“It’s about the champion,” said Lord Verras.
“Then bring him to me!” King Eldin sounded childish, even when enraged.
“Your Majesty, he has news that only you should hear—”
“I will see him now!” After a brief murmur, he added, “Out! All of you, out! I’ll meet the champion alone!”
Nobles streamed out the door, staring openly as they walked past me.
“Tailor,” called Lord Verras, “come meet your king.”
I looked back toward the courtyard, where people called for the champion, wishing none of this had happened. Why hadn’t a real warrior challenged the giants? Someone who could actually help Reggen?
Someone besides me.
I drew in a deep breath. Stay alive, I told myself. Stay alive.
I had found enough courage to run toward two giants. I could find it again.
I did not flinch at the hollow boom of the door closing behind me.
I felt naked approaching the king without my satchel of notions and cloth samples. King Eldin sat on his throne, leaning forward like a child waiting for sweets. Beside him stood a young woman dressed in a gown of silk so fine that the slightest breeze could catch it. Princess Lissa. Her face was set as if she expected to meet an enemy. She grew rigid when she saw me.
Don’t worry, I wanted to tell her. You’ll be free sooner than you think.
The man on the other side of the king must be the new advisor, Lord Leymonn. He had a soldier’s build, strong and confident. I looked closer. He was a soldier—or he had been. Hadn’t he helped the king clear the throne room when I gained my first commission? Lord Leymonn looked ready to laugh when he saw me. It gave me strength to walk to the center of the king’s suite. It kept my shoulders square, my head up.
Leymonn seemed to have the same effect on Lord Verras. He stood as he had in the midst of the mob, feet wide, arms loose at his sides. Like he expected a fight.
I hoped he could handle himself.
“So this is the champion of Reggen, the one who will marry Lissa and challenge the duke!” announced the king. I saw the worried pucker between his eyes, heard the clang of fear in his voice. “You must”—he glanced at Leymonn, as if trying to remember what he should say—“receive our thanks. And”—sounding more like himself—“you must help us destroy these enemies! Surely the duke will be an easy opponent after killing his giants.”
Then he recognized me and blurted, “Bless me! It’s my own tailor’s apprentice, Avi! The one who brought me this coat! Why does Galen call you Tailor?”
The princess, Leymonn, and the captain of the guard must have seen some hint of the truth in the way Lord Verras stood, in my strained expression.
King Eldin did not, and he could not stay quiet.
He nudged his sister with his elbow. “I’d hoped for a bigger fellow, but this has advantages, too! You won’t mind if I ask your husband for a little help with my wardrobe once he’s defeated the giants, will you?”
Anger flared in the princess’s eyes, but she didn’t answer.
Lord Verras stepped forward. “There’s been a complication, Your Majesty.”
“A complication?” asked the king. “Are there more giants? Will we be under attack?”
Lord Verras opened his mouth to answer—
But I stepped forward. It was my secret. I should have the telling of it. “I’m a girl, Your Majesty.”
King Eldin looked around the throne room, as if searching for another tailor. “What do you mean?”
I pulled in a deep breath, hoping it would be easier to say the second time.
“Your Majesty.” I curtsied deeply, and when I looked up, I saw the king’s eyes widen. “I am a girl.”
It was like running toward the giants all over again, except there wasn’t sunlight. There wasn’t the sound of the Kriva. Only silence, and the dim glow filtering through draped windows and closed doors.
Lord Verras interrupted the silence. I prayed he had words enough to fill it.
“It wasn’t an evil-minded deception. She dressed as a boy so that she could keep her father’s business and care for him when he was struck ill. Her name is Saville. She confronted the giants today.”
Leymonn laughed. Princess Lissa looked at me with something close to pity. But King Eldin just stared. I could see him trying to rearrange the future now that a girl was the city’s champion.
Lord Verras spoke slowly, deliberately. “She cannot marry Princess Lissa. And no one outside this room should know her true identity.”
“But I already declared that the champion should marry Lissa,” mumbled the king.
“I’m afraid that is impossible. But we can help you decide what to do now.”
“Decide? Decide?!” King Eldin shouted, leaping to his feet. “Why should I have to decide? It would have worked so well—a champion and a husband for Lissa. The duke would have no place here. And she’s undone it all! She should go to the dungeon for such treachery!”
I braced myself for the captain to drag me away, for the doors to burst open and soldiers to rush in. I wished I’d seen Will. I hoped Lord Verras would take care of the Tailor as he’d promised … and I waited for the worst to happen.
But it didn’t.
King Eldin pointed at me, clutching the arm of the throne with his other hand as if he would fall back without the support. “She shall be beaten! Then dragged through the streets every day for a month! And if anyone dares to give her a sip of water during that time, he will join her punishment!”
I glanced at Lord Verras. He shook his head ever so slightly. Be still.
Finally, the king wore himself into silence and slumped back into the throne. I released the breath I’d been holding.
“What will we do?” whispered the king.
“I liked the idea of no food or water for a month,” said Leymonn.
The king winced as if he knew he’d sounded foolish.
Verras stepped forward. “We must assume that the duke and the giants are still a threat to Reggen. I’ll discover everything I can about them so that we’ll be prepared.”
“At least we know they can be killed,” said the captain. “Reports said she killed six or seven, but I imagine there were fewer. News is always changed by the time it reaches the castle.”
I shook my head, but Lord Verras answered first. “She didn’t kill them.”
King Eldin’s head drooped forward.
“There were two giants. Scouts, I would guess,” said Lord Verras. “Saville outwitted them and they returned to their camp.”
“I heard there was a boy?” the captain asked me.
“There was,” I answered, glad for a chance to explain myself. “I couldn’t just leave him, and no one else tried to help—”
“Where is he?” asked the king.
“Pergam brought him to the castle. His foot was badly broken,” answered Leymonn. “Did you know the boy?” he asked, turning to me.
Something in Leymonn’s gaze frightened me. I didn’t want him to know how much I loved that boy.
“No,” I said, after a moment.
Leymonn raised an eyebrow, and I wondered if he suspected a lie. “So, there was a boy. She saved him by tricking the giants. It must have been very hard.” No one missed the sarcasm in his voice. “Giants were always described as such intelligent creatures in the old tales. What a champion for Reggen! She didn’t kill them, but she did confuse them.”
I winced at the word champion, and Leymonn smiled.
Lord Verras ignored him. “Saville has shown that the giants have a weakness. She outwitted them easily. They left believing that a tailor—not a soldier, but a tailor—beat them in a contest of strength. And they took that message back to the duke. We have room for hope.”
For a moment, the king looked like a child in need of comfort. “What do we do now?”
“Don’t tell the city,” said Lord Leymonn. “They’re happy to have a champion. Let them think the tailor will protect the
m. He should make an appearance. It will put the people at ease.”
The king nodded and turned to me. His gaze startled me more than his earlier shouting. “Let it be done. Reggen will see its champion within the hour. You can greet them from the balcony. No one should guess your secret from there.”
The king paused as though he wanted me to apologize or thank him for not killing me. If I’d been playing the Tailor’s apprentice, I’d have flattered him into a better mood. But I was no longer his tailor. I would not thank him for his threats—or apologize for saving Will. There had been enough lying already.
I bowed. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”
King Eldin flushed. “And when she is finished, take her to the dungeon.”
“Cousin,” protested Lord Verras, “she hasn’t committed a crime! And I need to question her further about the giants. She has incredible insight—my scouts couldn’t have gathered better information.”
The king’s eyes flicked to Lord Verras, but they held no warmth. “You forget yourself, Galen Verras. I am the king of Reggen! She’ll stay in the dungeon for all the trouble she’s caused. There’s nothing to prevent you from questioning her there.” He half smiled at me. “The dungeon is equipped with instruments that would help her answer truthfully.”
“Well done, Your Majesty!” said Leymonn. The king straightened on his throne. “Very kingly.”
I turned to Lord Verras and saw in his eyes that I’d go to the dungeon for so foolishly provoking the king. I tried to stand taller, to look braver than I felt, but it was hard to stand at all.
“No one has asked what I wish,” said Princess Lissa quietly.
She had a low voice, which seemed at odds with her delicate features. But then I’d never heard her speak before. I knew so little about her, beyond the fact that she was near my age.
And that she was burdened with a pretentious, evil-minded brat of a brother.
“Dear brother, you forget: I was deprived of a husband today. I will have to stand next to the tailor on the balcony and, perhaps again, if another appearance is needed. I don’t want her stinking of dungeon.”
Perhaps the princess deserved her brother, after all.
“Someone may discover her in the dungeon, so I suggest that we make Reggen’s brave little tailor disappear entirely.” My heart stopped. “Give me a new maid, one to attend me during the day and sleep near me at night. Let Reggen search for the tailor. They’ll never think to look at a servant girl. Should someone ask the whereabouts of the tailor, we can say that he is getting to know the princess.”
Or perhaps Princess Lissa was canny enough to save me from the dungeon. For a moment, I was back in the garret shop and Will was telling me that the best way to hide my hair was to put it at the top of the trunk, in plain sight. I blinked the memory away and looked to the king, who hesitated, scowling a little.
“Surely, my request is a small one,” said the princess. “Not half an hour ago, you were happy to bind me to a husband who would be able to fit your coats.”
I longed to point out that a woman could do much worse than marry a tailor. There was the poor soul who would marry her brother, for instance.
“Please, brother.” She spoke, as if the words hurt her. “I beg you.”
King Eldin clearly preferred begging. “Very well. You may have her as a maid. I will instruct your guards on their duty should she cause you any trouble.”
Then King Eldin, flanked by Leymonn and the captain, left for the balcony without even glancing in my direction. I stood before the empty throne, unsure of what to do. Lord Verras and the princess were already talking.
“Thank you, Lissa.”
She glanced at me and lowered her voice. “Leymonn is horrible. I can feel him watching me. But Eldin doesn’t notice. He never does. And now we must fight an army of giants!” She put a hand on his arm. “Is it bad, Galen? This duke and his army?”
“I believe so. I hope to know more tomorrow.” He must mean the rangers he’d sent out.
She nodded. “I wish Tor were still alive.”
Torren. King Eldin and Princess Lissa’s older brother. The one who had reigned only two years before his death put Eldin on the throne. Lord Verras’s mouth tightened. Perhaps he didn’t miss Torren as much as she did.
I was still wondering what his expression meant when I realized the princess was watching me. I smiled and held her gaze, ready to answer any questions she might have.
She raised an eyebrow and turned back to Lord Verras as if I weren’t there. “When will you need her tomorrow?”
“As soon as she can be spared.”
The princess chuckled. “I have no use for her! She can’t fix my hair or properly attend me, I’m certain.” A pause. “I’ll make her an errand girl, to fetch for me and my maids. It will give her an excuse to go to you whenever you have need of her.”
A guard appeared. “The king requires the princess and the champion to attend him at the balcony.”
The guard might have been addressing Princess Lissa, but he gaped at me. I glared, and he looked away. There might be some value to being a champion after all.
“We’ll come immediately,” said the princess. She leaned close to Lord Verras, but I heard her nonetheless. “I have given you a pawn in this game with Leymonn. Play her well.”
Chapter 14
“Play me well?” I echoed as soon as the princess had swept out of the room. “What does that mean?”
Lord Verras sighed. “It means she’ll do anything she can to block Leymonn.”
“I won’t be anyone’s pawn!”
“No. You’ll provoke the king all by yourself. She saved you.”
“She wouldn’t even look at me!”
“She’s more concerned with limiting Leymonn’s influence over the king.” Lord Verras turned to leave, motioning me to follow. “Leymonn was a castle guard just weeks ago. When King Eldin grew frustrated with Lord Cinnan, Leymonn convinced the king that he would be a better advisor. Lord Cinnan was placed under house arrest that evening. Lissa is wise to fear that kind of ambition.”
We were almost to the balcony. “Leymonn scared me, the way he asked about Will.”
“He meant to frighten you.”
“You think he’d hurt Will?” I stopped. “What do I do?”
“Right now? Go and keep the people calm. We need time to figure out who the duke is and what his army is like.”
The mob by the gates had been frightening enough, and it had been celebrating me. What would the people of Reggen do if they discovered they had been deceived? If they realized there was no champion to protect them from the duke and his army?
“I don’t trust the king or Leymonn.” I folded my arms. “Or the princess.”
“I’m not asking you to trust them.”
Play her well, the princess had told Lord Verras. Was this what she meant? That he should gain my trust and then use me?
“I’m not sure I trust you.”
He looked at me the way he had in his room—as if he were taking my measure. “I’ve dragged you around the palace and threatened you so that you’d do as I ask. And I would do it all again. But I haven’t lied to you.”
He waited, quiet and still. I’d trust him—at least for the evening.
I rubbed my face and grimaced at the red dust that coated my palm. “I wish you had lied, just a little. Something like, ‘I’m sure he’ll want to give you a medal, Saville. Don’t even think about the dungeon.’ ”
Lord Verras chuckled. So he could smile. “Keep them quiet for tonight. Give them hope. When you’re finished, I’ll take you to see Will.”
I nodded.
Guards had already swung open the doors to the balcony. I could hear the crowd, even over the murmurs of the nobles who’d gathered. The roar reminded me of the Kriva around the pillars of the bridge: a restless, rushing sound.
And it grew only louder when I joined Princess Lissa on the balcony. The shouts were a battering ram pounding against
me. I felt powerless. I looked down at my feet, as if my courage had spilled out and I could gather it up. All I saw were flowerpots in the corner of the balcony, deep blue flowerpots like the ones I’d hoped to put outside the Tailor’s door so many months before.
It wasn’t courage, but somehow it was enough.
I walked to the edge of the balcony and I rested my hands on the rail, arms straight, the way I’d seen men do.
People filled the courtyard and the road leading to the castle. Had the entire city emptied itself to gather here?
“Champion! Champion! Champion!”
I noticed the children first, little ones sitting on their parents’ shoulders. One girl waved a chubby hand at me and grinned like it was a festival day. Her father wore a workman’s smock and gazed up at me, worried and unsmiling. He needed to see the champion, needed to be sure there was someone to protect his daughter against the giants.
And all he had was me.
I looked over the crowd, the men and women and children, all shouting, all waving at me. I wanted to tell them to think—think!—Could a boy really defeat giants?
And yet I waved back at them. Waved as if I really were the champion.
It made me sick.
I couldn’t let them think I could save them. It was wrong. But Leymonn moved into view, folded his arms, and nodded. His message was clear: Do what you’ve been told.
Then another word rose up, competing with champion. “Kiss! Kiss! Show us … kiss!”
I looked back, uncertain.
Lord Leymonn tapped the back of his hand.
Ah, I could do that.
The shouts billowed around us like storm winds as I turned to the princess. She must have seen Leymonn. She pursed her lips, steeling herself to the difficult task, and extended her hand.
It was so smooth, not a sign of work. I wondered what it would have been like if I had been born to a different father, if I didn’t have callouses from pushing a needle through fabric I’d never wear.
Then I bowed with a flourish like the lords I’d seen in court and pressed a kiss to her hand.
But the crowd didn’t stop.
“Kiss! Kiss!”
Valiant Page 9
