Song of the Lioness #4 - Lioness Rampant

by Tamora Pierce

  The countryside was deserted. The normal inhabitants—trappers, mountain men, K'miri tribesmen, a few Doi tribesmen from the Roof—were not sociable at the best of times, and now they had fled the occasional patrols of southern armies. Alanna paid little attention to the deserted land. She worried about Thayet. She worried about herself. These days her old goals appeared silly—a child's dream, not an adult's. But what was she going to do with her life—after she found the Jewel—if she found it? What did acclaim matter if you had nowhere to go, nothing to do?

  Three days after setting out from Rachia, they came to the M'kon River that formed the Saren border. On its eastern bank was Fortress Wei, a Saren outpost—there was no single government east of the river. Beyond Wei the ground formed hills and small valleys. Above those hills loomed a huge, purple band that hung too steadily to be clouds. Alanna squinted at it, curious.

  Thayet brought her mare up beside Moonlight, observing the direction of Alanna's stare. "The Roof of the World," she said quietly.

  4: The Roof of the World

  ONCE THEY left the border, the road began to climb. The nights were cold, although it was May; Alanna was glad for Liam's warmth in their bedroll. Thayet was the first to don a fur-lined cloak, but the others soon followed suit.

  Thayet and Buri joined the Dragon's morning exercises, learning Shang hand-to-hand combat. Alanna was surprised at how well she, herself, did. Evidently the years of training for knighthood helped her now. She could feel the difference in her body when they practiced, as her muscles took her smoothly from kick to blow and back. Filled with the optimism that comes from being physically fit, she mentally dared the Roof to do its worst.

  The farther Thayet got from home, the more relaxed she was. She spoke about her childhood so frankly that Alanna thanked Coram for his affectionate, if gruff, raising of her and Thom. Thayet was the daughter of a ruler who wanted a son; only Kalasin made her feel loved. It was Kalasin who taught Thayet K'miri ways, Kalasin and Buri's family.

  "I could never be as good a Queen as my mother," Thayet said. She grinned. "Not that it makes a difference now. I won't be a queen at all."

  "Are you sorry?" Alanna wanted to know. She had been terribly frightened when Jon asked her to be his wife, knowing someday she would have to be his Queen.

  "A little," Thayet admitted. "I'd like to change things. In Sarain, for instance, women have no rights—just those our husbands or fathers grant us. Estates and fortunes are held by men. Women can't inherit."

  "That's barbaric!" protested Alanna. "At home women inherit. Not titles, but they have lands. I'm Myles's heir by law—it isn't common, but it happens."

  "Tortall sounds wonderful," sighed Thayet.

  "You'll find out when you get there," the knight promised. To herself she added, We'll all find out a thing or two when we get there, especially Jon. She grinned in spite of herself.

  As the winter snows began to melt, traffic picked up. The roads were thick with miners, trappers, and merchant caravans. Alanna's company passed herdsmen driving flocks to the markets in the south. Farmers waved as they went by, their wagons filled with cheeses, brightly woven cloth, and chickens. Only the Doi tribesmen remained aloof. They were a people like the K'mir, though less fierce than their western cousins. They were expert at survival in the Roof; the most experienced guides were Doi, and the best furs came from their hidden villages.

  The travelers rode deeper into the highest mountains in their world, where snow still lay in scattered drifts and patches along the road. Alanna battled rising impatience. For some reason, she felt that she ought to be on the way home. It would be foolish to turn back when they were so close, but she wanted to find the pass and do whatever it demanded, then leave.

  She tried to reach Thom or Jonathan with her magic, but it was impossible. Too much distance lay between them. She hadn't been able to show Coram his Rispah since they'd left the convent. Perhaps Thom had the power to reach across the continent—she didn't.

  Several days after they had crossed the border, she fell in beside Coram and signaled him to drop back with her. When they were out of their friends' hearing, she asked abruptly, "Have you been joining with the Voice?" She referred to a Bazhir rite: each day at sunset all who were Bazhir by adoption or birth entered into a magic communion with the Voice of the Tribes. The Voice heard news through this link, judged disputes, counseled his people. Since their adoption into the Bloody Hawk, both Alanna and Coram were able to enter into the joining, but Alanna had never done so. At first she refused out of a reluctance to let anyone, even someone as bound by duty and obligation as the Voice, into her mind. Later, after Prince Jonathan had become the Voice, and they had quarreled and broken off their romance, Alanna had decided she certainly didn't want Jon to know how she thought and felt. At the same time, she knew Coram took part in the rite and had done so ever since his adoption into the tribe.

  Coram stared at her, startled. "Ye told me when we left for Port Caynn last fall that ye never wanted me to talk about it, or say what I knew…"

  Alanna blushed. "Things are different now. Have you?"

  "Not since we set out for Maren."

  Alanna was startled by his answer. "You joined almost every night we were there. Why'd you stop?"

  Coram shrugged. "It's different when ye aren't among the tribe. It's lonesome. I've been tryin', though, this last week. I knew ye're worried about things at home."

  "And?" She couldn't keep some eagerness from her voice.

  "I'm sorry—I must be too far away. I haven't felt a thing."

  Alanna smiled with an effort. "That's all right. I'm probably worried about nothing." She caught up with Liam, pretending not to see Coram's troubled look.

  THEY ENTERED Lumuhu Valley the first week in May, and a day's ride brought them to the twin passes at its northern edge. An inn built solidly of wood and brick stood where the roads from the passes met. Snow lay in a tattered sheet in the meadow behind the buildings and on the sides of the northeastern pass. The northwest road was blocked with snow and ice; the pass itself was clogged. Alanna swallowed as she looked at this second pass. Why did she have a feeling this was Chitral?

  The sky had been bleak all that day. It darkened even more as they stabled the horses, and sleet began to fall as they entered the inn.

  "May blizzards is no joke," the innkeeper said, bringing them mulled cider as they waited for rooms to be prepared. "It's what we pay for bein' so high up. You'd best settle in. This storm'll close Lumuhu a week—maybe longer."

  "What about Chitral?" Liam asked.

  The man laughed. "Mother Chitral won't open till Beltane, and then only for the strongest. The snow never leaves. Him that told you Chitral's a good road was jestin'. I hope you never paid for the pleasure." He walked away, still laughing.

  "Now we know why no one took this Jewel before," Buri sighed. Thayet stared wistfully into the fire. Alanna huddled in her cloak, listening to the growing shriek of the wind.

  Liam stayed downstairs while Alanna went to their room to wash and dress in cleaner clothes. Unpacking her bags—since it appeared they were going to stay for a while—she found the violet gown she'd carried since leaving Corus. "How long's it been since I wore a dress?" she asked Faithful.

  The cat looked up from his grooming. You wore that one when you stayed with George, last fall.

  "That's right." She smiled at her reflection in the mirror. "This is his favorite."

  It wasn't so wrinkled then, the cat remarked.

  Alanna rang for the chambermaid.

  THAYET applauded when Alanna entered the common room in the violet silk gown (the maid had smoothed most of the wrinkles). Buri whistled; Coram grinned. Liam surveyed her from head to toe, an odd look on his face.

  "Well?" Alanna finally demanded, blushing from the others' reactions. "Don't you like it?"

  "It's well enough," he said at last. "Doesn't seem practical, though."

  Would she ever understand him? "It isn't supposed to
be practical. It's a dress. A dress that feels beautiful when you put it on."

  "Feeling beautiful won't win a fight." His eyes were the pale grey that told her nothing about how he felt.

  "I hardly think I'll fight anyone here, unless it's you," she snapped. "Why can't I wear impractical garments every now and then?"

  "Suit yourself," he shrugged. "I suppose you'll want earbobs next, and bracelets, and other frippery. What comes then? A noble-born husband and court intrigues?"

  "I'm female." Embarrassed, she realized Coram, Thayet, and Buri were trying to slip away. "Why can't I wear a dress without you deciding I want to give up everything I am?"

  "Our road is rough and cold and muddy. Maybe you realize now that a knight-errant's life isn't as glorious as you expected." There was enough truth in this to hurt. He waved toward her gown. "Maybe this is the Lady Alanna you mean to show your Prince when you go home."

  She walked out, knowing that if she spoke she would cry. Running into her room, she slammed the door behind her. She did question her life as a roving knight, but not for the reasons he had claimed.

  Alanna tore off the dress and threw it into the corner, following it with her shift and stockings. Her breeches and shirt were half on when she did begin to cry. Within seconds her handkerchief was soaked.

  "I hate him!" She punched the bed for emphasis. "I hate him! It isn't right that one person can hurt someone else this much!"

  "You scare him." Thayet closed the door behind her. "Just when he thinks he understands you, you do something new. He can't put you in a neat little box the way he does the rest of us."

  "I never asked to be something new to him!" Alanna wiped her eyes on her sleeve and finished buttoning her breeches. "I never asked to be anything to him! It just—happened."

  Thayet buttoned Alanna's shirt. "I have a feeling it 'just happened' to Liam, too, and that's what frightens him. Our Dragon is the kind of man who likes to be in control of everything, particularly himself."

  Alanna stared at Thayet. Did this explain why Liam feared magic? "What's wrong with falling in love with me? And what does wearing a dress have to do with any of this, Thayet?"

  The Princess smiled. "Alanna, when you wore that dress, he saw the daughter of a noble house—a woman whose family tree reaches back to The Book of Gold. Liam is common-born."

  "If I don't care about that, why should he?"

  "He's very proud." Thayet dipped her handkerchief in Alanna's water basin and wiped the knight's face. "Some women can cry and look beautiful," she said drily. "You and I can't."

  "I know," Alanna sniffed. "I get red and blotchy. When George told me he was, well, interested, I cared about his being a commoner. I even said 'like should marry like,' or something like that. George didn't care. But Liam—What difference can rank make to the Shang Dragon?"

  There was a quiet rap on the door, and Liam came in.

  "I was just leaving," Thayet said. She winked at Alanna and went out, closing the door.

  His face scarlet, Liam watched the floor as he spoke. "You shouldn't've taken the dress off. You look very pretty in it. I guess sometimes we get used to seeing a person a certain way."

  It was all the apology she would ever get from him, she knew. Alanna patted the bed beside her, and Liam sat. "I like dresses," she explained. "If you come with us to Tortall, you'll see me wearing more of them. Just because I'm a knight doesn't mean I don't like pretty clothes." She grinned at him. "I've even worn face paint, sometimes."

  When he looked startled, she explained, "You know, lip rouge, and so on. I'm not ashamed of being female, Liam."

  Tentatively, he brushed Alanna's hair with his hands. "I didn't think you were. I never forget you're a woman, Lioness." His first kiss was gentle, the second passionate. Alanna let him pull her into his arms, thinking, We should talk some more about why he was angry. I don't think lovemaking will settle anything. The Dragon was so determined, however, that once again she put her questions aside to be dealt with later.

  AN HOUR LATER, as they dressed for dinner, she asked, "Are there any Lionesses in Shang?"

  Liam stretched, thinking. "Not for fifty years. The women prefer names they don't think are 'flashy.' That means not many Lionesses or Dragons. My master in kick fighting was the Wildcat. She always said if the men wished to attract attention, that was their problem."

  "But mythic beasts are 'flashy' by nature, I should think," protested Alanna. "Or don't you let women get to those ranks?"

  "Try to stop them!" he grinned. "Right now there's me, the Griffin—also a man—and Kylaia al Jmaa, the Unicorn. She's the most beautiful thing on two feet, all silk and steel and lightning." He tweaked her nose. "Satisfied?"

  Their group had dinner in the room Thayet and Buri shared, not bored enough to go down to the common room yet. They were filled with a weird sense of mingled excitement and apprehension, but no one cared to talk about it. What could they do now? Wait until Chitral cleared?

  Alanna didn't think she could wait that long. Though she didn't know why, she had a strong feeling that she had to get home.

  They amused themselves the next morning by catching up on chores that went neglected while they were on the road. Alanna and Coram spent the hours after breakfast mending tack in the stables. Liam worked on his fighting gear as Thayet mended clothes and Buri cleaned the weapons. By lunchtime all of them were ready for diversion. They went to the common room to see who else was kept there by the storm.

  Two companies of merchants were present: one bore spices to the valley north of Lumuhu and Chitral, the other furs and hand-woven goods south to Port Udayapur. They were joined by four locals—two shepherds, a blacksmith, and a guide—and a group of five Doi. The Doi were as interested in Alanna and her friends as the knight was in them. They exchanged looks with Alanna throughout the meal.

  "Liam," Alanna whispered, trying not to seem obvious, "the Doi woman with the onyx in the middle of her brow—who is she?"

  Liam nodded gravely to the Doi. They hid their eyes briefly, a sign the Dragon said meant respect. "A fortune-teller," he answered. "The Doi give them as much honor as you'd give a priest. Each fortune-teller works differently. Some read tea leaves in a cup. Some tell your future from the stars. I had my future done once. It's interesting."

  She was surprised. "You don't like magic."

  Liam shook his head. "This isn't the same. No sparkly fire, nothing flying at you, or things changing. A Doi looks at something real."

  One of the Doi men came over, covering his eyes briefly to show his respect for Liam. "Dragon-man, we are of the Rockmouse people."

  "I know the Rockmouse," replied Liam.

  "Our Lady-Who-Sees, Mi-chi, she knows time lies heavy, out of the wind. If you wish, she will tell your hands, all of you."

  "We will be honored." Liam stood, telling the others softly, "It's an insult to say no."

  Thayet sat beside Mi-chi when the fortuneteller beckoned to her. "I read hands," Mi-chi said. Her voice was deep, her eyes dark and mysterious. "It is said the hand you use to draw a bow or to stir a pot will reveal that part of you others can see. The less-used hand, that is your inner self."

  Thayet nodded. "I'm right-handed."

  Mi-chi took the princess's left hand, holding it palm up. No one spoke as she ran her fingers over the lines in Thayet's palm. Curious, Alanna probed with her Gift. The fortune-teller's magic was like Bazhir magic; it was drawn from the land rather than from a source inside the person who wielded it.

  "What do you see?" Thayet wanted to know.

  Mi-chi smiled at her. "You have lost your chains only, great lady. Follow your heart. It leads you to a mighty place. And forget your home. You will never return there."

  Thayet rose and walked over to the hearth, keeping her face away from them. Buri watched her royal mistress for a moment before taking her place beside the Doi woman. "Whatever it is you have to say, whisper it, all right?" she asked as she offered her right hand.

  Mi-chi agreed,
and afterward Buri refused to say what she'd been told. Coram was next, and he asked the same favor. When he stood, he was smiling—whatever his own future held, he seemed to like the prospect.

  Mi-chi smiled up at Liam. "You know your fate already, Dragon-man. Nothing I may say will change it, or your knowledge of it." She looked at Alanna. "You, please."

  Alanna took the seat beside Mi-chi, offering her left hand. Mi-chi took both, studying the knight's callused palms intently. When she spoke, Alanna could feel a power in her words that was nothing like the Doi magic she'd sensed earlier. This was stronger and untamed.

  "He waits, old Chitral." Mi-chi's voice was harsh. "He knows you have come for his prize. He will not surrender it if you are unworthy."

  Alanna's friends gathered close, listening. "Do you think it will matter if you await this storm's end before you set out? He has others to throw at you."

  "I'm not trying that pass in the middle of a blizzard!" Alanna protested.

  "Then your desire, or whatever it is that drives you, is not enough." Mi-chi's eyes were mocking. "Make no mistake, hero from the flat-lands. Chitral fights you with his snows and winds. All who would face him must battle on his terms, or not at all." Dropping Alanna's hands, the Doi looked at Liam. "Dragon-man, do you bring your kitten to us for testing? You may not want the grown cat."

  "I don't bring Alanna anywhere, wisewoman. She picks her own road."

  Mi-chi stood, shaking. One of her companions came to support her. "Do not forget that, Dragon-man." Her voice rasped with exhaustion. "She is a champion, like you, but different. Always different." The Doi helped her to her rooms.

  Alanna rubbed her hands on her breeches—they still tingled with both Mi-chi's Doi magic and the other magic that had spoken through the fortune-teller. "It sounds… I don't know. I'm not a hero, not yet."

  Buri slung an arm around Alanna's shoulders. "Glad to hear it. Come on out to the stables and we'll practice some kick fighting."