Pawn (The Pawn Series Book 1)

by Robin Roseau

  I offered a glare to Juleena, and while I didn't quite stomp over, I am sure my body language was clear.

  My cheeks were burning long before I lowered into position across Keelara's lap.

  "I've heard you can be quite stoic," she said. "I am no maid, however. Twenty strikes for your appearance, and twenty more for the disruption to court."

  She didn't wait after that, and there was nothing tentative about the spanking. Like Mellara had, she pulled my jumper out of the way, and then she delivered the punishment. I was grunting by the fifth strike, and tears filled my eyes long before she reached forty. But other than the grunts, I made not a sound.

  The assembled audience talked, and I heard a few words, but I did my best to ignore what they had to say.

  Then she let me up. I didn't look at her but stood silently as she worked on my appearance. Then she released me. I didn't look at the queen or Juleena after that, and I turned somewhat away from the queen besides, giving her a portion of my back. It was probably rude, and it was probably unwise, but I did it, anyway.

  They continued to run me about, and my appearance gave cause for two more punishments. These people had been waiting as well. The first of them made me hand her my shoe. I took it off and gave it to her. She wrapped something around it, near the heel, then told me to put it back on. When I put weight on that foot, I felt something digging into my heel, and after that, it was not unlike walking with a stone in my shoe.

  It quickly grew uncomfortable, and I developed a limp in an attempt to avoid it.

  The last punishment at court was similar, but instead of going inside the sandal, it wrapped around the outside nearer the toe, with a wedge underneath my foot. When I tried standing on it, it applied upward pressure on my foot, and so I found myself limping with both feet.

  No word was given as to when I could remove them, and I'd wear both for the next several hours.

  * * * *

  A break for lunch was called, served in the dining hall. I wasn't given an opportunity to sit but instead spent the entire time fetching for everyone. I said not a word to a single person, and I collected two more punishments before I was done.

  Afternoon court was shorter, at least for me. I don't know if they took pity on me or not. They continued to run me ragged, but I only collected one more punishment, and when it was over, the queen said, "Lady Yallameenara, I believe you have a task in the kitchen. You may go, and while you may not wear the nose, you are ordered to head directly to the kitchens and let no one lead you astray."

  That didn't save me entirely, as I was intercepted twice on the way out of the room and three more in the hallways, but the tasks were simple, and finally I reached the kitchen.

  * * * *

  I probably couldn't have been in a worse mood, and it wasn't improved by reaching the kitchen. I was sure the cooks would assign more tasks, although I would discover I was wrong. I didn't meet any of their eyes, nor did I speak. I knew where my supplies were, purchased myself, and I set myself to preparing the bread for the party later.

  I was sorely tempted to burn it. I was sorely tempted to burn it all and then stomp to my room -- although stomping wouldn't have been easy unless I first removed the punishments still embedded in my sandals. And then I was tempted to change into clothing suitable for the weather, saddle Zana, and ride right out of town.

  I didn't do any of that. I made the bread the best I could, even making an extra loaf for myself. I ate it right there, hot from the oven, blowing on it to cool it off.

  No one bothered me until the end. The head cook herself came over and examined my bread. "Why did you choose a simple bread? Many girls attempt something much more creative."

  "I couldn't possibly cook anything as fine as you make. This is wholesome and far better than any bread I ever had before coming here." And if anyone didn't like it, I wasn't sure I cared. But I didn't say that. I hadn't forgotten she set me up earlier. These were the first words I'd spoken since arriving.

  She nodded, picked one of the loaves up, and sniffed it. She examined it carefully and then said, "You do no dishonor to my kitchen." Then she gestured, and one of the young assistants stepped over with a large basket. All the bread went into the basket and was carefully covered.

  "Many of your guests have arrived, and the celebration is underway." She slid the basket towards me.

  "You're not going to punish me for my appearance?"

  "No," she said. "Although there isn't a mirror here to fix it, either."

  "Ah." Of course. My punishment needed to be far more public.

  I collected the basket, dangling it from an elbow, and headed for the exit.

  * * * *

  I didn't get far. Juleena and Mellara were waiting for me, both dressed for a party. I came to a stop but didn't look directly at either of them.

  Juleena stepped forward. Without a word, she took the basket from me and handed it to Mellara. Then she knelt down at my feet and removed the sandals, one at a time. She removed the two lingering punishments then helped me back into the sandals. Of course, by then both feet hurt horribly, and the idea of spending more time on them did not bring me joy.

  She stood and took the basket from Mellara, who then saw to my appearance. I stood, not saying a word, but when she was done, I asked, "What is my newest punishment?"

  Mellara didn't answer, and Juleena's only answer was to hand the basket back to me. "Give us a slow count to thirty and then follow us," Juleena ordered. "The main ballroom."

  "Yes, Your Highness," I said formally.

  * * * *

  The room wasn't at all full when I arrived. After all, it was sized for far more people than this. But it appeared that all, or nearly all, of my guests had arrived. Muranna was there, standing with Lady Griffen. Juleena and Queen Ralalta were both there, standing together and talking to several other guests. Mellara stood to the side, the only guest amongst the serving staff.

  For an event in the palace, attire was informal. Oh, it was still formal, but I may have been the only one wearing a new outfit. I wasn't much impressed with my outfit and wondered why I'd had a new gown made if I was forced to wear these clothes instead. Even Mellara wore a gown suitable for dancing later, and I thought she looked nice.

  The guest list had been eclectic. When prompted, I had only mentioned very few names: Muranna, Mellara with Lady Griffen, Juleena and Ralalta, of course, Malta, and Keelara. The rest included some of Juleena's cousins, a few ministers from Ralalta's cabinet, one or two diplomats, and a few important people in Framaran society.

  I had no idea who felt slighted at a lack of invitation, nor do I know who declined to attend.

  Everyone noticed when I arrived. Of course, some knew I was on the way, but others noticed the reactions, and it only took a few seconds before everyone in the room had turned to face me, their conversations dying.

  On this, I had been properly advised. I was to offer a curtsey towards the queen and another to the room in general. And then I was to hand out the bread I had baked, greeting people as I did so. And I wasn't to stand on formality. Said another way, I was in no obligation to serve first the queen and was told to start with those closest to the entrance.

  And so I did, beginning on the left. I approached a group of my guests, Lord Heltain, his wife, Lady Valand, and Lady Reese. Heltain was a minister, and Lady Reese was one of Ralalta's cousins, twice removed or something. Around me, individual conversations resumed.

  I greeted them by name and thanked them for coming and then broke pieces of the bread, handing them out. "A gift from my humble hands," I said simply. No one had told me if there were traditional words, and so I picked that phrase and a few other, meaningless words.

  After that, I worked the room, back and forth, moving closer to the queen. I arrived at Muranna and Lady Griffen. I attempted a cool greeting, but Muranna pulled me into a hug. "You look so cute."

  "You could have warned me," I said.

  "The princess forbade me," she replied
.

  "I'm surprised you weren't in court to watch Lieutenant Keelara spank the stuffing out of me."

  She didn't have an answer for that, and we released each other. The princess's command or not, I wasn't a whole lot happier with her than I was with anyone else. I put on a fake smile, thanked them for coming, and handed out my bread.

  I managed to arrange it so I arrived at the queen and princess last. That was intentional, but they couldn't say I hadn't made enough bread. The queen received the very last piece, and I offered a curtsey after its delivery, keeping the false smile in place. The queen's smile was far warmer than mine, and she drew me into a brief embrace besides, but we didn't exchange any special words.

  I had received a temporary reprieve from being assigned tasks, but a servant appeared and took the basket from me, and ten seconds later, it all started again.

  Again, I was run ragged, although no one actually sent me out of the room. I fetched chairs and glasses of wine. I knelt down and buffed boots more than once. Several times I carried messages from one group to another, including one rather ribald request for Juleena.

  That one I whispered into her ear. "Lady Kate asked me to..." I paused, but I managed not to blush. However, I had to start over. "I believe she desires an assignation. I do not exactly recall her exact words." I did remember her words, but I would be dead before I'd repeat them.

  Outwardly, Juleena laughed. But she turned away, and I saw her muscles tense for a minute. But then she turned to me and kissed my cheek. As she leaned over, I tried to shy away from her, but she clasped my shoulders, and it would have been far too obvious if I'd fought her. It was enough she knew I wasn't pleased with her attention right now.

  Of course, my appearance didn't remain pristine, but just when I was probably due to be chastised for it, Mellara would appear behind me and begin to fuss at me. Twice she did it just as Muranna had set out to intercept me, and I could read her frustration from across the room.

  At that, I turned to Mellara and thanked her, then leaned down and asked her if she was supposed to frustrate Muranna.

  "Not necessarily," Mellara said. "But if she wants to catch you, she has to be faster than Lord Andro, who is yet unsatisfied."

  "Is anyone going to be upset with you for helping me?"

  "If so, they can talk to the princess about it," she replied. "I'm on her orders."

  I nodded at that. It was something, although not enough to soften my heart.

  Eventually, of course, Muranna did catch me, arriving three steps in front of Andro, but only one in front of Mellara.

  "Yalla, you jumper is unkempt."

  As I'd just spent the last several minutes at someone's feet, buckling and rebuckling her shoe until she was satisfied with how tight it was, I wasn't surprised I'd come up looking less than perfect.

  Muranna closed the remaining distance, Andro shooting daggers into her back. She fixed the jumper's lie then licked her fingers and used them to adjust a stray lock of hair, the sort of thing a mother might do to a young child. I didn't say a word. Then she studied me carefully before nodding.

  "Of course, I must punish you."

  "Of course," I said.

  She'd come prepared. She fished a piece of paper from some hidden place and handed it to me with the words, "You will sing this loudly enough for us all to hear."

  I unfolded the page. It contained the words to a children's teaching song, one designed to teach the letters of the alphabet. There were the words, but no music with it.

  "As you know, Lady Muranna," I said, "I did not grow up in Framara. If this is a tune all children learn, I do not know it."

  "Feel free to make something up," she said.

  "Very well," I said. I offered her as fake a smile as I'd been giving since arriving but moved to the center of the room. I looked the words through once more and then picked a tune from my childhood. The meter wasn't quite the same, but I could adjust as I went.

  I sang the words, although I had to consult the paper to do so. It was clear no one had heard the tune I used, but I was sure everyone in the room already knew the words, excepting possibly Muranna herself, who hadn't grown up in Framara, either.

  When I finished, the room was still for a moment, and then the queen began a light applause for me, quickly joined by others. By the time the applause ended, she had walked over to me and stood facing me. She took the sheet from me and held it to the side -- I didn't see who took it. Then she collected both my hands in hers. I didn't look into her eyes.

  "My foster daughter arrived to this room yet a child, at least in the eyes of the law. Of course, it would have been a mistake to consider her a child the day she first appeared amongst us, four and a half years ago. She was perhaps not yet an adult, but she was certainly not a child by any measure except the strict definition of the law."

  She paused a moment. I wasn't sure if was supposed to say anything, but I had nothing to say.

  "Yallameenara was born of the Arrlotta, upon the steppes of Garneer, past the Wizard's Gorge. Yallameenara herself can still be heard to call her first home The Hippa, for that is what the steppes are called by her people.

  "The Arrlottan carry their own customs," she continued. "They do not celebrate birthdays the way we might. Instead, if asked, Yallameenara might have said this is to be her ten and ninth winter, for she would have been a newborn baby for her first winter. And Yallameenara could not tell you the exact date of her birth, as the Arrlottan do not track such a day or even use a calendar at all, as best I can tell."

  I nodded in agreement, but said nothing.

  "But in Framara, we track these days, and so we picked this day to celebrate Yallameenara's birthdays. Today is the day she officially is ten and eight years old, the age of majority in Framara."

  At that, the audience clapped lightly and then settled again.

  The queen looked around, and her tone changed, sounding less like a prepared speech, but still she projected, as she always did when facing an audience. "I have given this speech before, but never for one who came into today with little knowledge and even less understanding of our customs." She smiled to me. "Peoples everywhere seem to adopt certain rites of passage. Yalla, do you understand that phrase?"

  "I'm sorry, Your Majesty."

  "Ah. A tradition related to being considered an adult."

  "Oh. Yes."

  "Historically, these rites can be quite different than what you have experienced so far today. Tell me. When is a girl considered an adult of the Arrlotta?"

  I suspect she knew the answer, but she gave no indication.

  "She is an adult when she is brought to her husbands bed," I said. "A boy becomes a man when he demonstrates his ability to see to the needs of a family."

  "How does he do that?"

  "He must hunt and kill three of the great animals of The Hippa," I said. "To prove his strength, he must kill one of the buffalo, a massive beast, far larger than a Framaran cow. To prove his speed, he must kill an antelope, which is very similar to a deer, although they travel in greater numbers and are very fast. And to prove his cunning and his ability, he must kill one of the great predators. This last task is the most difficult, for the cats and bears are rare and elusive, although not necessarily any more dangerous than the buffalo."

  "And he must do these alone?"

  "Yes."

  "I believe I understand," she said. "The rites of passage of the Arrlotta are different from those of Framara, but not as different as they appear to be. Do you agree with me, Yalla?"

  "They are certainly different," I said hesitatingly.

  "You do not see the similarities?"

  "No, Your Majesty. I do not."

  She smiled again. I didn't return it. "Then I must explain, at least some. On The Hippa, a girl becomes a woman when she becomes a wife, and a boy becomes a man when he demonstrates his ability to perform manly tasks. One could say a girl becomes a woman when she is about to perform an adult task as well, couldn't you?"
r />   "I suppose so," I said.

  She turned her head to the table holding the gifts I had made. "We ate of your bread, warm, wholesome, and delicious, baked of your own hands. And we see an assembly of gifts, also made of your own hands."

  I didn't see her point, and it wasn't the bread or the gifts that left me at odds with everyone in the room, anyway.

  "Not quite the hardest part of being an adult, but certainly one of the most difficult requirements of an adult in polite society is to face adversity with dignity and grace, even when events conspire to steal your dignity and destroy your poise."

  For the first time since she began speaking, I raised my eyes to hers, and her smile grew wider. "And I see now you understand."

  "Perhaps I do, Your Majesty," I said, although my words weren't designed to project.

  "You are not destined to become the next queen of Framara," Ralalta continued. "And so your trials were not as difficult as Juleena's were only a few years ago. However, you are my foster daughter, and so perhaps your experience today was somewhat more difficult for you than that of many of the others in this room."

  At that, I said nothing. While perhaps I understood the traditions better than I had, I wasn't really happier about any of it.

  "And so," the queen continued, "You have given everyone here some measure of the sort of woman you will be. You have shown everyone here you are strong and proud, and of that, I had no doubt. You have demonstrated a stoicism that perhaps surprised many, and a stubborn streak I am sure surprised no one."

  At that, there was laughter.

  "You have also tried to hide some of your reactions. You have done so imperfectly, and some might find this a weakness. But I find no fault. You demonstrated an unwillingness to lie to me, which pleases me greatly. But with your honesty you displayed as much diplomacy as I could expect from one barely ten and eight."