“I joined Rash about a year ago. I couldn’t believe I was teamed with one of the youngest and most reckless couriers,” Lu said. “She takes time to get to know, but we found a rhythm that works. Honestly, I can say I was never more content away from my family than when I was with Rash. That’s until Chiza came out of that box. I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful or kind. When she meets my parents, they’ll like her too. My sister Ladi won’t, but she doesn’t like anyone. Chiza feels for me the way I feel for her. I have no doubts when I say the prince won’t choose her. She and I will be together.”
“You don’t know that,” Jak said, anguish all over his face.
“There’s one thing I know about every man in the world. What you might call a universal truth.” Lu looked up and saw Jak waiting for him to continue.
“No man wants a woman that belongs to another.” To Lu it was just that simple. Once he realized it he never had another doubt. Chiza would present herself to the prince because it was her duty, but she wouldn’t be chosen.
Lu watched Jak’s expression soften. “Rash already made her choice,” Lu said. “She won’t allow herself to be chosen. If you can’t see that her heart belongs to someone else than you’re a pumseed and a fool.”
Jak nodded. Lu watched the realization pass over his features, relaxing them. Jak didn’t say anything more. Instead he dropped to the floor and continued his circuit of training. Lu waited a moment longer than necessary, but when he realized the conversation was over, he launched into more free-form rambling.
“I hope Rasha’s Aunt Sochi is looking after Temi. I’m sure he’s a little upset about being separated from me. Does he look bigger to you?”
28
The guards led Rasha to one of the guest suites.
“What is this?” she asked.
“You’ll prepare yourself to meet your king and queen. Make use of the room. There is suitable clothing available inside. Everything you need is there,” the guard said.
The guard nudged Rasha into the room and locked the door behind her. Inside, the room smelled of flowers and something familiar, something spicy and sweet. Could that be bazil in the teapot by the bedside table? Impossible. She rushed to it and poured a cup and drank some of it down. She felt her core warm with the delicious liquid. A contented sigh escaped her lips. A sound from behind her caught her attention, and she dropped her cup and reached for Cutter and Blade, but her hands met empty sheaths. They’d taken her weapons.
“Yahtz.” She turned and was almost knocked down by an excited Temi. “Get off me, beastie. Who let you in here? I’m supposed to be getting cleaned up, I don’t think they meant you.”
“No, they meant me,” her Aunt Sochi said, stepping out of the bathroom.
Rasha rushed to her.
“They let you in? Didn’t get enough chastising in last night, I see,” Rasha said and embraced the older woman.
“No, I had to sneak in. I thought you could use some encouragement before you get dressed down by your father. Come.” She gestured toward the bath.
How many times had her Aunt Sochi been there when she returned from riding lessons with her father and etiquette lessons with her mother? Rasha peeled off her clothes. Her aunt turned her away and picked up a long-handled brush and the soap and brought them over.
Rasha was neck deep in the milky water when Sochi turned back. Her aunt didn’t speak at all. Rasha used a smaller brush that sat on the rim of the large oval tub to scrub at her hands and feet. It was large enough for three people but she kept to the edge where her aunt could reach her. Rasha sat back and let her aunt unravel the braids and the knots that entangled her hair. Her own white braid was pinned up to keep it from getting wet. When she’d finished Rasha’s hair, Sochi helped her bathe, using the brush to get the skin at her back. Rasha felt wrinkled and cleaner than she had in forever. Sochi held out a towel for her hair and a plush pink robe.
“I know you hate this color, but that’s all there is.”
“It’s fine,” Rasha replied. She didn’t mind the color so much at the moment. She was enjoying the peace her aunt brought with her presence. It wouldn’t last, but she was determined to take advantage of it.
The vanity mirror and table both had gold edges, and the chair had a plush seat and back. Rasha sat down and watched in the mirror as her aunt squeezed the water from the ends of her hair. Rasha loved the feel of the soft bristles against her scalp as her aunt brushed. Sochi looked at her niece in the mirror.
“So, the young man, Jak. He was wounded this morning. Do you think he’ll be able to accept the truth?”
“Accept the truth, yes, but understanding requires a little more than he might be capable of giving.”
“If he’s smart enough for you, he’ll figure it out. No one in his right mind would let you get away.”
Rasha laughed. It sounded a lot like what she used to say when she was encouraging her to prepare for the prince’s choosing. She laughed and said, “You used to say any prince in his right mind.”
“That was before I knew you for who you are, not for who I wanted you to be,” she replied.
Rasha nodded.
“They still don’t know you for who you are. You won’t find any understanding from them.” Sochi was speaking about her parents.
“Yes, I know.” Rasha rolled her shoulders back.
“You’re older now. What they feared the most passes. It’s time you show them who you’ve become. I taught you to fight, now I’ll teach you to stand up for yourself.”
“I already know how to do that. I’m a courier. I fetch, and I deliver without fail.”
“Yes, and you’ve been too afraid to confront your parents for the last two years.”
Rasha held her tongue. She hadn’t had the time. That’s what she’d told herself. Lu visited his family all the time, but she hadn’t felt like dealing with the disappointment on her parents’ faces. They’d threatened to keep her in the dungeons and they’d done it. Wasn’t that enough of a reason to avoid dealing with them? Maybe she had been a little afraid to return. Now that she was here, she felt guilty about not at least visiting her aunt. Sochi had always stood by her.
“I’m sorry.” Rasha couldn’t meet her aunt’s eyes.
“For what?”
“I should have come to see you.”
“The circumstances weren’t ideal for visits, I understand. I followed the reports from Courier Central. You’ve made quite a name for yourself among your peers. I don’t know what you’ll do now you’ve lost that, but I’m sure you’ve got a plan.”
Rasha stood up and faced her aunt.
“It’s temporary. I’ll explain matters to his royal highness of Adalu. It was all a misunderstanding, we’ll get our licenses back.” Rasha would see it through, not just for herself, but for Lu.
“Good, that’s the fire I want to see. Make sure your mother and father see it too. They’ll be hard on you, but it’s nothing you haven’t heard before.”
“Either they’ll see me for who I am or I’ll be confined to a cell.” Rasha shrugged then looked down on saw a peach-colored gown that was laid out for her.
“What’s that?”
“The dress they left for you.” Sochi let out a laugh at the look on her face. Rasha must have looked disgusted. “Yeah, that’s what I thought you’d say. I’ll leave you alone to get ready. Your tuskins are in the stables. Leave this beastie here where he can’t get into any trouble.”
Rasha nodded as she looked down at Temi, who, for the moment, could have deceived anyone, because he looked as innocent as a lamb.
“Be careful on your journey, and don’t forget to come and see me once again in your lifetime.”
Rasha rushed over and threw her arms around her aunt’s neck. “I will,” she whispered.
Sochi rapped on the door. The guard opened for her, and she left the room. Rasha missed her strength already. She couldn’t help but wish for the millionth time that Sochi had been her mother. The woman had t
aught her to be who she was in every way that mattered. Rasha looked down at the dress and wished she had her swords.
Rasha followed the guards to the royal chambers. The tower to their rooms was on the opposite side of the castle from her old room, where they’d taken Chiza. Guest rooms weren’t even on the same level of the castle. The ornate door to their chambers had once intimidated her. Now the gleam of the handles and the lion’s face carved on the door had no hold on her.
“Enter,” her father’s booming voice replied to the guard’s knock.
The guard opened the doors wide, ushering her through before closing them behind her.
“What is this?” her father asked as he looked her over. His dark purple skin was wrinkled with age but his eyes were like stone, cold and black. Her mother, as usual, was perfectly turned out without a hair out of place. Neither wore their royal robes, choosing to meet with her in what they considered casual attire. Her mother’s cream gown reached the floor and her ankle and neck jewelry were in gold and bronze.
Rasha knelt on one knee and put her fist to her heart as did all the guards and servants when greeting her parents.
“We left you a dress. Why aren’t you wearing the dress?”
“I have no need of gowns, Mother. The clothes I wear are good enough for me, and for you,” Rasha stated. Keeping her tone even took effort.
“What? You would refuse our hospitality?” her father blustered. He pounded a fist on the breakfast table and the dishes all jumped, some tinkling to the floor.
Her mother’s handmaid hurried to gather them together and put them on the service stand for removal.
“I did not refuse your hospitality. Downstairs, the cell was comfortable and adequate. A bath in the guest suite was also a kind gesture. The dress is not mine. I have no use for that kind of finery in my line of work.”
The look of disappointment on her mother’s face made Rasha angry. She wasn’t there to prove anything to them. Couldn’t they see that? She wasn’t one of them.
“Child, come here. Enough of that,” her mother fussed. “Take a chair and sit so we may speak with you.”
The handmaid was ready and put a bright yellow chair in the middle of the room for Rasha to sit on. She sat, even though the low chair made it easier for her parents to look down their noses at her.
“I will answer your questions if you will hear me.”
“We will hear you,” her mother said.
“Why do you shame us by not taking your rightful place among the chosen?” her father asked.
“Haven’t you toiled enough as a domestic for the ten kingdoms?” her mother followed in quick succession.
Rasha waited for the questions to stop before she spoke.
“I am sorry to have shamed you, but you know I will not agree to be chosen by the prince or any man. I have the right to choose and I exercise my right.”
Her father shook his head angrily, denying her words. She turned her attention to her mother. “I’ve been earning my own money as a courier and I like my job. I have no plans to quit in the immediate future.”
“So why are you here?” her father yelled banging his fist on the table again, startling her mother and the handmaid.
“I’m here because you had me arrested. I had no plans to return at the moment. I have a very important delivery to make to prince Bashir.”
“Yes, Chiza of Sidoa. We’ve met her.” Her mother rolled her eyes in annoyance. “She’s not a princess, she’s the daughter of a farmer.”
“A man who’d as soon sell his daughter as give up his jewels. Selfish ranglefort,” her father criticized.
“Mind your language,” her mother rebuked him.
“How do you know about that?” Rasha asked. It took everything in her to stay seated and not pace the room.
Her father waved a hand. “Everyone knows that greedy man has hired half the kingdom to keep his gems from going to Adalu as his daughter’s rightful dowry.”
“Darling, we would never treat you in such a manner. You have a plentiful dowry. We only want to see you take your rightful place. You have a duty to your kingdom, and you’ve overlooked it for far too long. If a farmer’s daughter can do it, how is it you find it so difficult a task?”
Aunt Sochi was right. They hadn’t changed. She’d grown older, but they still spoke to her as if she were a child. They didn’t understand her even after she’d refused to put on the dress they’d given her.
“I’m sorry, but that matter is closed.”
“Closed?” Her father blustered again, but this time she regarded his dramatics with the boredom it deserved.
“I will not marry the prince, even if he were to choose me sight unseen. I don’t love him and I don’t want him or his life.” Rasha watched her parents’ mouths gape open as she continued. “I will carry on as a courier.”
“But your license has been revoked. It is illegal for you to continue,” her father said.
This time she did stand. How could he know such a thing? There were only two ways, and she doubted it was because he cared about how she was doing. Rasha took two measured steps closer to her seated father, who now had to look up.
“What do you know of my career as a courier?” She spoke in a low and even tone that barely contained the rage she felt.
Her mother started to speak but Rasha held up a hand that stopped whatever excuse her mother planned to offer. Rasha stepped back and shook her head as if to clear it.
“It was you.” Rasha had to fight to keep the emotion from choking her.
“What are you accusing me of?” her father demanded and stood.
He paced the room as if he were trying to figure out what to say. He turned back to face her.
“Don’t be a coward now, Father. You had a hand in getting my license revoked. Surely you don’t fear the wrath of your daughter. Can’t you admit it to my face?”
“Transportation of humanoids is illegal,” he declared.
Rasha nodded. It was the closest thing to an admission she’d receive. Before she could stop herself her anger propelled her across the room in three rushed steps that put her within striking range of her father. Her hands dropped to her empty belt again, but before she registered that her hands were empty, a heavy slap struck her face. Rasha stumbled back.
“No,” her mother exclaimed, rushing forward. But her father raised his arm and held her back. His face had gone an even darker shade of purple.
Rasha steadied herself, and calmly asserted, “You won’t tie me down and force me to live in this castle as your trophy princess.”
She dropped to one knee again and put a fist to her chest. “I appreciate all you’ve done for Princess Chiza. She’s not just a mission anymore. Lu and Jak are my friends and have done nothing wrong. I beg you let them go. They are more than capable of escorting the princess on my behalf.”
Rasha kept her head bowed, waiting for an answer, then remembered something.
“Oh, and I’d like your permission to go to the temple before my imprisonment.”
29
“Come with me.”
Four guards stood just outside of Lu and Jak’s cell, waiting for them to come out. With two guards in front of them and two behind, they were led from the dungeon.
“I wonder if they’re having some kind of feast for us. Big confusion, sorry we didn’t realize you were that princess,” Lu said under his breath.
Jak was in better spirits too. He had no problem poking fun at the guards as they walked.
“I think the furry caps on their heads might be squeezed too tight. See how their faces are all pinched? Not at all a good look for these purple guards.”
Lu snickered, but caught himself when one of the guards half turned to glare at them.
“Fine accommodations you have below stairs, would you like us to inspect the rest of the castle? We’d be thrilled to serve the king and his princess,” Jak said. This time Lu laughed.
When they reached a small temple beside the
castle, the guards stopped some distance away. One of the guards pointed his long metal-tipped staff first at Lu, then at Jak. He said, “You will hold your tongue. This is our holy temple. Your presence is requested but not required. I hope you understand my meaning.” The guard squared his shoulders, preparing for a fight. Lu wasn’t interested in fighting with Rasha’s people. He was too fascinated by them. Jak held his chin up but didn’t respond.
Lu was about to ask what they were doing out there when Chiza arrived. He felt his insides light up as soon as he saw her. She was being escorted down the front steps by one guard.
“You look fresh. I guess the female cells are much nicer than the men’s,” Jak said with a wink.
“Cells? You’ve been imprisoned?”
They both held up their bound hands.
“You weren’t?” Lu asked.
“By the Univers—” Chiza caught herself as she’d noticed the temple. “Of course not. I’m the princess of Sidoa. We don’t want to go to war with these people any more than they want to. I can tell you all the nonsense we’ve been through would be nothing compared to a war. If my family were to discover I’d been placed in jail, it would be worse for them than anything we’ve experienced so far.”
“Where have you been?” Lu half whispered as the guard escorted them to the temple doors.
“I’ve been in Rasha’s old room,” Chiza shrugged.
“I take it she didn’t leave a journal of her escapades and lost loves?” Jak asked her.
“Nothing of Rasha lives in that room. Nor in this castle, I’d say.”
Temi came around the back of the temple and took a defensive posture as the guards raised their weapons. Lu whistled, and the beast relaxed.
“Are we finished with these?” Jak asked raising his bound hands.
One of the other guards stepped forward and released them. Jak proceeded inside ahead. Chiza followed. Lu started in with Temi beside him.
The guard snapped, “The beast is not permitted inside.” He spat on the ground. The idea of the animal occupying such a holy place was disgusting to him, it seemed.
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