dress. It looked like it was cut for a slender woman, so it was tight in places, but as radiant as she looked Feln thought no man in his right mind would complain about her in a dress that was too small. The attendants escorted them to their seats. Feln watched Suun saunter forward. This was the first time he had seen her in a formal dress, and he didn’t blame Caleth for being interested in her. Beneath her dangerous exterior was a lovely woman, and Feln reflected she was much like his Owori.
Except for the cold-bloodedness.
They were seated and a bell rang. Wine poured from glass containers and the plates were removed, replaced by individual platters of thinly sliced meat. Though Feln wasn’t a complete barbarian, he was no experienced formal diner. Life in a monastery was governed by practicality, and functionality always took precedence over presentation or etiquette. He would have to muddle through this. The servers around the room disappeared. They were alone.
“You look radiant this evening,” Feln said, figuring he needed to jump into this with his heart, mind, and mouth. He remembered Iristi telling him that he was naïve, well no longer was he going to let people think he wasn’t from Safun or not the Most Favored.
“Thank you,” Suun said. “I saw you admiring me as I walked in. Do you like what you see or see what you like?”
Feln felt flushed. “I’ll just say you’re welcome. Caleth, I’m glad they found a family uniform that fit you.”
“It’s a bit short in the legs, but it’ll do for now. I won’t be doing any running tonight, will I?”
“Not at all. We’ll have tailored uniforms made for you. Just speak with Emato. We also have to come up with a title or position for you. I know we have a lot to talk about concerning Safun and the family, but tonight I want us to enjoy ourselves, so let’s not spend too much time on that.”
“That is a welcome notion,” Suun said. She lifted her wine goblet and bowed her head. Feln and Caleth did the same and the three drank their wine.
As Feln put down his goblet, he pointed to the thinly sliced meat, which he had determined was raw, and said, “How are you supposed to eat this?”
Suun took her fork and slid one of the tines under the meat, then gently spun her fork so the delicate piece of meat lifted off the plate. “Like so.”
Feln and Caleth followed her movements. It tasted different, gamey, but it was good. He went for another piece. “Thank you Suun.”
“Maybe we need to send you to finishing school,” Suun said, one eyebrow upturned. “This is basic knowledge for most of us. I’m surprised you’re not more cultured.”
“I wouldn’t fit in,” Feln said. “They don’t need the likes of me. I’m sure there are lots of beautiful girls like you at finishing school.”
Caleth and Suun shared a glance.
“Yes and fathers with gold and wealth,” Suun said. “You’d have no worries at all. You latch on to one of those beauties and you’ll be set for life.”
“I’m sure I would,” Feln said, playing along. He didn’t know where this was going.
“You definitely need a woman.” Suun twirled another slice of meat around her fork.
“Is that what you two talk about when I’m not around?”
“What she means is that you need Owori,” Caleth answered in Feln’s defense.
“Owori, Iristi, someone with a heartbeat,” Suun said. “A woman. Flesh. Blood. Lips.”
“Iristi?” Caleth asked.
“She is the woman I traveled with to Hiru after I arrived in Pyndira.” Feln took a drink from his goblet, hoping it would give him enough time to figure out what was going on. He wasn’t sure if Suun was being playful or serious, and he didn’t know where this was headed. It felt like a test. So much for a normal evening.
“You didn’t tell me about her,” Caleth said. “Is there something I should know?”
“There’s nothing to talk about. It’s in the past.”
“What do you mean?” Suun nearly came out of her seat and her tight dress. “We risked our lives to free her from Hiru. A man not so attached would have left her there to her fate. A Most Favored wouldn’t have cared unless it gave him political advantage to free her. Now as I understand it, there was no advantage for the Xialao family in rescuing her, no purpose for the risks we took. I see that now.”
“Are you that angry over what happened? It didn’t bother you then. You were rather pleased with the results.”
“I was doing my job and following orders,” she said. “That’s what I do. And no, it doesn’t bother me, not one bit. I would have scattered Hiru’s ashes to the wind as well if you would have let me. What I want you to remember is this – your Owori is out there waiting for you. A distraction like Iristi or another sultry wench, no matter how beautiful and alluring, isn’t worth it. You need to choose which life you will have as a Most Favored; one life you will have maidens falling at your feet, the other you’ll have Owori. Which life do you want?”
“Why are you even asking this? Are you insane? My future is with Owori!”
“If I’m going to protect you, I need to know what type of man you’re going to be and what I can expect. Yes, maybe this conversation has turned more serious than I wanted, but it needs to be discussed. I'd rather do it now.”
“Like I said, I choose Owori,” he stated.
“Then why were you going out of your way to rescue Iristi?”
“Because I felt responsible for her,” he answered. “She wasn’t a bad person. We were caught in the middle.”
“She used you, and was going to let you stand accused of murdering Chang. That is definitely not the qualities of a good person.”
“After the fact, yes, I would say she’s a manipulative person, but not before we found out all of this. Her choice was to take Hiru’s side or follow my fate, which at the time was a hurried execution. She chose to stay alive. Besides, I needed her help to get to Safun. It just happened that our path went through Hiru and she was caught in it. I didn’t plan it that way.”
“A convenient excuse. Is that what you’re going to tell Owori the next time a sexy thing throws herself at you? I know you want to be with Owori and stay with her, but will you be strong enough to resist the temptation? Obviously, you weren’t strong enough when you were with Iristi. She twisted you any way she wanted. Had you been a genuine Most Favored, you would have gone straight to Safun and left her to fend for herself. She did not deserve your attention. No woman other than Owori deserves your attention.”
He sat back and reflected on Suun’s words. The truth hurt. He spent lots time justifying his actions to make himself feel good, to set aside the guilt. It was nothing more than playful moments of being close, but closer than what he should have been. He resisted her, though, and the opportunity was there as well to have all of her, that was clear. He admitted, reluctantly, that she enthralled him with her beauty and charms. There was nothing he could do about it, the past couldn’t be rewritten and spinning lies to cover his time spent with Iristi wouldn’t be worth it. Suun was right. He was wrong. He made a mistake.
“I must take responsibility for this conversation,” Caleth said.
Suun sat back with her arms crossed. Feln looked to his former master.
“What?” Feln asked
“Yes, what?” Suun asked. She looked like she was going to smack Caleth for speaking up.
“While we were traveling I told Suun about you a
nd Owori, how close you two were, how well you worked together in Waskhal. We talked about Owori searching for you in Borgard. I also told her how you searched for her everywhere in Malurrion, despite the dangers you faced. All you wanted was to get back to her. The world around was falling apart and all you could think about was getting to her.”
“If you love her so much, then how could you betray her with that hag Iristi?”
Feln didn’t have an answer to Suun’s pointed question. His actions were questionable, and he hadn’t told anyone the complete story of what happened between him and Iristi. He wanted to tell Owori when the time was right, to tell her that he made mistakes when he was whisked away to this place. Confused was the best way to put it, he was so confused and lost. No matter what the explanation or excuse he would make, Owori would be hurt. Feln didn’t know what the consequence of that would be. Soon, though, he would find out. Whatever the outcome he would accept, but it didn’t mean he had to like it.
A bell rang and servers came in with the next course, soup, and servers removed the plates and utensils from the first course. More red wine filled the goblets. The soup was a savory yellow broth with green stringy vegetables and thinly sliced cooked dough, and the aroma was enticing. As before, the servers disappeared. As they were sampling the soup, one of the cooks came into the room with Mori, the little girl. Both were dressed in white aprons stained from their efforts. Mother and daughter looked similar.
“How is everything this evening?”
“Excellent,” Feln answered.
“I made the soup,” Mori said. “Just for you.”
“Well it is excellent,” Feln said.
“Good. Are you staying here for a while?” Mori asked.
“Dear, don’t bother the Most Favored. Say thank you and we have to go back to work.”
“Thank you,” she said, bowing.
“Do you need anything?” May asked.
“We’re going to need more wine.”
“Of course.”
Feln watched Suun and Caleth exchange glances again.
“More wine?” Suun asked. “The man who has one bowl and is finished for the night?”
“I’m going to tell you the entire story, every single detail of what happened between Iristi and me. I won’t leave out anything, not one sorry detail. You two will be the ones who will know this and you’ll understand the decisions I made and why I made them.”
“And Owori. Everything you tell us you must tell Owori. Swear it.”
“Certainly. You have my word as the Most Favored of Safun.” Feln lifted the goblet to his lips and took a mouthful of the red wine. It was going to be a long evening whether he wanted one or not.
#
After two days Feln heard from the Safun team that Owori didn’t made it to the capital yet, so the team was going to stay at the palace until they could get a message to her or until she arrived. That afternoon Feln was pacing in the garden, going over the speech he would give to Owori. It would feel good to get the truth out of the way, but it frightened him as well because he knew Owori wouldn’t take the news well. He finally spoke with Nar, helping him to avoid contact with his daughter, which was his wish, though Feln didn’t understand it upon reflection. Being dead to her for so long, Nar thought appearing suddenly was a bad idea. Feln respected his wishes, for the moment, but figured in the coming weeks he would have to bring the two together.
After telling the story to Suun and Caleth, he earned a little sympathy but not much. The late night filled with wine loosened their tongues and Feln came to terms with Suun about Owori. Suun admitted that she took it too far, was too passionate about an issue that wasn’t her direct concern. During the late night, she asked for forgiveness and said that she would behave properly in the future. Her parting words, though, were clear – she expected him to be with Owori and Owori only. Later with their wine stained tongues, he spoke with Caleth about Suun, and he discovered there wasn’t more to them than a forming friendship. The way Caleth explained it made sense, it was too early to entertain romantic notions as they just met recently; besides, Caleth wasn’t sure Suun was the woman for him. Feln left it at that. So much for his astute observations.
A note came from the Emperor’s palace stating that the Most Favoreds had arrived and they were invited to attend a reception that evening. Carriages would be sent for the Most Favored and one guest of their choosing. There would be a larger celebration once the full delegations from the provinces arrived. Feln assumed there would be nobles coming from Safun to pay their respects just like the other provinces. He was glad he didn’t have to manage that task or travel for weeks on end.
Feln sent back a response to the palace, saying he would be arriving and his guest was Ella-en-Xialao-Suun, a Favored One of Safun. He thought about taking Caleth, but remembered that Hiru would probably be there with a new Fury to protect him. He wanted Suun to be there to remind Hiru of what happened that night. The only outstanding question was, what was Suun going to wear? They had dresses, he found out, left over from when his mother was in residence that they could alter for her to wear, or she could put on one of the Xialao family uniforms. Though a formal dress seemed to be the most appropriate attire, he didn’t want them to think Suun was his consort. So the uniform would have to do. Suun didn’t care one way or another, she was eager to see Hiru’s reaction to her. The day wore on and Feln was preparing for the trip to the palace when he decided to check the magic book one last time before heading off to the reception. Written on the Safun page were puzzling words in unfamiliar handwriting.
#
Owori in Daiwer-dar, in the service of the Emperor. Better if I explain in person. Pearl.
#
Feln scribbled a note back and waited for the response. The response, in neat printing, came through letter by letter.
#
Finally! Your dragon has agreed to bring me to Daiwer-dar – I just got here from there. I can explain in person. While I was gone, the Emperor bound Owori to protect him. Had she not gone to Daiwer-dar she would have died. Let me come there to explain. Don’t make any assumptions or guesses, they will all be wrong.
#
Feln wrote his agreement, knowing that the moment the words appeared in the book Pearl would be on top of the dragon and flying with all speed here. He closed the book and sat on his bed. She was here, in Daiwer-dar, at the palace in the service of the Emperor. Would she know he was coming to the reception? Would he get to see her? Suddenly he was nervous and excited, then a dreadful pit went into his stomach as he thought about the story he had to tell her. The mistakes he made with Iristi were going to haunt him for a long time, and all he hoped was that Owori would forgive him. The biggest fear was he would lose her before he had the chance to win her back. Her being in the service of the Emperor, now Yuki, would be problematic. As a Fury, she would have to serve for life. Perhaps he could convince the Emperor to let her go free – was that even possible? After all, what could she do? Turn invisible? He now wished he had extracted more information from Pearl. If Owori being in the service of the Emperor was Pearl’s fault, the Feln would hold her responsible.
Dressing took time as he wanted to make sure his uniform was correctly fastened and buttoned, and when finished he felt stiff and formal, perfect, he thought. He shaved earlier, removing the ratty beard and twisting mustache that was out of control, and he even had one of the ladies at the manor cut his hair shorter. In the mirror, he saw a different man. A new man. He couldn’t wait to see Owori.
The carriage arrived along with a palace official, who was to escort him and Suun to the palace for the evening’s festivities. Suun had her curly blond locks pulled back into a ponytail, the crisp straight uniform didn’t detract from her striking looks. He was happy he didn’t let her wear a dress, as he was sure there would have been too many assumptions made about her relationship with him. Darkness encroached and the temperature dipped. Even though the uniforms were made of heavy fabric, the cold still
managed to seep in. They disembarked from the carriage, put on their family cloaks to ward off the chill, and were standing in the massive open space in front of the palace. Lanterns decorated the area. To his left was where they were building the platforms to view the Emperor’s body. Newly constructed railings would keep the flow of people organized and in control.
“Well, this is it,” Feln said to Suun. His bodyguard acknowledged with nod.
“In time she’ll understand. You look presentable.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I hope she’s happy to see me.”
#
There was music playing slow, mournful melodies, and the sound flitted through the reception hall. The large room was sectioned off, making this affair more intimate. There was a large dining table with white and gold place settings, and the chandelier above had every other candle winked out to set a softer mood. In the corner were the musicians, out of the way as to be unobtrusive. Owori watched from the side, invisible despite not using magic. The guests continued to arrive, and from her vantage point she kept an eye on everyone in attendance. She was excited that Feln was coming. She imagined him in monk’s robes, making trouble because he couldn’t keep his katana with him, and he would probably have dark stubble or a scraggly beard.
She looked at the guest list and saw that he was bringing a person named Suun with him. That name didn’t mean anything to her or anyone she talked to. The other Most Favoreds and guests arrived, and they were mingling with the palace administrators, the conniving snake Yan, and the mourning Yuki. Many embraced Yuki and offered their condolences, normal protocol but sincere. The Most Favoreds brought companions, wives, or Furies with them, perhaps they qualified as all three. It was difficult to tell. There were other Dragonguards in the room to protect the guests, so she didn’t look out of place, only her hooded appearance was different from them. She scanned the room. Still, no Feln. Why was he late? The other question she had was, did he know that she was here?