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tapped my chest over my left breast with an index finger as thick as my thumb.
"And you, my dear, old friend, still have the heart of a man, despite all
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appearances," she said, and chuckled. I chuckled with her, and she rose to her
feet and brushed off the front of her dress. She then took my hand, and
smiled. "Take me back, Eddas, then come back to Steelgate in the morning,
please. Tybalt was right - it was merely an oversight that the guards were
never told to anticipate you might visit. We had planned on telling them after
the wall was complete, but other things came up, and we forgot. Let us try
again, please. Forglamma - the incident earlier today never happened. Come
back in the morning, and we shall greet you as you should have been greeted."
I smiled in return, craning my neck to look up to her face. "As you wish,
Joy," I replied, and cast my Spell of Returning again.
Seven.
"No one really understands what it's like, I'm afraid. My single night with
Rhane was lovely... Glorious, in fact. It was, perhaps, the most powerful,
intense and erotic experience of my life, and to this day I often dream of her
and that single night we spent together, inside her ancient Oak. She was a
wise, powerful and incredibly beautiful being... Yes, it was perhaps the
happiest moment of my life. But the price! To return and find twenty years had
passed, all my family dead (I had no brothers or sisters), all my friends old
and many of them dead, as well... And everything had changed. Yes, no one
really understands what that is like, I'm afraid. Well, except for perhaps
Dame Raven. I could see it in those dark, mysterious, beautiful elven eyes of
hers... Somehow, she seemed to understand."
- Commander Javan Tybalt of the King's Guard, Personal Diary, 1681 NCC
The morning sun shone down brightly, and a crisp, westerly spring breeze
plucked lightly at my robe as I walked up to the gates of Darian's castle,
Steelgate. The guards at the gate spotted me as I approached, and one of them
darted inside the castle. I walked up to the gates, hoping that the guards
there wouldn't be the same men that were there the day before. They weren't -
apparently, either Joy or Tybalt had seen to that. The men who were there
smiled in welcome, and bowed as I passed them.
As I looked around the courtyard, I spotted a grinning Tybalt trotting up to
me. I smiled pleasantly in return, and when he had reached me, he bowed
deeply. "Good morning, my lady. I'm happy to see you again."
"Good morning, Tybalt. It is a pleasure to see you, as well," I replied.
"I should warn you that the King and Queen have quite a bit planned for you
today, to make up for how you were treated yesterday," he said, winking at
me.
"Oh? That sounds quite nice."
"Oh, it will be more than nice, I assure you. A woman of such grace and
refinement as yourself deserves to be treated properly."
I managed to keep the surprise off my face, and simply smiled again. Tybalt
again led me to the throne room, past several guards in the castle who all
snapped to attention smartly as we passed. I was quite impressed, though I was
sure that the display was more for Tybalt's rank than for myself - he was
their commander, after all, and I was nobody.
As we entered the throne room, I smiled. Darian, Joy and Arella were there,
and they were dressed in their finest raiments. Instead of a simple circlet of
gold, both Darian and Joy were wearing their 'ceremonial' crowns. Noril and
Dawn, their children, were also there, as were several dozen men who appeared
to be royal functionaries, and all were dressed in what appeared to be their
finest. Even Swift-wing seemed preened to perfection as he sat on Arella's
shoulder. I wondered what it was they had in mind. "Good morning, your
majesty," I said, bowing.
"Good morning, Raven. And how are you, today?"
"I am fine, thank you, your majesty," I replied, smiling.
"We are glad you came today. It has come to our attention that you have
performed a service for the crown without compensation for well over two
decades. Your service has been honorable, yet without compensation. This, we
believe, was in error. It is time that we corrected this problem, and rewarded
you for your patience all these many years," Darian said formally, using the
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royal 'third person'. "Come before us, and kneel," Darian commanded, pointing
to the red-carpeted floor before his throne.
I kept my face smooth and did as he wished. I already knew what he had in mind
- Darian truly was an easy man to read, particularly now, in the fading years
of his life. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]