The Shadow Realm

by James Galloway

  "These are mine," Kimmie said in surprise, holding up one of her plain peasant dresses. "How did you do that?"

  "I'm a Druid, Kimmie," he told her absently. "And I've touched just about every piece of clothing you have with you."

  "Ah, yes, you can only summon what you've touched," she chuckled, recalling that rule. "I'll have to let you put your paws on my spellbooks. That way I can never lose them." She held up the dress. "Think this is too rustic?"

  "I don't think you have to worry about impressing Kerri," he told her. "Amber said that all of us were invited to this breakfast, so it must be a family affair."

  "Family affair," Kimmie chuckled, reaching behind her and starting to undo buttons.

  Seeing a woman in need, Amber stepped up and helped Kimmie unbutton her dress. "Would you like to retire to the bedchamber, mistress?" Amber asked her in Wikuni.

  "She doesn't speak the language, Amber," Tarrin warned her. "She wants to know if you want to undress in the bedroom, Kimmie," he told her.

  "Whyever for? The clothes are right here," she objected.

  "The lady prefers to change here, Amber," Tarrin relayed. "I assure you, you're not going to be uncovering anything I haven't already seen. The lady doesn't consider me a compromise of her modesty."

  Amber's face fur ruffled slightly as she nodded. The wolf Wikuni proved to be an efficient maid, helping Kimmie out of the fancy dress quickly and not having much to do other than carefully hang up her fancy dress as the Were-cat female dressed in something much less expensive and much less remarkable. Kimmie smoothed the wool skirts of her simple peasant dress with her paws as her tail slashed back and forth several times in rapid succession, a trick every Were-cat used to flatten the clothes down to the base of the tail.

  "There, that's better," she said. "I felt like I was about to fall out of that dress."

  "It had a good view, at least," Tarrin told her.

  "Maybe I should lower the neckline of my other dresses," she mused with a sly look and a wink in his direction.

  "If you take it off, I'll see much more."

  "But then everyone else will see too."

  "So?"

  "It doesn't bother me, but you know how it tends to stop traffic," she said with a teasing smile. "As much as I like parading around naked for you, Tarrin, we have to keep the local customs in mind, you know. As soon as we visit a place where everyone goes naked, I'll be happy to do it for you."

  Tarrin chuckled. "Are we ready to go now?"

  "I think so, unless I've got something hanging out," she said, turning unnaturally far, twisting her back like a pretzel, and looking down at her lower back and bottom. Amber gave a rather wild look at Kimmie as she turned on herself to inspect the back of her skirts. Tarrin sometimes forgot that Were-cats had a much wider range of motion than other races.

  "We're ready to go, Amber," Tarrin told the maid as Kimmie untwisted herself.

  The wolf Wikuni led them to a small, cozy little dining room on the fifth floor, that had a huge window overlooking the harbor. It lacked the overwhelming decorations of most of the other rooms, with rich wood panelling covering the walls that happened to have nothing covering it up. Keritanima sat facing the window at a large circular table, with Binter and Sisska standing at either side of her chair. All the others were there, but to Tarrin's surprise, Rallix was also present, seated at the Queen's right. Tarrin took one look at the badger and saw his discomfort.

  "It's about time," Keritanima said, looking at them. "This explains why my page couldn't find you, Kimmie," she added.

  "You should have known where to look for me, your Majesty," the Were-cat female said patiently.

  "I should have at that," she chuckled. "Sit down, please. Now that you're here, we can eat." She glancd at Rallix. "Oh, Tarrin, Kimmie, may I present Rallix. Rallix, this is Tarrin Kael and Kimmie, Phandebrass' student."

  The badger stood and bowed to them as Tarrin and Kimmie approached, then held out his hand and shook Tarrin's paw. That close to him, Tarrin could smell Keritanima all over him, and it wasn't just his clothes. Her scent was plastered all over him. Tarrin leaned in a little closer and analyzed that latent scent, making Rallix distinctly uncomfortable when he realized that the large, imposing Were-cat male was actually smelling him. "Uh, a pleasure," Rallix said nervously.

  "What are you doing, Tarrin?" Keritanima demanded.

  "You should have cleaned him up a little better, Kerri," Tarrin said pointedly.

  Kimmie glanced at him, then she too leaned in and took a whiff of Rallix's fur. Then she laughed. "Soap gets that out every time," she told the Queen with a sly smile.

  The fur on Keritanima's face literally stood on end. She glared at the two Were-cats viciously, then laughed in spite of herself. "Alright, you caught me. I've been a naughty little queen. Now sit down so we can eat." Tarrin and Kimmie sat down between Allia and Dolanna as Keritanima regained her composure. "Soap, you say?" she asked Kimmie conversationally. "We don't use soap often. It makes the fur dry and flaky and hard to manage."

  "Soap washes out almost any smell," Kimmie told her confidently.

  "I never smelled anything."

  "The hardest scent to make out is your own," Tarrin told her calmly. "Since it's always in your nose, it's almost impossible to make it out on something else."

  "What are you talking about?" Dar asked.

  "If you have to ask, then you're too young," Camara Tal said bluntly.

  Dar looked at the fox Wikuni. "Kerri!" he suddenly gasped.

  Keritanima laughed. "Shut up, Dar," she called at him. "Now, first things first. Rallix here has graciously accepted my offer of marriage."

  "She didn't waste any time," Tarrin told Allia.

  "Not a moment," Allia agreed.

  "Seeing as how I threatened to throw him in the dungeon if he refused, I think he made the right choice, don't you?"

  "Her Majesty is quite an effective bully," Rallix said mildly, still looking a little wild-eyed.

  "What happened to all that talk of courtship and stuff?" Dar asked.

  "That was when I thought we had all sorts of time," Keritanima grunted. "Truth is, we're going to be very busy for a long time, so I decided to take what I can get right now and worry about what I'm missing when I have the time to reflect on it. Besides, marrying Rallix is going to put him in the Palace and under the protection of the Royal Guard. When I invited him to the ball last night, I all but put a big target on his back. This way I can protect him."

  "You're going to cause a row," Tarrin warned.

  "I caused that last night," she shrugged. "I revealed the fact that I'm actually Lizelle Sailmender, and I incorporated her assets into my own. Since Rallix and Lizelle have had a working relationship for such a long time, it probably won't shock anyone when they receive the invitations to my reception tonight. They'll all think that Rallix wooed the young and impressionable daughter of the King without knowing who she was."

  Rallix visibly winced.

  "Tonight?" Tarrin asked. "You really aren't wasting any time, are you?"

  "It's not going to be a state function," she said quickly. "At least not the first time. We'll have a big state wedding, but that will come later. Tonight will be a simple ceremony with a priest of Kikalli, just to make it legal under the law. Oh, yes. Binter, would you ask sashka to come see me? I want to arrange a Vendari bodyguard for Rallix."

  "Immediately, your Majesty," Binter said in his bass voice, then he turned and marched out of the room, being careful not to slam the door behind him.

  "I say, you don't have to sit there in silence, my boy," Phandebrass told Rallix with a grin. "We're all family here. A somewhat strange family, to be sure, but we're a family, we are."

  "You're getting out easy, Rallix," Dar grinned. "Kerri had all sorts of nasty plans for you."

  "Her Majesty laid out my options rather clearly, Lord Dar," Rallix said in that same mild tone. "Or lack of them," he added with a slight smile. "She made it all sound like a
business arrangement. At least that was beforehand."

  "Yes, well," Keritanima said with a smug little smile. "I can now say happily that I completely understand what I've been missing, Tarrin. I should have married Rallix years ago."

  "Who says you have to marry?" Tarrin asked her.

  "Well, things work a little different around here," she told him. "Rallix won't think he's getting a spoiled bride, since he's the one who spoiled me."

  Rallix stared directly at his plate.

  "Since no one else has said it, allow me to congratulate you, Kerri," Dolanna said with a warm smile.

  "Yes, hear hear, congratulations," Phandebrass agreed.

  Tarrin glanced at Miranda, who had a mysterious smile on her face. She looked at him, then gave him a sly wink. "The first rule around here is speak your mind, Rallix," Tarrin told him. "That being said, just what did Kerri do?"

  "Well, as I said, she made it sound like a business arrangement," he answered. "She called me into her study after the ball and explained that she needed to marry me to secure her position, protect me, and protect our merchant company. She made it sound as if it would be a marriage on paper, and promised that she could have it annulled at any time. Under those conditions, I agreed. That's when she made it clear that she did not think of it as a business arrangement," he said with his face fur ruffling. "I admit, I do have rather fond feelings for her Majesty, but I had no idea she felt that way."

  Dar laughed. "You got his name on the contract without revealing the whole deal!" he proclaimed. "Kerri, that's awful!"

  "I am a Wikuni," she said smugly. "I out-bargained him, plain and simple. To put it bluntly, I swindled him out of his socks." She put a hand on his arm fondly. "I think he'll get over it. He's already found out how affectionate I can be, and I know he likes me. He'll get used to it. He'd better, because he's mine now," she added with a victorious look.

  "Her Majesty is an effective bully," Rallix repeated.

  "You already said that, and I'd appreciate it if you called me by my name," Keritanima told him. "I'll go crazy if I hear nothing but 'your Majesty' for the next fifty years."

  "Yes, Keritanima," he said with a slight smile.

  "Kerri!" she shouted at him.

  "That seems a bit too personal, Keritanima."

  She glared at him. "I'd think that'd be a moot point by now, Rallix!"

  Tarrin looked at Rallix, and realized that he was playing with her. He wasn't as stuffy as he seemed, he noted. Keritanima had got the better of him, and now he was making her pay for it. Tarrin screened out all the other scents in the room and concentrated on his, and found that his scent became quite agreeable whenever he looked at Keritanima. The amount of information that could be passed along by a scent was considerable, and it was enough for Tarrin to understand that Rallix felt more than fondness for Keritanima. Keritanima had told him all about Rallix, and how he had kept working for her even after he'd learned who she was. Rallix could have made alot of money by turning her in, or by taking over the business after Keritanima ran away from her father, when Lizelle wouldn't be around anymore to see to the business. Rallix had had any number of opportunities to turn her in or sabotage her or take over what was hers, but he did not. He had been loyal to Keritanima through it all, and that loyalty was based on more than a simple ethical position. Rallix himself may not know it, but he loved Keritanima, very much so, and it was that love that had kept him so faithful to Keritanima's interests.

  Tarrin looked at Rallix, then looked at Keritanima. They were both intelligent, headstrong, and stubborn. Once he got used to the idea of being married to her, Rallix wouldn't be intimidated by her position or her crown. That was going to be a very lively relationship.

  Dar laughed again. "It's a good thing you got it on paper. He may have ran away."

  "You're just jealous because I got mine," Keritanima said with a nasty smile. "What did Tiella say when you asked her out?"

  Dar glared at Keritanima.

  "That is enough, both of you," Dolanna said mildly. "If this is the main part of the business you needed to tend here, may I ask when we are leaving?"

  "Tomorrow morning," she replied. "I've cleared my desk of all the important things, and sashka can handle the rest, with Rallix's help."

  "Me?" he said in surprise.

  "Of course you, silly," she told him. "You're a fantastic businessman, Rallix, and running the government is alot like running a business. After sashka gives you some background information, I'm sure that you'll do just fine in your new position as Minister of State."

  "You never mentioned this, your Majesty," he said in a business-like tone. "Who is going to look after our business interests?"

  "Didn't you hire Veldo last year? Veldo is an excellent administrator, Rallix. He'll do just fine running Twenty Seas as long as you go over there from time to time and help him with the important issues, the same way I used to come over and clear the in-box of all the important things."

  "That was different, your Majesty--"

  "Kerri!" she snapped at him.

  "Kerri," he corrected calmly. "You own the company. You had to sign off on those decisions."

  "And now you own the company with me," she reminded him. "You have the authority to sign off on anything you want, Rallix. It's not like I never trusted you to make important decisions, you know."

  "Oh. I didn't consider that." He paused. "Since you've absorbed the TwentySeas under your true name, have you considered something?"

  "What?"

  "Well, before you changed the law, the nobility didn't have to pay taxes. Since you can prove that you were the true owner of the TwentySeas operating under an assumed name, you should be able to recover all the taxes you paid retroactively, since past law is still binding on legal issues dealing with that time frame. It would be an impressive amount, your--ah, Kerri. Five years, given the profits we made? I doubt the Royal Treasury could cover the refund."

  Keritanima laughed. "Are you trying to get me to break the Royal Bank, Rallix?"

  "It's more of the state paying back what it legally owes to you, Kerri. Besides, with that much operating capital, I could put some of the noble merchant companies out of business," he said, his ears seeming to twitch slightly.

  "I see you're still out to put everyone else under," Keritanima laughed. "Alright, I'll have a barrister look into it. You realize that I'll be paying myself, don't you?"

  "At least it will be money going from government control to personal control," he said. "You won't have to account for it under the new legal system."

  "I don't account for it now," she chided. "The Royal Treasury won't go under Parliament control until after both houses are seated. Legally, every copper bit in the treasury still belongs to me. Since the nobles keep dragging their feet, they're forcing me to handle the kingdom's economics."

  "You should not have given that power to this new Parliament, Kerri," Rallix told her.

  "Four hundred minds are better than one, Rallix," she told him. "It may look a little chancy now, but trust me. In fifty years, we'll be better off for it. In fifty years, our economy is going to be so large and complicated that we'll need a group of educated Wikuni watching over it."

  "I hope so."

  "Is it alot of money?" Dar asked.

  "The treasury?" Keritanima asked. "The last time it was audited, I think there was about eighty million nobles available."

  "Woah," Dar said. "And that's all yours?"

  "Master Dar, you're looking at the richest woman in the world," Rallix told him mildly. "Now that she's absorbed all her assets listed under her assumed name, her combined worth is greater than many kingdoms, and that's before taking the money in the treasury into account."

  "The money in the treasury is actually Wikuna's money, Dar," Keritanima told him. "You saw all those street projects out there when we rode in from the docks? I pay for all that out of the treasury. I also maintain a very large, very expensive navy and fund alot of additional projects,
like the Ministry of Science and the Intelligence Service."

  "I knew that, but in Arkis, the Emperor doesn't actually own the treasury. If he tried to take all the money, the kaisra would revolt."

  Tarrin knew that term. Kaisra was an Arakite term meaning nobility, but in Arkis it referred to the assorted noble houses.

  "I'm sure that if I emptied out the treasury, the noble houses here would revolt too," Keritanima chuckled. "Paying for the kingdom is the monarch's responsibility."

  "So your system is alot like ours."

  "For now. When I finally manage to get the new system working, the treasury will be controlled by Parliament. It will be their job to pay for everything."

  "You're giving the money to this Parliament?"

  "No, I'm giving them the ability to propose spending ideas," she explained. "Actually, the final authority when it comes to making spending decisions will be mine, but they'll have to approve those ideas."

  "But you just said that Parliament is going to control the treasury," Dar said in confusion.

  "It works like this, Dar. Either I or an agent I authorize will prepare an operating budget for the kingdom for the year. The Parliament will look at it and either approve it or disapprove it, and they can also change certain things, remove some things, or add some things. If they change things, I have to approve the changes. So in reality, it will take both them and me to pass a budget. This way, I get valuable input from Parliament about some things, but they can't slip anything by me, since I have to sign off on the budget as well."

  "Strange system," Dar grunted.

  "Wikuna is getting too large for the monarch to make all the decisions," Keritanima said. "Yar Arak and Nyr have beauracracies to help the Emperors, and the other kingdoms are too small to be that burdened by their sizes. This system is going to work very well as we grow, because it involves everyone in the decision making process, not just a king or queen, and it delegates authority in a way that allows small sections of the kingdom to run themselves without too much supervision."