Ascendant (17 page)

“
You rode Thunderbolt.
”
Kyre gaped at Koren with
amazement.

“
Aye, that he did, young
Sire.
”
The
stable master agreed.
“
Son
of king Adric
’
s
own horse, Thunderbolt is, or we
’
d
not have kept him around, with the trouble he
’
s been. Got the very devil in him, he does.
Least, until this morning.
”
One of the stable hands ran up to the stable master and whispered something in
the man
’
s ear,
and the stable master turned and bowed deeply.
“
Princess Ariana! Welcome to the royal
stables.
”

Kyre bowed to
the princess, who was accompanied by her usual retinue of guards and maids.
“
Your Highness, good
morning.
”

Ariana gave
Kyre only a brief glance, she only had eyes for Koren. She thought he looked
even better in his rough work clothes, than in the fine outfit he had been
wearing in the royal carriage.
“
Your
Grace," she said dismissively to Kyre, "hello, Koren.
”

Koren
snickered, suppressing a laugh.
“
What
’
s so funny?
”
Ariana demanded.

“
Your Highness, Your Grace.
”
Koren did his best to
imitate the royal court
’
s
chief of protocol, an overly self-important man he
’
d met the day before.

Ariana
laughed.
“
It
is silly, isn
’
t
it? Especially when we
’
re
in the stables, with our royal feet stepping in horse manure.
”
She turned to Kyre.
“
Good morning,
Kyre
.
”

Kyre was
almost struck speechless, but he managed to say
“
Good morning, uh,  Ariana" in a
near-whisper. And he was smart enough to say only that, without gushing about
how lovely she was, how pleased he was to see her. This was one of those
moments when, his advisor Forne said, fewer words were better than more.

“
What is going on here,
Master of Horses?
”
Ariana resumed some of her royal princess authority when she addressed the
stable master.

The stable
master snatched off his cap, and bowed again to the princess.
“
Beg your pardon, Princess,
but today I
’
m
not the master of horses, young Koren here is. Tamed Thunderbolt, he did. I
never thought I would live to see the day a man could ride that horse, but the
boy here did, got that devil horse walking like a pony.
”

Ariana grew
even more impressed with Koren. She walked over to Thunderbolt
’
s stall, and reached out
to pet the horse
’
s
nose. Thunderbolt gave a warning snort, and backed away, until Koren came to
stand beside Ariana, and held out his hand to the horse.
“
Good Thunderbolt, good
boy.
”
The
horse held out his head for Koren to scratch him under the chin, and allowed
Ariana to pet him.

“
Koren, I don't know what
to say. Thunderbolt has been a trial for the stable hands since the day he was
born.
”
Ariana
scratched Thunderbolt under the chin, and the horse closed his eyes in
contentment.
“
Stable
master, I grant this horse to Koren Bladewell.
”

“
Ah, young Lady, that is,
Your Highness, I don
’
t
know-
“
The
stable master stammered in surprise.

“
I am the crown princess of
Tarador, am I not? And Thunderbolt is my royal property?
”

“
That he is, Your Highness.
”
The stable master
admitted.

Ariana turned
to Koren and almost gave the surprised boy a hug, catching herself at the last
moment. That would be most un-princess like behavior, so she wrapped her arms
around the horse
’
s
neck instead.
“
Oh,
Koren, I
’
m so
happy for you. You
’
ll
have to feed him, and exercise him, and care for him, every day.
”

“
I will.
”
Koren said, his head
bobbing up and down with delight.
“
Can
I ride him now? Please, Ariana? Kyre was going to take me riding, to show me
the city.
”

Ariana looked
at Kyre warily. What game was the Falco heir playing with her friend? But Kyre
disarmed her with a wry smile.
“
Koren
wanted me to show him where the kitchens were first, of course, but I thought,
since Lord Salva isn
’
t
here, Koren could have a bit of fun this morning.
”

Koren was
looking at her so pleadingly, that Ariana smiled. She would have preferred to
ride without Kyre Falco, but-
“
As
I am in my riding clothes, yes, let
’
s
all take a turn about the city, shall we?
”

Kyre strode
back into his quarters in the palace, where Niles Forne was as usual sitting by
the window, reading a dusty old book. When he saw Kyre, Forne snapped the book
shut and stood.
“
How
was your morning, young Sire?
”

“
A triumph, Forne, a total
and complete triumph!
”
Kyre said with a twinkle in his eye, and he pulled off his riding gloves, and
tossed them on the floor for the servants to pick up later.
“
Koren now considers me his
friend, Ariana called me by my first name, and the three of us went riding
about the city this morning,
and
Ariana allowed me to help her get down
off her horse several times. She even invited me to the opening of that maze
she had built, out in the old gardens.
”
Kyre paused, lost in thought.
“
What
sort of attire is proper to wear in a royal maze?
”

“
I shall inquire in the
court.
”
Forne
beamed with happiness. Duke Falco would be very pleased to receive this report!
“
Might I
suggest, as a gesture of your new friendship, that you send your servants over
to the wizard
’
s
tower, to help the boy clean the place, before Lord Salva returns?
”

“
Smashing idea, Forne,
smashing. Yes, let
’
s
do that. In fact,
”
Kyre paused,
“
I
will go with them myself. Always wanted to see the inside of that tower, and I
’
ll make sure my servants
don
’
t steal
anything.
”
Kyre was in such a joyous mood that even the idea of directing cleaning
servants for the afternoon didn
’
t
seem so bad.
“
You
know, Forne, it
’
s
too bad Koren is so low-born. He
’
s
not a bad sort at all, I actually enjoyed myself this morning. He
’
s so grateful for anyone
of consequence to pay the least attention to him, it
’
s kind of pathetic. Did
you know, Koren managed to ride Thunderbolt?! Ariana granted the horse to him
right on the spot. Amazing, it was.
”

“
I
’
m sure it was, young Sire.
Remember, please, he is low-born, and not from any sort of good family. Koren Bladewell
is a tool to be used, nothing more.
”

Kyre frowned.
“
You always have to remind
me of my duties, don
’
t
you?
”
Kyre
clapped his hands, loudly.
“
Servants!
Bring me something to eat! The heir to the Falco line is hungry!
”

The wizard
’
s tower, except for the
chambers Paedris had protected with a locking spell so no one could enter, had
been scrubbed clean from top to bottom. Koren could not express how grateful he
was that Kyre had brought his servants to the tower to help clean the place,
and when the Regent heard what the Falco boy had done, Carlana sent the royal
chambermaids to help also. Koren had mostly been instructed, politely but
firmly by the other servants, that the tower would be cleaned faster if he
stood out of the way and didn
’
t
‘
help
’
. So Koren and Kyre had a
grand time exploring the tall, narrow and forbidding tower, all the way to the
platform on the roof, where there was a view over all the palace, the castle
and the city of Linden, out to the countryside, and the hills to the east. On
the way down the stairs, Koren paused to think a moment, but didn't say
anything to Kyre. After everyone has left, he climbed back up to the roof, then
counted steps all the way to the doorway on the bottom. Out in the courtyard,
he looked at the tower. The windows were not evenly spaced, but something was
wrong. He would have to ask the wizard about it, when Paedris returned.

The next
morning, after going to the royal stables to feed and brush Thunderbolt, Koren
stopped by the kitchens for breakfast. When he returned to the wizard
’
s tower in mid-morning, he
found a servant dressed in the uniform of the royal palace, waiting for him.
The servant carried a hand-written note from Ariana, inviting him to join her
for lunch in the palace.

Promptly at
noon, having scrubbed himself clean, wearing clean and freshly pressed clothes,
and his hair untangled as best he could get it, Koren presented himself at the
servant
’
s
entrance to the palace. The guards were skeptical, even when Koren showed them
Ariana
’
s
invitation. He waited ten minutes before Charl Fusting, the royal chief of
protocol arrived, mumbling
“
Most
irregular, most irregular indeed.
”
With a look that suggested the man thought Koren was very likely to steal
something valuable if he were allowed inside the palace gates, Fusting examined
Koren
’
s
clothes, tugging the tunic sleeves, brushing bits of lint off, before giving up
with an exasperated sigh.
“
There
is nothing to be done here. Nothing! It
’
s
hopeless. I can
’
t
work miracles.
”
Fusting turned and escorted Koren inside the palace. Up stairs, down stairs,
through long, wide corridors where their footsteps echoed against the high
ceilings, past grand public rooms, Koren hurried behind the chief of protocol,
almost tripping over his own feet, because he was too busy gawking at the
opulent building and not paying attention to where he was going. The palace was
full of people; guards posted outside nearly every door, servants scurrying
around on errands, and various nobles ranging from squires to knights and
barons. Not knowing what else to do, Koren followed the example of the chief of
protocol, and bowed to people when Fusting bowed.

While passing
down a particularly grand hallway, lined with paintings of previous kings and
queens of Tarador, Koren drifted to a stop. The men and women in the pictures,
so regal, so grand, all appeared to be looking directly at him. Fusting stopped
in front of  a wide, double door, flanked by two guards.
“
The- dear me. What shall I
call you?
”

“
Koren Bladewell, sir?
”

“
No, no. Your title, I
mean. You
’
re
the wizard
’
s
servant, but of course, one doesn
’
t
announce servants. Servants aren
’
t
supposed to be invited to dine with royalty, either.
”
The chief of protocol
grumbled under his breath.

Koren had an
idea.
“
I
’
m Koren Bladewell, of Crickdon,
if you please, sir.
”

Fusting
snapped his fingers.
“
Of
course you are!
”
He called out, in a clear voice
“
Koren
Bladewell of Crickdon, here to see the crown princess.
”