Elantris

CHAPTER 20

Let me see if I understand you, Princess dear," Ahan said, holding aloft a chubby finger. "You want us to help Iadon? How foolish I am-I thought we didn't like the fellow." "We don't." Sarene agreed. "Helping the king financially doesn't have anything to do with our personal feelings."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Ahan, Princess," Roial said with outspread hands. "Why the sudden change? What good will it do to aid the king now?"

Sarene gritted her teeth in annoyance. Then, however, she caught a twinkle in the elderly duke's eye. He knew. The duke reportedly had a spy network as extensive as most kings'-he had figured out what Hrathen was trying to do. He had asked the question not to provoke her, but to give her an opportunity to explain. Sarene exhaled slowly, grateful for the duke's tact.

"Someone is sinking the king's ships." Sarene said. "Common sense confirms what my father's spies say. Dreok Crushthroat's fleets couldn't be sinking the boats-most of Dreok's ships were destroyed fifteen years ago when he tried to take the throne of Teod, and any remnants have long since disappeared. Wyrn must be behind the sinkings."

"All right, we accept that much," Ahan said.

"Fjorden is also giving financial support to Duke Telrii." Sarene continued.

"You don't have any proof of that, Your Highness," Eondel pointed out.

"No, I don't," Sarene admitted, pacing between the men's chairs, the ground soft with new spring grass. They had eventually decided to hold this meeting in the gardens of Kae's Korathi chapel. and so there was no tabIe for her to circle. Sarene had managed to remain seated during the first parr of the meeting, but had eventually stood. She found it easier to address others when she was on her feet-something of a nervous habit, she realized, but she also knew that her height lent her an air of authority.

"I do, however, have logical conjecture," she said. Eondel wouId respond well to anything following the word "logical." "We all attended Telrii's party a week ago. He must have spent more on that ball than most men make in a year."

"Extravagance isn't always a sign of wealth." Shuden pointed out. "I've seen men poor as a peasant put on dazzling shows to maintain an illusion of security in the face of collapse." Shuden's words rang true-a man at their own meeting, Baron Edan. was doing just what Shuden described.

Sarene frowned. "I've done some checking around-I had a lot of free time this last week, since none of you managed to get this meeting together, despite its urgency." None of the noblemen would meet her eyes after that comment. She'd finally gotten them together. But, unfortunately, Kiin and Lukel hadn't been able to attend because of a prior engagement. "Anyway, rumors say that Telrii's accounts have swelled drastically during the last two weeks, and his shipments to Fjorden turn fantastic profits no matter what he chooses to send, whether it be fine spices or cow dung."

"The fact remains that the duke has not aligned himself with Shu-Dereth." Eondel pointed out. "He still attends his Korathi meetings piously."

Sarene folded her arms, tapping her cheek in thought. "If Telrii openly aligned himself with Fjorden, his earnings would be suspicious. Hrathen is far too crafty to be so transparent. It would be much smarter for Fjorden to remain separate from the duke. allowing Telrii to appear a pious conservative. Despite Hrathen's recent advances, it would be much easier for a traditional Korathi to usurp the throne than it would be for a Derethi."

"He'll take the throne, then make good on his pact with Wyrn." Roial agreed.

"Which is why we have to make sure Iadon starts earning money again very soon," Sarene said. "The nation is running dry-it is very possible that Telrii will earn more in this next accounting period than Iadon, even including taxes. I doubt the king would abdicate. However, if Telrii were to stage a coup, the other nobles might go along with him."

"How do you like that. Edan?" Ahan asked, directing a hearty laugh at the anxious baron. "You might not be the only one who loses his title in a few months-old Iadon himself might join you."

"If you please, Count Ahan," Sarene said. "It's our duty to make sure that doesn't happen."

"What do you want us to do?" Edan asked nervously. "Send gifts to the king? I don't have any money to spare."

"None of us do. Edan," Ahan responded, hands resting on his ample belly. "If it were 'spare' it wouldn't be valuable now, would it?"

"You know what he means, Ahan," Roial chided. "And I doubt gifts are what the princess had in mind."

"Actually, I'm open for suggestions, gentlemen," Sarene said, spreading out her hands. "I'm a politician, not a merchant. I'm a confessed amateur at making money."

"Gifts wouldn't work," Shuden said, hands laced before his chin contemplatively. "The king is a proud man who has earned his fortune through sweat, work, and scheming. He would never take handouts, even to save his throne. Besides. merchants are notoriously suspicious of gifts."

"We could go to him with the truth," Sarene suggested. "Maybe then he'd accept our help."

"He wouldn't believe us," Roial said with a shake of his aged head. "The king is a very literal man, Sarene-even more so than our dear Lord Eondel. Generals have to think abstractly to outguess their opponents, but Iadon-I seriously doubt he's had an abstract thought in his life. The king accepts things as they appear to be, especially if they are the way he thinks they should be."

"Which is why Lady Sarene fooled His Majesty with her apparent lack of wits," Shuden agreed. "He expected her to be foolish, and when she appeared to fit his expectations he dismissed her-even if her act was terribly overdone."

Sarene chose not to rebut that remark.

"Pirates are something Iadon understands," Roial said. "They make sense in the world of shipping-in a way. every merchant considers himself a pirate. However, governments are different. In the king's eyes, it wouldn't make sense for a kingdom to sink ships filled with valuable merchandise. The king would never attack merchants, no matter how tense the war. And as far as he knows, Arelon and Fjorden are good friends. He was the first one to let Derethi priests into Kae, and he has given that gyorn Hrathen every liberty of a visiting nobleman. I seriously doubt we could convince him that Wyrn is trying to depose him."

"We could try framing Fjorden." Eondel suggested. "Making it obvious that the sinkings are Wyrn's work."

"It would take too long, Eondel," Ahan said, shaking his jowls. "Besides, Iadon doesn't have many ships left-I doubt he'll risk them in those same waters again."

Sarene nodded. "It would also be very difficult for us to establish a connection to Wyrn. He's probably using Svordish warships for the task-Fjorden itself doesn't have much of a navy."

"Was Dreok Crushthroat Svordish?" Eondel asked with a frown.

"I heard he was Fjordell," Ahan said.

"No," Roial said. "I think he was supposed to be Aonic, wasn't he?"

"Anyway," Sarene said impatiently, trying to keep the meeting on track as she paced across the loamy garden floor. "Lord Ahan said he wouldn't risk his ships in those waters again, but the king obviously has to keep them shipping somewhere."

Ahan nodded in agreement. "He can't afford to stop now-spring is one of the best buying seasons. People have been cooped up all winter with drab colors and drabber relatives. As soon as the snows melt, they're ready to splurge a little. This is the time when expensive colored siIks go for a premium, and that is one of Iadon's best products.

"These sinkings are a disaster. Not only did Iadon lose the ships themselves, he lost the profit he would have made off all those silks. not to mention the other cargo. Many merchants nearly bankrupt themselves this time of year by stockpiling goods that they know they can eventually sell."

"His Majesty got greedy," Shuden said. "He bought more and more ships, and filled them with as much silk as he could afford."

'We're all greedy, Shuden," Ahan said. "Don't forget, your family earned its fortune by organizing the spice route from Jindo. You didn't even ship anything-you just built the roads and charged the merchants to use them."

"Let me rephrase. Lord Ahan," Shuden said. "The king let his greed make him foolish. Disasters are something every good merchant should plan for. Never ship what you can't afford to lose."

"Well put," Ahan agreed.

"Anyway." Sarene said, "if the king only has a couple of ships left, then they have to deliver a solid profit."

" 'Solid' isn't the right word, my dear," Ahan said. "Try 'extraordinary.' It is going to take a miracle for Iadon to recoup from this little catastrophe-especially before Telrii humiliates him irreparably."

"What if he had an agreement with Teod?" Sarene asked. "An extremely lucrative contract for silks?"

"Maybe," Ahan said with a shrug. "It's clever."

"But impossible." Duke Roial said.

"Why?" Sarene demanded. "Teod can afford it."

"Because," the duke explained, "Iadon would never accept such a contract. He's too experienced a merchant to make a deal that appears too fabulous to be realistic."

"Agreed," Shuden said with a nod. "The king wouldn't be against making a horrible profit off of Teod, but only if he thought he was cheating you."

The others nodded at Shuden's statement. Although the Jindoeese man was the youngest in the group, Shuden was quickly proving himself to be as shrewd as Roial-perhaps more so. Thar capability, mixed with his deserved reputation for

honesty, earned him respect beyond his years. It was a powerful man indeed who could mix integrity with savvy.

"We'll have to think on this some more," Roial said. "But not too long. We must solve the problem by the accounting day, otherwise we'll be dealing with Telrii instead of Iadon. As bad as my old friend is, I know we'd have less luck with Telrii-especially if Fjorden is backing him."

"Is everyone doing as I asked with their planting?" Sarene asked as the nobles prepared to leave.

"It wasn't easy," Ahan admitted. "My overseers and minor nobles all objected to the idea."

"But you did it."

"I did," Ahan said.

"As did I," Roial said.

"I had no choice," Edan muttered.

Shuden and Eondel each gave her quiet nods.

"We started planting last week," Edan said. "How long before we see results?" "Hopefully within the next three months, for your sake, my lord" Sarene said.

"That is usually long enough to get an estimate of how good a crop will do," Shuden said.

"I still don't see how it matters whether the people think they're free or not," Ahan said. "The same seeds get planted, and so the same crop should come up." "You'll be surprised, my lord," Sarene promised.

"May we go now?" Edan asked pointedly. He still chafed at the idea of Sarene running these meetings.

"One more question, my lords. I've been considering my Widow's Trial, and would like to hear what you think."

The men began to shift uncomfortably at the statement, looking at each other uneasily.

"Oh, come now," Sarene said with a displeased frown, "you're grown men. Get over your childish fear of Elantris."

"It is a very delicate topic in Arelon, Sarene," Shuden said.

"Well, it appears that Hrathen isn't worried about that," she said. "You all know what he's begun to do."

"He's drawing a parallel between Shu-Korath and Elantris." Roial said with a nod. "He's trying to turn the people against the Korathi priests."

"And he's going to be successful if we don't stop him," Sarene said, "which requires you all to get over your squeamishness and stop pretending that Elantris doesn't exist. The city is a major part of the gyorn's plans."

The men shot each other knowing looks in the dense Korathi garden. The men thought she paid undue attention to the gyorn they saw Iadon's government

as a major problem, but religion didn't seem a tangible threat. They didn't understand that in Fjorden. at least, religion and war were almost the same thing.

"You're just going to have to trust me, my lords," Sarene said. "Hrathen's schemes are important. You said the king sees things concretely-well, this Hrathen is the opposite. He views everything by its potential, and his goal is co make Arelon another Fjordell protectorate. If he is using Elantris against us, we must respond."

"Just have that short Korathi priest agree with him," Ahan suggested. "Put them on the same side, then no one can use the city against anyone else."

"Omin won't do that, my lord," Sarene said with a shake of her head. "He bears the Elantrians no ill will, and he would never consent to labeling them devils."

"Couldn't he just…" Ahan said.

"Merciful Domi. Ahan," Roial said. "Don't you ever attend his sermons? The man would never do that."

"I go." Ahan said indignantly. "I just thought he might be willing to serve his kingdom. We could compensate him."

"No, my lord," Sarene said insistently. "Omin is a man of the Church-a good and sincere one, at that. To him, truth is not subject to debate-or sale. I'm afraid we have no choice. We have to side with Elantris."

Several faces, including Eondel and Edan's, blanched at that statement.

"That might not be an easy proposition to carry out, Sarene." Roial warned. "You may think us childish, but these four are among the most intelligent and open-minded men in Arelon. If you find them nervous about Elantris, then you will find the rest of Arelon more so."

"We have to change that sentiment, my lord," Sarene said. "And my Widow's Trial is our opportunity. I am going to take food to the Elantrians."

This time she succeeded in getting a reaction even from Shuden and Roial. "Did I hear your correctly, my dear?" Ahan asked with a shaky voice. "You're going to go into Elantris?"

"Yes." Sarene said.

"I need something to drink," Ahan decided, unstoppering his wine flask. "The king will never allow it," Edan said. "He doesn't even let the Elantris City Guards go inside."

"He's right," Shuden agreed. "You will never get through those gates, Your Highness."

"Let me deal with the king." Sarene said.

"Your subterfuge won't work this time, Sarene," Roial warned. "No amount of stupidity will convince the king to let you into the city."

"I'll think of something," Sarene said, trying to sound more certain than she was. "It's not your concern, my lord. I just want your word that you will help me."

"Help you?" Ahan asked hesitantly.

"Help me distribute food in Elantris," Sarene said.

Ahan's eyes bugged out. "Help you?" he repeated. "In there?"

"My goal is to demystify the city," Sarene explained. "To do that, I'll need to convince the nobility to go inside and see for themselves that there's nothing horrifying about the Elantrians."

"I'm sorry to sound objectionable," Eondel began. "But, Lady Sarene, what if there is? What if everything they say about Elantris is true?"

Sarene paused. "I don't think they're dangerous, Lord Eondel. I've looked in on the city and its people. There is nothing frightening about Elantris-well, nothing besides the way its people are treated. I don't believe the tales about monsters or Elantrian cannibalism. I just see a collection of men and women who have been mistreated and misjudged."

Eondel didn't look convinced, and neither did the others.

"Look, I'll go in first and test it," Sarene said. "I want you lords to join me after the first few days."

"Why us?" Edan said with a groan.

"Because I need to start somewhere," Sarene explained. "If you lords brave the city, then others will feel foolish if they object. Aristocrats have a group mentality; if I can build some momentum, then I can probably get most of them to come in with me at least once. Then they'll see that there is nothing horrible about Elantris-that its people are just poor wretches who want to eat. We can defeat Hrathen with simple truth. It is hard to demonize a man after you have seen tears in his eyes as he thanks you for feeding him."

"This is all pointless anyway," Edan said, his hand twitching at the thought of entering Elantris. "The king will never let her in."

"And if he does?" Sarene asked quickly. "Then will you go. Edan?"

The baron blinked in surprise, realizing he had been caught. She waited for him to respond, but he stubbornly refused to answer the question.

"I will," Shuden declared.

Sarene smiled at the Jindo. This was the second time he had been the first to offer her support.

"If Shuden's going to do it. then I doubt the rest of us will have the humility to say no," Roial said. "Get your permission, Sarene. then we will discuss this further."

"Maybe I was a little too optimistic," Sarene admitted, standing outside the doors to Iadon's study. A pair of guards stood a short distance away, watching her suspiciously.

"Do you know what you are going to do, my lady?" Ashe asked. The Seon had

spent the meeting floating just outside the chapel walls-well within his range of hearing-making certain that no one else was eavesdropping on their meeting.

Sarene shook her head. She had displayed bravado when confronted by Ahan and the others, but now she realized how misplaced that sentiment had been. She had no idea how she was going to get Iadon to let her into Elantris-let alone get him to accept their help.

"Did you speak with Father?" she asked.

"I did, my lady." Ashe replied. "He said he would give you whatever financial help you required."

"All right," Sarene said. "Let's go." She took a deep breath and strode toward the soldiers. "I would speak with my father," she announced.

The guards glanced at each other. "Urn, we were told not to…"

"That doesn't apply to family, soldier," Sarene said insistently. "If the queen came to speak with her husband would you turn her away?"

The guards frowned in confusion; Eshen probably didn't come to visit. Sarene had noticed that the bubbly queen tended to keep her distance from Iadon. Even silly women resent being described that way to their faces.

"Just open the door, soldier," Sarene said. "If the king doesn't want to talk to me. he'll throw me out. and next time you will know not to let me in."

The guards hesitated, and Sarene simply pushed her way between them and opened the door herself. The guards, obviously unused to dealing with forceful women-especially in the royal family-simply let her pass.

Iadon looked up from his desk, a pair of spectacles she had never seen him wear before balanced on the end of his nose. He quickly pulled them off and stood, slamming his hands against the desktop in annoyance. disturbing several invoice stacks in the process.

"You aren't content to annoy me in public, so you have to follow me to my study as well?" he demanded. "If I'd known what a foolish, spindly girl you were, I would never have signed that treaty. Be gone, woman, and leave me to work!"

"I tell you what, Father," Sarene said with frankness. "I'll pretend to be an intelligent human being capable of a semilucid conversation, and you pretend the same thing."

Iadon's eyes grew wide at the comment, and his face turned a bright red. "Rag Domi!" he swore, using a curse so vile Sarene had only heard it twice. "You tricked me, woman. I could have you beheaded for making me look the fool."

"Start decapitating your children, Father, and people will begin to ask questions." She watched his reaction carefully, hoping to glean something about Rao-den's disappearance, but she was disappointed. Iadon brushed off the comment with only passing attention.

"I should ship you back to Eventeo right now," he said.

"Fine, I'd be happy to go," she lied. "However, realize that if I go, you lose

your trade treaty with Teod. That could be a problem, considering the luck you've had peddling your silks in Fjorden lately."

Iadon gritted his teeth at the comment.

"Careful, my lady." Ashe whispered. "Do not unsettle him too much. Men often place pride before reason."

Sarene nodded. "I can give you a way out, Father. I have come to offer you a deal."

"What reason do I have to accept any offers from you, woman?" he snapped. "You have been here nearly a month, and now I find that you have been deceiving me the whole time."

"You will trust me. Father. because you have lost seventy-five percent of your fleet to pirates. In a few short months you could lose your throne unless you listen to me."

Iadon betrayed surprise at her knowledge. "How do you know these things?" "Everyone knows, Father." Sarene said lightly. "It's all over the court-they expect you to fall at the next taxing period."

"1 knew it!" Iadon said, his eyes widening with rage. He began to sweat and curse at the courtiers, railing at their determination to see him off the throne.

Sarene blinked in surprise. She had made the comment passingly to keep Iadon off balance, but hadn't expected such a strong reaction. He's paranoid! she realized. Why hasn't anyone noticed this before? However, the speed with which Iadon recovered gave her a clue-he was paranoid. but he kept it well hidden. The way she was jerking his emotions must have weakened his control.

"You propose a deal?" the king demanded.

"I do," Sarene said. "Silk is going for a premium in Teod right now, Father. One could make quite a profit selling it to the king. And, considering certain familial relationships. you might be able to talk Eventeo into giving you sole mercantile rights in his country."

Iadon grew suspicious, his rage cooling as he sensed a bargain. However, the merchant in him immediately began to sniff for problems. Sarene gritted her teeth in frustration: It was as the others had told her. Iadon would never accept her offer: it stank too much of deceit.

"An interesting proposal." he admitted. "But I'm afraid that I-"

"I would, of course, require something in return," Sarene interrupted. thinking quickly. "Call it a fee for setting up the deal between Eventeo and yourself."

Iadon paused. "What kind of fee are we talking about?" he asked warily. An exchange was different from a gift-it could be weighed, measured, and. to an extent, trusted.

"I want to go inside Elantris," Sarene declared.

"What?"

"I have to perform a Widow's Trial" Sarene said. "So, I am going to bring food to the Elantrians."

"What possible motivation could you have for doing that, woman?"

"Religious reasons, Father," Sarene explained. "Shu-Korath teaches us to help those most lowly, and I challenge you to find anyone more lowly than the Elantrians."

"It's out of the question." Iadon said. "Entry into Elantris is forbidden by law."

"A law you made, Father," Sarene said pointedly. "And, therefore, you can make exceptions. Think carefuIly-your fortune, and your throne, couId baIance on your answer."

Iadon ground his teeth audibly as he considered the trade. "You want to enter Elantris with food? For how long?"

'Until I am eonvinced my duty as Prince Raoden's wife has been fulfilled," Sarene said.

"You would go alone?"

"I would take any who were willing to accompany me."

Iadon snorted. "You'll have trouble finding anyone to fill that requirement." "My problem, not yours."

"First that Fjordell devil starts whipping my people into mobs, now you would do the same," the king mumbled.

"No, Father," Sarene corrected. "I want quite the opposite-chaos would only benefit Wyrn. Believe as you wish, but it is my sole concern to see stability in Arelon."

Iadon continued to think for a moment. "No more than ten at a time, excluding guards," he finally said. "I don't want mass pilgrimages going into Elantris. You will enter an hour before noon and you will be gone by an hour after noon. No exceptions."

"Done," Sarene agreed. "You may use my Seon to call King Eventeo to work out the details of the deal."

"I must admit, my lady, that was rather clever." Ashe bobbed along beside her in the hallway on the way to her room.

Sarene had stayed as Iadon spoke with Eventeo, mediating as the two worked out the deal. Her father's voice had contained a hearty measure of "I hope you know what you're doing, 'Erie" in it. Eventeo was a kind and good king, but he was an absolutely horrible businessman; he kept a fleet of accountants to manage the royal finances. Once Iadon had sensed her father's inability, he struck with the enthusiasm of a raging predator, and only Sarene's presence had kept Iadon from leaking away Teod's entire tax revenue in a rampage of trading fervor. As it was, Iadon had managed to talk them into buying his silks for four times as much

as they were worth. The king had been beaming so widely as Sarene left that he almost appeared to have forgiven her for her charade.

"Clever?" Sarene asked innocently in response to Ashe's comment. "Me?" The Seon bobbed, chuckling softly. "Is there anyone you can't manipulate, my lady?"

"Father," Sarene said. "You know he gets the better of me three times out of five."

"He says the same thing about you, my lady." Ashe noted.

Sarene smiled, pushing open the door to her room to prepare for bed. "It really wasn't that clever, Ashe. We should have realized that our problems were really solutions to one another-one an offer with no catch, the other a request with no sweetener."

Ashe made noises of displeasure as he floated around the room, "tisking," offended at its messy state.

"What?" Sarene asked, unwrapping the black ribbon tied around her upper arm-the only remaining sign of her mourning.

"The room has not been cleaned again, my lady," Ashe explained.

"Well, it's not like I left it that messy in the first place," Sarene said with a huff.

"No, Your Highness is a very tidy woman," Ashe agreed. "However, the palace maids have been lax in their duties. A princess deserves proper esteem-if you allow them to neglect their work, it won't be long before they stop respecting you."

"I think you're reading too much into it, Ashe," Sarene said with a shake of her head, pulling off her dress and preparing her nightgown. "I'm supposed to be the suspicious one. remember?"

"This is a matter of servants, not lords, my lady," Ashe said. "You are a brilliant woman and a fine politician, but you betray a common weakness of your class-you ignore the opinions of servants."

"Ashe!" Sarene objected. "I always treated my father's servants with respect and kindness."

"Perhaps I should rephrase, my lady," Ashe said. "Yes, you lack unkind prejudices. However, you don't pay attention to what the servants think of you-not in the same way you are always aware of what the aristocracy thinks."

Sarene pulled her nightgown over her head, refusing to show even a hint of petulance. "I've always tried to be fair."

"Yes. my lady, but you are a child of nobility, raised to ignore those who work around you. I only suggest you remember that if the maids disrespect you, it could be as detrimental as if the lords did so."

"All right," Sarene said with a sigh. "Point taken. Fetch Meala for me; I'll ask her if she knows what happened."

"Yes, my lady."

Ashe floated toward the window. However, before he left. Sarene made one last comment.

"Ashe?" she asked. "The people loved Raoden, didn't they?"

"By all accounts, my lady. He was known for paying very personal heed to their opinions and needs."

"He was a better prince than I am a princess, wasn't he?" she asked, her voice falling.

"I wouldn't say that. my lady," Ashe said. "You are a very kindhearted woman, and you always treat your maids well. Do not compare yourself to Raoden-it is important to remember that you weren't preparing to run a country, and your popularity with the people wasn't an issue. Prince Raoden was the heir to the throne, and it was vital that he understand his subjects' feelings."

"They say he gave the people hope." Sarene said musingly. "That the peasants endured Iadon's outrageous burdens because they knew Raoden would eventually take the throne. The country would have collapsed years ago if the prince hadn't gone amongst them, encouraging them and reviving their spirits."

"And now he's gone," Ashe said quietly.

"Yes, he's gone," Sarene agreed, her voice detached. "We have to hurry. Ashe. I keep feeling that I'm not doing any good-that the country is heading for disaster no matter what I do. It's like I'm at the bottom of a hill watching an enormous boulder crash down toward me, and I'm throwing pebbles up to try and deflect it."

"Be strong, my lady," Ashe said in his deep. stately voice. "Your God will not sit and watch as Arelon and Teod crumble beneath Wyrn's heel."

"I hope the prince is watching as well," Sarene said. "Would he be proud of me, Ashe?"

"Very proud my lady."

"I just want them to accept me," she explained, realizing how silly she must sound. She had spent nearly three decades loving a country without ever feeling it loved her back. Teod had respected her. but she was tired of respect. She wanted something different from Arelon.

"They will, Sarene," Ashe promised. "Give them time. They will."

"Thank you Ashe." Sarene said with a quiet sigh. "Thank you for enduring the lamentations of a silly girl."

"We can be strong in the face of kings and priests, my lady," Ashe replied, "but to live is to have worries and uncertainties. Keep them inside. and they will destroy you for certain-leaving behind a person so callused that emotion can find no root in his heart."

With that the Seon passed out the window, in seareh of the maid Meala.

BY the rime Meala arrived, Sarene had composed herself. There had been no tears. just time spent in thought. Sometimes it was too much for her, and her insecurity simply had to boil out. Ashe and her father had always been there to support her during those times.

"Oh dear," Meala said, regarding the state of the room. She was thin and rather young-definitely not what Sarene expected when she had first moved into the palace. Meala more resembled one of her father's accountants than she did a head maid.

"I'm sorry, my lady," Meala apologized, offering Sarene a wan smile. "I didn't even think of this. We lost another girl this afternoon, and it didn't occur to me that your room was on her list of duties."

"'Lost.' Meala?" Sarene asked with concern.

"A runaway, my lady," Meala explained. "They aren't supposed to leave-we're indentured like the rest of the peasants. For some reason we have trouble keeping maids in the palace, however. Dorni knows why it is-no servant in the country is treated better than those here."

"How many have you lost?" Sarene asked with curiosity.

"She was the fourth this year," Meala said. "I'll send someone up immedi- ately.„

"No, don't bother tonight. Just make sure it doesn't happen again.” "Of course, my lady," Meala said with a curtsy.

"Thank you."

"There it is again!" Sarene said with excitement, jumping out of her bed. Ashe instantly burst back to full illumination, hovering uncertainly by the wall. "My lady?"

"Quiet," Sarene ordered, pressing her ear against the stone wall beneath her window, listening to the scraping sound. "What do you think?"

"I am thinking that whatever my lady had for supper, it isn't agreeing with her," Ashe informed curtly.

"There was definitely a noise there." Sarene said, ignoring the gibe. Though Ashe was always awake in the mornings when she got up, he didn't like being disturbed after he had fallen asleep.

She reached over to her nightstand and picked up a scrap of parchment. On it she made a mark with a thin piece of charcoal, not wanting to bother with pen and ink.

"Look," she declared. holding up the paper for Ashe to see. "The sounds always come on the same days of the week: MaeDal and OpeDal."

Ashe floated over and looked at the paper, his glowing Aon the room's only illumination besides starlight. "You've heard it twice on MaeDal and twice on

OpeDal, four times in total," he said skeptically. "That is hardly grounds for a decision that they 'always come on the same days,' my lady."

"Oh, you think I'm hearing things anyway," Sarene said, dropping the parchment back onto her table. "I thought Seons were supposed to have excellent auditory senses."

"Not when we're sleeping, my lady," Ashe said, implying that that was exactly what he should have been doing at the moment.

"There must be a passage here," Sarene decided. ineffectually tapping the stone waIl.

"If you say so, my lady."

"I do," she said, rising and studying her window. "Look how thick the stone is around this window, Ashe." She leaned against the wall and stuck her arm out the window. The tips of her fingers could barely curl around the outside ledge. "Does the wall really need to be so wide?"

"It offers much protection. my lady.'

"It also offers room for a passage."

"A very thin one," Ashe replied.

"True," Sarene mused, kneeling down to view the bottom edge of the window at eye level. "It slopes upwards. The passage was constructed to angle up, passing between the bottoms of the windows on this level and the first story."

"But the only thing in that direction is…

"The king's rooms," Sarene finished. "Where else would a passage lead?"

"Are you suggesting that the king takes secret excursions twice a week in the middle of the night, my lady?"

"At precisely eleven o'clock," Sarene said. eyeing the large grandfather clock in the corner of her room. "It's always at the same time."

"What possible reason could he have for such a thing?"

"I don't know." Sarene said, tapping her cheek in contemplation.

"Oh dear," Ashe mumbled. "My lady is concocting something, isn't she?" "Always," Sarene said sweetly. climbing back into bed. "Turn down your

light-some of us want to get some sleep."