“Four,” she replied. Admina’s face fell a little and Evony smiled. “I’m certain it will be fine. There are plenty of others who seem quite nice.”
“Now that you all have your numbers,” Rakin said as the last girl shuffled away from him. “I want you to form groups with the others of the same number.”
Evony smiled a temporary goodbye at Admina before she followed the shouts of four to where the rest of her group stood. She glanced back and watched Admina trudge towards hers, glad that at least Venita wasn’t in either of their groups. She was annoying.
Looking around at her group, only the girl in blue would meet her gaze for even a moment. The other two kept their eyes to the floor for as long as she looked at them. Evony heaved an internal sigh. Working with them was certainly going to be interesting.
“Each of your groups will need to work together to perform a task for this evening. You are permitted to use any free servants you wish to help you with your tasks and to make free use of the facilities and stores within the palace, though if you are told something is forbidden, you must respect that. Your group will be judged as a whole,” Rakin said, sweeping them all with a look.
He waited a few moments to allow his words to sink in then continued. “Group one will be in charge of arranging light refreshments for approximately one hundred people. Group two will be in charge of drinks for the same number. Group three will need to arrange entertainment for an evening of conversation and gentle amusement. Group four will need to arrange decorations for an evening of the same. You are all expected to complete your tasks and present yourselves at the Pleasure Hall at eight of the evening. Any group not on time will be disqualified as a whole. Good luck.”
Rakin didn’t wait for questions or acknowledgements but turned and left, his two guards following close behind him. Everyone watched him go for several moments. Then a girl in group one said, “I think we should have a lot of fresh fruit and sweet desserts.”
That sparked a debate amongst the rest of her group, and in minutes, every group was talking, each girl wanting her ideas to be heard. Evony didn’t have much experience with decorations, except for making simple daisy chains and the like, so she listened. The one girl in her group wanted to do something dark and mysterious, using black as an homage to the imperial family as well.
The next group over, clearly delineated from the other with the space between, was talking about having food that represented the different seasons so that there was a rich variety. The group on drinks was being told by Venita that they should serve only the richest of wines and heavy liqueurs in special drinks so their group stood out most. The last group was talking about finding some kind of performers instead of doing the expected musicians.
Evony pictured all these things being presented at once and winced at the mental image. It would be a mess. Each one of their groups was acting as an individual unit, not interacting with the others. If this were a battle it’d be chaos. Evony knew the best strategy was when everyone fought as a whole. And while they might be in a competition, she guessed the point of this test was to see how well they worked together, and how better than to have all of them creating a common theme and ensuring the evening was a seamless whole?
“I think,” she began, but her words were swallowed up by the loud conversations around her. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Hello!”
Only her group glanced at her for a moment, before two of the girls went back to discussing the merits of dark vs. light decorations. There were too many voices and even shouting. Evony knew she’d be ignored. There were already a few girls yelling over each other to be heard. There was no help for it.
Inhaling sharply, Evony threw her head back and let out her clan’s war cry. Her voice rose and fell in the traditional call, part imitation of an eagle’s call, part imitation of a wolf’s howl, mixed in with an ending high enough to cut through a battlefield.
It worked and when Evony dropped her head, she found everyone staring at her. “Thank you,” she said, bowing her head in acknowledgement and apology in one. “I know we’ve been separated into groups, but if each group does whatever they like without speaking to the others, the evening will be a mess. If we all discuss it together and connect what we’re doing to each other’s, the evening will be cohesive and much more pleasing. We need to find a common theme or connecting thread.”
No one said anything for a second. Then Venita laughed harshly. “Really? That is what you think? You’re a barbarian who pretends at being noble. What could you possibly understand of civilized gatherings?”
Evony turned slowly to stare at her. She held Venita’s eyes without saying a word, just staring at her unwaveringly. The other girl tossed her head, but Evony could see the way she shifted back ever so slightly. Which was good as far as she was concerned.
“I believe you are correct,” said another voice. Evony waited until Venita turned to look at the girl who’d spoken then broke the staring contest to watch the girl in green. “Without a common idea, it will be a sloppy mess. Does anyone have any thoughts to a theme that would work for all groups?”
No one said something immediately. Then someone from Admina’s group said, “What about the four seasons?”
The girl in green, Primus Chana of Yarkona, Evony remembered, nodded. “That’s an idea.”
“What about the night sky?” called one of Evony’s group mates.
In moments, ideas were being thrown out left and right while Chana did her best to mediate. Evony left her to it, recognizing someone with talent for managing people. She’d already made the contribution she was most capable of and was happy to follow her group’s lead for the rest. At the very least, she’d be helpful in getting anything heavy moved and in getting anything that needed to be high up. The actual decisions she was less confident in. Still, she’d do her best.
* * *
Evony settled herself into her station near the main entrance of the hall, across from Magna Asahi of Aoi. Their other two groupmates, Praetor Fiorella of Gavino and Regulus Neah of Dimon, each stood by one of the lesser entrances. Evony wasn’t entirely surprised at the arrangement. Asahi was the only person who would meet her gaze, and she doubted anyone in her group trusted Evony at one of the entrances alone, not after what she’d done to the soldiers in the last test. She knew better than to argue, especially since it didn’t matter to her where she was.
She looked around the Pleasure Hall again. The handiwork of her group was evident everywhere. Between each of the columns they’d hung large swathes of undyed gauze, bringing the fabric together into the centre of the hall, making the whole inner area look like a light, airy tent. From the middle they’d hung stars, with a sun near the main entrance, and a moon on the opposite end. The outer area was an open walkway, with a few breaks for people to come through.
The paper lanterns they’d strung along the walls started in the blue of the morning sky and ran through all the colours of the sky, from the reds, oranges and yellows of the sunset to the black of the night. They lent a glow to the fabric and worked to make their theme of the sky really show.
The fabric had been Evony’s idea, something she and her sisters had done as children to create special spaces where they would hide and pretend to be camping out in the wilderness like their elders. She was glad it had turned out. Asahi’s lanterns were what really made it though. She didn’t think the fabric would have fit otherwise.
Small tables ran along one side of the room, each covered with small finger foods. Colourful vegetables arranged in patterns that reflected the sky, light breads with soft cheeses, and oils for dipping were in full force. The only meat to be found on the tables were all poultry and gamebirds, the settings decorated with feathers.
The opposite side held tables with drinks. Evony wasn’t too sure what those tables held, since the drinks group had decided not to participate in the
theme and had refused to tell the other groups what they were doing. She thought it had been a poor decision, but they weren’t her group so she didn’t much care.
At the far end, a wooden dais had been set up where a small group of musicians played. The entertainment group had found a mix that ran heavily to strings and woodwinds and the sound floating towards them was ethereal and soft. The entertainment group only had one of their members near the musicians, the others were scattered throughout the hall.
The nearest was the girl from Yarkona, Chana, who’d acted as mediator for everyone. She stood not too far from Evony, speaking quietly to a girl from the meal group. The sound of approaching footsteps drew Evony’s attention to her duty and the people who entered.
She smiled, doing her best to counteract the impression the weapons she wore gave. The first people who came in appeared to be high-ranking soldiers, their cuirasses covered in unique designs, their short black tunics the same as always, though they looked to be made of fine linen rather than the more common yarn and coarse cotton of the ordinary soldiers.
Evony presumed the women who accompanied them were their wives. In long chitons and beautifully embroidered overdresses, they seemed to glide more than walk. Not a single one wore weapons and again, Evony felt the difference between her and these mainlanders. She still hadn’t seen another female warrior since she’d arrived and was beginning to wonder if they existed.
“Welcome,” Evony said, giving a slight bow, her fist over her heart. She heard Chana come up beside her, smiling an additional welcome at their guests. Across from them, Asahi bowed deeply, her voice soft as she welcomed everyone.
It didn’t take long for the room to fill. Small groups of people chatted, while others wandered around the tables, sampling this and that. The general mood of the room seemed to be relaxed and cheerful from the expressions she could see on people’s faces.
Watching a man with close-cropped grey hair accompanied by two soldiers pass by Asahi, Evony glanced towards Chana and nodded in his direction. “Is that the emperor?” she said, thinking he matched the description her sisters had given her.
The brunette stared at her with wide eyes for a moment. “Have you never met his imperial majesty previously?”
“I had never left Silvinsula before coming here. My people don’t travel much.”
Chana shook her head. “His imperial majesty is not so old as that. When he arrives I will let you know.”
“My thanks,” she replied with a smile. Chana was one of the few who didn’t seem to react with fear to her, but then again, she was also a member of the first families and would have been aware of the tales of her people.
The girl inclined her head, offering a hint of a smile in return prior to turning her attention back to the arriving guests. Evony did the same. She had her duty, and beyond that, she didn’t want to bring her group down.
One of the other girls from Chana’s group, Sheshan of Phenice, had just joined them when Chana caught Evony’s gaze. She nodded towards the centre of the room, mouthing the words, the emperor.
Evony turned to follow Chana’s gesture. She spotted Rakin first before the crowd shifted and she could see the man standing beside him. A hair taller than the aide, with his tawny hair in waves that brushed the bottom of his earlobes in front and continued to cover the back of his neck in the back, he stood out from the other men who mostly wore their hair short. Dressed again in a knee-length white chiton with a short over-robe of black, Evony recognized the blue-eyed man from the training fields.
She studied him, noting the way everyone moved out of his way and that there was nearly a passus between him and everyone except Rakin. He moved along the tables of food, stopping here and there, but never eating anything. Several of the other candidates did their best to smile at him, though Evony could tell even from a distance not all of them were comfortable in his presence. She wasn’t surprised. The stories about the man who’d conquered the world were many, and few painted him in a good light.
Still, Evony made a mental note to hit her sisters for telling her he was an old man. He was anything but, looking to be of age with her or at most, a few years older. To have done so much at such relative youth, even Evony had to admit to being impressed. Though his manners the other day were still a mark against him in her books. And that without counting their second test.
Between greeting the arriving guests, Evony kept flicking her gaze in the emperor’s direction. She watched as he slowly made his way towards her group, stopping several more times along the way. When he finally reached them, the event was in full swing and almost no one was still arriving.
Chana offered the full bow and double raised arms above her head the highest form of respect among the mainlanders and whispered, “Your Imperial Majesty.” Across from them, Asahi bowed so she was nearly perpendicular with the floor, her hands in front of her, her gaze on the ground, whatever she might have said lost in the sound of the gathered crowd.
Evony offered her own people’s highest sign of respect, crossing her arms over her chest, her hands in fists, she bowed. “Greetings and best wishes, Adnuhom,” she said, straightening.
She frowned as she realized the other two were still holding their positions. She was about to say something when the emperor spoke. “Thank you, Primus Chana, Magna Asahi.”
As they straightened, he turned towards Evony. “I have not heard the title Adnuhom previously.”
Evony raised her eyebrows. “It’s the term my people refer to you as. It means ‘the man we bow to.’ I’m surprised you’re unfamiliar with it.”
He blinked and then frowned slightly. “Why would that surprise you?”
“We are your people. I would have thought you would be familiar with our word for you. The Amazzi have been the allies of the Fuscienne before your family became emperors.”
“Then you are displeased with me?”
Evony shrugged. “No. Merely surprised.”
“You are not particularly respectful,” Emperor Galen said, eyeing her.
“I owe you my loyalty and I will obey your orders. That is the highest form of respect Amazzi show. We don’t believe in treating our leaders special, we treat them as we treat each other. Acting as if they’re something special only encourages attitudes that can create leaders who believe they are above everyone and make them forget that their job is to act in a way that is best for all Amazzi.”
“And do you believe your ways are better than ours?”
Evony put a hand on her hip as she shook her head. “Not better, simply different. We have our traditions just as you have yours. Or do you believe any one of your provinces is better than the others?”
His brows knitted together. “I do not believe that is an apt comparison.”
“It is from my perspective.”
Galen was silent for a few punctums, his forefinger circling the nail of his thumb. Evony wondered what lay behind the gesture. It reminded her of the way her brother would sometimes circle his toes around the ground when he was thinking. “You do not fear me or my displeasure.”
It had been a statement, but Evony took it as a question. “No, I don’t. You have given me no reason to. I might not agree with your decisions—” she gave that word a touch of emphasis in case he thought she’d forgotten the fake attack he’d orchestrated “—but you and your predecessors have always dealt with my people fairly. Should I fear you and your displeasure?”
Her raised eyebrow had his lips tilting upwards the slightest bit. A quiet cough from Rakin drew both their gazes. Evony blinked momentarily, having forgotten there were other people around. She mentally shook herself. That was the kind of mistake that could get a warrior killed.
The aide glanced towards the other side of the room then back to the emperor. Galen’s expression flickered then he turned to look back at Evony. “Thank you f
or speaking frankly,” he said, then inclined his head towards the other two candidates. “A pleasure making your acquaintances.” With Rakin a step behind him, Galen left, heading towards the other side of the room at a leisurely pace, his eyes seeming to take in everything.
Evony watched him go for a moment before she turned her attention back to her job. She still wasn’t sure whether she actually liked the emperor or not. At the very least, she could say he was interesting. She did wonder if he was capable of smiling properly. His face seemed to be set permanently in stone, with only the occasional frown to change it. She’d have thought that man who ruled the world would be happier, but then again, a lot of responsibility to be on anyone’s shoulders.
She looked over at Chana to see the girl was staring at her. “What?” she asked, glancing down to make certain she hadn’t somehow gotten dirt or something on her.
“How are you able to speak to his imperial majesty like that?” she asked in a voice barely above a whisper, her eyes wide. “He’s the man who conquered the world!”
“That doesn’t have anything to do with me. He’s the Adnuhom, and for Amazzi, that’s all that matters. As well, I wasn’t lying about our belief in treating leaders like people. It’s part of our culture.”
Chana slowly shook her head. “You are not what I had expected.” She gave a half bow to Evony then turned, sliding through the crowds, heading towards the musicians.
Evony frowned, wondering what exactly it was Chana had expected.
* * *
Evony leaned with her back against the wall, sitting cross-legged on her bed as she thought over the end of the night. It had gone well, with no incidents or problems, though she had seen more than one person who’d overindulged in the wine. The night had ended with Rakin evaluating the groups and sending the girls from Cam, Flanna, Lavan and Kai home.
Far more importantly to Evony, the event had given her a chance to see more men who could be potential studs for her. She consulted her mental list of men she’d met to date. It wasn’t a long list, and so far she only had two potentials on her stud list. The legate was the obvious top choice, but she thought he might be too old.
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