Pawn (The Pawn Series Book 1)

by Robin Roseau

  There was applause at that.

  I'd been listening to the queen and so hadn't noticed events at the periphery of the room. But Ralalta gestured, and then several of the servants slipped through the audience carrying folding screens. These they set up in a circle around the queen and me, and then Juleena and Mellara were also inside the circle.

  The screens did not completely obscure us. I could see the tops of heads, and if I stood on my tiptoes, I could have looked into the eyes of at least those closest to us. But it was enough for what was to become next.

  "Yallameenara, you entered this room as a child. You entered this circle as a child, wearing the clothes of a child and performing the tasks of a child. You entertained us as a child. But let the metamorphosis begin."

  Juleena and Mellara stepped forward. I didn't resist as they undressed me. Then I saw that Mellara had brought my new gown with me, along with all the proper underthings, and she began slipping things onto me even as others were being removed. So although the screens kept me from prying eyes, I was still never entirely naked.

  Around us, the audience waited with only the quietest of conversation. In the meantime, as Ralalta watched, Juleena and Mellara pulled me into my clothing, did all the stays, and tightened everything that needed tightening. Then Mellara retrieve a chair set to the side and bade me to sit. She set herself upon my hair while Juleena knelt down and began to apply makeup to my face. Mellara finished my hair and took over from Juleena.

  It was probably the most rapidly I'd been prepared for an event since I arrived at the palace, but even though, it was well done, and no one rushed us.

  The shoes were last, and then Juleena steadied me as I rose to my feet. Mellara scurried about me, making tiny adjustments, and then Juleena turned me to the queen.

  She smiled broadly and stepped forward, delivering a kiss to each cheek. Then she took my hand and turned me to face towards the entrance of the room, still hidden by the screens.

  "Lady Yallameenara, formerly of the Arrlotta but now of Framara. You entered this circle as a child, but I now declare you an adult of Framara."

  The screens were whisked away, and the applause began, much more exuberant than previous applause. Ralalta stepped with me, turning me to face this way and that, giving everyone a good look. And then I was to receive hugs and more personal congratulations.

  * * * *

  It was perhaps a half hour later I found myself standing between two tables, Juleena with me. To my left were the presents I had crafted, and to the right, an empty table that would hold the gifts I would receive. I was actually a little uncomfortable about this, but it was the tradition, and who was I to argue about tradition?

  People didn't line up. Instead, seeing me free, one or two would approach together. One would hand me a gift, and Juleena would find the corresponding gift on the table beside us. Then we would open together, express appreciation and thanks, and with some, a warmer sign of affection.

  The gifts I received were modest, as per the tradition. They were tokens, or most of them at least.

  There didn't appear to be rhyme or reason to the order that people approached, but I realized near the end that there was. Mellara came after nearly all of the less personal gifts were exchanged. She presented a lovely fan to me, and when I opened it, I saw a design had been painted on it.

  "I painted it myself," she said.

  "It's lovely, Mellara!" I said, and it was. Oh, there perhaps wasn't great artistry, but it was pretty, in lovely colors, and I would cherish it. "Thank you." We exchanged a hug and I even kissed her cheek.

  Then I would have released her, but she clutched at me for a minute. "Lady Yallameenara-" But she said nothing else and finally released me, hurrying away. Juleena offered me a look, but I could only shrug.

  From Muranna I received a new riding hat. "I know you don't appreciate a new hat the way I do," she said, "but I saw this one and I couldn't imagine anyone wearing it but you."

  Juleena gave me a truly dashing leather coat, cut for my figure and also designed for riding. It was truly stunning, and I thanked her for it.

  And from the queen? She approached holding in both hands a box, two spread hands wide, long and narrow. But she said, "Wait to open that," and she opened her quilt first, holding it to the side of her face for a moment before asking two nearby servants to lift it up so she could see it completely. She stared at it for a while, and I couldn't read her expression. But when she turned to me, her eyes glittered.

  "Thank you, Yalla. It's beautiful." She stepped closer. "For this, I want you to remove the wrapping, but there is a box inside. I will hold the box as you open it."

  And so I nodded and did just that.

  Inside, it glittered: a string of deep blue stones, mounted in gold. I stared at it.

  "Your Majesty-"

  "For this, perhaps you would simply call me Ralalta."

  I looked up at her. "Ralalta, it's stunning."

  "Turn around," she ordered. And so I did, and a moment later she was draping it in place around my neck. She did the clasp and turned me back to face her.

  I looked down and touched the stones. "It's beautiful."

  "This comes with one requirement, Yalla," she said. "You mustn't ever offer it to one of your wagers."

  "Your Majesty!" I said in shock. "I would never!"

  She laughed. "I know you wouldn't, but I wanted to be clear. It was my mother's, Yalla."

  I thought she'd had it commissioned, but to know it had been her mothers. I set my fingers to my mouth, unsure what to say, but Ralalta simply hugged me and said, "I'm proud of you, Yalla."

  * * * *

  There was a dinner, and I was so relieved to be off my feet. And then there was to be dancing, but there was one more tradition to be observed first, another no one had told me about, and one that Muranna hadn't experienced.

  It came at the end of dinner, once the food was taken away, but our guests had fresh drinks. Ralalta stood and offered a toast to me, which I did my best to accept graciously. But then she asked, "Is there any business to bring before me?"

  She was going to hold informal court at my birthday celebration?

  There was a pause, and then Lady Reese stepped forward. She was holding a rolled up parchment, tied in a ribbon. "Your Majesty," she called out. "I have a petition that requires your attention."

  "Approach and present this petition, Lady Reese," said the queen.

  The woman in question stepped forward, coming to a stop before the head table, and offered a brief curtsey.

  "Are you here on your own behalf, Lady Reese?" Ralalta asked.

  "Not directly, Your Majesty," the woman replied. "I am here on behalf of my middle son." Then she stepped forward and offered the rolled parchment, but not to the queen.

  To me.

  "My son, Drendick, requests permission to court the Lady Yallameenara."

  Her words were simple. My response was also simple: utter confusion.

  "What?" I asked. "He wants to marry me?"

  "Ah," said the queen, and she was smirking. "Perhaps I shouldn't have kept you entirely in the dark. No, Yalla. He wishes to court you."

  "But, isn't that a prelude to marriage?"

  "Tell me," she replied. "If I were to tell you that you were to marry someone you had barely met, what would your reaction be?"

  "That's what Princess Juleena already did," I said, looking past the queen to her daughter. I lowered my eyes. "I would do my duty."

  "Well, courting you means he wishes permission to call on you, and to request you to accompany him to this event or that one. It is all quite proper. Perhaps it would lead to an offer of marriage; perhaps it would not."

  I eyed her carefully before looking at Lady Reese. And then I saw she wasn't the only one holding a rolled up parchment, tied with a string.

  "How many more of these petitions should I expect?"

  "I couldn't possibly guess," replied the queen. "We are not obligated to reply instantly. Do you
have additional questions, Lady Yallameenara?"

  "I'm sure I do, but I can wait."

  "Very good." She turned to Lady Reese. "You are a valued citizen of Framara, Lady Reese, and your middle son shows true promise. We will answer your petition shortly."

  She offered another curtsey and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty." And then she backed away.

  Ralalta patted my hand and then said, "As long as we are on the question of potential suitors of Lady Yallameenara, are there others here with a similar petition?"

  It turns out that yes, there were.

  They didn't fight to be next. If there was an assigned order, I didn't detect it. But I received two more similar petitions, one for a third son, one for a first, but then Lord Heltain stepped forward with a petition for his eldest granddaughter, Lady Clareeda. Ralalta didn't react any differently to this one than she did to the first three I had received, and so a forth parchment roll found a place on the table before me. Lord Heltain was about to step away, but this time I placed a hand on Ralalta's arm, and she froze.

  "You had a question, Lady Yallameenara?"

  "I wonder if Lord Heltain could describe his granddaughter. I do not believe we have met, or if we have, I am sorry to admit I do not remember."

  "I do not believe you have," he admitted. "She's about this high." He held up his hand. "Long, black hair, dark eyes. I think you would find her quite comely."

  "But what is she like, Lord Heltain?" I asked. "I believe I have a certain reputation, have I not?"

  "That is safe to say," he admitted.

  "Could she keep up with me?"

  He smiled, which wasn't an expression I'd seen often on him. "Not on a horse."

  That generated laughter.

  "Does she ride at all?"

  "Of course," he said.

  "Astride, or side-saddle?"

  "Is astride a requirement?"

  I thought before answering. "No. I wish only to get a feel for the kind of woman she might be. That is all."

  He nodded and turned towards his wife. Somehow they communicated, and he returned his attention to me. "I believe you would be disappointed in her riding, Lady Yallameenara."

  He hadn't really told me much, but I thought perhaps he didn't really know his granddaughter well, and so I nodded. "The world is filled with more than horses," I said. That was nearly sacrilege to come from me. But at the same time, it was also diplomacy. "Thank you, Lord Heltain."

  He looked disappointed, but he nodded and backed away.

  Next to approach was Andro, which somewhat surprised me. I had nothing to say as I took his scroll from him.

  There was a petition from one more woman: the youngest sister of the ambassador of Alteara. I stopped him and asked, "Is your sister here?"

  "No, but it is not a long sea voyage."

  "Would she come here, or expect me to travel to Alteara?"

  "She would love an excuse to visit Marport. If the two of you were to be favorable to the idea, she may invite you to visit her home."

  And so again I nodded.

  And then the queen asked if there were any other petitions. She seemed somewhat surprised when no one spoke. But then I saw Juleena collect a satchel from beneath her chair. I didn't even know she had it. She proceeded to pull six more of the rolled parchments from the satchel. I stared at the pile in front of her.

  She made a show of standing, collecting all six, and walking around the table to stand in front of us. "Your Majesty," she said formally, "I stand in proxy for several who could not attend this event, but who did not wish to wait for another opportunity."

  "Of course, Princess Juleena," Ralalta said. "Will you drop that pile upon your foster sister all at once or one at a time."

  "I believe her discomfort could be heightened if I were to do this slowly," she declared with a grin.

  "By all means," Ralalta replied.

  Juleena delivered them, one a time. She didn't even need to open them to declare who they were each for, but simply announced a name and a few words explaining who the person was. Of the six, five were men and one was a woman, the daughter of the mayor of Gessen, north along the coast an hour. But it was the last that caused the most uproar.

  "Thermish of Balstead," Juleena declared. "Son of Lord Baggar. I believe you know the man in question." She set the scroll down without a word and then stepped away before returning to her seat.

  I'd paid too much attention to Juleena and the scroll. It was really the queen I should have watched. But her expression was neutral when finally I turned to her. And then she called out, "Are there any others?"

  The room was still. I searched the room with my eyes and found Lady Malta. She was watching me.

  "Seeing none," the queen began, but again I set my hand on her arm. She stopped. "Interesting. What is it this time, Lady Yallameenara?"

  "I have reason to believe there is at least one more, but I could be mistaken."

  There was just the slightest pause, and then Malta stood up. "She is not mistaken, Your Majesty."

  "Well, well," the queen said. "Present your petition, Lady Malta."

  Lady Malta approached and curtsied. She was holding a scroll very similar to the others.

  "Are you here on your own behalf, or that of someone else?" the queen asked.

  "Your Majesty, I realize there is an age imbalance, but it is not so great. And perhaps this would not lead to a match, but I have been impressed with Lady Yallameenara for some time. I am here on my own behalf."

  The queen said nothing at first, but I felt her foot tapping the floor under the table, hidden from view by the tablecloths extended to the floor.

  "Well, you have served me long and well, Lady Malta. Present your petition."

  At that I realized the queen wasn't obligated to let anyone give the scrolls to me. Malta stepped forward and handed the scroll to me. I kept it to hand, and then Malta was stepping away.

  "Well," the queen said. "I hope there aren't any further holdouts." That caused uneasy laughter, but no one said a word. "Well then. Lady Yallameenara, you have quite the list of admirers, and I suspect the list will grow in the coming months. What say you?"

  I looked at her for a few moments. Then I decided I'd had enough of being kept in the dark. If she didn't like it, she shouldn't have kept me ignorant. "I do not know what my options are at this time, nor to what I might be promising."

  "Ah. Your options are simple. You may ask me to reject or accept any of these petitions. The final decision is mine, of course. Of those I choose to accept, you can expect them to call on you or beg your company for an afternoon or evening."

  "That's all? I'm not promising marriage? And if I decide I don't care for someone's company?"

  "Then you will tell me, and I will decide if I require you to continue accepting the invitations. Or I may also decide I do not care for one of your suitors, and I will send him -- or her -- away regardless of your desires."

  "I believe I understand." I looked at the pile. "I know very few of these people very well, and some not at all."

  "How better to remedy that, Lady Yallameenara. Do you have an answer tonight?"

  "I do, Your Majesty," I said. "Am I allowed to open these?"

  "Of course."

  I'd set aside the last one Juleena had given me, the one from Lord Baggar's son. I opened it enough to verify it was the right one, then rolled it back up and tied the string around it again.

  "Your Majesty, I wish this one burnt."

  She said nothing but simply held out her hand. Then she opened it, read the name, and said, "I require a brazier, please."

  Evidently the request wasn't that unusual, for it took only a moment for both a brazier and a lit candle to arrive on the table before her.

  "Do you wish to do the honors, Lady Yallameenara, or should I?"

  "If you are willing," I said.

  "I certainly am." But before she lit it, she opened it once more and read the name. Then she set it afire and dropped it into the b
razier.

  And the room broke out in applause.

  We watched it burn, and then Ralalta asked, "Will we require further use of the brazier?"

  "Not on my account, Your Majesty," I said. "Perhaps on yours."

  She smiled and waved it away. It was actually Juleena that set it aside, but a servant took it from there.

  I'd kept Malta's petition in hand. I slid all the others to the queen. "Of these, Your Majesty, I leave the decision entirely to you."

  "Do you?" She pulled one out and tapped it on the table several times. I had no idea which one it was. "And do you reject the one you hold in your hand."

  "No, Your Majesty. I would kindly ask you to accept this one."

  She raised an eyebrow but held out her hand. I set the petition into it, and she opened it, but I thought it was a formality. I was pretty sure she already knew which one it was.

  "Why?" she asked quietly in Arrlottan.

  "You said it's not a promise, and she's always treated me kindly, and she asked earlier to support a petition she would be presenting to you. She didn't explain what it was."

  "Yalla, I do not believe she means this as casually as it was presented." And then she turned her head and looked at her daughter for a moment. Juleena wasn't smiling, and she was staring at the scroll.

  But I wasn't very pleased with the princess right now, and if accepting Malta's petition put Juleena in a bad mood, all the better.

  "If I hadn't singled it out, what would you have decided?"

  "I would have quietly asked her to withdraw her petition, Yalla."

  I gestured to the one she had singled out. "Whose is that one?"

  "Andro's," she said very quietly. "I am surprised you didn't reject it yourself."

  "What are you going to do?"

  "That is a very good question. Are you supporting her because she asked you to, or do you really want me to accept?"

  I thought only a moment. "Accept."

  "Very well. You have a choice. Both. Or neither. And if it is both, you will accept offers from them equally, or near equally."

  "Why?"

  "Accepting this one," she said, touching Malta's, "is mildly difficult for me. Denying this one --" that was Andro's, "-- would also be mildly difficult. I find they balance."