Daughter of the Disgraced King

by Meredith Mansfield

  Ailsa smiled, dismissing his obvious fear. “I think I can manage. Anyway, I’d like to try.”

  “Are you sure?” Jathan persisted.

  Ailsa’s eyes narrowed. He’d never seen her ride, but he didn’t have to doubt her word. “Quite sure.”

  Jathan let it go with a worried frown.

  In short order, the two additional horses were saddled and bridled and led out into the open air. Jathan stood by, ready to give Ailsa a leg up. She glowered at him forbiddingly and set her own foot in the stirrup. True, Diamond was at least a hand taller than Pearl, but she could still mount on her own. She had no sooner settled into the saddle than Diamond tossed his head and pranced sideways. Ailsa gathered the reins and checked him.

  Jathan swung up into his own saddle on the roan. “You’re going to need to let him run a bit before you can do much else with him, I think. We usually take a turn or two around the track before we do anything else, anyway.” He clucked to his horse and led the way around the stable to a fenced oval. The center of the oval was lush and green, but the grass had been worn down to dirt in a track around the inside of the fence.

  Jathan and Mayra steered their horses over to the grassy area just inside that worn track. Jathan paused and reached back. “Pass me his reins and I’ll lead you around in a nice canter to take the edge of him.”

  Ailsa scowled at him. Sav would never have doubted her ability. Or tried to treat her like a child. “Either I’m going to ride him—myself—or I’m going to take him right back to the stables.”

  “Ailsa, that’s not a good idea—”

  Ailsa felt Diamond bunch himself beneath her. She settled herself firmly into the saddle and tightened her knees for a better grip. Diamond apparently took that as encouragement. He kicked out once and then started at a gallop around the course.

  Ailsa was too good a horsewoman to let him get away with that. She leaned back and pulled the stallion down to a walk. “Oh no you don’t, my lad. We go together or you don’t go at all. You want to run—and you were made for it. But you must wait for me to tell you or you’ll stay right here.” Diamond tossed his head. Ailsa laughed. The sound did something to Diamond. His ears pricked forward. He arched his neck and pranced in place. “All right, then. Let’s run.” Ailsa leaned forward and turned her feet to press her heels to his sides. Diamond took off down the dirt track like a rabbit bolting from a hunting fox.

  Ailsa clung to his back, folded low across his neck. She let him run down the first straightaway, then pulled him down to a more moderate pace for the sweeping turn around the far end. As they came around on the far side of the ring, she leaned forward and spoke in Diamond’s ear, inspiring him to go still faster. Ailsa felt the wind of their speed pulling her hair loose from its braid. Let Jathan chew on that. Maybe it’d teach him not to doubt her word about her own abilities. She sat up and slowed the horse again at the second turn. She had him in an easy canter when she came abreast of Jathan and Mayra again and stopped. “I believe this horse could fly if he set his mind to it,” she laughed.

  Jathan gaped at her.

  Mayra smiled. “I’ve never seen him respond like that.”

  Ailsa shot Jathan a glare and leaned closer so that only Mayra could hear her. “If you let him get the idea that you need help to manage him, he’ll think he get away with whatever he wants. He has to know that you intend to ride him—not you with the help of one of your brothers.” She sat back and spoke louder. “He’s not really mean—and I’ve ridden a few horses that were. He’s just full of himself and needed a good run before he could settle down and concentrate on his manners. If you don’t want to run him like that, maybe you could have someone take him out on a lunge line before you ride.”

  “I never suspected you could ride like that,” Jathan said.

  Ailsa tossed her head, making her braid flip. “I’m a desert girl, not a city girl.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Jathan said, still staring at her.

  They made another full circuit of the track before leaving and striking out on a tree-lined path.

  “There are miles of parkland around Terranion. And most of it has riding trails. This one leads to a . . . well, it’s more of a large pond than even a small lake. But Mayra and I thought you’d like it—being a desert girl, and all.” Jathan winked at her.

  Ailsa nodded slightly. “You obviously know the trails here much better than I do.” Part of her was still annoyed with Jathan, but the sun and the lush forest were working on her, too, making her feel too good to continue any bad feelings. Talk of the lake did briefly remind her of the man who’d tried to assault her at the inn. She looked around. “What about our . . . body guards.”

  “Oh, they’ll be around. Within sight and call, but not usually where we can see them,” Mayra said. “No one’s going to get to us without coming through them first.”

  The path was wide enough for them to ride side by side and talk. Much of the conversation was taken up by Ailsa’s exclamations over the lush and vibrant woods and all the unfamiliar creatures that inhabited them.

  “If you think this little patch of woods is interesting, you should see . . .” Mayra paused, mouth open. She turned to her brother. “Jathan, why not? Why couldn’t we ask Father to invite her to come with us?”

  Jathan cocked his head to the side, pretending to think it over. “I can’t see any reason why not.”

  “Come with you where?” Ailsa asked.

  Jathan turned to her. “Our end of term tests at the Institute are in two weeks—”

  “I know that,” Ailsa interrupted.

  Jathan waved his hand at her. “Let me finish. After the exams following the solstice, the Institute—and the Academy—shut down for two weeks during the summer heat. Well, what we consider to be hot, anyway. You might not think so, being a desert girl and all.”

  She was going to get tired of that phrase, she could tell. Ailsa aimed a blow at him, but Jathan leaned out of reach, laughing at her.

  “It’s traditional,” he went on, “for the imperial family to spend that time at our mountain retreat. It’s a really beautiful spot. And there’s a lake, there. You’d like it. And I’m sure Father would be happy to have you with us.”

  “And so would I,” Mayra added. “It’d be wonderful. For a change, I’d have someone to talk to.” She tilted her head toward Jathan. “It’s even more all boys up there than it is here. Say you’ll come.”

  Ailsa thought again of the euphoric feeling she’d had at first sight of the mountain lake on her way here. “If your father and my grandmother approve, I’d love to.”

  “Then it’s settled.”

  Chapter 14: The Inn at the Lake

  Ailsa paced her grandmother’s front room. She wasn’t nervous about facing the test Grandmama would give her and Jathan. She looked forward to it as her opportunity to test the limits of her green magic and perhaps experience that soaring feeling once again. Grandmama hadn’t asked them to do very much green magic since that first time. She wanted to get started. “What’s keeping Jathan?”

  Grandmama chuckled. “Child, he’s not even due for an hour yet.”

  The knock on the door finally came and Ailsa sprang forward to answer it.

  “Sorry to be early, but—” Jathan started.

  Ailsa blinked. “Early!”

  Grandmama laughed outright. “If you’d been any later, boy, I’d have had to tie Ailsa down to keep her from wearing a groove in the parlor floor.”

  “You’re not nervous about this are you?” Jathan asked. “Not after last time.”

  Ailsa shook her head. “I’m not nervous. I ‘m . . .”

  Jathan grinned. “Eager for another test of your magic? Me, too.”

  “Well, then,” Grandmama said. “Let’s get to it.”

  She led them back out to the same workbench against the kitchen wall. This time, three small seedlings in far oversized pots were spaced out on the bench. As before, Grandmama stepped up to the pot on the
right. “This test is a little more difficult. In order to give you a challenge within your reach, the maximum score today is eight.”

  Ailsa shifted restlessly as the sense of magic built around her once again. Grandmama held her hand out over the seedling and it began to grow at an accelerated rate. Branches, red at first and gradually turning green, erupted from the central trunk. Smaller branchlets carrying serrated leaves in groups of three or five sprouted from the branches.

  “It’s a rose,” Ailsa breathed, recognizing the leaves.

  Grandmama kept her hands over the pot. Although it slowed, the little bush continued to grow until it was two feet tall. Then Grandmama lowered her hands to grip the edge of the work bench. She breathed deeply for a moment. “That is not quite a level seven. And the limit of my ability, now. I was never capable of more than level eight, even in my prime. I rarely try to push myself so far, these days. Now, you two try. For this test, you will have to do more than just pull at the seedling. You must also direct the growth. The rose will naturally want to spend its energy in several canes, rather than a single trunk. You must hold it to your pattern while you speed its growth.”

  Ailsa licked her lips and stepped up to the seedling in the center. Jathan moved up on her left. She raised her arms and allowed her magic to build. The euphoria grew with the magic until she felt like she could fly. Nothing else felt like this. She took a moment to savor the sensations before directing her attention to the seedling.

  The sprout began to grow. Just as Grandmama had predicted, when the plant neared a foot high, it tried to produce two extra canes. Ailsa bunched her fists and directed all of the growth into the single stem. The bush continued to grow until it filled the pot. She heard Jathan growl beside her, but she had no concentration to spare for him. The larger the bush grew, the stronger its tendency to produce extra canes became. The rose bush was three feet tall and tiny buds had begun to form when Ailsa felt the limits of the plant begin to stretch and started to pull her magic back. One blossom, soft creamy yellow just tinged with pink at the edges of the petals, opened even as she stepped back.

  Jathan lowered his arms a few moments later. His rose bush was as tall as Ailsa’s and three red buds were ready to burst open. Grandmama scrutinized their efforts and turned to smile at them. “Level eight, both of you. That’s quite an accomplishment. Eighth-level green mages are extremely rare. The emperor and the master will both be pleased that there are two more.”

  When they were back at the cozy dining room table, Grandmama set a large pitcher of iced juice and a plate of sweet rolls on the table. “I thought we might have cause to celebrate today, so I prepared. Besides, you need to replenish your energies after work like that.”

  Jathan bit into a sweet roll. Ailsa poured herself a glass of juice, first. She felt as parched as if she’d been running across the desert.

  Grandmama took a long drink of her juice, too and selected a sweet roll. “Your training will change from this point on. After the summer break, you will both begin advanced botany classes at the Academy. Our training sessions will be focused on guiding you in the use of your magic.”

  Ailsa grinned and Jathan’s attempt to whoop caused him to choke on his sweet roll. They wouldn’t have to wait for these tests anymore. They’d be working green magic nearly every day. She could experience that soaring feeling that only her magic gave her all the time.

  “One more thing,” Grandmama said. “And this you may not like as well. Since you’re both leaving for the mountains tomorrow, I have some homework for you while you’re gone.”

  Ailsa’s smile dimmed. She’d been looking forward to riding and hiking with Mayra and Jathan. She was a little more ambivalent about the other princes. “Homework?”

  Grandmama chuckled. “Don’t look so stricken. It won’t be that bad. Where you’re going there are a dozen or more different micro-habitats. The vegetation is different on one side of a hill from the other and different again in the valleys and on the peaks, in or by the water, and in a dry clearing. As green mages, it will be only natural for you to notice the changes in plant life. That’s a start, but it’s not the whole story. No mage works in a vacuum. I want you to also notice how the changes in plant life alter the kinds and number of creatures that can live in that habitat and how those creatures live. Make notes and we will discuss that as part of our work when you return.”

  Jathan let out his breath explosively. “You had me worried there for a moment. That’s not so bad.” He winked at Ailsa. “In fact, I see it as an excuse to ride every day so we can see as much as possible.”

  Grandmama smiled at his enthusiasm. “You could look at it that way. Just don’t forget to take your journals along so you can make notes, too.”

  ~

  Ailsa sat in the second coach with Jathan, Mayra, and Prince Rishiart. The emperor, his empress, and Princes Artair and Arrigo were in the first carriage. A dozen guards rode ahead and another twelve behind.

  But the motion of the carriage was somewhat disconcerting. It was one of the newer models with the leather suspension instead of springs. Ailsa was at least a little used to the bouncing of an ordinary coach. This one swayed rather than bouncing and the motion made her just a little queasy. To distract herself, Ailsa tried to focus on the prosperous towns, green fields, and lush woodlands they passed through.

  Rishiart proved to be a treasure trove of information about all of it. “Father sends me on a lot of errands around the Empire,” he said with a shrug. “I’m away from court more than I’m there, these days.” He smiled across at Ailsa. “I’ve even been beyond the Ring Mountains a few times—but never to Far Terra, yet.”

  Ailsa smiled back. Rishiart was a much better companion when she wasn’t forced to dance with him. She hoped she’d find that the same was true of the two other brothers. She was going to be in their company a lot in the next two weeks.

  The coach swayed particularly violently as they rounded a curve in the road. Rishiart grimaced. “I must say, though, I prefer to cover this distance on horseback to riding in a coach.”

  “Me, too,” Ailsa said.

  Jathan winked across at Ailsa and Mayra. “It’s only for today, Rish. The coach road doesn’t go all the way to our estates. Tomorrow, we’ll all be on horseback.”

  Rishiart punched Jathan in the shoulder and there was a brief scuffle on the other side of the carriage. Ailsa recognized the symptoms of brotherly boredom from her familiarity with Sav and Cergio. Some things, apparently, were universal, like brothers needling each other. At least it seemed to be mostly good natured between Jathan and Rishiart.

  “He prefers Art as a nickname,” Mayra whispered to Ailsa under the noise of her brothers’ argument. “Unfortunately for him, Artair had already laid claim to it. He thinks ‘Rish’ sounds girly.”

  Ailsa chuckled and whispered back, “It does a little, doesn’t it?”

  Early in the afternoon the carriage rolled to a halt in the courtyard of the same inn she’d stayed in on her way to the Institute. The place where she’d been attacked by one of her fellow travelers. Ailsa barely stifled a gasp.

  Jathan came up beside her. He patted her shoulder as she stood still looking at the vine-covered façade. “Don’t worry. Father’s improved the security since you were here last. Besides, we’ll have the whole top floor to ourselves and there’ll be guards in the corridor and at the stairwells all night. No one will be able to hurt you this time.”

  Ailsa bit her lip. Part of her was relieved to hear it. Part of her was a little annoyed that Jathan assumed she needed the protection. After all, scary as it had been, she’d managed to take care of herself the first time, hadn’t she? And she knew a lot more about her magic now than she had then. She squared her shoulders and followed the others toward the inn. Rishiart and Mayra both stopped to look at the lake, sparkling in the afternoon sun.

  Rishiart whooped. “We’re here early enough for a swim before supper.”

  “Swim?” Ailsa asked. Did t
hey actually mean to go into the lake? She’d find it amazing just to walk around the edges of it.

  “Perfect way to wash off the dust of that coach road,” Arrigo said, joining them.

  Mayra linked her arm with Ailsa’s. “Oh, yes. And very cooling, too. I love to swim, don’t you?”

  “I . . .”

  “Oh, don’t worry if you forgot to bring a swimming costume. I have several. You can borrow one of mine,” Mayra offered. “Let’s go change.”

  Mayra pulled Ailsa up the inn stairs after her and down the corridor looking into the open doors of the rooms until she found her luggage and Ailsa’s. “Oh, good. I’d hoped they’d give us rooms with connecting doors.”

  The empress, just emerging from the room across the hall, smiled. “I was a girl once myself, you know. This is much easier than having you two traipsing up and down the corridor all night, interfering with the guards.”

  Mayra dragged Ailsa into her room and began rooting about in her trunk. She threw several pieces in a matching rose pink onto the bed. Ailsa winced.

  Then Mayra straightened with four pieces of something white with a tiny green trim. “Here it is. It’s not green, but at least it has some green on it.”

  Ailsa took the pieces. It appeared to be a very simple shift, a pair of close-fitting underwear, and a pair of hose—just the sort of thing she’d wear under ordinary clothes. “Um . . . is this all of it?”

  Mayra laughed. “You can throw a robe on, if you like, until we get down to the shore. After that, you’ll mostly be under the water, so not too much will show. You can’t have too much fabric, though, or it’ll drag you down when it gets wet.”

  “Under water?” Ailsa choked out.

  Mayra turned to look at her. “Of course. Wait . . . haven’t you ever been swimming before?”

  Ailsa shook her head helplessly. “I come from the desert, Mayra. There aren’t very many places where there’s water anywhere near deep enough to submerge in—and we’d never consider using it that way. Water is too precious to us.” She pushed the swimming costume back to Mayra. “Maybe I should just stay up here and read until supper.”