Reader and Raelynx (46 page)

“Trust me, you’re not the one we’re going to try to marry her off to,” Senneth said. “You’re perfectly safe to go.”

He left, though with some reluctance, and Ariane sighed. “Much as I’d like to see him beside Amalie on the throne, I have to admit I’ve come to like his little Sosie very much,” she said. “I have no other unmarried sons, so how can I help you?”

“Amalie has her heart set on marrying Cammon, the young mystic boy you met last summer,” Senneth said bluntly, seating herself next to Ariane. Kirra settled on Ariane’s other side. “She swears she will accept no other bridegroom, and I have come to believe her. Kirra and I hoped you could help us fashion a pedigree for him—find some Rappengrass nobles who are willing to claim him as their son, cast off long ago. These would have to be vassals you trusted absolutely, of course, for the only thing worse than foisting off such a lie on the people of Gillengaria would be having that lie discovered.”

Like Malcolm Danalustrous, Ariane Rappengrass was rarely shocked, and Senneth watched the marlady as she analyzed the situation. “How old is Cammon?”

“Twenty.”

“So this couple would have to be in their forties or fifties. And why did they abandon him?”

“He’s a mystic,” Senneth said dryly. “It was the fashion twenty years ago for nobles to rid themselves of such inconvenient encumbrances.”

“Still, if he was only a baby—”

“Perhaps they kept him until he was three or four, when his powers began to manifest,” Kirra suggested.

Ariane pursed her lips. “Or perhaps they did not give him up at all. Was Coralinda Gisseltess actively persecuting mystics so long ago? Perhaps she stole him from his parents, and they have spent all this time grieving.”

Senneth laughed. “By all means, tailor the story however you wish! All we need is someone willing to embrace it—and withstand a certain inevitable scrutiny.”

Ariane had folded her hands together and rested her fingers under her chin. “But who…” she said in a ruminative voice. “My daughter Bella is too young, of course…and my friend Amanda would be willing, though she does not lie well….”

“Oh, a talent for prevarication is essential in this case,” Kirra said.

“But if we changed the story…” Ariane said, and then fell silent. Senneth watched the older woman’s face as her eyes narrowed and her thoughts settled on a new possibility. The marlady meditated for a few moments, and then gave a decisive nod. “Why not me?”

Senneth peered around Ariane to give Kirra one quick look of surprise. “You?” she repeated.

“Well, I’m not
that
old,” Ariane said with some asperity. “I’d have been forty-three when Cammon was born. That’s not unheard-of.”

“Yes, but wasn’t your husband dead by that time?” Kirra said. “We don’t want to ruin
your
reputation! If you claim Cammon as your son—”

Ariane nodded. “Easy enough to explain away. An indiscretion. My husband had been dead a couple of years, and I was lonely. I began seeing an unsuitable man. Everyone was quite shocked and pressured me to give him up, so I did. But it was too late by then, and I was already pregnant.” Ariane unfolded her hands and tapped her fingers together lightly. “Yes, I think that will serve.”

Senneth felt Kirra’s eyes on her face and knew Kirra was thinking exactly what she was:
This actually happened
. Kirra said softly, “What’s the rest of the tale?”

Ariane gave her a quick sideways glance. “For the purposes of this story, I made it known that I was ill, and I retired to a secluded house where I could make an unobserved recovery. There I delivered the child—a boy. I planned to keep him with me, pretending he was my maid’s son, but my advisors spirited him away in the night. I never knew what happened to him after that. But then—last summer when you brought him to my house—I felt a strange affection for this complete stranger. I began to make inquiries, and I learned he was the son I had given up so many years ago. Naturally, I was overjoyed.”

Senneth laid a hand on Ariane’s arm. “What happened to your baby?”

Ariane didn’t reply at first, as if unwilling to admit the tale was true. “He arrived two months early and stillborn,” she said at last. “I didn’t believe them when they told me he was dead. I had to see for myself. But it was true.” She shook off a spell of melancholy and said more briskly, “Enough people know part of the story to be able to confirm that I indeed took a lover and bore his child. Very few people were present at his death, and all of them would tell any lie I asked. The dates are not exact, for my son would only be eighteen now, but no one will remember that.”

“Ariane—” Senneth said, and then stopped, not sure of what to say. “I hate to take advantage of your personal tragedies in such a way.”

Ariane gave her a somewhat painful smile. “You have lost a child yourself, Senneth, though the story is not generally known. And I believe you would exploit your own sad history if you thought it would help Amalie in any way. Permit me to do the same thing. I will be happy to claim Cammon as my own. I have always longed for that sixth child, the one I lost so long ago.” Her smile widened. “And, of course, I am not at all reluctant to have Ghosenhall indebted to Rappen Manor.”

“No, indeed, there are benefits all around,” Kirra agreed.

“There’s just one more thing,” Ariane said. “Before we buried him, I had him branded with a housemark. Anyone who knows me realizes I would never have given up my child without stamping him as my own.”

“That will be tricky,” Senneth said. “We can give him a Rappengrass housemark, of course, but it won’t look twenty years old.”

Ariane stood. “I’m sure you can find a way around the difficulty. Bring me my son, identified with my emblem, and I will give your princess her husband.”

C
AMMON
was wholly bewildered by the sudden changes in his fortune that unfolded after their return to the royal city. He had never, not in any scenario he’d been able to devise, imagined that he would be allowed to marry Amalie. All his energy had gone to trying to figure out a way to stay at the palace, a way to serve her—a way, even, to be her lover, if she was willing, if her powerful protectors did not find it preferable to separate them completely. Of course, he was profoundly relieved that the war was over and all his friends had survived it whole, but it had always been clear to him that the cessation of hostilities would signal the end of his idyll with Amalie. What was allowed on the battlefield during tumultuous times could not be permitted in ordinary life. Now that she had won the right to take the throne, Amalie must prove herself a worthy ruler. And her first act must be to choose her husband wisely, with an eye to placating the marlords.

But she loved him. He knew she loved him. And the minute they had five minutes of privacy, he promised he would stay in Ghosenhall as long as she needed him.

“In any capacity,” he added. They were alone for the first time since their return to Ghosenhall, as Amalie awaited the arrival of yet another visiting lord, come to swear fealty. “I will work in the kitchens if that is the only job open to me. I will stay on as a footman. As long as you want me here, I will stay.”

She was almost crying, and he risked taking her in his arms, though he was supposed to be standing impassively behind her throne, scanning the emotions of petitioners. “But that’s not fair to you,” she said against his chest. “To make you live a life in shadows! Just waiting for the few minutes I have free!
I
wouldn’t be able to do it! If you were king, and I was some serving girl they wouldn’t allow you to marry? I’d run away. I would! I’d marry the first handsome soldier who marched through the city, or the first merchant who brought me a bunch of ribbons for my hair.”

He laughed helplessly and stroked that hair, just now free of ribbons, though a small silver tiara kept its radiance somewhat in check. “Well, I’ve never been good at running away,” he said. “Whenever anyone has loved me, what I’ve always wanted is to stay nearby. As long as you love me, I think, I won’t be able to leave you.”

He was prepared for it to be hard. He was prepared for it to be heartbreaking. But he was not prepared for his life to be lived without Amalie in it.

Two days after that declaration, she called him to the rose-and-cream parlor where, for a wonder, she was completely alone. Naturally, he did not lose an opportunity to kiss her right away. She was bubbling with happiness, but he could not sift through her thoughts and tell what had elated her.

“I have good news,” she said, standing still with her arms twined around his neck.

“You will be alone in your bedroom tonight and you want me to come to you there,” he guessed.

She kissed him. “Better.”

“Your uncle has decided you don’t have to marry anyone for another whole year. And no one will be watching you closely that whole time.”

“Better.”

He laughed and shook his head. “You never have to marry, and I can have free run of the palace.”

“They’re going to let me marry you.”

“What?”
he whispered.

“It’s very complicated. You have to pretend you’re Ariane’s son. And you have to get a housemark, which will be quite painful, and I’m sorry about that. But then everyone will think you’re long-lost nobility, a bastard from the Twelve Houses, and good enough to marry me. I think we should have the wedding right away, and then we can have the coronation next year for both of us.”

Cammon usually considered himself fairly quick-witted, but it took her another ten minutes and repeated explanations to make him truly understand what she was saying. Abruptly, he sank to a seat in one of her favorite chairs, and stared at her in bewilderment when she sat in the chair beside him.

“But I can’t be king,” he said at last.

“You’ll be a charming king,” she said.

“But I—what do I know about—kingdoms and governing and—and—money—and strategy—and whatever it is kings know?”

“You’ve traveled halfway around the world and all through Gillengaria!” Amalie replied. “You know so much! And you learn so quickly! I think you’ll be a marvelous king.”

“Amalie,” he said, shaking his head, “I want to marry you. I could never dream of anything I would want more. But I’m afraid to be king.”

For a moment, she rested her head against the back of her chair, thinking. “All right,” she said in her usual fashion, her voice seeming so soft but really so decisive. “I’ll be crowned first. And you’ll be my—my prince-consort or some such title. And every few years I’ll ask you again if you want to be king. And if you do, we’ll have a nice coronation for you. And if you don’t, well, you’ll just be my consort forever.” She lifted his hand and carried it to her mouth. “But you’ll be my husband before the month is out.”

R
ECEIVING
the housemark was the most agonizing physical experience Cammon had ever endured. He yelped as the brand was laid against his skin just below the hollow of his throat, and the smell of burnt flesh nearly made him gag.

“And you do this to
babies
?” he demanded of Kirra, who had wielded the instrument of torture.

“Well,
I
don’t,” she replied. “But all the nobles do. Yes. When they’re too small to stop us.” She patted him on the head. “You were very brave. And you lay completely still! I was sure you’d be thrashing all over the place.”

“I wanted to kick you. It really
hurts.
”

“Don’t whine so much,” Justin said. “I’ve had way worse wounds and never even bothered to mention them.”

“An example of stoicism that inspires us all,” Kirra said.

Ellynor stepped over. “Let me see what I can do,” she said. “I ought to be able to heal it so thoroughly that no one will be able to tell how fresh a wound it is.”

Her fingers were cool and gentle against his newly scarred skin, and her mere touch filled him with a sense of extraordinary well-being. He wondered if, while she was there healing the burn, she had just decided to rummage around in his body and chase off any incipient ailments that might have been loitering in the blood. No wonder Justin looked so offensively healthy these days. With Ellynor at his side, he need never suffer a minute’s illness for the rest of his life.

When she was done, they all crowded around him and exclaimed in pleasure. “Look at that,” Kirra said, pulling down the neckline of her dress to show off her own tasteful housemark, a small representation of the letter D. “It looks no different from mine. Well, the
style
is different, of course. But otherwise just the same.”

Cammon squinted down at his chest, where he could just make out the diamond-shaped scar, appearing as faded and scuffed as if he’d sported it since birth. “Look at that,” he repeated. “I’m Cammon Rappengrass.”

N
OT
until the housemark had been applied was he brought into the presence of his new family. “I’d be more intimidated at the notion of having Ariane Rappengrass for a mother than at being crowned king,” Kirra told him as she escorted him through the palace to the rooms Ariane occupied.

Strangely, perhaps, Cammon did not find Ariane frightening at all. He had met her under extraordinary circumstances almost a year ago, when her granddaughter was dying and Ariane would have made any bargain to keep the girl alive. What he had thought at the time was how much he wished someone had loved
him
enough to go to such lengths to save him. He had been impressed, not so much by her ferocity, but how that ferocity had alchemized to love.

“Don’t let her make you nervous,” Kirra said. “Ariane always orders everyone about. It’s simpler just to do what she says.” She knocked on the door and then smiled in her wicked way. “I’m not staying. Best for you to learn how to handle Ariane on your own.”

But when he took a deep breath and stepped inside the room, he was hopeful, he was excited. And right away, as he faced that strong-willed, broad-faced woman, he knew that she was just as hopeful as he was.

“Cammon,” she said, holding out her hands. “You can’t know how many years I have waited to see my son again.”

She took him in a powerful embrace, this indomitable woman whose force of personality was legendary. And all Cammon could think was how her generosity had reshaped his life, and how easy it would be to love her.

T
HEY
had been back in Ghosenhall a week when Amalie insisted on leading a procession through the city. Everyone protested, of course—the Riders, the regent, her stepmother—but Amalie was adamant.

“I have been shut up in this palace my whole life,” she said in the gentle voice that covered such determination. “I will not cower inside these walls while I am queen. I will go among my people so that they know me and I know them.”

Since it was clear that she would walk out the gates with or without an entourage, Tayse and Romar and Senneth hastily arranged an escort of soldiers and sorcerers. Cammon, in his new role as her betrothed, was allowed to walk beside her through the streets, holding her left hand in his—and seeking through the crowd for anyone filled with ill intent. Six Riders ringed her round; Donnal and Kirra circled overhead. Senneth, who had no fire to summon if fire was called for, strode at the head of the column, waving the royal flag.

The raelynx pranced along on Amalie’s right, gazing about with undisguised interest. No amount of protest had been able to convince her that he should be left behind. Indeed, he had become her official mascot. The Riders wore their new sashes sporting the traditional gold lion interspersed with the raelynx rampant. The flag that Senneth carried contained lions in two quadrants, raelynxes in the opposite corners.

Cammon thought it actually would be a good thing if the raelynx were to accompany Amalie on all her public appearances. The creature had offered ample proof that it would fight to protect her, and certainly its presence would cause any would-be attacker to think twice about getting too close. As long as it didn’t eat any innocent spectators, Cammon thought, he was happy to have the beast along. So far, it was proving very well behaved.

Unlike the day they had returned from battle, the streets were crowded with well-wishers, waving and cheering. So many flowers had been ripped from the gardens and flung to the cobblestones before Amalie’s feet that Cammon had to think there wasn’t a single blossom left in any garden. The day was gorgeous, sunny and warm, and beneath that perfect sky, Amalie seemed to glow and shimmer. Or maybe, thought Cammon, it was the affection pouring out from the gathered crowds that brightened her hair, turned her pale skin lustrous. Certainly she seemed to grow more beautiful every time a young woman tossed lilacs at her feet, every time a little girl blew her an untidy kiss.

But here and there, Cammon could sense darker pockets of hostility and unease. He wasn’t sure if the words were being spoken aloud or if he merely heard them in his head.
Mystic. Sorceress. Not to be trusted…

They had been following a slow route for almost an hour before true trouble cropped up. Cammon sensed it first, a surge of discontent emanating from a group of young noblemen gathered on the street corner, and he silently directed Tayse’s attention toward them. Cammon didn’t recognize them, but their colors gave them away. One wore the pearl-encrusted vest of Fortunalt; another had the Storian topaz pinned to his hat. Two others wore sashes embroidered with a black hawk clutching a red flower. Men of Gisseltess.

From all four, Cammon picked up grief and bewilderment as much as anger and fear. They had probably believed passionately in their marlords, had accepted without question the doctrine of the Pale Mother. Now their idols had been overturned. Who were they to believe now? How could anyone know the right path to follow?

One of the Gisseltess men stepped into the street, partly blocking Senneth’s progress. She had her free hand on her sword, but she didn’t draw it. “And you’re to be queen now?” the young lord called out to Amalie, his voice hoarse. “You’re to rule over us all?”

Amalie came to a halt and peered past the Riders to see him. “Yes. I will take the throne early next year.”

His three friends crowded behind him. Cammon felt Tayse’s impulse to force them away with outright violence, but from Amalie he was picking up a desire for colloquy.
Just wait. Hear them out,
he thought in Tayse’s direction, and the Rider pulled out his sword but made no move to attack. Beside Amalie, the raelynx fixed its eerie eyes on the speaker and waited.

“Mystic,” the young man said, spitting out the word. Beside him, his friends echoed the word.
“Mystic,”
he said again. “And we’re to have
you
as our queen?”

Now the rest of the crowd began a troubled muttering. Cammon sensed both confusion and uncertainty from the onlookers. Some of them had no particular dislike for mystics, though the thought of one on the throne did make them uneasy. Many, he thought, were anxious to have Amalie explain away her power—or at least give them reasons they should not fear it.

He squeezed her hand and dropped it.
Talk to them,
he told her.

She nodded and stepped forward, brushing past Senneth, though the raelynx stayed firmly at her side. “I
am
a mystic,” she said calmly, addressing the malcontents but raising her voice enough so it could be heard by everyone in the vicinity. “I have the power to draw strength from those around me when I need it most. I believe it is a gift from the Pale Mother herself. I believe
all
magic flows from the gods—and I believe there are many gods and goddesses that the people of Gillengaria have long forgotten.”