‘Be nice, father. You wanted children, didn’t you?’
‘Well –’
‘And mother’s a queen. She has to give birth to a successor, doesn’t she?’
‘Of course, but –’
‘She wouldn’t have, you know.’
‘What?’
‘The poison Annias gave her made her barren. You have no idea how difficult it was for me to overcome that. Why do you think Sephrenia was so upset when she discovered that mother was pregnant? She knew about the effects of the poison, of course, and she was very put out with me for interfering – probably more because mother’s an Elene than for any other reason. Sephrenia’s very narrow-minded sometimes. Oh, do sit down, Sparhawk. You look ridiculous all stooped over like that. Either sit or stand. Don’t hover in between.’
Sparhawk sank back into his chair, his mind reeling. ‘But why?’ he demanded.
‘Because I love you and mother. She was destined to be childless, so I had to change her destiny just a bit.’
‘And did you change mine as well?’
‘How could I possibly do that? You’re Anakha, remember? Nobody knows what your destiny is. You’ve always been a problem for us. Many felt that we shouldn’t let you be born at all. I had to argue for centuries to persuade the others that we really needed you.’ She looked down at herself. ‘I’m going to have to pay attention to growing up, I suppose. I was Styric before, and Styrics can take these things in their stride. You Elenes are more excitable, and people might begin to talk if I were to remain a child for several centuries. I guess I’ll have to do it the right way this time.’
‘This time?’
‘Of course. I’ve been born dozens of times.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘It helps to keep me young.’ Her small face grew very serious. ‘Something terrible happened in the Temple of Azash, father, and I needed to hide from it for a while. Mother’s womb was the perfect place to hide. It was so safe and secure there.’
‘Then you knew what was going to happen in Zemoch,’ he accused.
‘I knew that something was going to happen, so I just covered all the possibilities.’ She pursed her pink little mouth thoughtfully. ‘This might be very interesting,’ she said. ‘I’ve never been a grown woman before – and certainly never a queen. I wish my sister were here. I’d like to talk with her about it.’
‘Your sister?’
‘Sephrenia.’ She said it almost absently. ‘She was the eldest daughter of my last parents. It’s very nice having an older sister, you know. She’s always been so very, very wise, and she always forgives me when I do something foolish.’
A thousand things suddenly clicked into place in Sparhawk’s mind, things that had never really been explained before. ‘How old is Sephrenia?’ he asked.
She sighed. ‘You know I’m not going to answer that, Sparhawk. Besides, I’m not really sure. The years don’t mean as much to us as they do to you. In a general way, though, Sephrenia’s hundreds of years old, maybe even a thousand – whatever that means.’
‘Where is she now?’
‘She and Vanion are off together. You knew how they felt about each other, didn’t you?’
‘Yes.’
‘Astonishing. You can use your eyes after all.’
‘What are they doing?’
‘They’re looking after things for me. I’m too busy to attend to business this time, and somebody has to mind the shop. Sephrenia can answer prayers as well as I can, and I don’t have all that many worshippers.’
‘Do you absolutely have to make all of this sound so commonplace?’ His tone was plaintive.
‘But it is, father. It’s your Elene God who takes Himself so seriously. I’ve never once seen Him laugh. My worshippers are much more sensible. They love me, so they’re tolerant of my mistakes.’ She laughed suddenly, climbed up into his lap and kissed him. ‘You’re the best father I’ve ever had, Sparhawk. I can actually talk with you about these things without making your eyes pop out of their sockets.’ She rested her head against his chest. ‘What’s really been going on, father? I know that things aren’t going well, but Mirtai keeps putting me down for naps when people come to make reports to you, so I can’t get very many details.’
‘It hasn’t been a good time for the world, Aphrael,’ he said gravely. ‘The weather’s been very bad, and there have been famine and pestilence. Nothing seems to be going the way it should. If I were at all superstitious, I’d say that the whole world’s been going through a long spell of very bad luck.’
‘That’s my family’s fault, Sparhawk,’ she admitted. ‘We started feeling very sorry for ourselves after what happened to Azash, so we haven’t been attending to business. I think that maybe it’s time for all of us to grow up. I’ll talk with the others and let you know what we decide.’
‘I’d appreciate that.’ Sparhawk could not actually believe this conversation was taking place.
‘We have a bit of a problem, though,’ she told him.
‘Only one?’
‘Stop that. I’m serious. What are we going to tell mother?’
‘Oh, my God!’ he said, his eyes suddenly going very wide. ‘I hadn’t thought of that.’
‘We’ll have to decide right now, you know, and I don’t like to make up my mind in a hurry. She’d have a great deal of trouble believing this, wouldn’t she? Particularly if it meant that she’d have to accept the fact that she’s really barren and that I’m here as a result of my own choice instead of her personal appetites and fertility. Will it break her heart if we tell her who I really am?’
He thought about it. He knew his wife better than anyone else in the world possibly could. He remembered with an icy chill that momentary look of anguish which had filled her grey eyes when he had suggested that his gift of the ring had been a mistake. ‘No,’ he said finally, ‘we can’t tell her.’
‘I didn’t think so either, but I wanted to be sure.’
Something occurred to Sparhawk. ‘Why did you include her in that dream? – the one about the island? And why did she dream about what happened in the temple? It was almost as if she’d been there.’
‘She was there, father. She had to be. I was hardly in a position to leave her behind and go places by myself, was I? Let me down, please.’
He unwrapped his arms from about her, and she went to the window. ‘Come here, Sparhawk,’ she said after a moment.
He joined her at the window. ‘What is it?’ he asked her.
‘Mother’s coming back. She’s down in the courtyard with Mirtai and Talen.’
Sparhawk looked out the window. ‘Yes,’ he agreed.
‘I’m going to be a queen someday, aren’t I?’
‘Unless you decide to throw it all over and go and herd goats somewhere, yes.’
She let that pass. ‘I’ll need a champion then, won’t I?’
‘I suppose so. I could do it if you like.’
‘When you’re eighty years old? You’re very imposing right now, father, but I suspect you’ll begin to get a little decrepit when you get older.’
‘Don’t rub it in.’
‘Sorry. And I’ll need a Prince Consort as well, won’t I?’
‘It’s customary. Why are we talking about this now, though?’
‘I want your advice, father, and your consent.’
‘Isn’t this a little premature? You’re only four years old, you know.’
‘A girl can’t start thinking about these things too early.’ She pointed down towards the courtyard. ‘I think that one right down there will do very nicely, don’t you?’ She sounded almost as if she were choosing a new ribbon for her hair.
‘Talen?’
‘Why not? I like him. He’s going to be a knight – Sir Talen, if you can believe that. He’s funny and really much nicer than he seems – besides, I can beat him at draughts, and we can’t spend all our time in bed, the way you and mother do.’
‘Danae!’
‘What?’ She looked up at him. ‘Why are yo
u blushing, father?’
‘Never mind. You just watch what you say, young lady, or I will tell your mother who you really are.’
‘Fine,’ she said serenely, ‘and then I’ll tell her about Lillias. How would you like that?’
They looked at each other, and then they laughed.
It was about a week later. Sparhawk was hunched over a desk in the room he used as an office glaring at the Earl of Lenda’s latest proposal, an absurd idea which would quite nearly double the government payroll. He scribbled an angry note at the bottom. ‘Why not just make everyone in the whole kingdom a government employee, Lenda? Then we can all starve together.’
The door opened, and his daughter entered, carrying a rather disreputable-looking stuffed toy animal by one leg.
‘I’m busy, Danae,’ he said shortly.
She closed the door firmly. ‘You’re a grouch, Sparhawk,’ she said crisply.
He looked around quickly, went to the door to the adjoining room and carefully closed it. ‘Sorry, Aphrael,’ he apologized. ‘I’m a little out of sorts.’
‘I noticed that. Everybody in the palace has noticed that.’ She held out her toy. ‘Would you like to kick Rollo across the room? He won’t mind, and it might make you feel better.’
He laughed, feeling just a little silly. ‘That is Rollo, isn’t it? Your mother used to carry him in exactly the same way – before his stuffing fell out.’
‘She had him restuffed and gave him to me,’ Aphrael said. ‘I guess I’m supposed to carry him around, though I can’t for the life of me think why. I’d really much rather have a baby goat.’
‘This is something important, I take it?’
‘Yes. I had a long talk with the others.’
His mind shied away from the implications contained in that simple statement. ‘What did they say?’
‘They weren’t really very nice, father. They’re all blaming me for what happened in Zemoch. They wouldn’t even listen to me when I tried to tell them that it was all your fault.’
‘My fault? Thanks.’
‘They’re not going to help at all,’ she continued, ‘so it’s going to be up to you and me, I’m afraid.’
‘We’re going to go fix the world? All by ourselves?’
‘It’s not really all that difficult, father. I’ve made some arrangements. Our friends will begin arriving very soon. Act as if you’re surprised to see them, and then don’t let them leave.’
‘Are they going to help us?’
‘They’re going to help me, father. I’ll need them around me when I do this. I’m going to need a great deal of love to make it work. Hello, mother.’ She said it without even turning towards the door.
‘Danae,’ Ehlana chided her daughter, ‘you know you’re not supposed to disturb your father when he’s working.’
‘Rollo wanted to see him, mother,’ Danae lied glibly. ‘I told him that we weren’t supposed to bother father when he’s busy, but you know how Rollo is.’ She said it so seriously that it almost sounded plausible. Then she lifted the disreputable-looking toy animal and shook her finger in his face. ‘Bad, bad Rollo,’ she scolded.
Ehlana laughed and rushed to her daughter. ‘Isn’t she adorable?’ she said happily to Sparhawk as she knelt to embrace the little girl.
‘Oh, yes,’ he smiled. ‘She’s that, all right. She’s even better at that than you were.’ He made a rueful face. ‘I think it’s my destiny to be wrapped around the fingers of a pair of very devious little girls.’
The Princess Danae and her mother put their cheeks together and gave him an almost identical look of artfully-contrived innocence.
Their friends began to arrive the next day, and each of them had a perfectly legitimate reason for being in Cimmura. For the most part, those reasons involved the bringing of bad news. Ulath had come south from Emsat to report that the years of hard drinking had finally begun to take their toll on King Wargun’s liver. ‘He’s the colour of an apricot,’ the big Thalesian told them. Tynian told them that the ancient King Obler appeared to be slipping into his dotage, and Bevier advised that word coming out of Rendor hinted at the strong possibility of another Eshandist uprising. In marked contrast, Stragen reported that his business had taken a marked turn for the better, and that particular news was probably even worse than all the rest.
Despite all the bad news, the old friends took advantage of what appeared to be a chance meeting to stage something in the nature of a reunion.
It was good to have them all around him again, Sparhawk decided one morning as he slipped out of bed quietly to avoid awakening his sleeping wife, but sitting up talking with them for half the night and then rising early to attend to his other duties was leaving him more than a little short of sleep.
‘Close the door, father,’ Danae said quietly as he came out of the bedroom. She sat curled up in a large chair near the fire. She was wearing her nightdress, and her bare feet had those tell-tale grass-stains on them.
Sparhawk nodded, closed the door and joined her by the fire.
‘They’re all here now, Sparhawk,’ Danae told him, ‘so let’s get started with this.’
‘Exactly what are we going to do?’ he asked her.
‘You’re going to suggest a ride in the country.’
‘I’ll need a reason for that, Danae. The weather’s not really suitable for pleasure trips.’
‘Any sort of reason will do, father. Think something up and suggest it. They’ll all think it’s a wonderful idea – I can guarantee that. Take them towards Demos. Sephrenia, Vanion and I will join you a little way out of town.’
‘Would you like to clarify that a little bit? You’re already here.’
‘I’ll be there too, Sparhawk.’
‘You’re going to be in two places at the same time?’
‘It’s not really all that difficult, Sparhawk. We do it all the time.’
‘Maybe, but that’s not really a good way to keep your identity a secret, you know.’
‘No one will guess. I’ll look like Flute to them.’
‘There’s not really all that much difference between you and Flute, you know.’
‘Not to you, perhaps, but the others see me a little differently.’ She rose from her chair. ‘Take care of it, Sparhawk,’ she told him with an airy wave of her hand. Then she went towards the door, negligently dragging Rollo behind her.
‘I give up,’ Sparhawk muttered.
‘I heard that, father,’ she said without even turning.
When they all gathered for breakfast later that morning, it was Kalten who provided the opening Sparhawk needed. ‘I wish there were some way we could all get out of Cimmura for a few days,’ the blond Pandion said critically. He looked at Ehlana. ‘I’m not trying to be offensive, Your Majesty, but the palace isn’t really a very good place to have a reunion. Every time things get off to a good start, some courtier comes in with something that absolutely has to have Sparhawk’s immediate attention.’
‘He’s got a point there,’ Ulath agreed. ‘A good reunion’s a lot like a good tavern-brawl. It’s not nearly as much fun if it’s interrupted every time it gets going.’
Sparhawk suddenly remembered something. ‘Were you serious the other day, love?’ he asked his wife.
‘I’m always serious, Sparhawk. Which day were we talking about?’
‘The day when you were talking about bestowing a duchy on me?’
‘I’ve been trying to do that for four years now. I don’t know why I bother any more. You always find some reason to decline them.’
‘I shouldn’t really do that, I suppose – at least not until I’ve had a chance to look them over.’
‘Where are you going with this, Sparhawk?’ she asked.
‘We need a place for uninterrupted celebration, Ehlana.’
‘Brawling,’ Ulath corrected.
Sparhawk grinned at him. ‘Anyway,’ he continued, ‘I really should go and have a look at this duchy. It’s off towards Demos, as I recall
. We might want to have a rather close look at the manor-house.’
‘We?’ she asked him.
‘A little advice never hurts a man when he’s trying to make a decision. I think we all ought to go and take a look at this duchy. What do the rest of you think?’
‘The strength of a good leader lies in his ability to make the obvious appear innovative,’ Stragen drawled.
‘We really ought to get out more often anyway, dear,’ Sparhawk told his wife. ‘We can take a little holiday, and all we’ll really have to worry about is whether or not Lenda puts two dozen of his relatives on the public payroll while we’re gone.’
‘I wish you all the enjoyment in the world, my friends,’ Platime said, ‘but I’m a kindly sort of fellow, and it distresses me to see a full-grown horse break down and cry every time I go to mount him. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on Lenda.’
‘You can ride in the carriage,’ Mirtai told him.
‘Which carriage was that, Mirtai?’ Ehlana asked her.
‘The one you’re going to ride in to keep the weather off you.’
‘I don’t need a carriage.’
Mirtai’s eyes flashed. ‘Ehlana! she snapped. ‘Don’t argue!’
‘But –’
‘Hush, Ehlana!’
‘Yes, Mirtai,’ the queen sighed submissively.
They approached the outing with an almost holiday air. Even Faran felt it, and as his contribution to the festivities, he managed to step on both of Sparhawk’s feet at the same time while his master was trying to mount.
The weather seemed to be almost in abeyance as they set out. The sky was overcast rather than cloudy, and the biting chill which had characterized the winter moderated, becoming, if not warm, at least bearable. There was not even a hint of a breeze, and Sparhawk was uneasily reminded of the endless now of that moment the Troll-God Ghnomb had frozen for them on the road leading eastward from Paler.
They left Cimmura behind and followed the road leading towards the cities of Lenda and Demos. Sparhawk had been spared the unsettling possibility of actually seeing his daughter in two places at the same time by Mirtai’s decision that the weather was not suitable for the little princess to be making journeys and that she should remain in the palace in the care of her nurse. Sparhawk foresaw a titanic clash of wills looming in the future. The time was bound to come when Mirtai and Danae would run into each other head on. He was rather looking forward to it, actually.