by Tad Williams
"My son has the care of the realm to think of," said Enander. "But as I said, there are other witnesses. Feival Ulian, step forth and tell us what you know."
"Feival…?" Briony stared, astounded. "What does that mean?"
The young player at least had the grace, or skill, to look troubled as he stepped out and kneeled before the king. "It… it is difficult for me, Majesty. She is the daughter of my king, and for a long time we traveled together and were friends…"
"Were? I am your friend! What are you saying?"
"… But the things she has done will not stay locked inside me any longer. It is all true-she has spoken of it often in front of me. She has had one thought, and that was to make Prince Eneas love her so that through him she would eventually gain control of the throne of Syan. First she brought me in, and also put the other players to work as her spies-I can show you the accounts. And then she set her cap at the prince. She did her best to make love to him at every opportunity, full of sweet promises, leading him on while all the while confessing in private that she did not care for him, but only the throne of Syan."
Briony gaped, then clambered to her feet. One of the soldiers caught her arm and held her in place. "Sweet Zoria, Feival, how can you do this to me? How can you tell such terrible, baldfaced lies…?" But then she saw as if for the first time the rich clothes Feival wore, the jewelry she had not given him but had not bothered to wonder about, and realized that she had been outmaneuvered since she had first set foot in the court of Tessis. Ananka had found a weak reed and bent it to her own purposes. "It is none of it true, King Enander!" Briony said, turning to the throne. "It is… it is a conspiracy, and I do not understand the reason for it-but I am innocent! Ask Eneas! Bring him back!"
The king shook his head. "He is beyond your reach, girl, as my lady said."
"But why would I do such things-why would I need to trick Eneas? Your son cares for me! He has said so himself…"
"See? " In her triumph Ananka almost rose from her chair, but thought better of it. "She as much as admits her plan."
"But I turned him down, even though his representations to me were all honorable! Ask him! Do not condemn me on the word of a single treacherous servant without hearing what your own son has to say! My maid and my friend have both been poisoned in this castle-do you not see that someone here is trying to destroy me?"
"Tell the rest, Ulian," Ananka said loudly, interrupting her. "Tell the king what this scheming creature said she would do after she tricked the king's son into marriage."
Briony started to object again, but the king held up his hand for silence "Let the servant speak."
Feival could not meet Briony's eye. "She said… she said that she would do whatever she must to see Eneas put on the throne in his father's place." He sighed, and although it might only have been at the guilt of telling such a gross lie, the young player seemed to be growing increasingly uncomfortable with his role.
Briony could only shake her head helplessly. "This is all madness!"
"And the rest," Ananka commanded. "Be not afraid. Tell the king what you told me. Did she not say that she would use witchcraft to hasten the succession if necessary?"
Briony's legs seemed to turn to water. One of the soldiers had to catch her to keep her from falling to the floor of the chapel. Witchcraft-against the king's life? Ananka did not simply want her banished, she wanted her dead. "Lies…!" she said, but her voice sounded feeble.
Even Feival seemed stunned, as though this was a depth of treachery even he had not expected. "Witchcraft?"
"Tell him! Tell the king!" Ananka seemed ready to shake it out of him.
Feival swallowed. "I… to be honest, my lady… I do not… remember that…"
"He is no doubt frightened to talk about it, Majesty." Ananka said to Enander. "Frightened to say it in front of the girl herself-afraid she will put some curse on him." The king's mistress settled back into her seat, but the look she gave Feival suggested that his new mistress was less than happy with his performance. "But you can see what sort of plot we have uncovered-what danger you and your son were in!"
Enander shook his head. Was it drink that made him flush so, or something else? Was Ananka poisoning him as well?
"These are terrible things you are accused of, Briony Eddon," the king said slowly, "and were your father not also a friend to us I would be tempted to pass sentence this moment." He paused for a moment as a quiet hiss of frustration escaped the woman beside him. "But because of the long years of brotherhood between our nations I will deal with you as carefully as if you were one of my own. You will be confined to your chambers until I can investigate this matter in the depth it deserves." He took a shaky breath. "This is as hard for us as it is for you, Princess, but you have brought it on yourself."
"No!" Briony was shaking with fury, barely able to contain herself. Treacherous Feival, cruel Ananka, even the swine Jenkin Crowel-behind those careful masks, they must all be laughing at her! "Will you again let Jellon betray my family, King Enander? Are you so blind to what goes on in your own court?"
Many of the others gasped at Briony's words, but the king only looked puzzled. "Jellon? What nonsense is this? Have you forgotten what country you are in?"
"Jellon! Where Hesper sold my father to the Hierosoline usurper, Ludis Drakava! And now this woman has come from there, schooled in treachery by her lover to bring down my kingdom-and perhaps yours as well! Can you not see? Nothing comes from Jellon but lies and betrayal!"
"You are distraught, young woman." Enander looked old and tired. "Jellon is our ally, too, and they bring much to the world. The Jellonians are very good at weaving, you know."
Briony stared at him. The king's thoughts were more than slow, they were hopelessly muddled-there was no point in further arguing. She struggled to keep the misery from her face-at least she would not let that cow Ananka see her weep. "You wrong me," was all she said, then turned and walked out of the chapel, praying that her legs would bear her. Guards silently moved in on either side of her. She would not be walking alone anymore, that was clear.
In the throne room outside, the king's counselor Erasmias Jino approached her. "I apologize, Princess," he said quietly. "I was not aware any of this was planned."
"Neither was I. Which of us do you think was most surprised?" She let the guards lead her away.
Sister Utta could not make herself stand, although the storm that raged in her thoughts demanded some physical release. She wanted to run as far and as fast as she could to escape this impossible talk, or to throw things clattering to the floor until the noise and chaos wiped away everything she had just been told. But still it went on, the tale of how the mortals of Southmarch had destroyed the Twilight People's royal family.
"It cannot be." She looked imploringly at Kayyin. "You only do this because your dark mistress wants to torment us. Such horrible tales-admit they are all lies!"
"Of course they are lies," Merolanna said angrily. She would no longer meet the fairy's gaze. "Wicked lies. Told by this… this evil changeling to make us fearful, to destroy our faith."
Kayyin spread his hands in a gesture that looked like resignation or abandonment. "Faith does not enter into it, Duchess. My mistress Yasammez ordered me to tell you the truth and that is what I did. I owe her nothing but my death so I can assure you I would not lie on her behalf, especially about this, the greatest tragedy of my people." His expression grew distinctly colder. "And now I recall some of the ways in which I am not one of you, no matter how many years I played the counterfeit. My people do not run from the truth. It is the only reason we have survived in this world… this world that your kind have made."
He turned and walked out of the room. Utta heard his light footfalls for a moment on the stairs, then the house was silent again.
"Do you see?" There was an edge of triumph in Merolanna's voice-a feverish edge, Utta thought. "He knows we have seen through him. By leaving he fairly admits it!"
After days and days of
shared captivity, Utta no longer had the strength or even the inclination to argue. After all, if Merolanna needed to believe such things to keep up her spirits, who was Utta to take them from her? But even so, she couldn't be entirely silent.
"As little as I wish to admit it, much of what he said… well, it does ring in accord with the history of my order…" she ventured.
"But certainly!" Merolanna was briskly tidying up a room that needed no such efforts. "Don't you see? That is the cleverness of it! They make their lies plausible-until you consider what they are actually saying. Oh, no, it was not those monsters that came out of their shadowy country and attacked us! All of the gods-fearing people of the March Kingdoms-we lured them out, then betrayed and slaughtered them! Can you not see how foolish it is, Utta? Really, I despair of you. My husband told me of such madnesses when he came back from the wars in Settland-you have been a prisoner so long you are beginning to believe your captors."
Utta opened her mouth, then shut it again. Patience, she told herself. She is a good woman. She is frightened. And I am frightened, too. Because if what Kayyin had told them was a lie, as Merolanna so fervently believed, then the Qar were completely mad. But if it was the truth…
Then they have every reason to hate us, Utta thought. They have every reason to want to destroy us all.
The fury that was boiling inside Briony began to die down on her way back to her chambers, as if someone had taken a lid off a cooking pot. She did not have time for anger, she reminded herself: her life was at stake. At any moment they might put her in a cell, or remove her to some country estate to live as a prisoner. Ananka might even talk the besotted old king into believing that witchcraft nonsense if she had long enough to work at him. Briony's own word-the word of a king's daughter!-had meant nothing to Enander. Instead, he had sat back like the great fool he was and let his whore manipulate him…
Calm, she told herself. What was it Shaso used to say? Even as you are defending, you must be attacking. You cannot simply react to what is given you. A warrior must always act, even if only to plan the next move.
So what was the next move? What assets did she have? Dawet was gone on some errand of his own. The money Eneas had given her was mostly spent. Well, Zoria would provide for her, she told herself… but Zoria had to be given a proper chance. Briony had come to this city with nothing but her freedom. She would be happy to leave it in the same condition.
It was obvious by their embarrassed expressions that her ladies-in-waiting had heard the news. No surprise: gossip traveled fast in the Broadhall Palace. Still, it was painful to watch them try to decide how to treat her. Had they known about Feival's treachery all along? And how many of them were also Ananka's spies?
Of all her ladies-in-waiting, only Agnes, the tall, thin daughter of a country baron, even came to meet her when she entered. The girl looked Briony over carefully. "Are you well?" She sounded as though she truly cared about the answer. "Is there something I can get you, Princess?"
Briony glanced at the other young women, who turned away and busied themselves with a variety of aimless tasks. "Yes, Mistress Agnes, you can come and talk with me while I put on some other clothes. I have been in these all day."
"Gladly, Princess."
When they were in her retiring room Briony quickly began undoing the clothes she had been wearing. As Agnes helped her out of the dress and into a heavy night robe Briony watched the girl. She was a little younger than Briony but much the same height, and although she was thinner, she was fair-haired like Briony, too-which would count for a great deal.
"How much do you know of what happened to me this afternoon?" Briony asked.
Agnes colored. "More than I like, Princess. I hear that Master Feival has gone to the king and told him lies about you." She shook her head. "If they would have asked me, I would have told them the truth-that you are blameless, that you acted only honorably with his highness, Prince Eneas." She looked startled. "Do you want me to tell them, Princess? I will do it if you wish, but I fear for my family…"
"No, Agnes. I would not ask that of you or the other girls."
"The other girls are cowards, Princess Briony. I fear they would not tell the truth, anyway. They are afraid of Ananka." She laughed ruefully. "I am afraid of Ananka. Some say she is a witch-that she has the king under a spell."
Briony scowled. "Well, I can show her a little conjuration of my own-but only if you'll help me."
Agnes finished tying the belt of Briony's robe and looked up at her solemnly. "I will help you, Princess, in any way the gods will allow. I think what they are doing to you is terrible."
"Good. I believe we can manage this without any harm to your reputation here at the court. Now, listen…"
The first time she sent Agnes out, Briony went to the door with the girl so that the guards could see her in her night-robe. Modesty be cursed, she thought. A warrior has no modesty.
"Hurry back," she told Agnes loudly enough for all to hear. The soldiers turned to watch the girl hurry by, but Agnes was not the kind to draw much attention from men. She was carrying a note to the king full of the sort of pleading and vows of innocence that could be expected from someone in Briony's position, but the guards did not even bother to ask her errand, let alone read the letter.
Idiots, Briony thought. Well, I suppose I should be glad they think so little of me here.
While Agnes was gone, Briony went through the chest that contained the few things she had brought to the court at Tessis. She made a bundle of what she wanted and wrapped it in a traveling cloak, the poorest one she could find, a simple, heavy, unembroidered length of dark wool left behind by some visitor and never claimed.
Perhaps it's one of the prince's, she thought. Yes, I can imagine Eneas in just such a modest garment, leading his soldiers. It was certainly long enough to belong to him.
Agnes soon returned and Briony sent her on another errand, this one taking a letter to Ivgenia e'Doursos. Briony wanted to let her friend know what happened, and had written to tell her she had been unjustly accused, but of course wrote nothing about what she was planning to do. She had learned she could not trust anyone, not even Ivvie-in fact, she was being forced to rely on young Agnes far more than she liked, but some things could not be helped.
Briony stood in the doorway again and made sure the guards saw her. "Push it under her door," she told Agnes. "Don't wake her."
Agnes smiled. "I'll be careful."
The other ladies looked irritated that they were not being sent on these apparently important errands. Briony put them to work getting her some food.
"Bread and cheese from the common store," she told them. "Lots of it. Let no one know it's for me. And some dried fruit. Medlars, too-wrap them in a kerchief or they shall get on everything. And what else? Yes, I'd like some quince paste."
"Are you very hungry, then, Princess?" one of the girls asked.
"Oh, famished. After all, it is hard work being betrayed."
The ladies went off with wide eyes, whispering behind their hands before they were three steps out the door. Briony noticed that one of the guards had gone somewhere. The other soldier barely looked up as the two young women hurried past.
When the bread and cheese and the rest had been brought back, Briony took it to the retiring room where no one could see, unrolled her bundle, and hid the food in the center of it. "You may go to bed now," she called to the women. "I am going to wait for Agnes. I am not yet sleepy."
Disappointed in their hope to see more eccentricity-or perhaps to see Briony eat the entire mound of supplies they had brought back-the ladies-in-waiting went to the retiring room to prepare for bed. A short time later Agnes came back.
"Thank all the gods," Briony said. "I was beginning to fear something had happened to you."
"There were people in the hall and I did not know whether you wanted me to be seen or not," Agnes told her, "so I waited until they were gone. Have I done wrong?"
"Merciful Zoria, you have done noth
ing of the kind! Why didn't I discover you before?" She gave the girl a quick kiss on the cheek. "There is one more thing. Give me your dress."
"My dress, Princess?"
"Quiet! Not so loud-the others are just in the retiring room. We must be quick. Then take this robe and put it on."
To her credit, young Agnes did not waste time asking questions. With Briony's help she got the dress off, and as she stood shivering in her shift Briony draped the night-robe around her.
"Now help me," Briony told her.
When she was laced into the dress, Briony took Agnes to the chest. "It goes without saying that you may have any of my dresses you choose," she said. "There are several in the big chest. But I want you to have something else. Here. The fool who gave this to me did not get what he wanted for it, but he gave it to me nevertheless, so it is mine to give to you." She took out the expensive bracelet Lord Nikomakos had sent her as a love gift and clasped it around the girl's wrist.
Agnes' eyes grew wide, then a tear welled up in the corner of each. "You are too kind to me, Princess!"
"No. You still have one more job to do and it is not an easy one. You must convince the king's men when they come for me-it may be tonight if something has made them wonder, or it may not be until sometime tomorrow-that you did not know what I was doing." She frowned. "No, that will not work-you are too clever a girl. You must convince them that I frightened you into keeping quiet."
Now it was Agnes who frowned and shook her head. "I will not blacken your name, Princess Briony. Leave it to me-I will think of something."
"May the gods bless you, Agnes! Now, when we get to the door, come halfway out and no farther-and keep your face turned away from the guards."
Just as they opened the door, Briony said loudly, "Hurry, girl! You must go to her and come back quickly. I want to go to sleep!"
