“Agreed,” Zakiel said. “We shall cut toward the oasis, and look forward to bathing this evening.”
“Now that is something to look forward to,” Karma replied with a laugh.
She watched as Zakiel urged his diplo to a trot and rode back to the head of the line. A minute later the caravan turned, raising a low murmur of conversation and curiosity along the long line. Karma was not too surprised when Lashi urged her diplo forward a few minutes later with a container of water from one of the large, well stocked baskets she carried with her on her diplo. Karma knew that Lashi would never ask a direct question, but she would hope for information.
Karma accepted the water and drank it down, then leaned over to return the cup to Lashi. “Thank you, Lashi,” she said. As always, the older woman blushed to be thanked, but Karma did it automatically and had no intention of changing her habit.
“By the way, Lashi,” she said as the woman returned the cup to its basket and prepared to return to her place in the line. “We will be stopping at an oasis for the evening. It is expected that there will be enough water for bathing.”
“That is excellent news, Lady Techu,” Lashi said with barely restrained excitement. “I will be sure to have a bath ready for your earliest convenience once the tent is set up. Will there be water for the washing of clothes.”
“I believe so, yes,” Karma replied. “Please let Caral know as I am certain Princess Kapia will wish a bath as well.”
“I will indeed, Lady Techu,” Lashi said with a quick bow. Then she turned to hurry back to her place. Within minutes, there was a rise in the level of murmurs as the news that they would be stopping at an oasis for the night travelled through the caravan.
***
Karma ran a comb through her damp hair, rejoicing in the sensation of being clean after a long, hot bath. They’d reached the oasis more quickly than they’d expected, so had a couple of hours before sunset to set up camp. The oasis was a large pond filled with fresh, cool water fed from an underground river, so the first thing everyone had done was drink their fill of it.
While waiting for their tent to be set up, Karma and Kapia had sparred even though it was earlier than usual. Many of the Hunters had watched, though neither Karma nor Kapia noticed them much any more. They kept out of the way and, except for a few words of encouragement now and then, and praise for Kapia’s progress when they were finished, they did not interfere. On a couple of occasions both Karma and Kapia had sparred with Prince Zakiel, and the Hunters had greatly enjoyed watching.
When they’d finished their sparring, Karma sent Kapia ahead to their tent and called Prince Zakiel aside.
“Highness,” she said, “if you and the other men would like to take a swim in the pond, I will make certain that Kapia, Lashi, Caral and myself remain within our tent for at least another hour. Longer if you think it necessary.”
Zakiel smiled, no longer surprised by Karma’s thoughtfulness. “That would be most appreciated by all of us, Lady Techu,” he said. “I believe that an hour will be plenty of time. However, I will send my personal attendant, Timon, to your tent to let you know when we are finished.”
“Perfect,” Karma agreed with a smile. She hurried to her tent, anxious for her own bath. No sooner had the flap closed behind her when she heard the shouts of the men after Zakiel gave them the news. She laughed, then explained to Caral and Lashi why they could not go outside the tent for awhile.
She went into her chamber, delighted to find that Lashi had filled her tub with hot water, and added her favorite lavender oil to it. She could hardly wait to get into it and once she did, she stayed until her fingers and toes started to wrinkle.
Lashi and Caral had also filled several large waterproof baskets for doing laundry and there were damp clothes strung everywhere, but neither she nor Kapia minded in the least. After two full weeks of no bathing and no clean clothes, in a world full of sand that got into and under everything, the last thing she was going to complain about was wet, clean clothes hanging all over the tent.
“Karma, may I come in?” Kapia asked from the other side of the flap that served as a door to her section of the tent.
“Of course, Kapia,” she called.
Kapia burst through the opening with a grin on her face. “Karma, we’ve been invited to dine with Zakiel, his knights, and some of his friends.”
“All of them?” Karma asked.
“It is an informal gathering, so no, not all of them,” Kapia said, knowing she meant Tomas. “However, Bredon will be there.”
“Sounds like fun to me,” Karma agreed. “Do we have anything clean to wear?”
Kapia’s face fell. “Clean yes,” she said. “But I doubt that anything is dry.”
“I think it might be more refreshing to wear them damp anyway,” Karma said. “So long as they aren’t transparent, that is. I doubt it will take long for them to dry in this heat.”
“Now that you mention it, I agree,” Kapia said. “I’ll let Caral and Lashi know, shall I?”
“Yes, please,” Karma said.
As soon as Kapia left, Karma turned back to the mirror and examined her reflection. Long days in the sun had turned her skin bronze, in spite of the protective lotion Lashi insisted she apply liberally several times a day. Her hair, usually dark brown, now had lighter reddish streaks in it, also from the sun, but they were not unattractive. She thought they made her ordinary hair color much brighter, and it enhanced her eyes somehow. She was also pleased that her hair was growing so quickly. It was to the middle of her back now. She ran her fingers through a lock of straight, fine hair, then dropped it as she turned from the mirror.
“What difference does it make what my hair looks like?” she asked herself testily. “I am not here for my looks.” She twisted her hair, rolled it up and stabbed a polished stick through it, determined not to look in the mirror again. Then she went in search of something clean to wear.
***
Tomas stood on the far side of the pond, watching furiously as Kapia and Karma walked to Zakiel’s tent in the fading sunlight. There were half a dozen knights joining Zakiel and the women for dinner, not one of them with Blood Rank close to his own. His higher rank notwithstanding, he had been excluded from the party just as he had been excluded from everything since the beginning of this journey.
That Zakiel hated him, had been jealous of him from the time they were children, he was used to. But that he would take it so far as to deliberately humiliate him in this manner was nearly too much to bear. It was a slap in the face, an insult calculated to ignite Tomas’s temper so that Zakiel would have cause to send him and his Hunter, Saigar, back to Ka-Teru in shame.
But it wasn’t Zakiel that he was most angry with. After all, this was a game they had played their entire lives. It was Karma, the high and mighty Lady Techu, who infuriated him. He had spent this entire, hellish journey courting her favor. Taking time each day to ride with her, gracing her with his company. He had done everything but ask her to invite him to their tent for an evening meal, and yet the woman was too stupid to understand the most obvious of hints. And now, after all of his efforts, there she was racing to Zakiel’s tent at the mere crook of a finger.
The sound of the other Hunters as they laughed and talked while settling in for the evening had him gritting his teeth in anger. He wanted to order them to silence, but he thought better of it at the last moment. It wouldn’t do to display his temper again so soon after the tantrum he’d thrown when he’d learned that there was to be a dinner that he wasn’t invited to. He’d been doing very well controlling his temper since that first day. But he’d been caught off guard by this latest gesture of contempt from his cousin.
He and Saigar had been treated as the least important warriors in the caravan from the beginning, ordered to guard the diplos carrying the water barrels in the center of the caravan as though they were green boys. He had applied to Zakiel for a turn guarding the rear, and for a chance to serve as guards to the women, as was
right and fair. But of course his requests had been denied. Zakiel had told him that he and Saigar had not been planned for, nor needed, and that the only open position for them was to guard the water. If he did not like it, Zakiel would hold no offense against him if he wished to take his Hunter and turn back to Ka-Teru.
But it would not be that easy to get rid of him. Not this time. And if Lady Techu preferred Zakiel’s company over his own, then so be it. He would no longer play the fool to her. It would have been better had she fallen victim to his charms, but clearly she was a woman without taste or passion. Perhaps she was one who preferred other women. Maybe that was why she suggested that Kapia and she share a tent. He smiled at the thought, but there was no humor in the expression.
When the sun set, he continued to watch the party by the light of their torches, considering and discarding various plans. By the time he turned and headed to his own tent he still had not made a final decision. The only thing he knew for certain was that he was finished being nice.
***
When Karma realized that she was to sit beside Prince Zakiel for the evening meal around the fire, she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. It was true that Zakiel was often warm and kind to her lately, like earlier that day when they’d discussed detouring to the oasis. But there were also times when he still appeared cold and standoffish toward her, and even with her new, better understanding of him, she rarely understood why. After weeks of trekking through the desert with the same scenery day after day, her mind did not feel up to the task of mentally sparring with a taciturn Prince.
Much to her relief, Zakiel seemed to be in a good mood, and there was much laughter and good conversation over dinner. Afterward, the Prince’s attendant, Timon, brought out a flask of wine at Zakiel’s direction, and poured a glass for each of them.
“To the success of the Orb Quest,” the Prince said, raising his glass high.”
Everyone raised their glass in the toast, then drank to it. Karma sipped her wine carefully, then turned to Zakiel in surprise.
“This is very good,” she said. “What is it?”
“I am pleased you enjoy it,” Zakiel replied. “I confess that, as wines go, it is the only one that appeals to me. It is made from a fruit that grows far to the south called a prigate. I know that bringing wine on a journey such as this was frivolous, but I thought perhaps a bit of frivolity would come in handy at some point.”
“I agree,” Karma said with a smile. “I think you chose the perfect time for a little something to break the monotony.”
“I know this journey has been difficult, Lady Techu,” Zakiel said, his smile fading.
Karma held up one hand to stop him, the smile on her face taking the edge from her gesture. “Please, Highness, do not apologize to me. I did not mean to complain. This has, in truth, been a much easier journey than I expected it to be, thanks to your careful planning.”
“Thank you,” Prince Zakiel said, surprised by her kind words. “I admit that I expected you, and Kapia as well, to have difficulty adjusting to such rough conditions, yet neither of you have complained.”
“What you really mean is you thought I would have a difficult time traveling so slowly across the desert on diploback rather than a speeder,” Karma said with a grin.
“Yes, I admit that is true,” Zakiel replied, smiling just enough for his dimple to peek out at her. “I would not have blamed you for it. It must be hard to adjust to traveling so slowly after being accustomed to flying like the wind.”
“I am more accustomed to this sort of travel than you think,” Karma said.
“Really?” Zakiel asked curiously. “I find that surprising.”
“I grew up on a world much like this one,” Karma said. “Your people, customs, and culture are not so different from my own.”
“Captain Singer, from the Welfare ship, showed us images of giant cities on other worlds,” Zakiel said. “To my eyes, they appeared cold and bleak. I saw nothing remotely like Rathira.”
“There are many worlds like this,” Karma said. “Worlds where people live simple lives. Most worlds have technology, but the level of its use differs from world to world, people to people.”
“Will you tell me of your world?” Zakiel asked.
Karma sipped her wine as she considered whether or not to tell him her story. A story she had never shared with anyone else.
“My home world is called New Levant,” she began before giving herself time to reconsider. “It’s a colony of Earth, populated centuries ago by people who desired a world of their own where they could preserve their culture, their beliefs and their way of life.
“As I said, the culture I grew up with is much like your own. The people on New Levant live without much technology. If you took Ka-Teru and set it down on New Levant, the biggest difference, aside from some customs, food and dress, would be the way females are treated.”
“Do you think we treat our women poorly?” Zakiel asked, uncertain whether he felt insulted or disappointed by the thought.
“Oh no,” Karma replied, surprising him. “Not at all. Just the opposite.”
“Your culture treats women poorly?” he asked.
“In some respects, yes, I think so,” she replied. “At the same time, I have to admit that the majority of the women who live there are satisfied.”
“But not you?” Zakiel asked, noting the sadness in her eyes and wanting so much to ask the reason for it directly. But that would not be polite, and he did not want to say anything to this woman, on this night, to make her angry with him.
“I suppose I had little to complain about for the most part,” she said. “My people, the Chanapor, are wanderers. We have our own country, quite a large one in fact, but we constantly moved from place to place, visiting different areas depending on the seasons, and visiting other countries as well. As a child, I loved spending days on end riding my horse, always seeing exciting new places and meeting new people.”
Karma stared blindly into the fire as she spoke, as though seeing herself as that happy little girl. She blinked, then turned to look at him with a smile. “Shall I tell you a secret, Highness?”
“Yes, please,” Zakiel said, surprising himself with his response. “I promise I will not betray any trust you offer me.”
The smile Karma bestowed on him was warmer than any he had ever been the recipient of, and it made his heart beat faster.
“Very well,” she said, lowering her voice and leaning toward him. “I am a Princess.”
Zakiel smiled, not completely surprised by the revelation. “That explains much,” he said.
“Does it?” she asked.
“Yes, it does,” he replied. “I have often thought that my sister could not do better than to see you as an example of what a Princess should be.”
“I thank you, Prince Zakiel,” she replied, “but don’t be too impressed. I was the third, and least favorite, daughter of a King who had little interest even in his favorite daughter.”
“I find that difficult to believe,” Zakiel replied.
“In my culture, women exist to please men,” she said with a hint of bitterness. “We are raised to know all there is to know about dress, cosmetics, scents, hair styling, jewelry, food; whatever might be used to make ourselves more attractive to men, and to serve men. In place of history and math, females learned how to dance, walk, talk, sing...you get the idea.
“To be honest, unlike myself, most of the other girls were content with their lot in life. But I was far more interested in the subjects taught to my brothers than those deemed important for females. My lack of femininity was a major disappointment to my mother and father, and a source of resentment and anger to my sisters, brothers, and just about everyone else.”
Karma fell silent for a long moment, and Zakiel tensed, sensing that she was attempting to summon the courage to go on. He wanted to encourage her, but knew he had to be patient, and let her do this, or not, at her own pace. Her silence lasted so long that when she began
speaking again, he was surprised, having concluded she had decided not to continue.
“My mother died when I was fourteen,” she said, her gaze held once more by the flames of the dying fire. “Just before I turned sixteen, my father’s eye was caught by the sister of a neighboring king during a visit. Negotiations began and before long I was informed that I had been traded for the woman my father wanted as his new wife, along with three horses, a small chest of jewels, and seven bolts of silk.”
“You were traded?” Zakiel asked, appalled at the idea. He tried to think of something charitable to say without insulting her culture. “At least you were to be Queen,” he said finally, uncertain if that even mattered under the circumstances.
“Oh, no,” Karma laughed. “Not at all. The country I was traded to had vastly different customs from my own. The man who was to be my new husband was three times my age and had an extensive harem, including over a hundred wives. I was to be added to his harem, as a very minor addition I assure you. In truth, I believe the real price of my father’s bride was the horses, silks, and jewels. I think he threw me in just to be rid of me.”
“I am sorry, Lady Techu,” Zakiel said, his lips numb with shock. He could not understand how anyone could treat their Blood in such a way.
“Well, I’m not sorry,” Karma said. “It gave me incentive to do what I had wished to do for years, which was run away.”
“You ran away? From your family?” Zakiel felt a conflicting sense of shock and satisfaction at the idea.
“I was being sent away from my family anyway, so what difference did it make?” she asked reasonably. “I had no money, but I was a Princess, after all, and my father was quite wealthy. I owned many jewels that had been given to me by my Mother. I collected all of them, along with a few clothes, and left.”
“You just left?” Zakiel asked. “Weren’t there guards to watch over you?”
“Yes, but I have this little ability to put people to sleep,” Karma said with a grin. “It came in very handy that day.”
Quest for the Moon Orb: Orbs of Rathira Page 18