The princess looked at the motherly little woman, a bit startled by the iron in her voice. Obediently she went to the bench and sat.
‘You really should stop interpreting everything that happens in the world as a personal insult, you know,’ Layla told her. ‘That’s a very unbecoming habit. What Garion, Belgarath, and Kheldar did has absolutely nothing to do with you.’ She looked sternly at Ce’Nedra. ‘Do you know anything at all about the Prophecy?’
‘I’ve heard about it,’ Ce’Nedra sulked. ‘Tolnedrans don’t really believe in that sort of thing.’
‘Perhaps that’s the problem,’ Layla said. ‘I want you to listen very carefully, Ce’Nedra. You may not believe, but you will understand.’ The queen thought for a moment. ‘The Prophecy clearly states that when the Rivan King returns, Torak will awaken.’
‘Torak? That’s nonsense. Torak’s dead.’
‘Don’t interrupt, dear,’ Layla told her. ‘You travelled with them for all that time and you still don’t understand? For a little girl who seems so bright, you’re remarkably dense.’
Ce’Nedra flushed at that.
‘Torak is a God, Ce’Nedra,’ Layla continued. ‘He’s asleep, not dead. He did not die at Vo Mimbre, much as some people might like to think he did. The instant that Garion touched the Orb, Torak began to stir. Haven’t you ever wondered why Polgara insisted that Errand carry the Orb back from Rak Cthol? Garion could have carried it just as easily, you know.’
Ce’Nedra hadn’t thought of that.
‘But if Garion had touched it – still on Angarak soil and without his sword – Torak might very well have jumped up and gone after him immediately, and Garion would have been killed.’
‘Killed?’ Ce’Nedra gasped.
‘Of course, dear. That’s what this is all about. The Prophecy says that Torak and the Rivan King will eventually meet, and that in their meeting shall be decided the fate of mankind.’
‘Garion?’ Ce’Nedra exclaimed, stunned and disbelieving. ‘Surely you’re not serious?’
‘I’ve never been more serious in my life, child. Garion has to fight Torak – to the death – to decide the fate of the world. Now do you understand? That’s why Belgarath and Kheldar and Garion left Riva so suddenly. They’re on their way to Mallorea so that Garion can fight Torak. He could have taken an army with him, but he knew that would only cause needless deaths. That’s why the three of them went alone. Now don’t you think it’s time that you grew up just a little bit?’
Ce’Nedra was greatly subdued after her conversation with Queen Layla. For perhaps the first time in her life, she began to think more about someone else than she did about herself. She worried constantly about Garion, and at night she had dreadful nightmares about the hideous things that could happen to him.
To make matters worse, there seemed to be a persistent buzzing in her ears that was at times quite maddening. It was rather like the sound of voices coming from a long way off – voices that verged just on the edge of being understandable, but never quite were. The buzzing sound, coupled with her anxiety about Garion, made her moody and frequently short-tempered. Even Adara began to avoid her.
The irritating sound in her ears continued for several days before she discovered, quite by accident, the significance of it. The weather on the Isle of the Winds was never really very good, and spring was a particularly unpredictable time of year. A series of storms, following one after another in dreary progression, lashed at the rocky coast, and nasty little rain squalls swept the city and the island. One somber, rainy morning the princess sat in her chambers looking glumly out the window at the soggy garden. The fire which crackled on her hearth did little to warm her mood. After a while she sighed and, for want of anything better to do, she sat at her dressing table and began to brush her hair.
The silver flicker at her throat distracted her eye momentarily as she looked at herself in the mirror. It was the medallion Garion had given her just after her birthday. She had by now grown accustomed to its being there, though the fact that she could not take it off still caused her periodic fits of anger. Without actually thinking about it, she stopped brushing and touched the amulet with her fingertips.
‘– but we can’t do a thing until the Arends and the Tolnedrans are fully mobilized.’ It was the voice of King Rhodar of Drasnia. Ce’Nedra started and turned quickly, wondering why the portly monarch had entered her room. As soon as she removed her fingers from the silver amulet, the voice stopped. Ce’Nedra looked around, puzzled. She frowned and touched the amulet again. ‘No, no,’ another voice said, ‘you don’t add the spices until after it starts to boil.’ Ce’Nedra again removed her fingertips from the talisman at her throat, and that voice too stopped abruptly. Fascinated, she touched it for the third time. ‘You make up the bed, and I’ll straighten up. We’ll have to hurry. The Queen of Cherek might come back at any minute.’
Wonderingly, the princess touched the amulet again and again, and her ears ranged randomly through the Citadel.
‘The fire’s too hot. This iron will scorch anything it touches.’
Then she heard a snatch of whispered conversation. ‘What if somebody comes?’ It was a girl’s voice.
‘Nobody’s going to come.’ The young man’s voice which replied had a peculiar wheedling quality. ‘We’re all safe and cozy here, and I really do love you.’
Ce’Nedra quickly jerked her fingers from the amulet, blushing furiously.
At first there was no direction to it; but as the princess experimented, she gradually learned to focus this peculiar phenomenon. After a couple of hours of intense concentration, she found that she could skim rapidly through all the talking that was going on in a given quarter of the Citadel until she found a conversation that interested her. In the process she learned many secrets, some very interesting, and some not very nice. She knew that she should feel guilty about her surreptitious eavesdropping, but for some reason she did not.
‘Thy reasoning is sound, your Majesty.’ It was Mandorallen’s voice. ‘King Korodullin is committed to the cause, though it will take some weeks for his call to arms to gather the forces of Arendia. Our major concern must be the position the Emperor will take in the affair. Without the legions, our situation is perilous.’
‘Ran Borune has no choice in the matter,’ King Anheg declared. ‘He’s bound by the provisions of the Accords of Vo Mimbre.’
Brand, the Rivan Warder, cleared his throat. ‘I don’t think it’s that simple, your Majesty,’ he said quietly in his deep voice. ‘The Accords state that the Kingdoms of the West must respond to a call from the Rivan King, and Belgarion is not here to issue that call.’
‘We’re acting in his behalf,’ King Cho-Hag asserted.
‘The problem lies in convincing Ran Borune of that,’ Rhodar pointed out. ‘I know the Tolnedrans. They’ll have whole battalions of legal experts working on the Accords. Unless Belgarion himself meets Ran Borune face to face and issues his command in person, the Emperor will take the position that he’s not legally bound to join us. The Rivan King is the only one who can issue a call to war.’
Ce’Nedra let her fingertips drop from the amulet at her throat. An idea was beginning to take shape in her mind. It was an exciting idea, but she was not at all certain that she could bring it off. Alorns, she knew, were stubborn and reluctant to accept any new ideas. She quickly laid aside her hairbrush and went to a small chest standing against the wall near the window. She opened the chest and began rummaging through it. After a moment she found the tightly rolled parchment she had been seeking. She unrolled it and read through it quickly until she found the passage she wanted. She read it carefully several times. It seemed to say what she wanted it to say.
She considered the idea throughout the rest of the day. The possibility that anyone might succeed in catching up with Garion and stopping him was remote, to say the very least. Belgarath and Prince Kheldar were too skilled at evasion to allow themselves to be easily caught. Chasing them was simply a wa
ste of time. Since Polgara was not yet rational enough to see things in this light, it fell to Ce’Nedra to take immediate steps to minimize Garion’s danger once he had entered the lands of the Angaraks. All she had to do now was convince the Alorn Kings that she was the logical one to take those steps.
It was still raining the next morning, and she rose early to make her preparations. She must, of course, look positively regal. Her choice of an emerald velvet gown and matching cape was artful. She knew that she was stunning in green, and her circlet of gold oak leaves was enough like a crown to convey the right suggestion. She was glad she had waited until morning. Men were easier to deal with in the morning, she had discovered. They would fight her at first, and she wanted the idea implanted in their minds before they were fully awake. As she gave herself a last-minute check in the tall mirror in her dressing room, she gathered her determination and marshalled all her arguments. The slightest objection must be met instantly. Carefully she put herself in an imperial frame of mind and, taking the rolled parchment, she moved toward the door.
The council chamber in which the Alorn Kings usually gathered was a large room high up in one of the massive towers of the Citadel. There were heavy beams on the ceiling, a deep maroon carpet on the floor, and a fireplace at the far end big enough to stand in. Maroon drapes flanked the windows where tatters of rain slashed across the solid stones of the tower. The walls of the chamber were covered with maps, and the large table was littered with parchments and ale cups. King Anheg, in his blue robe and dented crown, sprawled in the nearest chair, as shaggy and brutish-looking as always. King Rhodar was vast in his crimson mantle, but the other kings and generals wore rather plain clothing.
Ce’Nedra entered the chamber without knocking and stared regally at the somewhat confused men who struggled to their feet in acknowledgment of her presence.
‘Your Highness,’ King Rhodar began with a portly bow. ‘You honor us. Was there—’
‘Your Majesty,’ she responded with a little curtsy, ‘and gentlemen, I find that I need your advice in a matter of state.’
‘We are all at your immediate disposal, your Highness,’ King Rhodar replied with a sly little twinkle in his eyes.
‘In the absence of King Belgarion, it appears that I must act in his stead,’ Ce’Nedra announced, ‘and I need your advice on how to proceed. I wish the transfer of power into my hands to go as smoothly as possible.’
They all stared at her disbelievingly.
King Rhodar recovered his wits first. ‘An interesting proposal, your Highness,’ he murmured politely. ‘We have, however, made other arrangements. There’s a long-standing precedent in the matter. We thank your Highness for her gracious offer nonetheless.’
‘It was not precisely an offer, your Majesty,’ Ce’Nedra told him, ‘and any previous precedents have been superseded.’
King Anheg was spluttering, but Rhodar was already moving along smoothly. Ce’Nedra realized that the rotund Drasnian king was likely to be her most serious adversary – or her most effective ally. ‘We’d all be fascinated to examine the instrument vesting your Highness with royal authority,’ he said. ‘I presume that the parchment you carry is relevant?’
‘It is indeed, your Majesty,’ Ce’Nedra declared. ‘The document quite clearly lists my responsibilities.’
‘May I?’ Rhodar asked, extending his hand.
Ce’Nedra handed him the parchment and he carefully unrolled it. ‘Uh – your Highness. This is your betrothal agreement. Perhaps you meant to bring a different document.’
‘The pertinent material is contained in the fourth paragraph, your Majesty.’
Rhodar quickly read the paragraph, frowning slightly.
‘What does it say, Rhodar?’ King Anheg asked impatiently.
‘Interesting,’ Rhodar murmured, scratching his ear.
‘Rhodar,’ Anheg complained, ‘what does it say?’
King Rhodar cleared his throat and began to read aloud. ‘“It is agreed that King Belgarion and his Queen shall rule jointly, and that in his absence shall she assume fully the duties and authority of the Rivan Throne.”’
‘Let me see that,’ Anheg demanded, snatching the parchment from Rhodar.
‘It doesn’t mean anything,’ Brand declared. ‘She isn’t his queen yet. She won’t be until after the wedding.’
‘That’s only a formality, my Lord Warder,’ Ce’Nedra told him.
‘A rather important one, I’d say,’ he retorted.
‘The precedent is well-established,’ she said coolly. ‘When a king dies, the next in line assumes the duties of the crown doesn’t he, even though there hasn’t been a formal coronation?’
‘That’s different,’ Brand growled.
‘I fail to see the difference, my Lord. I have been designated Belgarion’s co-ruler. In his absence or an emergency I am obliged to take command. It is my right and my responsibility. The formalities may have to wait, but I am the Rivan Queen. This is King Belgarion’s will and intent. Will you defy your king?’
‘There’s something to what she says, my Lord Warder,’ the Earl of Seline mused. ‘The document is quite clear.’
‘But look at this,’ Anheg said triumphantly. ‘In paragraph two it says that should the wedding not take place, all gifts are to be returned. The wedding has not taken place.’
‘I’m not sure that power is a gift, Anheg,’ King Fulrach suggested. ‘You can’t give it and then take it back.’
‘There’s no way she could rule,’ Anheg declared stubbornly. ‘She doesn’t know the first thing about Alorns.’
‘Neither did Garion,’ King Cho-Hag murmured in his quiet voice. ‘She can learn the same way he did.’
Ce’Nedra had been rather carefully assessing their mood. Most of them seemed willing at least to consider her idea. Only the two conservatives, Brand and Anheg, were actually resisting. It seemed the time now for a dignified withdrawal coupled with a disarming offer. ‘I will leave you gentlemen to discuss the matter,’ she declared somewhat loftily. ‘I would like you to know, however, that I realize the gravity of the situation confronting the West.’ She deliberately put on a winsome, little-girl face. ‘I’m only a young girl,’ she confessed, ‘unused to the intricacies of strategy and tactics. I could never make any decisions in that area without the fullest advice from you gentlemen.’
She curtsied then to King Rhodar, choosing him deliberately. ‘Your Majesty,’ she said, ‘I shall await your decision.’
He bowed in response, a bit floridly. ‘Your Majesty,’ he replied with a sly wink.
Ce’Nedra retired and literally flew down the corridors to her own quarters. Breathlessly she closed the door behind her and touched the talisman at her throat with trembling fingertips. She sorted quickly through random conversation until she found the one she wanted.
‘– refuse to be a party to an absurdity,’ Anheg was saying.
‘Anheg, my friend,’ King Fulrach of Sendaria said with surprising firmness, ‘you are my dear brother king, but you do have a few blind spots. Wouldn’t it be more statesmanlike to consider the advantages and disadvantages of the situation dispassionately?’
‘The Alorns will never follow her,’ Anheg declared. ‘That’s a major disadvantage right there.’
‘The Alorns will follow us, though,’ King Cho-Hag said quietly. ‘She’s only going to be a figurehead, after all – a symbol of unity.’
‘I suspect that Cho-Hag’s hit the exact point we should examine most closely,’ King Rhodar urged. ‘My apologies, Baron Mandorallen, but the Arends are totally disunited. Asturia and Mimbre are hovering on the verge of reopening hostilities, and a call from King Korodullin could very possibly be ignored in northern Arendia – in which case the Mimbrate knights would almost be compelled to stay home to defend against possible Asturian uprisings. We have to have someone who can make them forget their squabbles and join with us. We need the Asturian bowmen and the Mimbrate knights.’
‘I must sadly concur, yo
ur Majesty,’ Mandorallen agreed. ‘My poor Arendia must needs be united in one cause from the outside. We are not wise enough to unify ourselves.’
‘Ce’Nedra can serve us there as well as Garion could have done,’ Barak reasoned. ‘I don’t think anybody expected him to be a general. All we were going to do was put a crown on him and let him ride at the head of the army – and Arends get all gushy and romantic about pretty girls. That betrothal document makes her claim at least semi-legitimate. All we’d have to do is act as if we accepted her and talk very fast. Add the prospect of a nice little war someplace, and the Arends will unite behind us, I think.’
‘The main point to consider, though,’ King Rhodar emphasized, ‘is the impact she’s going to have in Tolnedra. Ran Borune dotes on her, and he might agree to lend her his legions – at least some of them – which he’d never do, if we were the ones asking it of him. He’ll see the political advantage of having her in command almost immediately. We need those legions. I personally don’t like Tolnedrans, but the legions are the finest fighting force in the world. I’ll bend my knee to Ce’Nedra if I have to in order to get them. Let her play queen if she wants to.’
Ce’Nedra smiled. Things were going even better than she had expected. All in all, she was quite pleased with herself as she sat down at her dressing table and began to brush her hair, humming softly all the while.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Delban the armorer was a gruff, bald man with broad shoulders, huge callused hands and a grizzled beard. He was a craftsman, an artist, and he had absolutely no respect for anyone. Ce’Nedra found him to be impossible.
‘I don’t make armor for women,’ was his initial response to her inquiry when she, accompanied by Durnik the smith, entered his workshop. He had then turned his back on her and begun pounding noisily on a sheet of glowing steel. It took the better part of an hour to convince him even to consider the idea. The heat shimmered out from his glowing forge, and the red brick walls seemed to reflect the heat and intensify it. Ce’Nedra found herself perspiring heavily. She had made some sketches of what she thought might be a suitable design for her armor. All in all, she thought it would look rather nice, but Delban laughed raucously when he saw them.
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