The general stopped and looked at him seriously. ‘What has happened?’ he asked, his hand closing on his sword. ‘Lis,’ he murmured, looking back towards her palace.
‘I assure you I do all I can to keep the princess safe. But there have been some recent signs of magic.’
‘What does your father say?’ the general asked. His face was neutral, but Remi sensed a shift in him, a nervousness.
‘He does not believe me.’
‘You are a hunter,’ he whispered.
The prince nodded once.
‘The man in the bath house.’
Remi looked back towards the hidden princess’s palace. She had told him then. What would this man do with such information?
‘Why did he come after my daughter?’
‘I don’t know, but I am trying to find out.’
‘You don’t think he was alone?’
Remi shook his head.
‘She is stronger than she looks,’ General Long murmured. ‘Stronger than she realises. She understands her place here, no matter how difficult.’
‘I know that she was promised to another,’ Remi said.
‘That is of no matter now,’ the general said with a wave of his hand. ‘Her training to become your empress is what matters, and…’ He stopped, bowed and started off again.
‘Sir,’ Remi said, running after him. ‘What can I do?’
‘Keep her safe,’ the man said, striding ahead.
‘There is more.’
The general stopped and looked back to him. He took a tentative step, aware of the people starting to fill the streets.
‘There is more you wish to tell me,’ Remi insisted.
The general sighed and looked around. ‘I cannot comment on how the training is conducted, Your Highness.’
‘You don’t think they train her appropriately.’
‘I cannot say. She is bright and learns fast. If given the chance, she will learn all she must to be the empress you need her to be in three years’ time.’
Remi nodded once. The old general bowed before him, then turned and disappeared into the crowd. Remi wondered just what Lis had said to her father. His mother had repeated that there was not enough time, yet she had insisted on following the traditions and hiding the girl away. He hoped she wasn’t taking her frustrations out on Lis and making this harder than it already was.
He turned back towards her palace and then stopped. He couldn’t keep dropping in, and today had been difficult for her. Her mother’s death, and a further risk to her safety. He still had not discovered where the man in the bath house had come from or how he had made it past the soldiers. The idea that the attack on Lis could be connected to his brother’s death gave him pause.
His brother had not had a hunter’s skills, but he was one of the strongest soldiers Remi knew. His reputation rivalled that of General Long on the battlefields of the magic wars. How was it that someone could have killed him as they had? How could they have gotten close enough to kill him?
Remi stopped amongst the throng of people now moving easily through the streets that had not so long ago been empty. He walked slowly towards the temple. Someone had been watching the hidden princess there, and that was where he needed to start.
The hunter amongst her guard had sensed him but had been unable to follow. Ignoring those around him, Remi walked slowly, reaching out with his senses and touching those who passed him, but there was nothing.
Once standing on the steps of the temple, he looked towards the laneway. There was nothing now. Not even a hint of what had been. Could someone have been playing with them? Trying to lead them away and gain access to the princess again?
The idea made him uncomfortable, and he wondered what else he might need to do to keep her safe. He turned and headed into the temple, which was surprisingly quiet. Two worshipers prayed before one of the gods while another stood across the temple, bent before another god. A priestess hovered around another statue, dusting and tidying.
The hidden princess’s mother’s shrine remained as it was, alone in the middle of the temple. The cushions before it for her to kneel upon and grieve had been abandoned early. What was it that had spooked her so that she would not stay with her mother?
Remi gently touched the base of the plaque. He took an incense stick and lit it, then bowed low before placing it beside those his princess had placed. ‘I am sorry I took her from you,’ he whispered.
‘It is where she is meant to be,’ a soft voice answered behind him, and he turned quickly to find a priestess smiling sadly. ‘Whatever the cost.’
He scowled at her, and she bowed slightly before moving away.
The costs would be high on the Palace Isle. She would never be truly free again. But of all the girls who had lined up before them, she was the only one he had seen. Her words to his mother had only endeared her further. She was compassionate and thoughtful as well as beautiful. And now her father spoke of her intelligence. She would be the perfect empress—yet did she want to be?
The incense was thick, and Remi’s eyes started to water. He had more important things to worry about than whether his future bride wanted the position or not. There was no choice now. He just had to keep her alive and discover what had happened to his brother.
He stood again at the top of the steps of the temple and closed his eyes. There was no feeling of magic, no inkling of anyone with magic within the vicinity. He headed determinedly down the step and across the square into the laneway. He took his time, but there was no residue here, and he started to wonder just what tricks had been played and why.
Remi stood at the gate to the home of Tutor Na. It was connected by a laneway to the back of the hidden princess’s palace. All the tutors were close by, and although all gates of the tutors’ homes opened into the laneway, there was no other access to it.
He waited. He was unsure how he could ask her about his concerns, but he remembered hearing his mother talk about how knowledgeable a tutor she was.
General Long’s words still rang in his ears. There was something he hadn’t said.
The maid bowed low and stood back to allow him into the small courtyard, which led directly into the small house. He waited for her to close the gate and lead the way into the house. He was sure his mother was going to have a lot to say about this. She would see it as interfering, but there was something about Lis that had Remi nervous. Was she just unlucky to be the focus of the changes he had felt around the Palace Isle, or had she brought them with her?
The room he entered was simple and lined with shelves. Each one contained piles of books, scrolls and wooden slips with their tags hanging down. Beautiful teapots and delicate glassware sat nestled amongst them.
He absently looked at the tag of the closest one. ‘Etiquette for the marriage night’ it read. He let it drop from his fingers, his face hot and his mouth dry. What does this tutor teach exactly?
‘Your Highness,’ she greeted him sharply, making him jump, and he moved away from the shelves.
‘Tutor Na,’ he said, bowing before her.
‘Is there a reason for your visit? I have much to prepare.’
‘And not enough time,’ he said without thinking.
She pursed her lips. ‘Has something happened?’
He nodded once. ‘But I wish to talk to you about the hidden princess and her learning.’
‘Her learning is of no concern until she becomes your empress, and then she will have all that she needs.’
‘Will she?’ he asked.
‘You fear the lack of time. That instead of thirteen years we have only three.’
‘I understand that my hidden princess is more than capable of learning everything she must within that time, but…’ He took a moment. ‘But I understand she may not be supported to reach that potential.’
‘Truly, Your Highness? And who has claimed such a thing? We are here only to serve the crown, to ensure that your empress is all she can be.’
‘Do you think she will be?’
She surprised him with a smile. ‘Yes, Your Highness.’
The tension left his shoulders.
‘I shall talk with the other tutors. You have nothing to fear. I understand that it has been a difficult day for the hidden princess.’
‘I thank you, Tutor Na, for your honesty. I fear after the attack in the baths that she is not as safe as I would hope.’
‘Her guard is always watching.’
‘Where were they at the baths? How did the man make it into such a place?’
Tutor Na sighed. ‘What would you like to do?’
‘I want to be able to watch more closely. To station someone in the access behind the palace. I would prefer someone in the garden, even in the palace with her. But I am sure you won’t allow that.’
‘There was a time, long ago, when the hidden princess was hidden from everyone, even those around her.’ She turned away from him, walking directly to a shelf and looking through the scrolls. She finally selected one and held it out to him.
Remi stepped forward and took it, unrolling it slowly. A hidden princess, dressed in the same grey tunic his hidden princess wore. Her hair was pulled back from her face, a simple pin holding it back, and the rest hung loose behind her. Across her face she wore a pale veil. It sat below her eyes, across her nose, and it flowed down to her waist.
‘The hidden princess was hidden at all times. No one saw her face until the wedding day.’
‘But I have seen her face,’ he murmured.
‘It is an option I could discuss with the empress. That way she could remain hidden and you could place guards in the palace for her protection. I don’t want any harm to come to her either.’
He nodded slowly. ‘Will my mother support such a change?’
‘It is a return to the traditions of old. It might be prudent to reinforce the traditions at this time.’
Remi bowed low before her. ‘I thank you.’
‘I cannot promise that the empress will allow you into the hidden princess’s palace even with this change.’
He smiled and bowed again. She might not, but it was more important to keep Lis safe. If a veil meant he could keep the guards closer, he would do all he could to ensure it happened.
Chapter 14
Lis looked over the uniform laid out on her bed. The veil was a new addition, and she wondered what it meant. U’shi silently entered the room and helped her change. Other than the day before, every day felt the same.
She stifled a sob, thinking of her father and just how broken he had appeared. She had done very little to comfort him. But she couldn’t allow herself to think about it; she had lost her mother when she first entered the palace. Whether her mother was alive or not, Lis would never have seen her again.
U’shi indicated the seat, and Lis tried to push her father from her mind. And Peng. She had lain in bed the previous night wondering just what he was doing with her family, whether he sat and laughed with Ting as easily as he used to with her. She sighed as U’shi pushed new pins into her hair.
‘Your Highness?’
Lis waved her away. When she didn’t move, Lis looked up and saw her holding the veil. Lis nodded once, and U’shi attached it to the new pins.
‘It is to be worn at all times outside this room.’
‘Even in the palace?’
U’shi lowered her head.
Lis pushed up from the seat and strode into the classroom. The prince stood with Tutor Nizen and another guard. ‘Your Highness,’ Lis said, pulling herself to a stop and bowing before him.
He nodded in return.
She took her place at the desk, despite the bell not having rung, and looked to the tutor. The younger man glanced between everyone in the classroom and coughed.
‘I want you in the rear,’ the prince said, directing a soldier out into the rear courtyard.
The tutor shook his head.
When the prince reappeared on his own, he said, ‘There will be another in the front and the usual on the gate.’ Then he bowed to Lis.
‘Am I to have no privacy?’ she called after him as he started out the door. She could see the glint of the sun on the armour of the soldier already in the front garden.
‘Your safety is more important,’ he said, striding out.
She pushed up quickly from the desk and followed him into the morning sunlight. ‘Did you find the man from yesterday?’
He turned and shook his head. ‘It appears there are people watching you too closely.’
She looked pointedly at the soldier, who turned his back to her.
The prince took a step closer. ‘The Palace Isle is not as safe as I would hope, Your Highness,’ he whispered. ‘These are your men; they are just closer than they were before.’
Lis nodded once and returned to her classroom, finding the guard still in the garden when she glanced through the window before taking her seat.
‘Tutor Na will explain the veil and the history of such,’ Tutor Nizen murmured, looking through papers of his own. He glanced up briefly as U’shi coughed in the doorway. Nodding once, he waved her away. She slid the door closed, and Lis’s gaze returned to the tutor.
‘What do we cover today?’ she asked.
‘The Empire and its people. I would like to discuss the islands and the changes that occurred after the magic war.’
‘I have covered the geography of the islands,’ Lis said, trying not to sigh. ‘I know each by name, how far it is by boat from the Palace Isle, and the main families that live on each. I know what they did for the Empire during the war; I know who they aligned with and the gifts granted by the emperor for their service. What else can you teach me?’
‘You do not know it all. There is much to learn…’
‘And not enough time to learn it,’ Lis interrupted.
His eyes narrowed as he focused on her.
‘So you all say and yet you teach me nothing new. Much of this I have already learnt from my parents as I grew. I don’t know how you think you can help me be what the crown prince will need me to be when you teach me nothing. Is it that my poor mother was a better teacher?’ The words were harsh, and Lis felt the same overwhelming sadness that she had the day before. She had also been louder than she had meant to be. She heard someone moving by the door.
‘Do you know all that your father did in the war? The villages and islands he helped clear of magic? The destruction he waged in the name of the Empire?’
Lis was on her feet. She knew he had done more than he ever wanted her to know about. And she understood that he had killed those with magic. She also knew he had been a soldier with no choice. Just as she had no choice now.
‘Do you sympathise with those with magic?’ she asked, the words just as harsh as the previous queries, wondering if this was some test or he just wanted to push her. ‘What will I learn from your stories of my father?’
He stared her down and she glanced at the doorway.
‘Why not tell me what part the emperor played? How he directed his troops, how he learned to defeat the magic, how they discovered the hunters.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Or is there not enough time?’
She wanted to be out in the fresh air, but the men in her garden kept her in the classroom. She didn’t even have the privacy of her own palace now. ‘You would waste my time with stories and knowledge I already have. You forget who I am,’ she said, far more confidently than she felt, for she wanted to be anywhere but here.
‘And who is that, other than a lowly student?’
‘I am the future empress,’ she said softly. ‘I am the one who will determine who will train the next hidden princess, and how comfortable your life will be.’
‘You will have more important things to occupy your time.’ He laughed, as though her words were meaningless.
‘I don’t think so. All I have learnt of being empress is listening to stories and making tea. I will have nothing better to do than return the favours you have done me.’ She gave him a short bow and, as she r
ested her hand on the door, she heard whoever was on the other side scurry away. Was it U’shi or the crown prince?
‘I understand the last few days have been difficult,’ the tutor said softly.
‘The last few months. I am beginning to understand why it takes so long to train a hidden princess.’
‘Your mother has died and you are not yourself,’ he said, his face still hard. ‘With the accident of your island home following so close behind, I wonder how you are able to study at all.’
‘What accident?’ Lis asked, the air rushing from her lungs as she stepped towards him.
He remained at his desk. An odd grin grew across his face.
‘My father?’ she whispered.
‘He is well enough. It was a visitor for your mother’s cremation. It was thought that he had magic, that he had infiltrated your family in an attempt to harm you. The crown prince sent his own men.’
‘What?’
‘Peng,’ he said. ‘The crown prince thinks only of you. He has had the traitor fizzled out, and he has considered your hidden status and instituted the veil.’
Lis opened her mouth and then closed it. Her mind couldn’t make sense of the man’s words. Her chest hurt as though someone had pushed a sharp blade through her heart. ‘The crown prince killed Peng?’
‘One of his men, I’m sure, for he has hunters everywhere.’
‘Peng was not… He didn’t have…’
‘Tell me, what do you think you should learn today, Your Highness?’
Lis walked out of the classroom, across the small foyer and into her room. It was the only safe place she had, and now she wasn’t sure just how safe it was. She sat at the table and poured water into the cup. She stared at it, watching the steam rise in strange patterns.
All she had to do was use her magic. Boil the water dry, or change the colour of her tunic. He was just outside, close enough to feel the magic and come running. He would run her through with a fizzle sound, without a second thought.
What danger does this mean for Father? she wondered. To be so close to one considered to have magic. But the prince was a hunter. She looked towards the door. He would have known if Peng had magic or not. But then, so would she. She had known him for so many years, and yet she didn’t have any idea of him having magic. There must have been a mistake.
The Magics of Rei-Een Box Set Page 10
