“That’s usually how my acts of violence turn out anyway,” Terian said, prompting Curatio to shush him.
“Your tower quarters are prepared,” the steward said. He bowed again, causing Cyrus to unwittingly roll his eyes. “Go forth in peace, brothers.”
“But not sisters, eh?” Cyrus heard J’anda mutter to Cattrine, causing her to laugh airily.
“This way to the tower,” Odau Genner said from his place next to Count Ranson, who looked back at the Sanctuary members in amusement. If the King thought anything that had been said was funny, he hid it well, riding atop his horse with only the thinnest hint of expression.
Cyrus dismounted in the courtyard and let a stableboy lead Windrider off with the other horses, back toward the first bailey that they had crossed. Cyrus looked around the inner keep-the three towers he had seen from the ridge above Enrant Monge were visible now, and ahead of him was another walled structure-not quite high enough to be a keep, but through a tunnel he could see trees.
“The Garden of Serenity,” Cattrine said, brushing against him as she walked past. His eyes followed her, sinking lower, to her backside, her riding pants clinging to the lines of her figure after the last long hours on horseback. He blinked and looked up as she turned and caught him, her eyes flashing … something. Before, Cyrus would have assumed lust coupled with amusement, but now it was mixed with coolness. “The center of the castle and the place where the old keep sat in ancient times, the seat of old Luukessia before the schism. Our entire land was ruled from here.”
“I’m sure it was very impressive,” Cyrus said with some tightness. “Did I hear him say we’re not allowed weapons or armor within the walls?”
“Of the Garden of Serenity, yes,” Cattrine said. “You’ll be expected to leave them behind in your room in the tower.”
He started toward the tower and leaned close to her as he passed, felt the brush of her hair against his, sensed her close and fought off the momentary, mad desire to take her in his arms and- He stopped and whispered in her ear, “and will you be leaving your dagger in your room in the tower?”
He leaned back to see her eyes, and when he did he saw ice, pure and cool, her green irises frosted over. “If I didn’t,” she said, “I’d be in violation of the laws of Luukessia and subject to death.”
“That wasn’t really an answer,” Cyrus said, and followed the King and his party toward the tower built into the outer wall of the garden-one of three, but the only one on this side of the keep. Within, he found a dim entry chamber and thick stone walls. The place was lit with small windows, arched but only six inches or so across. Candles hung from the walls and the overhead chandeliers, giving the rooms and the stone within an orange glow, something flickering and dimmer by far than the bright, open-paned windows of Vernadam or even Green Hill. Sanctuary, by contrast, made the tower look even dimmer.
Cyrus waited as King Longwell and his party were escorted to chambers on the lower floors. Cyrus and his party were paired with another steward, a younger one, who led them up several spirals of the staircase, which ran up the center of the castle. Cyrus estimated they were on the fifth or sixth floor when the steward came to a stop and began assigning them rooms. Cyrus deferred to Cattrine, allowing her first choice. The steward opened a door and offered a smallish chamber, not even as large as the bedroom in the suite he and Cattrine had shared at Vernadam.
She nodded in acknowledgment, and the steward blushed. “There is no bath for the ladies in this tower, madam. If you’d like, we can bring up a wooden laundry tub and fill it any time you’d care for a bath.”
“Thank you,” she said. “That will be fine.”
“Where’s the garderobe?” Terian asked, peering into Cattrine’s chambers, drawing a look of annoyance from the Baroness, whose passage through the door was blocked by the dark elf. “Or do you have a communal chamber for that?”
“Ah, no,” said the steward with a hint of embarrassment. “Enrant Monge is an ancient keep, sir.” The steward blushed further at Terian when the dark elf turned his full attention on the dumbstruck lad, who likely had never seen a dark elf before. “We do not have garderobes.”
“Oh gods,” Terian said in disgust. “Chamber pots? We’re to use chamber pots? Why not just stay with the army? At least I could walk away from the latrine.”
“We clean your quarters every morning, sir,” the steward asserted, seeming to make a slight recovery. “I assure you, we take the utmost pride in-”
“Cleaning my shite?” Terian asked, darkly amused. “I’m sure you do.” He took note of Cattrine, standing behind him and bowed in an exaggerated manner as he moved aside to allow her to pass. “A thousand pardons, my lady.”
“You’ll need a thousand and one, since you presumed to call me ‘your’ lady.” Cattrine stepped past him as though he were no longer there.
“I apologize,” Terian said, fake contrition oozing over his voice. “A thousand and one pardons to Lord Davidon’s bedchamber wench, I apologize for-”
She slapped him hard; whether it was because he did not see her attack coming or because he chose to let her hit him, Cyrus could not say.
Terian rubbed his jaw where her hand had landed, a slight smile on his face, the skin already deepening to a darker shade of blue. “Is that not considered to be violence in this place of peace?” Terian asked the steward.
“I saw no violence, sir,” the steward replied without emotion. “Even were it to happen again, I suspect I still would not see it as such. Enrant Monge is a place of peace, not a place of veiled insults or unkindness toward women.”
“Well, isn’t this a fine place to stay,” Terian said acidly. “Perhaps you’ll show me to my own room now, so that I may express my sentiments to my chamber pot.”
The steward led them on, and Cyrus saw Cattrine disappear behind the door of her room, giving one last look at him before she shuttered herself within.
Cyrus was the last to get his room, a floor above the Baroness’s, and not next to anyone but Terian, who had entered his own without comment. Cyrus found his accommodations small but did not complain nor say anything but a brief thanks to the steward, who closed the door and left Cyrus in his room.
Cyrus stared at the walls, the small, rectangular space reminding him of the dungeon room he had taken for a brief time at Sanctuary over a year ago. With a sigh and some reluctance, he began by unstrapping his belt, grasping the scabbard of Praelior, holding it in his hands while he studied it. Avenger’s Rest, he thought, remembering the name of the scabbard. I just came from a month of rest, and already I am weary again.
He placed the sword with care upon the bed then eased himself down on the frame, careful to not land too heavily upon it for fear of breaking it. I find myself again rampant with desire. He removed his helm and laid it upon a nearby table. I had a month of free expression of that as well; after such a long time of lacking, it now feels strange to go without the touch of a woman. He grimaced, feeling his desire blossom inadvertantly once more. This needs to stop if I’m to be attired in cloth during my stay here, lest my embarrassment become a constant.
He tugged at his boot, felt the first of them give, sliding around his heel and off, as he set it upon the stone floor with a quiet clang. I could have been back at Sanctuary now. Back among the others … Vaste, Andren … Alaric. The Guildmaster’s name brought a slight tremor of unease; he remembered Alaric’s anger, his rage at Cyrus, the night before they had left. How is it that I can take wrath and anger from creatures as tall as a building that want to kill me-from a god, enraged, ready to smite me-but that of a man smaller than I, a simple paladin and Guildmaster, terrifies me? He felt a burning heat under his collar and slid the gloves from his hands, one by one, placing them upon the dresser. All he did was raise his voice, and I cowered before him, as though I were a child again, listening to the thundercrack of my father’s voice. Cyrus paused. I don’t even remember my father’s voice.
He worked loose the pauldrons fr
om his shoulders, and laid them at the foot of the bed. We killed a god. I had saved Vara. It was a moment of triumph, and he … merely yelled at me. Cyrus slid off his vambraces, one at a time, working them free to expose the sleeves of his undershirt. He tossed them upon the bed next to the pauldrons. I had scarcely thought of that, since five minutes later I was neatly gutted and tossed aside by Vara but … that might prove tense, if Alaric is still upset with me when I return.
His eyes ran across the room, searching for something familiar but finding only his own armor and darkened surroundings, the single portal window shedding light. It’s been months now, doubtless he’ll have forgotten whatever irritation he held for me by the time I return. He was fine, after all, when we spoke a few minutes later. He even rallied the army for me to take along. Cyrus’s greaves came off and slid down, and he laid them at the foot of the bed on the stone floor, careful not to let them drop for fear of the awful clangor they would make when they hit.
What awaits me at Sanctuary when I return? Possibly a still-angry Guildmaster. A woman who has rejected my advances, who has rejected me … He stopped and pictured her, Vara, as he had seen her once in the garden behind Sanctuary on a sunny day, her hair glowing in the light. He felt the stab again. She is unlikely to have changed her mind; she is more stubborn than anyone I’ve ever met. He unfastened his breastplate and backplate, and took them off, lowering them to rest on top of his greaves. So I’ll have at least her to contend with. A light blanket of misery settled upon him. Which might not be so bad, save for the fact that … He rubbed his eyes, as though by blotting out the world he could change it to suit his liking. … I don’t know that I feel any differently about her than I did when I left.
Cyrus lifted his chainmail over his head in a single motion, slipping it off and depositing it with the other armor he had left on the bed. He paused, noting a few new holes in the links where blades had slipped through since he’d last had it mended, and shook his head. All this heavy armor and I’m still vulnerable to all manner of attacks. He smiled ruefully. Perhaps the secret is to not get hit. That might be a better solution than armor. But I suppose it’s rather like not falling in love-and he felt the searing pain of Vara and now Cattrine-if only it were possible to prevent.
He looked at the full-length mirror in the corner, at the stained and messy cloth undershirt and sighed. What the hell am I supposed to wear to this ceremony? His eyes fell upon the dresser, a tall armoire next to it. He opened the dresser first, finding cloth shirts within of varying sizes, even one large enough to fit him, and then pants as well, with laces for the front.
Upon opening the armoir he blinked. Long robes of green cloth occupied the interior, the same style and cut as had been worn by the stewards that had greeted them upon arrival, but the green was far deeper and more lively than the dull grey worn by the brethren who seemed to maintain the castle. Cyrus wondered at them, at their origin. Do they come from one of the Kingdoms? Or are they set apart and stay here? I should ask Cattrine- The thought cropped into his mind before he could quell it, a remnant of the month they had spent together at Vernadam. He felt the bitterness of the thought; it had occurred to him infrequently on the journey, creeping up on him when he least expected it, when he forgot the argument, forgot her betrayal.
A gonging in the hallway drew his attention as he finished slipping into the robe. It fit over his head, thick and heavy like burlap, and his new underclothes protected him from the roughness of the cloth. He glanced into the bottom of the armoire where several sizes of boots awaited, and he immediately knew that all of them were far too small for his needs. He sighed and tried on the largest of them, stopping once he had crammed his foot far enough in to know they would never fit. He replaced the footcovers he wore under his boots instead and made his way out of the room.
Cyrus found the others milling about in the hallway, down the spiral of the stairs, and the deep, resonant gonging continued, ringing forth once every thirty seconds as the tower continued to empty. Cyrus led the way, finding Curatio and J’anda still in their own robes. Longwell and Terian had similarly changed into garb resembling his. Longwell appeared to be at peace with his robes while Terian fussed at his, muttering mild curses in the dark elven language that Cyrus knew only because of how foul they were.
Cattrine waited on the landing below, still clad in her riding outfit. The others followed Cyrus, and when he paused to acknowledge her, looking her riding outfit up and down with a flick of his eyes, she spoke. “Women don’t wear the robes of the brethren.” She drew up and folded her arms. “Women are to be clad in dresses at all times and not to adopt the accouterments of men.” He raised an eyebrow at her, letting the unasked question hang between them. She smiled, but there was none of the sweetness or promise it carried a month earlier. “This ought to leave my brother with a certain sting.”
“Yes,” Cyrus agreed, “I know from experience you’re quite good at that.” He didn’t wait for her to respond, instead leading the way down the stairs to the bottom.
When they reached the bottom he followed the grey-clad stewards in a column out into the courtyard, where they joined a long line outside the gates to the Garden of Serenity. They stopped in the small tunnel, as each of the members entering was called forward, their full rank and titles being yelled out into the garden.
Cyrus heard an echoing voice as they waited in a line, moving forward as one person from each Kingdom was admitted at a time. There were heralds stationed at each entrance to the garden and they took up the call of their fellows whenever a name and title were called out, making certain that everyone in the garden and waiting in the tunnel heard it as well. The herald shouted in front of him and Cyrus found himself cupping one hand to his ear as he did so.
Odau Genner was in front of him and leaned back to speak. “Our King will have you go before him, so that he may enter last. I suspect Actaluere will do the same.”
“What about Syloreas?” Cyrus asked.
“Master of Scylax Hall, the Grand Duke of the Erres Fjords, conqueror of Viras Tellus, victor at the battle of Argoss Swamp and master of the north, the King of Syloreas, Briyce Unger!” The shout carried down the tunnel and drew a sharp sigh of reprobation from Genner.
“The northmen always do things differently,” Genner complained. “Uncivilized blighters, aren’t they? Focused on war and destruction, conquest and battle. Bloody savages if you ask me.” Another name was called, this one from Actaluere’s rolls. “Don’t get me wrong, we’ve been known to engage in a war or two ourselves. But the business of Galbadien is not in war, it’s in the good, green land. We’ll fight, when necessary, but the Syloreans … they’ll fight simply because they want to fight.”
“It’s of great interest to me,” Cyrus began, folding his arms over his green robes, “how many times I’ve been to lands when people are at war. You know what’s funny about that? It’s always the other party that seems to have started it. No one ever wants to admit that they might be at fault for a war beginning, but everyone damned sure wants to win once it’s begun.”
“Yes, I see,” Genner said. “How peculiar.”
A succession of names went on as servants of King Longwell passed him in the line, going forth into the garden. Count Ranson was called shortly thereafter, with a litany of titles. By now, Cyrus was near the front, and when one of them in particular was called-“Victor of the Battle of Harrow’s Crossing!”-he saw Ranson stiffen and turn, appalled, his mouth agape, until his eyes locked onto Cyrus’s and he shook his head in apology. Cyrus watched and shrugged, feeling a strange mix of despondence and indifference that he couldn’t quite attribute to any one thing.
When Cyrus drew near to the front of the line, the herald stopped him, asking him quickly for a title and listing, finding nothing about him on the parchment he held in front of him. Cyrus obliged, quickly, between the herald’s repeated shouts of the titles and names given by his opposite numbers on Actaluere and Syloreas’s sides of the courtyard.
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“General Cyrus Davidon of Sanctuary,” the herald began after completing the call for the Baron who had just entered from Actaluere. “Warden of the Southern Plains, Lord of Perdamun, conqueror of Green Hill, victor of the battle of the Mountains of Nartanis, defender of the Grand Span in Termina, and vanquisher of the Goblin Imperium!”
Cyrus took the cue from the herald and walked forward, out of the tunnel and into the garden. Though slightly smaller than the foyer at Sanctuary, it was filled near to brimming with trees and plants of all kinds, as well as flowers in planters. Four paths led down into the center of the garden, which was a sort of small-scale amphitheater. Three of the four sections had already begun to fill, with green robes seated to his left, nearest him, and opposite them, blue robes that he suspected represented Actaluere’s delegation. Across the center of the amphitheater and to his right was the Sylorean delegation, clad in white robes. To his right was an empty section, bereft of any occupants. Tempted though he was, Cyrus avoided sitting within those seats, veering instead into the Galbadiens’.
He found a clear segment of benches not far from Odau Genner and listened to the next two names called, waiting to hear Samwen Longwell announced to follow him. Instead, he heard something quite unexpected.
“The Baroness Cattrine Tiernan Hoygraf, late of castle Green Hill, free woman and advisor to the guild of Sanctuary.” A buzz of conversation and muted outrage came from the Actaluere delegation, men in blue robes muttering and casting glares toward the Galbadiens, a few choice epithets making their way across the aisle. For their part, the men of Galbadien seemed muted in their response; Odau Genner’s eyes would not meet Cyrus’s and were centered entirely on his leather footwear.
He turned to see Cattrine come down the aisle, seating herself on the empty bench behind him.
Cyrus stared at her. “I thought Longwell was next.”
She didn’t emote when she answered, keeping neutral. “He was behind you, but his father asked that he be announced just before the King, and Samwen acceded to his wishes.” She made a face, a very slight one, of triumph. “The King also asked that I step forward, I think hoping that it might prompt a reaction from the Actaluere delegation.” She wore a bitter smile. “I believe it has.”
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