Daughter of the Disgraced King (26 page)

One side of Mayra’s mouth turned up. “Well . . . yes, I
think so.”

“Do you love him?”

Mayra drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “Love is
complicated for a daughter of the emperor. Sometimes, I feel the same way about
that that you do about being made the center of attention. It’s not quite safe.
But . . . I think I
could
love him—if he ever looked up and really
saw
me
, you know.”

Ailsa smiled. “Because he’s tall and serious?”

Mayra chuckled. “Well, it doesn’t
hurt
that he’s tall
and handsome. No, it’s not that. It’s . . . You know, if I can once in a while
get him talking about Far Terra, he gets really passionate about what he wants
to do to improve things there.” She shrugged. “I’ve known duke’s sons who were
really just spoiled little boys grown tall. Some who wanted power for its own
sake. But—outside of my family—I’ve never met another high noble who wanted
power just for the good he could do with it. Or who was so fervent about it.
That grand vision of his is contagious. A purpose that I think would suit me
better than becoming a healer. If he could ever be that passionate about me, I
think I could be as happy as my parents.”

Ailsa gave her friend a quick hug. “Then I hope you get what
you want. He’d be a fool not to love you.” Not to mention the political
advantages/

~

With Jathan riding on her left and Rishiart on her right, Ailsa
could almost pretend that the first leg of their journey was just a long
Starday ride, except for the guards. Half a dozen cavalry guards—three in front
and three in back, leading the remounts—bracketed them.

Well, the guards and the cold. That was different from their
pleasant Starday rides down in the lowlands, too. As they climbed higher into
the Ring Mountains, Ailsa learned a new appreciation for the quilt-lined cloak
Mama had insisted she needed.

Ailsa pulled Diamond to a stop as the lake and its inn came
into view. The scene was so different from the other times she’d been here.
Across the lake, the trees were dusted with white. Closer in, the view was just
as strange to her. The miniature forest of cattails and the vine that covered
the inn were both brown and . . . no, not dead, dormant for the winter. Odd.
This was the season when the desert was most alive. Things in the desert went
dormant for the
summer.

Ailsa narrowed her eyes. Something was different about the
lake itself. Near the shore the water was unnaturally quiet, despite the chill
wind and . . .  “Is that
ice
?”

Jathan followed her gaze. “Yep. The shallows sometimes
freeze over.”

“Not deep enough to skate on though,” Rishiart said with
regret.

“This isn’t a pleasure trip, Rish,” Jathan said.

“Skate?” Ailsa hunched deeper into the folds of her cloak.

“You put blades on the bottom of your shoes and sort of
glide across the ice. Only if the ice is thick enough so that you won’t fall
through. You
don’t
want to fall into that cold water this time of year.”
Jathan shivered. “Maybe I’ll get a chance to teach you, later. After we get
back.” His eyes glinted as he took her hand. “We could come up here—or to the
lodge—for our honeymoon.”

Rishiart twisted in his saddle. “Honeymoon? Who’s having a
honeymoon?”

Jathan let go of Ailsa’s hand just long enough to gesture
between the two of them. “We will.”

Rishiart barked a laugh. “Why haven’t I heard about this?”

“Because we haven’t told anyone yet, Rish,” Jathan said. “Not
until we get back from Far Terra. That’s how Ailsa wants it. She has some
notion that Far Terra may be terrible enough to scare me off.”

Ailsa shrugged. “A few people have figured it out, though.
Mayra knows. And Grandmama.”

Rishiart aimed a playful cuff at Jathan, who ducked. “Congratulations!”
He bowed slightly to Ailsa. He turned back to Jathan. “Took you long enough.”

Jathan shared a private smile with Ailsa. “There were
reasons to take our time and be sure.”

Ailsa looked across the unpromising landscape. With all the
preparations for this trip, she hadn’t had time to give any thought to a
wedding, let alone what would come after. “Wouldn’t it be awfully cold for a
honeymoon?”

Jathan winked at her. “Yes. The more reason to stay inside.
In front of a cozy fire.”

Ailsa choked back a laugh.

“Snow ball fights,” Rishiart said with a grin.

Jathan shook his head. “It’ll be a
honeymoon,
Rish.
We don’t want any kind of fight. Not even play fights.”

Rishiart grinned back at him. “But then you can play at
making up.”

This time Jathan choked. “We’ll save that for later.”

Rishiart looked at the sky. “There’s maybe another three
hours of light. Do you want to stop here or keep on? We might make it over the
pass, but then we’d have to camp. It’s only going to get colder the higher we
go. And the later it gets.”

Jathan squeezed Ailsa’s hand. “Stop here. That way we can
reach the pass earlier in the day—when it’ll be warmer. Well, as warm as it’s
going to get.” He removed his hand to touch the potted vine tucked under his
own cloak. “It’ll give us a little more time to prepare for the desert
crossing.
That’s
when we want to hurry.”

~

Ailsa pulled the folds of her cloak tighter around her, very
glad that they had decided to stay at the inn last night. A light snow was
falling across the pass. It must have been colder through the night, because
some of the little waterfalls running down from the higher slopes were actually
frozen over. The weather didn’t seem to bother Jathan or Rishiart that much.
Perversely, Diamond almost seemed to be enjoying it. Ailsa shivered. “You
actually
want
to c-come into this c-cold for our honeymoon?”

Jathan’s grin wavered as he saw her huddled against the
cold. “It was just an idea. And I didn’t mean for us to be
outside
while
it was snowing. But I’m sure we can think of something more comfortable.”

Ailsa nodded, afraid to answer because her teeth were
chattering so hard. She might bite her own tongue if she opened her mouth.

“Come on,” Jathan said. “Our horses are fresh. Let’s give
them a bit of a gallop and see if we can’t get out of this snow a little lower
down.”

Rishiart squinted at the clouds. “Lower down, it’ll just be
raining instead.”

“Well, then, the sooner we get to the first courier station,
the sooner we can get out of it for a little while.” Jathan kicked his horse
into a canter.

Ailsa gratefully let Diamond pick up the gait and speed them
off this mountain. The desert crossing she’d been dreading for weeks suddenly
didn’t seem so bad after all. The desert in winter wasn’t always exactly warm,
but it wouldn’t be
this
cold, at least.

They stayed overnight at the courier station in the
foothills and rode out into the desert proper the next day. Ailsa stroked her
potted vine. It really seemed to be helping. The barren landscape didn’t bother
her nearly as much as it had on her first crossing. The storm had blown itself
out down here, aided by a strong desert wind that blew her hair across her face
no matter how tightly she braided it.

Rishiart lowered the scarf that covered the lower part of
his face against the blowing sand. “I’ll take snow, or even the rain, over this
wind, any day.”

Ailsa lifted her chin. “I wouldn’t.” She’d always loved the
windy days. They seemed to charge the air with energy only she felt. Well, she
and Perion. He’d liked the wind, too, which made perfect sense now that she
knew he was a wind mage.

What did disturb her was the number of dead and dying trees
along the road. There were more now than there had been on her first trip, just
a few months ago. Well, that and Jathan. He wasn’t taking the desert crossing
at all well.

Certainly, Jathan didn’t appear to feel any benefit from the
wind. He slouched in his saddle, barely lifting his head. Why was the desert
affecting him more than it did her? Because it was his first crossing? Or
because he’d never had any experience of the desert to habituate him to it?
Either way, she remembered how she’d felt during her first crossing. The only
thing that had made her feel better was the oases. Therefore, the best thing to
do for Jathan was to get him to the next oasis—one of the larger ones where the
coaches stopped, if she remembered correctly—as quickly as possible. “The point
is to cross the desert as fast as possible, isn’t it? Let’s go.” She urged
Diamond to a canter. The others followed.

Just as she had, Jathan perked up at the next oasis, seeming
to take his first deep breath since leaving the courier station. He sat,
half-reclining, on the ground under one of those fern-leafed trees.

Rishiart watched his brother with concern. “Should we camp
here?”

Jathan shook his head. “It’s only midafternoon. We can go
farther.”

“Ailsa?” Rishiart asked.

Ailsa paced to the other end of the oasis and back. Then she
knelt down beside Jathan. “I think it was a little easier, actually, taking the
coach. I could sleep during the worst parts. But Grandmama said that it was
important for us to get across the desert as quickly as possible. Based on my
first trip, you’ll continue to feel drained, even on the main courier road,
between oases. You’ll feel better at the oasis, but not really yourself until
we reach the core of Far Terra, where there’ll be more living plants to
surround you.”

“Then let’s go on,” Jathan said.

Ailsa looked up at Rishiart. “How far can we get if we ride
hard?”

Rishiart bit his lip. “Not far enough. Not without killing
the horses, anyway. We’d still be at least half a day out from Far Terra. We
should have gotten an earlier start this morning.”

Ailsa nodded. “Then we’d do best to stay here overnight and
let Jathan recover.”

“We still might not get there until after dark tomorrow,”
Rishiart said.

Ailsa shrugged this off. “The road is straight and wide. We
can ride after dark safely if we need to.”

~

Two days later, Ailsa paced across the courtyard and the
stables all morning, stopping in to pet and talk to Pearl and Diamond before
going back inside to ask if Jathan was up yet. Arriving home in Far Terra hadn’t
been as much of a relief as she’d hoped, with Jathan all but comatose by the
time they got in late in the night. After such a difficult journey, he’d never
want to cross the desert again once he got back home. The thought kept her
moving restlessly from one spot to another despite the tightening in her chest.

Jathan didn’t come out of his rooms until almost noon, still looking a little drained and tired.

Ailsa ran toward him, but stopped short. “How are you
feeling?”

He grinned and crossed the short distance to take her in his
arms. “Much better after a good sleep. I was just thinking of asking for
breakfast in your garden. Is that possible?”

“Oh, yes. Nothing easier. There’s a nice little patio just
off the kitchen. The garden will help, I think.”

“I expect so.”

Ailsa swallowed and made to step back. “I’ll . . . I’ll go
arrange that, then.”

Jathan didn’t release her. Instead, he pulled her closer. “Ailsa,
what’s wrong? You’re as tense as a bowstring.”

Ailsa looked down. “You’re never going to want to come to Far
Terra again, are you? After . . .”

Jathan put his hand under her chin and lifted her face until
he could look into her eyes. “I’m not saying that it’s something I’d choose to
do for fun. But I’ve been thinking. There are probably ways to make it easier. Maybe
your idea of using a coach rather than riding. It’d take longer, but, as you
said, it might be easier to just sleep through some of that.”

Ailsa held her breath. She could hardly believe what she was
hearing. “You still . . . You still want to . . .”

Jathan smiled. “Hey, just because it’s hard is no reason to
give up. What would ever be accomplished that way?” He tilted his head to one
side. “You know, I think there has to be a reason for two such powerful green
mages to appear just now. Two green mages so . . . predisposed to work
together. And I can’t think of a better use for our magic than Far Terra. That’ll
be a legacy to leave behind us, huh? Besides, if you’re going to be here—and I
know you are—then so am I. That’s the way this works. Anyway, we’re only
talking about crossing like that a couple of times a year. I can stand it. That
is, I can if I can get some breakfast.”

Ailsa laughed, more in relief than anything else. She’d been
so sure she was losing Jathan, too. “More like brunch at this hour, but by all
means, let’s see to first things first.” She led him out to the patio. Someone—Mama
probably—had anticipated them. Hot tea, fresh bread, fruit, and cold meats were
already set out for them.

“What I want to know,” Jathan said around a bite of fruit, “is
why didn’t the desert seem to affect you as much as it did me?”

Ailsa’s brow furrowed in thought. “I don’t know. It was
certainly worse the first time. Maybe that’s it. Maybe it gets easier with
practice.”

“Huh. That’s hopeful.” Jathan winked at her. “So, what do
you do around here for fun?”

Ailsa squeezed his hand under the table. “I really do want
to show you Far Terra. But I’ve been thinking, too. There’s one advantage of
arriving so late last night. With luck, King Ewart won’t know we’re even here
until the Winter Ball tomorrow night.”

Jathan grinned and winked at her. “Quite a surprise for him,
eh? Well, then, we’ll just have to find something to do indoors for now. You
can show me the sights after the ball. The horses will probably appreciate the
rest, anyway.”

From the way Jathan eased back in his seat and let his eyes
drift over the garden, he would, too.

~

Ailsa smiled as Jathan leaped down from the carriage to
offer her his arm. Two days of rest certainly seemed to have eradicated the
lingering effects of the desert crossing. His velvet-trimmed brocade matched
her velvet gown so well they looked like they’d been made to go together. Maybe
they had. It looked good on him, anyway.

He winked as his gaze swept over her, taking in her gown one
more time. “Too bad we probably won’t get a chance to dance tonight.”

Ailsa smiled. “There’ll be other times.”

“Indeed there will.”

Ailsa straightened. Chara had fashioned the jade green
velvet into a gown similar to the one she’d worn to the Solstice Ball—a column
of green that made her look taller than she actually was. Between that, and the
jeweled coil that held her hair twisted up on her head, she looked royal.
Majestic. Now all she had to do was quiet the butterflies in her stomach and
act the part.

“You’ll do fine,” Jathan whispered in her ear. “You look
like a queen. A queen among mages.”

They entered the Grand Hall just as they’d planned. Rishiart
went first, then Papa and Mama followed by Jathan and Ailsa. Ailsa nodded to
the side, drawing Jathan’s attention to the carefully-pruned holly trees in
large pots that lined the Great Hall at intervals. They were ancient trees kept
especially for this purpose, to act as decorations for the Winter Ball. They’d
likely have a different use tonight. Jathan nodded back with a quick wink.

They walked straight across the floor to King Ewart’s dais.
Rishiart gave the king a bare nod of acknowledgment with no shred of
subservience. King Ewart frowned, but his eyes strayed to the sides of the room
where Arrigo and his expanded cavalry company stood, and he said nothing.

When Rishiart stepped aside, Papa and Mama strode forward,
but didn’t bow. Not this time. Papa gave a nod very similar to Rishiart’s. Mama
just tilted her head up and held King Ewart’s eyes with her own, mage to king.
Conversations around the room stumbled to a halt as all eyes turned to watch
the confrontation. This surprise was what they’d planned for.

“Our turn,” Jathan said, leading Ailsa forward. Ailsa lifted
her chin and met King Ewart’s eyes without a hint of deference. She had to lock
her knees to keep them from knocking together and spoiling the effect.

King Ewart’s frown deepened. “Several months in the imperial
capital have not improved your manners, it seems. You have forgotten the proper
respect for your king.”

“I haven’t forgotten anything. I’ve learned my own value and
place, which is at least equal to yours.”

King Ewart half stood from his throne. “You dare! You
will
bow to me.”

“Princess Ailsa doesn’t need to bow her head to you,” Jathan
said.

Mutters broke out around the room at the use of her
forbidden title.

King Ewart turned his attention to Jathan. “And just who are
you?”

Rish stepped forward. “Forgive me. I haven’t had a chance to
introduce my brother, Imperial Prince Jathan.”

The mutters increased in volume.

King Ewart narrowed his eyes as he stared at Jathan. “Stay
out of this, your highness. This is a purely internal Far Terran matter.” He
turned back to Ailsa. “You will regret it if you don’t show proper respect to
me—now.”

Ailsa gestured down to her green gown. “I’m not your equal
because of my title. I’m your equal because of my magic.”

“Even if you’re a water mage like your aunt, that won’t save
you. We know how to treat mages here.”

Ailsa shook her head. “I’m no water mage.”

King Ewart snorted. “What, then? A heat mage like your mother?
Not even anything useful for Far Terra and you think it merits respect? You’re
a fool.”

“Not so great a fool as you.” She smiled slightly. In spite
of all eyes being on her, Ailsa was beginning to enjoy this. Maybe Jathan’s
love of show was rubbing off on her. “Slow learner, are you? Or just ignorant?”
Over the gasps of the assembled barons and their families, she continued, “Water
mages wear blue to formal public functions.” She gestured to her mother. “Heat
mages wear red.” Her arm lowered to indicate Jathan and herself. “Only one kind
of mage wears green.”

Ailsa raised her left arm, her right hand still being
clenched tightly in Jathan’s. Beside her, Jathan raised his right arm,
following her lead. Her anger with Sav had shown her just what an irate green
mage could do. Now she was going to educate King Ewart and his barons. Ailsa’s
fingers twitched and her magic reached out to all those stunted trees on her
side of the hall, encouraging them to grow. Their roots broke out of the pots
and down through the floor in search of nourishing earth. They’d never be
removed from this hall again. Up and up their branches stretched, right to the
ceiling, then the branches continued to grow across the ceiling until they
entwined with the branches growing from Jathan’s side of the hall, turning the room
into a living arbor. Other than the scraping of the branches, the room had gone
completely silent.

Ailsa focused her eyes on King Ewart. “I’m a green mage.”
She grinned. “And only half trained, at that. I
may
return after I
complete my training, King Ewart. That will depend on you. You’ll have to be a
good deal more welcoming.”

King Ewart’s eyes gleamed. “You are a Far Terran subject on Far
Terran soil. What makes you think you will ever leave my jurisdiction again?
You’ll stay here and you’ll do what I tell you to do.”

Ailsa squeezed Jathan’s hand as he moved to step forward.
She appreciated his anger on her behalf, but this was not
his
cue in
this carefully choreographed show.

Arrigo cleared his throat and took a step forward from his
doubled cavalry troop. “I think you’ll find that difficult, King Ewart. It is
my imperial father’s proclamation that all mages are henceforward under his
protection. Princess Ailsa, however, has his special protection.” He smiled and
nodded at Ailsa. “Not that such a powerful mage needs much in the way of defense.”