Ascendant (13 page)

Koren had only
eaten dinner with the Regent and Ariana that first night on the road, 
after that, Koren ate his meals with the guards and other servants, and he
traveled with them in their wagons. Carlana had explained to Ariana it was best
to avoid drawing attention to Koren, and that explanation worked, for a while.
It was on the last morning, as they approached the castle, that Ariana put her
dainty little royal foot down and insisted that, since the royal carriage was
‘
royal
’
only because
she
was in it, Koren was going to be in the carriage, or the carriage wasn
’
t going anywhere that day.
Her mother the Regent discovered that no amount of arguing, ordering, scolding
or pleading was going to change her daughter
’
s mind. Carlana was torn between extreme
annoyance at her stubborn young daughter, and being proud of the future ruler
of Tarador asserting herself so forcefully. The royal guards obeyed the Regent
by getting the carriage ready that morning, but when Carlana instructed them to
bring the crown princess, the guards had stood around, shuffling their feet
awkwardly, looking off into the distance, and generally making it clear there
was no way those guards, who were trained and pledged to protect the crown
princess with their very lives, were going to touch her against her will, no
matter what the Regent wanted. The impasse between mother and daughter ended
with Carlana allowing Koren to ride in the royal carriage, and Ariana realizing
that she had pushed her mother about as far as she ever would.

Thus it was
that Koren found himself dressed in fancy clothes that, he had to admit, fit
him perfectly, and riding in the royal carriage with the crown princess and the
Regent of Tarador, winding its way thru the city on its way to the royal
palace. The royal carriage was near the front of a long trail of lesser
carriages, wagons and men on horseback, all there to protect, provide for, and
accompany the crown princess and Regent on their long tour throughout Tarador.
Such a thing happening to poor farm boy Koren Bladewell, he had never imagined,
not even in his wildest dreams back in tiny Crebbs Ford. He grinned ear to ear,
continued to wave to the people, and gawked at the increasingly large, numerous
and substantial buildings, as the royal carriage wound its way thru the city,
up toward the gray castle on the hill.

While Koren
was looking out the window, watching the city roll by, Ariana was watching
Koren. Not openly staring at him, Ariana had been trained for far too long on
how a proper princess had to behave, instead she looked out the window on his
side of the carriage, with her attention on Koren, and not on the waving and
cheering people who lined the road. When she saw that Koren was imitating her
mother
’
s
restrained waving motion, she bit her lip to keep from laughing. That feeble
gesture, which looked ridiculous even when her mother was doing it, was absurd
when done with Koren
’
s
rough, strong hands. She had little memory of Koren holding onto her while they
plunged down the raging river. He had touched her hand, briefly, when they met
after Paedris declared the farm boy could get out of bed, but they had met in
the duke
’
s
formal receiving hall, surrounded by people, wearing stiff, formal clothes.
Ariana had been limited to holding out her hand, palm down, so Koren could
kneel on one knee, take her hand in his, and kiss the back of her hand.
Touching his future monarch was, according to her mother, supposed to be all
the honor a common boy like Koren could ever want. Since her mother had never
been a commoner, Ariana couldn
’
t
see how Carlana knew what common people wanted. Ariana herself didn
’
t truly know what common
people wanted, but certainly kneeling and brushing your lips on the back of a
princess
’
hand
could not compare to a real reward; like land, or money. Or a knighthood.

At the thought
of Koren
’
s
hand touching hers, and his lips oh so briefly brushing against her skin, she
unconsciously brushed the spot where his lips had lingered, tracing a circle
around the spot with her fingertips.

While Ariana
was watching Koren, Carlana was watching her daughter watch Koren, and the Regent
knew exactly what the expression on her daughter
’
s face meant. Knew what it meant that her
daughter was brushing the fingertips of her left hand across the back of her
right hand. Ariana was completely, hopelessly infatuated with her hero, this
handsome, fresh-faced, young man who had risked his life to save a girl he didn
’
t even know. He had saved
her, not because she is a princess, but because she had needed rescuing, and
because he was there, and because he could, or at least thought he had to try.
He had saved her when the grown men who were there to protect her could not.
Carlana was not surprised that her daughter
’
s head was filled with romantic notions about
her true hero, this handsome young man with the tangled curls of dark hair
falling around his face, and the dreamy brown eyes-

Yes, Carlana
could quite easily understand how her daughter could look at Koren the way she
did. The mother of the crown princess needed to make sure the infatuation did
not go too far, for Ariana could not be seen as becoming involved seriously
with any young man now, especially not with a lowly commoner. Dangling the
prospect of Ariana marrying a son of a duke was a way to keep the dukes
supporting Ariana becoming queen on her sixteenth birthday. Without that
prospect, it was far from guaranteed that an untested young girl could hang
onto power, surrounded by powerful, ambitious and scheming dukes who lusted for
the throne themselves.

Carlana would
allow Ariana her girlish daydreams for now. Once they were in the palace, and
Koren was busy with the wizard, there would be little time, Carlana thought,
for Ariana and Koren to be together. Then Ariana
’
s crush on Koren would fade over time, as she
became distracted by everything going on around the royal palace.

The Regent had
forgotten just how determined a young girl in love could be. And, in
particular, she once again underestimated the determination of the young woman
who would soon sit on the throne and rule Tarador.

After passing
thru a busy section of the city that had many tall, stone buildings, the road
was now in an area that did not appear to be as prosperous. Among the people
lining the road, Koren saw a family of three; mother, father, and a boy around
his age. The father had one hand on the boy
’
s shoulder, and the boy was holding his
mother
’
s hand.
The woman did not look much like Koren
’
s
mother, having blond hair and being quite tall, but this woman had her hair
tied in a blue ribbon. Amalie Bladewell often had her hair tied with a blue
ribbon, a ribbon that Bodric purchased new every year, without fail. Blue dye
being rare and expensive, it was not a color most farm families in Crebbs Ford
could afford; most people wore clothes of simple gray wool, or cotton in
various shades of off-white or tan. Occasionally, clothes were red, if enough
iron could be found to provide a color wash. But blue was unusual among poor
people, unusual enough that it always reminded Koren of his mother.

Koren
’
s hand froze in mid-wave,
as he locked eyes with the boy standing with his parents on the side of the
road, and felt a sharp pain of homesickness. He half rose out of his seat,
enough so that his face was no longer in shadow, and the people could see him
clearly. The family looked puzzled to see an unfamiliar face staring back at
them from the royal carriage, and they waved uncertainly. Then the carriage
swept past, and the family was gone. Koren slumped back in his seat, stricken.
An unbidden tear welled up in his left eye, and trailed down his cheek.

Ariana had
seen the family, having watched Koren, and guessed the significance, if not of
the ribbon, then of the family, and the boy Koren
’
s age. With a catch in her throat and a tear
forming in her own eyes, she reached out to touch Koren
’
s arm, but her mother
nudged her foot. Shaking her head, Carlana silently mouthed
‘
give him privacy, Ariana
’
, and the Regent put a
hand over her own heart, to show she understood the pain Koren must be feeling.

Koren quickly
discovered there were many children his age in the castle grounds, both royalty
like Ariana, and commoners like himself. One of the first boys he saw, he met
on his way to Paedris
’
tower. Koren was clutching his bundle of clothes and looking at the tower,
trying to figure out how to get there from where he was. He was gawking up at
the colorful flags flying from the battlements, when he collided with another
boy.
“
Oof.
Sorry.
”
Koren
said, as he dropped his bundle onto the ground.

The other boy
had golden, shiny hair falling about his shoulders. He wore a magnificent red
tunic, on the front of which was a hawk, embroidered in silver. And he looked
down his nose at Koren, as if Koren were something foul he
’
d just stepped in.
“
Watch where you
’
re going, you stupid oaf.
”
The boy snapped, checking
his tunic for damage, or dirt.

“
Said I was sorry.
”
Impulsively, Koren held a
hand out.
“
I
’
m Koren Bladewell.
”

“
Bladewell? Of?
”
The boy stared at Koren
’
s hand, unsure what to do.

“
Oh, of, um, of Crebb
’
s Ford. It
’
s in Crickdon County.
”

“
Crickdon? Is that
Winterthur province? So, the Bladewells of Crickdon. Never heard of you. You
have the honor to be speaking to Kyre Falco, eldest son of Duke Regin Falco of
Burwyck Province.
”

“
Regin Falco?
”
It was Koren
’
s turn to be confused.
“
Never heard of him, sorry.
”

“
Never, never heard of Duke
Falco?
”
Kyre
sputtered, shocked.

“
Um, never heard of Burwyck
province, either.
”

“
What? How could you have
never- what kind of backwater farm boy are you?
”
Kyre took a step back. From the way Koren
was dressed, Kyre assumed he was the son of a minor, unimportant noble, such as
a baron or a viscount, perhaps a mere knight. But now Kyre considered that
Koren might be a commoner servant. And Kyre had wasted his time talking to the
low-born boy?
“
What
are you doing in the castle, boy?

Koren shrugged
and picked up his bundle, hoisting it onto his shoulder.
“
I
’
m Lord Salva
’
s new servant.
”

Kyre looked at
Koren in disgust.
“
Then,
be along with you, boy! Hurry on about your business, and be more careful
around your betters.
”

Koren
remembered what Carlana said about how to address a Duke. He wondered if that
applied to their sons as well. Koren bowed his head slightly.
“
Yes, Your Grace. Sorry to
have disturbed you.
”

“
Huh. You have proper
manners, at least, boy.
”
Kyre stepped around Koren and didn
’
t
give the servant boy another look.

When Kyre
arrived at his quarters in the palace, he found Niles Forne lounging on a seat
by the window. The Duke had sent Forne to the palace with Kyre, supposedly to
help his son navigate the various intrigues in the royal court; Kyre knew the
man was nothing more than a spy for his father. A spy, who in Kyre
’
s opinion, paid far too
much attention when Kyre did something bad, and barely noticed Kyre
’
s many, many triumphs.
“
Forne.
”
Kyre said dismissively as
he removed his tunic and held it up to the light.

“
Something wrong with your
garment, young Sire?
”
Forne asked, looking down his long, narrow nose at the boy, without getting up
from his seat.

“
A stupid boy bumped into
me in the courtyard, the wizard
’
s
servant?
”