Draggah (2 page)

While the city reveled that their King deemed Avondale worthy of a visit, the Earl
’
s family chaffed at the dreary King
’
s presence and his nosy daughter
’
s haughty attitude.  Leonosis found himself wondering about Tiberius.  He had watched his brother from the walls of the city.  He
’
d seen Tiberius and Rafe make camp the first night.  He
’
d seen the girl arrive with horses, which was a surprise to Leonosis.  He had no idea how such a feat had been accomplished.  He had plans to interrogate the palace servants in an effort to find out, but that would have to wait until the King
’
s visit ended.  He would start with Robere, the aging servant who had served his brothers for years.  The old man was sentimental.  Leonosis guessed that Robere had found a way to help Tiberius, but it would take more than horses and a meager lot of supplies for Tiberius to survive in the blighted lands.

Leonosis had watched his brother disappear into the mist the following morning, and like all the people who had been banished before him, he had not returned.  But of course that wasn
’
t exactly true.  Leonosis couldn
’
t watch his brother the entire time, but he
’
d instructed capable men in the war band to do exactly that.  They reported that Tiberius and the girl with the horses had traveled into the mists and returned the same day.  Then the following morning, the entire little band of banished rebels had gone down the mountain.  Leonosis believed that they were dead—there was no reason to believe otherwise—and yet a nagging doubt lingered in Leonosis
’
mind.

Never in his entire life had Leonosis cared about what lay beyond the mists, but now he did.  It was like a pebble in his boot. He couldn
’
t ignore it, but he couldn
’
t see to it while the King and Princess Ariel lingered in the city.

Leonosis had done his best to woo the insatiable Princess, but she never seemed interested, at least until the last day of their visit.  Leonosis was in the banquet room where he waited with a host of servants ready to spring into action if the King should need anything at all.  It had been a dreary assignment, but with the city celebrating, there was no need for Leonosis to be elsewhere and his father had fallen ill.  That meant it was up to Leonosis to manage anything the King and his daughter might need, and Leonosis refused to delegate such an important task.

“
You look like a brood hen,
”
the Princess said as she swept into the room. 
“
Guarding your chicks.
”

Leonosis had been lost in thought about Tiberius.  He didn
’
t care for his brother, nor did he regret banishing him from the city.  But he couldn
’
t deny that he worried about Tiberius.  Brutas had no ambitions, nor enough cunning to try and usurp Leonosis
’
rightful place as Earl of Avondale, but Tiberius had gone away much too easily to suit Leonosis.  He couldn
’
t imagine why anyone would choose to be banished, no matter who they thought they were helping in the process.  And unanswered questions bothered Leonosis. Everyone had a reason for what they did, but he couldn
’
t figure out what Tiberius
’
reasons were.

“
What?
”
he asked, standing up quickly and giving Princess Ariel his full attention.

“
I said you are brooding.  What heavy matters weigh you down, Lord Leonosis?
”

He couldn
’
t tell whether she meant what she was saying, or if she was mocking him.  He smiled, doing his best to seem unaffected by her.

“
I was thinking of my brother,
”
he said truthfully. 
“
But he
’
s of no importance now.
”

“
Brutas?  He seems perfectly suited as the Earl
’
s second son,
”
she said. 
“
He has just enough power to keep his slow mind entertained, which is all he really cares about.  I hope I
’
m not being too forward.
”

She was being more than forward; she was being rude, but she was also right.  She always had a playful tone to her voice, and Leonosis couldn
’
t decide whether it was flirtatious or mocking.

“
You are right, of course,
”
he said.

“
Take me someplace private,
”
she said. 
“
I think we have much to talk about.
”

“
Of course,
”
Leonosis said in surprise.

He was used to women flirting with him, and he had taken many a young maiden to the private places within the palace.  He knew every nook and cranny of the ancient mansion, and there were several places he knew they could go without fear of being disturbed.  But Leonosis doubted that Princess Ariel was looking for a lover.  She
’
d had plenty of opportunities before this, and Leonosis had done his best to spark her interest, but she had always seemed disinterested.  He decided to take her to the Earl
’
s audience hall.  It was one of the more impressive rooms in the palace, designed to give the Earl an almost kingly stature to anyone seeking a boon or judgment from the noble family.

The audience hall was a long room, with no furnishings or tapestries.  There was a single, throne-like chair sitting prominently on a raised dais at one end and the walls to either side were carved with a stunning relief depicting a great battle.  They entered though the Earl
’
s private door behind the throne.  Princess Ariel walked to the far end of the room and back, inspecting the relief, presumably to ensure that no one else was actually in the room.  She came back to where Leonosis stood beside the throne.  He wasn
’
t yet Earl, despite the fact that he held almost all the responsibilities of the Earl since his father was sickly.  But he refused to sit in the Earl
’
s chair until he had actually risen up and taken his father
’
s place.  It was a small reward he was waiting to savor, but the Princess did not share his feelings about the chair.  She slid into the throne and threw her legs over the intricately carved arm.

“
So,
”
she said,
“
we
’
re alone at last.
”

“
Yes,
”
Leonosis said, hoping his disdain of the Princess
’
lack of respect wasn
’
t noticeable.

“
Tell me about your brother?
”
she said.

“
Brutas?
”
Leonosis said in surprise.  He didn
’
t think that Ariel had shown any more interest in Brutas than she had in him, and she had even insulted Brutas earlier. 
“
What do you want to know?
”

“
I don
’
t care about Brutas,
”
she said. 
“
I want to know about Tiberius.  He
’
s the interesting one.  I think that
’
s who you were worrying about when I found you in the banquet room.  He
’
s the cause of your brooding.
”

“
Tiberius is no longer my brother,
”
Leonosis said. 
“
He threw his life away.  He
’
s banished and I don
’
t bother thinking about him at all.
”

The Princess laughed.

“
Men are all the same.  You think I don
’
t see through your lies, but you
’
re wrong.  I know you, Leonosis.  You
’
re like me, a lot like me.  We get bored easily.  Managing a city is too small for you, but managing nine cities would quickly bore you as well.
”

“
I
’
m sure I don
’
t know what you mean,
”
Leonosis said.

“
I
’
m sure you do,
”
she almost purred. 
“
You know my brother is ill.  You have been trying to garner my attention all week.  I doubt I
’
m that beautiful.
”

“
You are beautiful.
”

“
Of course I am, I
’
m the Princess of Valana, but let
’
s be honest, Lord Leonosis.  You are surrounded by beautiful women.  I
’
m not an innocent child, so let
’
s not pretend that you don
’
t bed every woman who catches your attention.
”

She smiled; there was no judgment in the look on her face.  In fact, if Leonosis was right, he saw a look of approval.

“
No,
”
she continued,
“
let’s talk about the brother that is troubling you.
”

“
Tiberius doesn
’
t trouble me,
”
he said. 
“
But I find his motivation for throwing his life away to be curious.
”

“
It
’
s not that hard to understand,
”
she said. 
“
People like Tiberius are really rather simple.  They believe that their actions matter.  They
’
re loyal, trustworthy, and in many ways naive.  He went with Rafe because he was being loyal.
”

“
No,
”
Tiberius said. 
“
There must be something else.  Normally I would agree with you completely, but not this time.  Ti had a reason, a good reason, not to feel loyal to Rafe.  There has to be something else I
’
m missing.
”

“
Why worry about it?
”
she asked. 
“
Do you really think he
’
ll survive?
”

“
Of course not,
”
Leonosis said. 
“
He
’
s the last person I would expect to survive any kind of harsh circumstances.  He isn
’
t ruthless enough.
”

“
So why let it bother you?
”
she asked.

“
Because,
”
he said shaking his head and beginning to pace,
“
I don
’
t like it when I can
’
t understand a person.
”

“
Do you understand most people?
”

“
Yes, of course I do.  People are motivated by money, love, greed, power.  Despite what we
’
re taught in the temple on holy days, everyone has a reason for what they do.  I just can
’
t put my finger on Tiberius
’
reasoning.
”

“
Perhaps he
’
s a fool?
”

“
No, he isn
’
t a fool.  It was almost as if he wanted to be banished.
”

“
What do you mean?
” 
Princess Ariel asked, genuinely intrigued.

“
First of all, he didn
’
t fight it.  Why would anyone not object to being banished?  It
’
s insane, but Tiberius didn
’
t say one word in his own defense.  And then, there
’
s the matter of the horses.
”

“
What horses?
”

“
Someone managed to get four horses out of the city.  A girl I
’
ve never seen before met Tiberius and Rafe with supplies and horses after they were banished.
”