They traveled along the shore until they came to the mouth of a large river. They followed the river until the sun was low in the sky and they reached their destination, a small house set back from the riverbank.
In the house, Meeral had three surprises. She looked in a mirror and saw that her face was puffy and sunburned. The second was that she would be able to bathe and put on one of her own dresses; all her belongings were laid out in one of the rooms. The third was the behavior of the soldiers. Instead of watching her, they were stationed outside. Whenever a boat passed on the water or a horseman on the road, they stood tensely alert.
After Meeral had bathed and eaten, she and Lenera were finally left alone and Lenera told her what had happened:
When you jumped, Meeral, I didn't know whether to cry or to cheer. Like MorToak, I had faith in you, but I know from what Father told Twin and me that a person can be killed from falling off a high cliff into the water. Water isn't that soft.
King Quanzar had run to the edge of the bluff. He stood there a moment then turned around.
"That takes care of her," he said as he started to walk back toward us.
"I'll send some men down," Xankald said.
"You will not" The King was terribly excited. "Why should we even bother looking for the body? That woman has nothing to do with my daughter." Then he began to talk about how Boktod had robbed the body of his dead daughter, and that you, Meeral, should be left to rot.
Xankald looked around. I could see he was going to give orders to a soldier to go down and find you, but the king kept talking about Boktod and saying awful things.
He came right up to me and said, "She didn't even look like Janshei, did she?"
I said that I had no way of knowing except that you had the necklace that even he, the king, said had been his daughter's. He turned back abruptly and walked to the edge of the bluff.
He gripped the necklace in his hand and looked at it carefully, then held it out in front of him at arms length, as old men do.
He said, "This isn't Janshei's necklace. I thought it was at first. It fooled me." He swung it from the chain, back and forth, finally, with a swing of his arm, he let it slip out of his hand and out over the edge of the bluff. That's the last I saw of it.
"It's worthless," he said. Then he shaded his eyes against the sun to look out at his ships. "They'll be sorry in Lurdoa that they didn't let me get my hands on that rascal Boktod. My ships will pepper them with cannon shots. Just look at them out there. Did you ever see anything so magnificent?"
We all looked. Xankald suddenly muttered, "What in Gurkon's name?"
That's when the king began to scream.
"My ships! My ships are sinking!" His voice was awful. He stood there, swaying and saying over and over again, "My beautiful ships. Who did that to my beautiful ships?"
Then he crunched over and began to fall. Xankald caught him, but if MorToak had not grabbed them both and pulled them back, Xankald would have fallen over the edge with his father. Of course those stupid soldier rushed up with their swords drawn. I shouted that their king was sick -- anyone with any sense could see he was. They stopped long enough for Xankald to put them under his control -- he does it so well -- just the slightest wave of his little finger and they do what he tells them to do.
They brought him in -- the king -- and called all sorts of people. One healer kept saying, "I told him this would happen but he wouldn't listen. I've seen it happen so often with men his age who think they're still twenty."
MorToak and I kept looking at each other. I know I had a funny feeling. I stopped thinking about whether you were alive; I wondered how long it would be before they killed MorToak and me.
Xankald said he'd have to get to the water and help with the rescue -- did you know that there were surprisingly few casualties? -- As soon as you had put a hole in one ship, the rest of the sailors were warned and ready to leave their ships. Xankald told us about it. After he had done all he could for the sailors and was riding back to the palace, he thought about what he should do. The healer isn't sure, but he doesn't think the king will be able to rule any more. He had a stroke, you know.
Xankald plans to take over from his father gradually, letting the people get used to the king's condition. But those ships with their cannons that King Quanzar sent around the Straits of Pothlat will reach Lurdoa City soon and he can't get a message to the Drarie ambassador in Lurdoa City in time to stop them. When he told MorToak, MorToak said I could send a message but I told him that I had been trying early every morning for days -- that was the only time I was sure no one would interrupt me.
MorToak said, "Don't you know that Linima is still asleep when you are getting up?"
Suddenly I remember -- she's way west of us and early morning in Binrel is still night in Lurdoa City. So I tried again later in the day and I reached her. Oh, Meeral! Can you imagine how I felt just talking to Twin -- you know -- writing talk? I almost cried -- I know she did. Anyway, I told her to tell the Drarie ambassador to get a message to the ships that the king is sick, the fleet is sunk, and that the Drarie ships heading for Lurdoa City are to come home. She'll send a message to Lulrythe in Pactyl to pick up those assassins of Chak's.
Another thing that worried Xankald, Meeral, was that you would be safe. That's why he sent for your clothes. You're not to come back to the palace. People know you were there. I guess they're pretty mad. He wants to get you back to Lurdoa but hasn't yet figured out how. He says, I thought rather nastily, that he'd send you by ship, but he seems to be a bit short on ships.
"Did I tell you that MorToak is all right, Meeral?" Lenera said as she finished her account. "I think they'll be here tomorrow."
The two men arrived on horseback early the next morning. MorToak seemed pleased to see her but only gave her a brief hello. Xankald avoided looking at her and took Lenera off into another room. Meeral could hear the murmur of their voices sometimes rising, sometimes so low she wasn't sure they were still talking to each other. MorToak moved restlessly around the room until Xankald called him and the secret discussion continued. Xankald left the room and went outside when a carriage arrived, then went back into conference with Lenera and MorToak.
Finally they all came out. This time Lenera would not look Meeral in the eye.
"Get your things, Meeral," Xankald said. "You'll be riding in that carriage out there. I've given you my best man to drive you. He'll do everything he can to protect you."
Meeral got up. Hesitantly she said, "May I ask how your father is, Xankald?"
"We don't know yet. He can't talk and seems mixed up. He's getting good care and doesn't seem to be in pain, but the healers don't think he will ever be as he was before."
Then Xankald crossed the room and stood in front of Meeral. "I should be angry with you," he said. "You destroyed our fleet. From what Lenera told me, we can thank you that so few lives were lost. You could have exploded the powder and the cannons. You have totally defeated us. You have also forced us to come to a different solution for Drarie, one I hope to carry out with the help of MorToak."
Meeral looked quickly at MorToak, wondering if that meant that he would stay in Drarie.
Xankald smiled. "He's going with you. But Lenera has to stay."
Lenera's face told Meeral nothing.
"Why?" Meeral asked.
"So we can communicate through her twin and build a good relationship between our countries. We'll need a lot of help."
This time Meeral took Lenera off into the other room for a conference.
"I want to stay," Lenera said. "Of course I don't like being so far from Linima -- or you Meeral." Lenera looked at her hands for a moment. "Did I tell you that Twin and Kaldoat will have an Ezant wedding? It was Kaldoat's idea. Isn't that wonderful?"
Meeral put her arms around Lenera. This twin must have decided that this was a good time to find a life that was not as intertwined with her other half.
"I wish I could give you my pendant," Meeral said. "But y
ou have courage already."
When she said good-bye to Xankald, he held her hand gently and said, "I will always think of you as my remarkable niece." He kissed her gently on the cheek.
The last words she heard from him before the carriage pulled away were addressed to MorToak. "If you get through the city, you're probably safe."
CHAPTER 23
Xankald took every precaution to get Meeral and MorToak out of Binrel safely. He gave them a carriage that was not conspicuous, average size, and a style that almost concealed the passenger from curious eyes. The few belongings they brought with them, they kept inside the carriage. No one would guess they were fleeing the city.
"I don't have enough soldiers to protect you, even if I gave you a hundred," Xankald said, "An escort would just call attention to you. The people are angry, I can't control them. It's quite a blow to see our whole fleet destroyed after the victories and the loot that father promised them. I'm not even sure I could protect you if I kept you here with me. Your best chance is getting out of Binrel unnoticed."
The man who drove the carriage was a loyal servant of Xankald's. He knew the road all the way to the Lurdoan border. First, they had to get through the city.
The further they traveled into the city, the more people were gathered on the street corners, just as the people had in Pactyl when the Draries threatened to invade Lurdoa.
As the driver slowed down in the city traffic of carriages, wagons and horses (no dog carts here), they heard a voice shout in panic, "The next thing they'll do is send their enhancers and kill us all."
Another said, "I hear the enhancer is still at the palace."
"No. She killed the king and escaped."
Meeral felt MorToak's hand on hers.
They moved along the streets until the crowds thinned out. Meeral breathed a sigh of relief. "I think I've been holding my breath," she said.
MorToak let go of her hand. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead. "We're out of the city. Everything's going to be all right."
"My grandmother used to say that just before everything went to pieces," Meeral said with a nervous laugh.
The carriage picked up speed. They passed fewer and fewer houses and more and more lush, green trees. Meeral and MorToak leaned back in their seats.
MorToak said, "We'll have a long ride together -- but it will be different from when we were on the ship, worrying about what was going to happen. And we won't have someone watching us all the . . ."
Suddenly, the carriage began to slow down. "Something must be on the road," he said.
They heard voices as the carriage came to a halt. A man said, "We're checking on everyone heading north. Just prove to us that you're from Drarie and we'll let you move on."
"That's easy," the driver said. He began to describe one of the taverns in Binrel, the name of the owner and his children. Then he said, "And I can vouch for my passengers."
MorToak stuck his head out the window and, with a pretty good imitation of the peculiarities of the Drarie dialect, began to give them a lecture on the history of Drarie and was moving on to their present economic situation when they said with a laugh, "That's enough! That's enough! We believe you. What about the woman in there?"
MorToak said, "She's sick. The healer says it's catching, so we're heading out of the city so others won't catch it. Stick your head out, Jafala, and show them."
Meeral exposed her sunburned face. The men sidled away from the carriage and one said, "With a name like Jafala, she's got to be a Drarie."
"Where did you find that name?" Meeral asked MorToak when their carriage moved away from the men.
"Didn't you know? That was the name of the woman who watched you on the ship and in the palace."
Meeral shook her head. "I didn't know she had a name."
Just when they thought they were truly out of danger they were startled by a horseman galloping along side the carriage.
"Stop!" he shouted to the driver. Two other men on horses came up the other side.
As the carriage slowed down, a man shouted, "Do you have any women passengers?"
Meeral heard the words, "enhancer... killed the king..."
MorToak peered out the window, then muttered something under his breath. Standing back from the road was a man with a bow and arrow aimed at the coach. Not far from him stood another. Meeral saw two more men on the other side of the road.
"They've heard about enhancers," she said as she reached into the bag that held her possessions. She felt the soft material of the few clothes she had brought with her. When her fingers touched the hard wood of her flute, she pulled it out with a trembling hand. She put the flute to her mouth.
She played the tune she knew was a Drarie tune, the one her mother had loved so much. Someone flung open the door of the carriage.
"This woman must get out . . ."
He stopped, listening for a minute to the melody Meeral was playing. Smiling, he hummed a few bars with her, then said, "We're looking for an enhancer from Lurdoa. I was going to ask you to step out, Miss, but when I hear you playing that old Drarie tune, there's no point in bothering you."
Meeral continued playing for a few minutes after the driver started the horses again, then put her flute back in her bag. "You must play for me sometime when can I enjoy it," MorToak said.
"Do you think that time will ever come?"
"I'm not going to say 'everything will be all right,'" MorToak answered cautiously.
They stopped for a midday dinner at a private home. The table was set and the meal was on the stove. Meeral and MorToak ate in silence while the driver and their host chatted cheerfully in the kitchen. They were given some bananas and bread to take with them.
That evening they stopped again at a private home. The driver told the Draries that Meeral and MorToak were going back "up north." They did not correct their host and hostess, who assumed they came from northern Drarie. Meeral was given private quarters, but MorToak slept in a workman's shed in the back. He hid his displeasure from everyone except Meeral, who knew his moods by now. He liked his luxuries.
So it went, day after day. At first Meeral was afraid to talk with the Drarie women, but the farther they traveled from the Drarie capital, the more she and MorToak relaxed in the company of their various hosts. The rumor of Quanzar's death had not traveled this far north.
In the carriage MorToak and Meeral talked of what they learned about Drarie and how Lurdoa and Drarie could help each other's economy.
MorToak said, "I've been wondering -- when you destroyed the fleet, where did you get the fire?"
"I was trying to enhance cold so I could have a cold drink in that hot cabin in the ship. I've improved my skill with all the practice with spinning, and then defending Pactyl so I was able to go way down. It turns out that the further down I reach into the earth, the hotter it is. But I don't understand where I got the cold to cool beer in Cyrtuno."
"Have you ever been in a cave?"
"Yes. We used to go in them in summer -- they were really cold."
"Caves are about as warm as the average temperature in their location. Caves are not as cold in Pactyl as in Cyrtuno because Cyrtuno is further north and in the mountains."
Meeral shook her head in disgust. "I wasted a lot of time trying to cool cider in Pactyl."
Part of the trip was very difficult for Meeral. MorToak no longer said the kind of thing that made her blush. But she was torn between her longing for him and the hopelessness of her desires.
One day, when the driver was giving the horses a rest, Meeral and MorToak walked along a small stream. The air was hot and humid. When she stopped and turned back, she suddenly found herself facing MorToak. He gently held her head between his two hands.
"Meeral,Ó he said and leaned down and kissed her lips.
She reacted so quickly, never thinking she had a choice. Her arms went around him, pressing her body against his. She was hardly aware that his fingers tangled in her hair before he echoed he
r willingness, kissing and holding her. Meeral felt complete happiness. This is what she wanted.
Suddenly the memory of the six fruit trees planted near Shejani's grave jarred Meeral out of her bliss. She was not going to become another Shejani. Her mood made a total shift and she pulled away from him.
"I told you on the ship that I'm not planning to follow my mother's path." Her voice was harsh and accusing.
She started to walk back to the carriage, but her hair fell across her face. What would the driver think if he saw her like this? Would he look at her as the men in Cyrtuno had looked at her mother? Anxiously she turned to MorToak, afraid he was going to demand more from her, but he still stood on the spot where their passion had flared. Then he walked to the stream and vigorously splashed water in his face, while she tried to find the hairpins she had lost.
He helped her search the ground where they had stood so close together, and finally gave up and handed her several small sticks, which worked well enough to fasten up her hair.
"I'm sorry," he said. "That's not the way I want things to be between us right now."
"I told you on the ship . . .Ó she began to repeat.
"I asked you then because I had to know if you wanted to be like your mother. If that was the only way I could have you . . .Ó He stopped for a moment, then said, "But I prefer another way. I want to marry you."
"Marry me?" The rage that had dissipating returned with greater strength. "You paid no attention to me when I was the daughter of a peasant, but now you find I'm the daughter of a princess you decided that maybe I'm good enough for you. I'm still the same person."
She turned, took a few indignant steps toward the carriage, tripped over a branch, recovered, and did not speak to MorToak the whole afternoon.
As the sun began to set, she and the day cooled. It was not his fault alone. She had matched his passion, and when she pulled away from him he had respected her decision. In a peace-making gesture, she made some inane comment on the color of the setting sun.
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