Rook

by Robin Roseau

  Then we sat, with Tradódid acting as host. That amused me, as technically it was my home, well, one of my homes, but I was more than happy to relax and let him see to our needs.

  “Well,” said Mesenorié, “While your surprises were much bigger, I bet you were surprised to see us.”

  “That’s a safe guess,” I said. “I thought it likely Prodótar would meet us, although he hadn’t confirmed.” I turned to the man in question. “While I definitely appreciate what you do for me here, you know you don’t have to meet me.”

  “For all the reasons you pointed out six years ago,” he explained, “Yes, I do need to come. I time my twice annual visits this way, arriving a few days early to look things over. That way I get my questions answered before you arrive with your own.” He smiled. “Don’t worry. You pay me well.”

  I laughed. “I suppose I do.” I turned back to the queen. “So. Surprises. Are you traveling to the Heart of the Goddess with us?”

  “No. We’re doing our own tour of Alteara. We haven’t done this in several years, and we’re due. We hoped you and the Goddess would catch up with us. But now we don’t know if you’ll be free to do so, given your own surprises.”

  “Do you mean Queen Ralalta or our new acolytes?”

  “Both, I suppose.” She looked at Ralalta. “You would be welcome to join us. If so, we’d prefer you travel openly.”

  “Do I need to decide immediately?”

  “No.”

  “How long a tour?”

  “We hoped for the entire summer,” Tradódid said.

  Ralalta sucked air in and then leaned back in her chair, staring into space for a while. No one said anything while she thought about it. When finally she spoke, she had additional questions. “What are the arrangements?”

  “We travel with a partial troop,” Mesenorié said, “although there’s another troop and a half in the area, some in advance, some flanking us, an hour or two to either side.”

  “Do you stay at inns?” I asked.

  “No, but we have very comfortable pavilions. The wagons are slow, so we actually have three complete sets, and we send them ahead to establish camp. This lets our main troop travel more efficiently.”

  “Carriages or mounted?”

  “We’ve done both. The roads have been wet, but they’re drying. You would need to ride until you caught up with us, but we can have carriages waiting.”

  I looked at Ralalta. She was still staring into space. Finally she turned to me. “What are your intentions?”

  “I need to talk to the Goddess,” I said. “I don’t know if I want to bring a six- and seven-year-old on such a long tour. And I do not know how the Queen of Framara feels about my being gone so long.”

  “The Queen of Framara understands you have divided responsibilities,” Ralalta said. She turned back to Mesenorié. “I must write Juleena.”

  “We’ll see to delivery,” Mesenorié promised. “And we have a tentative route and schedule we can give you.”

  “Are you sure you want me along?”

  “You would be very welcome,” Tradódid said.

  “I think...” she said, trailing off and looking into space again. Finally she said, “I think I should talk to the Goddess.”

  Mesenorié laughed. “That is the best advice I could offer anyone.”

  * * * *

  We didn’t take everyone on our tour of Indorítanda, but still we formed an unwieldy troop. I let Prodótar decide where we were going, but he had learned much about me, and we began with my immediate lands, which meant the pastures where my Arrlottan horses stayed.

  I took one look. “They’re fat. Isn’t anyone riding them?”

  “They’re not fat.”

  “Look at Zana,” I said. “She is perfect, and Hamper nearly perfect. Now look at them.” I sighed. “No one is giving them exercise.”

  “I assure you, Lady Yallameenara,” said the head groom. “They are not fat.”

  “Fine,” I said. “Zana isn’t as fast as she used to be. Pick one. We’ll race. If you win, I’ll be quiet.”

  He didn’t take my challenge, but he muttered, “They run all over these fields. They aren’t fat.”

  I huffed and slipped through the fence, walking two dozen paces into the pasture. I waited a moment, my hands out from my sides. Then I whistled.

  Zana answered me, and she sounded annoyed. I was fraternizing with other horses, and even if they were Arrlottan, they weren’t from her herd. I offered a silent apology.

  The others didn’t all answer me, but a few did, and then four walked slowly to me. Zana and Hamper would have trotted, but at least they’d come. I went from one to the next, speaking in quiet Arrlottan and blowing into their noses. They tossed their heads and nudged at me.

  I picked one, but then I wasn’t sure if I could jump aboard, and I sighed. They weren’t the only ones who had grown soft. So I led the horse back to the fence, using a rail to climb aboard. She danced under me a little, but she let me climb onto her back. And then I called out, “Hai! Hai!”

  And we were off.

  She ran well and was responsive besides. And, of course, we weren’t alone, as the others who had come to me chased after, and then the rest of the herd after all of us.

  I ran a big loop of the pasture, then a second, finally slowing after one and a half circles. My mount danced and bucked just a little, snorting, but she was a good horse, and she was only expressing her joy. I leaned over her neck and whispered to her, “You’re a sweet thing, aren’t you?”

  I finished the circle, coming to a stop near the fence and looking over to the head groom. “Is anyone riding them or not?”

  “Some of the lads have,” he said. “Perhaps a bit more lately.”

  I studied him carefully. He was telling me more than I wanted to know, I thought. And so, on a hunch, I spoke Framaran to my temporary mount. That is, I offered a weight shift that Zana wouldn’t recognize, but a Framaran horse would.

  And she responded properly.

  I narrowed my eyes at the groom, but one test wasn’t proof. So, slowly, I offered a few signals. She responded to perhaps half, and I wasn’t sure if she ignored the other half because she hadn’t been taught, or because I was doing them incorrectly. Or maybe Framaran horses learn different signals than Altearan after all, and I hadn’t learned those differences.

  “Prodótar,” I said. “Did you assign someone to train my horses?”

  “No, Lady Yallameenara,” he said.

  “Did you see what I just did?”

  “No.”

  “Are you angry, Yalla?” Ralalta asked carefully.

  “I haven’t decided. Someone has been training my horses. I purposely avoided signals that conflict with Arrlottan signals, but what is going to happen when I do this?”

  I offered a signal that in Arrlottan means to rear slightly and spin around. It was something I could do bareback. But it turns out I couldn’t do the Framaran equivalent, and I’m not sure if I could have been more embarrassed when I found myself flat on my back, staring up at the sky.

  “Yalla!” Alta and Ralalta yelled together. Alta got to me first, but Ralalta wasn’t far behind, and my puzzled mount nuzzling me besides.

  “I’m fine,” I said.

  I let them help me up, and then Alta seemed to enjoy brushing off my backside. Then I turned to Prodótar. “Do you know what I did?”

  “You fell off a horse, but I’m not sure I’d have tried that bareback.”

  “Yes, well,” I said. I slipped through the fence and whistled to Zana. She trotted over, and I collected her reins. “Prodótar, climb up.”

  “Excuse me.”

  “Please.”

  “Lady Yallameenara.”

  “Please.”

  He stared into my eyes, but when I gestured, he moved to Zana’s side and carefully mounted her. I handed him the reins, but I held her just under her nose and led her further from everyone else, a hand up to indicate the rest should stay where th
ey were.

  “Tell Zana to do what that horse just did,” I said, stepping back. “I presume you won’t reproduce my performance.”

  “I should hope not,” I said.

  He nearly fell, as Zana did exactly what she should, and it wasn’t at all what Prodótar expected. I stepped forward and steadied her, and Prodótar glared down at me. “What was that?”

  “Conflicting signals,” I said. “Arrlottan horses know different signals from Framaran or Altearan horses. Someone taught my horse to follow Altearan signals. Prodótar, if I wanted them trained to speak Altearan, I would have arranged it.”

  I held Zana as the prince climbed down, then I let her go. Of course, she stayed close. But Prodótar turned to me. “How upset are you?”

  “That depends on how many they’ve ruined,” I said.

  “They aren’t ruined. They’re... bilingual.”

  “Cute,” I said. “I can’t put anyone on top of them. I don’t know what signals they’re going to follow. That wouldn’t matter for most things, but as you saw, it matters.”

  His lips thinned and he nodded. Then, together, we turned to the head groom.

  “Larent,” said the prince, “how many of these horses have been receiving training?”

  “None.”

  “Larent,” I said. “Are the grooms ruining all my horses or only some of them?”

  The man looked at me for a long time but then dropped his eyes. “The ones who came when you whistled are friendlier. No one meant any harm. We were just training them.”

  “You’re teaching them conflicting signals,” I replied.

  “You said you wanted them ridden.” Now he was beginning to sound sullen.

  “I taught all of you how to ride them when I brought them here,” I said. “Have you confused all of them?”

  “Only those four.” Now he wasn’t even meeting my eyes.

  “I see.” I wasn’t happy.

  Alta moved over to my side and whispered, “Don’t make any final decisions.”

  I turned to her, then I pulled Prodótar closer. “I don’t know what I want to do, but I don’t want them spoiling the training any more widely than they already have.” I stepped between both of them and advanced on the groom, who refused to meet my eye.

  “Larent, if I check the others, will I find more that now understand confused signals?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Are there others that you’ve been training?”

  “I haven’t been doing it. It’s some of the others.”

  “Larent, are there more than these four who have been trained the wrong signals?”

  “They’re the proper signals,” he muttered.

  If I weren’t already annoyed, that statement would certainly have done it. I stiffened, standing up as straight as I could, and moved into his personal space. “Do you know who I am?”

  “Of course.”

  “Say it.”

  “You are the High Priestess.”

  “What else?”

  “Um…”

  “She is the Lady Yallameenara,” Ralalta said for me. “Lady Ambassador of the Arrlotta, Beloved Granddaughter of Arrlottan Clan Chief Gandachardat, Valued Daughter of the Three Cats Tribe, Companion of Honor, Heart of the Wind, Duchess of Havenshade, High Priestess of the Goddess Yahamala, Duchess of Indorítanda. Do you know who the Arrlotta are?”

  “Ummm, the savages who live past the wizard’s gorge?”

  “Did you just call me a savage?” I screamed, and then I lost all my Altearan, and my Framaran as well. I began yelling at him in Arrlottan, borrowing a great many phrases I’d heard my grandfather use in the past.

  They let me go on for a minute, then Ralalta and Alta stepped up, but it took the addition of Larien and Terél to draw me away, turning me from the man and surrounding me while I tried to calm down.

  Alta brushed at my face, and I realized I had tears in my eyes.

  “My Daughter,” Ralalta said in a soft voice. “That was ignorance talking. That is all.” She glanced over her shoulder. “He’s over there wondering if he just lost his job.”

  “Good,” I said harshly.

  “Yalla,” she said, “In spite of a complete lack of diplomacy, is he a good head groom?”

  “He ruined my horses, Ralalta,” I complained. “I can’t let anyone else ride them now until I’ve checked each and every one myself, and that will take hours we don’t have today. I have far more important duties, more than I can count. This was supposed to solve a problem for me, not create new ones!”

  “Darling,” Alta said. “If this were only about mounts for you, you wouldn’t need two full herds.”

  “I want our children to know their heritage,” I said. “Is that wrong? And if you haven’t noticed, the Arrlottan horses have become popular with other members of our household, even if you and Juleena are afraid of them.”

  “We’re not afraid of them,” she said. “Like you, we don’t want to learn new signals. In an emergency, I want to trust my mount will understand me.”

  “That’s all I want.”

  “Perhaps it’s time you learned to speak Altearan.”

  I knew what she meant. She was telling me I should learn to ride their horses -- and train future mounts in the Altearan and Framaran style, and not the Arrlottan style. But if I did that, I couldn’t trade them back, mixing the bloodlines with the other clans. I couldn’t...

  I couldn’t...

  I couldn’t prove to my family that I was every bit the horse trader my grandfather was. A family I was never going to see again.

  Who was I trying to impress?

  And why?

  “Darling,” Alta said. “You’ve been trying for over five years to find someone to train your horses in the ways of the horse people. You don’t have time to do it yourself. But have you found anyone?” I didn’t say anything. “Maybe it’s time to take a pragmatic approach.”

  “That might be true, but if so, it’s my decision, not his.” I turned to face her fully. “I’ve learned enough languages. I don’t want to learn a new one to talk to my horses.”

  “Yalla, we have roles in our household. You have your duties; Juleena has hers; I have mine. My duties are to manage the household, so you and Juleena can do your other duties. And so, trust me and let me handle this.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I am going to ask you to trust me.”

  Of course I trusted her, and so I nodded.

  “You three, keep her,” Alta said. She turned away and headed to the groom, now standing alone and shifting from foot to foot. Ralalta, Larien, and Terél closed more tightly around me, but not so much I couldn’t watch what she did.

  “Larent,” Alta said. “Do you know who I am?”

  He gulped and nodded.

  “To be clear,” and she gestured to her parents. “Those are my parents. I’m sure you know who they are.”

  “Yes, Princess,” he said.

  “Good. You are not out of work. You are a good head groom or you wouldn’t be here. You are, however, clumsy of tongue, and I do not understand why you would tell a Girl of the Horse People she didn’t know how to properly train and ride her mounts.”

  “I didn’t mean-“

  “As I said,” Alta interrupted. “You are clumsy of tongue. You are going to very carefully note which of this herd have been taught any Altearan signals at all. They will be trained as you have begun, but you will not train any others in the same fashion. If they have not had their prior training muddied, you will not muddy it. Am I clear?”

  “Yes, Princess.”

  “You will personally ensure that when High Priestess Yallameenara visits, it is very clear which of her horses she shouldn’t herself ride, but that I might choose instead. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  “We can slip a different style halter on them,” he said. “If we know she’s coming.”

  “Good. These horses require riding and more exercis
e. You will see to it they get it, but in a fashion that does not throw off their training. That means if they are ridden, they are ridden by someone who uses Arrlottan signals as High Priestess Yallameenara has previously taught you, and only those signals she has taught you. Am I clear?”

  “Yes, Princess.”

  “If one of my wife’s horses ever throws her again because it received confused training, I will see to it you never serve as head groom here or anywhere inside either Alteara or Framara. Am I clear?”

  “You are clear, Princess.”

  “If word gets around one of her horses threw her, I will know who to hunt down. You may tell the others the High Priestess was displeased the grooms here disobeyed direct orders on how her herd was to be treated, if you like. I’m not sure how much I’d say. But you will promise me now that you will make absolutely positive you can identify which ones have had their training confused and we will not have a repeat incident.”

  “I will make sure, Princess. And I’m not a gossip.”

  “If you are, you know word will reach me,” said Alta.

  At least in Marport, one of the quickest ways to spread a rumor was to tell the grooms, so to have one say he wasn’t a gossip might have made me laugh, if I were in a laughing mood. But I thought his fear of Alta’s wrath might hold his tongue.

  Alta turned not to me but to Prodótar. “Did you have more you wanted to do here?”

  “I thought we’d tour the stables, but perhaps we should move on.”

  “Good choice.”

  * * * *

  Thankfully, that was the low point of the day. From there, we mounted up and headed towards the southern portion of my Duchy, traveling through several small villages on our way.

  There was actually quite a bit of a turnout, people showing up as our rather unwieldy progression moved through. A few times we saw people I’d met previously, so I stopped and spent a few minutes here and there. I knew the villagers wished I’d stay longer. Not only was I the Duchess, but I was also the High Priestess, traveling with two other priestesses. And, of course, the entire royal family of Alteara was with us. Little did they know that Ralalta was also along, albeit not yet traveling openly, although that would change.

  It was as we approached the third village that I pulled Zana up beside the Framaran Queen. “I want to ask you something.”