Bound (15 page)

"I don't do charity for country bumpkins."

"What about favors for an old academy student here to visit?" Fay asked, stepping out from behind Tavis.

The older man who stood in front of her was little changed from her four-year-old memory of him. Still slightly haughty, short and with the white-blond hair she had envied as a child. Though his face was more lined now, his brown eyes smiled when he saw her.

"Oh, my dear," his former irritation melted away. "Is it really you? Faylanna, can it really be?" She nodded and stepped forward, intending to shake his hand, but he pulled her into a hug. She was embarrassed but pleased at his greeting. It had been so long that she hadn't been quite as sure as she'd let on at the manor. "It has been too long, my dear. You should have visited me sooner!"

She laughed at his mock anger. "I only just arrived back in the city, Soval. I haven't been to Rianza since I was sent to the Voleno Academy. Now, about that favor, if you're willing...?"

"For you, anything," he said, then looked over at Tavis. "Even this. I suppose you want him dressed well. But how well?"

Speaking over Tavis, who was trying to object, she said, "Well enough to get in and out of the Quarter of Airs with little or no comment, but not so well that people start trying to figure out who he is. You're the only one who can do it."

"No need to butter me up, Faylanna. I've already agreed."

"Oh, and not too fancy. More toward the tastefully understated?" Those words calmed Tavis down enough that he didn't argue as they all went up to the second floor of the shop, where Soval kept his fitting area.

"Now, strip down to your undergarments," Soval ordered.

Fay had not expected the angry refusal that resulted from this request. "You can forget that idea right now."

She turned to Tavis. "It's how these things are done."

"No." He walked over to the window, his body rigid with some deep emotion that she couldn't quite identify. She didn't think it was entirely anger, though she wasn't sure why she believed that. She and Soval exchanged a look, and then the tailor walked over to Tavis and asked a quiet question that Fay didn't hear. Tavis gave a long, softly spoken answer, to which Soval nodded. He went to a corner and pulled out a triple-panel screen of plain heavy-woven cotton. He set it up near the table with his tools and went back to Tavis. After another short conversation, also conducted quietly enough that Fay heard nothing, Tavis ducked behind it and Soval brought her a chair.

"I'm not missing the chance to catch up with you just because he's bashful, I swear," Soval said to her in a whisper before going behind the screen himself. He chatted happily with Fay about everything that had happened to her in Voleno while he worked. She was pleased that Tavis only complained once, and not too forcefully. After a while, and one more soft-voiced conversation with Tavis, Soval came out and went to a chest sitting in a corner. He carefully went through the contents, which seemed to be clothing he had already made, setting aside the makings of a complete outfit. It seemed odd that he would have them, because he had only ever worked on commission when she'd lived in Rianza.

Soval spoke to her over his shoulder, as if guessing her question. "Sometimes people don't come to pick up the items they have requested, or can't pay the final amount. I keep the clothes then, but I see no reason to get rid of them, in case somehow I can sell them later, recoup my losses."

After he had what he needed, Soval returned to the screen and passed the pile to Tavis, who took them with thanks. Soval waited for a few minutes, then peeked quickly around the screen. Obviously satisfied with what he saw, he folded the panels up and set them back in their corner. Tavis had the black, close-fitting pants on, but the shirt was still in his hands. He had his back to her, absorbed in trying to figure out how it went on. As she stared at his back, she was confused about what she was seeing at first. Then understanding came, and she felt her eyes widen. His back was covered with a multitude of scars, different sizes and shapes, all of them older and faded so that they showed up pale against his tanned skin. Some of the scars were layered over others. Had all of them happened in the years since Lydia had left, she wondered. Were they all from his father?

She knew Soval had asked her something, and that she should respond, but the painful truth of what Tavis had gone through froze her. There was a mirror in front of him and he suddenly looked up into it, at her through the reflection. For a moment he looked uncertain and then that dissolved and he turned to face her, his green eyes a mixture of defiance and pleading. Then he dropped his gaze to the shirt, turned it a little and was able finally to put it on. Sleeveless and dark gray, it suited him perfectly, highlighting how handsome he was. Soval moved in with a needle and thread, tucking the pants and shirt so that they fit reasonably, as much as possible given they had not been made to Tavis' measurements. Given his height, Fay thought the result was nothing short of a miracle.

Neither of them spoke as they left, except to tell Soval where they were staying so that he could deliver the two sets of clothes when they were done. Soval was beaming as he showed them to the door of the shop and pointed them down the street toward a cobbler who he said might be able to help them out. The silence continued as they went through that errand. The cobbler didn't have anything to fit Tavis' feet, which were larger than average because he was so tall, but promised to make him a set of boots as quickly as possible and asked them to come back in two hours.

When they left the cobbler's shop, they began walking down the street to nowhere in particular. They crossed a bridge that arched over the canal between the Quarter of Coins, the business district in Rianza, and the Scholar's Quarter. Finally, looking at him from the corner of her eye, Fay said quietly, "Nevon did that to you after Lydia left, didn't he?"

His deep sigh told her she didn't need to explain what she was asking about. "I think I told you his drinking got worse. It actually got a lot worse, and when yelling wasn't enough, or when he'd run out of things to scream at me about, he'd grab whatever was handy and..."

Tavis left the words hanging in the air as they continued down the street. She wanted to reach over and put her hand on his shoulder but she was afraid he might misinterpret the gesture. She hadn't forgotten the end of their conversation the previous night. She liked him, but wasn't sure how much and until she was more certain of her feelings, she didn't want to risk giving him the impression that she was inviting his. She considered this for a while, trying to figure out the nature of her feelings about Tavis, and the implications they might present for her, but then she put it all aside. Now wasn't the time for herself, she thought.

"I have an idea, if you want to hear it," she said, trying for a teasing tone. He turned his head to look at her as they walked down the wide boulevard and raised an eyebrow. "I thought I could show you the Academy. It's just down the street. And my favorite place in the whole city is nearby, so I could show you that afterward, before we go back for your boots."

He came to a halt and she stopped with him. He stared at her, his expression serious for so long that she began to worry. Then he smiled and it was like the sun coming out. "I'd like that, Fay."

He held his arm out to her, surprising her. She hesitated for a moment, then took it. Several minutes later, they were at the outer gate of the school. Tavis' expression was pure wonder as he looked up at the castle. "I've never- I didn't know they made buildings this big!"

Fay smiled. "There are a few buildings in this city bigger, but the one in Voleno, which is almost exactly the same size, is one of the two biggest structures in that city. The people who built the Academies were trying to impress on everyone else how important Magicia are."

His laugh was a little choked. "They succeeded in that, I bet. How many people live there?"

"At this time of year, almost none. The school year is over and most students go home to their families for a few months, until the next year starts. But during the school year, about four hundred, unless it's changed since I attended."

Tavis turned to her, his mouth hanging open. "In one building? How many live in this city, then?"

"I'm not sure. Lydia might be able to tell you. I don't think I ever asked anyone."

He stepped forward and rested his hands on the gates, staring at the academy through the bars. This time she did put her hand on his shoulder, and said, "They'll let you in, Tavis. They have to. I know some of the teachers still, and Eliar will certainly call in any favor he has to, though I don't think it will take that much. It will happen."

He turned and gave her a wistful smile. "Come on, show me this other place. Your favorite place in the whole city, you said."

She nodded, accepting the hint that he didn't want to talk about his prospects with the academy. Leading him away from the gate and down the street they needed to take, she half-consciously took his arm again. As they walked, she stole a glance at him from under the lock of her hair that loved to fall forward. With nicer clothes, he seemed to fit his own manners better. She supposed that he was right, that it must have been the result his mother's teaching when he'd been a child, but he had never seemed like a farmer to her, even when he looked it. He had always felt like more to her. She wondered if that was what had caused her to accept his invitation to travel together in the first place.

"Fay, I want to apologize for last night," Tavis said suddenly. After a moment, he went on, "I had no right to impose on you like that, and I should have known better. You could have told me to leave, you should have. But I promise you, it won't happen again. I don't want- I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me because of my behavior."

She looked up at him directly now, a little surprised. "It was all right. I know I could've told you to leave if I'd been that uncomfortable. We're friends, aren't we? You should be able to come talk to me if you need to."

"Hmm, friends, yes. Of course."

They both returned to silence until they reached large, ornate gates wrought of silver piping fashioned into intricate shapes. One of the gates stood open and Fay led him inside. They stopped in the courtyard on the other side. She stared for a moment down each of the four paths that led deeper into the gardensia, and let out a sigh of contentment at the happy memories each one evoked for her.

Tavis stared around at all the strange shapes and glass houses and asked, "What is this place?"

"The Gardensia Exotica. There are a few large public gardens like this around Rianza. This one houses plants and flowers from all over the Empire. Some of them have to be kept in greenhouses, so that special conditions can be maintained for them, but it's an amazing place. Come on, I'll show you around, at least some of it. You could spend a whole day exploring this Gardensia and still not see everything." She took him down one of the paths and showed him a few of her favorite spots. The Diarah Roses were blooming, the small flowers sparkling as the bushes they grew from waved back and forth with no breeze to drive them. He was amazed by the Govorian tree, towering over him with a trunk so wide that the two of them together could only get their arms halfway around. She explained that the garden had taken shape around the tree, which came from the lands near Voleno, though there were none left there as large as this one. Then she took him through the Weeping Path, where the trees drooped around the slate walkway and the flowers steadily dripped a glowing blue fluid.

"That fluid is good for spreading on wounds to heal them faster, if you don't know how to do it with magic, but they only grow in the wild to the far south," she said as they passed the flowers.

They found a circle of benches surrounded by tall hedges on the other side and stopped to sit down together. Tavis was watching her again, and after a while he spoke up. "You said this was your favorite place when you were at the academy here. Why?"

She smiled. "I used to come here all of the time. I even got myself in trouble on a few occasions when I got caught trying to sneak out to see the gardens at night. Some of the flowers here only bloom after sunset, and others look different in the dark. It was fun to come here. I could imagine I was somewhere else, that I was off having adventures."

This answer seemed to surprise him. "You were at the academy but wished you were somewhere else?"

Suddenly self-conscious, Fay stared at her hands as she answered. "It wasn't because of the academy. I liked it there, but my father... He kept coming to visit me there, or he'd take me out for a day to some court event or something else that he wanted me to attend. I remember once he made me go to an Imperial Ball to celebrate the founding of the Empire."

"And you didn't want to go?"

"Not really. I was always the youngest person there. Everyone else there was too old for me to even know them. The Emperor's younger son is more than ten years older than I am, and at the ball, he was the next oldest person in attendance." She paused, thinking about how much she wanted to tell him. Before she was aware of making a decision, she heard herself going on, revealing the worst part, the thing she had never shared with anyone before. "It wasn't that he wanted me there with him, either. My father was showing me off, that's all. He always seemed to think I was the key to a better position in the nobility for our family. He was obsessed with it. He always seemed to be trying to arrange things, but I never understood what he was working to accomplish. Magicia almost never marry anyone except their partner, so it never made sense when he was parading me around in front of others, especially non-Magicia. I hated having to go to those things and smile, pretending to enjoy myself and trying to hide how confused I was by it all."

She didn't realize how hard she was clenching her hands until Tavis put his own over them and then stroked the back of one with his thumb. She forced herself to relax, feeling her hands throb as blood was allowed to flow freely again. He said softly, "Neither of us had ideal parents, did we?"