by LeRoy Clary
Their faces fell further. Tears appeared in Lady Grace’s eyes. She mumbled something that sounded like, “I’m sorry.”
I drew in a breath and gave them a few instants to think about their situation. Then I continued almost cheerily, “Okay, here is what you are going to do. You will begin a new draft. By the end of today, I will have a working draft in my hand as I’ve outlined. So that I may give up a few sacrificial items during the actual negotiations, you will include several of them, also. I don’t care what they are, even if you have to invent them, but if they are not excluded by Kondor, I want them beneficial to Dire.”
They retreated, almost defeated. I might have had sympathy if I hadn’t read the dribble they were prepared to send me with to face Kondor. Will was right. My anger rose.
I left my cabin in a whirl of rage, coupled with elated and optimistic surges of emotion. While I didn’t know all the answers, I at least knew what questions to begin asking. I was happy that even my staff had believed my lies about the mythical lands of the Kingdom of Angor and the Concordance of Palladium. They didn’t exist. However, if the residents of Dire didn’t know their existence was a lie, how would those in far-off Kondor? I needed to have substance to present to Kondor, and the belief that Dire had two other Kingdoms ready to defend her would help against any aggression or plans they might have to invade.
If I’m caught in the lie? I nearly stumbled out the door on to the ship’s deck. The motion of the ship had abruptly changed. The lean of the ship had increased. I imagined everything in my cabin sliding across the floor to one side. Again, I wondered about getting caught in a lie. It wouldn’t be the last time.
I gripped the railing and promised myself it wouldn’t happen. My people, the people of Dire, believed me. The wind was stronger, and I made my way down the rail while searching for Will. Instead, the ship’s purser emerged from an interior passage, paused after he latched the door against the stiff wind, and turned his head as he searched for something. That “something” must have been me because he headed right at me, nearly running in his determination to speak. His smile was the first I’d seen.
“Princess, have you heard?”
“Heard?”
He pointed. My eyes automatically followed his finger. It wasn’t what I saw, but what I didn’t. There was no line of dark clouds and flashing lightning along the horizon. Quickly, I oriented myself to be sure I faced south.
“The storm. It suddenly went away. One minute it was there, and the next it was gone. We’ve already turned south.”
“The captain sent you to tell me that?”
“He did.”
“Offer my thanks and keep me informed. Please request the captain to inform me of any changes as we sail to Vin.” I held his eyes as I talked, excited as a puppy with a new toy. My manner was not unpleasant, but the purser knew what I wanted. I hadn’t asked so much as informed the purser of what my demands were and what I expected.
My point being, I didn’t have to be rude to be decisive. However, I did need to impress upon people the fact that they needed to heed my wishes as if they were direct orders. I turned back to the rail. Now I had to look past the bow of the ship to see what lay south, as it should be.
Kendra’s name leaped into my mind. There had been rumors while we traveled together, rumors about her that I couldn’t believe. When I’d gone to Crestfallen for help, even more rumors emerged. Some were authenticated, and still hard to believe. The most disturbing was that she had somehow freed a true-dragon from chains and then used it to destroy the city of Mercia that clung to the side of a cliff between waterfalls. It had always been considered a magical place.
Several mages lived there, almost as many as were in Crestfallen. Wyvern flocked to the air above. Tales were whispered by servants and had been for generations. That is until my personal servant, and best friend visited Mercia and destroyed it, by using a dragon, the tales said. Kendra had somehow acquired a true-dragon? A creature she didn’t know existed weeks ago?
While those stories were unbelievable, other rumors told of her killing people who were trying to kill my father and overthrow the crown. They even had a double to replace the king.
A dragon had landed on their building in the Port of Mercia and smashed the building to splinters, along with the occupants. No other buildings were destroyed at the port, just the one. They were the sort of wild rumors usually heard on dark nights that were told by older children to scare or impress the younger ones. The problem was, they seemed to be true.
My servant and best friend destroyed a city with her pet dragon.
There was a whispered name of a Dragon Queen that was rumored to be Kendra, but more recently that name had become Dragon Tamer, and that name-change better fit Kendra. She didn’t wish to be queen, nor to step on my toes or our relationship. That she somehow told a dragon what to do should have been harder to believe—but was not.
I’d known Kendra most of my life and had always believed she would be a better princess than me. Part of me believed she was a lost princess from Kondor, so when the opportunity to travel there presented itself, I’d done my best to make sure she went with me.
The wind blew my hair back, and the air seemed to smell different, better somehow. I watched the horizon and enjoyed the scent and sounds of the sea.
I suddenly realized Will was at my side.
“Princess?” He said softly.
“I’ve been considering what you told me to do and how to act.”
“You’ve done more than consider, from what I hear.”
I paused, fearful at the answer to the next question. “Do you hear I’m a bitch?”
“No. But, I’ve heard you are someone to be reckoned with, which is far better.”
“I don’t know if I can do this.”
When no response came, I turned to ask him why. Will had disappeared again. So fast and so completely, I wondered again if he was a mage or magician. The last statement lingered on my mind. I waited on the deck for a long time, thinking about it. Then I headed for my cabin and the meeting with my staff where they were to bring me a revised treaty—one I wouldn’t approve.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Damon
Kendra said, “Damon, what are we going to do with them?”
We, the three girls and me, marched the giant who had attacked us into the shade under the largest tree on this section of the river. Only Flier remained at the river with the other three captives. I turned back to see him kneeling over one of them and again wondered at his odd actions. Whatever it was, we’d learn soon. The afternoon was dragging on, and because of Kendra working with her dragon to sink the ships all morning, we hadn’t made much progress before encountering the four who attacked us.
The “camp” the giant guided us to was little more than a cleared space and stone firepit under the spreading limbs of the largest tree in the area. The shade it provided prevented them from baking in the sun, but there were no blankets, no food in sight, and no spare clothing. There was nothing of value and little else.
I’d heard a story once about a thief breaking into the home of a man so poor that before he left, the thief placed two copper coins where the owner would be sure to find them. The point of the story was that the house he’d broken into was so poor, the thief felt obligated to leave the money. This camp felt the same way.
There was not even a stack of firewood. It was as if the four of them arrived at this spot, found the blackened rocks of the firepit, looked up and found us walking in their direction. I said, “How long have you camped here?”
“Dunno. Days and days, I guess.”
“What do you eat?” I asked.
“Whatever.”
“What does that mean?” I persisted.
He looked sheepish. “We took some food from others passing by.”
“Who?”
His eyes furtively shifted to look at a place located behind me. I turned to find three mounds in the distance, distinguishable becaus
e of the layer of leaves that covered the barren ground all around us. At least they had provided a minimal burial for the victims. I snapped in anger, not bothering to hide my feelings. “Where is it?”
“What?”
“The food and whatever else you took,” I shouted.
He spoke slowly after hearing each question. “You already got the knife. We ate the food.”
“What else did you take from them?”
“Nothing. They didn’t have much.”
The pause before answering had been too long. He lied, but it made little difference. What we wanted was food, and there wasn’t any. Flier approached, walking behind two of the other men. I looked for the third man and didn’t see him. Flier noticed my interest and gave a small shake of his head as if to tell me not to ask. I didn’t know if he meant for me to be quiet about it or something else, but I remained silent. He would tell us when the time was right.
The immediate problem we had was what to do with three prisoners. If we released them, they could follow us and kill us while we were asleep. Looking at the three mounds in the distance, that was not hard to believe.
We tied them with strips of their clothing. Blood from where a rock struck one ran down from the side of his head, soaking his shoulder. The other walked as some of the passengers on their first sea voyage, wobbling and staggering. The giant’s speech was slurred and slow.
I asked them as a group, “Where are you from?”
“Vin,” the giant answered.
I noticed the startled look from Flier and continued, “Why are you way out here and not in Vin?”
The one with the bloody head and neck asked in return, “You been there lately? If you had, you’d understand.”
“What’s that mean?” Flier moved to stand directly in front of him.
“It means there’s no work to be had and everything worth stealing is gone too.”
Flier said, “There were plenty of jobs the last time I was there.”
“Not for a year, there ain’t,” the man persisted stubbornly. “Ever since a mage showed up with a paper from Dagger sayin’ he was in charge of everything.”
Flier looked confused. “What about the king?”
“Died about the same time, we heard. Same was true for anybody that objected. He brought men with him and if you said anything bad about the mage or the Council of Nine, the place where you lived burned to the ground that very night.” The man had grown animated as he spoke. “It’s true. Happened to me.”
“They burned your house?” Flier asked.
“And my stable. Left the horses that I was caring for in it to burn too.”
Flier leaned closer and said, “I thought I recognized you. It’s been years, but I saw you at the stable many times. You cared for our horses and rented us others, and a carriage. What’d you say to make them do that?”
The man looked hard at Flier before answering. “I refused to pay the new taxes. Said they were too much. Recognized you right away. Thought you were killed down there in Trager during the uprising.”
Now our problem was compounded. Flier and the stable owner had a friendly history.
Before I came to any conclusions, Flier said, “How is my family?”
“Hate to say it, but your house and the store you owned in town were two of the first to burn. Your father never did bow down too much, to anyone. I heard everyone was alive and living out near Candle Lake, near the coast.”
Flier nodded as if relieved. “We own a farm there.”
“Will they be safe on the farm?” I asked. “What if the ones from Vin or Dagger go there, too?”
“They also own a fishing boat large enough to carry them all. It’s always been a last resort, a back door for our family to escape through. Besides, the farm at Candle Lake is not the only other place we own where there is safety. There are other places in other kingdoms. We are wealthy, and as politics change, it is beneficial to have options.”
I let that go as I motioned for Flier to join me a short distance away from the empty campsite and once out of hearing I said, “What do you think we should do with these men?”
Flier said with a downcast expression. “You asking the question is telling enough. None of us can kill them. They are guilty of little but trying to survive. Leaving the men here tied to a tree is a slow death nobody deserves. We have to turn them loose.”
“They might come after us,” I said.
“No, they won’t. I know the stable keeper and respect him. Mention we are fighting against the new council, and all might ask to join us. Isn’t Kendra’s dragon due back before long? Have her land it near the river and guard our retreat tonight. They won’t come after us.”
His mention of the three of them reminded me that there had been four. “What about the one you left by the river?”
“Dead. The rock Emma threw hit him just over his ear. He was dead as he fell. I didn’t want her to know what happened.”
I’d thought as much. Emma didn’t know how to control her magic yet and made the rock travel too fast. The force on that rock used to guide and direct it must have been exceptional. I could somewhat guide an arrow in flight, and increase the speed of a thrown object, and had done so many times, but never from such a distance as she had, and not with the same accuracy or increased speed.
I said, to change the subject, “How far to Vin?”
“Late tomorrow, if we hurry.”
We walked back to the others silently.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Princess Elizabeth
All three of my staff entered my cabin on the Gallant. As Lady Grace genuflected, so did Soren and Timor. It was the first time they had all treated me with the full respect do a princess. I quickly reconsidered that last thought. They had always treated me like a princess like I expected. However, not one they respected. All were appointed to travel with me by my father, and all had treated me as the vapid little girl of the royal family.
Their attitudes had made a subtle change, even if they were not fully convinced that I intended to make the decisions about the treaty. At this point, they were wary, more than convinced.
I wished I could have heard the conversations about me that had gone on behind closed doors before the trip began, and yesterday. Then I contradicted myself again, which was becoming a habit. No, I didn’t wish that. It would unduly influence the future.
“Please sit and give me a verbal briefing.”
I sat in the only chair, but my indication was for the three of them to sit on the edge of my bed, side by side so I could watch them all at the same time. The meeting would have been easier on them in the cabin we’d had set up as an office and meeting room, but for me, this was better.
“Princess,” Soren began, speaking for all of them, “in light of the unknown information you provided about other mutual defense treaties Dire has, we have revised our input. Those treaties provide a much firmer foothold and advantage.”
He stopped there as if placing a toe in the water before diving in.
I simply gave him a slight nod to continue.
He glanced at Lady Grace for permission before continuing, “As you are no doubt aware, any negotiations are based on the relative power of each side. The stronger side dictates most of the agreement, be it in business, or government.”
He was going to present an outline stronger, but still weak, I suspected. Dire would suffer because the three of them believed my homeland weak. While true, one item I’d learned the hard way from Damon while sitting across from him in a game of blocks, was that what was presented for consideration didn’t have to be true. Damon and I had played countless games of blocks in the last ten years, and he won far too many by bluffing or misrepresenting the strength of his hand.
At first, we’d each won about the same number of games. Then, about five years ago, Damon started winning more and more. Not always but we went from even to him winning most. I accused him of cheating. He assured me he hadn’t. I then accused him of us
ing his magic. Again, he denied it. In anger, I ordered him to explain why he won most games. Was he better at the game than me?
His answer was simple. “You believe that when I have a poor hand, I fold.”
“You don’t?”
I remember his amused laugh at my innocence. “You see five spots on a pair of shared blocks on the table. If I fold, you know I do not have another five-spot-block to go with them in my hand. But, if I raise, you assume I do have it, so you fold.”
“And you don’t have the better hand?”
“Sometimes.”
“Then, you lie.”
“We call it bluffing.”
“So, if I play out my hand I will win?”
“Sometimes. You won’t know until you put your pennies into the pot.” His smirk was so irritating I wanted to cross the table and slap him.
Over the next few years, the winners of our games had evened out again. He won, I won. He sometimes bluffed. Sometimes I did. That was the nature of the game—but there was one more lesson, perhaps the most important. Never, and I mean never, get caught bluffing. In doing so, you invariably lost not only the hand but the game because it usually left you too little to continue playing with.
If the three facing me didn’t believe my bluff, they would never convince their counterparts in Dagger. I repeated Soren’s words in my mind. The stronger side dictates most of the agreement, be it in business, or government.
He was almost correct. In truth, it was the side believed to be the stronger—and that was not always the same thing. It was the same as in bluffing in a game of blocks. If I believed that you held a better hand, I’d fold. At the same time, Dagger would attempt to convince me that they held power.
I said, “Give me a brief overview of what you will leave me to study.”
